December 30, 2013

Meet the Parents!

Last Christmas Day, Mox and his whole family went to our home for the traditional "pamamanhikan". It was actually a last-minute event because it was so difficult to coordinate their whole schedule as his parents live in the province and one of his brothers works in Malaysia. But luckily, all of them were here in Manila for the holidays, so before they leave for La Union, they stopped by our house to do the pamamanhikan. Parang stopover lang ng Partas. Haha!

What exactly is a pamamanhikan? Well, it's when the groom and his family goes to the house of the bride to ask for her hand in marriage. Traditionally, the pamamanhikan should be done right after the engagement to discuss the details of the wedding, like the date, the budget, possible ninongs and ninangs, etc.

But now the pamamanhikan is not as formal as it used to be. Since Mox and I held our pamamanhikan late in our engagement, all of our wedding preps are almost done so it was quite useless to discuss these details with our parents. Instead, our pamamanhikan was just a way for our parents to meet with each other for the first time. We were actually thinking of holding it in a restaurant, but we decided to just do it the old-fashioned way. That way, we would be able to please my motherwho always want to stick to the traditionsand we won't have to spend so much for the meal itself. Si Mox na lang bahala magluto ng pagkain. Diba, tipid moves lang.
 
I really didn't know what to expect during the pamamanhikan. Mox's parents are simple, laid-back folks, while my parentsor rather just my mothercan be quite intimidating. So I was worried on how things will turn out between them. Will they like each other or will there be tension between the mag-balaes? But Mox was even more nervous than I was! He kept on asking the do's and dont's of a pamamanhikan. He even researched tips on how to do his opening spiel. It was so cute! Haha!

Mox's family arrived at around 1pm that day, and they brought pans filled with delicious adobo, sinigang, pinakbet and tahong. They even brought a pot filled with rice, and some paper plates and plastic spoons so we didn't have to wash the dishes afterwards. Prepared na prepared ang lolo mo. Haha! Meanwhile,  my mother prepared her famous buko pandan for dessert. Yummy!

After eating, we then got down to business.  I kept on teasing Mox to get on with his "opening speech" and because of his nervousness, he just blurted out: "Tito, Tita, ikakasal na po kami." We just kept on laughing after that. Di naman obvious na ikakasal tayo beh diba? Kalokang opening speech!

Our parents didn't ask anymore for details about our wedding since we're almost done with the preparations. As my mother said, the pamamanhikan was just for formality's sake. Meet and greet nga lang yun eh. But they did suggest some names for our principal sponsors and also suggested barongs for our male entourage instead of vests. That way, we won't have to worry about finding a couturier for our entourage since they can easily buy their barongs on their own. We will also save money because my father and brothers can use their barongs that they wore for my kuya's wedding. Tipid moves again!

After an hour of chitchat, Mox and his family had to leave for their trip to La Union. Overall, the pamamanhikan was a success! Sure, it was quite nerve-wracking, and there were moments of awkward silence, but I'm happy that everything went on without a hitch. Good job Mox! :)

P.S. Sadly, no pictures were taken during the pamamanhikan as Mox's family have this weird aversion to cameras. Basta oras ng picturan, nawawala sila. Haha.

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December 19, 2013

Wedding Docs 101: Obtaining the CENOMAR and Birth Certificates

We know that obtaining the needed documents and papers for the wedding can be one of the most stressful parts of the preparations, so as early as now, we decided to get a move on our paperworks.

We decided to request for our CENOMARs (Certificate of No Marriage Record) and birth certificates first, since these documents have a six-month validity period. These documents can be secured from the National Statistics Office (NSO).

There are three ways to get your CENOMARs and birth certificates:
  1. Obtain the documents personally at the NSO office in Manila
  2. Apply online through www.e-census.com.ph
  3. Request for them at SM Business Centers in SM Malls
Obtaining your documents at the NSO office is actually the cheapest way, since you only have to pay Php140 for a copy of the birth certificate and Php195 for a copy of the CENOMAR. Plus, you can get your documents on the same day! However, you would need a lot of patience for this because you would have to wait in line for your turn. Do try to come early for this unless you want to spend your whole day waiting for your documents.

