The Twisted Wedding Planner

Book: The Power 7 Wedding Suppliers

2011-11-12T21:27:00.000+08:00

I got this in the mail a few weeks ago. A book compiled by Thunderbird Resorts with the title, "The Power 7 Wedding Suppliers". The thick book shows the awesome work of some of the wedding industry's popular suppliers.

A dear college friend, Ernest Pascual, is a revered wedding coordinator. When Sweetie and I were planning our wedding I bumped into him a couple of times at wedding events and he was always rushing around together with his client. I had no doubt that Ernest would make it big as a wedding planner because he's so creative and has a great eye for details.

As I was leafing through the book I was awed with the handiwork of the the different suppliers featured. The well-thought out themes for the weddings, the beautiful bridal gowns, the heartfelt photography reminded me how exciting it is to plan one's wedding. Each and every page was a feast to the eyes and certainly awakened my creative juices. It was like putting together all the magazine and resources I read online in one book.

Planning your wedding? Get a copy of this book and see the fabulous work of some of the top suppliers in the wedding industry.

Thanks to Thunderbird Resorts for sending me a copy of the book!

Wedding Proposal on a Building

2011-10-07T16:55:00.002+08:00

Awesome video. Check it out.

How to Start a Wedding Giveaway/Invitation Business

2011-07-25T09:26:00.000+08:00

I got an inquiry from Mia, a reader, asking me how to start a wedding giveaway/invitation business. I established a similar business years ago with my best friend and thought I'd share some lessons I learned from it and from coordinating weddings (albeit free).

1. Look Around, Be Creative - your product offering should be unique. Don't just copy what others are doing. Look for inspiration from books, magazines, materials that are available. My Mom is a very creative person and she can turn anything into a work of art. Experiment!

2. Practice - when I was designing our wedding giveaway (a home-made photo frame) I had to consider a few things -- it had to be unique and it had to represent what my husband and I love doing. I decided on a CD sized photo frame. It took me several tries using different materials before I decided on a final design. It is important to practice so you can come out with a polished end product which you can offer to your clients.

3. The 3 Fs - before going to market make sure to test your products through your family first, then friends and then fools. Haha. It's good to start with your family since if you make a mistake they'd actually be more forgiving because they love. Friends would surely give you feedback on what you should improve on. Make sure that you have a great product before you actually market to strangers because feedback spreads easily (viral) nowadays and it can hurt you even before you've actually began.

4. Expand - after testing the waters with your family and friends it's time to expand your market. It would help to have a website or business blog where you can feature your creations. If I was going to do this for additional income I would start first with my 3Fs and then use my samples from those "clients" and then create a simple site where I can showcase my goods. To drive traffic to my site I would use Google Adwords and earmark a PhP50 budget per day and increase it as my orders and capacity increase. I would then eventually aim and try to export my products because that's where the volume is.

5. Cost is Key - the budget for giveaways/invitations is usually just a tiny fraction of the total wedding budget, so be mindful of the materials that you use for your products (unless you are targeting high-end clients). Be creative and try to customize as much as possible.

Best of luck Mia!

Perfect Boracay Honeymoon Place

2011-06-07T11:11:00.000+08:00

I just realized that I have not made a post about where to go for your honeymoon. Sweetie and I just had what I call a "semi-honeymoon" because I wasn't completely plugged-out from work when we went to Singapore for ten days. I had to go to work during the day while he freely roamed around, so I agreed when my colleagues said our trip back then wasn't our honeymoon. I'm still waiting for the day when we can have a proper honeymoon hehehe.

Anyway, I was in Boracay last week and thought I'd share my experience with Astoria Boracay and thought it's the perfect place to stay for your honeymoon (I'm trying to drag Sweetie with me to go to Boracay haha). I've stayed in different resorts in past trips (from Station 1 to 3) and I liked Astoria Boracay the best.

Upon arrival I was served a tropical drink (pandan and lemongrass I think) and it definitely re-hydrated me after the long trip from Manila. (I ordered another glass the next day because I was craving for it).

The room was really cozy. I loved the colors they used because it really relaxed me and I had a good night's sleep after my massage.

Aside from the usual amenities (bed and TV), it was fitted with a dining table and a small kitchen (with microwave, sink and ref!).

This is where they serve buffet breakfast and lunch. I loved the fish decor!

This is the swimming pool at night. Went swimming in the evening and the water was surprisingly warm. The hotel also provides extra towels in your room for your swimming needs.

The hotel's frontage facing the beach.

I also took a swim in the morning after spending some time in the beach. I was alone so I decided to just hang out in the pool for safety.

Astoria Boracay

Station 1, Boracay Island, 5608 Malay, Aklan
Tel. (+63 36) 288.1111
Telefax: (+63 36) 288.3536

RESORT INQUIRIES AND RESERVATIONS
Manila Sales and Reservation Office:
Ground level, Retail Arcade Astoria Plaza 15 J. Escriva Drive,
Ortigas Business District, Pasig City
Tel. (+63 2) 910.0557, (+63 2) 687.1111 loc. 8024
Telefax: (+63 2) 632.9420
Hotline No.: (+63) 908.872.7922
Mobile No.: (+63) 917.868.4469
Email: sales@astoriaboracay.com, rsvn@astoriaboracay.com

Celebrating a Golden Wedding Anniversary

2011-05-27T10:43:00.001+08:00

My parents celebrated their golden/fiftieth wedding anniversary a week after my wedding. I left the planning and coordinating to my brother since I was already swamped with my own wedding. I was pretty much involved in it still since I ended up handling the church coordination since they were late in church!

Anyway, after months of debating on what to do we decided to hold the celebration where my parents would be happiest -- at the Parish Church they helped build for the ceremony and at home for the reception. We did all the work and spent less than PhP70K for everything.

The Ceremony - the renewal of vows was headed by our Parish Priest and instead of him giving a homily he asked both my parents to share their experiences and secret to a lasting marriage. We, the children, stood in as secondary sponsors. The grandchildren participated as bridesmaids and groomsmen. No more ninongs and ninangs since they don't need it anymore. After the renewal of vows we each gave our thanks and prayers.

The Reception - we managed to pack in everybody in my Mom's garden and just set a small area as a "stage". We made them go through most of the traditions, but kept the whole program as a surprise. One of my nephews prepared a couple of videos where we showed photos from their wedding 50 years ago, the 25th wedding anniversary, the 35th and 40th and included a lot of family photos. The grandkids also performed a couple of song and dance numbers and a reading of one of my Dad's favorite pieces. It was a fun, cozy and intimate evening with close family and friends. Just the way my parents wanted.

Your Bridal Shoes

2011-05-20T09:47:00.000+08:00

I had a hard time looking for the perfect wedding shoes. I just wanted something simple and elegant. I searched in many different shops, here and abroad, but couldn't find 'IT'. So I told my wedding gown designer about my dilemma and he suggested that I should just have my shoes customized and gave me a number to call.

A few days after I flew to Iloilo for a business trip. On the way out of the hotel where I gave my talk I spotted the Iloilo Producers Association Trade Center. I was also looking for hand-made paper that time for my souvenirs so I thought I'd check the place out. In the shop I instantly fell in love with a pair of shoes made out of hand-woven fabric. It was the perfect wedding shoes! Unfortunately though they only had one pair (not my size) and it cost about PhP7,000 (they only accepted cash too)!

Good thing the shop keepers were very helpful and suggested I might want to buy some hand-woven fabric. They brought out a couple of fabrics and I ended up buying 2 colors - in beige-gold and light blue, both my color motifs. I got the blue one as well because my designer mentioned that it was already a trend to use the entourage color motif as your bridal shoes.

My wedding then was just a few weeks away, so I immediately went to Cubao to have my shoes done. In about two weeks I got my perfect wedding shoes. Here's a close-up of both pairs.

Notice the silver/gold streaks? I really like them. Simple, elegant and uniquely Filipino since they were made with hand-woven fabric from Iloilo. It was the perfect match for the Filipino fabric my designer used for my wedding gown. It didn't cost me a lot too.

I broke in the blue one for a few days, but chickened out just before I left for church and wore the beige one instead. I still wear them when I attend formal occasions (oftentimes as part of an entourage).

Your Wedding Album

2011-05-14T12:40:00.000+08:00

One of the things we decided to prioritize in our budget was our photographer. I was bent on getting Mimi and Karl, not only because they are awesome photographers but because we know them already and are good friends with their whole team. Mimi and Karl is one of the most sought after wedding photographers in the country and, of course, quite expensive (hehehe), so we decided to just hire them for photography, minus the trimmings.

Anyway, after almost 18 months I finally had the time to make our wedding album. Here it is:

Here's how I made it:
1. Download the Picture Books application (go here).
2. Layout your wedding album using the application.
3. Save the file into a CD (or USB drive).
4. Bring it to a Picture Books stall (I went to Glorietta).
5. Pick up the book after 2 weeks.
*You can also opt to upload and pay via there website and have it delivered at your doorstep.

Making your own wedding album allows you the freedom at put in as many photos as you like. I ended up with 70 pages and also added our wedding invitation and save-the-date. On the last page I also made a list of our suppliers (minus our bridal car supplier!).

I had so much fun making our album I also made a 20-paged photo album of our first year together.

Price depends on the size, number of pages and whether it's hard bound or soft bound. I'll have to update this post later coz I couldn't find the flyer with the prices hehehe.

Notes for the Bride and Groom

2011-01-05T09:59:00.001+08:00

Here's an idea for a wedding reception decoration/wedding stuff. Get a note from wedding guests by providing a small notepad where they can write short messages for you, and station a jar beside it so they can drop their note in it.

I had a wedding wishing well during my wedding and I have since put all the notes in a scrapbook. Here's a wedding jar from my ninong's wedding -

And the bride and groom can also leave inspirational messages for guests. Make sure though that the jar is big enough to put your hand in.

Nuestra Senora de Gracia Church (Makati City)

2011-01-03T09:44:00.000+08:00

When Sweetie and I were scouting for a church we came across the Nuestra Senora de Gracia Church in Makati City. We originally thought we'd hold the wedding in Makati so we considered the beautiful parish in Guadalupe. We were dismayed though on the prices of reception venues in the area, so we dropped the idea of holding the wedding in Makati City.

Last week we got the chance to attend our ninong's wedding at the Nuestra Senora de Gracia Church and I immediately took a liking to the church. The church is just actually 40 years old, but had the look and feel of stately Spanish churches. The altar was also very beautiful and I love how intimate the church was. It also had a lot of parking space.

Nuestra Senora de Gracia Parish (map)
7440 Bernardino St .
Guadalupe Viejo, Makati City
Tel: 896-8444
Fax: 895-9141

Garter and Bouquet, an Alternative Game

2011-01-01T09:00:00.001+08:00

When I was single I'd usually disappear to the restroom just before the host would call out "all single girls to the front please", but I was usually caught sneaking out and I'd end up in front joining the "bouquet toss". I abhorred it and I know a lot of single people hate it too. It's just really embarrassing.

I've seen alternatives to the game though. Some weddings lined up single girls and had them pick a flower and the one with the shortest or longest stem would be "it". Some weddings did musical chairs. Some did pass the ball and so on. Any way it was done it was still embarrassing.

Last week I finally sat out the game! Hooray! Sweetie and I were both relieved. The game though was started off oh-so-subtly. The newlyweds were called onstage to do their first dance and eventually other couples were called in. My feet were killing me, so Sweetie and didn't join.

Eventually the couples (married or not) were asked to line up. The men were blindfolded and the women were handed a plate of cake. The men had to find their partner and eat the cake. The women were allowed to call out to their partner to reach them. The losing couple got the garter and bouquet and subjected to a lip-locking contest against the newlyweds.

It was fun! It also relieved singletons the embarrassment of being partnered with someone they didn't know. Here's photos from the game:

And guess who won the lip-lock contest?

Have Fun on Your Wedding Day

2010-12-30T10:00:00.001+08:00

I've seen brides get so stressed over their wedding and it showed in their photos.

JUST HAVE FUN! You don't need to be stiff and serious. Have fun! Laugh! And most importantly, be yourself. Just ignore whatever bubus or hitches that may happen, nobody will really notice. In my wedding, the bridal car did not show up... so I took a cab. We had no ride back to the hotel, so we baptized my friend's delivery van as bridal one. My feet really hurt because I wore 3-inched heels, I walked barefoot during the reception. We winged it and we had a great time and that showed in the photos and video.

I was in Tagaytay recently and caught a bride and her entourage having a fun photoshoot. I hope though they didn't walk down the aisle in those cute knee high socks!

A Guide for Maids of Honor

2010-12-27T09:30:00.025+08:00

Anne, my maid of honor who made sure I was always picture perfect.

I have been maid of honor several times before I got married. I was a professional abay and had gowns of every color theme imaginable. When I wasn't a maid of honor I would prep the anointed MOH of what they should do. I did have lots of experience because my first MOH stint was when I was just eleven years old. Crazy huh?

So here's a guide for maids of honor:

1. The rule: your main job is to make sure that the bride is beautiful and comfortable at ALL times. If she ends up oily/sweaty/ugly in a photo it's your fault. (This is the reason why I had THREE MOHs). You are to be the bride's guardian angel/fairy godmother.

