Supplier Rating: Christ the King Church

After being married for a month now, I'm slowly starting to get the hang of married life. But I'm still on a wedding high, it's time to give thanks to our suppliers for a job well done. Hopefully, my ratings will be helpful to other brides-to-be out there. :)

I'll be doing my supplier ratings differently today. I'll separate the hits and misses for each supplier so that it would be easier to see how each of them fared before, during, and after our wedding day. :)

Now, let's begin with our chosen church, Christ the King Church in Greenmeadows, Quezon City.

CHURCH: Christ the King Church
Peso Power: P25,000
Package Inclusions: flowers, use of aircondition units, soloist/organist

MY EXPERIENCE:

At first, Christ the King was not part of our choices because I felt that the church would be too big for us. We plan to only have 150 guests, and because of the church's structure, baka magmukhang aalog-alog mga tao dun. But since we plan to book their function hall anyway, booking the church was the most practical thing to do.

HITS

• The church is so bright and, for the lack of a better term, maaliwalas. I'm not a fan of old churches because they give me the creeps. Feeling ko may multo sa bawat sulok. Haha! So the modern architecture of Christ the King was a big plus for us.
• I like how spacious the altar is. It's perfect for big family pictures. :)
• It's airconditioned! This is a must because ours was a summer wedding, so just imagine how hot it was during the day.
• It's aisle is just right, not so short and not so long. I didn't want to walk down a very long aisle because I'm too scared that I'll trip. At least pag maikli ang aisle, mas mababawasan ang chances na madapa ako.
• There are a lot of parking spaces available.
• They have a  garden where you can have your postnup pictures taken. It was a bit of a climb, but at least we were able to go to a picturesque location without having to travel so far away.

Here are some pictures of the church during our wedding. :)

 

MISSES

• Our officiating priest didn't follow our misalette. There were some parts where he added words and phrases so we had a difficult time following the flow of the mass. Even our commentator missed some of her cues because of the priest's different wordings.
• I liked our priest's homily, but then I learned that he gave a similar homily during one of my friend's wedding. It may not be a big deal, but I just wanted our homily to be a little more personalized. Kaya siguro, it's really better to bring your own priest so that you have an idea how he conducts homilies before your wedding.
• No wooden doors for a dramatic entrance. You can cover up their glass doors with curtains for a fee, but it's just not the same.
• Mox finds Ms. Dodo a bit strict and masungit. Hehe.

RATING: 9 out of 10

Despite the small booboo with our priest, Christ the King is still HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. :)
 

A Change of Heart Part 2

With only eight months left before our wedding, I had another change of heart with one of our booked suppliers. This is actually one of the disadvantages of having long wedding preparations; I am often tempted to change suppliers whenever I'd see someone who tickles my fancy. Of course, I must resist the temptation to do so because of budget issues, but this time, I had to give in to my urges. This is my dream gown that we're talking about, people!

You see, I only set a maximum budget of P20,000 for my wedding gown since I was not comfortable to spending too much for a dress that I will wear for one day. And yet, I still dreamed of wearing a designer-made wedding gown. Ang labo ko diba? I know my budget is not enough for a designer gown so I settled for a well-known couturier that can copy my peg. I've heard great reviews about Jeff House of Fashion so I decided to book them.

But then Mox decided to increase our budget for my wedding gown as his gift to me. He allowed me to look for designers who are willing to make my gown for P30,000; P35,000 at the maximum. One of my W@Wie friends recommended her designer, Gretchen Pichay. Gretchen is actually one of the more famous gown designers, which was why I hesitated to inquire with her. I thought her starting price would be too much for me, but surprisingly, her minimum rate is actually very affordable. My friend has the same budget that I have, and Gretchen was able to sketch a design for her that was within her budget. And so I decided to set a meeting with her to see whether she could do the same for me.

Together with other W@Wie brides, I went to Gretchen's house in New Manila. Upon entering her house, we immediately saw her production area, where ladies were sewing and working on different wedding gowns. That was a plus point for me because I can immediately sense that she's very hands-on with every wedding gown: from the design to the production.

