Wedding Announcement: Gangoso-Pastor Nuptials

Mabel is my friend from the Sun Valley Music Ministry. We come quite a long way already and through the choir we've done numerous wedding performances. And, one of the greatest benefits of being in a choir? You don't need to hire a choir or wedding singer. Plus, you also get the benefit of free wedding coordinators and helpers. I remember Mabel and Jaja helping me out for one of the biggest weddings I've done.

Mabel and I used to rant a lot about our singleton existence. One day, she declared she will have a boyfriend before her xx birthday. Yes, she did! An old flame, Ricky was Mabel's first boyfriend. They've been separated for more than 7 years - as partners and physically. She never thought she'd see him again because she moved here in Manila a few years back and was but all gone from her radar.

Until, one day, they bumped into each other. Ahhh, so romantic indeed. It didn't take a long time for them to rekindle the old flame and after less than a year decided to tie the knot.

Is that destiny or is that destiny? True love, no matter how impossible the situation is, finds itself back to where it should be.

The Gangoso-Pastor Nuptials:

Date: October 20, 2007
Church: Mary Immaculate Church, Las Pinas
Reception: Nature's Cafe, Las Pinas
Motif: apple green
Expected No. of Guests: 120

I'll be featuring Mabel's choices as it comes up. Oh, I will be, of course, a professional abay again.

Twisted Tips: Choosing a Photographer

If there’s one supplier you should have a great relationship with among your wedding suppliers: it’s your PHOTOGRAPHER.

And monster bride’s be warned. Be very warned! You don’t want your gorgeous self to look like a basing sisiw in your wedding photos do you?

I remember a friend of mine hired a photographer that I didn’t recommend. I thought his photos were kinda bland and I had this funny feeling about him. I wanted them to get another photographer whom my amiga used for her wedding. Well, the bride scrimped for the wrong reason and got that photographer. It was a total disaster since a few days before the wedding the bride and the photographer had a shouting match about payments. Geeez! I wasn’t happy myself with the photos he took of me.

On the other hand, my best friend, Tappy, decided to do away with a videographer and just hired a photographer to take black & white photos of her wedding. One of her colleagues, Boggs who is a professional photographer, also took photos of her wedding. Guess who had the better photos?

Establishing great rapport with your wedding photographer is key to having great photos. Why?

Because he will treat you like a friend and will make sure that your photos will look great.

I’ve been spending a lot of time with photography hobbyists and these are the things I learned:

(1) The rapport will help because it would be easy for you to relax in front of the camera. When I started out hanging with these photography hobbyists, I was quite uncomfortable with the fact that their lenses were up my nose all the time. Until I got used to it.

(2) Friends know your nuances. They can actually determine when you’re about to give an impish smile and capture that in your camera.

Check out the photos below by Sasha Manuel and Abe Olandres:

*Please take note that they are photography enthusiasts/hobbyists and they don't do this for a living. I just want to illustrate the fact that photos get better when you have great rapport with the photographer.

Photos by Sasha Manuel

Photos by Abe Olandres

And remember:

Make your photographer your best friend.

Setting the Date of the Wedding

Aaaargghh! I've been so busy being a lakwatsera I've basically been a MIA wedding planner!

But, lo and behold! I have been busy talking with two friends who are about to get married. They've requested me to be their wedding planner (I hope they know what they're doing! But thanks for the vote of confidence my dear friends!). It would be quite a challenge since their fiances are both abroad (one in New Zealand, the other in Malaysia). Things are a bit crazy coz:

Couple A - Groom is in Manila, Bride is in New Zealand
Couple B - Groom is in Malaysia, Bride is in Iloilo

And how complicated could it get?

Anyways, that's beside the point. Couple A is kinda confused at the moment when to set the wedding date. Couple B originally planned it for this month, but had to push it back because the groom got a job in Malaysia.

So when should you set your wedding? Well, based on the weddings I've been through, these are the things couples usually consider when setting the date of the wedding:

1. Anniversary - pfffft (rolling eyes), but it's true, a lot of couples set their wedding date based on their "anniversary date". My parents didn't. I only found out about the day my Mom agreed to be my Dad's girlfriend when I unearthed one of their love letters.

2. Budget - when the projected budget is already available. Of course, couples have to save up for the wedding, it's quite rare now that a guy already has a wedding nest egg on hand before he proposes. Only happens in the movies I guess. But this is a major decision point.

3. Availability of Relatives - if you're Filipino, I'm sure you've got relatives who are going to come home just to attend your wedding. Why do you think statistics show that most of the weddings are during the Christmas season and not June?

4. Vacation Leave - what's a wedding without the honeymoon? You're going to have to spend a lot of time off from work to prepare your wedding coz you have to attend seminars, choose a caterer and go shopping for stuff.

5. Readiness - notwithstanding that couples should be ready before they think about tying the know, but ya know it doesn't hurt to think about the reasons why you are marrying the person and whether you are really ready or not. As Peter Parker's aunt said, "You must be ready to put her before yourself. Are you ready to do that Peter?"

There are many reasons you have to consider when setting the date of your wedding. You can do this by yourselves or you can involve your family, but I think the most important thing is being prepared and knowing what you are getting yourself into.

*Photo - that's my best friend on her wedding day.