Friday, December 21, 2007
Hari Raya Special :)
here are some of the shots i took of the christmas lights in orchard road. ill upload the rest tom. super sleepy na ako now. ahehee...
Thursday, December 20, 2007
our very late "save-the-date"
i have an inkling that our invites wont come out on time. call it intuition, call it being paranoid, but i really think we wont receive our invites this december. so, instead of doing nothing (which is not my thing) i made our save the date today.
due to lack of time, i made a very simple one. just to be able to send out something to tell our friends that indeed, we are getting married. LOL. im not an expert and it's my first time to do a DIY so please, don't criticize too much hahaha. :)
thanks to jayson arquiza for the great shot!!!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
read 'em and LEARN :)
Q & A for Wedding Guests
by: John & Benz Rana
article originally appeared in print: 12.03.05
It's December once again and it not just time for Christmas shopping and partying, but it's also time for weddings! It's the peak season for tying-the-knot in this part of the earth. So how many wedding invites have you gotten so far?
Unless you're serial bride like J.Lo (saying Liz Taylor would have been more accurate at this point but we want to be "kewl" to relate with the Gen Y peeps!), we figured that most of us would be along the pews more often than being at THE altar. This is the reason why we dedicate this month's column to the wedding guest - the person who gets to prepare the least during the wedding. Never mind the bride! We're sure she has read countless of wedding etiquette to last 'til her unborn son finally gets married. Actually, she's got too much info that she even prepares a Miss Manners list for her groom and her entire entourage to follow.
If it's your first time attending a wedding, what follows is a simple guide of Dos & Don'ts to get through such a social event. Note that we made these questions up so allow us to be sarcastic and blunt with some of our responses to ourselves.
Questions & Answers
Q. I got an invite but have no plans of attending; should I still send a gift?
A.First thing's first. If you won't be able to attend for whatever reason, please RSVP. A big chunk of the wedding budget goes to the reception and it will be utterly inconsiderate to just give up a reserved seat without letting the couple know. Give them the chance to assign that seat to another guest in their "waitlist." Having that out of the way, let's get to your question: YES, it is customary to still send a gift.
Q. The envelope bears only my name. May I ask if I can bring a date?
A. Don't bring a date unless your invitation specifically says "and Guest." Bringing unexpected guests is very impolite. Neither should you ask the couple's permission if you may bring one or not. Don't put your friends on the spot. We Filipinos don't really like turning down people. So how would you know if their "Yes" means yes or not? Spare them that trouble.
Q. The invite says "Mr. & Mrs." Could we bring our kids?
A. Never bring the kids unless "& Family" is indicated. Soon-to-weds don't usually invite children for a good reason. Kids get bored or cranky during hour-long masses. Their tantrums might disrupt the solemnity of the ceremony. Weddings are usually formal events typically not appropriate for the little ones. To be blunt about it, inviting a child at the reception means added two mouths to feed - the kid's and the yaya's.
Follow-up Q. But my son/daughter is the bearer/flower girl. I'm sure it's understood that my other child is invited.
A. Which part of the answer above didn't you understand? Seriously, if the couple wanted to invite your other kid, they would have specified that on the envelope.
2nd follow-up Q. But I'm breastfeeding, I'm sure my friends will understand, won't they?
A. Granting that it's an infant and he or she won't eat at the reception - let's even assume that your baby won't wail at the church - the answer is still NO! Not even if you've perfected the art of being a cow in a long gown. Four words: Breast Pump and Babysitter!
Q. I don't have a clue what gift to give them. Any ideas?
A. The average Pinoy soon-to-wed would always prefer monetary gifts more than any other gift. It is the unspoken fact. We're telling you now to make it easier for them to let you know what they REALLY want; unless they indicated that already in their invites which, by the way, is a very tacky thing to do.
If you're not comfortable giving cash, you may ask the couple where they are registered (Gift / Bridal Registry) and choose from what's listed under their names in the store. You can also ask them where they're residing after the wedding and take the cue from there. If you know that they'll be migrating abroad or living with their parents for the time being, a ref or another oven toaster may not be the most practical and logical gift.