2. The second rule: just focus on the bride. For everything else, it's the job of the bridesmaids/groomsmen.

3. What to have in your bag: tissue (lots of it), powder, lipstick, wet tissue alcohol, safety pins, bobby pins, double sided tape, small scissors, small comb, cellphone, and smelling salts (my sister once had to revive my cousin who fainted during the wedding!). These are all for the bride and not you.

4. What to have in an extra bag: slippers, hairspray, make-up (blush on etc.), towel, camera, suppliers list, charger, ballpen, script, and list of entourage.

5. Do not get stressed. You have no right to be stressed because the bride might get affected. Keep calm and always reassure your bride that things are going well.

And, of course, be prepared for your speech in case the couple requires you to come up on stage to share something about them.

And, don't forget to smile.

Customized Wedding Table Decor

2010-12-24T15:34:00.000+08:00

I got the idea of making a customized table decor slash entourage background leaflet when I attended a friend's wedding back in 2005 (yup that long ago). I didn't get a stylist or add any other stuff for our table since: (1) I wanted my guests to talk to each other and see each other (so none of those tall table centerpieces); and (2) I wanted my guests to focus on eating and watching what we had prepared for them. I wanted though to let everybody know about who were part of our entourage and why we chose them to be part of it. So here's what I did -

Inside are descriptions of each person in our entourage which include: (1) how they are related to us; and (2) a short memorable anecdote about them (i.e. My tito taught me how to ride a bike.). I specifically invited close family and friends and no business contacts, so I wanted to communicate to everyone that was there that they were each close to my heart.

I didn't want to leave the back side of the table piece empty so I thought I'd summarize our 800 clicks (800 days of our relationship). It tied up nicely with our pre-nup wedding video.

It's easy to make. Here's what you need:

colored board
laid paper (for printing)
1/4" ribbons
illustration board
double sided tape
photo paper

1. print the content on the laid paper (half-bond); print the love story summary on photo paper
2. cut the colored board in two and on one half install the pieces of laid paper by using a ribbon
3. stick the photo paper on the other half of the colored board with thin double sided tape
4. merge the two colored board with thin double sided tape
5. make sturdy by placing illustration board as the bottom

Your Wedding Reception

2010-12-20T15:23:00.000+08:00

Fun. Should be one of the overriding themes of your wedding. A percentage of your guests would leave after getting their fill of your buffet, but most would stick around if you entertain them properly.

Three factors contribute to a memorable wedding reception:

(1) The Food

I've seen some wedding guests blog about awful reception food. I've seen brides cry over this so Sweetie and I did a lot of research (a.k.a. food tasting) before we hired the right caterer. Our guests raved about the food and have since hired our caterer again and again (our caterer was Ignacio's Catering). It's also good to hire a medium sized caterer instead of a big, commercial one. Why? Because you get to talk directly to the owner and he'll give you lots of tips as well.

(2) The Program

Nowadays you can choose to either have the traditional ceremonies (cake cutting/wine/doves) before the meal, that way everybody witnesses it. Most weddings I've attended also require guests to have their photo taken with the newlyweds before they proceed to the buffet table. Make sure you have a script that your coordinator and emcee can follow so they wouldn't have to bother you during the reception. A sample program/script can be found at this post.

(3) The Emcee/s

Some weddings I've attended provided great food but had inexperienced emcees. My tip is to hire an emcee and not leave the hosting job to just anyone. We were lucky to get professional artists for our wedding (Gabe Mercado and Mhel Garrido aka Bill Kosme) and our guests continue to rave about them to this day. You may also hire professional wedding emcees (you'll find them at wedding fairs) or get one of your relatives/friends who are experienced. One tip though, don't let the emcee sing unless he's a really good singer.

Kilig Engagement Stories from Kasal.com

2010-12-16T12:19:00.000+08:00

Jay and I got featured last weekend at Rated K. We unfortunately didn't get to watch it since we were at the 2010 Philippine Blog Awards. Everyone though we bumped into said that they watched it. I know I have embarrassed my husband enough (since he didn't really want to do it), but I insisted on doing the feature because I wanted to inspire people and show that love and romance is still "in". (You can watch the Rated K clip here.)

After our wedding got featured here at Kasal.com (which is BTW where the researchers of Rated K found out about us), the Kasal.com team invited me to be one of the judges for their "The Proposal Kasal.com Story Contest". I immediately said yes because I knew I was in for a lot of kilig stories.

Here's links to the stories submitted to Kasal.com -

Ann & Bry - http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=128907800496244
Katherine & Lito - http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=128923557161335
Adonis & Karen Sue - http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=130779130309111
Limuel & Ianna - http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=131187583601599
Jet & Jen - http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=133414773378880
Chris & Tintin - http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=133423746711316
Charles & Lara - http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=135131123207245
Joey & Jennifer - http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=135136243206733
Kate & Arnold - http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/notes/kasalcom/kate-arnolds-proposal-story/138403612879996

Wedding Themes

2010-11-20T22:57:00.001+08:00

It took me awhile before I finally came up with a theme for our wedding. It took form when I did the script for our pre-nup AVP.

Here's the thought process I went through to determine the theme for our wedding:

1. Color motif - when I was a kid in the 80s I remember helping out my Mom when we prepared for several family weddings. All the weddings back then were anchored on a color motif. We went through the colors red, peach and cream, pink and lavander (twice) and other baby colors. Nowadays though it's not enough to just have a color motif.

2. Favorite things - we both didn't have any favorite "thing". We both spend a lot of time around computers and the internet, but decided not to anchor our wedding on it because we thought that our elderly guests wouldn't appreciate it (i.e. giving out flash drives would've been useless). Our choice of gadgets or replicas of them would've been quite expensive as well.

3. Favorite things to do - find common things that you both love to do. One of our friends used "coffee" as their wedding theme because they both were coffee addicts. Our interests were quite hard to render as themes since "the internet" isn't something physical. We listed a couple of things and realized that we both love Filipino music (OPM) and immediately decided to use Filipino music for our song line-up. Our interest was also largely internet based so I realized that placing the slogan "We Clicked" in all our wedding materials was apt.

Here's how we rendered our theme on our pre-nup AVP:

And here's how our theme was rendered on our wedding materials:

Wedding invitation by Gail Villanueva.

Cartoon by Miguel Apolo.

Missalette by Ottie Pasigan.

Frames by the Twisted Wedding Planner with help from friends.

*AVP video and editing by Buddy Gancenia, script by me

The Wedding Invitation

2010-11-17T22:25:00.000+08:00

We originally thought of having a traditional wedding invitation. Formal script text on a cream board and the usual wordings, date, time, place and entourage list. We were so busy with other wedding preparations we only managed to finalize our invitation barely 2 months before the wedding.

Here are some tips:

1. Finalize the content before you go to the printer. Make sure you get the complete names, titles and right spelling for the names. Getting everything right is tricky so it's better to do revisions before you even start with the lay-out. Do some research online as well for sample invitations so you can use it as basis for the wording.

2. Scour the internet for sample invitations so you get an idea on how you want it to look. A lot of wedding invitation suppliers also showcase their samples at trade shows and in their shops. It's better though to have an idea of what you want to save time.

3. Customize by adding a personal touch to the invitation. My son, Miguel, rendered us as a cartoon and we used it for our "Save-the-Date" invitation. Our award-winning designer friend, Gail Villanueva, took over designing our invitation (she was horrified at how our rough draft looked). [See what she did above].

4. Save by having a regular printer produce your invitations. Our invites would've cost more than PhP100 had we gone to a wedding invitation printer. We also got a hefty discount from our friend who owned the printing company.

5. Don't give it to all your guests. We only gave physical invitations to select guests and we just sent invites via email (in PDF and through a Google Calendar invite) to other guests.

I remember also helping out a couple of friends for their wedding invitation. We just did the lay-out ourselves and printed it with our home PC printer. You don't need to do everything on your own, remember you have friends who are willing to help, so delegate!

Getting Measurements

2010-11-15T09:10:00.000+08:00

One of the hardest tasks I had to do was getting measurements from my entourage. Most of them are based abroad and were expected to arrive just a few days before the wedding.

Here's a list of the measurements I had to get:

Shoulder - measure from tip to tip

Bust - place tape measure under the arms, take tape around the back and get measurement at fullest part of the bust.

Bust point - shoulder tip to middle of bust.

Bust distance - distance based on the two bust middles

Waist line - this is easy ;)

Figure - start at shoulder, have tape go over middle of bust and end at navel

Arm hole - have tape go around the armpit

Hips 1 - have tape go around about 3" below your waist

Hips 2 - have tape go around approximately 7" below your waist (middle of your behind)

Front deep - shoulder tip to waist line (just straight down)

Back deep - should tip to waist line from the back (just straight down)

Round under bust - have tape go around under the bust

Round under arm - have tape go around the arm (at the armpit area)

From shoulder to under bust - measure from shoulder tip to under the bust (go over middle of bust)

Full length - shoulder tip to heel

So these terms came from our mananahi.

Here's another guide you can use -

http://www.ehow.com/how_2259388_basic-body-measurements-sewing.html

Also, here are some videos on how to take measurements -

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A618038BDE16A900&search_query=how+to+get+body+measurements

Ordering Wedding Gowns from Divisoria

2010-11-10T19:07:00.000+08:00

So far there is no way online you can order wedding gowns/entourage gowns from Divisoria. You have to do it the old fashioned way -- go there!

Here are tips though to make things easy:

1. Make a list of all the gowns and barongs you need to have done. Bring several copies of this list so it would be easy to have the store keeper give you a quote.

2. Bring the design of the gowns you want made. They won't design it for you and will likely make you choose from a magazine.

3. Know what kind of clothe you want to use for the gowns and barongs.

4. Get their phone numbers, fax and email. (Note that they may have email addys, but they don't really check it). List down the name of the person you spoke with so it would be easy to call them back.

5. Measurements. It would be hard to haul your whole entourage to Divisoria, but you can request the store to send somebody to your home to do measurements. It would cost you an additional PhP500 per home visit.

6. For those with entourage based in other countries/regions, request them to send you their measurements (will make a how-to measure post soon).

For a short list of Divisoria wedding gown makers please refer to this post -
http://twistedweddingplanner.blogspot.com/2009/05/braving-divisoria-for-wedding-garments.html

Our Wedding's on Kasal.com!

2010-10-22T14:06:00.000+08:00

I got a pleasant surprise today via email. The feature about our wedding is now up!

Check it out at:
http://www.kasal.com/html/rr/realwedd/dejesus-apolo-wedding.html

Wedding Wishing Well

2010-09-14T11:04:00.001+08:00

The idea of having a wedding wishing well came from my sister who lives in the US. I never heard of it and it was my Tita who lived in the US for a couple of decades who explained to me what a wedding wishing well was. A wedding wishing well is where your guests can drop their gift cards/envelopes and drop wedding wishes.

I did some further research and found out how it looked like. I couldn't find any locally, so I just had one made.

To customize the wishing well further I put a small standee on top to explain what it was and also put in a small memo pad where guests can write their wishes for us.

I got the Precious Moments Filipiniana wedding dolls during a trip to Kalibo, Aklan (I'm sure glad they survived Typhoon Ondoy).

I'm really glad we had a wedding wishing well because my hubby's pant pockets were already filled up with cards and envelopes. We also got a lot of wishes from guests and I placed it in our wedding scrapbook/wedding guestbook.

I'm renting out the wedding wishing well. Please leave me a message and your email address so I can send you more information. If you want one customized I can have it done for you too.

Personalize Your Wedding: Table Standees

2010-09-10T09:22:00.001+08:00

One thing we wanted to do for our wedding was to make our guests experience "us". Most of our guests didn't really know about our love story. Most only knew half of the couple (either him or me). Most of them saw us sparingly throughout our relationship. And some never even met my groom before the wedding!

Table Standees

The table standees served two purposes:

One, to introduce and let our guests know more about our principal and secondary sponsors, and entourage. This comprised of several pages describing our wedding party.

Second, to give a preview of the timeline of our love story. Since our work involves the internet we decided to use "Clicks" instead of days (click on the second photo to see the text of our love story timeline). Our 800th click (day) was our wedding day.

I just made the standees myself with the following materials:

scented board
linen paper (for the entourage description)
photo paper (for the love story timeline)
ribbon
illustration board
double sided tape
scotch tape (to keep the ribbon from unraveling)
computer printer (I just printed everything at home)

It was a good thing I made myself some extra standees because our guests liked it so much they brought it home!

Custom Made Wedding Gowns

2010-09-07T08:29:00.000+08:00

I cut down costs for my wedding and entourage gowns (and barongs) by more than 50% by having them custom made. I originally planned to spend 20% of our wedding budget on my wedding gown alone, but I couldn't seem to convince myself to to spend so much for a dress. I then decided to get the services of a designer and chose to have a simple wedding gown made.

It was my niece who designed all the entourage gowns. She's based in Jakarta and has been designing gowns as a hobby (she's an awesome artist too) and eagerly sent me some sketches via email. We just told her that our motif was blue and gold and that it was an early morning wedding.