Now for those who don't have time to go to the NSO office, you may request for them online. Just accomplish the online application form at www.e-census.com.ph, and deposit your payment through BDO. The documents will then be delivered to your doorstep after three days or eight weeks at the latest. It's simple and hassle-free! But this can be more expensive, as a copy of the CENOMAR will cost Php415 and a copy of the birth certificate will cost Php315 if requested online.

I didn't have the patience to line up at the NSO office, but I didn't want to spend too much for the online application, so I did the next best thing: I requested my documents at a SM Business Center, more specifically, in Savemore near the Marikina Health Office. But you can request for your documents at any SM Business Center. It was relatively hassle-free; all I did was fill up the forms then pay the cashier Php 215 per copy of the CENOMAR and Php160 per copy of the birth certificate. SM added only Php20 for their processing fee, which is a lot cheaper than the Php200 additional for the online processing. Diba, tipid moves for the win!

 I would be able to get my documents after two to three weeks, so last week, I went back to Savemore and viola! Our CENOMARs and birth certificates are now here!


So that's one item off our checklist! More to go!

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December 11, 2013

My Kuya's Wedding!

I apologize for not updating my blog lately. We just got so busy with work, Christmas parties and wedding preps that I barely have time to write here.

Last October, my eldest brother got married to his girlfriend of four years. But unlike me, who have at least two years to prepare for my own wedding, they only had roughly two months to prepare for theirs. They're doctors, so they didn't have the luxury to take leaves for their wedding preps. So everything had to be done at the last minute! Can you just imagine the stress diba?

They got me as a secondary sponsor, and as my gift to them, I decided to shoulder my own gown and hair and makeup. I got Paolo Blanco to do my gown, as well as my mother's gown, and Diane Coles to do our hair and makeup. :)

The ceremony was held at Ermita Church and the reception was at Midas Hotel. It was a very intimate wedding, with only 100 guests, but I'm happy that everything went smoothly. Despite having limited time to prepare, I know my brother and sister-in-law got their dream wedding! :)

The official photos haven't arrived yet, so here are some photos that Mox took of the ceremony. :)



 
 







We didn't have any photos of the reception because we were too busy eating that we forgot to take pictures. Sorry naman, gutom na kami talaga nun eh. Haha!

Of course, I want to give props to Paolo Blanco and Diane Coles for a job well done! Even though I wasn't the bride, they still gave superb service, so I definitely feel that they deserve the kudos. :)

GOWN: Paolo Blanco

Peso Power: P3,000
Contact Details: 0917-9693773
Rating: 5 out of 5

As I said before during our first fitting, the gown fit perfectly! I really felt like a Grecian goddess while wearing the gown because it was so flowy and soft. The color also looked good on me, making me look fairer. Basta ang ganda niya!

Transactions with Paolo was hassle-free. He's also so nice that even though we were usually late during our fittings, he would still attend to us cheerfully. I would definitely recommend him to budgeted brides out there. :)

HMUA: Diane Coles
Peso Power: P2,000 for two persons (including transpo fee)
Contact Details: 0917-8045848
Rating: 5 out of 5

Since we only had two months to prepare, I had to search for an affordable HMUA that was available on my brother's wedding date. Ivy then recommended Diane Coles, her entourage's HMUA, so I decided to give her a call. Luckily, she was available on that day, plus her rates are within our budget, so I immediately booked her.

My brother's wedding was at 9 in the morning so we had to have our hair and makeup done at the ungodly hour of 5am. Walang tulugan yun! But Diane arrived right on time. And she's so perky and cheerful even though it was so early in the morning! Even though it was the first time that I've met her, I immediately felt at ease with her. As in, chikahan na agad!

I also like that she respects her clients' requests, and she cares about their welfare. During that day, I had an eye injury so my right eye was so red and irritated. Diane didn't want to put false eyelashes and eyeliner, which could irritate my eye further, so she just made the rest of my face stand out more. She was also patient enough to put up with my mother's demands! Dun pa lang, saludo na ako sa kanya. Haha!

I don't have any close-up picture of my made-up face, but I assure you, I looked very, very pretty. Hehe. :)

Hair and make-up by Diane Coles
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