HITCHED!: countdown to Forever...

Our Principal Sponsors

2011-12-31T16:12:00.008-08:00

For the reception, each sponsor were introduced with a little introduction read by the host. We chose our second parents with utmost care, each person were decided upon their contribution in our growth as an individual, and now as a witness as a couple. They also served as a witness for the union of both me and hubby during the wedding day.

The Introductions as red by the host are as follows:

Mr. Bienvenido Delgado

is a very good friend of our groom’s father. He is likewise, the confirmation godfather of Karl Kelvin. Ninong Bienvenido’s son, Michael, also used to be the classmate of Karl Kelvin in Xavier School.

Mrs. Zenaida Javier-Uy

is another close family friend of the groom’s parents. She is described by Karl Kelvin as a successful cardiologist who always gives premium to everyone’s health. Ninang Zenaida is a member of the prayer meeting group, “ICTHUS” in which the father of our groom is also actively participating.

Mr. Alfonso Ching and Mrs. Felisa Ching

are also the baptismal godparents of Karl Kelvin. Already based in Vancouver, Canada for years, they are among our long list of guests, who took their time out just to be present here tonight. Our groom shares that Mr. and Mrs. Ching have always been the warmest people, who always make sure that their trips in Canada are fun, memorable and worthwhile.

Mr. Jacky Wong Manchit and Mrs. Betty Wong

is coming fresh all the way from Hong Kong. Mr. Jacky Wong Manchit is a successful businessman in the former British colony while Ninang Betty is actually the sister of our groom’s father. Karl Kelvin recalls, Mr. and Mrs. Wong always bring them to the best places in Hong Kong whenever our groom and his family go there for a vacation.

Mr. Manuel Sia and Mrs. Anita Sia

are the parents of Karl Kelvin’s high school classmate, Mark. Our groom recalls that back during those days, he used to hang out in Mr. and Mrs. Sia’s house to eat good food and finish their assignments, that is, above many things.

Charles Chua substituted Mr. Carlos Teng

Mr. Carlos Teng
is a long time friend of the groom’s family who is based in Legaspi City, Albay. He is also a successful businessman, managing his own trucking company, to which Karl Kelvin’s family is subscribing to.

Mrs. Lily Lee
According to our bride, Melissa, our 5^th Ninang is someone who has natural elegance, youthful beauty and immense humility and hospitality. For so many years, Melissa has gathered a lot of fond memories with Ninang Lily, the mother of Melissa’s best friend, Ciara. Aside for being a permanent fixture in their household, Melissa has found a 2^nd home and a 2^nd mother, who has provided her with guidance and love throughout the years.

Dr. Ong Soon Chao and Dra. Luisa Ong

Dr. Ong Soon Chao is a Nephrologist, practising in The Medical Center of Mesquite and Mesquite Community Hospital in Dallas; while Dra. Luisa Ong, is a Cardiologist in The Medical City of Dallas and Baylor Hospital of Plano. They are also Melissa’s baptismal godparents who, through the years, have witnessed the coming of age of our bride.

Mr. Albert Ang and Mrs. Valentina Ang

Being a close friend of our bride’s father since their childhood days, Ninong Albert is someone who has seen Melissa blossom through the years. Ninang Valentina, on the other hand, is someone who shares so many interesting similarities with our bride Melissa. To mention a few, both of them were born on Valentine’s day, and both of them share the passion for the arts, being interior designers, and even coming from the same school.

Mr. Henry Sopiaksiu and Mrs. Betty Sopiaksiu

are the parents of Melissa’s college best friend, Hannah, our Maid of Honor tonight. Melissa recalls the times when she used to spend overnights in their residence, to finish assignments and plates up for submission. According to our bride, Ninong Henry is a multi-lingual speaker, proficient in Fookien, Mandarin, Filipino and English; while Ninang Betty is the ever supportive wife behind the successful husband. She believes in the principle of practicality never fails to remind our bride to have a positive outlook and to enjoy life to the fullest.

Wedding Details in Snapshots- Preparation

2011-12-31T15:21:00.002-08:00

Our Wedding Details in some snapshots...

THE GROOM's

THE BRIDE's

Asian Modern Inspired. This is made by Veluz. Sketched by yours truly. I love an Asian detail that will be striking and would not overpower the dress. A obi belt with embroidery and an origami back is the perfect way to express... Asian

SPONSORS... Cord

* Cords

THE BEARERS...COINS, RING and BIBLE

* Rings

* Coins

* Bible

INVITES

* Our Invites- Classic

FLOWERS

Our Misalette

2011-12-31T14:20:00.002-08:00

I just unearthed our misalette from our wedding 2006.

it was nice to take a look at the things we have promised before God during that time of our life

Lovingly typed and printed by the Ong Family :)

Our wedding slide

2007-03-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

Valentines....

2007-02-21T04:32:00.000-08:00

Karl gave me a bouquet a few days after Valentines...

I admit that I was a wee bit disappointed because everything was pretty much regular on the Hearts day... (That's the downside to having Valentines as your birthday. You expect more heheh!)

Thanks Bibi... :)))
TO many more years of blissful-ness...

Honeymoon Pics

2007-02-05T03:46:00.001-08:00

ALready two months back in the Philippines from our honeymoon in hawaii....

I have tried to categorize pictures for easier viewing....

We actually went to our honeymoon the morning after of our reception... We had avery loooong flight and a looonger waiting time at the Japan airport... So the first part of our pix were from the Japan airport and Hawaii pier (The Aloha Tower).

The 1st week of our honeymoon was spent mainly on the boat which started sailing on May 2007. It was quite a new ship and was called Pride of Hawaii. We also spent some time on the land during the cruise time and we joined some of the land tours in Maui (specifically the Maui Ocean Center, Iao Valley and of course, the ever-famous Luau!) and Kona (for the Atlantic submarine). We spent the last day of the cruise week at the ship.