Here's one of the sketches she made:

And the finished product:

Comparison of costs:
Designers/RTW Gowns: PhP2,500-3,000 per dress/gown
Custom Made (Patahi): PhP750-PhP1,200 per dress/gown

Divisoria dress shops do not design gowns. You can either bring a sketch, choose from their catalogue (magazines) or bring a print-out of any design you find online.

The Wedding Day Program (Script)

2010-09-03T18:39:00.000+08:00

Our friends Gabe Mercado and Mhel Garrido brought the

house down with their funny antics all through-out the reception.

My friend just pinged me and asked for a copy of my wedding day script. She said she was asked to be the emcee of her friend's wedding and she couldn't find her script anymore. I easily found my script but told her that I just placed leading statements on it since my emcees were professionals (they just volunteered though for my wedding).

We were advised by our musician to start off the reception with the traditions (cake cutting, doves, garter toss etc.). They said that from experience a good percentage of people would leave right after eating. So this is how our program went:

Introduction and welcome
Parade of Entourage
Introduction of Principal Sponsors
Introduction of Parents
Couple's Grand Entrance
Cake Cutting and Wine Drinking
Dove Release
Garter Toss
Bouquet Throw
Prayer Before Meal
Photo Opp by Table
Routing of Wedding Book for Signing
Friends Harana
Distribution of Giveaways
Distribution of Gifts
Pre-nup AVP Showing
Champagne Toast
Best Man's Speech
Maid of Honor's Speech
Words of Advise: Bride's Parents
Words of Advise: Groom's Parents
Game for Couples
Father-Bride Dance
Couple's First Dance
On the Day AVP Showing
Word of Thanks from Couple

*We also created an AVP slideshow of our couple photos. It was used during the waiting time and lunch.

My Wedding Bubus

2010-07-27T16:18:00.000+08:00

It's been 7 months since Sweetie and I tied the knot. To a lot of people my wedding seemed perfect, but there were actually quite a number of bubus that we just laughed off during the day. I'm sure you'll find it funny.

1. Bridal Car. My bridal car did not show up. Go here to know what happened.

2. Leche Flan. Even though we were both hungry we ended up just eating leche flan.

3. Missalette. Sweetie could barely read the vow because the print in his copy of the missalette wasn't printed well. He sounded like he wanted to back out. LOL.

4. Offertory Assignments. Don't ever forget to tell those involved in the offertory procession about their roles. We only managed to let half of them know and forgot to inform our parents about their roles.

5. The Missing Table. We managed to assign everyone to a table and completely forgot to print out the table assignments for our godparents! Eeeeek!

6. The Blue Bridal Shoe. I had two pairs of bridal shoes. One was blue because my designer said that it was the trend to have bridal shoes in the color of your entourage motif. I had already broken in the blue pair and then he told me to wear the other pair. I ended up walking barefoot at the end of the reception because I wasn't able to break in the pair I used.

7. The Flying Cannon Bouquet. Oh-ho! One thing I learned. Do not throw your wedding bouquet with too much force! My throw almost broke the ceiling. LOL!

8. Bridal One. We let go of the service car that brought me to church and brought us to the reception venue because we didn't have enough money on us. At the end of the reception we had no idea how to get back to the hotel. Good thing our dear friend Juned offered to take us to the hotel. His van was then baptized as, "Bridal One".

9. The Wedding Rings. The photographer borrowed our rings from the best man when we were preparing to leave for church. As I was leaving the hotel, I received a panicked call from Sweetie. The rings were not returned to him! Good thing our friend, Hana, offered to check the room and found it on the desk.

10. The Pesky Price Tag. We were kneeling down already when Sweetie noticed from the TV monitor that there was a white square thingy on the sole of his shoe. He moved his foot and realized that he forgot to remove the price tag of his shoe! My brother-in-law was laughing his head off because it happened to him too.

And the biggest bubu of all...

11. The Forgotten Wedding Gown. I got so stressed out the day before the wedding. I was brought to the hotel by our trusty driver and only realized halfway to the hotel that I forgot to bring my wedding gown!

It's been seven months since our wedding and all these things are just really funny to us now (especially #9 adn #10). As OC as I am, there are things that will still fall through the crack. I'm glad that we just focused on enjoying our day and let these little mishaps go.

A Blog by Wedding Essentials Magazine

2010-07-03T10:15:00.000+08:00

A few weeks ago I managed to attend the launch of Wedding Essential editor-in-chief Marbee Shing-Go and Cynthia Bauzon-Arre's blog, We Heart Weddings.

I got a chance to chat with Marbee and she said that blogging is really new for them but they thought it would be great to share more wedding stuff that they see and aren't able to include in the Wedding Essentials magazine. I was quite funny though when I met her since I am a fan of the Wedding Essentials magazine. I just had to relay to her what happened to my collection when typhoon Ondoy flooded my basement. I also told her that I wish they'd do another feature about different telas and she said that it's upcoming! Yay!

Welcome to the blogosphere Marbee and Cynthia!

Wedding Gowns in Divisoria

2010-04-09T23:03:00.000+08:00

Since I had my entourage gowns sewn in Divisoria I had the chance to chat with the owner of the shop I got when I picked up the gowns. He was doing some bead work on a gown and shared quite a bit about their business. He said that prior to having the shop he did odd jobs (i.e. driver/kargador) and that sewing was actually much easier and would earn you more money.

He also shared that aside from walk-ins they get a lot of orders from designers (take note of this!). They just get the design and have this done in their factory located at the outskirts of Metro Manila. Here's a short video I took while I was in Divisoria (I just used my phone), in case you haven't gone there.

Take note though that Divisoria shops do not design wedding gowns. There are two ways you can get your gown from Divi:

1. Buy ready made. There are so many different designs to choose from and they usually have it in different sizes. You can also have it adjusted at the shop, but you will have to go back for it a few days after.

2. Have it custom made. You can choose a design from the multitude of catalogs they have in the shop or bring a copy of the design you want to have done. They will give you advise on what kind of cloth to use or you can request.

Cost: PhP3,500 and up (ready made/custom made)

Affordable Wedding and Entourage Gowns

2010-04-07T00:22:00.000+08:00

One of the things that people usually ask me is where to get affordable wedding and entourage gowns. I personally wanted to wear an expensive gown for my wedding, so I went around town and met with several wedding designers. I went to see designers based in Makati, Paranaque and Marikina. Also scouted for some in nearby provinces and through wedding expos.

I was keen on getting a gown that cost at least PhP70,000. I wanted to use pinya as the cloth of my gown and PhP70,000 was the minimum amount we'd have to pay. Eventually though my practical side kicked in and refused to budge with the amount of money that needed to be shelled out for the wedding gown. I could not convince myself (being schizo here) to spend so much on something that I would wear for just one day. (My wedding gown has been neatly tucked away in its box and I haven't checked it since I kept it.)

My practical side won and I compromised by getting a designer that offered affordable wedding gowns. Here are some tips:

1. Have it made in nearby provinces - my cousin has a wedding shop in Quezon and she had very affordable packages, too bad she was out of the country when I was preparing for my wedding. My best friend had her gown made in Laguna and it just cost her around PhP7,000.

2. Affordable designers - I went to see quite a number of designers. I chose Amonn Velasco because he had good reviews and he was very accommodating. I had an unpleasant experience with a well-known designer based in Marikina so I told myself that the designer I would choose had to be someone I'd have good rapport with.

3. Divisioria - the most affordable wedding gowns are in Divi! You can either buy it ready made or you can have a design copied. One of my nieces designed all the gowns that the entourage wore and I just had it rendered in Divisoria. I have a rundown on how much gowns cost in Divisoria in this post.

4. Use your Mom's wedding gown - my Mom wanted me to wear her gown, too bad though I don't have an 18-inch waistline and my Mom wasn't sure if her 50-year old gown would stay up the whole day.

It's really up to you how much you want to spend on your gown. My practical side won out. Check out my wedding budget planner and think about it.

Your Ceremony Venue

2010-03-27T21:11:00.000+08:00

This is usually where planning starts. Your ceremony venue. Oftentimes the ceremony venue is the first thing you would book. Here are some options:

Church

This is where most Filipinos hold their marriage ceremony. Most of us default to having the ceremony in Church. We have so many Churches in the Philippines, but aside from choosing a Church that is important to both of you, one should also consider other factors:
(1) Accessibility. Remember you will have to process quite a number of requirements so you will definitely be going back every few weeks to the Church
(2) Ample parking space. Make it easy for your guests to park. Some churches don't have enough parking space.
(3) Lighting and acoustic/sound.
(4) Check out the church policies.
(5) Fees, of course.

Here's a sample comparative chart I did of churches.

Garden Weddings/Reception Venues

There are quite a number of reception venues that have gardens where you can hold your ceremony. Some reception venues also have chapels. You can also ask your caterer if they can set-up the ceremony area for your garden wedding.

Here's a list of reception venues in Metro Manila.

Beach/Destination Wedding

One of the hardest to coordinate, unless you have time, is to have a destination wedding. I remember a colleague who was so busy coordinating her Bali wedding I rarely saw her around. If this is something you really want, prepare to spend a lot of time to iron things out for your wedding.

Budget:

Church: some Churches accept donations; smaller Churches charge about PhP3,000-5,000; medium-sized ones charge PhP10-15,000; larger ones and with aircon charge at least PhP25,000

Garden/Reception Venues: usually integrated in packages; some range from PhP50-70,000

Beach/Destination Wedding: depends on where you go

Wedding Budget Planner

2010-03-24T16:29:00.010+08:00

One of the key things you should discuss with your fiance is your budget. Your wedding day is just the beginning of other expenses that you will incur when you start your life together so don't pour in your life savings for your wedding day.

Here's a rundown of expenses that you will incur for your wedding:

Ceremony
Reception
Stationery
Flowers
Photography
Videography
Music and Entertainment
Attire
Hair and Make-up
Gifts
Jewelry
Transportation
Honeymoon*
Others

*You can plan this separately.

View the budget planner I made at this link or download it as an Excel file. The wedding budget planner allows you to put percentages on the expenses and a target spend amount. Best to play around with it before you start looking for suppliers so that you have an idea on the amount you need to prepare for the wedding.

**You will have to download the file in order to play around with it.

Where to Start Planning Your Wedding

2010-03-22T23:16:00.061+08:00

This is a question that my friends always ask me. After getting engaged and after going through pamamanhikan, one would realize that planning a wedding is a daunting task. It is truly overwhelming since your wedding is probably the only huge event you will have to plan in your entire life (that is if you are not a wedding coordinator or an event organizer). I always tell people that it is easier to plan an event for a couple of hundred of people than a wedding.

Anyway, have no fear since nowadays there are many tools online you can use to plan your wedding (and you can even do without a coordinator like we did!).

HAVE A CHECKLIST

The secret to organizing your wedding is to have a list. Yup, a check-list. The best check list I've used is the booklet that Wedding Essentials includes in its magazine. Just follow it diligently and you are sure to complete everything in time for your wedding.

AGREE ON A BUDGET

We scrambled around to put together a budget and plan before our pamamanhikan because we wanted to show our parents that we were prepared and serious about getting married. The booklet from Wedding Essentials provides a good run down on all the expenses that you will incur in your wedding. Things will change as you make decisions so it's best to put this spreadsheet online and collaborate by using Google Docs (helped us a lot since I live in Paranaque and he lived in Marikina).

Identify which expenses are important for the two of you. Do you want to spend more on photography and videography? The reception? Entertainers? Your wedding attire? You will have to identify which of the costs would be your "luxury cost" and which would be the least priority for spending. We personally spent a good amount of money on photography and videography and put the bridal car on least priority. We also managed to get a lot of help from friends.

START PLANNING!

Start planning months ahead. Cramming for your wedding isn't a good idea since you'd probably end up spending more. Best to start on your church, reception venue and caterer and then you can spend some time dating again till you realize that you have to start working on your wedding again.

The TWP is Baaaack!!!

2010-03-21T23:14:00.000+08:00

Sorry I've been absent the past few weeks. I need time off to learn how to be a wife and thank God for Youtube for making things easier! Youtube has so far helped me learn how to cook and iron. You can read more about my adventures as a wife at Mabuhay ang Bagong Kasal.

I have so much to share to you and will be updating my blog more in the coming days.

A Love Story Told by Google

2010-02-08T21:51:00.002+08:00

This was really brilliant!

Our Love Story Video

2010-01-20T12:24:00.000+08:00

Finally after some trimming our dear friend-videographer Buddy Gancenia has uploaded our pre-nup video. The script, the planning and the shoot was done in just one day. I did the script an hour before Buddy and Jay showed up at home. The script revolved around our theme, "We Clicked" since both Jay and I are online junkies (he's a web consultant/developer and I work for a search engine). Some friends also suggested to use "500 Days of Summer" as inspiration for the love story AVP. I didn't watch the movie, but after watching the trailer on Youtube several times I got the gist.

So I traced back our "clicks" (days) from the first day we met and was surprised to find out that our wedding day would fall on our 800th click (the 800th day since we met). Anyway, here's the video of the clicks that happened before the wedding.

