...wedding update, 91 days to go!

System Time: 2:12 PM
i am soooo tinatamad so i'm going to post my second blog for the day... i got in the office around 10:30 a.m. (think i keep on beating my personal record for tardiness) and i caaan't believe it's only two-f*cking-thirteen.. haay, it's gonna be a looong day. since i can't think of any other subject, i'll write what any other bride-to-be will write about, the wedding day preparations. I've never actually realized that i would be such a "high-maintenance" kind of bride, i've always thought that i would like simple stuff, ergo, cheap stuff. but as we go along the preparations, i'd read about loads and loads of ideas that i would find irresistable and i had no idea weddings could become so commercialized. Chocolate Belgian Fountains, Tiffany Chairs, Gazebos, Wedding Artbooks, all kinds of stuff that i've only heard of since the preparations that are so damn hard to resist (i'm proud to say we only succumbed to the gazebo part) .. the items go on and on (butterflies, live bands, personalized flutes, personalized cake servers, personalized everything!) with the idea that each item will make your wedding a truly unforgettable event..i go on thinking it's only one day and then you think, that's precisely the reason why you want it to be oh-so-special.. i'll only get married once (hopefully, haha!) and why not get those cutesy butterflies flying over your church as you walk down the aisle.. i honestly tried to determine which ones i want to splurge on (wedding cake, make-up, entertainment) and which ones to be a tad bit budgeted (gown, venue, caterer) but will still make guests wonder how much we've spent on them..

when we were looking for a church, i only said one thing to pangs. I want a small church, 'cause i've always wanted a 'A Walk To Remember' kind of wedding where the chapel was full. i don't want to walk down the aisle with empty pews. I don't remember how we went to NSDG, or when we decided to go there. i think i only showed it to Pangs because i know that it's only a small church and i've attended my cousin's wedding there before. but i have only truly appreciated when pangs and I went there together, and it remains beautiful and quaint, and so photogenic. Plus it only costs 10k to rent it! i love it!

Initially, we wanted a garden wedding so we just booked the garden beside it so that guests could conveniently walk to the reception area after the ceremony. But when Raymond's parents saw the place, they didn't like it. It was a shame they didn't maintain the place in between weddings, so it was difficult for us to convince the oldies that it will look good once it's all dressed up. The search for a reception venue was a difficult one, because we already had a caterer (more on that later) and we only needed to book a place, not their food. (hotels are definitely out!) My cousin (the same one who got married in NSDG) had their reception at the PSE Auditorium and i was adamant not to have ours there 'cause who wants to become a copycat? i want my wedding unique! so we searched in all other places, Kasalikasan at The Fort ('no good' sabi nga ni MIL, malamok daw sabi ni Ate lala, pagumulan, super putik), Lepanto Penthouse (too small for our 200 guests, no dance floor, no room for our band), Bramante Poolside in the Renaissance Tower (mataas, wala pang elevator!, kalat-kalat ang guests) then Palladium Clubhouse in Shaw (plain ugly).. i had to concede, we went to PSE Auditorium and it was perfect. a Large square place, carpeted with a hotel-like ambiance with it's modern chandeliers.. no wonder Ate Lala chose this place. So there and then, we booked it and the search for our reception venue is over.

We knew that half of our budget will go to the food, so i emailed, got flyers, called, got faxes of every single caterer that i could talk to until my file got a foot thick. We had wonderful and pathetic experiences with food tastings but our experience with Swan was the one that we really liked. We got lucky 'cause our contact person is Irish, a frank, honest employee in Swan. Honest in a way 'cause she would tell us "Wag na kayo kumuha nun, mahal." or "for 150 persons na lang, wag na 200, kasya na yun". We didn't want to get Swan initially, because there menu is quite limited. We just decided to go there for the heck of it and for the free food. When we got there, they served us from the appetizers to the dessert. The whole damn course. I still dream of it 'til today, hehe. The food was surprisingly delicious considering it's very affordable price. We booked it, a week after our food tasting.

