Food Tasting # 7: Quido's Grill

Last Saturday, we traveled all the way to Roxas Boulevard for our initial food tasting with Quido's Grill. Since I spent my last two food tastings sampling the dishes of caterers that I know I couldn't afford, it was now time to get serious with our wedding preps and find a caterer that is within our limited budget. Luckily, Quido's fits that bill perfectly.

Unlike the private food tastings that we had with the previous caterers, our food tasting with Quido's was held two hours before an actual wedding, and in the actual reception venue to boot! Ms. Gina, the proprietress of Quido's, invited us to a wedding in the Ramon Magsaysay Center in Manila so that we could see their styling in person instead of just looking at pictures of their sample setups.

I've heard that Quido's setups were just basic, so I was expecting that their styling would only involve matching the linens with the couple's motif. But I was really shocked when I saw their setup at the RMC last Saturday. Ang ganda! The motif was black and red, and Quido's was able to make plain function hall look beautiful and classy. Just look at the pictures and see for yourself. (ADDENUM: The couple's backdrop isn't part of Quido's package; it was sourced from a different supplier. According to sis kohlrouge, it was from Mr. Hardinero. Thank you sis for reminding me about this.)

Not really part of Quido's package. :P

I loved how the drapes and the Japanese lanterns were able to conceal the drab ceilings and add a touch of elegance to the venue. Now I understand why people would pay a large amount of money just for those pieces of cloth. Ang ganda naman kasi eh! I also thought I was okay with having monoblock chairs for the guests, but when I saw all those tiffany chairs, I suddenly changed my mind. Now I want tiffany chairs for our guests! Oh diba, fickle-mindedness at its finest! Of course, that would mean additional expenses if we would choose another caterer, but with Quido's, the tiffany chairs are already included in their packages. So I give points to them for that.

But what really made us stop and stare were their centerpieces. For this wedding, Quido's used tall branches with little votive candles hanging on them. It might seem too plain at first, but once all lights were turned off and the candles are lit, that's when you'd see the true beauty of this centerpiece. I wasn't able to take pictures of the centerpieces with the lights off because guests were already arriving in the venue so we had to leave. Use your imagination na lang. Basta the effect was so dreamy and romantic.

The only problem that I had with the setup was that the tables were a bit crowded since they tried to sit so many people in one table. It made eating a bit tricky because I kept on bumping elbows with my brother. But it could be because the wedding had supposedly 230 guests so they had to find a way to fit all those people in the RMC.

Now it's time to judge Quido's food. We were served nachos, which is part of their Mexican bar, for the appetizer. My mom owns a food stall that sells her homecooked nachos and tacos, so she has very high standards when it comes to Mexican food. Unfortunately, Quido's nachos failed to impress her. The sauce was not spicy and there was barely enough meat in it, just lettuce and cheese. Plus, the nacho chips weren't crunchy at all! I'm sad to say that this dish was a disappointment.

Nachos

Our five main entrees—beef, chicken, fish, veggies and pasta—plus steamed rice were served in one plate so as to save time eating. Luckily, the plate was big enough to carry that much food without getting everything mixed up.

We had Fettucini Carbonara for our pasta. I have a bias for pasta with white sauces so you can expect that I'd find this dish yummy. The noodles were soft yet firm and the sauce has the right amount of cream—not too much that I'd immediately get tired of it; not too little that there would be no more flavor to it. I also liked that it was not too heavy on the stomach, so you'd be able to enjoy the other entrees without feeling that you're ready to burst from all the food.

For our beef dish, we had the Roast Beef ala Lengua Pastel. I thought this dish was delicious because the meat was very soft and tender, but it was a little plain because there was no sauce for added flavor. It was just a slab of meat on the plate. Still, the meat tasted wonderful because its juicyness made up for its lack of sauce. Wow, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

We then had the Chicken Barbecue for our chicken entree. We had a bit of confusion with this dish because our AE told us that it was chicken teriyaki, but it tasted just like chicken barbecue. It was kind of a shock for our taste buds because we really thought we were eating chicken teriyaki when, in fact, it was a different dish altogether. Still, the chicken barbecue was very appetizing because the chicken was savory through and through, from its skin down to its bones. Malasang-malasa talaga.