We were starstruck when we first saw Gretchen. Ang ganda niya promise! She was all smiles as we all sat down to discuss my pegs. She was able to give out suggestions on how my dream gown would look, but I had to let go of my dream ruffled skirt because it would cost at a minimum of P45,000. So I asked Gretchen to sketch a new design that has a simpler skirt but with a more detailed top. The new design must also fit my budget! And she gave me these two sketches.

Her sketches may seem simple, but that is actually Gretchen's style. She's more into the elegant, clean aesthetics of the gown, making the silhouette its focal point. She suggested to use Mikado Silk as the base of my skirt and then Taiwan Jusi over it to make the skirt look softer. She also plans to put in lot of lace appliques on my top. Here are some of the laces that she can use for my top.

I am not a fan of lace but I fell in love with Gretchen's lace swatches! Look how pretty they are! Some laces look as if they were used to make my grandmother's veil, but not this one. Pang-mayaman ata ito! Tignan mo, may bling-bling ang lace. Haha! The materials definitely do not look cheap. Even if her design is simple, my gown will still look classy and elegant because of the materials and laces that she will use.

Her quote for me is P35,000, which is higher than the rest of the designers' quotes but at least it is still within our budget. Her package includes all bridal accessories, the body form and free on-the-day assistance. However, I'm her second bride on our wedding date so she won't be able to personally assist me during that day because she would have to attend to the first bride. But she assured me that it wouldn't be too much of a downside because her staff is capable enough to dress me up even without her there supervising. I trust her naman so I quickly gave her my downpayment to reserve my date. Excited lang. Haha.

So there, I am now officially a Gretchen Pichay bride! Yey! Yung lace talaga niya ang humuli sa kiliti ko. I My measurement-taking is set in November so now I have roughly two months left to "try" (keyword is TRY) to lose some weight. I still have to let Anna of Jeff House of Fashion know about this though. I'll probably get them to do my prep dress so that my downpayment would not go to waste. Okay, time to search for prep dress pegs!

GRETCHEN PICHAY
6 Sunset Hill, New Rolling Hills Subd., New Manila, QC
0917-5349135
gretchen_diane@yahoo.com

Wedding Shoes: Booked!

My wedding shoes were not really my priority. I was actually planning to just buy ready-to-wear shoes from any department store for our wedding. I'm not a fan of heels anyway so I don't want to spend thousands of pesos for a pair of shoes that I would probably wear for just a few hours.

Then Ivy, one of my W@Wie friends, suggested to visit this shoe supplier in Marikina, Roweliza, who specializes in making bags and custom-made shoes. I once toyed with the idea of having custom-made shoes, but the quotes from the well-known suppliers of custom-made shoes were enough to make me reject the thought.

But I was curious about Roweliza, so I sent her an email asking for a quote for my chosen peg. In a matter of minutes, I received a reply, and the price that she gave me was way cheaper than the quotes from Perfect Match and other shoe suppliers. Now I was really interested to meet them! :)

And so Ivy and I, as well as some of our W@Wie friends, decided to pay them a visit after our cake tasting with Chef Kiko. We were asked to wait for Ms. Rowie, the owner. When she finally came out after an hour, she was surprised to see five brides (and a groom) waiting in her small office. Oo, dinumog nanaman namin sila. Haha!

She then immediately got down to business. She asked us first to show her our chosen designs, then she called one of her men to measure our feet. The size of our feet would also play a factor on the pricing of our shoes because it would determine the amount of material needed to make our shoes. She also asked the heel height of our shoes, the embellishments (if we wanted any), and even the color of the buckles of the straps (if applicable). Yes, they were that detailed and organized!

We were also shown a box full of swatches of the different materials for the shoes. Honestly, it was so hard to pick a material; there were just too many choices! I wanted to be able to use my shoes after the wedding so I was tempted at first to choose a neutral color, such as white. But then I realized that colored shoes are much prettier in photos, so I picked a swatch that is within our color motif. After discussing the payment terms, I finally decided to book them and gave Ms. Rowie my downpayment for the shoes. I was told that our shoes would be ready in about two weeks to a month, depending on the availability of the materials and their workload. Whee! I can't wait!

