One Sunday Afternoon of Prenup Attire Shopping

After claiming our wedding rings and meeting with Ms. Lorraine of The Unique Bouquet, the soon to be ex-bf and I went to Alimall to search for our prenup attire. We were supposed to hunt our attire last week but our target boutique had already closed their branch at SM Centerpoint. 

I was really upset upon hearing the confirmation from SM's Information Center that the shop we are eyeing was already closed. Bad mood! And when I am in bad mood, good luck to my soon to be ex-bf. We have argued with regards to my wedding preparations deliverables and timelines. I was not in the mood to debate with other wedding items because I was disappointed that we might not push through with our prenup pictorial concept due to logistics concern. I really wanted to achieve our concept! I badly wanted it not for me, but for my soon to be ex-bf. I knew how he wanted that concept and I wanted to make his dreams come true. 

I did my research and found out that the shop we are looking for is now located at Alimall, Cubao. Yey! We can still hope that we can push through with the gaming lover's concept. 

We have a hard time looking for the shop because it is located inside the Shoe Store at Alimall. We have to open my laptop in order to find their exact shop location. We were very happy to finally found what we are looking for at Sugar Free and Blue! We individually look for our attire and asked each other's opinion after trying the clothes on us. It was E for the Effort trying the costumes but it was worth it seeing the glow on my soon to be ex-bf's eyes. I was hesitant at first on the amount we will have to spend for the attire but I have to let go. Oh yes, dreams sometimes can be expensive but that does not mean you will stop reaching for it. Go for it! And for us we will chase the soon to be ex-bf's dreams even if it means having to spend a pair of attire same price if we hired a professional prenup stylist.

A glimpse on our prenup attire!

Wedding Rings Checked!

Yey! Happiness! We have claimed our wedding rings from Suarez Wedding Rings yesterday. We are very happy with the designs, a simple yet classy wedding bands.

At first, we just wanted to get our wedding bands from Silverworks or Mayfair, Ongpin but we are very glad that we have afford to get our rings from Suarez during the Before I Do 15th Bridal Fair at SM Megamall. They offered credit card installment terms in six months so we will have ample time to pay for our beautiful bands. Happiness! I am excited to finally wear this on our wedding day. 

Can't view the designs? Don't worry, I will post it as soon as our wedding is finished. :)

Wedding Updates in Less than 3 Months!

Less than three months before our big day! I did not realize it can be this nerve wrecking, I am getting nervous on the remaining preparations that should be done. I have noticed that I have shorter sleeping time which started when the month of August came. 

Well, it's good to know that we have accomplished many things for the past few weeks:

August 9, we met with Richard of She&Him to discuss about our prenuptial pictorial.

August 10, we met with Kreds of Kredin, the events engineer for our initial detailing. I also met  a W@wie, Chell ni JC before leaving Kreds' shop. :) 

August 11, we have finalized our invitation wordings and designs and have sent it to Etel of Printcity Invitations.  We have also decided to get the service of  LuckyCharmz ClayAccesorries for our toss glass and souvenirs.

August 13, we have booked Ryan of Shakers Big Punch 808 for our mobile bar. Yey!

August 16, three months to go! We did not date but incidentally it is the 3rd birthday of my one and only cute niece, Bien Faith.

August 18, we've got our wedding rings from Suarez Wedding Rings at Gateway Mall, Cubao. Spell Happiness!  H-A-P-P-I-N-E-S-S! Hehe!

We've also met with Ms. Lorraine of The Unique Bouquet and her husband  to give our downpayment and discuss the details and designs of bouquets and boutonnieres. It was a bliss meeting with her and it added excitement on how she will execute my dream bouquet.

