58 days to go!

Just came back from my 5-day wedding preparation in the Philippines. I really could not call it a vacation, I was not able to rest, because our schedule is very hectic. But still, I am happy we were able to accomplish a lot of things. :)

June 22

10: 00 AM - we met with our wedding host, Sweet Casuyon at Shangrila Mall. Eventhough she is not feeling well that day, we still had fun, discussing about the wedding program. It's good to know that I could relate to her, she is so easy to get along with. :)




Me, with Sweet


1:30 PM - we went to Impress Prints at Cubao to choose the color of our envelopes and to clarify some things. I saw the previous drafts of our invites in one of their catalogues. Galing!

4:00 PM - we went to binondo for Hearts & Bells cake tasting. Honestly, I was a bit hesitant to book them, or any supplier for that matter, without any comparison. Well, that is my disadvantage as an overseas bride-to-be. I've learned how to let go, of my desire to canvass every supplier. Plus it was raining very hard, and we almost got lost going to their office. Hahaha! Mom told me, "i-book mo na yan, sayang yung binyahe natin!" Kalurks! In fairness, I like their cake designs! :)

June 23

12:00 PM - My gown fitting with Joe San Antonio. :) Super love my gown!! It's so me! Unconventional but still feminine. We also finalized details for mother's gown and entourage. I cannot post a picture just yet, I wanted it to be a surprise. :)

4:00 PM - Meeting / Ocular with Darlene at our Reception Venue, The Enterprise Center. We super love her talaga! She makes every obstacle seem so easy to deal with! How she deals with us, how she takes care of every wedding detail is so galing! :)

June 24

11:00 AM - Filing of Marriage License at Pasig City Hall. Darlene said it's easier to get Marriage License sa Pasig City Hall than Malabon, and she is right! As always! Ms. May is very flexible and so easy to deal with! Normally, it would take 7-10 working days before we can get the marriage license. In our case, since we cannot personally get the license, she gave us a notice, in order to let Magallanes Church know that we already filed. We can get the license by August na, when we come home for the wedding. :)

This is it!

4:00 PM - we went back to Joe San Antonio for the groom's suit measurements, and more chika with Joe! We love her too, she is so nice and accomodating! Mas excited pa nga sya sa gown fitting ko! Hehehe. :)




Eto si manang, sinusukatan ang groom

 6:30 PM - we had final food tasting / table mock up with K by Cunanan. By this time, super bagyo na talaga but go pa din kami! Because this is our only time to taste the food, which is going to be served at the wedding. :) Everything is so yummy! We were able to decide on most of the dishes, except the main dish. Hehehe. My fave is the waldorf salad, which K customized for us. :)

Eggplant Parmigiana

Clam Chowder

Osso Buco

Mini Burger and Crostinis with Ratatouille

Herbed Spatchcock with oven baked vegetables

Cheesecake, Panna Cotta, Chocolate Mousse, Turon

Baked Fish in cream, sprinkled with slivered almonds.

Waldorf Salad

June 25

1:00 PM - we went to Ihadresses office at Don Antonio Heights QC for our flower girl dresses. My niece had so much fun fitting the dresses!

My flower girl is happy with her dress!

June 26

10:00 AM - we met with Flower Power, which is recommended by Darlene. Super kulit ni Ryan at Jen! I hope they give me a good price for my flowers! :)

Me, with Ryan and Jen

2:00 PM - Canonical Interview with Magallanes Church. After much discussion about our canonical schedule, now it's done! My advise to those who have yet to have their canonical interview, don't fret. Just come with an open heart and a clear mind, just reply to the questions honestly. :)

Whew!!! After this, we rushed home to get our things, because we were also scheduled to go back to Singapore later that night. Oh well, vacations are always bitin!

Accomplishments during the CNY holiday

I'm back from my 4-day Chinese New Year holiday in the Philippines. It was a tiring but very fruitful vacation. I just wish I could still stay longer though... well, all vacations are like that.

