New Year, New Site!

Yes, I have moved so please visit me at www.obiasadventure.blogspot.com.

After sharing with you my wedding preparations, allow me now to share my life as a "new" mom to 3-month old son "Enzo," a dutiful wife to Lawrence, daughter, sister, cousin, friend and the many roles I play at age 28 going 29.

See you all there!

Are you looking for a photographer??

Please visit us at www.lecuadro.multiply.com. See you ALL there! mwah!

Hoodies

I'm here... http://runwaybride.multiply.com/ thanks sis Ade... sayang nga na I was unable to wear my white hoodie during the reception but promise you that I'll wear it soon and send you some pics of it.

Thanks for being a part of our wedding! mwah =)

Supplier's Ratings

As our way of thanking the w@w community for the ideas & inspirations and for the help we got from the group, we are now sharing with you our Supplier’s Ratings… hoping it might be useful to future brides & grooms.

The ratings are based solely on our first-hand experience in dealing with them as well as feedback from our family, relatives and friends who have witnessed our union. So for the brides & grooms out there, please keep in mind that our experience is OUR OWN and it does not guarantee how the suppliers will deliver on your own wedding (if you do decide to book any of them).

We are just sooo happy that all of our suppliers delivered well on our big day. There might have been glitches but we just let it go and enjoyed the moment. I suggest you do too!

We will rate our Suppliers as follows:

5 – Highly Recommended!! Exceeded our expectations.
4 – Recommended. It was a pleasure dealing with them.
3 – They delivered as expected.
2 – They could have done better.
1 – Check your options if you think you don’t need the stress harharhar! =)

Our ratings will be one supplier per entry so please bear with us since I'm doing this in between loads of work from the office hehehe!! =p

On The Day Coordination

waaahh... I can't seem to upload the photos... yikes!! what's wrong kaya? nuninuni... so please bear with us... pictures to follow as soon as I'm able to upload them... kainis... =(

anyway, here goes....

Teddy Manuel (of Flowers & Events)
Rating: 5++++
Cost: It was such a steal… maybe because we also got him to do my bouquet & entourage flowers and provide the chocolate fountain.

I personally love this guy!! He and his staff literally took care of everything. We only found out about the glitches after he already had a solution. There might have been other glitches that we never even found out about hehehe!

Ogie, my hairstylist, texted me at 6am to advise that they were running late for their call time which is 6am. Medyo nag-panic ang sis niyo na baka ma-late kami since 10:30am ang wedding and they have to do me, my mom, my sis-in-law, my mother-in-law & cousin pa (5 heads). So I forwarded the text to Teddy and he replied to me to eat my breakfast na and have the others ready para pagdating nina Angie & Ogie, they can start already. I ate little lang since I'm not really a morning person. I only ate tasty na cheese ang palaman and I was not even able to finish yung 1 slice of bread. While my family went down to have breakfast muna. I was left alone in the room with my nephew who was still fast asleep.

Teddy's team were the first to arrive at Discovery Suites and they were at work agad pagkadating nila. And siguro the fact na I don’t see them panic, hindi na rin ako nag-panic. They knew exactly what they were doing. Although, I kept asking Teddy about the time since I don’t want to be late for my own wedding. Super pa naman ang traffic the day before (December 15) going from Quezon City to Ortigas maybe because it was a Friday and a payday and Christmas rush. But we got to Mount Carmel naman early, around 9:30am.

Another incident… during the dove release which is right after the recession, he handed to us the 2 doves only to find out from him that 1 of our doves was stolen so we will only be able to release 1 dove and for photo ops, we will be holding the 2 doves. ANO?? Talaga naman at pati doves ngayon eh ninanakaw na?! I wasn’t able to find out where he got the other dove but I was thankful to him for coming up with a solution without even bothering us.

Teddy also became an instant mananahi. My veil kasi has embroidery and he has to take out one which is literally in the middle of my face since it would not look good in the pictures. Even our photographer, Raymond (of Newtrend Photography) was helping out too hehehe!

I was even told by one of our Ninongs that when our Commentator needed a shawl because she was wearing a sleeveless dress, it was one of Teddy’s staff who gave her scarf which she was wearing.

