Farley

Entourage gowns:
Farley - Highly Recommended
$ (for all gowns - 8 adult females and 4 flowergirls)

Farley was strongly recommended to me by Clarice when we were looking for an entou gown maker... as much as i wanted to get Veluz, we just couldn't afford it :(

I like farley's work. pulido... and i like the fact that we didnt have much prob during the fitting... ang galng nya dun! as in the measurements were correct (except for those na pumayat talaga). but the rest, wala na masyadong adjustments! so di kami nagkaproblema.

ang di ko lang nagustuhan is medyo malayo yung nasa isip ko na designs versus dun sa actual gowns... pero i understand. kasi kami lang nagusap ni clarice regarding design... tapos yung pictures na binigay pa sa kanya, not the exact design... meaning i wanted to change this and this and this... hehe so siguro nahirapan magvisualize si farley hehehe...

but for the cost of each gown, i can truly say, oki na cya... maganda na :) sulit... hehehe saka hindi masyadong nakakapanghinayang kasi nga di sya sobrang mahal :)

hhmmm medyo may nakalimutan dn pala gawing gown si farley... that was one week before the wedding. pero nahabol naman nya :) hehehe... so di naman ako masyadong nastress. we got the gowns friday ata... then saturday one of my entou came to fit her gown (kasi galing pa cya bahamas) medyo maluwang yung gown, so clarice asked her messenger to bring the gown to farley... we got the gown during the wedding day na. ayos naman pagkaka adjust :)

ayun lang... sana nakatulong :)

Clique Booth

Others:
Clique Booth – Super Duper Highly Recommended
$$

Clique booth rocks!!!

I had to fight tooth and nail just to get Lui to approve our budget for Clique booth. Hahaha. Kasi at first, he wasn’t very sold on the idea of having a photo booth. Baka deadmahin lang daw ng mga tao yun… But after the W@W Christmas Party, he was excited na! hehe masyado atang nagenjoy nun… kaya when I asked him if we could upgrade, go na agad cya. Bwahahaha.

Sobrang pasasalamat ko sa clique booth. I dont know what could have happened if we didnt have the clique booth. Imagine our reception being 1 hour late… aayyyy buti na lang talga nandun cya. According to clarice, when we were getting worried about the time, na sobrang nageenjoy pa naman daw ang mga tao sa clique so not to worry.

And based on feedback sobrang nagenjoy ang mga tao talaga! There was even a long queue for it! Hehehe. Who would have thought?!

And we enjoyed reading the messages of our guests in the guest book. And we enjoyed more looking at the pictures of our guests… nakakatawa yung iba. Hehehe :) all the guests really went all out for the pics.

Pati nga waiters ng josiahs may picture e! hahaha buti na lang nagunlimited kami! :D and buti na lang mabilis magprint ang clique booth ng photos (compared to other photo booths) hihihi

I strongly recommend getting clique booth… if you have the budget. If you don’t have, make room for it! Hahaha :)

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Niko

Mothers’ gowns, bride’ shoes, bride’s bag, cord, coin pillow, ring pillow, bible holder:
Nikolai Hernandez – Super Duper Highly Recommended
$ (each mom's gown)

What can I say? He was able to make my mom wear a dress and a lovely dress at that! Hehehe… Yun lang sobrang happy na ako sa kanya. Ang yabang yabang ni mama, ang ganda daw ng gown nya. hahaha di na pinansin gown ko!

He did both the gowns of the moms… I liked both of them. Medyo maluwang lang nga gown ni MIL… but I don’t think it’s Niko’s fault. MIL kept losing weight months before the wedding. Mas excited pa ata cya sa akin! Hahaha :)

Ang ganda ganda ng mga moms namin. Saka kitang kita ko na sobrang alaga nya yung mga moms... especially kapag sinasamahan ko si mama. I know they can be very difficult pero nakayanan ni Niko.

I love love love love my shoes and bag!!! My shoes! Grabe ang ganda ganda. I told niko kasi na gusto ko oriental itsura to go with our theme… I never expected that he’ll take it seriously and actually create a masterpiece (naks). Pero ganda tlaga… meron pang beads and frog clamps na lotus shaped. Oooo. San ka pa? then the bag? Hihihi ang cute cute. though sadly, di ko cya nagamit tlaga :( di ko kasi lam kung sino na nagdala nun.

