Our wedding day went by so fast, we did not want it to end. Everybody is so happy. Imagine, you were treated like King & Queen. Yun nga lang, may bagyo nung wedding namin, but inspite of that everybody was in high spirits.
Up until now, pag tinitingnan namin ang wedding photo & wedding video, it makes us so happy and proud that we are able to have the wedding, that suits us so much. Not too extravagant (in my opinion, tama lang), yet almost everybody who is important to us, is there to celebrate with us. :)
For the purpose of my non-w@wie blog readers, supplier's ratings is a w@wie's way to give back to our dearest online community for filipino bride-to-be(s). We usually enumerate our suppliers from the church down to the make up artist and rate them on how they performed before, during and even after the wedding. You can rant (at your own risk), praise a certain supplier, depending on how well do you know each one of them.
Here it is, hope it can help you in any way. If you have any questions, just message me or leave a comment on my blog. I seldom check w@w na kasi eh. :)
Rating :
5 - Highest
1 - Lowest
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Church - Saint Alphonsus Mary De Liguori Church (Magallanes Church)
Rating : 5
We love Magallanes Church! Superb architecture, plus ang bait bait ni Ms. Cathy! Laging naka-smile!We booked them around September 2010, immediately after we told our parents that we plan to get married year 2011.
It's the perfect church for us, because it's modern. May website sya, hindi masyadong strict sila Ms. Cathy sa songs and attire, yung wedding aisle is tamang tama lang for my bridal walk and the swinging door is just amazing! Very photogenic!
It's a bit expensive compared to others, but in my opinion it's worth every penny! :)
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Venue - The Enterprise Center
Rating : 5++++
After checking online almost every possible venue around Makati, I almost lost hope and gave in to our parents advice regarding the wedding reception, to book a hotel for our reception venue. They said it's very practical since you will be paying for your accomodation, food and it has a lot of freebies. Well, it's true, but I still feel it's expensive and not for us.
Buti na lang I realized that nothing really comes close to the grandeur that our venue exudes. Opinyon ko lang naman yun, love your own di ba, hehehe! It's really really beautiful! Everything we wanted in a venue and more... high ceiling, glass windows, marble flooring, the elegant chandelier and the best thing about it, is the escalator!!! We were able to utilize the escalator for the entourage and couple entrance, a dream come true! This made our wedding very, very unique. :)
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Wedding Coordinator : Darlene Tan-Salazar of Perfect 10 Weddings
Rating : 5+++++
How can I even begin to praise Darlene? We love her so much, she is heaven-sent!
From my point of view of our wedding, everything looks so seamless! Para syang nanay na ayaw padapuan ang anak nya ng lamok, ganun na ganun ang feeling ko, having her as our coordinator, during my wedding! Hehehe!
Feeling ko every after meet-up namin, lahat ng tanong sa isip ko nasasagot. Masipag din sya mag-email at mabilis magreply. She exudes that certain aura na mataray, pero I think nasa lugar naman kasi sya mag-taray. She knows exactly what she is doing, how to do it and when to do it.
She helped me coordinate my last minute decision to go with Vatel Manila for entourage flowers. I'm so indecisive kasi minsan, she is really patient and helpful. I don't know how haggard it would be, if she is not there to help me and keep me sane.
I know it sounds too good to be true, but in my experience she is an almost perfect coordinator... I guess I'm just lucky to have her. :)
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Photographer : Jayson and Joanne Arquiza
Rating : 5+++
Wedding Link to J&J website : http://www.jaysonandjoanne.com/?p=1373
Prenup Link : http://www.jaysonandjoanne.com/?p=912
We love Jayson and Jo Anne Arquiza!!! We got the wedding DVDs na! Everything's so beautiful! I super love our candid shots, for which J&J is known for. Tamang tama they went to SG last November 2011, so they gave it to us during J&J couples' EB.
Our wedding's main photographer was Jo Anne, because when I inquired with them booked na pala sila for August 27. But we really wanted a photographer that we can be comfortable with, so we decided to book them anyway.
Sobrang humble at bait nila! Plus it really helped that almost all of our suppliers are their friends. Super deserving to be on w@w top 10 for 5 consecutive years!