It was a last minute decision to get a coordinator. I had to convince Lawrence that we needed one since he was insisting that he has enough cousins to help us out. But in the end, getting Teddy is the best decision we ever made. Even Lawrence was very impressed with how they work. The money we spent for his coordination is worth it! Tip: I guess even if you are hands-on (like me), it is still advisable for you to get someone to help you even for that day. If you have the budget, why not. Kasi on the day of your wedding, you will not even be able to think straight kasi pihado nasa cloud nine ka na.

Flowers

Teddy Manuel (of Flowers & Events)
Rating: 5++++

I love my bouquet!! I have always wanted an all-tulips bouquet and I initially thought that it will be quite expensive so my alternative would have been a round bouquet of roses. But with Teddy, you can let him know how much is your budget for the flowers and he will work miracles for you hehehe!

I also love how the floral balls (for my Bridesmaids), the hand-tied bouquets (for our moms and my Maid of Honor), the floral wand (for my one & only Flower Girl) and the wristlets or whatever you call it (for our Secondary Sponsors) turned out. I hope these pictures give justice to how beautiful they were on that day.






And the fact that I only have to deal with one supplier (coordination + flowers) was a plus. And a good (oooppss... GREAT) one too!

Chocolate Fountain

Roland Manuel (of Flowers & Events)
Rating: 5++++

It was really Roland (Teddy’s brother) who I met first late last, last year (2005) when I was looking for a chocolate fountain supplier. In fact, he was the 4th supplier we booked (by December 2005)… after we booked the church, the reception hall & the caterer. Honestly, it is quite expensive since you can now avail a small chocolate fountain for more or less 5K diba? What we got naman is the tall fountain and during the bridal fair at the NBC Tent last March 2006 when I met again with Roland to see his brother, Teddy and inquire about the flowers, he told me that he will give me a small chocolate fountain for free and I can have them in two different flavors: dark & milk. Or you can opt for white chocolate. I have always wanted a chocolate fountain and we never regretted getting one.

It was such a big hit to our guests. Although, it took a while for the guests to dip in but when Lawrence’s friends tried it, all the other guests followed suit. Saya nga kasi I saw most of the guests kept coming back for more. Sayang na I was only able to enjoy one serving during the reception since we were not able to eat well… jitters siguro!

There were supposed to be only 5 or 7 dipping goodies included in the package. But I was surprised to see that there were more… really, really more goodies. Hindi talaga nila tinipid and we were even able to bring home the left-overs… ang dami kaya lang matigas na yung chocolates eh we don’t have a fountain at home… huhuhu! pero promise masarap ang chocolate nila and sulit talaga especially for a chocolate lover like me.

Hair & Make-up Artists

Angie Cruz (make-up) & Ogie Rayel (hair)
Rating: 4.5

Unlike other brides, I only had one trial hair & make-up and since my first trial with them were okay, I never bothered to try other artists. Besides, their rates are sooo affordable, I could not resist. Imagine… Php6,000 only for 3 heads + 850 for additional head. Although, they were late for their call time, we were not late for the church so I wouldn’t take that against them. Mabilis din kasi sila magtrabaho pero maganda naman ang output and my make-up stayed on until the end of the reception without any need of retouch. I only wish Ogie stayed even until after the ceremony lang so he can put my hair down for the reception as earlier agreed upon. I would have given them a rating of 5++++.

Church

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Shrine Parish
Rating: 5++++

I have always wanted to walk down a loooong aisle because I will get married once in my life lang naman so make the most of it na. Originally, we wanted San Sebastian Church (San Agustin Church was way too expensive for us!) but we decided in the end to try and find a church that also has a function hall to cut on costs. Not only did Mount Carmel has a long aisle... the longest I have seen so far, it also has a very nice altar. Another plus is a quiet surrounding and accommodating staff especially Ms. Collette. Nung una, I thought mataray ang mga staff nila but when we attended the Pre-Cana seminar, Ms. Collette explained na they will appear nagmamadali on the phone because of so many parishioners they have to attend to. We also had fun during the Pre-Cana seminar. And we even got our marriage certificate already yahoo!

Cake

Sugarbox (of Emily Uy)
Rating: 5

I did not have a debut party back then so this is the first time (and probably the last) that I will have a cake this big and this expensive (according to Ney!!) but it was the most raved part of our wedding. Most of our guests loved our cake and were very impressed with it. Emily's carrot walnut cake is delicious although it is not that moist since fondant but still masarap. I would have given it a rating of ++++ if only Emily remembered that the flavor of the mini-cakes is chocolate. I was only able to find out na carrot walnut yung flavor when I tried our mini-cake after New Year na. Don't worry, the cake was still as good... and not spoiled hehehe!