So what made me decide to have my shoes custom-made? You see,  I have already looked around the department stores for my wedding shoes, and most of them have the same price as my peg (as quoted by Roweliza). So I might as well have mine custom-made diba? That way, I would be able to choose my own design and ensure that the shoes would be comfy too. It's a win-win situation!

Here is my chosen peg for my wedding shoes, only mine will use a turquoise glittery material. Ang arte ko lang. Haha!

FASHION PURVEYOR (ROWELIZA)
58 Sta. Ana Ext., Marikina East Subdivison, San Roque, Marikina City
645-2825 / 09178132825
roweliza.shoesbags@gmail.com

Groom's Suit: Booked!

The next thing on our wedding agenda was to look for suppliers for Mox's suit. Originally, I wanted him to wear a barong since our wedding will be held in the summer, and a suit will be too hot to wear. Plus, a barong is cheaper to buy/make than a suit. But Mox was very insistent that he wanted to wear a suit on our wedding. Sige na nga, pagbigyan na natin kasi kasal rin naman niya yun. Haha.

Since we are on a very limited budget (read: less than P10,000) for his suit, we plan to visit a good tailor who could copy the peg Mox has chosen. I've heard good reviews about Mang Pons of Kamuning and Mang Roger of Mandaluyong, and I know that they fit our budget, so we decided to pay them a visit last Saturday.

Unfortunately, it was raining so we weren't able to visit Mang Pons' and Mang Roger's shops. Instead, we went to the Before I Do bridal fair in Megamall to look for possible suit suppliers. The fair only took up one Megatrade hall so there were only a few exhibitors, but luckily we found one suit supplier.

That supplier was Emil Ocampo of E. Ocampo's Fashion House. I've heard good reviews about him when it comes to wedding and ento gowns but I never really thought that he could make great suits. And the suits were indeed great! I am no expert, but I thought the workmanship on each suit was perfect. Pulidong-pulido ang mga tahi. Here are some samples of his suits taken from his website.

Emil's rates for his suits range from P10,000 to P12,000, but since he was an exhibitor in the fair, he offered a 10% discount for on-site bookings. His assistant explained to Mox that the price of the suit will not be based on the suit's design, but will depend on the fabric used. He even showed us some swatches. I never knew that there were so many different variations of black, gray and cream! Ang hirap mamili, in fairness.

I thought his rates were quite affordable for a designer suit, but Mox was not yet that convinced. He thought he would still get a better deal from Onesimus and other tailors in the mall. But then he overheard May, one of my W@Wie friends, say that Onesimus charges an average of P8,000 for a suit, and that's just for the labor cost! Now that convinced him that Emil's offer is quite a steal.

We got the chance to talk to Emil during the fair, and he is so nice and soft-spoken. Mox didn't have a hard time explaining to him the cut and fit that he wanted for his suit, which is a good thing because Mox sometimes can't express himself well. So buti na lang na nagkaintindihan sila. Haha.

Emil also made a few suggestions for the color of the suit, and even scheduled Mox to have his measurements taken on February. And the best thing of all? The fabric that Mox picked is part of the P10,000 package, and with the 10% discount for on-site bookers, we were able to book Emil for just P9,000! Now that is very affordable, considering that a designer will make Mox's suit. Dinaig pa niya ako!

Emil Ocampo of E. Ocampo Fashion House

We did went over our budget for Mox's suit, but I know that it would be all worth it once I see him look so handsome on our wedding day. Also, another good thing happened to me that day. Because Mox booked Emil to do his suit, he said it's only fair that I should get a designer to do my gown! And he agreed to add P10,000 from his personal savings to our budget just for me to have my dream designer wedding gown! I swear, I really love my fiance to bits! :) Kilig mode on!

Another happy side story, a day before we went to the fair, I learned that Mox went to Robinsons Galleria by himself to get a quotation for his suit. I'm just so touched to learn that my formerly unenthusiastic groom is slowly becoming hands-on in our wedding preps! Kilig mode again!