For our fish entree, we had Fish Fillet with Mayo Garlic Sauce. This dish tasted fine although I was not that impressed because it was just ordinary fish fillet with mayonaisse on it. I couldn't even taste the garlic in the sauce. But my parents and brother thought it was delicious. Oh well, different strokes for different people.

We had Buttered Vegetables with Quail Eggs for our veggie fix. Again, my parents and I have different opinions on this. My mother said the vegetables tasted bland, but my brother and I thought otherwise. We thought it was a delectable dish, with just the right amount of butter to add flavor to the greens. The quail eggs were a nice touch too. And surprisingly, we finished this dish before eating the other entrees—a surprising feat for two non-vegetarians.

For desserts and refreshments, we had Mango Jelly and Iced Tea. After tasting K by Cunanan's raspberry iced tea, I had high hopes for our refreshments, but unfortunately, Quido's iced tea didn't even pass my standards. It was just the ordinary Nestea iced tea drink, and what's even worse, it was tasteless! I might as well been drinking brown water.

And just like our Chicken Barbecue/Chicken Teriyaki fiasco, we were again confused by the Mango Jelly. The AE said it was mango yogurt or mango jelly, but when we tasted it, there was no hint of yogurt or even jello in it. Instead, the mango jelly was sweet and so creamy that it was dripping down my spoon to the table line (sorry to the wedding couple). Some people might find this dessert too sweet though. Nakakaumay kasi siya eh.

Mango Jelly?

VERDICT: There were some hits and misses with the food they served us, but I still found it satisfying enough. For someone with a simple palate, Quido's homestyle cooking was already delicious and filling. Plus, I really liked their setup during the wedding in RMC. Their package is very affordable (57,000 for 120 pax), which already includes a free chocolate fountain and tiffany chairs for all the guests. Of course, you had to pay for the 10%SC, 12%VAT (which can be waived) and a 3,500 delivery charge, but it is still relatively cheaper than the other caterers. They are already accepting bookings for 2014 so I'd be able to lock in their current rates and save a lot of money should I decide to book them. Okay, now I'm confused. I don't know who to pick! I guess I just have to wait once I'd taste Patio de Tata Roque's dishes again before I make a decision.

QUIDO'S GRILL
233A National Road Bayanan, Muntinlupa City
703-6272 /0917-5027472
quidosgrill@yahoo.com

Food Tasting # 6: K by Cunanan

My family and I had our initial food tasting with K by Cunanan at their home office earlier today. This was my sixth food tasting session since the start of our wedding preps. Oh how I love free, noncommittal buffet lunches! :)

We didn't see any samples of K by Cunanan's wedding setups, but if our table today was any indication of their styling, then I guess I don't have to worry about how our reception would look like. Their styling was very classy; simple yet elegant. And while I prefer my flowers to be bold and bright, I think the peach and light pink roses used as our centerpiece are perfect for shabby chic and vintage-themed weddings.

My parents waiting for their food

I was surprised that Jieza, the AE assigned to me, didn't come out to discuss the packages with me when we arrived. Instead she just allowed us to eat the food first in peace, which is actually a good thing because I got to enjoy our food even more. :)

Our menu for today included some of K by Cunanan's bestsellers. We loved their Raspberry Iced Tea. This is probably one of the best iced teas I've ever tasted because it is very refreshing and it doesn't have that cough syrup-taste that some raspberry iced teas have. I thought it tasted like the gelatins I used to eat as a child. I also love that it's bottomless. I had at least four refills during our food tasting and I still wanted more.

Raspberry Iced Tea

For our cocktails, we had Cheese & Roasted Pepper Quesadillas and Pan de Sal Bruschetta.  I liked that both appetizers were not too heavy that you'd feel too full to eat afterwards, but I was still disappointed by the choices they served us today. The quesadillas were too cheesy that you could barely taste the roasted pepper. In fact, I thought they were just simple cheese quesadillas; I only knew that there were supposed to be roasted peppers when I read our menu hours later. Meanwhile, the bruschetta was cold and tough to chew. While the mango salsa on top was a sweet treat, I thought the adobo flakes were a bit burned, giving the bruschetta a bitter aftertaste. Oh well, maybe we could have fared better with the Hoisin Crackling PorkWrap.

