We Won Another Freenup! :)

I am always on the lookout for more wedding promos to join. Last month, I chanced upon the website of Chasing Tales Photography and saw that they are offering a summer promo.

Yes, it's another chance to win a free prenup shoot! Since I wanted to have another freenup (yeah, I'm vain that way! Haha!), I decided to join. All I had to do was to like their Facebook page and email them our concept for the freenup. Five couples would be chosen for the freenup, which meant more chances of winning! Yey! :)

Sure enough, two weeks ago I received an email from them saying that Mox and I are one of the lucky couples who won the freenup! Yey! :) They didn't specify any shooting dates for the freenup, so I decided to schedule ours for August. I know that is a rainy month, but I want ample time to prepare for our freenup. Plus, we will be very busy in the Ber months since we plan to shoot our Save-the-Date video in October and have our prenup shoot with Osep&Mimi in November. So August is the only possible month for the freenup shoot. Oh diba, parang artista lang. Fully booked ang schedule! Haha!

I already have a concept in mind, but now I'm thinking of possible venues that will allow us to execute our peg. I also need to rack my brain for the clothes that we will wear for the shoot. Naku, eto nanaman tayo. Pahirapan nanaman sa paghahanap ng damit para kay Mox. Haha! Oh well, wish us luck you guys! :)

Wedding Wishes: The SM Bridal Registry Event

I was one of the lucky couples who were invited to Wedding Wishes, an exclusive event organized by BridalBook, in partnership with the SM Gift Registry. The event, which was held at the Homeworld section in SM Makati, featured several speakers who tackled on different topics such as decorating ideas for your first home, the different cutlery and kitchenware available, and even styling tips for your honeymoon!

Since the event was held at the furniture/appliance section of the department store, we were seated at comfortable, plush sofas with beautiful flower centerpieces on the coffee tables. Relax na relax lang. Haha! And can I just say, I really love their centerpieces. See how pretty they are?

I was late when I arrived at the venue, so the second speaker, Shaira Luna, was already presenting her slides. Yes, Shaira Luna, the Promil kid. I worked with her for a photo shoot before in my previous job, so it was nice to see a familiar face again.

Shaira is a professional photographer so she shared some tips on how to create the perfect pictures for our honeymoon. One tip that I remember is to use the white balance feature of your camera to offset the harshness of the light of your surroundings. Sometimes the lights would cast a yellowish/blueish/greenish tint on the pictures, and turning the white balance on can lessen that effect. I tried it with my camera phone and it did work! Galing noh?

She even showed us a few camera models and explained their features. I really love the Samsung camera (although I forgot the exact model), because not only does it have a built-in WiFi, but it also comes in the color pink. Ang girly lang. Haha!

Shaira Luna

Our next speaker is a familiar face to most of the brides, or at least those brides who are clients of K by Cunanan. Kaye Cunanan-Gonzales, the owner of K by Cunanan, discussed the kitchen essentials that every newlywed couples must have. She enumerated the different types of cutlery, kitchen appliances and even glassware! Who knew that there could be so many different glass types?!

She even suggested to buy airtight storage containers for the leftovers. That way, the food won't easily spoil in your refrigerator. Hmmm.... I should probably buy lots of containers for the leftovers that we would probably have in the future. Haha!

Kaye Cunanan-Gonzales

Our next speaker is also quite well-known in the wedding industry, particularly in prenups. Feliz Lucas, owner of Lifestyle by Feliz and wife of wedding photographer Jayjay Lucas, shared tips on how to dress up for the honeymoon! I love how she looked so stylish and yet was so down-to-earth in her way of talking. In short, baklang-bakla magsalita si atey! Haha! She was also very open to the topic of sex, which made her talk quite funny and interesting *wink,wink*.

One thing that I learned is that to bring monochromatic clothes to make it easier to mix and match. Also, you can wear your sleepwear outside the bedroom! :) Just make sure to pair it with a nice bottom and coverup, and you're good to go. :) And let's not forget, it's your honeymoon so it's time to let loose and be sexy! RAWR!