Happy to meet my coordinator Darlene of Perfect 10 Weddings, Wedding couturier Joe San Antonio, prospective invitation suppliers and bridal car supplier, Lace Tan of K by Cunanan Catering, HMUA Razel Pong Niu. Unfortunately, I was not able to meet Dylan of Vatel Manila, oh well... there is always next time, I just don't know when it will be.

As expected, Darlene was very punctual. I'm glad I requested for a meeting, because every detail that I'm confused about, she explained to us very well. And of course, she gave us information that she thought we should know, and more supplier recommendations. My mom likes her because she is very detailed, and efficient. She's truly heaven sent!!

That same day, we met Joe San Antonio at her shop in Greenhills. We were late because our meeting with Darlene, unexpectedly extended up to lunch time. But we informed her through text messaging naman. I enjoyed meeting her for the 2nd time, not only because we finally found my wedding gown design. She was very nice and patient with me too! During our first meeting, I was very honest in telling her, that I'm not yet satisfied with the top portion of my wedding gown. After much brain storming and browsing of designs, we finally came up with a design we both loved!!! This is the highlight of my 4-day vacation, I should say!!!

Friday, we met with Lace Tan at Starbucks Galleria. She was very nice too, very child-like coz she looks so young! She showed us pictures of wedding receptions that K have recently done. I love the rectangular tables, it's very elegant and unique! I just have to convince Mr. J if we could use it for our wedding, I know he prefers round tables. Sorry we forgot to take a picture with Lace, maybe next time..

Saturday, I had a trial make-up with Pong at her place in makati. It was supposed to be scheduled for friday but due to miscommunication, it was rescheduled. Pong was very apologetic for her mistake, so she scheduled me the next day even if I know she is busy.

Pong and Jerry is so nice and fun to be with. I'm sure we will have a great time on the wedding day itself, having them around. Everybody loved my make-up!!! It was very simple and light, yet she complimented my eyes and was able to conceal my imperfections. Love it! It's perfect for girls who don't wear make-up everyday.

As for my remaining suppliers, I hope we can book them as soon as possible! But I'm still very happy about my accomplishments!!  Yey to more long holidays and promo airfares! Hehehe!

Online Wedding Registry

I came across this wedding registry website from Bride Tide.

This is for overseas couples, who would like to have a wedding registry for wishes, not stuffs. This is how you ask for monetary gifts, without offending your guests.

Of course, most of your guests have to have credit card, in order for this to work. I'm just a little concerned about the 6% service fee, on top of the amount of the gift. But I guess, this is how they earn money.

Click here for more details.

Meanwhile, I am still trying to find alternative online wedding registry here in Singapore where we will be based after the wedding.

Perfect 10 Weddings

Let's do this backwards, shall we? I will let you know how I found each of my suppliers, including the ones that I booked already. Just this afternoon, I told Mr. JE that the main purpose of creating this blog is to help future bride-to-be(s) in their wedding preparations. After getting engaged, I know how clueless we all can be. It's a way of giving back, because w@wies' wedding blogs helped me a lot too! And of course, I want to chronicle my own wedding preparations.

(logo from Perfect 10 Weddings website)

The first wedding supplier I booked is my wedding coordinator, Darlene Tan of Perfect 10 Weddings. I joined weddings at work (w@w) even before we announced that we are getting married to our respective  families. The first week, I was just lurking through each thread, learning how to interact in a very very active forum like w@w. Imagine, more than one thousand messages per day?!

This particular thread about Darlene caught my attention, a lot of w@wies were raving about how OC, nice and prompt she is. Of course, I emailed her! And she responded to me within a day. She even apologized for replying late, that's how prompt she is.

We set a meeting for her and my sister after she got back from Singapore to celebrate my birthday. That was around August 2010. As you may already guessed, yes, I'm an overseas bride-to-be from Singapore. My sister / maid of honor instantly liked with Darlene! They were all praises for each other, my sister said that their meeting stretched to 2 hours, and was just cut short because she had another client to meet. 

The next day, Darlene emailed me that "parang bride si Mabel (sister), she knew exactly what you wanted, it must be because how close you are as sisters..." I knew right there, that I will book her na, so I asked my sister to pay the downpayment, immediately after we pencil-booked with Magallanes church.