Choosing the Final Gown Design

The day after the W@W Christmas party, Mox and I went back to Gretchen Pichay's shop in New Manila to have my measurements taken. I was doubly excited about this meeting because I would get to choose the final design for my gown. Whee!

Gretchen provided three gown designs for me to choose from. This time, the sketches were more detailed, emphasizing each gown's ruchings, pleats and lace details. All of the designs were so beautiful that I knew I would have a difficult time choosing between them all. Good thing I brought Mox along to help me decide which would be our final gown design.

Here are the gown designs that Gretchen presented to me. I won't tell you which one we chose though. Let it be a surprise until our wedding day. Hehe. :)

I was a bit unsure about our choice for my skirt, but Gretchen assured us that we still have time to change if we want to since the skirt would be done last, along with the beadworks.

Then I finally had my measurements taken, but of course I won't spill what my measurements are. Di naman ako sexy eh. Haha! But I  hope that I was able to at least lose some weight. Gretchen scheduled my first fitting next year, around late January to early February, so that means I must not gain weight during the holiday season. Good luck na lang sa akin.

Happy Birthday Beh! ♥

Today is a very special day because not only have we reached the five-month mark of our wedding journey, but it's also the 31st birthday of my very wonderful fiance! :) Happy, happy birthday my love! Despite the fights, the tears and all those drama moments, I am still very lucky to have you as my fiance, and soon, as my husband. :)

Happy birthday Beh! (Photo by Pictratto Photography)

Beh, in just five months, I will soon be by your side to celebrate your birthday, Christmas, New Year, and other occasions that we could think of together. I can't wait! :)

The 2013 W@W Christmas Party

Last Friday, Mox and I were among the lucky W@Wies to attend the the annual W@W Christmas party. You can just imagine how many would kill for chance to attend the party, and for good reason too! Not only would we meet our fellow W@Wies and some of the best wedding suppliers, but we would also get a chance to win awesome prizes! This event is so highly anticipated that slots would get filled up almost as soon as registration opens. Last year, I was unfortunately waitlisted, so I was so happy to finally get a slot to this year's party! Whee!

This year's party was held at the new Blue Leaf Filipinas near the Macapagal area. The theme for the party was backyard, so we had to wear pastel clothes. No dark clothes were allowed, but luckily, Mox had one light blue polo. See, problem solved!

There were a lot of suppliers involved in the event. During the cocktail hour, we had fun having our picture taken by the photo studio set up by Mezarc Buslon Fotografie.

Photo by Mezarc Buslon Fotografie

Guests can also have their Instagram photos printed by Nice Print's Instagram Booth! They just had to tag their photos with the hashtag #waw2013xmas and then viola! Instant photo souvenirs! Too bad we weren't able to try this one ourselves.

Instagram Booth!

While waiting for the program proper to start, we had a lot of fun going around the candy corner of Bonbon Taffy and the numerous dessert buffets of Purpledish Catering, Toy Cakes and Pastries by Chef Kiko, and Box of Sweet by Punky Porca.  Sugar overload na ito! 

Bonbon Taffy

Purpledish Catering

Box of Sweets by Punky Porca

Toy Cakes and Pastries by Chef Kiko

We also got tipsy from all the free-flowing drinks of Marga Rush and GQ Mobile Bar. I love Marga Rush's strawberry margarita slushie, but the mango daiquiri that I drank from GQ was the bomb! Our favorite GQ bartender, Kuya Lloyd, was the one overseeing the booth, and it was so cute that he still remembers me from all the times that I visited their booth during bridal fairs. Now I'm even more excited to see what alcoholic concoctions he will serve on our wedding.

Enjoying our lime and strawberry margarita slushies from Marga Rush

Kuya Lloyd (middle) and his band of bartenders

The official caterer for the event was Josiah's Caterer. The food was super yummy, and I especially love their styling! The tables' centerpieces were so simple yet elegant that Mox wanted it to be our peg for our own wedding. And the lily chairs were so beautiful, although I'm not sure who was the supplier for them.

