Lights and Sounds: Booked!

It's now January 2013, which means we are just a few months away from our one-year mark! Therefore, it's time to go back and do some more wedding preps baby! Hehe. :)

Next on my list is to book our lights and sounds provider. Now in the wedding industry, when you say lights and sounds, one name would automatically come into mind and that is Rejectkrew. Elmer of Rejectkrew has got to be the most polite person in the whole wide world! I mean, who else could inject at least five "po" in just one sentence? Pati tuloy ako, nahahawa na sa kaka-po niya! Haha!

Seriously though, Elmer is one of the best in his craft. I don't know anything about the technical aspects of lights and sounds, but from the pictures that I saw in his website, I thought the the lighting was beautiful. Most brides think that lights and sounds are not that important, but in reality, it could actually set the mood of the reception. Kaya nga may tinatawag silang mood lighting. Haha. Ang labo ko, sorry.

The only complaint that I have with Elmer is that he is sooooooo hard to meet. Not because of his attitude, but because of his unbelievably busy schedule! Every day, he has an event to attend to, and whenever he is free, I'm the one who has no time to meet. Seryoso, para siyang artista sa sobrang hirap niyang tagpuin. Since last year, I have been trying to set up a meeting with him, but to no avail. And since I'm scared that he would increase his rates this year, I decided to brave the afternoon traffic in EDSA last Friday just to go to Le Pavillon in Pasay to meet with him, since he has an event there that day. Imagine my travel from Marikina to Pasay on a busy Friday afternoon, on freaking EDSA! Ganun ko siya gustong makita at mabook.

It was a good thing though that I met him during one of his events, because I was able to see firsthand how he works. The lighting that he did for the wedding was so romantic, with all its purple and blue light effects. I don't have any pictures because I was too shy to shoot at someone's wedding, but trust me on this. Ang ganda lang. Elmer was also able to explain to me what kind of lights they use, although I just kept on nodding because honestly, I couldn't understand a word he was saying. Hehehe. I then paid P1,000 to lock in his rates, received his acknowledgment receipt, and viola! I am officially a Rejectkrew bride. :)

Just a tip to all brides who wish to get Rejectkrew: text Elmer late at night (around 11pm to 12 midnight) to get a faster response from him, since this is the time when he would come home from an event. He would reply to me almost instantly whenever I would text him during those times. Also, Elmer said that if you're a TOE or a KTG bride, you can just ask your coordinator to book him on your behalf, especially if you don't have the time to meet up with him. Just a little patience, my fellow brides, and you will be able to get in touch with him in no time. :)

REJECTKREW
0922-8747246
funkymix08@hotmail.com

 



 

P.S. I was also able to meet Thoffy last Friday since he was also the OTD coordinator of the wedding in Le Pavillon. See, worth it talaga ang pagbiyahe ko. Haha!

Reception Venue: Booked!

During the initial stage of our wedding preps, I was already set to book North Greenhills Clubhouse as our reception venue. It was near Sanctuario de San Jose, which was our chosen church at that time, and it was within our budget. Best of all, it can easily fit in all our guests AND a live band. I was just waiting for its 2014 calendar to open in January so that I can book it for our wedding.

But unfortunately, I learned that North Greenhills now requires a sponsorship to rent the clubhouse. Since I don’t know anyone who lives in that subdivision, or even around that area, I had to let go of the clubhouse and search for other options for our venue.

I was already feeling a bit stressed about this issue because we couldn’t afford those big event halls such as Oasis and Light of Love. Meanwhile, most, if not all, of the other clubhouses in Pasig require sponsorships. Our last option was Acropolis Clubhouse, but I heard that the clubhouse could only accommodate 150 guests max, and if we added a live band, then it would be too crowded already. So it was back to the drawing board again.

Arbee of Kiss the Girl Events (who's also a good friend of mine) suggested Christ the King’s parish hall as an alternative. The parish hall was not part of our list of choices because I thought bands were not allowed there since the hall was right beside the church, but Arbee assured us that they do allow live bands. In fact, one of her clients will have their wedding at the parish hall and they also have a band. And with that, I decided to visit the place and see if it would fit our standards.