Then the pillows… so very nice. He went out of his way pa to buy brocades for the pillows. Ang ganda… feeling ko nga pati si father nagulat dun sa pillows namin kasi kakaiba :) Pati yung cord na ginamit namin... ang ganda! May swarovski pa! and my hairpiece! Ganda diba? Sobrang sosyal tingnan. Hihi meron nagtanong san ko daw binili… Niko creation po yun! Go go! :)

Basta love ko tong si niko (batchmate!!). Even night before the wedding text text pa kami! On the day of the wedding, one of the very first na nagtext sa akin!

Now that he has his own line na, I will strongly recommend him to any bride! Super bait ni niko and maalaga. Hehehe tahimik nga lang :)

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Veluz

Bride’s Gown and Barongs (Groom, FIL, BIL)
Veluz Reyes – Super Duper Highly Recommended
$$$

I wanted Veluz to design my gown and no one else. As in when I saw Con-con’s gown, I was 100% sure that I wanted her. Kaya ang aga aga ko cya inemail e… Medyo tagal lang nga magreply ni Ms. V! hahaha inabot ata ng 3 months before nagreply hahaha pero oki lang... ill wait for her reply kahit 1 year pa yun! hihihi

The design is all her. I did show her a design that I wanted but she shot that idea down telling me that I have good shoulders which will be completely hidden by that design (based sa pic lang yan ha!).

So she sent me three designs… but ironically, my gown was neither of the three designs. It kept changing and changing every time we had a fitting. Laging meron dinadagdag!!! :)

So from this… naging eto… and finally to this beautiful creation :) (ahem ahem biased e.)

Sobrang sulit ng binayad ko. Even my mom, who initially said na sobrang mahal daw gown ko, told me na worth it daw yung gown… Even my bro from the states said my gown was beautiful! Lahat nagsabi maganda gown ko. Ang ganda naman kasi!!! I hope i gave justice to the gown though :)

I noticed though that Veluz tends to stick to certain designs... (even had some rude comments in my blog about my design) but for me, it was okay.. kasi that’s her trademark na… dun cya nakilala and maganda naman ung design. Saka di naman sobrang parehas no!

But if you’re the type of bride na gusto mo unique gown mo, you just have to tell her I guess. Give her a pic of the design you want and tell her you really want that design. I’ve seen a lot of bride who did this and nakuha naman nila yung dream gown nila (diba resie?).

But for me, it was okay. I trusted her all the way. Coz I know whatever the design, she wouldn’t choose it for me unless bagay. She’s good like that… She has sharp eyes… She knows what will suit you and which design will not.

You will never go wrong with Veluz. Sabi nga niya, perfect fit always! Aside from that, sobrang nice pa ni Ms. V! As in I love our kwentuhan moments together… Ang chika chika nya and I don’t think she has any pretention whatsoever. Ang sarap kasama and kausap!

I asked Lui about the barong, di daw cya masyadong happy. For him, simple lang daw yung design. Parang he could get a better barong elsewhere in a cheaper price.

But for me… ganda ng barong ni Lui! Bagay na bagay… mukha pa cyang payat! Hahaha… :D

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Threelogy

Videographer:
Threelogy – Super Duper Highly Recommended
$$$

Also considered: Jason Magbanua

Threelogy… threelogy… threelogy…

Ano ba masasabi ko? Is the word ‘magnificent’ even enough to describe them?!

Trivia:

- We didn’t meet prior to the wedding to talk about the video concept
- I didn’t send anything to them regarding shots that I want
- They didn’t use the songs we picked
- I didn’t meet the members of the team until the wedding day (unless you count the short meeting in Century Park and in w@w party)

But eventhough we didn’t do any of the above, they still gave us the best AVP eeevaaaahhh!!! Oh my God! Humagulgol lang naman ako after I watched our AVP. Even thinking about it now makes me want to cry. I’ve watched the video nth time already and Im still amazed on how beautiful our AVP is!!! Shuuucckkssss I LLLOOOVVEEEE IIITTTT!!!!

Ang galing galing din nila. Their style of shooting is very candid... and they’re not overbearing at all. Di mo tlaga mararamdaman that they’re shooting you… a lot of the clips in the video were candid shots. Pero galing galing tlaga!!!

Aaayyyy!!! There are so many things I want to say di ko lam where to start.

Sa sobrang dalas ko ata magcomment sa blog ng threelogy, feeling ko close ko na sila! Especially bong. Hahaha. Na laging tinatanong kung nagwowork ba talaga ako :)

They are so nice.