Ever since, I wanted a band for our wedding. I want Filipinos to learn to dance after the program, not eat and run like the usual. This is the part where Pangs really indulged me, by getting Sounds of Science, a group handled by the Sentimental Groove. I've seen their profile at kasal.com, and told Pangs about it day and night until he agreed to go to a live demo. We loved SOS! they were an upbeat jazz type of band, just the kind we want. We booked them on the spot. I've been having troubles dealing with their management, but i'm still hopeful that they won't disappoint us on the day itself.We already had our production meeting and I just have to constantly bug them for our listening session, one that is sooo delayed already. BTW, Pia, our contact person for their production team has resigned. Hay, problema na naman.

We initially didn't think we'd avail of any other wedding cake, since the available from Swan is already okay, it doesn't look like it's free and part of the package (unlike other cakes we saw from other caterers). But i've been drooling over a particular Judy Uson Cake since i started collecting the Metro Weddings magazine and found it in one of their back issues.. I was EXTREMELY surprised when Pangs went with it and in the end, he was just as excited for it as me.. it was a big whooop up our budget but i truly, truly believe it's gonna be worth it.

Tet Hagape has been a family suki, especially by my sister who has always been a bridesmaid for her friends' weddings.. (at least MOH na si Ate!) I had no other couturier in mind and am still happy with my dealings with Tet. She's so unbelievably cheap! Imagine, just 28k for my entire entourage including my bridal gown. And i didn't have to deal with the traffic and long journey (baka malasin pa ako sa makuha kong mananahi) to Divi for this! I have my fourth fitting on the end of this month. My entourage's fitting is on November 19. She sticks to the schedule and so far, we're waaay ahead of it. I'll probably have my gown ready by December!

Lala (of Interplay) is an angel in disguise. I swear, I love dealing with this girl. She's so full of incredible ideas and I've seen her work through the many w@wies who have booked her. Malapit pa sa Dangwa presyo. We'll be getting her for everything! The bridal bouquet, entourage flowers, church flowers and the reception. This is one aspect we're not the least bit nervous about. We're confident Lala will deliver.

I first heard of Madge Lejano from Jho, a pramerican who recently got married and got her for her makeup. She got rave reviews from her and she simply looked the part of a radiant bride on her wedding day.. She talked about how Madge uses corrective lighting, how she doesn't put makeup on the neck but blends the makeup really well.. how she likes no-make-up look makeup.. i was sold even before i had my TMU. the TMU was just a formality and I had it in Harbie's wedding. it had my makeup done by 3pm, and it lasted til midnight! I didn't like my hair though, haay, but the bottom line is i better gain weight 'cause i look so prikin payat. (lampayatot!)

hmm.. it's 3:56 PM, i managed to kill about an hour.. "uwi" na kami ng 5pm.. hihihi..

I had no idea a wedding can be so complicated.. i'm trying to accomplish the details too, 'cause i don't want to get frantic and frazzled by the minor details.. misalettes, program, tasks to do, delegating stuff, scheduling, etc.. i'll be starting my new job on the 7th of November and as always, pa-impress dapat muna. Bawal mag-absent, bawal ma-late. I try to insert any wedding prep on weekends, i'll probably start looking for the perfect wedding shoes next week. We've also completed our set of ninangs (yahoo!) so we'll hopefully have the invites finished by November. I still love looking at my wedding countdown clock 'cause I'm still amazed that it's a two-digit number already. Ang tagal kong tiningnan na 3 digit yun uh! A while ago I told Pangs "Pangs, let's talk about the wedding preps, I miss talking about it." We talked for about 10 minutes and the conversation moved to our still-missing-but-soon-to-be house. I also love talking about that, our future abode. Pangs basically tells me his ideas about the renovation, and I just tell him if i don't like a particularl idea, but overall, he has full rein with the house. We both want a modern asian house and we've been collecting 'Our Home' and 'Real Living' magazines and cutting out stuff that we would like to have. Malapit na namin mabili, just need a bit more patience and pretty soon, it'll become ours.

yessssssss 4:07 PM na. just less than an hour to go. Babay na.

p.s. Maraming salamat sa mga nagbasa. ang haba, ano? hihihi. Minsan lang ito. hehe!