Oops, we have also bought one pair of attire to be used on our prenuptial pictorial. :)

Yey! We have done a lot this month and hope we can initially meet with our caterer for detailing. :)

Good things come to those who wait: The Unique Bouquet

I have inquired with a handful of  non-fresh flower bouquet suppliers since October last year. At first the decision to have a non-fresh flower on my bouquet was due to budgetary reasons but as months passed by I have realized that having a non-fresh flower bouquet does not necessarily mean spending less buckets of pesos than having a fresh flower bouquet. The money you will spend on these items will depend on the materials to be used, the intricacy of the designs, and the guts to have it as one of your DIY. I am not confident that I can do my own bouquet so I have been persistent to find the "this is it" supplier since last year.

I have asked at least five suppliers for the non-fresh flower bouquet and have almost booked three of them on a separate times of course. But then, good things come to those who wait! It was June 17 when I googled the words unique bouquet and found a facebook page with the same name; I initially inquired through gmail their price ranges. I have almost gave up on them as I have not received a reply from them after almost two weeks since I have sent an inquiry to their email ad until I saw that one of the brides of W@W November Brides facebook group have availed The Unique Bouquet's bridal hangers as a gift to her fellow W@Wie. I inquired again through their facebook page and have received reply on my inquiries in just a few minutes. Yey! 

Ms. Lorraine is such an angel and her rates is very affordable plus she gave me discounts and freebies. :) I'm officially a Unique Bouquet bride last July 4. I'm very excited on my bridal bouquet!

My email message to Ms. Lorraine says it all!

Trivia: Since I have a very practical soon to be ex-bf, I have only received fresh bouquet from him just once, on our 9th Valentines Day celebration last year.

I was very ecstatic upon receiving the bouquet delivered to our office (lakas makahaba ng hair) for the first time in nine years! But after days passed by when I saw the flowers dried and wilted, I fully understood why the soon to be ex-bf did not fancy giving fresh flowers. So for my bridal bouquet, my vote goes for non-fresh!

Our Marriage License and Fee Receipt of Two Pesos

Yey! Our wedding day is coming nearer and nearer. The soon to be ex-bf have already secured our marriage license or rather Marriage License and Fee Receipt of Two Pesos last Tuesday, July 30.

I wonder why did they have to put "And Fee Receipt of Two Pesos" in the marriage license?

Get Together with the Male Veil and Cord Sponsors

From the very start of our wedding preparations, my soon to be ex-bf have decided who will be the members of our male entourage amongst his friends: his two closest pals Edlen and Jason. They have known each other since he started working in a shoe manufacturer at Marikina from March 2009 until April 2010. Two common things about them: dancing and playing D.O.T.A. (Defense of the Ancients).

The last bonding of the boys was a year ago during the back to back celebration of my soon to be ex-bf's 28th birthday and our engagement.

Soon to be ex-bf singing "Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang"

Edlen, Jason and the soon to be ex-bf

Yesterday,  the soon to be-ex bf planned  a get together with Jason, our veil sponsor and Edlen, our cord sponsor. The original plan was to have a bonding with their girlfriends and wife to be (Ahem!). Unexpected things occurred with Jason and his girlfriend so Jason arrived on the meeting place alone and not in good mood. We opted to have a few drinks at Kudos instead of having a videoke session because aside from the steep price of the videoke room rates, the soon to be ex-bf was the only singer in the group.

See you at the wedding guys!

Wedding Ring Checked!

Happiness! July 28, Sunday, we have booked Oddysseus Suarez for our wedding ring! 

We have initially checked wedding rings at Suarez yesterday at the bridal fair but we did not proceed on booking yet since we have yet to check at Ongpin as advised by FMIL.

Early in the morning today, we proceeded at Ongpin to check rings on one of the credible supplier in the place, Mayfair Goldsmith. Sad but Mayfair is closed during Sunday so we checked with other stalls in the place. I felt alienated with the first stall that we have checked, the people were speaking Chinese the whole time we were there and they were not that eager to entertain our queries. Shout out to the lady in the shop, "We are serious buyers here!" :) We also checked with other shop but there is no "this is it" feeling plus we can not vouch their credibility. 

We asked FMIL if we can check Suarez at the Megamall's bridal fair and she agreed with our suggestion. We first stopped by at the The Podium to check first at Miladay Jewels, they have beautiful designs but the price is just way beyond our budget. 