Homemade MTV

2010-01-15T16:53:00.000+08:00

I would say that the best way to entertain your guests during your reception is by showing some videos. It may be a prepared pre-nup AVP (a summary of your love story) or some photos of videos of what transpired during your relationship. Sweetie and I made a pre-nup AVP together with our videographer (Buddy Gancenia), but we're still waiting for him to upload it on Youtube (he said he is still trimming it a bit). It was a gift from him and I just whipped up the script a couple of hours before he came to shoot our video.

We still keep in touch with our pre-cana classmates via email and one couple, Sherwin and Olive, shared an endearing homemade MTV. Here's their awesome video -

Choosing Your Florist

2010-01-09T14:10:00.000+08:00

After that mishap with the bridal car provider, I would like to stress out further that one has to be careful in choosing suppliers. One of the things that I did before I booked suppliers was to read reviews about them, especially with the wedding gown designer (it's one of the most important things!). I also spent some time getting to know the suppliers who I only met during wedding expos.

Here's Lawrence dela Rosa of Angel of Hearts. We only managed to canvass for florists at the Themes & Motifs wedding expo last September. We choose Angel of Hearts because they owned the farm. Our wedding day was sandwiched in between holidays and we wanted fresh flowers, not flowers that had extended shelf lives because of the refrigerator.

Some tips from Lawrence about choosing a florist:

Aside from the flowers the husband and wife tandem also gave us advice about marriage.

Stall #13 Dos Castillas St. (Dangwa),
Sampaloc Manila/Stall #33 Manila Flower Center,
Laong Laan St., Sampaloc, Manila
Tel. No: (+632)742-5039
Telefax: (+632)749-1202
Mobile: (+63)920-9384610; (+63)918-5938212
(look for Lawrence or his wife Lory Jean)

Just Married!

2010-01-03T08:00:00.000+08:00

I have just gone through one of the most magical moments in my life.

Watch here:

No Show of Bridal Car

2009-12-31T14:09:00.003+08:00

I've been busy the past quarter preparing for my wedding and that's the reason why I haven't been able to post in the last few weeks. I am married now but would like to share this major blooper first before I share about the magical day that was my wedding day.

MY BRIDAL CAR DID NOT SHOW UP!

Yup, you read it right. I was expected to be at the church by 8:30 a.m., so we were hurrying around the hotel room finishing up so I could make it on time. Sweetie left for the church before 8 in the morning and asked me to call the bridal car service since when he went out he didn't see one. I immediately tried to call the numbers that Jack & Jenn Catering (we only got the bridal car from them not the catering service, thank God!) gave us when we re-confirmed details for the wedding day. No one was answering.

I was already at the carport of the Crowne Plaza Hotel and tried to call the numbers again. No one was answering. I frantically called Sweetie and asked if he could help. He asked my brother, our friend who stood in as our day coordinator and the best man tried to contact the uber phail Jack & Jenn Catering to follow-up. No one answered any of our calls.

Then my Dad started to panic since it was already 8:40 in the morning. Our church stressed several times that we should start on time. I was already late. So I called my day coordinator Jap. I rented a private taxi service for him so he could shuttle around all the materials we needed for the wedding without any hassle. I asked him to pick me up from the hotel because I had no transpo to the wedding.

He arrived ten minutes later and I luckily arrived at the church on the dot and we immediately started the service. The private taxi driver was shocked to see me in my wedding gown board his taxi and I had a good chat with him which helped me calm down before I went down the car to walk down the aisle.

The private taxi waited for us and brought us to the reception, but we had to let him go when we got there because we both didn't have enough cash (I still owe Jap PhP100 pala!) on us to have him stay till the end of the celebration. The uber phail Jack & Jenn Catering promised unlimited time for use of the car and that was exactly the reason we got them for the bridal car service.

Anyway, so we had another problem. How to get back to the hotel. Both our parents' cars were filled up and the guests who were still around during clean-up time were our blogger friends. Our good friend, Juned, saved us and we rode his Ford Fiera delivery van back to the hotel which our friends coined as "Bridal One" since it became our official bridal car for the day.

We were a sight to behold when we got off the Fiera at Crowne Plaza Hotel. There were 2 other bridal cars waiting outside and the lobby was very busy. Oh well, gee thanks Jack & Jenn Catering for the stress, the aggravation and the embarrassment for such GROSS NEGLIGENCE on your part.

This is the letter that we sent Jennifer Rabe-Alleva -

Dear Jenn,

Last November 21, 2009 we reserved and paid for bridal car service during the "Before I Do" bridal fair at the Megatrade Hall for December 26,2009. We also paid downpayment of PhP2,000, representing half of the total cost of PhP4,050 (discounted by 10% from the original PhP4,500 cost). On November 23, 2009 we received acknowledgement and contract for the service which we acknowledged. We confirmed the order at this number 872-7820 twice.

On December 26, 2009 we were surprised that the bridal car did not arrive at all. Repeated calls to the driver, Ferdinand Gomez at 0910-5264011, was unanswered. Such GROSS NEGLIGENCE from your company constrained us to frantically find another means on transportation which incurred us additional cost of PhP2,450. Your company's NEGLIGENCE embarrassed us and almost ruined our wedding.

We would like to demand the following:

1. Full return of our deposit of PhP2,000.

2. Reimbursement of PhP2,450 for the private taxi service.

3. Apology for such gross negligence.

Please respond within the next 3 days.

Thank you.

Jay & Aileen de Jesus

Some friends are saying we should demand more because of the aggravation and embarrassment that this awful wedding supplier caused us, what do you guys think they should do to appease our disappointment? My goodness, the bridal car service must be one of the easiest services to provide for a wedding. Good thing it was just the bridal car that we got from Jack & Jenn Catering and NOT the whole she-bang. Que horror!

Photo by Blogie Robillo.

Wedding Jitters

2009-11-29T17:03:00.006+08:00

I'm a couple of weeks away from my wedding and the jitters are setting in. We have finally completed most of the tasks listed on our gantt chart and we're now busy delivering invitations and entourage gowns.

Just want to take this opportunity to thank my friends who have been really helpful the past few weeks we've been cramming. Our dream team!

Attire

Wedding Gown Designer: Amonn Velasco

Entourage Gowns Designer: Patricia Apolo

Photography & Videography

Videographer: BuddyGancenia Reality TV

Photography: Mimi and Karl (esp. Markku and Hana who also took vids and photos of the proposal)

Invitation

Designer: Gail Villanueva (award winning!)

Printer: Dennise and Ian (sorry for bugging you on your honeymoon!)

Music

Instrumentalist: Manila Philharmonic Orchestra

Choir: Sun Valley Music Ministry

Florist

Angel of Hearts

Bridal Car

Jack & Jenn ---> UBER PHAIL!

Jewelry'

hand-crafted by Golconda Jewelry in Cagayan de Oro

Bridal Shoes

hablon weaved from Iloilo (thanks Miss Malou!)

Make-up

Jose Miguel

Important Stuff

Giveaways and Missalette: my high school buddies, Ottie, Chare and Mercy

On the Day Coordination: my YP buddies, Jap, Dave, Ruthie and my best friend, Darwin

Counselling, Moral Support and for keeping me sane: Darwin, Anne and Tappy and my Mom

The Search for the Perfect Wedding Shoes

2009-11-28T16:58:00.000+08:00

I've been looking around for the perfect shoes to match my wedding dress and it's been quite hard for me since I only saw my gown last week. I asked advise from my designer and he said that it's either I get something in mocha, champagne or in my motif shade (Mama Mary blue) or have it customized.

So I've been looking around for a shop to customize one for me and there's none in the malls. I've looked online through Google and found a couple but most of them would take 4-6 weeks to make! Oh well.

I was looking for handmade paper in Iloilo when I chanced upon the IPA Trade Pavillion. I was ecstatic when I found out that the shop moved to the Sarabia Manor Hotel where the convention I was attending was held. I found THE perfect wedding shoes done by Nono Palmos, unfortunately they did not have my size. The price was also pretty steep (I also fell in love with a pair of red shoes made of hablon cloth).

Miss Malou from the shop was very helpful though and said that I could just purchase a meter of hablon cloth (locally hand-weaved in Iloilo) and have it done in Manila. They also had some stocks of it in mocha and blue. Miss Malou also suggested that I can use any old pair and just stick it on (will ask my Mom).

Anyway, I'm going to call up my designer's friend who can customize shoes and we'll see how things go.

Applying for a Marriage License

2009-11-24T18:10:00.003+08:00

My Mom always took care of my documents and eventually she taught me how to do things on my own. That didn't mean though that I liked doing "grown-up" stuff. The internet though has been very helpful though and it's much easier now to prepare stuff before going to the government agency involved (like how I renewed my passport).

Tying the knot involves a LONG document trail. I had to go to two churches for my baptismal and confirmation certificate. Requested for name change at the Diocese of Paranaque because the church misspelled my name in my confirmation certificate. My original birth certificates from NSO disintegrated during the flood. Good thing you can now easily request for your birth certificate and the ever important CENOMAR by ordering online. Whew!

Click on this link to continue reading...

Here Comes the Bride

2009-11-16T11:05:00.004+08:00

Last week I got the chance to watch the tail-end of "License to Wed" and in one scene Mandy Moore's phone rang and her ringtone was "Here Comes the Bride" so I scrambled around Google and found the perfect ringtone for my phone.

If you're a bride, you might want to use it too. Download it here.

After the Storm

2009-10-12T20:34:00.002+08:00

We both fell victim to typhoon Ondoy. His house filled up with about 5 feet of water. I would've drowned in my basement since water rose to about 6 feet. The devastation left us both with much less material things, but we realized that we had each other and we had something to look forward to... our wedding.

All the wedding materials I have gathered perished in the flood. All the magazines, notes, flyers, documents (birth/baptismal/confirmation certificate) and samples did not survive. Good thing I made my fiance keep all the receipts in a clear book and it was with him when disaster struck. Anyway all of these can be easily replaced and it was a good thing I've been holding off buying wedding stuff. I'm just really sad that mementos from the engagement perished too.

Well these are just material things and there is still much to be thankful for. I thought I lost my engagement ring. When the water subsided I went to my basement to look for it. I found it nestled within my bracelet rosary which was the only thing that was left on my dresser since it moved about 5 feet away from where it original stood. I knew then that things would eventually be okay.

I hope and pray that our brothers and sisters in Northern Luzon (and those still very much affected her in Metro Manila and nearby provinces) would find relief from the calamity. You can help too by reporting help needed or bringing aid, find out how or where here.

The Pre-Cana Seminar

2009-09-21T21:03:00.003+08:00

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

2009-09-20T10:33:00.002+08:00

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

2009-09-13T09:57:00.003+08:00

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

2009-09-06T21:10:00.003+08:00

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.

Choosing Your Wedding Gown

2009-08-10T19:59:00.002+08:00

Last weekend I got the chance to interview wedding gown designer Amonn Velasco. In this video he gives three tips for brides on how to look stunning on your wedding day.

Amonn Velasco

http://amonnvelasco.multiply.com

call or text 7117140 / 0917-5751604

Wacky Wedding March

2009-07-27T09:50:00.001+08:00

They always say that weddings should be fun and relaxed. I had a lot of fun watching this unique wedding entrance.

The Engagement Ring

2009-07-14T17:31:00.003+08:00

Admit it, eversince you were a kid you dreamt of the day your prince charming would go on his knees to propose to you. I did that secretly. I never mentioned it to any of my friends but deep in my heart I always wished that someday my one true love would put a proper engagement ring on my finger.

It did happen one sunny day in Davao and I will cherish that moment for the rest of my life.

My fiance though said that it took him months to plan for that day. Five months to be exact. Here's what he had to do:

1. Find a jeweller for budgeting.

2. Find out my ring size.

3. Choose design and material of the ring.

4. Order the ring.

5. Plan the proposal.

How to choose the engagement ring:

1. The Diamond 4Cs - cut, color, clarity and carat. Here's a good guide.

2. Choose the metal: gold or platinum. Gold comes in white, yellow and/or rose gold. (You should also consider that the engagement ring should match the wedding ring).

3. Choose the design: should be practical and easy to wear, withstand everyday use, gemstone/s should be secure and should look good.

I honestly have no idea about going through 1 and 2, but I'm sure glad that my fiance got my ring from a jeweller-friend who knows me well. He also got her to get my ring size without me suspecting anything.

I think the most important thing about it is to choose with your heart and enjoy the moment.

*Photo by JayDJ

Handcrafted engagement ring by Golconda Jewelry, Cagayan de Oro

Caterer Review: Lina Vitan

2009-06-29T18:07:00.003+08:00

In the past few weeks my fiance and I have been attending food tasting events and the last one we had was hosted by Lina Vitan at Oasis Manila.

Food. 4 stars out of 5. The dishes they served weren't as different as the other caterers we've been to, but they were tasteful and not dry. They also have a number of menus you can mix and match depending on what you like.