For the 4-day, 3 nights left of our vacation in Oahu, we checked in at the Ohana East hotel which overlooked the King's Palace and 2 blocks away from Waikiki Beach. We spent a great part of our time in Oahu at the biggest mall, Ala Moana. :)))

It was a relaxing vacation all in all except for the travelling time :O hehe! Oh well, we can't have it all...

2nd Prenup

2006-10-17T21:35:00.000-07:00

We had another prenup with Kenneth Uy
:)

More pics to chose from hehehe!
Coco Grill Tarlac

Finalizing our program sequence already and AVP pix for the AVP maker. I am quite confused because there are lots of pictures on my side while Karl has just a few.. Still searching for baby pix and friends pix...he is not into taking picures daw kasi before :0

We will be getting the invitations this saturday... Hopefully that's the final date

Updates....

2006-10-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

Back at last!

I was having a hard time putting in posts for awhile because of cookie settings...

anyway, the updates are...
For the requirements...
we were able to go to the family planning seminar and had my confirmation as well...
@ St. Michael's Church

Wedding banns are already picked up from the parish church...

For the cake, we settled with French Kiss... :) Cross my fingers...

We also had our 2nd meeting with the coordinator. The program is finally taking shape. :)

Renovation for our room (Yes...just a room hehe!) is doing ok i think... Karl is the one supervising it... Dress for my mom is finalized... Got her measurements taken already. Next would be my dad.

Brothers had their measurements taken as well...

It's Interplay

2006-08-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

We finally finalized our flowers...
Karl wanted them because they were easy to talk to...
and maybe because I am tired of canvassing...hehehe!

we hope that we made a good choice...

I'm packing my Ke-tsung...one by one... so many more to pack pa...huhu!
Chinese tradition...hehhe!

Cloth...and invites

2006-08-03T00:50:00.000-07:00

We spent the day in Downtown manila for the cloth buying for our godparents and went to Unifair for the inviations... i got some samples of the invitation tso I can ask other opinions and finally decide for our final invites...

cake...still nothing final yet....

3rd Fitting w Veluz...etc

2006-07-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

My itinerary for today...

1:30pm
-meeting with the Coordinator... Our first meeting
-meeting with Da Capo... the Strings

4:00pm
-3rd Fitting for Veluz bridal gown...

Then after that I'm done for the day...
:)

Will post what progress we had. CYA!

1st official meeting with the designer delays...

2006-07-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to meet Veluz on July 12th but because of the weather and scheds...it was moved and moved until today :0

i sure hope that my next meetings won't be delayed as well...

I finally decided to booked Da Capo inspite of the SOUND CORKAGE that Crowne has... Boo-hoo! I haven't heard of sound corkage, "ever", until Crowne ... Hidden Charges...Hay! I hope they won't have OTHER hidden charges that are not standard in the future meetings... :(

Internet blogging

2006-07-07T02:39:00.000-07:00

I am waiting here at National Bookstore and decided to check my gmail account through their net :))) Faster than the one we have at home... So I don't have to wait forever to erase those emails that are stored in my inbox...

I have just received my photo layout from Kenneth Uy the other day... The layout was okay naman except that the page wherein it was supposed to be my family... well... There was a photo of me and a friend that was put in that page so I guess I have to have it relayout...

Pic link to follow... I just realized that there is no CD drive here...so I can't use the net to upload pics from this computer.

Veluz Bride :)))

2006-07-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

I finally decided on Veluz!

I paid the Dp with karl and Karl's mom last week but wasn't able to post till today...

1 more thing down :)

Veluz and Leonard Co

2006-06-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

I finally got to finalize with Veluz regarding all the girl's dress... yesterday:)

For the guys ento... We went to Leonard Co for a quotation... Surprisingly, it was really not that expensive... I think Karl will more or less settle with him for the male entourage and look for another one for his suit...

Keep u guys updated...

EMCEE...

2006-06-23T21:42:00.001-07:00

I finally found my EMCEE! I met up with Jerome Lim Go yesterday... and I like him... A LOT! hehehehe! Solve at last. What's funny is he was the first calling card I got way before (when I was not cramming yet!) I somewhat got his card stacked up with other cards and wasn't able to meet up with him until yesterday (...after countless of attempts in interviewing 'other' emcees). Oh well, at least I got him even if he is not one of the well-known emcees in the Wedding arena... I think we clicked in terms of ideas and attitude... I sure hope that going with the intuition doesn't fail me this time. I just booked him a few minutes ago...

I need to finalize other suppliers as well...

I got my new quotation from interplay and it still a li'l bit high :( I hope we can agree on a price somewhere between her price and mine heheh!

My Cousin's Wedding

2006-06-20T23:35:00.000-07:00

My Cousin had her wedding last Sunday... June 18th....

At last! She's on her honeymoon right now :)

Some pix of her wedding day as well as my copy of the Pre-Nup pics at my
MULTIPLY SITE

I am finally startng on finalizing my suppliers... EMCEE!!! i still have none!
:(

Angel Bar... Wedding Invitation

2006-06-07T05:35:00.000-07:00

Angel Bar is expanding it's services to invitations...

I checked their site and found that we were (again) part of their sample works (hehe!). Great layout :)

Angel Bar Photography- Sample Wedding Invitation

Wedding Marathon

2006-06-04T23:35:00.000-07:00

Month of June...

Fave month of brides-to-be to get married.....

This June, I got three weddings to attend one week after the other....

June 04- Mila (UST classmate)
June 11- Karl's Sister, Sabrina (I am the bridesmaid with Karl as my partner :))
June 18- Cousin, Michelle (To Johnson...No position on the entourage whatsoever, hmp!)

... I am scheduled to get my gown from Larry tomorrow for Sabrina's wedding... I am so excited! hehe! Last June 4th, I also went to the church wedding of Cherry's sister, Candy to look at veluz's gown. It was good yet simple... I just think that the materials for the entourage was a bit stiff. i Love Cherry's gown (Maid of Honor). I even tried taking some pix. The puff sleeves of the flower girls was really cute and whimsical but Karl commented that the dress itself was a little bit plain... The ring bearers wore vest which Veluz asked me to look and I can say that I still prefer the coat and tie... I don't know yet though because we haven't finalize anything yet.