Si CJ… He is so funny! Kaya nga ata halos lahat ng pics ko e nakatawa ako!!! I think dahil sa mga funny antics nya! His and Lui’s! grabe sakit sa ulo! Hahaha :) Si bong din… he was even texting me the night before the wedding to remind me to get some beauty rest. And sobrang galing talaga ng AVP nya!!! Jenn – she’s so warm :) I really really like her. Sayang lang di ko cya masyadong naka chikahan nun. Pero ang bait nya. Kahit na asar to the max cya nila Bong, CJ, Karl and Mimi, tawa tawa lang cya! :)

Lahat sobrang nagandahan sa video. E ganda naman kasi talaga!!! All praises talaga :)

They even captured our blooper moment! hahaha classic yun ah! wala pang nakakagawa nun! in fairness kay bong, he asked me if he could post it. ako naman go! :) hehehe.

Our wedding wouldnt have been as fun and memorable without Threelogy. Sarap nila kasama. Wala ka ere ere!

I can’t wait to get our final video! Im suurrreee it’s going to be awesome! (next W@W Supplier of the year na!!! woot!!!)

To threelogy and M+K:

Pwede ko ba kayo kunin sa binyag ng baby namin (kapag meron na)?! Hahaha Lui will probably kill me! Sige debut na lang bwahahaha. Threelogy and M+K tandem is the best!

Mimi + Karl of Fotogra Weddings

Photographers:
Mimi and Karl – Super Duper Highly Recommended
$$$$ (including prenups)

Also considered: Dino Lara, Rene Gaviola

Mimi and Karl is one of our favorite suppliers!!! Ako I personally love them!!! Kaya nga kulang na lang humagulgol ako nung nanalo sila ng W@W supplier of the year e! Grabeeeeee…. Ang galing galing nila plus very humble pa silang 2!

We so enjoyed our prenups in bohol. Super talented nila :) and sarap din kakwentuhan. (lalo na si mimi kasi si karl mahiyain pa nun e. Hahaha)

Mimi and I go way back hahaha... nung simula pa lang, pwede ko na cya tanungin ng kung anu-ano. Kahit nung naghahanap pa lang kami ng venue - I’ll ask her about a place and she’ll send me pics of the venue, with her valuable input. That time, di pa namin sila booked ha. Pero she was that helpful. Hanggang sa naging chatmate ko na din cya. Minsan nga feeling ko tinataguan na nila ako kasi makulit talaga ako! Hahaha...

Si Karl din, chat mate ko din yan e. Heheh lagi ko din cya tinatanungan. Kaso medyo playing safe hahaha! Ayaw magsuggest ng supplier hahaha! pero when it comes to camera gadgets, game na game cya magsagot ng questions.

I consider them as our second coordinator! why? dami ko kasi kinonsult sa kanila… I guess I wanted to get a photographer’s point of view. And what’s so nice about them is they’re always game to answer your questions! Hahaha di lang photographer, coordinator pa! :D pwede…

Mimi sent me the proofs of our wedding, and all I can say is ANG GANDA NG MGA PICS!!!! As in lahat maganda! Promise.im not exaggerating. You can see for yourself!

Wala lang pics ng food and cocktail and wlang blog entry. Hahahahaa! Pero that’s oki. Mabubuhay naman kami kahit wla yun no! :D Nung una nga worried ako baka di nakuhaan yung centerpieces kasi di ko nakita na pinicture-an nila… pero meron and ganda ng pics (para na ba akong sirang plaka?!)

Waaahhh wala na ako masabi iba!!! Basta super galing tlaga nila!!! As in! Ang ganda ng pics!!! Ganda ganda ganda ganda hahahaha. Kuhang kuha tlaga emotions!!!! Ganda ko! Gwapo lui! Ganda!!! Hahaha

And super panalo yung balloon shot ni Mimi and yung sunset pics ni Karl, i luuuvvv!!! Galing mo karl!!! Ang ganda nun!

Galing ni mimi sobra sa mga details.. hinayang lang ako kasi wla kami masyadong details for her to shoot. Ganda ng pics! (sirang plaka na nga ako!) bwahaha…

Sobrang priority talaga namin ang photos because that’s the only thing you can show your kids or grandkids… un plus the video. The food, the flowers, you cant preserve it. Only the photos and video can preserve the memories. And having a good photographer helps! Kasi kahit di masyadong maganda, mapapaganda! Magicians! Hahaha J joke…

I also love the fact that Mimi and Karl don’t do a lot of photo shop. As in au naturelle ang pics nila. Well, probably minimal photo-shopping… but that’s it. Kaya kitang kita na talented talaga sila!!! Woot!