E. OCAMPO FASHION HOUSE
1613 Alvarez St.,Sta.Cruz Manila
711-8868; 0917-5005890; 0917-5984969 

Ento HMUA: Booked!

My ento will be paying for their own gowns for our big day so we decided to pay for their hair and makeup as our gift to them. This would also be the perfect reason for them to go to our hotel early for the pictorials. Wala silang choice. Haha!

To pay for their hair and makeup, I added four extra heads to my package from Ms. Berny, my HMUA. The fee was P1,500 per head, which was quite expensive in terms of ento makeup, but since I wanted to have only one contact person for the hair and makeup, I got Ms. Berny's team.

But as the weeks go by (and the list of expenses got bigger), I decided to do some cost-cutting to lessen our budget. I've heard that there are a lot of makeup artists who offer cheap rates for ento makeup, so I decided to look for a cheaper alternative for my ento's HMUA.

I've heard good reviews about Diane Coles. She offers P950 per head, which was cheaper than my Ms. Berny's rate. So I messaged her in Facebook, asking if she's still available on our date. Unfortunately, she was not, so I had to look for other more options.

Then I found about Jennifer Gumban from W@W. She has one of the cheapest rates for ento makeup. Imagine, only P700 per head! Some of my W@Wie friends also vouched for her great makeup skills since she also did their makeup for their prenups. I'm not sure if I can post some of their pictures here so just check them out at Jennifer's website.

Elitista Basement by Jennifer Gumban

I only have four female ento members, excluding the principal sponsors, so if I would get Jennifer as my ento HMUA, that would mean I would only have to pay a total of P2,800 for four heads, as opposed to the P6,000 rate from Ms. Berny! Diba, ang laking savings! Of course before booking Jennifer, I had to tell Ms. Berny that I wouldn't get her team to do our ento makeup. Luckily, she allowed me to cancel the four extra heads, so now I'm free to get Jennifer as our ento HMUA! Yey! :)

Whew, another supplier checked off our list. A few more to go and we're done! :)

Candy Buffet: Booked!

Candy buffets used to be a staple in children parties only, but now, they are slowly becoming popular in weddings as well. Candy buffets add color and fun to any event! Plus, they look great in pictures, especially if it features candies and goodies in your motif colors. And of course, they can also be yummy favors to your guests! :)

However, having a candy buffet was not in my list of priorities. Sure, I would also like to have one in my wedding, but it was just a nice-to-have. In fact, I was thinking of making my own DIY candy buffet instead of hiring a supplier. But then I realized that I didn't want the hassle of sourcing out candies and thinking of ways to replenish them during our wedding day. I thought hiring a supplier would mean less stress because an attendant would be there to assist the guests in getting their candies. Of course, this would be another additional expense, so I was on the lookout for the most affordable supplier out there.

Bonbon Taffy and Box of Sweets by Punky Porca were fan favorites, but their rates were just too expensive. I wanted a candy buffet that is less than P5,000! After browsing forums and inquiring with lots of candy buffet suppliers, I finally found the one!

Gracious Favors was a GT find. I only found a few reviews about them, but they were all positive so I decided to check them out. Grace, the owner of Gracious Favors, was very easy to talk to. She replied promptly to my inquiry, and she even suggested some possible combinations of treats that would showcase my turquoise, tangerine orange and white motif. :)

And the best thing of all, their rates are very affordable! Their package price for 50 guests was just within our budget, even if we would include their delivery fee. Plus, they offer more treats too. Imagine, their cheapest package includes 10 sweets. That's 10 TREATS! Oh my, my sweet tooth is jumping with happiness right now.

And the setups are really lovely. Check out some of my favorites from their website. :)

The flower arrangements are not part of the setup though, but Grace offered to use our ento flowers as decors. I'll probably add some more DIY decors as well. :)

Now I can't wait to see their candy buffet setup at our wedding. :)

GRACIOUS FAVORS
graciousfavors@yahoo.com

Our Monogram and WYB Cards by My Sassy Art

This is actually a super late post because I got my monogram and Will-You-Be cards from My Sassy Art way back in February pa. Hehe.