My mom, on the other hand, went to another wedding wherein the designer was Jerome Ang. Her comment was the gowns look really simple. Not that stunning for people to take notice... :O

Engagement Pictures Installment

2006-05-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

I have posted the 1st installment of our engagement pix. 1st Installment includes mostly our pictures... Friends and Family pix to follow

Ting Hun

2006-05-17T07:38:00.000-07:00

We finally had our Ting Hun! Yey! It was not perfect but atleast it's already finished and we can proceed to the wedding preparation. There were some glitches because there was only 1 person doing the coordinating and she was not in the area when the ceremony was ongoing because she was busy preparing the goody bags... Oh well! We were able to figure out what to do next with alot of pauses in between hehehe!

I will try to post the pics... Pretty big files on the pics I got here and I have to resize them for easy upload...

Taken from my cousin, Steph's Camera

Weekend in Paradise

2006-05-04T03:18:00.000-07:00

Spent the weekend with Karl's barkada in Boracay. Our first out of town trip... :)

It was also a chance to take some pix which can be used for our avps... yey!

Nice sunset.... great Crepes.... YUMMY! and had a very tasty dinner from Seawind restaurant. Buffet at less than P500! The view from our place was fantastic. the only thing that was not so good was the walking we had to do from our place to the place where there are lots of people... Oh well! We must need the exercise...

Some pix...
Boracay Pix from Wedding Announcer -go to Our Photos

More pix at my Kodak Gallery...
*to my friends, I can send link through email if you want to see more of our pix from the trip... :P

3 more weeks to go to engagement day...

2006-04-24T01:48:00.000-07:00

3 more weeks and it's finally the engagement day....

Grabe! How fast the time flies... I have the engagement dress with me (Shoes and bag!? not yet purchased), Cake ok (Tom to deposit DP), Photography ok, Candies and cookies none yet. Paper bags for the goodies are not yet enough. Karl's Barong almost done I think... So far so good, I think! Our house is a mess right now because our housemaid went on a vacation and hasn;t come back yet! Our ceremony will be at home so there! I need to clean up in time for guest on that day... tsk tsk!

Alex Franco...Jasmine Mendiola

2006-04-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

04-11-2006

My siblings, Karl and I went to meet Mr. Alex Franco at Pioneer Center for the supposed details and questions regarding his craft... CAKE-MAKING. We were satisfied with the taste but the design for their engagement cakes were just ok...

Ready...Get Set...

Go!

04-17-2006
DOUBLE BOOKING: I didn't originally planned on meeting any supplier today but then my mom was quite free the whole day and decided to sched an impromptu meeting with Emily of Sugarbox and jasmine mendiola... I met jasmine but unfortunately, wasn't able to meet Emily at the scheduled time because of a backlog on a meeting with another client...

and again to Manlapat's... Engagement wears....

2006-04-08T16:55:00.000-07:00

We got a call again from Mr. Manlapat regarding the cloth... Deja Vu!? sheesh! We had to go back there and get the cloth in exchange for another one... Good thing was, I asked my mom to go with me to check the problem with the cloth. My mom, having some background on clothes making found a way to use the cloth without having to exchange it and without compromising the design... (WAY TO GO MOM!)

One more thing off my checklist :)

I also had my fitting again the other day with Veluz for my engagement gown. A little bit wide on the hips but everything more or less good to go.

2nd thing off my list... :)

Linea Victoria again...

2006-04-06T22:33:00.000-07:00

April 07, 2006

A sudden interruption in the smooth flow of barong making for Karl... He got a call from R.M. Manlapat informing him that the cloth (from Linea Victoria, Manila) he left with them was not enough to make the supposed design they were supposed to make. Uh-huh!? I thought that all of those cloths are standard? Then, he explained that how the cut of the cloth was incorrect not the size of the cloth. Anyway, we plan to go to Manila one again and try exchanging the item or buying a new cloth to give Mr. Manlapat…. Sheesh… Time a wasting….

Wedding Treasures... and photos to treasure

2006-04-06T22:18:00.000-07:00

April 03 2006

Wedding Treasures

Wedding Treasures… The wedding coordinator which consisted of three sisters who shares a love for making dreams comes true… We had a meeting with them at 6pm Starbucks, T.Morato. Originally, it was Eugene who was supposed to meet us but unfortunately, she still has a client then and made Evangeline meet us instead to discuss their package. Vange looks easy to talk to and very accommodating although they costs more than other event coordinators which I have inquired but not yet met…by a few thousands, we decided to get them right away.

Other Wedding coordinator we asked quotations from but never got the chance to meet: Just like Ours, You’re Invited and An Event to remember. I am sure that these 3 wedding coordinators are just as good but we have a good feeling with Wedding Treasures and lots of good feedbacks on this group and decided to make a go and start finalizing with them regarding all those endless canvassing of wedding suppliers during the before-coordinator phase…

April 04 2006

Angel Bar

Another visit on Angel Bar with Sherry Tan (a great friend….and photographer) with address: 1163 La Torre St. Manila. 254-9983. I went with my brother for his passport picture and Karl for our photo shoot (an addition for our small collection of pictures)… Can’t wait for the prints… hehe!

Makeup....Photo shoot and Florist...

2006-04-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

Saturday....April fools (full) day.... and my day is quite "full" starting with my scheduled makeup trial with Bambi or Manila who is known for making up the chinese face. He is not that friendly like the last trials but he works fast and knows what to do. One thing I noticed is he doesn't ask what type of makeup you prefer but does his own style right away... hmmmm.... The result? A little bit light according to my mom and friend. My mom doesn't like the hair that much.

After the trial makeup, went to a friend's studio with my mom near Bambi's place and had a photo shoot with my friend the photographer... The perks of having a great friend who can capture my look as well as being patient and let me overcome my initial shyness in having to project ala model haha!