Ay ano ba yan. Para na akong addict. Tama na nga. Thanks to sis becca for introducing M+K to me :D

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String Minstrels

Strings:
String Minstrels – Super Highly Recommended
$$

When I told Clarice we wanted strings for our reception, she booked String Minstrels straight away.

They were really good. Actually… I wasn’t paying much attention during the reception, but all my friends said that they were really good! So I guess they are :) We decided to make them play bossa nova songs during the reception because we wanted something a bit up beat but will still suit the oldies’ taste hehehe.

Though I can remember that when I heard them playing Canon in D during the processional, I couldn’t help but cry! Grabe galing. Goosebumps talaga. As in nadala ako ng music nila :) Galing din ng “Panunumpa” nila… nakaka kilabot talaga!

We didn’t get a soloist na kasi baka sumablay lang. haha though im not saying di magaling ang singer ng SM ha… we just didn’t want someone to sing. Lol. Kahit sa mass walang kumanta… instrumental lang lahat. Hihihi.

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Mang Boy Mahusay

Florist:
Mang Boy Mahusay (dangwa) - Recommended
$$

Invitations and flowers were the least priority for me. I know I know… it’s kinda weird since most bride will pay a lot of moolah for their bouquet. But not me… I don’t know. Im just not picky with flowers… almost all flowers, I like (except tulips, stargazer). So im not willing to pay a lot for the flowers.

I was so excited about our bouquet because it took me and Clarice a long time to conceptualize my bouquet (mine lang kasi the entou si Clarice na nagdesign hehehe). I told Clarice I wanted a red/yellow/orange bouquet. She suggested which flowers will go well and I took her word for it.

When we went for the mockup, I was so happy on how the bouquet looked! Even Lui was happy that he was willing to pay additional for the ecuador roses!!! Dami nga kumuha ng pics nung bouquet ko because it really looked nice.

But sadly… we didn’t get the same bouquet during our wedding :( It’s because the shipment of orange ecuador roses werent that nice daw. Gusto ko maiyak nung kinakausap ako ni clarice… minsan na lang nga ako humiling, di pa napagbigyan. Sigh… so we had to make do with the pink-orange carnations…

It didn’t look as nice as the mockup bouquet, but for me, oki pa din naman kinalabasan. Sabi lang ng friend ko, wala daw wow factor. Oh well, as the old adage goes: you get what you paid for.

But looking back, I think I should have gotten some sort of refund because I doubt the carnations cost as much as the ecuador roses. Oh well. Huhuhu.

But the flowers lasted till reception naman… medyo lanta lanta na lang nga. Pero di pa din naman halata sa pics.

The entou flowers were really nice though. Ganda sa pics. Medyo namassacre lang nga ng mga flowergirls yung hair dress nila saka pomander! Hahaha

Hayy… moving on…

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Unifair

Invitations:
Unifair – Recommended
$$ for 200 pieces

I did not consider other invitation makers because we wanted cheap ones lang that is tried and tested na.

Honestly, we have a love and hate relationship with Unifair…

The invitations were nice. Simple yet elegant… We wanted a simple invitation lang naman. Something that is timeless… And I think we got what we wanted. I don’t have anything bad to say about the invitation except for the fact that some of the invites are a bit dirty – smudges here and there. My friend said di naman halata and OC lang tlaga ako… Well, for me kasi it’s the invitation… it’s the first glance that the guests will have of you wedding so it has to be nice… kahit di expensive. Oh well.

But we love the envelopes! It was simple… but they put a red “double happiness” chinese character in the envelopes which was very very nice.

They also let us request for as many envelope as we need. Medyo nagloko kasi yung printer namin and maraming nasayang na envelopes! We even had to buy a new printer on new year day just to print the names in the envelopes nicely…

And the best thing about Unifair is that their invites are cheap! We got ours for P60 each… this P60 includes the invitation, rsvp card and map.