Q. I'm convinced. So how much cash should I give them? I don't want to give too little or too much.
A. That's a hard thing to answer. It's really a case-to-case thing. Try to put yourself in the couple's shoes. How much should a guest of your stature give you without being branded a cheapskate? Also consider your relationship with the couple. If you're good friends of the couple's parents, you'll probably shell-out more than if you were simply the bride's Girl Friday.
Q. Could I skip the ceremony and head straight to the reception?
A. You can. BUT you shouldn't! You are invited to THE wedding -- that's the part where they exchange their "I dos." The reception is where the Receiving Line is. You can't be 'received' if you are already seated in the hall, right? "Patay-gutom" is too harsh a word and we assure you that it's by no means what anyone would think if indeed you decide to go straight to the reception. But admit that it struck a nerve just mentioning the word in that context, isn't it?
Q. Speaking of the Receiving Line, what should be the proper greeting?
A. Here's the rule: Say "Congratulations" to the groom and "Best Wishes" to the bride. The reason behind is that "congrats" implies that someone has caught something or won a prize, and it is rather improper to imply that the bride "caught" the man who married her. If this rule gets mixed-up in your head come wedding day, just say the two phrases together and look at both of them. That usually works!
Likewise, saying "Good Luck!" no matter how pure your wishes are will also sound very inappropriate for obvious reasons.
Q. Nice try, but what if the couple makes a Grand Entrance and left the Receiving Line to their parents? What then should I tell them? Note that I don't even know which sets of parents are whose.
A. Didn't we tell you already not to skip the ceremony? The bride and groom usually walk alongside their respective parents at the very start!
Anyway, make your pleasantries short and sweet. Shake their hands and say "Hello! I'm (your name) and I went to school with (name of bride/groom) in (school's name)/an officemate of (name of bride/groom) at (name of company)." They usually respond with "Nice meeting you." Just smile, nod politely, and move on to the next person. If one replies "Hi! I've heard so much about you!", simply smile and nod just the same. No lengthy conversation; just make small talk at most. If you can't find the words to say, just smile again, nod politely, and move.
Q. During the banquet, is there anything I need to know?
A. Nowadays, the Reception Program usually have the guests on each table stand up and have their picture taken with the couple before being led to the buffet. This is done to resolve two issues of past weddings: (a) for the couple's convenience and skip the tiring Table-Hopping ritual just to have their picture taken with all their guests; and (b) for the guests' convenience so they won't have to wait very long for their turn in the buffet line.
Keep in mind that Buffet is NOT synonymous with "Eat-All-You-Can." Do not pile your plate full. Be courteous of those who have yet to be served. Don't worry. You can easily go for seconds.
Q. I'm used to a Buffet setting, but what if it's a formal Sit-Down Dinner? Which fork do I start with again?
A. You're on your own, pal. Watch "Pretty Woman" again and see how Julia Roberts nailed it!
bridezilla?
how come im the only one feeling the urgency for our wedding? i can feel from some suppliers that they still think my wedding is ages away! which is not the case, as we only have 39 days to go!!! i think it's because we booked them so long ago that they still think that our wedding is one and a half years away! this is sooo disappointing. we did not start our preps early just to be caught cramming at the final leg of our wedding preps...
for one thing... our invites. as of date of writing, i still havent gotten the final revised invitation yet. that means, our invites have NOT been printed yet. to think that we went to Unifair last August to choose the design, and sent the entou list mid-Oct. the first draft, i only received 2nd of December, hindi pa namin marereceive if fellow wawie Cathee hadnt called Unifair to inquire. im worried coz ill only be in the phils from dec 22 to jan 1. and if we dont receive the invites by dec 27 (latest dec 28) - which by the way is next week already, we wont have time to distribute them! my next trip to phils will be in jan 16 na!!! i am not pointing fingers. i am just stating a fact.
arggghhh...
marriage license - partly our fault. but yah, we still dont have our marriage license yet. we're working on it now but we could have done this last november when we went home!