Lunch at home then proceeded to crowne plaza and met up with Mr. Jun Hen... :) He showed us his album portfolio and talked about the range of his flowers and service. As of now, I am awaiting his formal quotation.

Sunday came and we went to makati shangri-la for Sabrina's (Karl's sister) AVP interview scheduled 10am. Kendrick (Karl's older brother) was already there and had their interview first... Quite good, looks like they are very at home with being interviewed. Ours was not that effortless...hehe! Anyway, we did what we can for that time... and after editing our interview, I hope we looked okay and get our messages and best wishes for the couple across. Lunch at Shangri-la at our old favorite, Mini Shabu-shabu and went to meet Lala of Interplay this time with a laptop portfolio :). Same with jun hen, I am waiting for the final proposal.

Table Number Layout

2006-03-30T06:25:00.000-08:00

To my friend Sherry....
Super Thank you... I mentioned to my friend, Sherry (Angel Bar Photography) that I am planning to make a personalized table number layout for the reception venue and VOILA! She sent me initial layouts with just the basis of my motif to rely upon... :) Good layouts considering that she has limited pictures to work on. Thank you! I appreciated the effort more than anything... Mwah!

Will try to post the first layouts which are not the final yet since we need to retake more pictures with better pixel for printing purposes... We are thinking of making use of the pre nuptial pix :)

Any comments as to which layout is the best will be greatly appreciated :)as well as suggestions.

to be included in eash table layout...
* Couple's name
* Wedding date
* Table number
(will try to include all these in the next attempt

THANKS SHE! UR THE BEST!

SAMPLE 1

SAMPLE 2

SAMPLE 3

SAMPLE 4

SAMPLE 5

Tailor Fit...

2006-03-30T06:10:00.000-08:00

Karl had his barong cloth tailor made at his father's referred shop...RM Manlapat...
Last day of their 20% off on both materials and labor. Good Thing that we managed to get the discount because the labor is quite expensive...

Set of Clothes....

2006-03-29T01:45:00.000-08:00

I've finally finished my 8 sets of engagement clothes which are to be displayed for my ting hun... I also managed to cover the styrofoam with art papers that are big enough to be cartolina but with the glossy shine that we were well-acquainted with when we were kids... :)

Karl also bought the cloth for his barong for engagement. He ended up with the silk cocoon instead of the pina cocoon which he says is quite stiff compared to the one he chose.

I finally crammed our schedule for the weekend with trial makeups and florists... Hopefully, we will be able to finalize something next week.

Double happiness... Heart

2006-03-25T02:03:00.000-08:00

I finally made use of our resources and made a D-I-Y Double happiness stickers...

I am so happy with the first result. Though not that perfect, it is quite good and would be a big minus in the total expense...

So far so good... I am doing some progress without getting too stressed out with the wedding preparation...Actually, the only thing getting some progress is the engagement preparation... I'm getting more stressed on our rush project in time for a friend's wedding... (my work still IS, in a way, wedding-related)

…a long way to go

2006-03-23T17:25:00.000-08:00

Still on our agenda is the soon-to-be meeting with emcee, Shanda Lim and of course to start with the florist hopefully by next week… A friend of ours, Joy Lim offered to quote on our flowers and I faxed them some of the details and is waiting for their quotation.

I am planning to take a look again at the venues (church and reception) and to take another look and have the feel and review the best angle to aim the camera (hehe!). I have to check the in-house choir or soloist and the music list they have for the church like the wedding march and all that… Speaking of which, I need to talk to Bernie Pasamba as well for the Crowne venue play list and to get an idea as to their performance to finalize if we will retain them, with them being a hotel-affiliate supplier.

Mic Test….

2006-03-22T00:23:00.000-08:00

This is our first meeting with an emcee… Referred by Crowne’s Events personnel, her name is Christine Ong and I hope that she will be easy to talk to and comes with an ok price. We were supposed to meet her this pm at 5 and just got back from doing work-related things…Super tiring. :O

Having a small break and checking on my W@W emails before our meeting… Lots of unread mails to check… Sheesh! I am so overwhelmed with all the emails in my inbox…

Will update you on the said meeting when I get the chance :)

1-6-8

2006-03-17T22:29:00.000-08:00

If you are going to spend money and would like it to be at the most minimum...this is the place that you should frequent for they are one of the lowest priced stores here in manila... So my mom and I went for another visit to this mall and finally got the paper bag we need for our engagement's goody bags. :) 1 more thing done and more to go.

I had my trial makeup with Chichi Sotomil today. She was very accomodating and according to my mom (and to my observation...), a greater result than my previous trial. Will have to ask Karl what he thinks...

Going downtown (?! that is, if divi, 168 and tutuban is called downtown)...

2006-03-13T03:17:00.000-08:00

I went with my parents to manila area once again... This is because they were going to buy stuffs for our own biz... (* FYI, we make babies/children's clothes but is another topic altogether hehe!). There, I bought red satin for my engagement which according to my mom was to be used for the mirror.

If we go with the plan, we are going back this time to another part of manila...the real downtown which is the ongpin area for the engagement stuffs once again to check on the detailed things that we really need, to see if we can buy it on our own since we are not "that" time-constraint yet...instead of getting them package because they cost a lot more...sayang.

Engagement Dress: My first Fitting

2006-03-09T05:44:00.000-08:00

I had my first engagement gown fitting… (Yey! A baby step progress finally… ). My mom accompanied me for my first fitting together with my dad who did the driving (since we are going to the new location and I am not that keen on directions) and waited for us inside the car…

Anyway, the new shop is at
Ms. Veluz Reyes/ Nico
1133 Pres. Quirino St.

My gown? Let's see when the engagement's done so I have "some" element of surprise :)

My mom liked the color of the gown which was a bright shade of pink (the favorite color for those engagements because of its lively and bright color) and she likes the style I chose (yippee!) since it made me fuller in places that I am…well, flat! Hehehe! My first fitting was pretty much a good fit already and just needs small alterations for it to fit me the way it should.