Service. I like the fact that Ms. Lina Vitan was present during the event. The other events that we attended just had account executives present and they weren't open to adjusting the menu. Ms. Vitan sat down with our friends who booked that day and personally gave suggestions on the garden set-up that they wanted. Having the owner around is always a good sign.

Styling. I wasn't that impressed though with the styling of the venue. The materials and look they used to present different themes seemed a bit amateur for me.

Equipment. Compared to other caterers the chairs and tables, plates and utensils they used for the event seemed to be fairly new. I've been mollified by some prominent caterers who used sub-standard equipment (i.e. rusty chairs, mantels with holes!).

Price. I find them a bit pricey for the value that they are giving.

What was noteworthy about the event was the attentiveness of the waiters and the food. I just hope though that they would be fast in replacing empty trays during a wedding.

The Canonical Interview

2009-06-03T14:47:00.002+08:00

After the pamamanhikan we thought we would not experience any nerve-wracking activity again.

We were wrong.

When we went to book a church, the secretary immediately made an appointment for our interview with their priest. She said that the priest had to interview us and give approval before we can reserve the church.

We had no idea what we were up to.

So, we asked a couple of friends what they were asked when they went through the interview. Most of them said that you had to be completely honest about everything and that the priest would usually ask about how you came together. We also tried looking for information online, but we did not find any.

We were nervous because we thought that if we failed the interview we would have to find another church to hold our wedding in. We discussed many scenarios before THE interview day and stayed up a bit late still discussing what we would say the next day. We did not want to make the mistake of giving different answers to the priest's questions.

We were that scared. Hehe.

Anyway, I didn't feel very nervous but when we entered the office my knees just began to shake. The last time I felt that way was during a panel interview for a job. I suddenly felt the pressure that I should not fail this interview.

The first thing we did was fill up a questionnaire and the priest even had Sweetie move to another seat so we would not be side-by-side (no cheating!). And then I had a one-on-one with him while he was going over my answers. After my one-on-one I was asked to step out so he could have a one-on-one with Sweetie. And then I was called in for our joint interview.

We survived!

I'm not going to say what was asked of us. Just be yourself. Be honest. And bring lots of love.

Braving Divisoria for Wedding Garments

2009-05-30T14:40:00.003+08:00

Sweetie and I braved Divisoria to check out Divisoria for wedding garments. The last time I was there was about a year ago when my niece asked if we could buy her a terno for her Filipino org activities (she's based in the US). I also accompanied my friend to buy her wedding and entourage gown a few years ago (we got it RTW!).

Anyway, we also did the rounds of couturiers and the costs were just too high. We've pegged a budget for the wedding and would like to stick to that budget, so we thought we should check out Divisoria.

Here's a rundown of costs:

Bridal Gowns - PhP3,500 and up (includes accessories)

Maid of Honor/Bridesmaid gowns - PhP600 to PhP1,200 (satin is cheaper than taffeta/chiffon)

Flower Girl gowns - PhP600 to PhP800

Barongs - PhP600 and up

Barongs for Grooms/Fathers - PhP800 and up

Mothers gowns - PHP1,300 and up

*they can also do suits

The rates for patahi are the same as well. All you need to do is bring your design or choose from their catalog (catalog means, bridal magazines). The rates are the same whether or not you ask them to place beads.

Here's a few I got cards from:

Julao Wedding Gown

Maylen V. Julao (look for Iday)

Pasilio-E Stall #71-72

Galvan Building, Ilaya St.

Binondo Manila

Tel +(632) 309-3051

Cel. 63 (921) 5554450

Paul & Lyn's Bridal Haus

Salve A. Pitalbo

Stall No. 29, 35 Pasilio B-C

Galvan Building, Ilaya St.

Binondo, Manila

Tel + (632) 710-9471

Res. + (632) 237-1327 or 254-5622

Lomentigar Bridal Boutique & Souvenir Collections

Tessie D. Lomentigar

Pasilio B-17

Galvan Building, Ilaya Street

Binondo, Manila

Arlaine +63 (920) 627-9326

Jean +63 (923) 535-5357

Ronaleen Bridal & Barong Shoppe

Sollie and Ramon Santos

Galvan Cabrera Building

Pasilio E. No. 78-81

Email ronaleen_bridal (at) yahoo.com

Tel + (632) 309-3133

Aiza's Personal Touch

Galvan, Divisoria

Stall No. 46, Pasilio G

Cel. +63 (915) 202-2809

More about Divisoria gowns here.

Souvenir Idea for Silver Wedding Anniversary

2009-05-24T20:26:00.000+08:00

My Mom's friend, Tita Emma, put this souvenir together for her 25th wedding anniversary. It's a set of table napkins with beaded napkin holders placed in a window box.

It's actually easy to assemble! You can buy all materials in Divisoria:

napkin

window box

napkin holder - beads + garter

I'll try to make a how-to-do post about the napkin holder soon :)

Planning Your Own Wedding

2009-05-19T19:39:00.003+08:00

I did not realize I've been gone a month! I've been so busy traveling and slipping in venue and church oculars, food tasting and hunting for a designer, I haven't had had the time to blog! Argghhh!

But anyway, the past few weeks have given me more insights about planning your own wedding. And it's not really so hard after all, especially if your fiance is the hands-on type.

Here are a few tricks and tools that I've been using to plan my wedding:

1. Attend bridal fairs! There's two happening soon, Celebrations at SMX on May 24-25 and The Philippine Wedding Summit at the PICC Forum on June 27-28. The show with the most suppliers usually are the ones handled by Themes & Motifs.

2. Collect flyers! It may sound funny, but my fiance and I have been collecting flyers for more than a year now. Most of them ended up in paper bags and I've just recently sorted them out (see the photo above). They've been really helpful in our search for the right supplier.

3. Use directories! You can get a free wedding directory from DPC Yellow Pages or buy the Bride's Yellow Pages from bookstores.

4. Use Google! Search for suppliers online and read up reviews about them too. I also use Google Docs to put together information and I share this with my fiance for his review.

5. Read Forums! I'm quite scared about giving my money to a stranger, so after searching for reviews about a supplier I also read forums to get feedback from others. I usually frequent Kasal.com's forum and the Wedding's at Work community.

Reception Venues in Metro Manila

2009-04-14T21:25:00.005+08:00

Going around the metro checking our churches and reception venues has been excruciating because of the horrendous summer heat! And it's not the way I want to get a tan. So I realized I should do more online research instead and I've put together a spreadsheet with some details on great wedding venues.

To see the list go here, it includes reception venues from:

Alabang

Greenhills

Las Pinas

Makati

Marikina

New Manila

Mandaluyong

Paranaque

Pasay

Pasig

Quezon City

Rizal

Please take note that the rates may not be exact since I just got them from different forums and websites (and I've been to some). I'll be updating the sheet every once in a while.

Choosing Your Ceremony and Reception Venue

2009-04-12T20:29:00.003+08:00

I tell you it's much easier to set-up an event for 400 developers than making arrangements for your own wedding. I have been to countless churches, reception venues and websites in the past two weeks. And that's just for the ceremony and reception venue. I have not even started to check all the other details that would complete the wedding.

I realized though that it's important to set your goals from the beginning. Ask yourself, do you want a huge wedding or a cozy, intimate one? Is there a particular city you'd want to focus in? Any considerations you have to make for your family (i.e. no steep stairs, must have aircon etc.). Budget constraints? Theme? Motif?

I've also been to multiple number of sites to check out churches and venues and to make things easier I created a Google Docs Spreadsheet to list down pertinent facts which would make it easier to review when we finally decide to sit down and choose.

Here's what I did:

Church Comparative Chart

1. Address

2. Telephone

3. Contact Person

4. Packages: How much and Amenities include (candles, floral arrangement, choir, registration etc.)

5. Requirements

Reception Comparative Chart

1. Contact Details: Address, Telephone, Web Address, Email, Contact Person

2. Type of Venue: garden, hotel, restaurant, hall

3. Venue Capacity

4. Packages: note the amenities included, number of hours, caterer corkage, music etc.

5. Parking

Caterer Comparative Chart

1. Contact Details: Address, Telephone, Web Address, Email, Contact Person

2. Packages

3. Amenities included

4. Additional charges: service charge, VAT

These are just basic questions you should ask your suppliers. I'm sure I'll be adding stuff as I go along. And will share more specific info about venues/churches/caterers I've already interviewed.

How to Have Fun During Your Wedding

2009-04-10T12:43:00.000+08:00

Weddings tend to be really serious especially when the couple is nervous (makes for really bad pictures!). I believe that weddings should be fun, fun, fun!

Here's a sample of a couple who definitely knows how to have fun!

Creating a Motif Mood Board

2009-04-06T19:28:00.004+08:00

A mood board, huwhaaattt?!?

My mind's been buzzing for almost a month now because I just couldn't seem to choose a motif. I have been swinging from blue to yellow to pink to lavender every other hour and I don't see an end to it.

And then I had a brain fart (an idea!) last weekend. I thought, "Why not make a `swatch board' like how ad agencies do when they make presentations?"

Ahhhh, finally something that would probably end the confusion. So with three colors - blue, yellow and gold - I did some searches on Google and found a number of snazzy images. I put them together on Google Docs so I can easily share it with my fiance. Here it is -

It definitely helped me. Try making one!

Wedding Invitation via Video

2009-04-04T11:24:00.002+08:00

A few months ago our dear friend Buddy Gancenia had this brilliant idea to make us a video wedding invitation and we did it just for kicks. It took me awhile before I got around to posting it here coz I thought people might mistake it for a real wedding invitation. LOL.

Anyway, here's a sample video wedding invitation done by multi-awarded wedding videographer Buddy Gancenia:

Check out Buddy's Youtube Channel.

Buddy Gancenia

Contact Number:

+(632) 419-7147

+(63) 917 - 8514502
E-mail Address:

buddygancenia @ yahoo.com

Migs & Cha: Brought Together by Music

2009-04-03T22:38:00.000+08:00

I couldn't help but be teary eyed when I watched my friend, Migs, walk down the aisle last Saturday. He had this huge smile on his face while walking towards the alter. He was very calm and relaxed and even managed to quip, "December ha!" when he passed my fiance and me. And I had to keep my tears in check when Christian (Bautista) started singing "There's something in the way you look at me" as Cha started to walk down the aisle too.

It was a wedding full of love because everyone present loved the couple and I think that's the key to a very successful and happy wedding day. It doesn't have to be expensive and extravagant either, all you need is your community who will be there for the rest of your lives.

I was ecstatic about Migs' and Cha's wedding because I think they did everything perfectly. Here are some photos from the wedding:

Congratulations for a perfect wedding Migs and Cha! Happy honeymoon!

Church: Sacred Heart Church (Kamuning, Quezon City)

Reception: Max's Restaurant

Preparing for the Pamamanhikan

2009-03-30T22:25:00.002+08:00

I wrote a lengthy post about the pamamanhikan about 2 years ago here on Twisted Wedding Planner and it was pretty easy for me to relay several experiences about it since I wasn't the bride-to-be.

Now I'm going bonkers over this Filipino tradition because I am about to go through it. I know that not many parents require their daughter's fiance to go through this, but my parents are very traditional. And to them my engagement is not complete yet since my fiance's parents have not formally asked for my hand.

It was my Mom who reminded me about it and I immediately told my fiance about it. We then researched about this tradition and we found some really good articles written by Kasal.com and WeddingsatWork.com. The best thing to do is to prepare yourself for the questions your parents may ask.

Pamamanhikan is basically where your fiance's father asks for your hand in marriage from your father. It's often awkward especially if it's the first time your parents are going to meet. I hope and pray mine will run smoothly.

What it Feels Like to be Engaged

2009-03-25T15:27:00.003+08:00

I got the shock of my life when I got engaged 11 days ago. I totally did not expect it especially since I was hanging on a harness when it happened.

It's the most exhilirating feeling in the world. And for days I've just had this wide silly grin on my face (well until now). I truly felt loved because I know that my fiance would not have asked me to marry him otherwise.

It took several days before it sunk in and I'm still getting used to wearing an engagement ring. My friends are also very excited and they're all bugging me for a date already.

It's also overwhelming since I've been getting interrogated about a lot of things. When and where the wedding will be. Who's going to be the suppliers. Ninongs. Ninangs. Motif.

Accckkk!

I guess we'll just take it one day at a time and follow the gantt chart and according to it the next steps are:

1. The Pamamanhikan

2. Setting the Date

Wish us luck!

The Perfect Marriage Proposal

2009-03-18T10:34:00.001+08:00

I love writing about marriage proposals because it's just uber kilig! These stories are just the best because it shows what we were made for: LOVE.

And who would've thought that I would one day share MY perfect marriage proposal. Yes! The Twisted Wedding Planner is engaged! And that means I have to go through (with my Sweetie, of course) the ardent task of preparing for our wedding.

Anyway, I digress. The proposal happened in the most unexpected manner. Sweetie has been giving me clues since Valentine's and I've gotten really frustrated over it since I just can't seem to decipher the puzzle.

Last week Sweetie and I left for Davao for a weekend called "the Davao FAT (food appreciation tour)" and one of the activities we were lined up to do was to go on the longest zipline in Asia (Xcelerator). I was really anxious about this activity since I knew a long trek up the mountain was required.