stress brings out the bad in me - i can feel thebridezilla in me creeping out. i am very very nitty gritty especially when it comes to deadlines. i get stressed when i dont meet deadlines. that's how i am towards work and that's how i am towards life.
im also a worrier. the fact that i sometimes feel, that i am the only one worrying about our wedding, makes me worry more! i am having nightmares each night. tskkk :(
oh well, we'll see. ill try to lay-off a bit. let's see if any progress will be made.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
no men allowed!
our initial plan is to go to conrad hotel or some hotel to have buffet lunch (our dream dream haha) but we found out that all the hotels here in singapore increased their prices because of the christmas season. a lunch buffet in conrad costs 70++sgd! wtf!!!
so this morning, after discussing with che and the other pretty ladies our options, i suggested that we go to this japanese buffet that i went to last year. i remember that it was affordable and the food was great. so after getting the majority vote, che, aimee, glenda, tet, lara and myself, all headed down to suntec city to have lunch at kuichin bo.
grabe what can i say?! super sarap! i was sooooo full. hahaha we were there from 11:30 to around 3pm. they had a lot of selection (tempura, sashimi, maki, sushi and DESSERTS). sobrang sulit tlaga. we paid around 32sgd per person. pero i tell you, it's really worth your money.
but the best thing about our lunch out is that we got to bond with each other. all the kwentos, advises from glenda, kakulitan and everything :) it's such a breath of fresh air not having to check yourself because of the 'guys' hahaha. sarap nyong pagkwentuhan! joke :)
anyway ladies, til next time. hope next time, matuloy na hotel natin. :) (at sana next time merong kumuha ng picture natin! hehehe)
Thursday, December 13, 2007
once a wawie, always a wawie
but, what's done is done. rules are rules... i am not qualified to be a wawie anymore... :( uwahhh... as much as i want to persuade mama benz, i know it wouldn't be fair to her as well. so i graciously said my farewell to my waw family this afternoon (huhuhuhu).
i was contemplating whether to post this message in my blog or not. but im confident that my suppliers will not treat me differently now that im just a common bride.
anyways, one thing is for sure, once a wawie, always a wawie :) i love you guys so much! thank you very much for the support. i will miss you tlaga.
at least i still have my wawsg family :) to all JANUARY brides, lets rock!!! :) good luck with preps! last leg na to!!!
here's my post to my waw family... i called it "a very tearful farewell". thank you po ulit! i loved every moment of being a wawie :)
Hello everyone,
I know you might find it a bit weird that I am saying farewell kahit di pa ako kinakasal... It's pertinent that I leave kasi, if not, I'll be violating one of the golden rules of w@W.
You see, the owner of Gallery7 - Enrico Gaw is my cousin (father side). I never meant to hide this fact from Mama Benz, but i didnt know that it was that important, considering that they are part of post-wedding suppliers. Also, it's not like I'm really close to him... Saying that i see him every year is already an overstatement. And I swear that not once had i mentioned or recommended them in W@W. i made it a point to be unbiased.
But ayun nga, there's no changing the fact that I am a relative of a supplier. I dont want to give Mama Benz a hard time, so i'll say goodbye to the group na lang.
This is very very very hard for me, it's like losing a part of my being. A lot of you know naman na super w@w addict ako... sabi nga ng coordinator ko, certified wawie daw ako dahil lahat ng suppliers ko galing sa waw..
I'll miss reading all the posts in the group. I'll miss moderating your messages (magpakabait kayo). and of cors, i'll miss the friends that I got to know here in waw. (i will see you guys in naw)
Thank you very much to this group. It really breaks my heart that I need to leave this group... now na less than two months to go na lang before my wedding.
Rest assured that for the sake of other wawies, I will still post my SUPPLIER RATINGS sa blog ko. abangan nyo na lang siguro dun. :) It will be my way of thanking the waw community for everything... I can't imagine my wedding without waw (e di wala na akong suppliers hahaha)
Im am doing this with a very very heavy heart. Kahit ayaw ko, kelangan. I want to change the past but I can't. Funny thing is, if I have a choice over my relative or waw, i'll choose waw. hahaha... No, kidding aside, I will really really really miss this group.