Cheese & Roasted Peppers Quesadillas

Pan de Sal Bruschetta

We then had the Roasted Corn Soup. When I heard about this dish, I was initially thinking along the lines of the Knorr Corn Soup, the typically white-colored soup that is sold in the local market. So I was pleasantly surprised to see the creamy, orange soup in front of me. Kakaiba siya eh! The corn taste was prominent in every bite (or slurp) of the soup, although my brother kept complaining that it was too sweet. I don't know, my brother has weird tastebuds.

Roasted Corn Soup

Afterwards, we had the Grilled Caesar Salad to satisfy our veggie cravings. I don't know why they called it the Grilled Caesar Salad because it doesn't looked like it's grilled to me. It's the typical Caesar salad but with a twist: instead of the Caesar dressing, it uses melted cheese, like the one used for nachos. Plus, there were also bits of parmesan cheese sprinkled on top of the salad. All in all, it's a nice salad dish, but I'd prefer to taste something totally different, like the Barbecue Chicken Salad perhaps.

Grilled Caesar Salad

Now on to the main courses. K by Cunanan served us four main dishes—pork, chicken, fish and pasta— and rice. For our rice, we were given the famous Carrot Rice to taste. I don't like carrots so I was scared that the rice would taste all-carroty. But surprisingly, it didn't taste anything like carrots at all! It was just plain yummy. Now this is a good way to get some Vitamin A into our system. Hehe.

Carrot Rice

For our pork entree, we had the Barbecued Baby Back Ribs and Corn with Parsley Butter. As I told you before, I love baby back ribs so I couldn't find anything to criticize about this dish. However, I think K by Cunanan's ribs are better than the ones we ate during Josiah's food tasting. Their ribs had more meat to its bones and has even more flavor because of the barbecue ranch sauce. In fact, the whole dish was just oozing with barbecue sauce! Of course, the corn was a welcome addition to the dish as well. Basta, this is definitely a winner for me! :)

Barbecued Baby Back Ribs and Corn with Parsley Butter

We had an unusual choice for our pasta dish: Spicy Tuyo Angel Hair Pasta. This dish reminded me of the Garlic Tuyo Pasta that I ate in Lime 88 in Mandaluyong. While Lime 88's pasta uses white sauce to offset the saltiness of the dried fish, K by Cunanan's pasta uses olive oil to complement the tuyo and to contain its flavor. You can still taste the tuyo from the noodles even if you haven't eaten the actual bits. The only downside is that the noodles can be too salty for some, but blame it on the tuyo. So if you're looking for an alternative from the usual white and red sauces, try this dish.

Spicy Tuyo Angel Hair Pasta

Our chicken entree on our menu is the Japanese Rolled Chicken with Cheese and Leeks in Teriyaki Glaze. Wow, that was a mouthful. Again, I love this dish because the chicken meat is thick, soft and juicy. The teriyaki glaze gives a certain sweetness to the chicken. Now this is a perfect partner to the carrot rice. Yum!

Japanese Rolled Chicken with Cheese and Leeks in Teriyaki Glaze

Our last main course was the Seared Sesame Crusted Tuna with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes. Honestly, I think K by Cunanan is really generous when it comes to their main dishes because the tuna they served us was again big and juicy! It's almost as thick as the slabs of the baby back ribs. Don't believe me? Just look at the photo below. The only thing that I didn't like here was the wasabi mashed potatoes, but that's because I hated anything with wasabi on it. But if you eat the tuna along with the mashed potatoes, it can offset spicyness of the wasabi.

Seared Sesame Crusted Tuna with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

And now for desserts! We had the Flambeed Mangoes and Vanilla Ice Cream and Dark Chocolate and Banana Fritters. Now I was again disappointed with the choices they gave us. I was really expecting to be wow-ed by the desserts, but the selections that they gave us were simply ordinary desserts but with fancier names. The flambeed mangoes and vanilla ice cream was just vanilla ice cream with mango bits on it while the dark chocolate and banana fritters was just turon with dark chocolate sauce and a hint of cinnamon in it. Not that impressive.

Flambeed Mangoes and Vanilla Ice Cream; Dark Chocolate and Banana Fritters

VERDICT: Honestly, I just tried K by Cunanan's food for the experience because they don't allow price locks, so even if I booked them today, I'd still be affected in case they will increase their rates. Still, they were kind enough to accommodate me and my family for food tasting. My AE even went as far as asking me for details on what color of linens would I liked to use for VIP tables! I haven't even thought whom to pick for my principal sponsors. Well, that goes to show how helpful their AEs are. :)

K BY CUNANAN
#15 Emilio Jacinto St. Ayala Heights, Quezon City
711-0940, 711-0952
kbycunanancatering@gmail.com

Wedding Dilemma # 3: First Look or Not?

