Supplier Hunt: Photographer

This is one of the major suppliers that is really giving us a headache. I often say I am only willing to splurge on 3 suppliers: Caterer, Photographer and Videographer. Caterer because that's the only memory that the guests will remember. Photo and video because that is the only memory that will be left to us.

Since early part of 2013, even before we started seriously planning, we are already in search of our P/V supplier. On my last post, I mentioned about my heartbreak with Nicolai. Then we became busy with work that we weren't able to really scout for P/V. Then while I was browsing my FB news feeds, I came across a picture of my friend and my goddaughter. And oh my! I was blown away.

my friend and goddaughter
the shot that gave me the "this is it"

I've known Ding because he covered my goddaughter's christening last year. But I thought he was just doing it as a hobby. Found out he cover weddings and other events din pala. So we chatted on FB then since we live on the same village, we set up a meeting the coming weekend.

J and I were accompanied by my sister and cousins. We set the meeting at 1 PM but dumb moment, I left my phone at home. So we are already at the meeting place since 12:30 after an hour, he's still not there. I had to call back home and ask my other cousin to search my phone and send me his mobile number. When i called him, he was already having lunch with his family but he drop by and said he'll just finish his lunch. Found out he had been texting me since morning to confirm if our meeting will push through but he didn't received a reply from me. Haha! Sorry, my mistake. So we had lunch na din and just meet up after. 

He was accompanied by his photographer/partner and after a small chit-chat, we go straight to discussion. They presented their rates and sample works. Surprisingly, their package is so affordable, not to mention that there will be no OOT fee. 

sample works of Inio

They have day jobs and just shoot as freelancers. I saw a couple of their shots and what we really like are the clean, crisp and colorful shots. Their style is photojournalistic and I appreciate that they just want to do fun shoots. They really don't concentrate on weddings per se, lately they've been covering debuts and birthday parties. But I think what's important are the passion and talent. We also had fun during the meeting, kwentuhan lang and wala ilangan.

So, you ask, do we found our photographer now? I think so. Did we block the date yet? No. Haha.. Well, they said we can forego the down payment since we lives on the same village but we want to give din naman down payment. They will cover my sister's debut and that's confirmed. We are yet to meet with another photographer next month then magdedecide na kami.

On a different tone, I hope everyone's spared from the Typhoon Glenda. We don't have electricity for three days but thankfully no one in our family is hurt and no properties were destroyed. Keep safe everyone!

BOOKED: St. Benedict's Church

We went to SBC last year to book them when our wedding was set to this year but when it is move tho next year, we decided to just go back last weekend. We have set the schedule to be back and secure our slot prior to him asking for my hand formally. Last week J called SBC's contact number on their flyer. Red's number is unreachable. The other person listed there is not really friendly and according to her doesn't want to received calls regarding SBC and just call the office landline directly. I think they shouldn't have listed their numbers on the brochures if they don't want to be called.

So prior to going, J called their landline and asked if our slot is still available, lucky us, it is. YEY! When we arrived, there's still an on-going mass and there's no one at the office. The guy there asked us to wait after the mass. I noticed that the sound system improved since the last time we were there. From my post about SBC before, I said my main concern is really their sound system. I am very happy that it is fixed/replaced already. After the mass, the guy approached us and said to be back in the afternoon as the person in charge will be having his/her lunch break. Okaaaay.

We proceed to Tagaytay as that is our original plan. We will be having lunch at Bulalo Point. Our travel time is approximately 1 1/2 hours. After our late lunch (as we arrived there at around 2 PM), we headed back to SBC praying that we will make it. We arrived on time at around 30 minutes before closing.

The lady who attended to us is very nice and apologetic as she wasn't able to attend to us in the morning. She is so nice so OK na din the hassle that we go through that morning. She asked us to fill up the form and we paid the downpayment. She scheduled us for our Canonical Interview and voila! We are booked already. :) We really felt that the date is for us. Found out that there is only one more remaining time slot available on our chosen date and it is also the time we wanted. Thank God!

Personal Questionnaire for the Canonical Interview

Wedding Information Sheet

Down payment is Php5,000 plus another Php5,000 during the interview. The remaining balance should be paid 1 month before the wedding date.