After having our lunch at Gloria Maris, we proceeded at SM Megamall to check Suarez at the bridal fair. FMIL checked the designs and the authenticity of the wedding rings.

After haggling and finalizing the designs, we booked Suarez! Yey! I also appreciate the soon to be ex-bf because he made it sure I like the design and its specifications.

We chose a 14K two-toned stone finish wedding ring with 4mm width for both of us. It will be adjusted to a semi comfort fit. Freebies: arras, cake slicer and one stone for each of the ring.

This is it! Our wedding is really very near! Super excited! 

We got a very good deal with Suarez but honestly it is over the budget we have set for the wedding ring. Initially we are fine with cheaper silver wedding bands but then along the way we both realize we wanted to invest on it since we will wear it everyday of our marriage lives. I also told him before when he was planning to buy me an engagement ring to forego giving me a promise ring and just add the budget to our wedding ring instead. I'm happy we have adjusted our budget for the wedding ring and it's a good thing we can pay it on installment: nine months for cash basis and six months if we will use our credit card.

I'm also thankful for the FMIL for guiding us to find our wedding bands. :) Out of topic: I also want to book Margarush but since this is not included in our budget and is just nice to haves, we will just think about it after booking should haves.

Wedding Invitation Supplier Checked!

A very productive weekend, it is!

Saturday, July 27 is the Christening and Dedication of our pretty goddaughter Reese Jeremielle Marinas. Baby Reese is the mini-version of our very dear friend, Ruthy. Our friendship goes up to the next level, we are now certified Kumares. :)

After Christening, we attended the Before I Do 15th Weddings and Debut Fair at Megatrade Hall 1, SM Megamall to find our wedding invite supplier. We have seen many wedding invite supplier and was initially hooked on a supplier that offered 50% discount. We can get their Php100 invite at Php50; but then we did not proceed on booking them because their very low price is a bit scary. Their price is not at par compared to the other suppliers in the fair but how about their service quality? Well, honestly we have no idea because it was my first time to see their name in the fair. We were on the verge of booking popular supplier but at the end we booked Printcity Invitations - our first bridal fair booking!

It was a good thing to personally meet with the owner, Sir Etel, he was very professional in dealing with prospective clients. During the initial discussion hubby and I had a long collaboration what invitation suite to choose; Sir Etel commented: "Sir, Mam, invitation pa lang yang binobook niyo ha?" Well, arguing with each other is a significant part of the soon to be ex-bf and I's relationship - our relationship became stronger because of the endless arguments. 

We do not want to splurge on invitations because more often than not, guests do not keep invites. But hey, I'm one of the very few who keep invites. We book Princity's standard basic white invitation with freebies:  monogram sealers, 20 pieces calligraphy on envelopes and mock up. Yey!

Pre-Marriage Counselling Seminar Checked!

Another item crossed on our wedding checklist - we have already secured our certificate for pre-marriage counselling seminar after attending the workshop today at the Marikina Health Center!

The seminar was facilitated by four speakers which started nine in the morning and ended around three in the afternoon. The first speaker, a Pastor from non-government organization discussed all about the basics of the marriage. He have two common sense questions for the couple to answer: 1. For you, what is about getting married? Ano ang pag-aasawa para sa iyo? 2. Why are you going to marry me? Bakit mo ako papakasalan? The perfect answer to this according to him is: "Because you are God's gift to me." How sweet is that?! :)

The second speaker talked about the sexuality of male and female. I admire the old lady because she can talk anything about sex without getting vulgar. We were refreshed about the XY chromosomes of the male, XX chromosomes of the female, and that the total number of chromosomes to have a child is 46.

The third speaker talked about natural and modern family planning, she looked so young with a sixteen and fourteen year old children. She advised to have more than two kids and to limit the spacing of bearing another child to just three years.

The fourth speaker is an advocate of breast feeding. She also has two kids and have compared the difference between the two because of the quality of breastfeeding she had given to them when they were still babies.