The map… sigh… the map. I am sooo frustrated and disappointed with the map… hayyy… I showed it to Clarice and napailing lang din cya… it just shows MOA, SOJ and 1Esplanade. It doesn’t even have a Macapagal Highway written anywhere!!! Meron EDSA, Buendia and Roxas but no macapagal. Arghh.. and to think I sent them 2 maps that are really really nice. :(

Unifair gave us a lot of stress din. They were only able to give us our invitations mga first week of January na! e we weren’t in Manila na that time so we had to coerce our family to distribute the invites for us! Why it took so long, I have no idea… We gave the list of entou and PS to Clarice in October. And I think she gave the list to Unifair in November. Unifair emailed us the first draft mga first week of December… this was after a fellow wawie (Cathee) called them up to followup on the draft invite.

I admit, there were a lot of errors in the names that we initially submitted to them. But how can the proofing take so long? It took almost an entire month to finalize the invitation! There was one time I sent the changes on a Sunday and they were only able to give the revised draft on a Friday na! one whole week just to change a letter in the name?

In the end we had to go to unifair to talk to them personally. Good thing Erwin was there. He was the one who pushed Shirley to have our invites printed…

They had so many excuses before we got the invitation though - like printer broke down, person in charge of printing not around blah blah blah…

It was my first time to send a very demanding and somewhat rude email to a supplier… I just couldn’t take it anymore…

Sighhh… but im still recommending them because they’re cheap and a lot of people said our invitations are nice (buti na lang!!!)

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to follow...

ang hirap pala gumawa ng supplier ratings!!!

to follow:

unifair
mang boy mahusay
farley
string minstrels
mimi & karl
veluz
niko
clique booth
threelogy
el nido

eto na lang ba? hmm...

Eddie Bruan

Make-up artist:
Eddie Bruan – Super Duper Highly Recommended
$$

Also considered: Angie & Ogie

His package includes 1 bride + 4 pax + groom + flowergirls. Meron din free hot oil treatment, manicure plus haircut for the groom, which we were not able to avail.

Aside from the 1+4, there were additional 3 people that were made up by Eddie Bruan and his team. (P1,250 ata per pax).

Aaaaay!!! Grabe tong si Tito Eddie. Feeling ko artista ako nung wedding! He was able to achieve the makeup that I wanted without me saying a thing. I only requested that he use pink blush on me. Yun lang… But the rest was all him na!

Ano ba masasabi ko?! Ang ganda ko! Nagmukhang maliit ang mukha ko!!! Bwahahah

And the best thing was, he stayed with me up until before the reception started. Sabi nga ni Clarice na super lakas ko daw kay Tito Eddie kasi usually, his assistant (Norman?) is the one who stays to do the touchups!!!

Grabe Tito Eddie was there right before I walked down the aisle. As in retouch pa cya before we put on the veil outside the church. Then he was there to touch up my makeup during the pictorials in the church. He was also there with us during the pictorials. As in mega touch up cya sa akin… In 1Esplanade, while we were lazing around, dun din cya to retouch my makeup. Ayyy! Dami talagang retouch! Nakakabaliw. Ang saya :)

We also had our separate photo shoot in the room in Esplanade hahaha! J Ginawa akong model! Dami dami din nagsabi na ang ganda ko nung wedding day ko (wedding day ko lang?!) hahaha! Bsta I’m so happy with him. Hindi nahalata na almost 2 hours lang tulog ko!!!

I asked him to stay kaso lang he didn’t. Sayang nga e… I wanted him to stay til the end pa naman… Not to keep retouching me, but for him to enjoy na din and have fun!

But there were some makeup that I didn’t like. I don’t know if it’s because I’m not used to those people with makeup or di tlaga bagay makeup nila…. But after awhile naman, when all the makeup started to set, gumaganda naman cya. Initially kasi mukhang maputi yung foundation nung ibang entou ko… pero that’s normal I think

Oh, hindi nila minake up-an si groom. :( Buti na lang makinis mukha ni Lui except for the balat. hehehe

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An Event to Remember

Coordinator:
An Event To Remember – Super Highly Recommended
$$$

Also considered: Impromptu

I booked Clarice last March 2006 and got her full coordination package. So technically, Clarice is the supplier that I have worked with for the longest time. (sabi nga nya, almost 2 years!) hahaha

Overall, I am glad that I got Clarice and her team as our coordinator… Our wedding went by smoothly without much glitch. Her team was very professional, well-dressed and very polite. They also worked well under pressure (late kasi KFC e!). They were very efficient that you won’t notice them working, but you just know that they’re there. There were, I think, at least 6 coordinators on that day plus 2 runners.

