The Pre-Cana Seminar

The pre-cana seminar is a requirement of the Roman Catholic Church. All couples have to go through the seminar (usually during the weekend), a task that most (if not all) couples dread going through because it takes up time and you don't really know what to expect.

It's worth going through though.

The seminar we attended took 2 days. I had to get up really, really early since the seminar was scheduled to start at 8 a.m.. In the spirit of togetherness, Sweetie and I decided to meet earlier and have breakfast first. A rare occurrence :)

Day 1 of the seminar consisted of talks on personhood, family and parenting, and family planning. I'm pretty sure the guys had fun during the Q&A and exercises during the family planning module. It was also the most hilarious. Day 2 was surprising interesting since it focused more on the husband and wife relationship, including resolving conflict and better communication. We were also given exercises and a guide on stuff that couples need to talk about before getting married.

Most of the speakers said that we were lucky to have a full-length pre-cana seminar since during their time they either didn't have to go through one or it was just a one-hour session. I'm glad that we went through it and I'm thankful to the speakers who volunteered their time for us.

Bridal Make-Up

I admit, I want to be beautiful on my wedding day! And we've been scouting around for the perfect make-up artist. I know there are a lot and most, if not all, are very skilled, but I wanted someone I'd have good rapport with.

I originally wanted Inay, my long-time hairdresser and make-up artist to take care of my "look" for the wedding, but she said that they don't service anymore outside of the salon. I rarely have my make-up done professionally, so I was quite at a loss at the beginning. So we scouted for some when we attended wedding expos.

I wasn't keen on doing several trial make-ups. It takes time and is costly too, but I know it's important to go through at least one and I did for four reasons:

1. I wanted to see if the make-up artist would be able to make me look really pretty without changing how I look. I don't want Sweetie to think he's marrying someone else. LOL.

2. I wanted to see how long the make-up would last and if it wouldn't cake/crack. I've also been having a lot of allergies, so that's a huge concern.

3. I don't want heavy make-up. I just want to use a couple of cotton balls and astringent when I take the make-up off. Besides, I'm going to be a bride and not an actor for a play.

4. I want to see if I have good rapport with the make-up artist.

So what do you think?

Wedding Musicians

Aside from food, one of the most important components that you should spend time on for your wedding is entertainment. I've attended a lot of wedding and I remember the ones that had a good mix of family/friends and professional entertainment. Finding that mix is tricky because having everything go smoothly may also become boring.

It's great if your family and/or friends are willing to help in entertaining your guests, but if they're too shy, fear not since there are a good number of wedding musicians you can get for your church ceremony and reception. Here are a couple:

Manila Philharmonic Orchestra

Services: Duet, Trio, Quartet, Quintet, Sextet, Octet, 10 pc.. 35 pc./Singers

Price Range: PhP6,000 to PhP35,000

email: manilaphilharmonic (at) yahoo.com

Serene8 Music Co.

Services: Choir, Acoustic Band, Show Band, Vocalists

Price Range: PhP20,000 and up

email: serene8.music (at) gmail.com

contact numbers: +(632) 710-5316 or 0917-8379266; 0922-4050982

The RSVP String Ensemble

Services: 4/6/10 musicians/Singers

Price Range: PhP15,000 to PhP49,500

email: sally_vitor (at) yahoo.com

contact numbers: 0917-8199721

String Minstrels

Services: Duet, Trio, Quartet, Quintet, Sextet, Octet, 10 pc., 12 pc., 15 pc., 20 pc./Vocalist

Price Range: PhP6,000 to PhP62,000

email: edanit85 (at) yahoo.com

contact numbers: +(632) 984-3492; 0917-9477169; 0916-2699826

JJS Entertainment

Services: Duet, Trio, String Quartet, Quintet, Acoustic, Show Band, Sound System, Singer

Price Range: PhP6,000 to PhP18,000

email: songs (at) jjs.com.ph

Stradavarius String Ensemble

Services: Duo, Trio, String Quartet, Quartet, Quintet, Vocal Soloist

email: justinmark (at) edsamail.com.ph, info (at) stradstring.com

Leggiero Strings

Services: piano, flute & violin music

email: info (at) leggierostrings.com

La Bella Voce & Co.

Services: Singers, Instrumentalists

Price Range: PhP4,000 to PhP15,000

email: annabellemontes (at) yahoo.com

Serenata Strings

Services: Duet, Trio, Quartet, Quintet, Sextet, Octet, Vocalist

email: lorenz_arquero (at) yahoo.com, serenatastrings (at) gmail.com

SJT String Ensemble

Services: Duet, Trio, Quartet, Quintet, 6-pc., 8-pc., 10-pc.

Price Range: 13,500 to 50,000

email: sjtstrings (at) yahoo.com

Attending Wedding Expos

Brides (like me!) today are very lucky to have wedding expos almost every month. I've personally been attending wedding exhibits for about a decade now. I used to attend as an exhibitor and eventually I accompanied engaged friends and then it became a hobby for me and Sweetie to get content for this blog. It was only in the past few months that we really utilized what wedding expos had to offer.