A few days ago, I asked my fellow W@Wie brides what are their opinions regarding the “First Look”. This is where the bride and groom meet before the wedding ceremony—a break from the tradition where the groom only has his first glance of his bride while she’s walking down the aisle.  Most of them answered that while it is a nice idea, they still like to experience the drama and suspense of seeing their groom for the first time at the ceremony itself. 

I’m also torn with this idea, mostly because I don’t know if my parents would allow me to do this. They are sticklers for tradition, so I’m sure this moment of rebelliousness would not sit well with the both of them. And yes, I would also like to see how Mox would react once he sees me in all my bridal glory walking towards him. Would he cry? Would he laugh? Would he be rendered speechless by my gorgeousness (haha, ang feeling ko!)? I’m just scared that a “first look” session would ruin that special moment for the both of us.

So I listed the pros and cons of the “first look” to help me decide on whether we should do this or not:

PROS

• Less stressful wedding timeline. Photographers don’t have to squeeze family formals and pictures of the bridal party into the cocktail hour because they can already take these photos once the “first look” is done.  So everyone, including the bride and groom, can get to the reception earlier than expected and enjoy the cocktail hour with the rest of the guests.
  

• More time to do romantic shots. Again, the photographers would have more time to take more creative and romantic shots of the bride and groom together. In short, more beautiful pictures to choose from!

• Hair and make-up would still remain “fresh”. Knowing how emotional I can be, you can bet I’ll be crying buckets during my wedding day. And so, I’m nervous to think how I’d look like during those after-ceremony pictures. Think Eugene Domingo with red nose and puffy eyes. Scary.

• Having a private moment with your husband. This is the main reason why I’d like to do a “first look” session with Mox. A wedding can be stressful and chaotic because you have to follow the timeline to the tee lest you want to run late on your special day. There would be little time to have an intimate moment with your groom, not until the wedding proper is over. With a “first look” session, you would have luxury to hug, kiss, and talk before the wedding funfare begins, without everyone fussing over you. Only you and your husband-to-be (and the photographers) will witness this very emotional moment, making it even more special.

CONS

• It’s against tradition. This would definitely be a problem if you are a traditional bride or if you have traditional parents

• It can kill the suspense of the “aisle reveal”. Most brides dream of seeing their groom’s face light up as they’re walking down the aisle, but a “first look” may dim the groom’s excitement because he has already seen the bride beforehand.

Honestly, I'm all set to doing the "first look" with Mox, provided that my parents wouldn't object. Mox and I are not very showy with our emotions when we are in public, so I bet we’d be trying our hardest not to cry in front of our guests during our wedding day (although, I'll surely fail this one). That's why I would like to have a private moment with him before the ceremony starts because that's when we would tell all our heartfelt feelings to one another without everyone's prying eyes on us. Mox may act all tough and strong when he's with friends, but whenever he's alone with me, that's when his sensitive side appears. So yes, expect a few tears and lots of cheesiness during our "first look" session. While the romantic pictures are a great bonus, I'm just excited that I'd be able to hug, kiss and be with Mox even for just a little while during our special day.

Here are some of my favorite "first look" photos courtesy of Google. Check out how happy and kilig the couples are. :)

 

 

 

 

Food Tasting # 5: Josiah's Catering

Josiah’s Catering was not part of our original options for our caterer because of their high rates, but I still scheduled a food tasting with them just to see if their food is as delicious as others say. Plus, you’ll never know if they can offer a package that can fit our budget.  I brought my mother and younger brother along with me during our food tasting last Saturday because they are our certified “food critics”. In other words, sila ang mga maarte sa pagkain! Haha. This food tasting, and the others that would follow, was also my Mother’s Day treat to my mom. Oh diba, double purpose ang event.

Before the food tasting proper, my AE, MeAnn, explained the inclusions of their wedding packages. Our chosen package was the P995 per head, which includes welcome cocktails, a soup and bread station, salad, chicken or pork, fish, beef, pasta, two drinks and four desserts. But MeAnn offered to upgrade our pasta dish to a pasta bar, our salad dish to a salad bar, and our dessert selection to a buffet of 15 desserts plus a chocolate fountain with three kinds of chocolate, all for free! The total package price was P164,000 inclusive of the 10% service charge. But as you’ve read from my previous post, I had to decline their offer due to budget constraints.