The soon to be ex-bf and I enjoyed the seminar and have been educated on different aspects of marriage and building a family. 

Soon to be ex-bf while signing our certificates

Graduation?! hehe!

A Very Productive Friday!

We have a very productive Friday, July 19! We applied for the marriage license, met with two of our secondary sponsors, went to SM Megamall to check suits from Onesimus, and did some ocular at Renaissance Hotel, Marikina. And last but not the least, we have tried the photo booth of Cadbury and their musical chocolate fountain.

Happiness! I love cadbury!

Sweet Encounter with the Two of our Male Primary Sponsors

Since we were on leave last Friday, July 19, to apply for our marriage license, we took advantage of the time to meet with our two primary sponsors, my previous superiors on the first company I have worked at. 

Both of them have a military background and have been the general manager of the firm I have handled before. The first one have a strict personality and a disciplinarian. I have learned from him my sense of perfectionism in drafting correspondence because a single incorrect grammar or typographical error have never passed his eyes whenever I presented a letter to be sent to our clients back then. I have also adapted his sense of urgency - to be able to provide the needed deliverables ahead of the timeline. I can not forget the time I cried when my soon to be ex-bf and I scheduled a lunch date; we already ordered our food but I have to leave him and take out my food because my boss contacted me on my cellphone and demanded for me to get back to the office due to urgent matters to be accomplished. I did not understand him that time but today I am very thankful because the training he have given to me helped me to achieve where I am now. Tough love, it is!

The second boss is more of a cool and loving personality. I always cherish the times that he will personally call me on my local just to ask if we want sandwich. He will bring food more than he can eat in order to share it with us every lunch. The man also trust in my ability, he believe I am a smart girl - truly a boost to my confidence.

I love both of them. They were like a father to me, they were also there when we lose my own father. Choosing them as members of the principal sponsors is really a must for us! 

At last they have met my soon to be ex-bf and got the blessing to be our godfather. :) We also feel blessed because the second boss had advanced his wedding gift to us, we can already use it on some of our wedding expenses.

The 6-Minute Marriage License Application

Last Friday, July 19, the soon to be ex-bf and I filed our leave from work to apply for our marriage license in the Marikina City hall. This is it! We are really getting married in less than four months time. 

The night before Friday, we already filled up the marriage license in three copies. We decided that I will just be the one to fill up the documents because my penmanship is more legible than my soon to be ex- bf. But I tend to make mistakes in filling up forms so the soon to be ex-bf was in the look out while I'm accomplishing the forms. 

As seen in the application form above, information for the groom should be in the left side while on the right side is for the bride. If you are not previously married and is already more than twenty four years old, you just need to answer the following questions:

Name of Applicant
Date of Birth/Age
Place of Birth
Sex (Male or Female)
Citizenship
Residence (should be full address)

Religion
Civil Status

Name of Father
Citizenship
Residence

Name of Mother (Maiden)
Citizenship
Residence

Of course, you need to put your signature at the end of the form.

My dear sister already secured my community tax certificate (CTC/cedula) so we just have to get my soon to be ex-bf's CTC. Morning before going to the city hall, we went to Baranggay Parang in order to secure his CTC and we also photocopied the following requirements:

Birth Certificates
Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR)
   It is a must that we apply before July ends because the document will expire in six months, we have      secured this document last January 30.
Community Tax Certificate for the current year (Cedula)

It was my first time to enter the Marikina City Hall, it's size can not be compared to our own city hall but they have an effective and efficient process. We finish the application in less than 10 minutes, yeah in six minutes you can finish the application for marriage license!

We paid a total of Php150.00: Php50.00 for the marriage application and Php100 for the marriage license.

Tips in applying marriage application:

1. Have someone get the marriage application form for you so you can already fill it up before going to the city hall. Thanks to my FMIL for getting the forms for us.
2. Secure a photocopy of all the requirements before going to the city hall. We forgot to photocopy our ID's, good thing the city hall officer is kind enough to do it for us.
3. Make sure to completely fill up the application form. We just put the name of the city in the Residence, apparently you need to the complete address of your residence.