Feliz Lucas

We also have Anna Theresa Licaros-Lim, who is a former beauty queen and a newlywed as well, to discuss the benefits of signing up for the bridal registry. Honestly, I never really thought of registering for a gift registry because I really wanted cash as our gift. Hahaha! Pera-pera lang yan mga tsong. But seriously, we'll be living at Mox's aunt's condo for the meantime and it already has the furniture and appliances that we need, so I can't think of anything to ask for from the gift registry. But making one seems like fun. Maybe we'll try it out some time. Hehe.

Anna Theresa Licaros-Lim

During the whole event, we were served some pastries and cocktails from Sweet Bella. It tasted quite delicious or maybe that's because I was just hungry. Haha.

And the best part of the day? I got a bag full of freebies! Yey! :) It included everything from discount coupons, including a voucher for a free makeover from Max's Factor Chief Makeup Artist Bobby Carlos, to makeup and lingerie! Happy me! :)

Free makeover from Max Factor!

Discount coupons! :)

Nail polish and lip liner from Max Factor

Lingerie from Gigi Adore

Bra from Triumph

 Whee! Thank you BridalBook and SM Gift Registry for this event! I really enjoyed the talk and of course the goodies! Hehe! :)

Food Tasting # 20: Purpledish Catering Part 2

This is the last installment of my three-part wedding weekend adventure! :) After eating Juan Carlo's food for lunch and going to Ivory and White for some gown fitting, it was time to head to our last destination for the day: to Chef Velmor's private place for a food tasting session with Purpledish.

This is practically our third time to eat Purpledish's food, but we want to make our initial menu as early as possible so that it would be easier to narrow down our choices later on. And what better way to make a menu than by tasting their dishes over and over again? Hehe.

We also brought along Popong, Mox's brother and my future brother-in-law, so that we would have a third-party perspective on the food. We just had to pay P250 for the extra seat since the food tasting was only free for the couple.

By the way, I just love their setup during the food tasting. Everything was simple, elegant and dainty, with its  pink napkins and purple flowers. Chef said that this setup is actually part of their basic package, but only for the VIPs. If you would want to have this kind of setup for your guests, then that would be considered an upgrade since you would have to add lamps and all. I just didn't like the lamps and the tall bird cages because I couldn't see the person in front of me. Haha. Mahirap talaga maging vertically-challenged. But hey, that's just my opinion. If you want tall centerpieces, then by all means follow your heart's desire! Hehe.

Now for the cocktail hour, we were given four appetizers, one soup and one salad to try. First, let's talk about the appetizers!

The Avocado Roll was our least favorite in the bunch. There was avocado and cheese, all wrapped in a clammy lumpia wrapper. It was cold and it tasted weird. Honestly, I couldn't described how it tasted like. Basta weird. Even Popong didn't like it!

But we all agreed that the Eggplant Parmegianna was the best. We loved it during our first food tasting, and we still love it now. Everything was just so cheesy and yummy! Yes, this will definitely go on our menu.

I was the only one who ate the Spanish Sardines Bruschetta. It tasted fine; the tomato was able to balance the saltiness of the sardines. Although, I have to admit that it was really too much sardines for me. Medyo naumay ako eh.

The Cirkulo Tofu came in late, so again, I was the only one who ate it. Halatang patay-gutom. Haha! Chef said that it was their second version, because the first version was messier to eat. I love Cirkulo Tofu 2.0!  I really couldn't describe the taste before, but now, I could say it was spicier and definitely meatier because of the sisig in it. Who would have thought that there is actually meat in the tofu? I'm sure our guests will be tickled by the unusualness of this dish. Mox and Popong didn't like it as much as I did, but since I'm the boss, this goes in our menu. Haha!

Clockwise: Eggplant Parmegianna, Avocado Roll, and Spanish Sardines Bruschetta

Cirkulo Tofu

For our salad, we got the Mango Salsa Salad. Oh yeah, this will definitely be our salad of choice. Everyone loved it! The mangoes were sweet and juicy, and the dressing was just WOW! Kung pwede lang higupin, ginawa ko na! Haha! This was also a definite winner for Mox and Popong. Three thumbs up!