Now on to the food! The food tasting was originally only for two people but the servings were large enough to share so all three of us were full afterwards. The dishes were served one at a time so we were able to truly savor them without having our taste buds confused from all the flavors.

For our soup, we had the Wild Mushroom Soup. Sorry we didn’t take any pictures of it because we already slurped it down before we got the camera out of my bag. The soup was rich and creamy, with just the right amount of saltiness. This dish alone is already filling because you get a mouthful of mushrooms in every bite, unlike other soups where you can count their contents in just one hand. 
 
Afterwards, they served us the rice dishes (Parsley Rice and Mushroom & Walnut Risotto) and the fish dishes (Parmesan & Herb Crusted Fish Fillet in Tomato Herb Sauce and Pan-Seared Norwegian Pink Salmon with Mango Butter Sauce). The parsley rice tasted like steamed rice with bits of parsley sprinkled on top, which was how it looked like. Nothing too special. The risotto was a different story though; it was so full of flavor that you can even enjoy it without any entrée. Kanin pa lang, ulam na!

For the fish dishes, I liked the salmon better than the fish fillet mainly because I rarely had the chance to eat the former. The salmon meat was very tender and soft, and the mango butter sauce added more flavor to the meat's natural sweet taste. As for the fish fillet, I couldn't quite taste the parmesan in the dish, although it was still delicious because of the tomato sauce.

Sorry, forgot to take pictures of the dishes individually

On to the veggies! I don’t think I’ve stressed this enough, but I’m not a vegetable lover. Still, I thought Josiah’s Baked Stuffed Zucchini was one of the best-tasting veggies I've ever eaten because the zucchini was very crispy and the filling on top (I forgot what it was) was able to mask the veggie taste that I hate. But for the Eggplant Parmigiana, I thought the parmesan sauce was a bit too much; in fact, you could barely taste the eggplant in there. Puro sauce na keso lang nakakain mo.
 

Eggplant Parmigiana

Baked Stuffed Zucchini

Again, I didn't take any photos of the Western US Roast Beef with Pepper Mashed Potato because I was too hungry. My brother didn't like this dish because he said it was too bland. Even with gravy on top, the beef lacked flavor. Only the pepper mashed potato tasted great. I think the best way to eat this dish is to mix the beef with the mashed potato, and then eat it with the mushroom and walnut risotto so that the flavors would truly come out.

For the pasta, we had two dishes: Penne with Seafood and Mango Cream Sauce and Penne with Seafood and Sundried Tomato Pesto. Honestly, I don't know what a sundried tomato is and how it would taste like, but the penne with seafood and sundried tomato pesto was definitely a winner. Everyone loved this dish because the tomato sauce has a distinctive taste and yet it is not as sour as the ordinary tomato sauces. It is a bit too salty though, so maybe we can ask the chef to tone it down next time. The pasta was also full of seafood so it was very filling.

I liked the penne with seafood and mango cream sauce because the sweetness of the sauce brought by the mangoes was not too overpowering so there was no umay factor. However, I couldn't find any seafood at all in this dish, only noodles. So yes, minus points for me.

Penne with Seafood and Sundried Tomato Pesto

Penne with Seafood and Mango Cream Sauce

Our package does not include a seafood dish, but MeAnn still gave us some Prawns with Lemon Butter Sauce to taste. I love prawns so I knew I would like this dish. And yes I was right! The prawns were already cut open so all you had to do was to scrape the meat off and dip it into the lemon butter sauce. Bits of garlic were also sprinkled on top to give it more flavor. But just like the sundried pesto, the lemon butter sauce was too salty.

Prawns with Lemon Butter Sauce

We only had one pork dish: Baby Back Ribs. Again, I love baby back ribs so I'm pretty biased with this dish. It has the sweet-salty barbecue taste that I love. The blurry photo below says it all. I was too excited to eat this dish so the camera was shaky when I took the picture. I want to finish everything then and there because the meat was so juicy and tender. A must-try, I should say! :)

Baby Back Ribs

And now for our chicken entree. Honestly I forgot the name of this dish. I don't know if this is the Mandarin Roasted Chicken with Orange Sauce or the Asian Roasted Chicken with Sesame Sauce. All I know is that while the dish was delicious, I was not too pleased with it because the sauce was again too salty that I couldn't taste the chicken properly. My mother also didn't like this dish but my brother thought it was delicious. Oh well, kanya-kanyang taste yan.

