hello lifetime. let’s get it on dreams!
And so we are married! yes!
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but before everything has become so perfect and beautiful, R & I have done a lot of homework. preparations have been in full swing since 2010 and Google has been a very great source to our one million and one FAQs.
r & i have been engaged since 2010.a little story about the proposal: it happened in march of 2010, at a local beach in D., Sunrise. that was the second vacation of R (hubby lives in a different country). after a short speech and some Q&A slash assessment of our relationship, R asked me to marry him. and all i could ever said was “sure thing” — the lamest and corniest and most awkward response i could ever give. but i meant “yes” there. 🙂
with the help of my sisters, he got my ring size and brought with him a 14kt. white gold natural canadian diamond. like this:
really beautiful, sparkles all the time..
after that vacation of his, he flew out of P again and promised to be back by 2011.
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they say organizing a wedding can really give so much stress and pressure to the couple, especially to the bride. this is why it is best to plan the wedding one year before the desired wedding date. we planned ours for two years.
i have listed below some wedding planning tips, hoping to help out the brides and grooms out there. r & i have used these tips and half of the list, we learned after the wedding only. 😉
1. After the sweet, romantic, tearjerking wedding proposal, be sure to back it up with a real solid wedding plan! the wedding proposal is only the surface of what’s more important — THE wedding! 🙂
2. Wedding plan. This primarily includes your budget and your desired wedding date. After you’ve set these two, you may now proceed to changing your status on facebook! hehe. but seriously, after these two, you may want to ask the blessing from both your parents, especially the bride’s. Not only would it make the parents feel so special and important, but it’s more of showing respect to the people who brought you here on earth. So call your parents, make a dinner reservation and announce to them your very important news. You may also invite your best friends.
3. Ask yourself these:
- Where would we want to hold our wedding ceremony ?
- Would we want a church ceremony?
- A summery garden wedding rites perhaps?
- City hall? Plaza? Beach?
Choosing the venue is one of the most crucial parts of wedding planning. There are so many couples out there and surprisingly, you all have the same venue (and sometimes wedding date) in mind! So finalize asap and book your desired wedding date!
I tell you, it is very heartbreaking to find out that your desired wedding date and time have been already booked by somebody else. When this happens, take out your contingency notepad and select another date! Your second favorite date. Don’t leave empty handed. Sometimes, it’s not advisable to while away time when planning a wedding — thinking you’ve got plenty of time (because you really dont). Believe me, the soonest time you could book a venue and the date, the best! so book it fast!
Remember, you cannot move forward with your wedding planning without a booked venue.
If you’re having a wedding in the Philippines, be sure to ask about the requirements. These requirements are sometimes very complex, especially when you are marrying a foreigner (like in my case). We had to get a “legal capacity to get married / freedom to marry” certificate from the C. embassy and a “clearance from the Archdiocese”. The two certificates are required when you’re going to apply for a marriage license. A marriage license is a major requirement for ALL those who intend to get married. Without it, you simply cannot get married (at least here in Phils). So after we obtained the two certificates, we applied for a marriage license in our City Hall. The processing would take 10 days and it would be valid only for 120 days from the date of issuance. More about Marriage License here:
We had our wedding at St. James The Great Parish, Ayala Alabang Muntinlupa City. They have the usual Church requirements, however, St. James doesnt have packages unlike some other churches who have choirs and flowers already.
At St. James, you need to look for your own choir and as for the flowers, you would need to talk to their Mother Butler Guild. All different charges and quite expensive. But St. James The Great is a very beautiful church. The first time I saw it (online), i knew this would be our church. It is situated inside an exclusive subdivision, so there’s no need to worry about the noise a busy street brings. It has a very long aisle, giving everybody the spotlight when they walk down. And the architecture is simply superb. You would just have to provide a very detailed map for your guests.