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Videographer : Phoeben Teocson
Rating : 5+++
Link to PTV website : http://phoebenteocson.com/2011/09/05/moves-like-jaggerjoseph-patricia/
Eventhough I already knew that Phoeben is good, we were still surprised that he came up with a video that we absolutely love!!! Our wedding video was one of their most viewed daw, grabe imagine! Parang artista lang daw ang peg?! hahahahaha!
He captured all the wedding highlights and precious moments so perfectly and he was able to use our requested song "Moves like Jagger!" Such a brilliant videographer!
His videography style is really so bagay to our wedding na may upbeat vibe! :)
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Caterer : K by Cunanan Catering
Rating : 5+++
Eventhough I was not able to taste the food during the wedding, I'd still gladly give them a 5+++ rating, if only for Ms. Lace, our AE. I love the set-up they made on the reception. Simple, not much fuss. Just the way we wanted it. We purposely did not upgrade the reception set-up because of our theme. I was afraid that too much details, would make it look OA.
Our guests were raving about the food! I suppose they all loved the mini-burger appetizer, because my mom said guests were swarming around the waiter as soon as it was brought up to the cocktails area.
Lace is very helpful in customizing the menu, and incorporating "New York." It's really advisable to hire the experts, because they know what they are doing. :)
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Wedding Gown Designer : Joe San Antonio
Rating : 5+++
We love Joe! Everybody in our family and hubby's family loves her too! Maybe because we spent the most time with her, since we got her for my wedding gown, mom's gown, female entourage, flower girl and hubby's suit.
Her designs exudes that edgy and youthful vibe. She specializes in the skirt, so if you prefer an elaborate skirt you'll never go wrong if you book her.
My wedding gown design was a work-in-progress. Naka-2 meetings kami before I had that "this is it" feeling! Everything else followed after that.
She is very patient, in answering my queries through e-mail and sa text, whenever I ask my sister to follow up. Every meeting with her is a blast!
One favor na ginawa nya for me, is hanapin yung fur fabric ng bolero ko. Since I told her only more than 1 month before the wedding, I was hesitant baka di nya magawa. Pero she did, kahit medyo mahirap.
I'm really happy she is my designer! :)
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Entourage Flowers : Vatel Manila
Rating : 5++
I love my bridal bouquet! I won Dylan's w@w auction last year. It was supposed to be peonies, but something happened about his stocks, kaya naiba yung flowers ko. Nonetheless, it's still beautiful. I just wish I booked him earlier. Can you believe I booked him days before our wedding? Ganun ako ka-undecided when it came to my flowers, hahaha. Oh well.
I just have one regret about my transaction with Dylan, I took the time to get to know him more. He seems really nice. But since I was an overseas bride, I only met him on our wedding day when he delivered the flowers.
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Church Flowers : Flower Power
Rating : 5
We loved the simple baby's breath arrangement, just the way we discussed. :)
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Wedding Host : Sweet Casuyon
Rating : 5+++
We love Sweet! Ang galing galing nya! Even my dad was very impressed with her! Clear voice, diction and pronunciation.
I could not forget, how she kept our spirits high just before the couple entrance. She praised my gown, the whole wedding set-up which of course made me happier than I already am. She's really sincere and fun-to-be-with.
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Wedding Cake & Cupcake Favors : Hearts and Bells
Rating : 4
Ang chic ng wedding cake namin! Plus delicious pa!
In my opinion, pinaka-sulit yung mga package price nila! Pero hassle kasi ang layo ng office nila pag mag-food tasting ka! Sa binondo pa!
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String Quartet : Velvet Mood
Rating : 5
The singer assigned to us, have a really beautiful voice. I can really appreciate them nung ceremony, especially nung wedding march ko. Nung reception konti na lang yung participation nila since they have limited song list. Most upbeat songs in my list, kay Elmer ko na lang pinagawa.
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Hair and Make-up : Make up by Pong Niu
Rating : 5++
I felt really beautiful on my wedding day! Thanks to Pong, Jerry & one more MUA which I forgot his name, but sya yung nag-retouch sakin nung nasa reception venue na. Super kalog din nila!