Overall, I am happy with my first fitting…The style, the fit… I just hope that the finish product will exceed my expectation and make me feel BEAUUUUUUTIFUL for my engagement… Move on, now the search for the perfect makeup artist for me…This is a critical one….tsk tsk!

Njork

2006-03-07T04:21:00.000-08:00

I was supposed to stop searching for gown designer... BUT, I went with a close friend (Hi Heidz *_*), and I am glad that I did met up with Francisco of Miguel Francisco, the designer.Since I haven't actually finalized the wedding gowns to a specific designer yet! I went ahead and made a schedule with Miguel for next week, in time for Karl to be here with an added 1 day free to relax before resuming the wedding preparation hehhe!

I finally got word from Veluz that I can finally go to their shop for my 1st fitting. I am planning to get my mom to go with me just to get the 1nd opinion on the dress...

I hope that I'll have this gown thing wrap up after the meeting with Njork next week...

CONTACT DETAILS:
Njork
Miguel Francisco
Studio 126 Sct. Fernandez T. Morato St. Q.C
925-5495 T/F 416-9098
www.miguelfrancisco.com

A friend's Engagement...

2006-03-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

Couple: Cathy King- Christopher Dagdag
Venue: Gloria Maris, Greenhills
Date: March 05, 2006

First Engagement of our high school group this year... (mine's the 2nd and last one for the year hehe!). Although I have lots of engagements/ weddings i'm about to attend this year but in some other group of friends...

The pix... (Cathy: gown by Jerome Ang)

and our group picture...

The newly engaged couple, me, che, iris and steven

Bride-to-be on the go

2006-03-04T06:44:00.000-08:00

For the bride-to-be on the go, I have finally found the solution to checking my email anywhere just with a Cellphone...Gmail mobile addy: gmobile.sayni.net/
I finally tried this methods and the not so good news comes when the bills arrive...I hope it's not that shocking hehe!

Karl's flight for Canada...Sniff* Sad... I am left in the Philippines with all the preps... :O
I have made a new webshots album for our engagement and wedding pics... I've uploaded some pre-nup pix we have shot ourselves with the help of my family :)

New Year's-DIY Prenup

On the Rocks...

A Close friend's Engagement...

2006-03-03T00:40:00.000-08:00

2 more days to a close friend's engagement. After 5 years of being in a relationship, they are finally taking a step closer to tying the knot. :)

I am so happy for them because they are one couple in our high school group who were already 'acquainted'(but not romantically ivolved with one another YET) with each other way before they became a couple so they really grew up together and have seen each other through the years.

CHEERS!

A week vacation from preparation

2006-03-01T01:02:00.001-08:00

Karl's going abroad so my wedding preparation meetings with suppliers will lie down for the week. I'll probably go with my mom when there are some things to be done when he is not around...

There are pending things to do when he gets back though....

Photographer- need to see the AVP, Vid sample to start with the Parents AVP so as to finish something and have those small things forgotten when things are near.

Couturier- Finalize and collaborate on sketch for the entourage and get a package price.

Florist/Cake- Go round and canvas as well as check portfolios...

Sigh* So many things to do...

A week vacation from preparation

2006-03-01T01:02:00.000-08:00

Marry Monogram

2006-02-26T19:40:00.000-08:00

On top of all the things to do that are yet to be done, there are some small details that keeps on popping into my head and my email inbox. Now, it's the Marry Monogram courtesy of a nudge from an email of W@W's John Rana. To think, I don't even have a motif yet much more, an invitation and I am now checking out marry monogram haha! Super sabog heheh! No wonder my h2b commented that I am working on the preparation from the least priority to the major priorities :C.

So far, the major things are wrapped up already like the venue, church and the photographer... Off to the next, florist and cakes. Gown for engagement is in the process already :) Still so much to do and so much more suppliers which means no time to waste...Sigh* It's tiring sometimes but very rewarding when I finally finally close one area of the preparation. Till here, and many progress to com. CHEERS!

Checklist for Chinese Engagement (Girl's Side)

2006-02-26T04:56:00.000-08:00

An update on what status I am on my engagement planning...

CHECKLIST FOR GIRL’s SIDE
(Engagement… My Little Kanchiu Book)

THE JEWELRY (can be prepared earlier)
• Watch- done
• Medallion- done

THE CAKE
Still canvassing 10”- girl; 12”- guy w/ their names on the cake

THE LOOT BAG
Pouch bag for my side…done :)

Contents of the loot bag… too early to prepare. (asstd. goodies)

FOOD (prepared on the latter part)
• 4 Pomelos
• 2 kilos uncooked rice
• I-SIT CHAO HU (available at DEC)
• Yan Chi Tiak Sim (Available at DEC)
• 120 pcs. Raw eggs w/ Sang hee stickers
• Chinese Hopia Set
• Red juice or fruit punch/ orange juice or soda to be served as ceremony starts
• Tea in tea cups to be served as soon as ting hun ends
• Sweet Tea soup- each bowl 2 eggs, 2 pcs ang cho and 2 pcs tang kwe
• Cooked misua to be served for main engagement party
• Chopsticks
• Chinese soup spoons

OTHERS
• Red Table cloth- done
• Bridal Satin Set
• Sang Hee stickers to be placed in any gift to be given to the boy’s side- SM department store… cheaper than he one sold in New Victory- done
• New Fabrics for the groom to be
• Girl’s Gown, shoes and accessories

The search for the perfect makeup for Chinita eyes

2006-02-24T17:42:00.001-08:00

Having wrapped up with the gown designer, I am moving on for the next supplier crucial for my engagement…The MAKEUP. If I am preparing for a wedding, the next step would probably the coordinator but since it is the Engagement first. I can skip the coordinator until I have ore or less finished my engagement preparations. Needless to say, there are LOTS of bits and pieces that need to be attended to. Nothing crucial to prepare comes to my mind as to what I should prepare because I have all the important things covered…Uhm, I think…