We will be able to secure our marriage license on the 30th of July but we have to attend and secure certificate for pre-marriage counselling seminar at the Marikina Health City Center.

We went to the Marikina Health City Center; paid Php150.00 for the seminar fee and after completing the Marriage Expectations Inventory, we were given the schedule of seminar which is on Tuesday, July 23 at 8-5pm.  

The Marriage Expectations Inventory is in Filipino; it have questions regarding love, finances, in-laws, raising a child, and sex. Here are some questions as far as I remember for each category:

• Love: Jealousy is a sign of a. love b. being childish c. lack of trust Ang pagseselos ay tanda ng a. pag-ibig b. pagiging isip-bata c. kawalang tiwala
• Finances: A husband should give a. all of his salary b. basic salary c.basic salary, commission, and bonuses Ang mister ay kailangan ibigay ang a. buong sahod b. basic na sahod c. basic na sahod, komisyon at mga bonus
• In - Laws: Do you expect your partner to defend you in front of your in-laws? a. yes b. no c. it depends on the situation Inaasahan mo bang ipapagtanggol ka ng iyong asawa sa harap ng iyong biyenan? a. oo b. hindi c. depende sa sitwasyon
• Raising a child: Do you agree on not having a baby on the first year of marriage? State your reason a. yes b. no Sang-ayon ka ba na huwag munang maganak sa unang taon ng pagsasama?  Ilahad ang dahilan a. oo b. hindi
• Sex: What will you do if your partner does not want sex? a. get angry b. watch t.v. c. seduce him some other day Ano ang gagawin mo kapag ayaw makipagtalik ng iyong asawa? a. magagalit b. manonood ng t.v. c. aakitin siya sa ibang araw. 

The questions seems to be simple but you will realize that you will face these different scenarios upon entering marriage life. We have enjoyed answering the questionnaires and even had healthy arguments on some of our answers. 

Looking forward to our pre-marriage counselling seminar this Tuesday. :)

Our "this is it" Hair and Make Up Artist: Edz Plotnikov

Happiness! After two months of looking for hair and make up artist and three trials, we finally found our "this is it" hair and make artist in the name of Edz Plotnikov!

I can say that finding the perfect make up artist is one of the most hardest thing in our wedding preparations so far. It's been two months since I started scouting for different make up artists: I have inquired and reviewed portfolios of more than twenty HMUAs and have attended three trial make ups. 

Honestly,  a little of my self confidence have been affected after the first two trial make up. I wanted to be pretty on the wedding day for myself and of course for my soon to be ex-bf. His commendations on the previous trials we have attended is not yet enough to convince me on booking the previous make up artists. I hope you don't get me wrong, the previous make up artists were both nice and have great portfolios worth boasting for but maybe they were not just the perfect one for me.

It's true that you have to be patient when you want something because in God's perfect timing it will be given to you. :) The soon to be ex-bf have given me a timeline to finish searching for HMUA last June. I feel pressured and can not move on to other items in our wedding checklists. I have spent couple of weekends searching and reviewing different portfolios and rates of hair and make artists. It's not enough that the portfolios are great, I have to consider if the rates is within the budget and if the location of the artist is not too far from Marikina.

I love the make up of  Edz Plotnikov, fresh and radiant look perfect for the bride. Her hands were gentle in applying make up and is also hygienic. Bonus point!? She is not the only who is sweet but her hairstylist Toni and assistant Damian as well. Oh how I love Toni, he made eight to nine styles on my hair:

 

God is good all the time. He did not give me my HMUA during the months of May and June because He want me to wait for the perfect HMUA with an on going promo of 20% discount this July. 

Credits to my soon to be ex-bf for being patient and accompanying me on all the trial make ups. :)

Happiness! Happy preps!