It was indeed the longest zipline and I did not know that I was in for the surprise of my life.

For full details about the proposal please visit "The Mid-Air Proposal (via zipline)".

And here's the video -

Unique Bridal Cars

2009-03-15T09:15:00.000+08:00

Go to your wedding in style with one of these unique bridal cars.

A vintage Cadillac!

A Hummer!

Cadillac by:

Don Robert's Bridal Cars

+(63) 917-5010322 or +(63) 46-4715453 or 8755988

robertbautista2005 (at) yahoo.com

Hummer by:

Hummer Limousine

phil.limousines (at) gmail.com
+(63) 918-9030831 / +(63) 917-8475279 / +(63) 922-8475279

Mickey and Minnie Mouse Bridal Car

2009-03-09T21:01:00.006+08:00

Last weekend I made the time to visit the Wedding Expo, an event organized by Themes & Motifs. I think the Wedding Expo can brag that it has the most number of wedding suppliers showcasing their services under one roof.

As we were going in the venue we noticed a couple of bridal cars showcased outside and we scrutinized it when we finished our rounds in the PICC Forum.

And guess what! Instead of flowers, Mickey and Minnie Mouse hung in the hood of the bridal car.

And another car had teddy bears on it.

My Sweetie said after seeing the cars, "The bears would probably be hugging each other by the time the car reaches the venue. Sa takot!" LOL.

Bridal Cars by:

Trans Abi

8 San Sebastian corner Aduana Street,
New Intramuros Village,
Diliman, Quezon City
(by Appointment Only)
Telefax: +(632) 9326399 / 9522824
Mobile:
+63(918) 9086399
+63(918) 9236399
+63(918) 8246399
Email: info@transabi.com

Coffee Shop Love Seats

2009-03-02T11:33:00.003+08:00

More and more coffee shops now are mixing in different type of furniture. Gone are the days that you'd just find regular tables and chairs in coffee shops. There are now sofas, bean bags, arm chairs and even love seats!

Last Saturday night I found myself in Biksa Coffee in Marikina City and the love seat was just riveting! Much as Sweetie and I wanted to try out the love seat we would've probably found ourselves fighting over it with our friends. LOL.

Biksa Coffee is a nice date place (with uber fast free wifi!).

Address:
18 Gil Fernando Avenue corner
Dragon Street, Marikina City

Email:
coffee@biksacoffee.com

Phone:
+632-682-6912

From all other countries: +632 682.69.12

Pre-Nup at Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife

2009-02-16T05:39:00.000+08:00

Last weekend I was surprised by my Sweetie. He brought me to the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife. It was a pleasant surprise since it was relaxing to walk around greenery instead of walking around a concrete jungle (err a mall).

We saw quite a number of lovers chatting under trees and having a picnic (yes a picnic in the city!). We also saw a barkada catching the rays of the sun doing what looked like a pre-nup pictorial for a couple (they're at the far right in my photo).

I know a lot of couples go out of town to have their pictorial. The Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife is definitely a great place to have your pictorial and you won't need to go out of town either!

Location: Quezon City

Entrance Price: PhP15/car; PhP8 per person

Check out more photos in my travel blog.

Kasal.com's Kwentong Puso Blog Writing Contest

2009-02-12T15:49:00.002+08:00

Kasal.com has a special treat for married couples or engaged couples marrying this 2009. Get a chance to win an overnight stay at the Tagaytay Country Hotel! All you need to do is blog about your Valentine day.

Complete mechanics may be found here.

And They Lived Happily Ever After...

2009-02-06T18:12:00.000+08:00

A year ago I witnessed a very public proposal during MYMP's Valentine concert and I blogged about it in detail on An Apple a Day. I always wondered who the love birds were and eventually Sweetie found them on Multiply, Gian and Resa.

A few months later we attended MYMP's album launch and asked Juris if she had any idea whether the couple tied the knot already. I'm sure she was quite surprised about our question, but was pleased that we watched their Valentine concert. Sweetie and I always wondered whether they did tie the knot.

And the mystery was solved when my blogger-friend from Singapore, Alex, told me that Gian and Resa were his friends and have tied the knot recently! Here's some proof via their wedding announcement page -

That's one among the many other proposals I've blogged about last year! Best wishes to Gian and Resa!

Cones for the Petal (or Rice) Shower

2009-02-01T20:23:00.000+08:00

Florists usually just give wedding coordinators/planners a bag filled with rose petals and it's up to the coordinator to distribute it. So how do you exactly do this in church with all the other things you need to do?

I snagged this nifty idea from a recent wedding I attended.

Make flower cones! All you need is a half-sheet of paper (or nice metallic paper like the one in the photo), roll it up to shape like an ice cream cone. And there you have it, an easy-to-pass around flower cone!

Our Lady of Pentecost Church, Quezon City

2009-01-26T17:10:00.000+08:00

It was my first time to visit Our Lady of the Pentecost Church when I attended a friend's wedding. The church looked quite new and different from all the other churches I've been too. It was different because it was long horizontally and there was a second floor (and a third floor!). I liked the light and airy feel of the church. And even though it was raining that day, the inside of the church wasn't gloomy at all.

Our Lady of Pentecost Church

Loyola Heights, Quezon City

Parish Office Telephone: +(632) 929-0665 / 434-2397

Wedding Charms: Happy Notes

2009-01-21T08:30:00.000+08:00

Sometimes weddings can be so boring right? And more often than not you sometimes get seated with people you barely know, so you end up sitting there, giving a nod once in a while and munch on the appetizers, candies or cookies that's on the table.

I found myself in that situation again, but found these little notes endearing -

And I did enjoy the wedding (and ate a lot too!).

Homemade Wedding Giveaways

2009-01-16T21:27:00.004+08:00

Last week I got the chance to attend a friend's wedding and was ecstatic at how simple and meaningful the wedding was. It's the second most beautiful and meaningful wedding I've attend in 4 years and now I truly believe that weddings need not be expensive, overbearing and overplanned. The secret sauce: family and really close friends.

My creative side was tickled-happy when the bridesmaids distributed the wedding giveaways. Snazzy beadwork (one of my favorite things to do!) and a customized box.

Napkin Holders

Bookmark

Loved it! And now I'm itching to bring out my bead collection to do some experimenting =)

Do-It-Yourself Wedding Invitation

2009-01-07T21:30:00.004+08:00

My friends and I have been shocked with the exorbitant prices of wedding invitations. It can go anywhere from 40 pesos to 200 pesos per set! And there are additional fees whenever you add anything to the set, i.e. maps, bridal registry info, calligraphy, RSVP info etc.

When I did a tight-budget wedding for a friend we resorted to doing her invitations.

The materials:

Board paper

Certificate paper

Envelops

Ribbons

*We got all the materials at National Bookstore

The equipment:

Printer

Cutter

Cutting board

Puncher

Sheet 1 Suggested Text:

We,

Groom's Name & Bride's Name

with the blessings of our Parents.

Mr. & Mrs. Groom's Parents' name

Mr. & Mrs. Bride's Parents' name

Request the honor of your presence

as we exchange marriage vows on

Date

at Time

Name of Church

Churches' city

Reception to follow at

Name of resto/hotel

Resto/Hotel's city

RSVP Info

Sheet 2 Text

Bridal Entourage

Principal Sponsors (list)

Best Man - Maid of Honor

Jr. Groomsmen - Jr. Bridesmaids

Groomsmen - Bridesmaids

Secondary Sponsors (list)

Candle - Cord

Veil

Ring Bearer - Flower Girls

Bible Bearer - Coin Bearer

Marketing for Wedding Suppliers

2008-11-01T21:12:00.000+08:00

I've always talked about what brides and grooms could do for their weddings here in my blog and thought of making a post specifically for wedding suppliers after hearing my dear friend, Ria, share her experience during the Mindanao Bloggers Summit about how she promotes her wedding coordination business.

Promoting your business online is a very important activity especially since searches for wedding related keywords is an important segment online (check it out at Google Trends). Here are some things wedding suppliers can do:

1. Create your content - create our own website or blog. I got a chance to chat with top wedding organizer, Loi Villarama, during a friend's wedding and he mentioned that he gets a lot of leads from his website since he comes out #1 in search results when you search for wedding coordinator. My friend Ria has the same experience and she said that despite being new in the business she gets a lot of customers because her blog serves as testimonials to her work.

2. Promote your website/blog - the easist way to get traffic to your site is to do search engine marketing. It's the most cost efficient way to promote your website/blog. Try Google Adwords for as low as a dollar a day (you can also pay in peso) and I assure you you'd get traffic for your services. It's a D-I-Y way of marketing, here's a tutorial on how to do it.

3. Personalize your email - add credibility to your business by personalizing your email. You can do this for free by getting a domain and registering it on Google Apps for Your Domain. It's easy! Just register it at Google Apps (I also have a tutorial here).

Got any questions? Email me at aileen at twistedweddingplanner.blogspot.com.

You might also want to follow my blog through a reader or via email.

Pinoy Wedding in New York

2008-10-23T22:46:00.000+08:00

I just wanted to share this very beautiful wedding of my friend based in New York.

Watch this -

Congratulations Claro and Cecille! =)

The Wedding Album

2008-10-17T21:47:00.001+08:00

A wedding photographer would eat up about 15 to 20% of your budget and more if you get a renowned one. You definitely have to get the best photographer around and make sure the he delivers.

I have some friends who have been married for more than 2 years now and have not received their wedding album. They do have digital copies of their wedding photos, but despite frequent follow-ups with their wedding photographer they have not received their album. Because of this I asked the advise of my wedding photographer-friends and they said that my friends had the misfortune of hiring those suppliers and just have to be adamant about having their albums finally delivered. My wedding supplier friends also mentioned that you could actually hire a photographer for his services alone and just have your album printed by yourself.

I did some research and found out that there are several suppliers you could work with to print your wedding album.

1. Picture Books - you can lay-out the album by yourself by downloading the software or work with them through any of their six braches. "Books" are available in small, medium, large or extra-large, softcover or hardcover. Prices range from PhP250 to PhP2,795.

2. Printed Matter - the options for album printing is a bit limited since they just designed it to be a "signature album", but still an option nonetheless.

3. Fuljifilm - album sizes range from 4 x 6 to 12 x 12 and printed on hard cardboard-photo-paper. Prices range from PhP980 to PhP3,900.

Here's a book I had printed with Picture Books recently -

Proposal Album

Engagement at the Top of the World

2008-10-10T20:34:00.000+08:00

Jason Chuck, product marketing manager of Google, shared during the press launch of Google Mapmaker that he was in the Philippines for two reasons: (1) to get engaged; and (2) for the launch of the Google Mapmaker.

The Twisted Wedding Planner then grabbed the chance to ask Jason about the kilig side of his trip and he excitedly recounted how he planned the engagement. Jason said that he originally wanted to relive the first time he met his fiance - on the mountaintop during a snow boarding trip. He was set on doing that but unfortunately the season for snow boarding has ended.

There isn't that much map data yet in the Philippines, but Jason heard a lot about Palawan, so he decided to go to El Nido. The trip proved to be an exciting one and they both went on a sunset hike. Jason's girlfriend had no idea that he had set-up a romantic nook at the top.

"It wasn't so romantic you know since we were all sweaty and tired after the hike, and it rained a bit so the sunset I was hoping for wasn't there, but things went well," Jason shared.

It's so heartwarming to hear how guys go through all the trouble to prepare to get engaged. It is, after all, the start of a whole new chapter in one's love story.

Thanks Jason for sharing your story!

Dear Bride, Smile :D

2008-09-20T10:43:00.000+08:00

OMG! I had gotten so busy I have not updated the Twisted Wedding Planner in almost 2 months!

BUT!

I've actually been to two weddings and the biggest wedding expo at the PICC Forum and add Cebu and Jakarta to that. So enough about explaining my absence.

There's one thing that I noticed among brides - some of them DON'T SMILE! And methinks that's really bad and I noticed that this happens whenever the bride handles all of the wedding preparations. It happens you-know especially when the hubby-to-be works abroad.

And I think that's the value of getting a wedding coordinator or getting your friends more involved in planning your wedding. Brides get all stressed whenever they take care of everything for the wedding. I can just imagine the worry and anxiety that something bad might happen during the ceremony and reception. And I thought the best solution for that is getting someone to help you (if the groom isn't around or not much into the preparations).

So dear bride, don't forget to smile on your wedding day!

P.S. If you are too busy to check if TWP has updates you might want to subscribe to it via email.

A Spidey Proposal

2008-07-22T20:27:00.000+08:00

The best planned proposals more often than not don't happen as scripted.

One of my friends just came back from a vacation... and got engaged in THE most romantic way. More often than not it's my girl friends who gush and rush to tell the story and we always end up giggling and kilig over the latest romantic drama special. But this time it was the groom-to-be who related to me how he got engaged.

So off he went to vacay at the Maldives with his girl friend. His girl friend had no idea what he was up to. He knew he wanted to propose in the most romantic way, but the moment just never came up. He tried to get her to go out to the sunset, but she wanted to take a shower instead. The next day it rained. The right time just wasn't coming up! So he just kept bringing the ring wherever they went.