Just a little backstory, I tried my hand in making our monogram on my own even though I am not a Photoshop expert. The result? Well, this montrosity happened. Haha! I thought it looked pretty then, but now, it looked as though a five-year-old made it. I swear, ang pangit niya! Haha!

So I got Charm of My Sassy Art to do my monogram, as well as my WYB cards for my female entourage. Charm is a former W@Wie who used to do monograms and other graphics for free, until she decided to make it a business. :)

I didn't have any particular pegs in mind for my monogram and WYB cards. As long as they have our wedding colors (turquoise, tangerine orange and white), and feature our wedding theme (beach), then I'm okay with that.  My only request was the layouts must have a casual, summery feel to them. I don't want designs that are formal and elegant; I want them fun, cheery and bright! :)

And so, Charm gave me these choices for our monogram:

I love all designs! Everything was so cute! :) Mox and I were actually torn between the first and second one. Mox likes the first one, while I like the second one better. We finally made a decision, but you have to receive our invites for the wedding to find out the final monogram. Hehe.

Now for the WYB cards. These cards are usually given to the entourage members to officially ask them to be part of your wedding party. WYB cards are not really a necessity, but I just wanted to give something to my ento. Maarte lang rin talaga ako eh. Haha.

Here are Charm's designs for my WYB cards. I have one design for my secondary sponsors and I ordered another design for my maid-of-honor.

WYB Cards for Secondary Sponsors

 

WYB Card for Maid of Honor

Again, Charm didn't fail me. The cards are so lovely! Beach na beach ang dating! I already gave one to my cord sponsor and she loved it! I really hope the others would love theirs too. :)

MY SASSY ART
https://www.facebook.com/MySassyArt

 

Photobooth: Booked!

Since photobooths seem to be the default souvenirs for the guests, Mox and I decided to search for the most affordable photobooth supplier in the market. At first, I wanted a photobooth that offers multiple printing at an affordable price. Most photobooths would print out only one photo per group. So if there are around five of you in the picture, only one of you would get the actual printout. Jusko, mag-aagawan pa kayo sa picture nun.

But then I thought that a photo magnet was a better idea because then you could put your photobooth pictures on your fridge. Ang cute diba? Out of all the photobooths that tried, we fell in love with the photo magnets from Contact Live Photography or CLIP Photobooth.

I've been hearing great reviews about CLIP Photobooth from W@W, and I love both of our photobooth pictures from them when we tried them during the Themes & Motifs bridal fairs. Just a disclaimer: the photos are crappy because I just scanned them, but I assure you that the printing of these pictures is superb. Hehe.

Taken during Themes & Motifs bridal fair last March 2012

Taken during Themes & Motifs bridal fair last March 2013

These are all 4x6 photo magnets, but I wanted something different for my souvenirs. Luckily, CLIP Photobooth offers a variety of souvenirs. They not only do the conventional photo print with a standee, but they can also print your photos on mugs, flipbooks, magnetic bookmarks and even playing cards! Astig diba?

The package that I got from them is called the Magnetic Strips Plus package. It's this cute idea where the first three photos will be printed on a 2x6 magnetic strip. The last photo will be printed on a 2x6 premium photo paper where the guests can write their dedication to the couple. The strips will then be compiled and handed out to the couple. May instant guestbook na kami! Yey! :)

I didn't book them during the bridal fair, but luckily, they had a promo where we would get an additional hour plus free upgrade to a virtual background if we'd book them before February ends. So I was able to get the photobooth for three hours for just a price of two hours! What a steal! :)

We plan to add another souvenir though, but I have to consult my parents for that since it's their gift to us. So in the meantime, the photobooth will be our main gift to our guests. :)

CONTACT LIVE PHOTOGRAPHY (CLIP PHOTOBOOTH)
4/F Bonamy Building, B135 L1 Regalado Hi-Way, Fairview, Quezon City
352-2936
info@contactlivephotography.com

Wedding Cake: Booked!