One of the coordinators – Lucre, took care of me since after the wedding ceremony up until before the reception started. (super thank you Lucre!!! As innn.) I felt so pampered during the wedding. Kawawa nga cya kasi wherever we go, she had to be there.

During our wedding preps, we were able to get a lot of input from Clarice. As in ang kulit ko sa kanya, but she answered as much as she can… She also took care of a lot of things and we are eternally grateful for that. We were also able to get good deals with some suppliers because of her. She’s also super detailed. We would go through the same things again and again each time we met.

Thankful din ako to Clarice and her team because they helped us resolve the problems in Lui’s papers. I know they could have said no, but they still went out of their way to help us.

Si Clarice, kahit super pregnant na cya nung wedding namin and albeit the fact that she had some complications during her first tri-mester, sobrang on na on pa din cya. Kami na nga nagsasabi sa kanya na umupo na cya e. hahaha.

They kept us informed before the reception on what is going on, to keep us from panicking. hehehe.

The only thing about Clarice is that, there were times that we don’t get any feedback from her especially when we ask her to check something. There were also times when we felt that we had to push her to do something, or that we had to remind her to do something. She would always say kasi na “may time pa” or “matagal pa po wedding e”. Siguro nga minsan atat lang kami but I am the type of person kasi that wants a lot of things to be done as early as possible. I don’t like to cram kasi... Medyo matagal din sya mag reply sa mails sometimes, other times, she wont reply at all.

But as I have said, overall I am glad that Clarice was there with us during our wedding. We wouldn’t want any other coordinator

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Alex Franco Cake

Cake:
Alex Franco – Super Highly Recommended
$$

Also considered: Emily Uy

Errr… Alex Franco… Need I say more? I looveee the cake.

We got 5 layered all edible cake :) Sobrang sarap! The cake also looked so good!! Medyo di lang ako nagandahan when I looked at it closer. Because the white chocolate shreddings were ‘yellow-er’ than the icing of the cake… but di naman sobrang halata sa pics so okay na din. But the flowers were nice :D

Everyone said that the cake was delicious. It really was!!! Grabeeee naglalaway na naman ako for Alex Franco cake!!!

Sad thing is… I only got to eat a very small piece…huhuhu dapat pala i took the whole slice with us dun sa table namin. At least man lang we could have eaten 1 big slice. oh well.

Mrs. Alex Franco was also there to assist us. She stayed until the end of the reception! Bait :D

I really recommend getting Alex Franco compared to getting other fondant cakes... Mas sulit sya tlaga... and everybody gets to enjoy your cake pa!

We also got Alex' mini cakes as give-aways to our principal sponsors :)

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Josiah's Catering

Caterer:
Josiah’s Catering – Super Highly Recommended
$$$$$ - for 300 pax

What can I say about the supplier which has been in the W@W Top 10 for the longest time? Sympre they did well!

Although, I really cant say that I personally liked the food coz we really weren’t able to eat during the reception. :( We only got to eat the food when we were in the hotel (good thing josiahs set aside some food for us).

But based on the feedback from our guests, the food was great daw. Dami nga daw food e. hihihi

We didn’t get a lot of the ammenities that’s why we got the cocktail bar for free. (ganda pa kasi hanging cocktails! Sosyal). Then we also booked them when they were having a promo so we got the dessert bar for free. (sarap daw ng choc fountain based on the people who actually found out that there was a choc fountain!!!)

The good thing about Josiah’s is they are really very easy to talk to. There was an instance where we found out that the package they sent us included a carving station! (I don’t think it should be included in the package that we got) but when we told them that that was the package they sent us, they included the carving station in our package (for free!)

Our AE – Ms Mherlyn is also very courteous and very easy to talk to.

The waiters and waitresses were all very courteous. I didn’t get any feedback that they were slow to attending to the guests requests or something like that… Sa mom ko lang. Sabi medyo konti lang yung food na sineserve sa kanila! Hehehe

The only thing that bothered me was naubusan daw ng food (like soup tapos yung sa side ni lui, naubos na daw yung ibang putahe) yung ibang guests… Which I think is impossible kasi marami di pumunta sa wedding. There were at least 4 tables vacant. Kaya medyo nagtaka lang ako.

There were only a few left-over that was handed over to my mom and to lui’s mom… yung lengua, lahat nasira by the next day. Di ko lam kung mabilis tlaga masira or panget pagkakaluto.

My MOH also said that the water glasses were dirty that’s why they didn’t drink from it.

Pero overall, good feedback naman ang Josiahs.