Specialty ni Pong ang eyes, she is really good! :)
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Lights and Sounds : Rejectkrew
Rating : 5++
Ang ganda ng ginawa ni Elmer sa reception venue! I just told Darlene to tell Elmer na sya na ang bahala kung ano gagawin nya. 2010 supplier of the year yata yan! Hehehe. He is very humble and unassuming! :)
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Photobooth : Partypics Live
Rating : 5
Partypics was recommended by Darlene, my coordinator. My transactions with Nadia went smooth naman, although feeling ko hindi masyado na-utilize ang photobooth namin because of the location (upper lobby). Not Partypics' fault though, di ko lang sya masyado napag-isipan.
I love our backdrop! :)
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Wedding Invitations : Impress Prints by Calliope Printing
Rating : 5
I wanted New York Skyline invites. After lots of e-mails & revisions, we finalized and came up with a really nice design! Medyo limited lang yung envelope colors nila, so we bought yellow envelopes and dressed up the invites para mas cute! :)
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Hotel for Preps : Makati Shangrila
Rating : 5++
Shangri-la is Shangri-la! Excellent Service, ang sarap pa ng buffet breakfast!!! Malakas din ang wi-fi! No problems at all, during check-in, stay and check-out. Nakapag-pictorial pa ako sa lobby and sa grand staircase. :)
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DIYs
1. Male Entourage Boutonnieres
2. Dressed up the wedding invitation, wax seal
3. Bought & Assembled 3D Empire State & Statue of Liberty
4. Colored M&M Wedding Favors & Packaging bought from rmboxes.
A few wedding wisdom (wisdom daw o! as if hehe) that we'd like to impart
1. Hire professionals. If you must hire non-professionals, then you must really really trust them for you to get them to be a part of your big day. Especially sa wedding coordinator and emcee, that some tend to entrust sa mga friends or friends of friends. Syempre if you let your cousin be the wedding coordinator, medyo mahirap sya utusan, if hustle time na.
2. Before hiring suppliers, research research! If you're a w@wie then this is not a hard task. Everybody is so helpful when somebody asks for review for a certain supplier.
3. In connection to number 1, once you've booked.. Trust your suppliers. And stop shopping around na! There is a reason kung bakit mo sila nagustuhan in the first place. In some instances, they may have their own shortcomings, like we all do. Kung nagkakaintindihan kayo, you'll sort it out. So find time to get to know them and befriend them.They will appreaciate it.
4. Learn when to delegate. There will come a time during the wedding preps, na ma-re-realize mo na hindi ka si superwoman! Hahahaha!
5. During the wedding day itself, just like what our w@wies is saying... Let go and let God! During our wedding day, I was unbelievably calm up until our couple / entourage dance. Sa dance lang talaga ako kinabahan! :)
6. Don't forget to say Thank You to everyone who helped you along the way. :)
You have to accept the fact, na wala namang wedding na perfect. Siguro from an outsider's point of view somebody's wedding looks perfect. But it's not. Get over it, and be happy that you married the love of your life. :)
Instead, just count your blessings.. God is so good! These are what we consider as blessing during our wedding day... I'm sure there is so much more that I can think of. :)
1. Our wedding video is unbelievably awesome!
2. The escalator used as couple / entourage entrance made our wedding reception venue so unique!
3. Almost all of our suppliers, did good and they are very nice and accomodating!
4. Thank God we were able to finish our DIYs.
5. Inspite of the heavy rains (which we considered as a blessing!), our guests attendance is almost 94%.
6. Most of the guests stayed, until the end of the wedding reception program.
7. We were blessed with a lot of gifts! (monetary, helping hand, appliances etc)
8. Our wedding dance was a blast and my entourage was seriously practicing the dance moves!
9. The speech from our family members and friends, all are very heartwarming.
10. Our immediate family is complete on our wedding day.
I'm so thankful to be part of this amazing community, which made my wedding preparations much easier. I would always recommend w@w to my engaged friends. I'll miss everybody when I unsubscribe soon, and who knows I might subscribe to n@w naman. Thanks Ms. Benz! Moving forward! :)
Happy preps everyone! Have a good life! :)
P.S. Read this blog entry by Alessandra Lanot, meron syang tips for bride-to-be & newly married couples. :) http://life-after-breakfast.blogspot.com/2012/01/if-these-rings-could-talk.html