Thank you mama benz for everything, especially the friendship. You've helped me a lot talaga. Punta po kayo sa kasal ha, I'll give you the invitation as soon as they're ready na. And i'm really sorry if i caused you any trouble. :(
To all wawies, enjoy your preps! Always smile! Best wishes to everyone! God Bless your preps! Do keep in touch :) dito lang ako lagi to help out, kahit wala na ako sa waw. uwaaahhhh... Thank you thank you thank you very much for everything!!! (abangan nyo na ang news on our marriage cert sa blog ko)
See you sa naw!
signing as a w@w until sunday,
kendz ----> i'll miss all of you!!! email nyo lang ako, candy.y.chu@gmail.com
huhuhu :(
--
Kendz ni Lui
January 27, 2008
SOJ / 1Esplanade
http://kendznilui.blogspot.com --> i'll keep posting, so please keep visiting!
Friday, December 07, 2007
Is there going to be a wedding?
Can I cry now?
update as of 13 December: finally! after buckets of tears and strands of white hair, we finally got lui's birth certificate!!! wahh! finally. i dont want to dwell on the fact that the system in the phils suck! hmph. basta as long as we have lui's BC na, okay na kami.
now only pending is our marriage license.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
between your legs
galing kay mitch... the objective is to come up with movie titles that will go well with "Between Your Legs". Im telling you, ka-addict!!!
Cindy :- Rush Hour Between Your Legs
Patrick :- Gone with the wind Between your legs
Carl :- Finding Nemo Between your legs
Damian:- Mad MAx Between your legs
David:- Armageddon Between your legs
Andre: - 300 Between your legs
Trace: - Dirty Dancing Between your legs...
Amy: Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure Between Your Legs
Jordy: Midnight Express Between your legs
Joshua: Training Day Between your legs
Callie: Cruel Intentions Between your Legs
Tom: Final Fantasy Between your legs
Garrett: The Abyss Between your legs
Scotty: Groundhog Day Between Your Legs
Flash: Blow between your legs
Brett : 48 Hours Between Your Legs
Belinda: The Fly between your legs
Belinda: The Lost Boys between your legs
Elle : Gladiator between your legs!
Dan: I Know What You Did Last Summer between your legs!
Lisa: The Incredible Hulk Between your legs
Daniel: Saw Between your legs
Al: Curse of the Golden Flower Between your legs
Evette: Ed Wood Between Your Legs
Ava: 24 Hour Party People Between Your Legs
Jovan: The Thing Between Your Legs
Herb: Stardust Between Your Legs
Lette: Everything is Illuminated Between Your Legs
Chinky: crouching tiger hidden dragon between your legs
Chinky: go between your legs (may movie na Go d ba? hahahahaha d pa sure e)
Chinky : spiderman between your legs
Chinky: elf between your legs
Michelle: Reality Bites Between Your Legs
Michelle: Aalog-alog Between Your Legs (pwede naman tagalog movies d b)
Michelle: Akin Ka Magdusa Man Ako Between Your Legs
Michelle: Borat Between Your Legs (eeewww)
Michelle: City Slickers Between Your Legs
kendz: 40 year old virgin between your legs
kendz: unleashed between your legs
kendz: something's gotta give between your legs
kendz: daredevil between your legs
kendz: anaconda between your legs
kendz: free willy between your legs
kendz: the one between your legs
tama na! :)
Brands
i do love branded things... not because im maarte but i think it has something to do with how my mom raised me. i remember that she would always scold me if i buy something unbranded... she'd say something like "you should have just saved your money for something better" better in her case would be something branded hahaha :) she has this philosophy that with brand comes quality or something like that ;p
so here goes:
2) What’s the brand of your bracelet? not branded :)
3) What’s the brand of your cell phone? nokia and samsung
4) What’s the brand of your computer? (laptop) Compaq Presario
5) What’s the brand of your bags? coach (i never bought one. always given to me promise) and nike (for gym)
6) What’s the brand of your undies? marks & spencers and topshop :)
7) What’s the brand of your flip-flops/sandals? havaianas!