Our DIY Wedding Monograms

It's been a while since I have last updated on the progress of our wedding preparations, been busy with completing our list of suppliers combined with work related stress.

Monograms? Anyone? According to Wikepedia, a monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, use as recognizable symbols of logos.

Wedding monograms can be a combination of the couple's initial letter on first names, couple's initial letter on surnames, couple's first names or couple's surnames. It add personal touch to the wedding stationery like save the dates and invitations.

I also wanted to have our wedding monograms so I have sent inquiries to different suppliers mentioned at W@W but it's sad to say I have not yet received any reply from them. Maybe they are busy or have too many clients and can not accommodate my request. The soon to be ex-bf have technical knowledge on Photoshop so I have requested him to do our monograms. He was resistant at first and asked me if we really need monograms or is it not possible for our invitation supplier to do it. I have told him that I hope he can do it to add some personal touch to our wedding; I have also told him that if I just know how to use Photoshop, I will be the one to do it. Well, after all the dramas and some crying (Yes! Lots of tears, hehe!), here is our first attempt to do our wedding monogram:

                                              My soon to be ex-bf's creation

                              My creation with the tutorial of my soon to be ex-bf

Be the judge! Which monograms is prettier? :)

Five Months to Go before our Big Day!

Five months to go before our big day!

I am getting nervous and pressured. I do not want to hurry on booking our remaining suppliers just because we are running out of time.

I hope my soon to be ex-bf will be more patient on me and will not push on booking suppliers just for the sake of us accomplishing something.

God help and guide us to find our "this is it" hair and make up artist. Honestly, this is getting more difficult than finding the perfect wedding gown couturier.

Six Months Before our Big Day!

Time is flying so fast... It's just six months before our wedding day. 

Yet, there are so many things to do.. We are claiming God's help and provisions. :) 

Excited yet overwhelm on things we needed to accomplish before the big day. 

I'm officially a Joaquin Ambata Films Bride!

Yey! We already booked and signed a contract our videographer last night at SM Megamall. He was the first videographer that we have met and we instantly booked his services. Yes, we are officially a Joaquin Ambata Films couple. :)

I have actually hesitated on booking J.AM because from our conversation last Sunday, our wedding date have already been booked by other couple but he offered his second team if we are really interested on getting his services. I was actually saddened with the information:  in Aisle 1401 our date was also booked by other couple and if we decided on getting J.AM, it will not be personally handled by Wax.

But yesterday, Wax contacted me through email and asked if we are interested in getting his services. I honestly told him that we are hesitant on booking him because he will not be the one to handle our wedding but his second team. He gave the assurance that even if he will not be the one in charge, he will bring the best team and the output will be the same with his own work. In order to be more convinced, I decided to meet him with the soon to be ex-bf after office at SM Megamall.

I prepared more than twenty questions in order to fully understand the services we are going to get just in case we book J.AM. The meeting went well, he was a good conversationalist in person and know his craft very well. He almost answered all the questions I prepared and have explained very well all the aspects that will make a beautiful wedding video film. The soon to be ex-bf was also very keen on the details and also asked questions every now and then.   

I initially wanted to have the SDE services only because it was the only services that is within our set budget. Though I secretly want the whole package but the price is more than doubled the budget that we have set. I also did not plan to sign a contract yet because I wanted to study everything, compare rates again with other suppliers. Though I really love J.AM wedding video films, I am not getting bored on watching his crafts.

The soon to be ex-bf have decided to book J.AM's highest package and insisted we sign a contract already. Waaahhh! Impulsive decision again? I don't think so, I initially contacted Wax last year, month of October and until this day I was impressed with his works. But to get the highest package means utilizing our photography budget as well. The soon to be ex-bf reminded me that if there is two things that we should splurge, it will be the food and the photo and video coverage.

We have signed the contract and committed to deposit the reservation fee (half of the set reservation fee) next week on or before Friday, the other half will be deposited on May.

I am a J.AM bride and I love it! But of course I love the soon to be ex-bf the more. We are more than the allocated budget but I know God always provides. :) We have waited for this day to come for almost a decade, we deserve to have the best suppliers in town.  