Not all tables were styled by Josiah's though. This year, the party had a table-decorating contest so all W@Wies must group themselves by 12 and then create their own table centerpiece. The table with the best centerpiece would win a prize! Our table decided to have a picnic-inspired centerpiece so we got our picnic basket and filled it with fruits and bread. Special thanks to Kim ni Cris who thought of the design! Ikaw na Ser!

Team Chill!

Our picnic-inspired centerpiece

And of course, let's not forget about the games and the raffles! A lot of home appliances were given out, as well as tickets to honeymoon destinations such as Boracay and Cebu. And for the minor prizes? Everyone was tickled pink by the sex toys and sexy lingerie courtesy of the Wedding Library. Nakakaloka!

But you know what made this party even more special? There was an impromptu raffle, where the prizes were free services of the suppliers! All the guests had to do was to go on stage and to participate on simple children's games, like coin toss, pompyang and bato-bato-pick. Lucky W@Wies were able to win free gowns from Gretchen Pichay and Boy Kastner Santos, photo coverage from Pictratto Photography, video coverage from Sequel by Threelogy, makeup services from Madge Lejano, and so much more! Ang swerte diba?

I wasn't able to win anything from the raffles, but I was among the lucky few who won customized Jazel Sy shoes from the Cinderella game. The Cinderella game is where the girls would try to fit shoes that were on the chairs, and whoever was the first to wear the shoe that fits perfectly will win the pair. I was a size 6, so I was looking for the shoe with that size. My friends directed me to one chair, where no one was lining up. So I just sat down and tried on the shoe, and what do you know? It was a perfect fit! Walang kahirap-hirap. Haha! And the shoe is so cute; it is a nude pump with an ankle strap. I'll probably wear it for our reception so that I could dance the night away without worrying that it will get lost. Hehe.

But one of my most unforgettable moments of the party was the W@Wies' dance number. And you know why? Because I was one of the dancers! Haha! I am not a good dancer so it took a lot of guts to go on stage and dance in front of all those people! Oh diba, dinaan na lang sa kapal ng mukha. Nevertheless, it was a really fun experience and I would love to join another dance number next year! Pero papractice muna ako ng aking dancing moves. Haha.

Sige, sayaw lang!

All in all, it was a spectacular night. I will forever be thankful to be part of the W@W community. Because of W@W, I was able to meet new friends, both W@Wies and suppliers alike, who have made a great impact on my life. This is truly W@W love! :)

P.S. Most of these photos are from Pictratto Photography, the official photographers of the event. :)

Kudos to Our Freenup Suppliers Part 2

I received our freenup pictures from Chasing Tales around three weeks ago, but with the recent devastation of Visayas due to typhoon Yolanda, I felt it was inappropriate to share our pics to you. But maybe it's now time to give credit to our wonderful suppliers who made our second freenup experience a success. :)

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Chasing Tales Photography
Peso Power: Free!
Contact Details: info@chasingtalesphoto.com
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

I actually thought that Wale was a boy during our exchange of emails, so during our freenup, I immediately introduced myself to the only boy in their team. Well, I was wrong. It turned out that Wale was a slim, boyish GIRL. Haha! Nakakahiya!

Our winning entry for their contest was to have our freenup taken at an amusement park, where we would play games and be carefree and playful. However, I decided to change concepts because I felt that it would be too costly to shoot in Star City or Enchanted Kingdom. Luckily, Wale and the rest of the team still allowed us to retain our prize even though we had a totally different concept in mind.

The group certainly has potential. Their pictures were able to capture the vivid and bright colors of the graffiti surrounding our venue, but I particularly love their dramatic black and white images. Those pictures actually have a sort of photo-journalistic feel to them. Ang ganda talaga!