Crowne Amenities

2006-02-23T00:18:00.000-08:00

Since we haven’t decided on the food we were going to get for our wedding. Our 2nd consultation was solely based on the amenities and other questions (which I personally think was a few because I absolutely have no idea what my concerns should be except for the corkage fee hehe!). With regards to the floral, cakes and strings that are included in the crowne package…I asked for the price deducts per categories and their portfolios so I can finally decide if we are going to get the package or book for an outside packages. Listed below are the amenities and noted in (*) are the crowne affiliate suppliers and notes I have made…

ROYAL WEDDING PACKAGE
(Minimum of 100 Persons)

AMENITIES:

Overnight stay for two (2) in a Bridal Suite on the wedding day
*I’ve seen pictures… Looks nice but haven’t seen the actual yet.
~
Fruit basket
~
Breakfast for the couple served in the room
~
Overnight stay in a deluxe room valid on 1st anniversary
~
Complimentary bottle of champagne
* Bottle for toast. 1 bottle of Asti
~
String Quartet or 75 pcs. Miniature Fondant Cake
* String Quartet- Bernie Pasamba/ accdg to Susanna (the one handling the events, fondant cakes are quite expensive so this will amount to a string quartet… We both think that we will need strings more than the mini cakes…besides 75pcs of fondant is not enough for souvenir…I think)
~
Bridal car with floral décor
* Trans abi. They have a portfolio of bridal car to choose from. We were asked to choose 2 cars since it was first come, first serve daw.
~
Floral Centerpiece for the Backdrop, Buffet Table, Presidential Table
and Guest Tables
*Angelo Flowershop. 920-1126. If you opt to get a different florist… Deductions wll be around P4,000.00
~
Name cards for the Presidential Table
* FREE- plain paper
~
Menu cards for set menu or buffet food labels for buffet menu
*FREE- plain paper
~
3-layered fondant cake
* Cake Concepts- 723-2533 to 34. 3-layers Fondant Cake. 16” base.
For Upgrade: 4th cake edible- plus P2000. 5th cake edible- plus P7,500
Opt for another cake-maker- deduct around P4000
~
Decorated wedding cage with doves
*Accdg to Susanna- this is purely for decoration
~
Ice carving at the entrance of the function room
*If you want to remove the ice carving… Deduct P200-300 only
~
Guestbook with pen
~
Decorated cake table
~
Inclusion of one (1) round choice of Iced Tea, Lemonade, Softdrinks,
Chilled Juice or Pale Pilsen
*Corkage Fee= P1200+/ bottle
~
15% discount on services by The Suriya Spa
~
10% discount on services by David’s Salon

• What are the other questions I need to straighten out?
• Projector Rental Fee: 6500 Lumens = P12,100. 3200 Lumens= P8,800
• Free Parking Tickets = Guaranteed table

Our 2ndsssssssss...Venue and dress

2006-02-22T17:03:00.000-08:00

We went to crowne for our second consultation. This time, I got the prices of the floral, cakes...etc and how much will be deducted in case we didn't get their service. Pretty small amount. I saw their portfolio and theyare pretty typical especially the flowers... :O Maybe I got this upside down because we paid our down and it was only yesterday that we went to look around for the places to take our pics... Oh well! I only marrying one time so I guess I can't be an expert this first time hehe!

Another second for us was our consultation with Ms. Veluz. She made 4 sketches of gowns for my engagement. She was as accomodating as the first time we met her. So is her assistant Nico but it was Ms. Veluz who we were collaborating with for the two meeting so I'll reserve judgement after a few more meetings...:)Price-wise, her engagement turned out the most expensive compared to all the designers I had consulted with. She agreed to lower costs which will turn out to be almost the same as Loretto's. We finally decided on trying her for the engagment to see her work to help decide for our upcoming wedding.

Almost final...

2006-02-20T17:27:00.000-08:00

I 'almost' got a final gown designer... VELUZ! I decided last sunday that I finally want her because she doesn't gives me any funny feelings that worth getting alarmed about...plus all those raves about her. :))) hehehe! I even went as far as to put her name in my list of final suppliers... BUT, we have'nt finalized anything yet because I haven't receive her contract up until now. My h2b doesn't have any objection and even commented that she looks easy to talk to... (like Popo)

I went to Larry Espinosa yesterday for measurements on my being an entourage for h2b's sister's wedding. My last walk as a single gal on the aisle... :O

Wedding Tidbit...

2006-02-11T01:37:00.000-08:00

02-10-06
Yesterday,I had another meeting with Popo today... I introduced him to my h2b :) since he wasn't with me when I first went to Popo.I guess he got tired of tagging along after the first 3 (or was it 4!?) designer sketch... hehe! Anyway, his verdict on Popo? He looks easy to talk to...
Today, My supposed meeting with Gown-maker Veluz got cancelled due to flu. Her assistant nico texted this am to tell me that the meeting won't push thru :(. Sigh*I realy need a designer! I am in time-constraint... hehe! Drama!? But I am more or less sure that I'll have Popo do my engagment dress.
So far, no progress on the flowers and cakes still...

02-12-06
I got an early birthday gift... :))) A dangling earrings with pearl and small diamonds for chains...

02-14-06
HAPPY HEARTS DAY! :)))my personal day as well...for this is my BIRTH date...
Had dinner date...upon my insistence since my date doesn't plan on having himself stuck on traffic...:C

Sweet Tooth

2006-02-08T01:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday...Veering temporarily away from my gown search. My brother set up a meeting for me to meet a friend of his who is into making cakes...

They got a small bakeshop near Mojo gym which they closed down recently due to the reason that the landlord needs the area tha they were leasing... (bummer!)

I saw their portfolio and they did quite a lot of cakes already. Simple designs considering they are just young but quite impressive naman. They rate at around P12k for a 3-layer cake (I forgot to ask if that is butter icing or the fondant.)

Their tinghun cake range from P1500-P3000 a pair.