I don't have pics of Josiah's food from Mimi and Karl :(

Balay Kandila

Event Stylist:
Balay Kandila – Super Highly Recommended
$$$$$

Also considered: April and Karen

Balay Kandila took care of the backdrop, couch, couple’s table, centerpieces, cake table, strings area, japanese lanterns, dance floor, ambience lighting, LCD panel and gen set. :)

Ang ganda ganda ganda ng reception namin!!! It was elegant and stunning. Everybody was saying so many good things about the styling!! Sobrang sulit bayad namin sa Balay kasi kitang kita sa end product yung ibinayad namin for them!!! They are also willing to work within your budget as long as reasonable naman :)

Di kami nagkamali with Balay Kandila. Kahit na medyo nasa expensive side sila, worth every penny naman! Kahit si mama walang reklamo ang ganda daw. At first medyo apprehensive kami ni Lui when we saw the centerpieces during the mock setup (vases with floating roses and candles). But in the end, kahit si mama na meticulous said that it was really really nice. Meron pa ngang gustong sungkitin yung mga floating roses e! hahaha

The dance floor was amazing! With lighting pa ha!!! It looked so nice kahit sa video ang ganda…

The ambience lighting was also very nice. Surely added to overall stunning-ness of how 1Esplanade looked like that night!!! :)

It’s also nice that Balay and Josiah’s are very familiar with each other. During our final meetings, everything went smoothly coz Ms. Tisha knew what Josiah’s had and Josiah’s knew exactly what Ms. Tisha wanted. :) Galing…

Ang only thing about Balay Kandila is, ibang iba ung output sa plan that they described to us nung nagmeet kami… But I guess they were playing it by the ear during the setup… Which is okay pa din… kasi we’re sooo happpy!! :)

>>> pictures:

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1Esplanade

Reception:
1Esplanade – Recommended
$$$$$

Also considered: Coconut Palace (already booked)

We initially only wanted to get 1 hall, but since our guest list just seems to keep getting longer and longer, we decided to get the other hall as well (thanks to Auntie Meiling for sponsoring!)

We were the first ones to book 1E. As in that time, di pa cya tapos. We just saw how it would look like sa blueprint lang… but we took the chance na lang din. (We were supposed to get Coconut Palace but as early as June 2006, somebody already booked it for January 27,2008!!!)

1E gave us a lot of headache as well. Especially during the earlier part. As in Clarice was about ready to take out her claws na. Mabagal, magulo and most of all lost ang mga AEs nila. They didn’t have a process or procedure in place. Ang weird weird nila coz they have their own set of rules and regulations that I don’t think you’ve ever heard of from other venues.

For example, one AE allowed a wawie bride to have on the spot cooking while they didn’t allow it for our wedding. Things like that. They also had corkage fees for photographers and videographers. Ngeeieeee… Weirdo! And their payment scheme is way off!

Buti na lang when we saw 1E for the very first time, we loved what we saw… It was very spacious, elegant looking and clean. Ganda. I loved how it looked. It had the hotel ballroom look. Loved the clean lines.

Then I started hearing (or reading for that matter) rantings from fellow wawies on the smell and the ‘sound-proofness’ of 1E which made me panic more… hayyyyy… amoy manila bay daw kasi.

Fortunately during the day, there was no smell at all. Buti na lang coz the cocktails were set up outside and the guests had to wait for more than an hour before they could go in! (God was with us talaga that day…) And it was a good thing that it was windy enough so wala namang pinagpawisan sa labas hehe. (They let us use Pearl Hall for free)

The place looked great… but most of that I have to credit to Balay Kandila… but the restrooms were clean and very nice. Di mabaho… The room where we stayed while waiting for the guests and clean and cozy (sobrang lamig lang nga ng aircon).The airconditioning was strong enough din during the reception. And it was a great venue for sunset shooting din!

There was also ample parking. Wala tlaga prob with parking…

There were even one or two people who asked me about 1E… hehe nice daw ng place.

They took a long time to give back our security deposit. We had to go back twice and still didnt receive any money. In the end, they had to deposit it to our banks directly.

>>> pictures:

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Pan Pacific Hotel

Hotel for preps and honeymoon:
Pan Pacific Hotel – Super Duper Highly Recommended
$$

Also considered: Traders Hotel, Century Park Hotel, G Hotel

We got 2 nights in the deluxe suite and 1 night superior room. I only added P1,000 for the additional pax (my MOH) in the suite, which already includes her breakfast.

