The Performers

On our 25th Wedding, I swear to get the same suppliers turned friends who shared their passion, professionalism and expertise in their craft. In no particular order, allow me to thank the following:

Marex Gaba. He was the WC of my cousin Ate Darling circa 2006 when I was then the MOH. Now Ate Darling is my Matron of Honor and I have no person in mind but Marex. He is currently the VP of the Philippine Association of Wedding Planners (PAWP). He should be tagged as the bride's bestfriend because he knows what to do in every situation. We were lucky that he shared with us his more than 10 years experience in the industry. He hosted the reception and taught us our first and crazy dance. Most importantly, he directed us only to what's "fabulous" and veered us away from the NOT. 

Michael Badang Rueda our MOTHER. His friendship and unconditional love transcends to being the interior designer of our new home :) [insert OMG!] Ron and I were very lucky to have him as our event stylist who made our dream GOLF and LAW wedding come true. He gave every bit/piece of himself to our wedding: from golf balls to ball-shaped flowers, wheat grass, grass table runners, trees, branches, SCRA, palm leaves, candles and so much more! The unofficial photos lurking somewhere in my facebook page would show WHY he is on top of his game. He's not just all glamour, he is all work and I mean hard ass kicking work. Tell him how you imagined your wedding to be and he will make it a reality. Brides ahead of me call him as fairy godmother, the media call him as Celebrity Stylist. For Ron and I, he is simply Mother Badang who is very true to his work, he looked and cared for our wedding as his very own. 

our first meeting at greenbelt

Here are some unofficial photos from the reception (from fb pages of Melody Mae Hao See and Jill Opay-Perello).

(guest table)

(VIP table)

(our wedding cake under a tree and on top of the grass with golf balls and SCRA)

(Titleist golf balls on every table-yabang much!)

(wheat grass, loose petals, candle)

Jayson and Jo Anne Arquiza I still thank God I was able to book the spouses. First off, Jo Anne Arquiza has a laser eyes and uncanny sense for details. She makes small non-living things speak and breathe. Seriously. Jayson Arquiza's quick fingers captures every bit of emotion millimeter by millimeter. He is crazy about colors and sticks to the natural. Mark this blog for these two will bankrupt Photoshop soon. Their so-called "raw photos" are sooo good, no editing needed.

They also helped us out with our "not your usual prenup" AVP, here it is:

An Out of Court Settlement from Margaret Andaman on Vimeo.


Finally, the kind of raw photos that Im talking about is best depicted in their Onsite Slideshow:


Ron & Marj Onsite Photo Slideshow from Margaret Andaman on Vimeo.

Nice Print Photography & Exige Weddings I got a very emotional and detailed SDE by PAOLO. He is heaven sent and he knows what he's doing. He captured all the smiles and tears, the fine architecture of the Church, our crazy entrance, Cardinal's message, Fatima Soriano, and the colorful balloons! How he did that? Pure talent. He is a director himself. We listened and followed him. He suggested Perfect Day as the song and it perfectly matched! Ron and I tirelessly watch our SDE and our viewer-friends told us they get teary-eyed. Feeling artista kami! Thank you so much Paolo for this. We can't wait for the full coverage. :)


Ron & Marj 12.9.12 from Margaret Andaman on Vimeo.

Joy San Gabriel Cakes How can a wedding cake be beautiful, creative, quirky and yummy all at the same time? Huge golf ball cake with very cute golf couple as topper! Her cake was our "practical" souvenir for our VIPs who are still salivating a week after our wedding. She's so thoughtful, she even gave us addicting brazo bites as thank you gift. Even before the wedding Joy and I are exploring possible business partnership and I am excited to be her partner soon aka "taga kain ng cake". I'll never forget her. She's sooo humble and sooo nice!

(up close wedding cake golf ball, photo of Atty. Kristine Ambatali)

Joel Bagamasbad and George Aliben I have no words but thank you for making me the most beautiful bride! How I wish Im living with you two para Im THAT pretty every freakin stressful day at work. My make up stayed on even if I am crying and sobbing and wiping myself most of the time.

(photo of George Aliben)

They also did my HMU in our prenup moments, here are some photos:

Jun Escario and Hilque Baban Dairo for my elegant and classic wedding gown! Exactly how I imagined it to be. Take note: laser cut but nothing edgy or sparkly. Just feminine, exquisitely pang "Super Babae", a TM Jun Escario. I will keep this forever and I will pamana it to the next generation and by then, I hope its still Jun who will make or revise it :)

Vorge Cunanan is a good friend waaay back. He helped me with my very beautiful entourage! He is our family's designer since the beginning of sequins and beads when I'm not even in law school yet! He is young and talented. He strives hard and he listens to what you want. In our wedding, I insisted a combination of two very contrasting colors [pretty much like me and ron] and Vorge was able to mix them well: very dark coral and very dark green (light colors for the kids). His patience and hard work paid off!