Mango Salsa Salad

Our soup shot was the French Onion and Cheese Soup. One of my favorite soups ever! I was actually torn between this soup and the Potato Pumpkin, but since my friend, who will be getting married this August, chose this soup, then we'll probably get the Potato Pumpkin. But this soup is a definite must-try!

Now on to the main courses. For our pork dish, we had the Honey Glazed BBQ Pork Spareribs. We thought it was delicious! The bbq sauce was heavenly, and the meat was so soft and tender. I actually listed this as our pork dish of choice when I first tasted it during our first food tasting. That's how much I love it! And luckily, Mox loved it too. Yey! :)

Top: Honey Glazed BBQ Pork Spareribs; Bottom: Norwegian Salmon

We  then had two upgraded dishes for our fish course: the Norwegian Salmon and Prawn Thermidor. The salmon has been a staple of our food tastings with Purpledish, so there's no need to go into details about it. Alam niyo naman kung gaano siya kasarap eh. Haha. Now I was really excited to try Chef's prawn thermidor. Luckily, he didn't disappoint us because the prawns were delicious! :) There was the perfect balance of the prawn meat and the cheesy sauce. Surprisingly, hindi siya nakakaumay! The portions were generous too, although not as big as Passion Cook's version. Now I'm torn between the salmon or the prawns! Decisions, decisions.

Prawn Thermidor

For our chicken course, we had the Pollo Diavola - Herbed and Spicy Olive Oil. When I had this during our first food tasting, I really didn't like it because I thought it was too bland. But surprisingly, I loved it during last Saturday's event. It was now very flavorful, a mixture of herbs and spices. :)

Pollo Diavola

For our pasta course, we had the usual favorite: Beef and Veggie Lasagna. Again, I won't expound on this anymore since this had always been the pasta of choice for food tastings. Bottomline is, we were pretty full aftuer eating the lasagna. Nakakabusog talaga!

Beef and Veggie Lasagna

Lastly, we had the Slow Roast US Belly for our beef course. The beef was very soft and tender, yet the slices were a bit thin during the food tasting. (Sorry, I wasn't able to take pictures.) If ever we'll get a carving station, I'll instruct the carver to cut thicker slices for the guests. Medyo nakakabitin kasi pag maninipis eh.

Now for our desserts! :) There were a lot of dessert choices during the food tasting, and I mean A LOT. Just take a look at our dessert buffet and see for yourself! Di pa kasama lahat ng desserts sa lagay na yan ah!

Clockwise: Cream Puffs, Truffles, and Eclairs

Clockwise: Strawberry Mouse Cheesecake, Mango Creme Brulee, Bluer than Blueberry Cheesecake and Beco Cheesecake

Since I was already too full from the appetizers and the main courses, I was only able to get three desserts. The first dessert that I got was a new creation called Vien Canoli. Chef said that it is fried cheesecake, and to eat it, you would have to dip it into the Belgian chocolate to give it some added sweetness. Honestly, I never thought that it was cheesecake; I actually thought it was turon! But still, this was definitely a hit. The chocolate has the right amount of sweetness to it so there is little chance of pangungumay. You can even drink it straight after eating the fried cheesecake. It's just like drinking hot chocolate, only it's no longer hot. Haha! Basta, this new dessert was a success! :)

Vien Canoli

Then I had the Truffles and the Devil's Food Cake. Chef said the truffles are not suitable for kids because they contain three different kinds of alcohol in it. And true enough, there was that hint of alcoholic punch to it. Not enough to make you outrageously drunk, but enough to make you aware of its alcoholic taste. It tasted okay, but I really don't want any alcohol in my food, let it be the main course or dessert. I asked Chef if there would be a huge difference if we would take the alcohol out and he said no naman. So I'll probably take the non-alcoholic truffles instead. Hehe.

As for the Devil's Food Cake, well, it was still the same moist chocolate cake that I had also tasted during the Couple's Night. However, I'd probably choose the Beco Cheesecake over this one because guests might find it too sickeningly sweet and chocolatey. But overall, it was delicious.

Left: Truffles; Right: Devil's Food Cake

Purpledish also offers candy buffet packages. In fact, if you would book on the spot during their group food tastings, you will get a candy buffet package good for 50 guests for free! Check out their styling for their candy buffet below.