I sooo love Pan Pacific. Definitely one of the delights I had during the wedding. At first kasi Lui and I were debating between Traders and Pan Pacific. (these are the only choices we had coz we don’t want to spend so much on the hotel) Trader’s is cheaper but somehow, I had strong relunctance against the place. I don’t know… siguro I don’t like the location… (personal thing po… nothing against Trader’s).

Pan Pacific naman, I loved the hallway and lobby. Clean and smells nice. (not like Century na amoy luma na…) bsta ang bango nya! Plus the service is very very good. The location is also nice since it’s in Malate and there are a lot of things you can do! (though we werent able to maximize this since we were running around most of the time)

But the thing I loved most about Pan Pacific is the suite!! Super duper laki! As in. The sheets are clean and soft. They have 3 televisions, 1 in sala, 1 in bedroom and 1 by the bath tub! Hahaha J Basta I really love the suite. Ganda. And the airconditioning is really good. Ang lamig nga ata sobra e! hahaha J There were a lot of us in the suite that day… I think almost 30 pax or more than pa… but we didn’t feel crowded. We still had a lot of room pa nga e. The superior room is nice as well. But smaller lang nga :)

I knew I made the right choice when I heard Mimi say that the lighting in the bedroom is good. Hahaha I knew that was a definite must for them JAnd when I saw that elevator shot by Threelogy, wala na, sobrang na inlove na tlaga ko with Pan Pacific! :)

The thing that’s lacking lang is the grand lobby. The lobby is small and doesn’t have the staircase that brides are usually looking for. For me, that doesn’t mean a thing coz I really don’t mind! Hahaha :)

Hassle din the elevator since you have to have a card before you can make the lift go up… pero at least you know that it’s added security J Parking is also a bit of a hassle but not really that bad.

Breakfast is so-so. Edible naman and no funny tastes. Just don’t expect something like Makati Shang. You definitely wont get something like that in Pan Pacific :D

>>>> pictures

Shrine of Jesus

Church:
Shrine of Jesus – Highly Recommended
$$

Also considered: San Agustin Church

We went through a lot of pain and sleepless nights because of SOJ. But in the long run, I think it was all worth it. Just hearing the “oohhsss” and “aaahhhs” of the people in the church when the church door opened made me forget all the tears I cried because of SOJ. Hehe. That door was my main reason for getting the church. I loved how it looked in videos and photos. Hehehe. Mahangin din sa church… I think only my brother said it was hot in the church. Can’t blame him since he came from US and he’s wearing a tux in the church hehehe. The rest said it was windy and spacious… heehee

I like the structure of the church din cause it’s very clean and really looks elegant. Ganda for pictorials.

The only thing about SOJ is that they are super strict. As in super… Even 2 days before the wedding, we were having problems. Kasi my mom’s name in my birth certificate includes her chinese name. However, my baptismal and confirmation name only says her christian name and surname. So they asked us to go and have it changed. Arggghhh. Kainis… but at least they allowed us to process the papers after the wedding na. sighs.

If you’re also looking for shots that are up close during the mass (ring shot, etc), SOJ is definitely not for you. They have restrictions… I could see Threelogy and M&K just standing on the side…parang may invisible line that is preventing them to come close. Medyo mahirap talaga.

And the aisle isn’t that long… so if you’re looking for a long walk, again, SOJ is not for you…

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Intro to Supplier Ratings :D

Been dying to post my ratings but I wanted to wait for the photos to come in from M&K so that I can post some pics na din.

I’ll try to make this as short as possible. Hehehe. Promise yan :) Since all my suppliers performed well I’ll be rating them by:

1. Slightly Recommended

2. Recommended

3. Highly Recommended

4. Super Highly Recommended

5. Super Duper Highly Recommended

Instead of putting in the actual ‘damage’ I’ll just indicate corresponding $ signs to give you an idea of how much it cost us :) Prices may not be applicable since most of the prices are 2006 prices.

$ below 10,000
$$ - 10,001 to 30,000
$$$ - 30,001 to 70,000
$$$$ - 70,001 to 100,000
$$$$$ - 100,001 and above

the new old me :)

this is the new old me :)

why new old me? it's the new haircut of my old self... the candy which only sports short hair! bwahahah :D it feels good to be back! woot!!!


p.s lui also got a haircut. :)

(taken at old spag house in Rob Place Manila by my close friend Jean :D )