(from Angelique Lyn Pelia's FB)

Onsite Studio for my giveaways! I told them about my golf theme and they came up with a 3D golf background. Guests enjoyed them extremely. We chose 8R printouts [I think]. Basta they are huge! :) I'm happy that our guests can display their photos in their home or office and remember our wedding! ;)

(from Dondee Reyes' FB)

(from Jill Opay-Perello's FB)

Bizu Patisserie for my dessert buffet, coffee and tea station. The guests happily drooled and devoured them, thank you.

Dragon Fireworks our first dance made more memorable with their indoor fireworks!

(from Jill)

Sensitivity Lights and Sounds for setting the right mood and for smooth operation and zero technicalities. If you want assurance of no brownouts, no bright white lights and no songs that jumps like a pirated cd, get them.

Fatima Soriano and Miguel Haleco Ron and I were so blessed to have them both as our wedding singers. Mara Naredo (SDCA HR) is the cousin of these two and through her, we were able to book our last [and outstanding] supplier. Fatima needs no introduction. The whole world knows her for inspiring people because despite her blindness, she has so much faith in the Lord. Her famous songs are: Give Thanks, Lift Up Your Hands. My Offering, among others. She is a Star Records talent who recently bagged the Awit Awards beating those ASAP singing divas. 

On the other hand, Miguel Haleco is a talent of Dyna Records who is more popular among the kabataan :) He is a walking magnet, he attracts attention wherever he is. Despite such popularity, he remains grounded and he works hard at improving and developing his talent by continuous learning of Music Production at CSB.You can listen to his songs and download them for free at: Migz Haleco

Vicky Aoki. Our jeweller. She is family friend and she gave me and Ron very reasonable rates for these beautiful rings. Sorry I can't give out much information about her except that she supplies all the beautiful gold chalices and church ornaments of Ayala Alabang parish church.

The Write Impression. Since our theme is golf and law, we had two invitations: Subpoena Invitations (DIY) for our friends and colleagues, in short sa mga kabataan and a Golf Wedding Invitation for VIPs and oldies, personally inspected and designed by Ghia Pastoral, the owner of TWI. She knows everything that involves paper and ink. She got the very evasive kind of green that I want!

Look for her, not elsewhere. I know couples experience trouble with invites, so if you want that stress-free road, look for Ghia. She will not fail you. I promise.

So there, I hope I'm not missing out on anyone who really performed and may this blog help couples who are on the wonderful and exciting stage of wedding planning. Ciao! :)

June July Nothing

In my last post, I said that we will personally go to our Principal Sponsors to give them our STDs. To date, we were able to give only 5/24. Lazy!

But at least I was able to choose my bridal shoes na (Yes, its really all about me). My supplier for this is Perfect Match Shoes and I coordinated closely with Ms. Mari (owner). I wanted to splurge on a secret shoe (the brand that must not be named because fiance might be reading) and buy it online but I'm scared of a lot of things: its look on my feet, its comfort and its fit. With Ms. Mari, I can "personalize" the height and I requested for extra extra cushions para ngalay-proof. I think the pair won't exceed PHP5k, I'm not sure. but still compared to the one with brand, panalo na ako. I cant post the picture yet because you'd know the secret brand. Sa official photos nalang.

In June-July, we were also looking for our prenup outfits. I will follow Earl's fashion book to the letter because I have no sense of fashion. I found everything already and I'm done with all the dresses, shoes nalang. Si Ron we bought I think 2/5 of his outfits na. But our real problem is, both of us are still eating like pigs. In my case, my weight flip-flops just like the Supreme Court despite my M-F tuna sandwich lunch! I should be disciplined I know, cant help it I have huge appetite at night!

So from now I'll quit the tuna and have a full meal instead para mas lalong tumaba! ;)

4 months nalang and I feel like I'm still not doing anything.