Today, while checking for my sched this Saturday weekend, I realized that I had 2 meetings after lunch with gown designers which might overlap... Sheesh! I have to shuttle myself from one location to another in oreder to make it. Crossing my fingers... :)

Wedding Announcer

2006-02-06T05:58:00.000-08:00

...I started out with 1 wedding blogspot with all my ramblings of preparing a full-fledge wedding for myself... now my private blog is not so private anymore... hehe! From my w@w emails exchanges for the past few weeks...I have upgraded my blog to another site... Karl and Mel's Wedding Announcer . I guess I am beginning to get into the wedding bug... :O

Techie progress for today: I finally got to change the default picture of our wedding announcer to a picture of us both... :) he finally conceded to having his picture in my website... Actually, he doesn't have a choice hehe! I am so happy that the site is veering away from the default setting and is taking shape into something personal... I guess having a wedding girl pals like W@W brings out the techno-side of a wedding preparing gal... Thanks W@W!

Power Weddings...

2006-02-05T06:39:00.000-08:00

Our First bridal fair attended...Saturday, the first day of the Power Weddings Bridal fair,year 2. The admission was free and the real bonus was in getting the kan chiu book and Bridal yellow pages for FREE! Actually, I was a little disappointed that the kan chiu book was given away for free when I bought it for 75pesos. But then, on the other hand, it was quite a book anyway so it was not big a deal and gave it to my boyfriend's sister which is also planning her wedding :)

One more thing that I was very happy about the fair was I was able to get the issue of about weddings that I missed 2 weeks ago as well as the present issue for that day! Talk about real luck... :)))

Today, Interplay floral texted me to inform me that she has sent her quotation for her floral creations... I am crossing my fingers that the figures would be in my range and hopefully the portfolio will be more than what I expected... heheh!

Song sheet and suppliers...

2006-02-03T00:19:00.000-08:00

For Today, I did my song sheet since I spent a day at home in front of the PC. I have arranged a meeting next week for several designers...

On Suppliers...

Gown

Contacted the W@Wie fave:Veluz

Cake

Courtesy of my brother, he arranged to have a meeting with a friend of his whom he has been raving about that's great in the kitchen and has spent a good deal of time (...and I guess money) learning his stuff in Switzerland...
I already got a quotation form Alex Franco , and from the list of flavors that he mentioned....YUMMY!

Event Stylist

I have contacted the much raved about Event Stylist Just like Ours and An Event to Remember.

Floral

It's Interplay and Enchanting Bloom. So far, no package sent to me through email...yet!

I seem to be multi-tasking and should have been doing big steps with the rate I am doing...But I don't think I am... I haevn't finalized anything yet...huhu!

Basing on the sketch....

2006-02-02T03:49:00.000-08:00

I learned a lesson today. It's 'Don't judge a book by its cover...' Not really the literal book but when it comes to gown, don't judge the Skill of the designer by it's sketch, which I almost did basing on the awesome drawing that a designer did for me. I almost had it finalized when I decided to check on the designer and regardless of the source, bad comments should be listened to and if there are bad feedback, there MUST be something wrong with the supplier, right? Or am I a wee bit paranoid? Well, it's not my fault right? A wedding gown is one of the things that will stand out in a wedding unlike the other stuffs. This particular thing will be the focus from the march to the endof the reception. So it should be something that I really want...

Enough about the gown. Right now, I am thinking of letting Popo make my ting hun gown because so far, there is no bad feedback about him plus the fact that I saw his workmanship and mukhang ok naman. Actually, the reason why there is no feedback is because I guess no one knows him yet... Is that a good sign or what!? sheesh!

As of my wedding gown and the entourage, I am still scheduling designers to talk to and hope that by the near future, I will get the kick of intuition that will tell me to "Go for this designer"...

...and more designers (hehe!)

2006-01-31T14:28:00.000-08:00

Went to see Peter lim the other day for another gown comparison. He was the most xpensive one compared to the other designer that I've been to. Experience-wise, he is no doubt very experience in doing dresses seeing that his portfolio contains involvement in fashion shows.

I have heard good comments about Edd Sy's gown... I am still thinking if I should schedule an appointment as well before I finally decide on a gown maker.

Flowers... I tried to check on April and Karen Yu regarding their availability for our wedding. I have heard from a fellow W@wie that they are quite good especially on Oriental theme motifs which happens to be my motif for the wedding... At least that's the motif I have been eyeing on based on the venue... :) Oh well, I am quite disappointed and a wee bit worried that maybe the suppliers I like would be hard to book...(Still a long way before the date and the suppliers are already getting booked!)

W@W Toolbar

2006-01-29T05:56:00.000-08:00

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!
Uhmm...They say that the year of the Fire Dog is a very lucky year to get engage and married. So maybe this is one good omen to start with... :) To all those brides out there, whether you believe auspicious dates or not,at least, you got those dates working for you and not against you. CHEERS!

Techie progress! I know this is not a biggie for some of you but I finally had a W@W Toolbar installed in my PC. Considering how my PC acts up, this is a big progress... hehe! I tried the toolbar and super convenient talaga siya... AS IN! I am so happy with the progress I am having. Both in my wedsite attempt and supplier hunting for my ting hun but so far venue palang din ang final. I hope that I can finally decide on something by next week to continue with other to-do lists... My friend had her engagement today at Gloria Maris... I missed the ceremony but I saw the stuffs they prepared...I think i have a long way to go pa... :O

Sketches...

2006-01-27T18:54:00.000-08:00

4 designers ...2 take-home sketches... Still undecided...

I have gone through four designer and am still analyzing the pros and cons of each in order to finalize and have the designer category done and over with... So much more to do and I guess I am not that time-constraint...YET! I have taken a pic of those sketches and will be posting them here as soon as I got them uploaded... Any comments will be welcome. :)

D-I-Y Engagement Loot bags

2006-01-26T00:47:00.000-08:00

I have made a mock-up loot bag for the sweets which I will be using for my ting hun. I didn't literally made it but i thought that since we do kids clothes...a loot bag would be an easier task...hehe! Anyway, I got the cloth from somewhere in Manila last time I went there and here's the sneak preview of that loot bag :)

Fuchsia body color; White one-color floral print with glitters

...more gowns
I forgot to mention that I went to more fashion designers last January 24th (Tuesday)namely: Jerome Ang and Yi Fu's Allan. Both of them were quite accomodating. Uhmm...Personality-wise, Jerome Ang came across a little bit snobbish when he first walk in but as the time pass...he was getting more ok. Allan was friendly fromstart till the end. Both of the sketches were left with them unlike Loretto who agreed to let me keep the sketch of the gowns he made for me. Price-wise, Yi fu was the lowest followed by Jerome Ang then the most expensive between the three was Loretto.