Forgot the name of this dish :(

For our desserts, we had Blueberry Cheesecake, Creme Caramel and Chocolate Cake. I liked the chocolate cake because it was moist and had the right amount of bittersweetness, but my brother thought it was too bitter. And while he loved the blueberry cheesecake, I thought it was too sour. You can barely taste the cheese in it too. My brother and I agreed with the creme caramel though. It was not too sweet so you can enjoy it again and again without the panguumay.

And to wash all that food down, we had Peach Iced Tea for refreshments. The peach taste was a refreshing treat from all the generic iced teas out there. Yummy!

VERDICT: As you all knew, I was so tempted to book Josiah's because of its attractive freebies and delicious food. However, I was right. Our wedding budget simply could not allow us to book them. Oh well, on to the next caterer.

This month of May is actually food tasting month because after my food tasting with Josiah's, I will have one with K by Cunanan, Quido's Grill and possibly Passion Cooks. So stay tuned with my reviews about them in my later posts. :)

JOSIAH'S CATERING
34 East Drive, Marikina Heights, Marikina
475-2703

Rants of a Budget Bride

Our wedding day is still about two years away, but as early as now, I'm already experiencing wedding-related stress caused by budgeting problems and my overbearing mother.

My mom, younger brother and I had our food tasting with Josiah's Catering earlier today. I'll tell you more about the food tasting in a later post, but to cut a long story short, I was so tempted to book them on the spot because of the attractive package they offered me. MeAnn, my AE, told me that they currently have a promo that would allow me to lock their current price rates and even get a discount. Plus, she also offered me numerous freebies like a pasta bar, salad bar and dessert buffet with 15 kinds of desserts. Yes, you read it right: FIFTEEN DESSERTS!

However, the catch is you have to book them immediately to avail of the promo. Since I wanted to compute first whether it would still fit our budget, and Mox wasn't with us to give his opinion, I had to postpone making the decision. But after some computations, I found that we would exceed our wedding budget to almost P60,000! Even Mox was stunned by how much we would spend if we got Josiah's that he immediately voted against the idea. So there, I had to let go of my dreams of a Judy Unson cake (a freebie) and my 15 types of dessert, not because we couldn't afford it, but because we didn't want to spend this much money for a one-day event.

And then there's my mother. She can be overbearing and pakialamera at times, but I think she's now becoming a momzilla! Ever since she learned that we were planning for our wedding, she kept on giving unsolicited advice and making side comments about how much we are spending for our wedding. She couldn't believe we would spend P350,000 for the event. She thought P100,000 was more than enough! Maybe during her time, but nowadays, that would just cover the caterer's fee.

And yes, we even fought about the guest list. But unlike other moms who want to invite their amigas to the wedding, she wants us to trim down our guest list! She thinks we have too many guests at 150. Of course, 150 might seem to much for me because I have a small family and a small circle of friends, but I also have Mox to think about. Mox has a big family and wants to invite most of his close friends to our wedding. I don't want to deprive him of spending this very special day with the people he love. Respeto lang naman.

She's even meddling with our plans after the wedding! We're thinking of living in Pasig or Mandaluyong because I work in Makati and Mox works in Boni, so we want to live somewhere that is near those two locations. But my mom kept on insisting we find a place in Marikina, where I currently live, so that she would be able to take care of our future children whenever we would go to work. She's even implying that it would be for the good of everybody if I just follow her. I know she means well, but c'mon, isn't it about time that I become independent and make my own decisions? Sometimes, she can be so demanding that it's becoming annoying.

Sorry for all these rants, I just have to release all this negative energy.

DIY: Wedding Monogram

I spent the whole day practicing my DIY skills for our wedding. This time, I attempted to make our wedding monogram using Photoshop. Since the only designing tool that I use is Paint (and that is to just crop my face out of bad pictures), I had to search for tutorials for Photoshop newbies like me. Then I spent the rest of the day trying to make sense of the different tools and functions of the software. I now have more respect for the graphic artists and designers out there. Nakakahilo ang Photoshop, promise.