8 ) What’s the brand of your shoes? charles & keith, nike, reebok
9) What’s the brand of your wallet? manmont from china. very durable. hehehe
10 ) What’s the brand of your shirts? lacoste, zara, kamiseta, plains & prints. halo halo :)
11) What’s the brand of your TV? Samsung
12) What’s the brand of your cars? no cars!
13) What’s the brand of your mp3 player? Apple
14) What’s the brand of your make up? Mac, shu uemura, shiseido, awake, bobbi brown, clinique, and the list goes on. im a confessed makeup junkie
15) What’s the brand of your shampoo and conditioner? clear hairfall control
16) What’s the brand of your jeans? levi's
17) What’s the brand of your laundry soap? tide hehehe and top for washing machine
18.) What’s the brand of your lotion? clinique body lotion / kiehls body lotion
19) What’s the brand of your toothpaste? colgate
20) What’s the brand of your ballpen? i dont know... free @ office. hehe
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
party party party! part2
We had our W@Wsg party last Sunday (Dec3). though it was a bit of short notice (cos i forgot to send followup emails) we still had a good number of couples who attended the party... sad part is kami kami na lang ulit.. there were no newbies who attended... sighs... :(
We didn't have Josiahs Catering, but we hadKusina de Pinoy and Mitchie's alfredo! :) hahaha sorry for the lack of pictures... Medyo nagkalimutan na kasi sa gutom bwahahaha...
We also didn't have Alex Franco Cake or Joy San Gabriel or Sugarbox cakes... but we had Prima Deli' scurmptous cake(which btw, is now banned in Singapore due to food poisoning issues wahahaha swerte lang kami at good batch yung nakuha namin! yikes)
We may also not have Dino Lara or Jayson Arquiza, but we still had our own version of prenups :)
Wala nga si Kite sa party namin, nandito naman si baby DJ hahaha :)
All in all, it was a blast! :) We had super fun taking pictures and kwentuhan. Si Jon nga sumasakit na daw ang panga! hahaha jon, eto ba yung nakakatawa na pic? :) LOL
please visit this link for the complete set of pics : pictures
party party party! part 1
the first party I went to was the W@W Christmas Party last November 23 in Fernwood Gardens. What can I say, we had a blast! (dami kasi prizes bwahahaa)...
Before the party proper, Mama Benz emailed us wawies asking who wants to volunteer to help out for the party. Ako naman, I was thinking that this is a now or never chance... who knows if I'll still be able to go to the next party or not diba? So I made the most out of it and enthusiastically volunteered myself and lui (si lui walang kaalam alam! bwahahaha)
So as volunteers, we arrived earlier than most wawies. We got to Fernwoods at around 11am. Actually the call time was 12pm. But knowing our history of getting lost here and there, I forced lui to pick me up at 10am! hahaha... para may buffer...
When we got to Fernwoods, there were already a number of suppliers there. I saw Clarice, Ms Tisha of Balay and Eddie Bruan. Then I saw my fellow wawies... Che & Ed and Tina & Jessie, we were the early birds. hehehe...
After we had lunch c/o Josiahs, we registered and had our makeup done na for our prenups. I guess it was one of the perks of being a volunteer, since there were no people yet, we got to choose the makeup artist of our choice! of cors i chose tito eddie :) 2nd trial makeup kung baga... hahaha
he did a nice job... except for the hair. i really wanted sana the hair to be more natural (sayang ang fringes ko haha) kaso lang parang inisprayan lang nila ng inisprayan ng hair spray as in ang tigas!!! wah... medyo nagpanic kasi si tito eddie coz one of the coordinators kept coming to our booth and kept asking him if done na or not. ayun... hahaha pero it was okay... the makeup is nice, but i think the trial was better.
after makeup, FREENUPS! :) as volunteers we were granted 11 photographers of our choice. I already had several photographers in mind for the freenups :) of cors libre to dapat sulitin no! hahaha. please see previous post for some of the pictures taken by the photogs :)
some of the photographers who stood out for us were:
dino lara... super enjoy kami kay dino lara. may dala pang twister... kaya naman pala the first thing he said was " ay... nakapalda. naku pag tutumblingin pa naman kita". then he took out the twister game and I was like "oh no..." hahaha but game pa din kami of cors! :)
van goth... lui liked ems style... why? because she knows how to direct poses. since lui and i are not really keen on posing, it was such a relief :) ang cool cool din nya :) i like her style.