Wedding Host Penciled Booked

One month have passed but we have not accomplished any progress on our wedding preparations. March was indeed a very busy month:

March 4, 5 & 6, our company held its yearly kick off and planning at Subic Villa.

March 17, 7th day celebration of my soon to be ex-bf's nephew who is also my godchild.

March 19, our family celebrated the 48th birthday of our dear mother.

March 24, after more than three years we have finally celebrated my father's "babang luksa" or the gathering to end the mourning period of the clan over the death of their departed family member. We have actually planned to celebrate it earlier many times but there were events that hindered it from happening like sudden death of my grandmother last 2010 and my grandfather just last year.

March 28 - 31, long weekend in observance of the Holy Week or "Mahal na Araw." Our family went to a pilgrimage at the Regina Rica, Tanay Rizal on a Holy Thursday and visited the newly renovated RAVE Rainforest at Pasig City on a Black Saturday.

To celebrate Easter, the soon to be ex-bf and I watched the third series of John Loyd Cruz' and Sarah Geronimo's romantic comedy: It Takes a Man and a Woman. A feel good movie with valuable lessons: "Piliin mong magpatawad, piliin mong magmahal.", a piece of advice from Laida Magtalas' mother.

This April, it is our target to book three of our major suppliers; caterer, photographer and videographer. I do not want summer to end without those suppliers being settled or else the pressures will be hard to handle come month of June.

Last night, while I was reading entries on the very reliable female network/girltalk about wedding suppliers, the soon to be ex-bf read about Joy Catubig and have asked me to inquire about her rates. She was the wedding host and singer we encountered last year, on the grand food tasting of Patio de Tata Roque at Marikina. She was also with her partner, Dennis d' Menace back then. 

I immediately googled her name and sent an inquiry on her facebook page. Luckily, she was online and quickly replied on my inquiries. She already has pencil booked someone on our wedding date but she told us that she will give the slot to the first one who will confirm the booking. She have four packages: 1. hosting ( inclusive of program planning and if NEEDED, free singer during reception.) only, 2. hosting  with two hours customized photobooth, 3. hosting plus sounds & lights inclusive of wireless mic and bubble machine, 4. hosting with two hours customized photobooth plus sounds & lights inclusive of wireless mic and bubble machine. I have asked her if Dennis is inclusive on all her packages; she have asked me to pray for Dennis to have no gig on that day in order for him to be included in the freebies. 

We immediately booked package number four last night and confirmed to send the signed contract and deposit slip of our reservation fee this week. This is what you call impulsive booking. It was unplanned, fee for the emcee was not even included in our budget. But even hosting fee is not included in the budget, if we utilized our budget for lights, sounds, and photobooth, we are still within the budget.   The soon to be ex-bf insisted on booking her right away, oh well, we both are afraid to have the other one who have penciled booked on the same date with ours get the confirmation.

In order to convince myself that we did the right thing on booking a supplier without having a comparison on what others have to offer, I indulge myself on reading reviews and ratings for Ms. Joy Catubig. The only negative review that I have read is she has long introductory messages. But going through the reviews, I am more than convinced we have made the right decision. :)

The Three C's of Marriage

February, love month it is. In the church where I am attending service every Tuesday, this month's series "Will You.." have three weekly topics: Week one: ...be my Friend?; Week two: ...be my Valentine?; Week three: ... Marry me? The topics aimed to set a biblical perspective in every person's relationships.

Of course, my favorite topic is topic number three: "Will you... marry me?", not only because it is where my season of life is but because I was enlightened with the three C's of marriage:

1. Marriage is not about a contract but a covenant.

Marriage has no expiration, it is forever!

2. Marriage is not about convenience but commitment.

Marriage has its own joys and pains. There is no turning back, you have to go through the hardships and sacrifices of a marriage.

 3. Marriage is not about compatibility but complementary.

Marriage is about two different people who have agreed to understand, respect and love each other no matter how different they are from each other. 