Our wedding cake was not a priority. In fact, I even said before that I wouldn't get a cake because I find the usual three-tiered cakes too expensive. But then again, the parental units insisted that I must have a wedding cake because it is part of the tradition. Since I didn't want to stir any trouble with them, I just decided to find the cheapest cake possible.

I started scouting for cake suppliers that offer the most affordable cake-only rates at bridal fairs. I wasn't interested at availing their usual packages with the additional mini cakes, cupcakes and other freebies since our dessert buffet from Purpledish already consists of cakes. Baka magmukhang Oompa Loompa na ang mga bisita namin sa sobrang daming cakes. Haha!

Sadly though, most of the suppliers' rates start from P6,500 to P7,500, which was over our budget. I was actually thinking of just spending around P4,000 for our cake. Kuripot much? Hehe. Even Goldilocks offer cakes that were out of our budget range!

Then I chanced upon Hearts and Bells at the Weddings and Debuts bridal fair around two weeks ago. I've been reading great feedbacks about them from W@W for their designs, flavors and affordable rates. I plan to have a customized wedding cake that would showcase our theme, and Hearts and Bells quoted my design at only P4,000 to P6,500, depending on the diameter of the cakes. They do have a delivery charge though of P600, but it was still within our budget.

I was itching to book them already, but I wanted to wait for Mox to help me decide so I started looking for other suppliers. Then I saw Gervy's Cakes at another booth. Instead of using fondant, they use chocolate to cover their cakes—dark, white and even colored chocolate! The cakes even have some chocolate fillings inside! Oh my, I was in chocolate heaven!

Gervy offered this mini cake tower, which has around 20 or 30 mini cakes on it, and a cutting cake, which is customizable to your wedding theme. It costs around P8,000, which was supposedly too expensive for us, but I thought it was too cute to resist. Haha!

Gervy's mini cake tower (taken from their Multiply site)

But when I showed it to Mox, he didn't felt the same way that I did. He didn't want a mini cake tower; what he wanted was a traditional three-layered cake. Gervy's three-tiered cakes were too expensive—starting at around P10,000 I think—so I had to let them go. Sayang.

So I went back to our original choice, Hearts and Bells. When we checked out their portfolio, we saw that they have already made several beach-themed wedding cakes, so I gave them plus points for that. So after discussing things with Mox, we decided to finally get them. Since we booked them at the wedding fair, we had a choice to either have a P10% discount or 15 pieces of cupcakes. We decided to just get the 10% discount so that it would at least cancel out the delivery charge. Hehe.

We just picked out our design from their catalog since we found the perfect beach-themed cake that also had our color motif. I won't paste the picture here though; you just have to attend our wedding to find out. :) A few more suppliers to go and we are finally done! Yey! :)

HEARTS AND BELLS CAKE ARTISTRY
934 Alvarado Street, Binondo, Manila
242-0599 / 244-0255 
heartsnbells@yahoo.com

Wedding Rings: Booked!

Last Friday, we spent a very productive day at the bridal fair because we booked not one, but two suppliers! Yey! :)

First stop was our wedding rings. In the previous bridal fair, we found a design that we both loved in Suarez Wedding Rings at the price that we could afford. So at last weekend's fair, I went straight to their booth to inquire. Our chosen ring was still there, but then I saw another ring that had a similar design, but was more aesthetically pleasing. The new ring was thicker and had round edges, which made the matte white gold center more prominent. It has a more expensive price tag though, so I was having second thoughts on whether we would choose it as our ring design.

I tried looking for other options at the different booths, but everything was P40,000 and above, which was way beyond our budget. So I went back to the Suarez booth, this time with Mox in tow, to choose between the two designs. Mox fell in love with the second ring instantly and wanted to book them already, but I was still hesitant to do so because of our ever-growing wedding budget.

Seeing our dilemma, our AE from Suarez said that we could choose the cheaper ring design and customize it to look similarly like the second ring. He suggested to dull the flat edges of the ring and make it rounder to avoid wounding the skin. He also adjusted the fit of the ring to a semi-comfort fit so that it would rest comfortably on our fingers. These customizations increased the overall price of the rings, but it was still within our budget so we decided to book Suarez and get our original ring choice.