 
So why only 3.5? No, it's not that they weren't good. I just feel that they still have a lot of room for improvement. :) They are practically newbies in the wedding industry so they still have a lot to learn in directing couples how to pose. Sometimes kasi the poses that they would make us do are too common already. In fact, I have a lot of photos were we were doing the same poses all over again. Also, I was so oily in some pictures, and Wale didn't even ask my HMUA to powder my nose. Bwiset talaga na ilong yan. Haha

HMUA: Jennifer Gumban of Elitista Basement
Peso Power: P1,000 (discounted rate)
Contact Details: 0917-8052460
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

I got Jen Gumban to do my hair and makeup for the freenup. Since I already booked her to be my entourage's HMUA on our wedding, I got a discount on her prenup rate. Yey to more savings! :)

She asked me how I like my hair and makeup to be for the shoot, and even asked for pegs. And sure enough, she was able to give me the looks that I wanted. :)  She's very nice and easy to talk to. Plus, she's from the same company as Mox, so you can imagine their bonding moments. Haha! Ako pa tuloy ang OP sa kanilang dalawa.

I gave her a 3.5 though because she didn't accompany us to our prenup venue, although I understand that she had to attend to some urgent matter in her office. Her assistant/hairstylist was the one who did our retouches in the venue. While I like my makeup, there were some instances when she couldn't retouch my makeup, which led to my very oily face. Also, I really didn't like that she put too much hairspray, making my hair stringy and yucky.

VENUE: Abandoned building near Betty Go Belmonte Station
Peso Power: P100 per person
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

I first learned about this building from Ren, who had their freenup here with NYOI (yes, my previous freenup supplier). I've always wanted to do a photo shoot in an abandoned building, so this was the perfect venue to do our freenup. Mox also agreed to the idea because he thought it was "cool", his words, not mine. Haha.

We did our shoot at around 9am because Ren said people would usually shoot in the afternoon, usually cosplayers. Sure enough, just as we were ending our session, a group of people came by to shoot. Sakto timing namin.

Just a bit of warning though, the building is dark and smelly, with lots of dust and dog poop scattered on the floors. So if you're a bit iffy on having dirt and grime on your clothes, it's better that you look for another venue instead. Still, it's a pretty cool place to have a prenup pictorial, especially if you want something that is totally different from the usual outdoor shoot.

My Last Birthday As A Miss!

Today is my 26th birthday, but more importantly, it's my last birthday as a single lady. Next year, instead of spending it with my family and fiance, I'll be spending it with my family and HUSBAND. Haha! Nakakakilig lang isipin.

But as respect to the victims of typhoon Yolanda, we decided not to have a grand celebration. Instead, my family and I just had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Ortigas. We also didn't splurge on the gifts. My parents just gave me a simple chocolate cake, but instead of the chocolate roll that we'd usually buy, they got me a dedication cake! The last time I had a dedication cake was during my 18th birthday, and back then, my mom wrote a long, long dedication on my cake that she actually ran out of space to put in the rest of her message. Haha! Nagsulat ba naman ng mga bilin sa cake ko?!? Luckily, she didn't do the same thing this time. Haha.

My birthday cake :)

Meanwhile, Mox gave me his usual birthday card. But what made this card extra special was his heartfelt message inside. Before, he would just say his template dedication: "Mahal kita, mwah simple lang.", but now, he wrote how he looks forward to sleeping beside me every night once we get married. He even called me his wife. It was the sweetest thing that I have ever read. :)

It actually feels weird to be celebrating now especially since the people in Visayas are still suffering from the aftermath of not just typhoon Yolanda, but also from the 7.2 magnitude earthquake last month. But still, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have greeted me on this very special day. Thank you for making me feel loved! :) But most importantly, I want to thank God for the countless blessings that I have received for the past 26 years. Hoping to receive more blessings in the future! :)

Bangon Pilipinas!

Last weekend, the Philippines experienced what was said to be the strongest typhoon of 2013. Super typhoon Yolanda wrecked havoc in the Visayas region, which has already suffered so much from last month's 7.2 magnitude earthquake. In Metro Manila, we also experienced gusty winds and rain showers, which was why we decided to postpone our prenup pictorial in Wawa Dam.

The pictures of the devastating damage left by typhoon Yolanda are heartbreaking. Donations are very much appreciated. To learn how to help the typhoon victims, kindly visit Rappler's page for the list of the relief operation centers.

This is another tough challenge for us Filipinos, but I know that we will rise above this all. This Twitter image just sums up how resilient we are in the face of typhoons and other calamities.

Bangon Pilipinas! Kaya natin yan!