St. James The Great though is somewhat strict with their policies. They do not allow any pop song to be part of the wedding ceremony. All must be Catholic Church songs. They do not allow the photographers, videographers and the wedding coordinators to be loitering around during the entire ceremony. Everything has to be sacred and solemn. We love that. (and we got the best coordinator and photographers, so it wasnt a problem at all 🙂 )
St. James The Great Parish, Ayala Alabang Muntinlupa City
2. Once you’ve decided on the venue, it would now be easy to ask yourself this:
- What kind of wedding would I want? How many guests? What kind of food? The wedding dress?
Based from my experience, when i have asked myself this question, I have so many things I wanted to do during the wedding. I have thought of a bugle band to play on our wedding (festive!), hubby has thought of building a mock up “runway” complete with our polaroid pictures on both sides, and all those little special gimmicks we think would interest the guests.
And of course there’s the internet. Google and all those wedding websites have a complete lineup on the different kinds of wedding themes. Information overload, yes. So before you panic, list down everything you want to do during your wedding. Discuss it with your groom.
After discussing it with your groom, talk to your venue coordinator about it. Sometimes there are limitations in the venues or churches. So it’s best to lay them out early. And of course you need to know also about how much they would charge you for that. The start of endless quotations would now flood your inbox. Be sure to read everything carefully, especially the inclusives. Most venues have wedding packages that are very practical. There’s no more need to outsource some things. Sometimes the venues already have wedding emcees and even party organizers.
Our reception was held at The Bellevue Manila. It is a mere 20 minute drive from St. James The Great, it is the perfect choice. LIke what I have said, discuss the packages. Bellevue has a very practical lineup for its inclusives. Everything you need, they already have them in their packages — the cake, the car, the wine, the accommodations, the food… Your groom would even have his own room. And you too! So you’ve got two free rooms. Grande right?
Plus, The Bellevue Manila boasts of its very friendly staff. They’re very warm and approachable. Unlike some hotel staffs from various five star hotels who are either snobbish or plain lazy to give you feedback. Anyway, TBM may be a little expensive, but it’s very worth it. If you’re the bride or groom who easily gets stressed out, please choose a venue with an account executive who’s accommodating and reliable since day one. Trust your instincts. 🙂
The Bellevue Manila has the most beautiful ballroom I have ever seen!
When you’ve chosen and booked your suppliers, be sure to print out their packages and their contracts. It is best to put them in one file folder, so everything will be organized and you won’t miss out on anything. Start working on your guest list too, because drafting this takes a whole lot of time. Confirming their attendance is also another ball game, so good luck. Make a table. 😉
- Our wedding Photographer — PUY TALDE of Really Awesome Weddings. Puy and Chie Talde are best in their craft. They’re very friendly too. When booking a supplier, go for someone who feels like a friend to you. This is your big day, your wedding day. You would need all the nicest people around you. Don’t go for someone who’s very popular but doesn’t seem to care about you on your big day.
- Our Hair and Make-Up Artist — ARA FERNANDO. She made everybody beautiful during the wedding. She’s very professional, always on time and very talented. Even until the reception she was there for a quick touch up. Book her. She’s great.
- My wedding gown designer — DREZZEE BY CHERRIE CARIAGA. Please look for Ms. Cherrie or Sir Jorge. They have their shop in Makati City. They design shoes and bags too. I like them because Ms. Cherrie and Sir Jorge are very warm and nice. I like talking to them. And I feel comfortable transacting with them also. Client-Supplier relationship is very important to me. I did not book any supplier who feels distant and snotty. No no no. 🙂
- Our wedding invitation was designed by my husband. We had it printed in GA PRINTING c/o Ms. Marge Damian (who is also very bubbly and nice!). Almost everybody liked the lay-out of our invitation. Should you wish to inquire about lay-out designs, you may reach me here. 🙂
- Wedding Coordinator: Book Ces Ong of Fit2BeTied. Everything was organized during our wedding. And Ms. Ces is also very professional. She’s one hundred and one percent reliable and dedicated to her clients.
islandera 