And then Spiderman 3 came up on HBO, one of their favorite movies. My friend's GF loves the movie and started re-enacting the part where Aunt May was describing how Uncle Ben proposed to her and as Aunt May said, "He had me close my eyes, and when I opened them, there was the ring." She closed her eyes as well and when she opened them... there was the ring and my friend on one knee!

It was the perfect moment!

Congratulations Erik and Claudia! =)

Getting Married Online

2008-07-08T00:29:00.000+08:00

Huh? No I don't mean doing the ceremonies online, but planning your wedding online.

The Official Google Blog gave a great rundown on an example on how a couple used Google tools in planning their wedding.

We all know that planning a wedding is such a daunting task. When I planned weddings for my friends all these tools weren't available yet, but I've been using it myself and I covered Gmail, Gtalk, Google Docs, Google Notebook, Blogger and Google Apps for Your Domain in a previous post.

There's a new collaborative tool though that I've been trying out the past few weeks and it's quite exciting since you can build a site all about your wedding in it and easily share photos, videos, documents, maps etc. in the page. This tool is called Google Sites and you can utilize this just simply by getting a Google Account (your Gmail account would do).

My tutorial about how to use Google Sites is over at YouGotTech.com.

Make-up

2008-07-02T21:29:00.000+08:00

Brides have a certain glow on their wedding day and they're even made more beautiful by make-up artists.

I recently had a make-over done courtesy of Mona Borromeo, a make-up artist who does commercial projects and weddings. While she was putting make-up on me I asked her to give some tips about bridal make-up and here's a couple she gave me:

1. Having clear skin is very important. Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate!

2. Get a spa treatment and a facial at least 2 weeks before the wedding, so that if ever your skin breaks-out it'll have time to go back to normal before the wedding.

3. Sleep! You don't want to look like a panda on your wedding day.

4. Eat! Bride's usually do crash diets and this makes them look sullen. Lose the pounds gradually!

5. Do a pre-nup trial make-up. This is very important since this is where you'll see how you want to look on your wedding day. This also allows the make-up artist to get to know the structure of your face for practice.

I liked the glowing look that Mona did for me.

What do you think?

You might want to give Mona a try, here's her contact info:
Mona Borromeo
Professional Make-up Artist
0915-9042707
anom_2425 @ hotmail.com
anom_050177 @ yahoo.com

St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Chapel, Magallanes

2008-06-07T18:26:00.000+08:00

Better known as the Magallanes Church. The St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Chapel has undergone a major facelift. This church sits across the building where I previously worked and since it's just across where I sit, I normally face the church every morning while drinking my coffee. When things got crazy at work I'd just peer over the window and meditate.

From the highway you'd see the chapel... just the side of it that is. I've always been curious on how it's facade looks like already and was happy to have gotten the chance to see its "face" last week while visiting the area. Here's how it looks:

I wasn't able to go inside and check how it looks like now, but I'm sure that the interiors must be better lighted now and would probably be a great place to hold one's wedding.

Here's the contact info I managed to get when I did a Google search -

Address: Humabon Place, Magallanes Village, Makati City, PHilippines
Telephone number: +632-852-8228/2750

Weddings at Divisoria: D-I-Y Wedding Giveaways

2008-05-31T22:11:00.000+08:00

When I was a kid I remember being a flower girl in a series of weddings. My Mom's very creative and crafty and we used to do the giveaways and other wedding accessories (i.e. table decor, entourage purses etc.). I was then exposed to going on trips to Divisoria, Quiapo and Baclaran to buy materials for our projects.

Going to Divisoria isn't difficult nor dangerous at all. We usually park at the 168 (mall) or during peak season we park along Reina Regente or sometimes nearby Binondo Church and then we walk. If you don't feel like bringing a car you can also take the FX from Taft avenue or the LRT 2 and get off at Recto then you can take the pedicab to Tabora. Just make sure you dress simply and just bring the essentials. Be alert as well.

You can purchase craft materials along Tabora street. You can buy at the street (make sure you haggle) or for those who are adventurous, try going inside the Yangco Market, there are a lot of craft stores inside. My favorite stores include "Good Morning" and "Morning Glory". That's where I buy materials for my craft projects. You also have the option to buy ready-made wedding giveaways. Prices go from PhP10 and up.

Some materials you can pick-up at the street are shotglasses, glass vases, mini-baskets and pouches. You can decorate the shotglass with a small flower and then have a sticker made at Robee Sticker with your name and wedding date. Glass vases can be filled-up with colored sand and customized with a ribbon with your names printed on a small card. You can also fill-up pouches with potpourri. For the crafty you can probably buy illustration board, some cloth and make frames! Ahhh, with all the available materials in Divi, there's so much you can do!

Weddings at Divisoria: Inexpensive but Glamorous Wedding Attire

2008-05-23T21:47:00.000+08:00

You've probably heard time and time again that you can complete your and your entourage's wedding attire for less than PhP10,000 at Divisoria.

Is it for real?

Yes it is! The Twisted Wedding Planner went on a trip to Divisoria once again last weekend in search for cheap and inexpensive wedding clothes and we saw these -

Wedding Entourage Gowns great for flower girls, bridesmaids, secondary sponsors, maid of honor (barongs for men and kids also available). Price range: PhP400 to PhP1,000.

Bridal Gowns complete with accessories like the veil, cord, pillow for the rings and arrhae. Price range: PhP2,500 and up.

When I helped organize my friend's wedding we went around Divisoria and found this quaint shop. We got her gown and the groom's attire for just PhP5,000 and bought gowns for the entourage at Php550 per set. My friend didn't even need to have the gown altered since it fit her perfectly, but you can also have one customized for you.

C.A.L. Bridal Boutique
Contact: Caying Lopez, Proprietress
Yangco Market
Pas. X-40, 42 cor. Paz Z
814 Tabora St., Binondo, Manila
Tel. 632-244-2761

Another shop around the corner is:

Hi-Ico Commercial
Contact: Cathie I. Uy
50-52 Pas. W cor. Pas Z Yangco Marketi
Ilaya St. Divisoria, Manila
Tel. 632-244-5956
Email: cathieuy @ gmail . com

How to Dodge Questions on Being Engaged

2008-05-11T00:26:00.001+08:00

This post is for those who are being silly about confirming rumors of being engaged.

LOL.

Here are some standard answers you can use:

1. The thought makes me hyperventilate.
2. The to-do list is quite long, must complete it first.
3. We're still saving up for it.
4. We're planning to elope.

And the best answer that usually shuts up people

5. We accept donations.

I'm trying to come up with more silly answers. If you have any, hope you can share `em!

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San Agustin Church

2008-05-01T20:52:00.000+08:00

Last Sunday I went on a Manila tour with friends from Davao and we were bewildered to witness 3 weddings (yes T-H-R-E-E) in less than 3 hours at the San Agustin Church in Intramuros. The first one we caught while they were taking photos at the altar, saw the beginning of the second while we were in the San Agustin Museum and witnessed the bridal walk of the third wedding at the second floor at the back of the church. Whew! 3 weddings in less than 3 hours!

Here's why San Agustin Church is a sought-after church for weddings (I heard you have to book at least a year before) -

And if you're looking for something to do with your Sweetie, why not go on a Manila tour? Go on a food tour in Binondo, a walk in Intramuros and a cruise on Manila Bay. Here's my video blog about it -

The Pre-Nup Video

2008-04-15T17:31:00.000+08:00

One of my friends dumped on me 4 thick albums days before her wedding and said, "Hope you can do our pre-nup video! Here's your dress, we gotta go now. See ya at the hotel before the wedding."

I was faced with a huge problem then - I HAD NO VIDEO EDITING SKILLS back then. I had mastered powerpoint by then, so I ended up scanning multitudes of photos and did a timed video. I have since done a couple of pre-nup "videos" for other friends and it usually goes by this formula:

Once upon a time...
Groom's baby to elementary to high school and college photos
Bride's baby to elementary to high school and college photos

When the prince met and pursued the princess...
Photos showing how the couple met
The courtship

The prince and princess together
The relationship
The engagement

And then the story ends at the point where the couple's pre-nup photos are showcased. A simple, but effective formula. I always choose the funniest photos and I try to relay the couple's love story through pictures. Doing it on powerpoint is kinda limiting and that's why I started to vlog (to learn how to edit videos).

While walking through hoards of suppliers in various wedding expos, I have found it really hard to distinguish the uniqueness of each supplier - especially for videos and photos. I usually end up hiding behind Sweetie while going through throngs booths. I get dizzy with all the flyers being handed out and I admit I have 2 bagfuls that I have not managed to sort.

I was reading through some twits through my Twitter account when I saw Buddy twit about some of the videos he has done recently. I met Buddy two years ago when he was just starting out. He was the one who captured me on video in the very first workshop I gave for PTTC. I eventually saw him again in an IT club meeting.

Anyway, I was kinda in an exploratory mode so I checked out his videos in his Youtube channel and I was very pleased with what I saw. I went through a couple of the pre-nup videos and realized what makes Buddy stand out from all others.

He has passion for his craft.

I have seen a lot of pre-nup videos done by studios and they all do not have heart. They just basically plug in everything in a video, timed with a love song and that's just about it. It's always just a canned, boring thing that makes you squirm in your seat while watching it.

Buddy's videos is like having your friend do it.

These I think are two very important elements when doing your pre-nup video. I wonder if Buddy will give me a huge discount when my time comes. Hehehe. (Just seriously kidding!).

Here's one of Buddy's heartwarming videos -

That's former PNP Chief Art Lumibao with wife Mrs. Jackie Tiu-Lomibao.

A Baptist Wedding

2008-04-13T22:31:00.001+08:00

A year ago I had to help my son do his Christian Living homework. We had to find out how a Baptist wedding is done. Were the rituals the same? The traditions? Was it very different from Christian/Catholic weddings? I totally had no idea, but thanks to Mr. Google we found the answer.

It was only a few weeks ago that I finally had the privilege of attending a Baptist wedding. My former colleague and workstation-seatmate, Jonas, tied the knot at the Blue Leaf in McKinley Hill last March 31, 2008. I was quite excited to attend since Jonas told me about Tara even before he met her. Ahhh, it is such a beautiful love story. Jonas and Tara are a perfect blend.

Here's the program of a Baptist wedding:

Prelude: entrance of officiating minister to bride's parents
Serenade to the Bride
Unrolling of white carpet: entrance of flower girl and then the bride
Celebration of Marriage: giving away of the bride and scripture reading
The ministry of the Word/Wedding Message
Exhortation: Wedding Hymn, Exchange of Vows and Rings, Lighting of Unity Candle, Signing of Wedding Contract
Tribute to Parents
Affirmation of Marriage Bond
Sending Forth: Benediction, the Kiss, Formal Presentation of the Couple

The ceremony was very solemn and each step highlighted a significant aspect of marriage. It was also obvious that most of the guests were from their community - which shows that one's marriage is supported as well by the whole community.

To Jonas and Tara, best wishes! And good luck in your new life in a far but near country. Yahooooooo!

At the Wedding Expo!

2008-02-17T18:52:00.000+08:00

Two minutes into the wedding expo I started hyperventilating. I thought I already got over those sudden panic attacks after doing a couple of my friends' weddings. But no-oh, I just had to hyperventilate at the "Weddings & Debuts 2008" at the Megatrade Hall yesterday. Good thing Sweetie was with me and there was a huge electric fan which kinda revived me. Sweetie ended up collecting the flyers and talking with the suppliers. Hehehe.

So why attend wedding exhibits?

Get to check out really nice gowns!

1. Meet suppliers - I've gone to a number of exhibits already and normally suppliers vary from one fair to another.

2. Get ideas - it's nice to attend expos especially when you're just starting to plan your wedding. A lot of people really don't have experience in organizing events and planning a wedding IS a daunting task. You can do research online, read maganizes (best one I've read so far is "Wedding Essentials") and then go to these fairs to get more ideas.

3. Compare costs - sometimes it's tempting to just go with whoever's there, but with careful planning and time, you can always cut on costs. Don't go for the first supplier that fits your budget since there are many considerations to do. Check out testimonials and feedback about the companies you'll be working with (I'll probably make a post about bride-supplier horror stories soon).

4. Check out new trends - there are always new things introduced in these fairs. A percentage of suppliers who participate in wedding exhibits are new and normally have new products/services to offer. I saw a couple of interesting stuff yesterday and I'll post about that too soon.

5. Bonding time with the fiance - A couple of my married friends complained that guys are usually not participative in doing wedding stuff. Well girl, give the guy a break, planning your wedding is a huge task, keep your cool and do things one step at a time. The Wedding Essential magazine has a great planning booklet you can follow. Attend a wedding fair, look around and just enjoy each other's company. Wedding singers also perform during this fair and it's a great way to hear them since they don't really have demo "tapes". We managed to say hi and hello with Richard Poon at the expo yesterday.