VERDICT: This food tasting was a success because not only were we able to at least list down our initial menu choices, but we were also able to meet our fellow W@Wies! :) Special shoutout to Lala and Archie, Johanne and her fiance, Che and Erns, and Marifel and her fiance (sorry, di ko alam mga names niyo eh x_x). I'm so happy to finally meet the faces behind the emails and FB accounts. Hehe. Mox also made some new friends too. Close na nga sila ni Archie, pati pagkakasakit niya sa tiyan nakwento na niya. Haha!

I'm A W@W Peer Awards Nominee! :)

Before I proceed with my post about our foodtasting with Purpledish, I just want to thank all those W@Wies who have nominated me for the W@W Peer Awards, under the Blogerista category. Whee! Nakakakilig! Parang FAMAS lang! Haha!

When I started writing this blog, my only intention was to keep track of my wedding preparations. I only wanted to have an online diary so that whenever I would feel nostalgic, I could just read my blog and reminisce about our wedding and the happiness and stress that came with the preparations.

I still couldn't believe that my blog actually attracts readers. I never really thought of myself as a writer, so I'm quite shy to let the world know about my blog. Baka mapagtawanan lang ako dahil trying hard akong mag-English, mali-mali pala ang grammar. Haha! That's why I'm always surprised and kilig whenever I would receive emails from brides- and grooms-to-be asking me questions about wedding preparations or telling me that they have learned so much from my blog. I'm not a wedding expert, so it's really nice to know that I was able to help them in the best way that I can. Biruin niyo, may natutunan pa pala sila sa mga pinagsasabi ko dito. Haha!

Now my blog has 93,000 hits and counting, and I am nominated for the Blogerista award. I already feel like a winner because I have never really expected any of these to happen. Again, I want to say thank you to all those who have nominated for me, and to all those who have been following my blog since Day 1. Alay ko sa inyo ang tagumpay ko. Haha, akala mo nanalo na eh! But seriously, thank you from the bottom of my heart. And to all the W@Wies out there.... please vote for me! Hahaha! :)

Gown Fitting # 3: Ivory and White Part 2

After our food tasting with Juan Carlo, Mox and I went to Ivory and White to fit some more wedding gowns. This was actually my second time to visit their store. I visited their store last year with my MOH Con, but now, I brought Mox and my future brother-in-law Popong to get some guy perspective on my possible gown choices. Also, I wanted to see if I can make Mox cry, or at least get  him teary-eyed, when he sees me wearing a wedding gown. Hehe.

Apparently, their new collection arrived last February so I had a lot of new gown designs to choose from! Yey! :) But since I already knew that I looked best in a dropped waist gown, I just asked them to bring me all the dropped waist gowns that they have in the store. Hehe.

By the way, forgive the crappy pictures. Mox forgot to put the flash on so the first two pics are a bit dark.

The first gown that I fit was a champagne-colored organza mermaid gown. I was actually surprised that I looked taller in that gown. I just didn't like the frilly details on my bustline because it hides my small chest. As if it already needs some hiding. Haha!

Valerie - P29,000

The next gown is a strapless fit-to-flare gown. The fit was okay, but I guess I want a more structured bottom. Parang nawalan ako ng legs dito eh. And wow, was this gown heavy!

Roselle - P29,000

Then I wore a strapless gown with a sweetheart neckline and a ruffled skirt. I love this gown! The ruffles were not that big, so they didn't overwhelm my short body. Sasabihin ko sana petite, kaso masyado akong huggable para maging petite! Haha! Although, since the gown would be altered to fit my height, then I guess they would have to shorten the skirt right? So would that alter the overall look of the gown? Hmmm... That I do not know. Still, I really love this gown! Hehe.

Sabine - P29,000

Then I wore a soft satin gown with a sweetheart neckline and beading. Because the first three gowns were made with layers and layers of tulle and organza, they were actually very heavy to wear. But this gown was so soft and light, even with its petticoat on. It was just so easy to move in this gown; I can imagine myself dancing the night away wearing this. My chosen gown peg actually looks very similar to this design, except its crystal accent lies on the waist itself. I just didn't like the shiny satin used for this gown, but hey, I'm glad that it looks great on me. My friends were actually torn between this gown and the previous one. Hehe.