Give STD

I'm sorry to disappoint but I'm referring to "Save the Date" :)

Save the Date antics are becoming increasingly popular in the Philippines (for the feeling busy individuals). We decided to have a "save the date" item before the invitation since ours is a destination wedding. We will give the STDs only to the V.VIP and VIP so they can "save" our wedding in their planners or with their so-called Chief of Staff and/or secretary ;)

At the bridal fair last March, Ron and I saw a desk calendar that could be useful in the office. It looks like this:

(Photo from Wingdingz)

We ordered the same desk calendar at Wingdingz. Ron thought that our pre-nup pictures would be part of the calendar but realized later on: "Why would the guests want our stupid faces on their desks?!" Plus we would be pressured to lose weight fast and shop clothes ASAP for the pre-nup photos. I figured that we should just make some cartoon on one side and the actual calendar on the other side. Ron wanted PUGAD BABOY groom and bride. But pigs are not part of "THE" theme.

Applying martial law, I dismissed his idea and frantically searched online of whatever that would be coherent with "THE" theme. I found some inspirations from Google (of course, what else would you not find in Google) and began describing to Ms. Gian Escresa of Wingdingz the full details of well, my imagination. Here's our cartoon:

The calendar side starts on June because we will distribute it on June talaga. Ron wants "Please save the date for the union of Ron and Marj in Jesus Christ". I think the idea is OK and acceptable but given our very comical/ quirky look in the picture above, I thought of editing it to (just) "Ron and Marj are getting married". and to give the guests something to look forward to, I added "formal invitation to follow".

Without much ado, the calendar side looks like this:

I'm so happy! I love my Save the Date calendar design! (But more than that, it's really my brilliant and artistic self that I love-hahaha!). I'm keeping one in my office. 

Special thanks to Ms. Dennise (Manager) and all credits to Ms. Gian (Client Relations) of Wingdingz. Look for her, she knows everything. ;)

Final Output:

(Photo from Wingdingz)

Next stop: give the Ninongs and Ninangs STD, personally. [not sexually]

Big task, I hope we'll be done by the end of June.

Trial Make-Up Adventure

I started early, since make-up is as important as the food (PG kasi ako) and photos (vain kasi ako).

I was advised by ALL brides to make sure I do trial first. It is, according to them, an indispensable requirement. But being the very practical girl that I am, I do not want to "trial" for trial's sake. So I thought of all the occasions ahead and decided to do trial only when Im attending an occasion.

During the very early stage of our preparations, I personally met with Ms. Charisse Tinio, owner of Niceprint/Exige (btw, she's the first one I booked, wala pa kaming definite date, church and reception, SYA NA!)  I asked her a Boy Abunda question: "Ms. Charisse, since you're the one behind those cameras, who for you is the best make-up artist based on the photos you print?"

She thought long and hard. She gave me three: 1) Toto Bagamasmad; 2) Mickey See; and 3) Albert Kurniawan.

Thereafter, the next occasion was my cousin's wedding on 24 March 2012 but Mickey See was her MUA na, so di ko sya na-try. However, I still communicated with him and learned how steep his TMU is, PHP6,500. I asked Albert Kurniawan and learned din that he charges PHP7,000.00. I was aghast, ang mahal ng TMU nila, hindi ko naman magiging kamukha sina Kristine Hermosa and Heart Evangelista respectively. On the other hand, Toto's TMU was reasonably priced at 3,500, but he was not available on that date.

My (future) sister in law, Earl suggested Lourd Ramos, a very fab salon owner of "Creations". He's very humble, given his 18 yrs of expertise in hair and make-up. And yes, he is THE Smashbox Ambassador to the Philippines. We clicked and chika-ed a lot. He charged me, PHP3000 for TMU. Here are my photos:

My mom super loved my make-up. Batchoy liked my MU too. But my cousins at the wedding thought that my face looked "matapang". So I thought of another TMU.

The next occasion was St. Dominic's college graduation (16 April 2012). Good thing, Toto was available (and willing) to do my face, even at 6:00 a.m. Oh by the way, I have good friend in DOLE (Atty. Tin Ambatali) who got married on 3 March 2012, Toto was her MUA in her wedding and prenup, and she only had good things to say about him.

Toto arrived at our house just on time. Note: he did not get lost, and I LOVE people who are on time. He started spreading his armory and I did not bother to look at his make-up brand. I simply trusted his fingers and hand. Yes, no sponge. With him are Ruben (the hairstylist) and Dyosa (the assistant). Ruben was equally unique on how he can softly twist and turn my hair. Dyosa on the other hand, knows what to prepare, set-up and of course actively assisted the two. Here are my pictures:

I'm more comfortable with how I looked with Toto's make-up. And I guess the fact that I got too many compliments in my FB page helped me decide na SYA NA!

I am glad that it only took two trials for me to decide. YIPEE!