A very productive weekend indeed. Got officially engaged on Friday, 2 Food Tastings on Saturday and secured our slot at SBC on Sunday.

Food Tasting #2: Hizon's

I received a couple of invites from Hizon's for their food tasting but it's either the venue is too far or my schedule wouldn't permit it. So good thing, their latest food tasting was held at Fernbrook Gardens in Alabang. So yesterday, me and J were able to attend their food tasting. My sister and my cousin accompanied us because my sister is also in search of her debut caterer. J coordinated with them while I was in Oz and he scheduled us for 10 am. A little early but I'm glad he pick the earliest slot as there's a few couples there yet and the food is still untouched.

Our AE is Maricar and I appreciate that she leaves us alone and just came back when we're done eating. That way, we were able to discuss the food presentation and taste without worrying that we might offend someone.

All the food during the food tasting are for the Php1190 package. We are actually considering the Php990 package but when we take a closer look with the inclusions, Php1190 is sulit na din.

J particularly like the Napoleon Chairs. J's only concern are the chairs, really. Remember what he really wants are tiffany chairs and not just the ordinary ones covered with white cloth. Kidding aside, he is more meticulous than me in terms of the taste and presentation.

Dessert Buffet Set-Up

Buffet Set-Up

Carving Station 

Chocolate Fountain

Salad Bar

Fruits and Choco Dippings

Pasta Bar

Quesadilla Bar (add-on Php80/head)

The dessert bar is for display only because they will be serving you pre-picked dessert selections. Now for the food tasting proper: For the scores/ranks, I based it on the number of votes it got from the 4 of us who taste it.

Top R (Clockwise): Tomato Mozzarella, Caramelized Onion with Cheese, Tempura Rolls (spoon), Bruschetta Al Fungi, Crispy Beef Spring Roll (spoon)

Tomato Mozzarella : 2/4

I actually can't remember its taste anymore

Caramelized Onion with Cheese: 4/4

Super Yummy! The onions are cooked so well and it complements the flavor of the cheese they've used

Tempura Rolls: 4/4

Everyone loved this. I would prefer it spicier but nonetheless its good

Bruschetta Al Fungi: 2/4

J loved this but I really can't get over the yumminess of the Caramelized Onions with Cheese so this is just so-so for me

Crispy Beef Spring Roll: 2/4

A little bit sweeter than I expected. Plus the roll's cold so medyo masebo yung after taste nya

L-R: Truffled Four Mushroom, Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Truffled Four Mushroom Soup: 2/4

Votes are divided for the soup because me and my sister loved the Mushroom one but J and my cousin liked the Pumpkin soup better. This tasted like butter with bits of mushroom and a hint of truffle taste.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup: 2/4

Again, the score is tie because the soups got 2 votes each from us. I don't like it that much because it has a sour after taste but the guys liked it.

*would have been better if the soups are served hot.

L-R: Peach Mango Salad, Grilled Vegetable Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Peach Mango Salad: 3/4

I love Mango and Peach and Peach Mango, too but sadly I don't like this salad this much. I find it too sweet for a salad.

Grilled Vegetable Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette: 4/4

Just the fact that my sister was able to eat them considering it's vegetables are good points already. :) I love the taste of the grilled veggies with its dressing.

Bottom (clockwise): Baked Fish Stuffed with Spinach, Chicken Sambal in Prawn Sauce, Thrice Cooked Pork Belly with Mango Cucumber Salsa, Roast US Beef with Mushroom Gravy, Pork Salpicao with Grilled Vegetables and Mashed Potatoes, Beef Teppanyaki

Same as above but with Crispy Beef Rice

Baked Fish Stuffed with Spinach: 4/4

This is the bomb. It was so good I have to ask for J's share. Haha

Chicken Sambal: 1/4

The chicken is tough and the breading is so thick. The sauce is not that good, too

Thrice Cooked Pork Belly: 3/4

I didn't like it because the part that I got was not crispy anymore but they said their part is crispy

Roast US Beef: 2/4

My cousin said he prefers the Hickory Barbeque Sauce better than the Mushroom Gravy. It's really not that tender and the taste is just so-so

Pork Salpicao: 4/4

We love the Salpicao because it's tasty and the vegetables are good and the mashed potato are so yummy

Beef Teppanyaki: 2/4

Just your ordinary Teppan imho

Crispy Beef Rice: 3/4

I would prefer it to be hot rather than cold. Good thing, it's tasty.