Reception Venue

Fr. Mark Horan Hall
Rating: 5++++

This venue was a catch! Not only it is cheap but also very spacious (big enough to accommodate even 300 guests), a walking distance from the church and I also find it quite elegant on its own. It even has chandeliers so it looked like a mini-ballroom of a hotel hehehe! Cozy rin ang dating since the room is not too bright kahit lunch pa reception namin. I'm also thankful to Tamayo's for making it look classy on our wedding day and for only Php10,000 who am I to complain?!

Souvenirs

Photomagnets (by Konsepto)
Rating: 5++++

Obviously, I love our souvenirs. It was such a unique idea for something really affordable. Imagine Php 35 only per piece with a minimum of 100 pcs. order + service fee. Okay na diba? We don't want naman something that will just gather dust in the shelves or worst, thrown away. And when we visit our relatives, ang sarap ng feeling that they placed it on their refs. The picture on the right is the lay-out used for our photomagnets.

Although, it took them a while to provide us the soft copy of the pictures taken during the reception. The good news is that our guests were not able to consume all 100 pcs. so we still have about 20 pcs. for our own yahooo!!

Just Married!!

waaahh!! 10 days to go...

10 days to go before our big day. after almost a year & a half of preparations, this is IT!! a couple of things I realized these past few days...

... that even a bride as OC as I am can let go. My motto now is to "let go and let God." I will not allow anything or anyone to dampen my mood. Just let go and if something happens that shouldn't happen or if something that should happen did not happen... waaahh... fine... forget about it. I did what any bride will do for her own wedding and it's now time to enjoy the fruits of our labor. My candle sponsors who are based in Bicol will not be able to attend our wedding because they were greatly affected by the typhoon. So, even my flowergirl (there were only 2 of them) will not be able to attend. I felt sad (and I even wanted to cry but I stop myself) because they are very special to me but I understand. My Kuya and sis-in-law will be the ones to light our candles and 1 flower girl will be just fine. I also found out that one of the groomsmen will not be able to attend because of his school. Again, it's just fine. I can even have my 2 bridesmaids walk together with one of the groomsmen diba. But hubby said may mag-proxy na raw so ok. =) smile and enjoy the experience while it lasts!!

... that my Papa is arriving tomorrow... yipeey!! and I know as soon as he arrives, we will all be busy bee at the house and yup, I almost forgot... the pasalubongs. hihihi! *excited me*

... that I am like any other bride to be's... imagine I'm having wedding nightmares lately... OC OC OC me!

... that this will probably be my last post as a single lady... and that the next time I will post, will be our wedding kuwentos and supplier ratings na (a w@w tradition).

... that I look forward to our bonding moment tonight... foot spa hihihi!

... that even if I don't mind not having a bridal shower, I still look forward tomorrow since my superior informed me that they were throwing me a bridal shower... merienda & kuwentuhan... hihihi *excited again*

... that I have not finished my vow... WHAT?!?

I will probably be on leave starting Wednesday (Dec. 13) so this is going to be a Very Long Break hihihi!

Lapit na...

yup! yup! yup! lapit na talaga... as in we are counting the days na lang... 24 days to go before the 16th (excluding today hehehe *atat*)... well, we still have a few items on our list to take care of like:

1. meeting with Teddy Manuel this Thursday (Nov. 23) for the turn-over... hala! lagot! we need to finalize our guestlist na... still 17 guests to confirm (all from his side hehehe! mostly officemates nya na lang)... so when we meet with Teddy, I can give him the guestlist na and the seatplan...

2. visit Peng of Tamayo's this weekend to settle full payment... kaya we also need to get the guests' confirmation by tomorrow at the latest.

3. settle full payment of our cake from Sugarbox and 80% of the total contract price of our photo/video.

3. need to buy the ff: recordable CDs for the souvenirs; his shoes, belt & inner shirt (for the barong... forgot what it's called?!), sign pens, host & fruits.

4. St. Clare offertory.

5. I'll have to get from ney the small candles (to light the unity candle) & matches.

6. Confession.

... what I'm feeling right now... EXCITED will be an understatement!! I love you ney....