TMU

2006-01-25T07:14:00.000-08:00

What is TMU???!

Getting to be a newbie in a new community entails some adjustments one way or another. So this is what is happening to me, being a new member of W@W :P. It is like going into the basics of chatting when the first time I log in I had no idea there are languages shared by chatters and in the W@W(I don't know for sure if other Wedding communities share this universal acronyms...) TMU= Trial Make Up... Do you know how many emails I had to open just to get what is the meaning of this three letter word? Let us discuss the Universal Acronyms at another time.

Anyway, I am getting out of the supposed title of this entry. I used this title because today is my first TMU. I haven't really plan to doing the rounds on HMUA (Hair and Make Up Artist...) yet! But since there was the opportunity for a free trial... Naturally, you grab that chance. That was the reason I got to my TMU category even without finalizing my Fashion designer first.

To have a backgrounder, I got this great opportunity reading my email... (From a fellow W@wie) who has a friend name Michelle Lim, who gives free 6 makeup trials and photo shoot. I thought that reading my emails late would probably mean that I had no chance to try the freebies but finally did text the number and to my surprise, and maybe with the help of being in weekday and all, I got a slot...(Yey!) The finish trial was ok but I can't say the final verdict because I want to try others first to have a basis for comparison... I'll post the updates when I have a final HMUA :P

Weekend Recap

2006-01-23T02:13:00.000-08:00

Saturday was my day of relaxation from any wedding preparation :) I had a home massage after lunch and stayed at home with my family and boyfriend... The only downer was that I totally forgot to buy the copy of Manila Bulletin's 'About Weddings' :(

Sunday...I finally bought myself a copy of the newest Wedding Essential Magazine.Full of GREAT ideas and new love stories to gush over... Went to Glorietta and window shopped for dresses that might look good for my frame. The only wedding thing I bought today was some foot beauty products which I plan to add for my Ke Cheng...

I have a resolution. I plan to at least do something, even something super small for my preparations just to avoid the rush when the time is finally near. I realized last night that while I tried to wrap a basketfull of footie goodies that it's not that easy to to make it and I need to adjust things like the materials for container...fillers...plastics...etc. I have to buy things that are lacking and try again... and hopefully this time, all the things will come together and when I get the hang of things... Packing will be a breeze! hehe!

Gown Hunting...

2006-01-20T04:01:00.000-08:00

I have officially started my gown canvasing this afternoon by making an appointment with Loretto of Maria Orosa, Malate. I am trying to get some feel on what designs they would suggest and what would it costs me to have them made. So far so good, Loretto was accomodating and chatty which made us quite comfortable to posts questions. He made 2 sketches of a ting hun dress. I did not like the first one with the low square neckline which I think wouldn't suit my frame... the second sketch was better but I have some doubt on having the top part off shoulder because I was thinking more into the line of tube type or something silhoutte to soften the over all look. Anyway, I am going to check on other designers this coming week just to have someone to compare it with then probably make a final decision soon to move on to the next list to complete...

I hope that I make the right decision with my supplier... I am, according to my mom, a ll bit obsess in thinking of the every bit of problems that can happen, even after I finalized with a supplier, (paranoid paminsan....thinking that the suplier I didn't get might be the right one...DUH!) therefore giving more to think about other than accomplishing something once the contract is signed.... I guess I have to loosen up a bit on this wedding planning... According to another friend of mine: "It's just for one day, Work on the marriage, not the wedding... and it too shall pass (!?)" haha!

A day in Downtown, Manila…

2006-01-19T02:31:00.000-08:00

I spent a day in Manila to check out the things-to-prepare for my upcoming ting-hun (Chinese Engagement). I also got myself a copy of the book entitled,

My Little KanChiu Book,

which is a big eye opener on how much work it would entail to prepare for this one day engagement. This little book surprisingly is an easy read and is a BIG help with helpful hints on making it as hassle-free as possible.

I go through the http://www.weddingsatwork.com site regularly, way back when my closest friend started preparing for her wedding last 2004. I sure enjoyed the site but did not join any discussion groups and all that because I was just an onlooker then. Now, it’s a different story… I joined the newsletter and end up getting lots of helpful hints on different topics and possible hassles on this supplier just on my FIRST day as a member! I decided to start my wedding blog that day to store all the information that may be helpful to me in the near future.

Now, back to my day in Ongpin, Manila…
Actually, it was not just Ongpin that I went to but I just refer to the whole place as Ongpin maybe for the reason that I am confused with all those streets there. Hehe! Well, I went to the area near Tabora (I guess this is still manila part but not Ongpin…right!?) and went inside all those endless maze of tiangges that sells wedding related items to even gowns and barongs! Pretty affordable… very affordable! You can get a dress at a little over thousand bucks. I got myself a nice organza for my loot bags, I am so excited! I can finally say that I am having a progress… ;)

My 1st official entry

2006-01-18T02:58:00.000-08:00

Hallo there!

Just thought of making a blog of wedding suppliers and keeping a journal of the other side of my single life...which is getting hitched, about to happen by the last quarter of this year.

Anyways, I am now on the process of preparing my Chinese Engagement...Ting hun. As of now, we have selected a restaurant to hold the said engagement... preparation and ceremony will start at our house then reception will be at "The Annapolis Seafood Restaurant" .

I am not actually the most organized person and I would like to put in ideas and contacts of suppliers here just to be my personal 1 stop contact site. I hope to get better in making a site as I go through this journey.

As of this writing, this is a private site of my contacts.
Bye for now! :)