Beef & Chicken Quesadilla
Sauce: Salsa, Garlic Sauce and Cream Cheese

Beef Quesadilla: 1/4

The smell of the spices are too overpowering and overwhelming

Chicken Quesadilla: 3/4

We prefer this more because it is milder and it has veggies on it so hindi umay

Carbonara

Puttanesca

Carbonara: 4/4

We're biased coz we loved Carbonara. But actually it is really good. It has flavors and not just the typical bland carbonara in a buffet spread

Puttanesca: 2/4

I don't like it because as I've said I am a Carbonara fanatic. Also, the olives here are too overpowering.

Bottom L (clockwise): Mango Pavlova, Sunken Island with Vanilla Creme, Red Velvet Cheesecake (center), Flourless Chocolate Cake

Mango Pavlova: 2/4

It's foamy and not too sweet

Sunken Island: 4/4

a.k.a Merengue

Red Velvet Cheesecake: 2/4

I am biased coz I love cheesecakes

Flourless Chocolate Cake: 4/4

It is chocolate-y and rich in flavor

We are actually considering Hizon's already. But it's too early to tell. I don't want the "what if" feelings so we'll try a couple more caterers for comparison. 

Disclaimer: I am not a food critic. :) Just someone who loves food.

BOOKED: Imbitado Events

We could have booked Ayie and her team right from the start even if we haven't met her yet. That's how much trust we have for her team. But the problem is we haven't finalized our date with SBC yet (we still haven't, up until now) so we pencil booked her first to secure our date. We have 1 month to secure the DP but we are so busy the past couple of weeks and we forgot about it. Good thing, I am free yesterday so we paid at BDO.

Paid DP

Wedding Guides

And we are officially an Imbitado couple. :)

BOOKED: Margarush

This is the supplier that J and I know we really wanted to be part of our wedding. When we tried their Lime Margarita on a fair last November, it was love at first sip. That's how good it is. So we hunt them down last Saturday to reserve our date. The day before the fair, I had lunch with my college bestfriend and I've mentioned about frozen margaritas for my wedding and he said it would be better if I'll jut book a mobile bar to have other options. It got me thinking but my heart is really set for Margarush. Actually, J and I already talked about it since his friends are hard drinkers so we don't think they will enjoy margaritas (since it is a ladies' drink). But we both loved Margarush and we can't think of letting it go. Haha!

When we drop by their booth, Kuya gave each one of us free taste and as expected, my two male cousins liked it as well. They urged me to book them right then and there. Haha! Kuya is so makwento din and mabait. He gladly gave us another round of margaritas while making chika to us. He also suggested that since the package comes with just 100 personalized cups, we can opt to bring our own plastic cups instead of ordering additional cups since it's Php1,500/50 cups (Tipid tips! :)). Too bad (but good news too) that they are serving the Lime flavor again. Kuya said they initially prepared 2 flavors but the other container was busted so they were only able to offer 1 flavor. Yes, we are a company of five and we each have 2 shots of margaritas (total of 10 cups) but I wasn't able to take a picture of it. Bummer! Was too excited sipping it, I guess. :)

2nd Booked Supplier

OOT fee for Sta. Rosa Laguna is Php2,500 and we got a Php2,000 discount for booking in the bridal fair so looks like we will only be paying Php500 as OOT fee. We are scheduled to have our drink tasting on the next bridal fair in SMX and we're excited. :) Roxy (the owner) is a pleasant lady who is nice to talk to. Side note: we haven't decided on our L/S yet but we might also get their LST mobile since we will only pay for 1 OOT fee for both Margarush and LST (nice deal, eh?)

Hay Margarush... you are loved. :) I know you will be such a hit come our wedding day.