When I saw the hall, I couldn’t help but grin. IT WAS PERFECT. It was spacious; I think it could house around 250 to 300 guests. There's also a little nook at the back of the room where we can put the registration table, photobooth or whatever item that we want. The hall also has a large stage where our band can perform with ease. And best of all, it's right next to our church; our guests would only have to go down a few steps to reach our reception. Convenient huh?

Ang lawak diba? :)

The overhead lights

This is where Composed Band will play! Yey! :)

Iniimagine ko na yung setup namin dito. Excited much?

Taken from the back of the room

The rental fee costs P25,000 for four hours of use plus P10,000 security bond, which will be returned right after the wedding. A P5,000 downpayment is needed to block your date, and the balance must be paid three months befor the wedding. The hall is open for all caterers, so no need to pay any corkage fees, even for alcoholic drinks! There are additional charges though if we'd bring our own band—P500 per electrical outlet used. They also allow drapes and swags to be hanged, but the use of thumbtacks and scotch tape is prohibited.

Actually, we went a bit over our budget when we booked this reception hall, but I believe that the pros outweighed the cons here, so what's a few more thousand pesos to spend? Besides, this really seems to be the perfect alternative to my orignal choice of venue. I could not wait to see how my caterer would spruce this venue up for our wedding. Oh yeah, it's time to parteeeeey! :)

DIY Sneak Peek: Felt Mums

Hello friends, I'm sorry for not writing for about a week now. I was able to buy some materials for my DIY flowers, so right now, I've been busy unleashing what little creativity that I have to put all these DIY creations together. First on my list: pomander balls for my bridesmaids/secondary sponsors and maid of honor.

Here is a sneak peek of the felt mums that I will use for the balls. :) It took me hours, and a few burnt and sore fingers, just to create that bunch.

Anyway, I'll post the finished product once I'm done. Wish me luck on this project! :)

DIY: M & N Decoupages

Due to the two-day work suspension caused by the monsoon rains last week (and the fact that I was bored out of my mind), I was finally able to begin one of my DIY projects—paper mache decoupages of our initials—which we will use as props for our freenup this Saturday. I was supposed to make a paper mache heart as well, but since this was a spur-of-the-moment thing, I only had time to make the initials. Oh well, I will probably make the heart afterwards so that we can use all three decoupages as decors for the registration area of our reception venue.

First things first, I needed boxes to make the letters. Luckily I was able to find two large cereal boxes in our kitchen cupboard. They’re the perfect size for my decoupages.

Old cereal boxes

I traced the letters on the boxes and then cut them out. Since I’m a DIY beginner, I chose a font that is big and rounded so that it would be easier to cut and form into 3D letters. Of course, those with better arts-and-crafts experience than me can experiment with fancier fonts.

After more than 3 hours of cutting and taping the boxes, and with a few injuries (I scraped my knuckles on the blade of the tape dispenser), I finally have my cardboard 3D letters. Don’t be scared to use lots of tape to make the letters as this will make them sturdy. I practically used up one roll of scotch tape, which made my dad mad. Nagsasayang lang daw kasi ako ng tape. Haha.

3 hours of cutting and taping = 3D letters

Now it's time to make the paper mache! First, I mixed flour, water and a pinch of salt in one bowl until the batter was smooth and had no lumps. Then I tore strips of newspaper. I brushed the box with the paste, then pasted (wow, redundancy at its best) the newspaper strips onto the box, then brushed it again with the paste to ensure that the strips would stick to the box. Make sure to check the nooks and crannies of each letter to see if there are still parts that are uncovered.

Medyo messy lang. x_x

Let it dry completely then paste another layer of newspaper. I had to let each layer dry overnight since I only had limited time to work on it at night, but it would usually take a couple of hours or so to dry.

Paper mache-ing done!

Since I didn't have time to wrap the letters in nice giftwrappers (plus, I'm scared that' I'd just ruin the whole thing), I painted my letters turquoise. There are a few bumps and lumps due to the newspapers, but I liked it because it gives the letters character. I also decorated the letters with orange felt flowers. See, they even fit our color motif! :)

Finished product!

There, I hope my M & N decoupages passed your DIY standards. For a more detailed explanation (if mine wasn't clear enough, hehe.), you may check out this tutorial. :)

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. :)