edwin tuyay - KWELA as in K-W-E-L-A... it was the funniest pictorial we had. hahaha as in out of this world!!! ang saya... i cant wait to get copies of the pics :)
metro photo - ang dami nila!!! anu ba yun... lol there were 5-6 cameras clicking away all the time. hahaha but the thing i liked about the photographer is that he takes chances and all out tlaga cya. para cyang acrobat/spiderman. hahaha
john mateos ong - cya lanag naginstruct kay lui how to smile. o diva? attention to details hahaha... he kept saying "lui ang ngipin, dapat merong ngipin... say ahhhhh"
jayson arquiza - he's the man. hahaha sya na ata ang merong pinaka mainit na pwesto during the shooting! as in bilad sa araw! it doesnt help that the light reflected from the very shiny rolls :) hay so happy that we finally got our prenups with jayson arquiza hehehe. di man cya pwede sa kasal namin, at least i have some photos from him... :) and of all the photographers there, sya lang kinukulit ko hahahah! feeling close kasi ako bwahahaha. here is one of the candid shots i took.. (sorry kuya jayson, di kasing ganda nung kuha mo sa amin hehehe)
the crew photography - ay sus! ginawa kaming artista! hirap magacting!!! hahahaha... they told us to act different scenes ang hirap! di ako pang artista! hehehe but it was fun. especially the part where we get to ride Sir John's Vespa hihi...
~~
after the prenups (we can actually go for more than 11 photogs na but after the 11th, i surrendered. it was too tiring and i was having a migraine na. thank God for white flower hehe), lui and i went around fernwoods so that i can take some shots :) ganda ng fernwoods sobrang photogenic!!! here are some shots i took ...
second row: a very proud wawie; took hundreds more before i finally got this shot; fernwoods; fernwoods
third row: me all made up checking the picture in tito eddie's camera; metro photo still working; clarice and bernard; fernwoods pa din
last row: makeup artists busy glamming up the wawies; the youngest wawie - kite; mother of all wawies - mama benz; fernwoods facade ulit :)
~~
party proper:
it was so nice to see a lot of our suppliers at work during the party... josiahs, balay kandila, an event to remember, alex franco cake (yuuummmyyy!!!) and threelogy (for the live feed). super ganda ng setup ng balay kandila. parang production stage talaga! ang galing. with the lights and everything.
The food by Josiah's is excellent!!! especially the mongolian bbq! as in i told my friends to queu even if it will take a long time! coz i know it's worth it! :)
i soo enjoyed the party most especially the prizes part. hahaha we won 1 oven toaster and 1 microwave oven. the toaster because i guessed bob nicholas' age and the microwave for having the most number of suppliers in the party. I had 8:
josiahs, clarice, balay kandila, veluz, threelogy, mimi and karl, alex franco, eddie bruan :D hehehe ang saya!
but the best part of the party was our very talented photographers MIMI and KARL bagging this year's W@W Supplier of the Year Award! Wooooottt!! Kudos to you both! Sobrang sumakit yung lalamunan ko kakatili nung time na yun ahehehe ... :) kinilig kilig din ako sa inyo! Especially the part when Mimi said "Pwede na kaming ikasal!" Grabe that brought the house down! hahahaha... When is the kasal? :) yiheeee
~~
i would really like to thank Mama Benz and Sir John for creating the wonderful world of wawies. super sarap maging wawie. im loving everything about being a wawie! :) hahaha... and of cors, thank you for the wonderful party. you're the best tlaga!!!
thank you din to all the suppliers who made the party possible... sa lahat ng photographers, sa coordinators, sa caterers, sa waiters and waitresses, balay kandila, sa hosts, to everyone! super thank you na din in behalf of the wawies kasi you really made our day :)
till next year, hopefully makasama ulit ako. :)