And to end this post, here's Richard Poon's carrier single, "I'll Take Care of You"

Got a nagging question about your wedding? Email me at aileen @ twistedweddingplanner.com

Planning Your Wedding Online

2008-02-14T22:43:00.000+08:00

I couldn't help but giggle over the Google Docs interface... it was just so... pink!

I previously did a wedding where both the bride and the groom were based in Singapore. I wish Google Docs was available back when we were planning things. It would've saved a lot of time and money spent for communication. What is Google Docs for anyway?

Google Docs is an online interface that allows you to collaborate in real time. It where you can create documents such as your guest list, emcee script, misalette and even your budget online and you can easily share and revise things with your fiance in real time. Check out this sample entourage and guest list spreadsheet.

It's easy to do! You can easily create it using your Gmail account, click on the "Documents" link on the upper left corner. It should go to the Google Docs interface. To create a new document, just click on "New" and select what kind of document you want to create, choose spreadsheet if you're going to make lists, or "Document" for stuff like scripts or write-ups. To allow your fiance to make inputs in the document, click on the "Share" tab which can be found on the right side and then fill-in his email address (must be using Gmail as well) and click on "Invite as collaborator". This will bring you to a notice page where you can leave a note for him and this shall be sent as an email to him and he can easily access the document.

Confused? Please check out the Google Docs tour.

I'm in Shock! (A Valentine Revelation)

2008-02-13T01:51:00.001+08:00

I'll tell you a little secret. In the past 5 years I've been using Kasal.com, I've changed the "name of the groom" in the My Kasal registry several times already. Huwhaaaatttt?!?!?

It's not what you are thinking! Here are the reasons why I've held my account active for more than 5 years now:

(1) The Resources - I've helped quite a number of my friends organize their weddings and since some of them are not tech savvy I usually end up doing the missalette side-by-side with them and it's less hassle to actually register them as a couple.

(2) The Newsletter - gives me updates on events and stuff (but I think the service is currently not available - if you enjoy reading my musings, subscribe to my blog by email).

(3) Because I want to get married too.

Okay, so the real secret is I would change the "name of the groom" to my latest crush. It took me four years to find another boyfriend you see and everytime I opened my account to help a friend I'd change the name.

So a year ago I kinda had this huge crush on my best friend and I replaced the groom's name to his name (SFX: "Wishing and hoping and thinking and praying, planning and dreaming each night of his charms..." ).

After finishing my friend's missalette I didn't log-in anymore to my account, until today.

And got the SHOCK of my life.

I logged-in because I wanted to update my account since my best friend became my boyfriend about 5 months ago and I was kinda panicking about the account this morning because I thought someone else was registered as the groom.

Sweetie actually answered wrong when I asked him to guess who the registered groom was.

It was him. And the random wedding date I placed a year ago is our anniversary date (but dated for 2009).

Strange huh.

Fate?

Believe it or not.

I am still in shock.

P.S. But good news, the groom's name is not going to change anymore =)

Happy Valentine's everyone!

Weddings with Precious Moments

2008-02-02T21:14:00.000+08:00

A few weeks ago I was in Kalibo, Aklan and got the surprise of my life when I got a chance to stay at Sampaguita Gardens Resort. The resort is in "Christmas Season" all year round and this is highlighted by Jojo's Christmas Cottage which showcases Precious Moments products by Sam Butcher (the founder of Precious Moments and owner of the resort).

I've always encountered Precious Moments products since I was a kid, but I never really collected them. I'd see cards, figurines, dolls and anek-anek that sported the PM "eyes". I was quite fascinated with the wedding products the have.

I interviewed the store staff a bit and found out that you can actually order your own customized doll. You can have a 16" doll done wearing your wedding gown's design and that would cost around PhP6,000.

For more information about ordering a customized Precious Moments doll please call at +63-36-2646556 or 2623422 loc 207. You may also want to order wedding giveaways from them or have your wedding reception at the Sampaguita Gardens Resort.

Get a glimpse of the resort by visiting Lakwatsera Ako.

The Honeymoon

2008-01-23T20:26:00.000+08:00

Whenever I travel I see quite a lot of lovebirds giving each other goo-goo eyes. My thought balloon? "Newlyweds! Accckkk get-me outta here!" You'd easily spot them at airports because they're always touching each other, holding hands, fixing each others hair, it's like they can't get enough of each other.

Honeymooners!

Okay so I'm green with envy since they seem to be wrapped up in a world of their own. I was in Boracay a few weeks ago and saw quite a number of couples walking hand in hand by the sea shore, sipping fruit shakes at D' Mall, shopping for trinkets, getting strangers to take their photos, ahhh... the blissful life of a newlywed.

Not all of my friends who got married went on a honeymoon. Elders say that the honeymoon should come immediately after the wedding - at least 3 days of it. Quite a number of my friends either went to the beach (Palawan, Boracay, Bohol, Bali, the Maldives), others went abroad (Singapore, Hongkong, Bangkok, Cambodia), others just checked-in a hotel here in Metro Manila. Well wherever it is you want to go I guess I can give a couple of tips on how to choose a location where you can spend your honeymoon (since I travel a lot and I maintain a travel blog at Lakwatsera Ako).

1. Budget - plan your trip within your means. A friend of mine didn't plan to have a honeymoon since they were already strapped for cash because of the wedding, but since their wedding dance (the traditional one where money is pinned on the bride and groom) produced 13K they decided to spend a few days in Los Banos and set aside most of the money for their new abode. Budget for airfare/bus fare, land transpo (taxis and tricycles), food, accommodations, tips and pasalubong. Ask around or check Lakwatsera Ako's budget break-downs for vacations. Always keep some emergency money in a pocket or two.

2. Interests - know each other's interests. You might love going to the beach or trekking, but she hates the sun. Or you might like flying and she just wants her feet firmly on the ground. Agree on what you want to do during your honeymoon and make sure that the activities you will be doing are things you will both enjoy.

3. Health - know your fiance's health limits. He/she might be the type that gets hilo (nauseous) when riding boats or the airplane, check for allergies (food, insect etc.) and other health related matters. Bring medicine as well. Better be safe than sorry.

One key thing though (methinks) is to find accommodations that's rated well by past dwellers. You can easily find write-ups and testimonials by searching for it on Google.

I just want to add that if you decide to go to Boracay for your honeymoon, I urge you to stay at Station 1 so you can be in lovey-dovey mood all the time. Sur, a resort in Station 1 is a great place to stay. I would've brought home the pillows, comforter and bed if it was possible! LOL.

Here's a short video I made about Sur -

Beach Weddings

2008-01-11T23:39:00.000+08:00

Admit it, the thought of a beach wedding crossed your mind too. You've imagined yourself all garbed-up in a white flowing gown, hair adorned with flowers, the wind gently fanning you while saying I do while the sun is setting. Your silhouette forever etched against the sunset in a photo for your wedding album. A very romantic set-up indeed.

I remember a colleague who had her wedding at a resort in Bali. The advantage, of course, was having very few guests, but she had to coordinate as well all the airline and hotel bookings and transfers of her guests. I could just imagine what a nightmare it must have been to make all arrangements. After the wedding she said that there were a lot of hitches and loopholes, but she said she just let her OC-side go, did not make a fuss and just had fun.

Last weekend, I chanced upon a wedding reception while walking along Boracay's famous seashore and this is how it looked -

The video does not do any justice to the beauty of the set-up. The newlyweds were placed under a special tent (and they looked really gorgeous). Guests were coming back and forth the buffet table which was filled with fresh seafood. The atmosphere was also very festive and romantic at the same time. I'm sure they partied until late that night.

After taking a short video of the set-up I walked on, but kept looking back at the festivities since it looked so charming and exciting. I think I am too OC though to have it at the beach.

Marriage Proposals

2007-12-21T20:34:00.000+08:00

I bet every time you remember how your fiance/husband asked for your hand in marriage you still experience that warm, fuzzy kilig feeling. I could just imagine how overwhelming that moment was and that you might have cried.

A few months ago, I did a post about proposals and then I recently bumped into the Wifely Steps blog where Toni initiated a "Marriage Proposal Blog Carnival". The stories are really nakakakilig! Included in the blog carnival are recounts of how Neil Gaiman (the author) helped Jason in his marriage proposal and a scavenger hunt proposal and a whole lot more.

The Sweetie says that the recounts are quite challenging to beat. Methinks if any of those happened to me I would've probably hyperventilated and fainted. LOL. I just noticed though that in marriage proposals, it happens either: (1) just as a spur of the moment (like LadyCess' recount); (2) it just happens as a natural progression of the relationship (like my parents); or (3) the hubby-to-be plans it out and makes a grand fuss about it.

One of my friends who I accompanied in buying the engagement ring did a grand plan. It entailed all of us, his friends, dressing up in white during his GF's birthday dinner, but that didn't push through. So, we waited and waited and waited. It took a couple of weeks and all of us were wondering if he was still going to push through with the proposal. He eventually ended up giving the ring in the car after making a downpayment for the condo they were going to move into after getting married. He said he went for the "no fuss" proposal since he thought everything was in its proper place anyway.

Well, the proposal is just the first step to a pandora's box, este, to a whole lifetime commitment. My married friends keep telling me what really matters is how you make things work after saying "I do". I agree, but I wanna get more kilig, share naman your proposal story.

I'll send a gift on Valentine's day to the one who has the most kilig story. You may either leave a comment here or email me at aileen at twistedweddingplanner.com.

Come now... don't be shy. =)

Fun Wedding Photos

2007-11-22T13:09:00.000+08:00

If you attend wedding events you'd notice that there are a LOT of wedding photographers and it would be a dizzying experience to actually choose one for your wedding. I did a post a while back on some tips on how to choose a wedding photographer.

Today, I thought of showcasing the fun side of wedding photography through Cliquebooth's unique service. Cliquebooth works like your usual ID photo machine, but with a twist (and the Twisted Wedding Planner loves twists!). It's quite hard to describe, so I'm just going to show some photos from events I had Cliquebooth in and some photos from Karl de Leon, its owner.

This is me and Sweetie at an event (he's going to kill me for this but one of his good friends gave me the blessing to feature it here, LOL)

You can also check out photos from some of the events I did that Cliquebooth attended here, here and here.

Newlyweds

Wedding Guests

The Cliquebooth photo album

I think it would be great to have Cliquebooth in a wedding. It captures the fun side of it. For bookings inquiries please call Mimi Abesamis at 0917-624-6464.

Finding Suppliers Easily

2007-11-05T20:04:00.000+08:00

The easiest way to find suppliers is, of course, to sit in front of your PC and do a search on Google! Aside from going through search results, you can always visit wedding websites, wedding blogs (and these help verify if the supplier is a good one as well because it serves as a testimonial), online wedding directories or whatever online site you can bump into on weddings.

But, of course, one cannot always be online, so we often scramble for hurriedly copied numbers on small pieces of paper or your wedding notebook (if you keep one) - I also don't have the patience of going through tons of flyers I get during wedding events I attend. The solution? Get a wedding directory!

DPC Yellow Pages has finally launched their very own wedding directory! And since they're the official publisher of the Philippines Yellow Pages (for all telcos), you can be assured that the suppliers who advertise on DPC Yellow Pages are legitimate businesses (you cannot just imagine the tons of paperwork that goes before these things get published, I know coz I used to work for them LOL).

Get a copy today!

Choosing a Caterer

2007-10-29T00:31:00.000+08:00

The largest chunk of your budget would most probably go to the caterer that's why it's very important to know how many guests you are going to have from the beginning. And -

food = enjoying a wedding
yucky food = bad wedding experience

Believe me, no matter how good you've managed all the other stuff, guests would remember that the food was not good at your wedding. Well, I do remember.

I've been getting a lot of food tasting event invitations in my mail and since my weekend was suddenly freed up, I decided to go attend Hizon's Catering food tasting event at One Esplanade. I have helped my friends choose their caterer, but I've never really gone to a food tasting (left that to the lovebirds teehee). Anyway, from that experience here are some tips that I think would help when you are evaluating a caterer:

1. Menu Composition - there are many parts to a meal. Are you having a breakfast, lunch, merienda or a dinner reception? You'd normally have to choose the soup, appetizers, salad, main meal, dessert and beverage. Choosing a cuisine makes things a whole lot easier. And, don't forget to ask Sweetie if his relatives have any food restrictions (i.e. most of them are diabetic, have high blood etc.). Also, ask the caterer what their specialty is.

2. Cost - the cheapest is not necessarily the best. Find out what the cost includes - food, venue rental, chairs & tables, set-up, flowers/decor, waiters and other services. Does it include freebies like the sound system? LCD projector? Sometimes it's better just to hire a caterer for what they do best - the food - and just get someone else to handle the decor, sounds etc. And what are the payment terms?

3. Service - there were quite a number of things falling down on the floor (thus creating banging sounds) during the event. You don't want plates and stuff falling down on the floor during your wedding reception do you? It was quite annoying, plus the first table we sat down in was see-sawing so requested to be transferred another table. Make sure the waiters and service staff are attentive and are capable of exercising last minute instructions during the reception.

4. Taste - remember, not yummy food = not happy guests. `Nuff said.

*Photos by Jay de Jesus.