The picture above is our chosen ring design. Since we booked them at the bridal fair, we got two 0.02 carat diamonds on each ring for free! Mox will have some bling on his ring. Haha!

Suarez offers layaway plans at a maximum term of nine months, so it wouldn't be too heavy on our pockets to pay for the rings. But since our wedding is still more than a year away, our AE allowed us to pay for the rings for 12 months, without interest! Now that's a good deal right? :)

Suarez also offers free resizing services and lifetime warranty for their rings. In addition, if we plan to upgrade our rings any time in the future, we can trade in our rings and their value will be deducted from the price of the new rings. So all we have to pay is the remaining balance. Isn't that neat? Haha!

Our AE said that we could drop by their Gateway branch by mid-March to check out our rings. Whee! I'm so excited to see the finished product. :)

SUAREZ WEDDING RINGS
Unit 217, Cubao, Quezon City - Gateway Cubao Branch
913-4143 / 0922-8227220
 

Backup Photographer: Booked!

A few months ago, I mentioned my dilemma on whether I should book a backup photographer or not. I decided not to have one then because I didn't see it as a necessity, only as a nice-to-have that we could do without.

But then I heard a lot of stories from fellow brides whose wedding photos were stolen, lost or corrupted. This is actually one of the situations that I hope I wouldn't encounter during our wedding... well, aside from tripping during the bridal march. Hehe. I honestly don't know what I would do if our wedding photos would be compromised. Iiyak siguro ako ng bonggang-bongga nun. A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event (unless you plan to get married again), so it's almost impossible to recreate the wedding photos if they get destroyed. :(

And so, I thought hiring a backup photographer was a good idea. It slowly became a necessity for me. After all, in case something like this would happen to us (although I'm hoping that we wouldn't experience this kind of stress), at least we would still have photos from the backup photographer, right? Backup photos are better than no photos at all!

Luckily, Mox agreed to book one, so I started searching for someone who has a different style of photography from Osep&Mimi, and who would fit our budget. Then I remembered April, a former W@Wie, who recently ventured into photography with her husband Manny. They are architects by profession, but they do prenups, postnups and backup photography for weddings during weekends. And since they are just starting out, their rates are relatively affordable! :)

I checked out their porfolio and really love what I saw. Their talent is very evident in their photos, and I believe they have the potential to do great in their craft. And so I emailed April for their rates, and she replied instantly. After a few exchanges of emails, I then told her we would book them for our wedding. It was a very quick transaction! April even told me that she was surprised I made a decision right away. Ganun talaga pag excited eh. Haha!

And once I deposit my downpayment tomorrow, I will officially be one of their happy brides. Yey! :)

Here are some of my favorite photos from their portfolio. :) For more of their works, check out their website. :)

MANNY AND APRIL PHOTOGRAPHY
mannyandaprilphotography@yahoo.com

Mobile Bar: Booked!

Alcohol has always played a big part in our relationship. If you read our love story, you can see that Mox and I became a couple with the help of some alcoholic drinks. One of our favorite things to do is to go to Tiendesitas to listen to a few bands and drink some beer. Sometimes, we would even go to videoke pubs to sing our hearts out, and yes, drink some more booze. Lasingero lang ba ang dating? Haha!

That is why we decided to book a mobile bar for our wedding. Since we have a band, we thought serving some alcohol would help bring out the party vibe. Also, it would entice our guests to stay and enjoy themselves even after the program has ended, especially since most of our friends are drinkers.

At first, I thought of just buying beer kegs from San Miguel since most of our male guests prefer beer, but I wanted to offer other choices of drinks, especially to those who want hard drinks and cocktails. Of course, a mobile bar is another nice-to-have, so I had to look for those that are within our budget. When we booked Richgold, our mobile bar was already included in the package, but they only serve cocktails, and getting another bar that would serve shots was another expense that we couldn't afford. It's a good thing though that we moved to Purpledish because the savings that I got from them allowed us to pick a mobile bar that offers a variety of cocktails, shots and shooters.