Sandrine

The last gown that I fit was a strapless satin gown with a pleated bodice. The waist was not as dropped as I wanted it to be, but surprisingly, it still made me look taller and tinner! The fabric was not as shiny as the previous gown, so I'm pretty happy about that. This was actually Mox's favorite gown; he was practically begging me to buy it on the spot! Haha!

Mirabelle - P23,000

If you would buy a gown from Ivory and White, you would get a free 5 yard veil, as well as a free rental of the dress form. I even wore a veil while fitting the last gown just so I could see the effect, but I didn't take any pictures of it though.

It was a really fun experience fitting all those gowns, especially since all of the gowns now fit me! Ibig sabihin pumayat ako! Yey! Hehe. Too bad I wasn't able to make Mox cry. Hmp. I swear, pag di siya umiyak, lagot siya sa akin. Haha!

Food Tasting # 19: Juan Carlo the Caterer Part 2

Our schedule was jam-packed last Saturday, with two grand food tastings and one gown fitting lined up. First on our agenda was the food tasting with Juan Carlo the Caterer in Fernwood Gardens.

As you all know, I already attended a food tasting with Juan Carlo last year with my younger brother. This time, Mox and I accompanied some of my new W@Wie friends and their fiances to another food tasting with them. I just couldn't resist the chance to enjoy another free lunch. Haha!

While last year's food tasting motif was white, this year's motif was light pink. The tablecloth was light pink, while the flowers where a mixture of white and light pink roses. There were also small pink pails filled with baby's breath on the back of the tiffany chairs. Sayang nga lang, I didn't take any pictures.

For our soup course, I was given the Cream of Fresh Mushroom Soup while Mox has the Sopa de Congrejo. These were the same soups that were served during our previous food tasting. And yes, my feedback on them is still the same: the soups were too bland. :( Sorry, wasn't able to take a picture of the Sopa de Congrejo because Mox drank it all before I even got my camera. Haha!

Cream of Fresh Mushoom Soup

For the main courses, Mox and I each have different entrees on our plates.

My plate

Mox's plate

I won't go much into detail since almost all of the food served were the same dishes that we tasted during last year's food tasting. However, my review still stays the same: everything was just so-so. I even asked Mox what he thought and he said "ok lang". Which means, hindi siya masyadong nasarapan. Haha!

I did find two dishes that were yummy: the Salmon in Tequila Cream Sauce and the Hong Kong Style Chicken. At first bite, the salmon might taste too salty for some, but afterwards, the burst of flavor was just delicious. Masarap siyang iulam talaga sa kanin. Hehe. Meanwhile, the chicken was very juicy and tender. The sauce was very rich; you can practically taste it right down to the chicken bones. Super yummy! :)

Juan Carlo served a lot of desserts, but I was only able to taste three desserts because I didn't want to eat too much. Alam niyo naman, diet mode ako. Chos! Haha!

The Coffee Magnifico is a coffee-flavored pannacotta. Others might find the coffee too strong, but I thought it was just right, especially if you would dip the choco wafer stick into the pannacotta. Hmmm, heavenly!

The Chocolate Muffin is topped with rich frosting and a peach (or is it a mango?) slice. It was very moist and yummy, although honestly, it tasted just like the other chocolate muffins out there. Nothing too special.

Lastly, the Pandan Pannacotta was again served to us. And yes, it was still the bland-tasting dessert that we ate last year. Sorry, I really didn't like this dish.

Coffee Magnifico

Chocolate Muffin

Pandan Pannacotta

VERDICT: I'm not saying all their dishes are horrendous. Our taste buds are different after all, and unfortunately, my taste buds weren't tickled by Juan Carlo the Caterer's offerings. But still, it never hurts to pay them a visit and try their dishes yourself. They might actually be your "this-is-it" caterer! So foodtasting lang kayo ng foodtasting!

P.S. Thank you Juan Carlo for our free lunch. Hehehe.