Pre-Cana Seminar

The title of the seminar was lifted from the Wedding at Cana (Gospel of John) where in the middle of the celebration, the couple ran out of wine. Jesus performed his first miracle when he turned the water into wine. In modern times, the "running out of wine" is likened to the different problems in every relationship such as misunderstanding, unmet expectations, etc. Hence, this seminar.

St. Benedict Church conducts its own pre-cana seminar and we had ours at the Clubhouse of Ayala Westgrove Heights, 14 April 2012, 9am-5pm.

The speakers dared not to discuss the Family Code to us. Being in OSG, Ron would be more precise than their materials ;-)

We appreciated the Genogram and the 5 Languages of Love.

In the Genogram, we were required to draw our family tree (from lolos and lolas) and see any pattern of physical, sexual, verbal abuse, in jail, addiction and mental illness. We were told to analyze and look into our family's own strength and weakness.

Being the pasaways that we are, Ron and I added our own description that were not included in the choices, for our titos, titas, and pinsans. We have decided that some traits are really "namamana". For us, the tool was helpful because we are now aware of which traits to avoid and which ones to keep.

The 5 Languages of Love was likewise helpful in determining what we individually consider as the manner or showing love. We were given an exam and it appears that both of us preferred QUALITY TIME as our top choice in showing love. Second choice for Ron is "WORDS OF AFFIRMATION" while mine is a tie between "ACTS OF SERVICE' and 'RECEIVING GIFTS' (hahaha!).

Well now, at least we know.

Here's the FIRST CERTIFICATE with both our names on it:

ALMOST Done

I was consistently warned that a December wedding knows no weekdays, it's the busiest and the craziest season especially when the second week kicks in. With this in mind, I am convinced that I should be done by the month of May, because I would be left not only with the tira-tira but with the sky-rocketing prices for buying them out in exchange of the christmas parties.

So I put on my working clothes and shifted everything to 5th gear. Having a new mantra: "work ethics makes all the difference" (from Lance Gokongwei)

By the end of March, I was ALMOST done.

Note: I personally meet them on top of my incessant texts and mails. I'm driving them mad, I know. Well at least they're aware that I mean business.

Reception- the Hills
Flowers and Style- Badang Rueda
Coordinator and Emcee (choreographer too)- Marex Gaba
Lights and Sounds- Sensitivity
Gown- Jun Escario
Entourage- Vorge Cunanan
Caterer- Avengoza Catering
Dessert- Bizu

Cake- Joy San Gabriel

Photo and Video- Nice Print/Exige Weddings by Ms. Charisse Tinio

Save the Date- Wingdingz
Coffee bar- Al Fresco, St. Dominic TAFE
Bridal Car- c/o Ninong Masang
MUA- Toto and Ruben
Beauty- natural (echos!) Dr. Leah Martires-de Leon takes care of me ever since.

Already have a shortlist on the ff:

Invitation

Musicians

Souvenir

I have non yet for the ff:
Shoes

Will blog each and everyone of them after the big day.

Am I excited? 

VERY.

Ora et Labora

Right from the start, we were in agreement that Manila is not one of the choices.

Being the more traditional one, Ron wanted the wedding to be in Maragondon but I figured there's no decent hotel within the area. So we decided to go for either Tagaytay or Batangas. We searched high and low, spent Saturdays and Sundays, we were exhausted and I began considering St. Alphonsus at Magallanes where we usually hear mass. We considered Highlands-eks, everyone got married there. Punta Fuego-eks, needs endorsement for every 20 guests. Hamilo Coast- eks reception still looks like ballroom inside a hotel.

And then we found St. Benedict.

The solemnity in the area is solid. It really is a Benedictine community. I am reminded of our school, San Beda that taught us one good virtue we apply in life: "Ora et Labora". Prayer and Work.

Indeed, it's a deafening YES for St. Benedict Church at Ayala Westgrove, Silang Cavite.

We wanted to reserve right away, but their policy is "interview first before reserve".

We were scheduled three weeks after, we couldn't wait.

Finally, its 29 February 2012, 8am. We were interviewed by Father Isagani Avinante and we learned soooo many things. He made us comprehend fully what marriage is all about. His teachings hit right to the core.

I wish I could share EVERYTHING that he said without divulging what otherwise should be personal and confidential to couples. At least, I think it is my responsibility to let everyone know this one important logic that he said:

"Do not associate love with emotions, love is not a feeling.

Love is a decision, love is a commitment.

So that someday when you're gray and old 

and you might not feel anything for the other, 

love will make you stay."