Good thing I found this blog that helped me through the process in creating our monogram:. Wedding Monograms Tutorials. There are various tutorials here that can help DIY brides create different styles for their monograms to suit their theme or motif.

After spending the day tinkering with Photoshop, here is what I came up with:

I don't know if this will make the cut for our wedding monogram, but hey, I'm still proud of my little creation. I may be tooting my own horn a bit, but I think it's beautiful. Pagbigyan na, first time makagawa ng ganito eh. And in Photoshop too!

But I never thought making this baby can be so time-consuming. Maybe I should just leave all the monogram-designing and invitation-layouting to Mox. After all, he is the expert.

A Bride's Realization

A few weeks ago, Mox and I had a huge fight because he would rather sleep all day than look for possible churches for our wedding. He thought it was still too early to prepare; I thought I was the only one who wanted to get married. It bothered me that he wasn’t interested in preparing for our wedding. He wouldn’t accompany me to supplier meetings and he would always complain whenever I’m taking too long at bridal fairs. His indifference alarmed me to the point that I was scared the wedding would not push through anymore because he no longer wanted to get married. I know, I’m one paranoid bride-to-be.

I aired my sentiments to my fellow brides in W@W, looking for sympathy, but they told me to just relax because our wedding is still almost two years away. “Once your wedding is near, your groom will be more hands-on in your preps,” they said. But I was being stubborn and overdramatic. I still thought that Mox no longer wanted to be with me because he didn’t care about our wedding anymore. Diba, ang drama ko lang. I began to question his love for me. I thought he didn’t love me enough because he blatantly refused to support me in my mission to plan our dream wedding (or so I thought). I was THIS close to calling the whole thing off because I was too hurt from his apparent disinterest. My inner drama queen just wouldn’t rest.

As I cried myself to sleep, I suddenly felt a warm, wet towel around my face. I opened my eyes and saw Mox quietly wiping my tears away. After staring at each other for what seemed like forever, he finally hugged me tightly and said, “Gusto pa rin kitang pakasalan dahil mahal na mahal kita.” That simple statement was enough to make all the animosity and doubt in my mind disappear.

But that's not all. He brought his laptop along and showed me some of his own "research": bookmarked links of apartments for rent and houses for sale in Pasig and Mandaluyong. As I watch him talking animatedly on how many rooms he would like our future house to have, I just melted and fell in love with him again. I didn’t care anymore if he doesn’t help me with the wedding preps; all I know was this was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. The man who would rather focus in preparing for our married life than in an extravagant one-day affair. The man who was compassionate enough to make sure I’m all right, even though we just had a big fight. The man who was not yet ready to give up on me even though I was practically forcing him to, given my bridezilla tendencies.

Wedding preparations should never be a source of stress for the couple. It should never cause a gap between a groom and his bride. Rather, it should serve as a test of the couple's compatibility, their ability to compromise, and their love and respect towards one another. I almost failed this test because I was ready to give up, but luckily, my love for my husband-to-be prevailed. 

I’ve finally realized that even though my fiancé is not that outwardly enthusiastic about our wedding preps, he is still excited about married life; he is still looking forward to being married to me. Yes, I might still pick a fight with him once in a while and nag him about being more involved in our wedding preps, but never again will I doubt his love for me. Lesson learned.

Weddings last one day; Marriage lasts forever

Fruity Centerpieces

Every time I'd search for pegs for a beach-themed wedding reception, I would always find blue candles floating on water, shells and sand scattered on the table, or beach pails as centerpieces. These ideas are all beautiful, but since my theme is already very common, I want my reception to look unique. I want to veer away from the usual beachy centerpieces and yet find things that would scream "tropical island paradise"!

Then I fell in love with the idea of using fruits as centerpieces. Not only does it exudes the tropical vibe that I want (imagine yourself stranded on an island with nothing but fruits to eat), but it also brightens up the reception. Everything is just so colorful, which would look gorgeous in our wedding photos! Plus, you can even eat the fruits once the reception is over. It's a win-win situation! :)

Here are some inspirations that I found for our reception. Since our motif is turquoise and orange, I'm thinking of using oranges as centerpieces, but we can also add lemons and limes for variety. We can also combine the fruits with some flowers, although I'm still undecided whether to used tall vases or just short ones. Oooh, now I'm excited for our detailing! Hopefully, our caterer would help us execute this idea of mine. :)