I was all set to booking one mobile bar that offered 25 mixed drinks for only P10,000, but there were no recent reviews about them. Also, I had to schedule a private tasting just to try their drinks, and I was too lazy to do that. Haha. Then Tine told us about GQ Mobile Bar, which she booked during a bridal fair. She said she got a great deal from them, and the drinks were delicious too! :) So Mox and I went to the Getting Married Bridal Fair to check them out.

Their bartenders at the fair were very nice and accommodating. They explained to us the difference between unlimited and free-flowing drinks. They even gave us advice what package to pick since not all of our guests are drinkers. And I love the drinks that they mixed for us: Screaming Orgasm for me and Screwdriver for Mox. You can barely taste the alcohol in them, but there is still that "alcoholic punch". In short, traydor siya. Haha! Just the way I like my alcoholic drinks. :)

We didn't book them immediately. Instead we went around to try the other mobile bars in the fair. One mobile bar offered a cheaper package, but I didn't like their drinks at all. They didn't mix their cocktails well enough so all the alcohol was left at the bottom of the glass. Yuck.

And so, after much deliberation, I got the go signal from Mox to book GQ. We went back to the booth to pay the downpaynment and sign the contract. This was actually our first bridal fair booking ever! Whee! And because we booked in the bridal fair, we got two additional cocktails for free! :)

And yes, I sampled more drinks at their booth, along with Tine and Adrin. :) It's a bad idea though to mix cocktails because I got tipsy afterwards. Sakit sa ulo! Haha.

GQ MOBILE BAR
0999-8813496, 0920-9614240
gqmobilebar@gmail.com

Florist: Booked!

When we started planning for our wedding, one of our least priorities was our wedding flowers. While others were looking for florists that could arrange the most beautiful bouquets, I would research on those who would offer the cheapest packages. I just don’t find it practical to spend thousands of pesos for flowers that would wilt in a few days, sometimes even in a few hours. 

Deep down, I guess I didn’t want to use real flowers for our wedding. I wanted something nontraditional, something that I could keep as a souvenir of our wedding. In short, I wanted a non-floral bouquet, more specifically one that is made of felt flowers. 

At first, I was so confident in my so-called DIY skills (feelingera lang ang peg) that I decided to make my own bridal felt bouquet. After all, with all the tutorials available in the Internet, how hard could it be diba? I even planned to make all our entourage’s bouquets. I thought they could be cute souvenirs for our entourage as well. Ganun ako kabilib sa sarili ko. Haha! But after a few failed trials (and burns from the glue gun), I gave up because I thought my creations were atrocious. Plus, with all the felt cloth that I kept on buying because of my numerous reworks, I could end up spending more money than what is necessary.

So, I went back to the original plan of sourcing the cheapest vendors of fresh flowers. I inquired with some of the popular florists like Amante Fleurs, but their cheapest package was still too expensive for us. I already thought of going to Dangwa to book any florist there who would fit our budget. Ganun na ako kadesperada. Haha.

Then sis Czy of GirlTalk sent me a private message advertising her new business, Do It Myself by Xheng. She is also a bride, but she makes felt and brooch bouquets as her sideline. I have seen her works before, but I didn't take note of them because, as I said earlier, I thought I could DIY my own bouquet.

But now, I'm so happy to have found her again. I really love her creations! They are so colorful and so cute! The flowers look so real; you can't even tell that they are made from felt from afar. Her rates are very affordable too. She even gave me a discount just so that her package would fit our budget. Ang bait niya sobra! And so after exchanging a few FB messages with her to customize my package, I deposited our downpayment and signed the contract. Yey! I finally found my non-floral "florist"! Haha. Ang labo.

Here are some of her wonderful felt creations, as shown in her Facebook page! The last two bouquets are my favorites. :)

Aren't they lovely? :) I'm so excited to see how she would do my bridal bouquet and my entourage's flowers. :)

Do It Myself by Xheng
0947-1800757 / 0905-8877099