This is my most favorite among the three C's of marriage. Believe me, the soon to be ex-boyfriend and I have an unending list of differences compare to a handful list of similarities. We argue even on the smallest things but at the end of the day we always choose to love each other; we are just two bright minded young couple who loves to exchange intelligent views on anything under the sun. 

There is another interesting thing that our pastor shared last Tuesday about arguing or proving when you are right. According to him, it is not wrong to argue specially if you are the one who is right but you should also be in the right spirit. He have sited a very intriguing sample:

If you are driving in a crossroads and you saw a truck at the other side of the road which continues to move even if the traffic light on its side is a red light. On your side is a green light, will you still continue to drive because you are the one who is right?

How about you? Will you still continue to drive?

Countdown Begins: Nine Months Before our Big Day!

November 16, 2013 marks the beginning of our journey to infinity. :) 

It is exactly nine months before our wedding day! 

We are both excited to enter the marriage life. We will never know what will be our life after being married. Yes, we have been in a relationship for more than nine years but a husband-wife relationship differs from a girlfriend-boyfriend relationship. We know the challenges and hardships we have faced during boy-girl relationship is miniscule compare to what we are going to encounter on our marriage life.

We do not know what exactly we are going to face as we enter marriage life but we have already decided. He will be my husband and I will be his wife for the rest of our lives and even beyond infinity.

Credits to the Soon To Be Ex-Bf: Reception Venue Booked!

I have asked the soon to be ex-boyfriend to book our reception venue last Monday, February 11, 2013. It was a holiday on their organization since their counterparts is based on Singapore and it's a Chinese New Year then.

And finally, our reception have been booked! I give the credits to my soon to be ex-bf for the job well done. 

Do you know how blessed we are? According to him, all Saturdays of November ( November 2, 9, 23 and 30) have already been booked except for our chosen date November 16. Whew! Can you imagine that? I can feel how the holy spirit is taking care of our wedding preparations. Realizations? There are three of us in a team - myself, the soon to be ex-bf and our leader Jesus! Now more than ever, I am at peace that our big day will be a success no matter what comes our way because our leader is more powerful than any issues or hindrances we might face.

Why Our Lady of Abandoned Church?

Why did we finally book Our Lady of Abandoned Church? I have told in my previous post Exploring for the Perfect Wedding Church that I have reservations on booking OLA even if it passes our criteria for a perfect wedding church. I still wanted to convince myself that OLA is really the church for us.  So what have convinced me to finally choose OLA?

Last February 2, my younger brother and I had an ocular visits on possible church and reception venue around Pasig. The soon to be ex-boyfriend have a company outing plus we are not in good terms so he will not be able to join me. Even if we are already 85% decided that we will be booking Our Lady of Abandoned church and Kapitan Moy, I wanted to convince myself that we are making the right decision. If a company needs three or more bidders before they get a supplier then ideally for our wedding we have to compare three possible ceremony venue.


First stop - Sta. Clara de Montefalco Parish at C. Raymundo Ave. corner Mercedes Ave., Caniogan, Pasig City which is considered the tallest church in the Philippines.

The 57-meter high church in Caniogan, Pasig City

The soon to be bride in Sta. Clara stairwell

My supportive younger brother during the ocular visits

Sta.Clara de Montefalco's long aisle

Criteria 1: Within our hometown - Checked! 

Criteria 2: Near the reception venue  - The Sta. Clara de Montefalco Parish Function Hall is currently not open for holding events. 

Criteria 3: Ample parking space - Checked!

The Parish have two packages rates: Package A Php10,000 includes Wedding Rites with the Holy Mass, Red Carpet, Electrical Consumption, Choir/Soloist and Instrumentalists, Ushers/Usherettes/Lectors, and Car Park; Package B Php3,500 only includes Wedding Rites with the Holy Mass and Car Park. The rates were less expensive than what I have thought but OLA still stands to be more affordable.

The church boast to be the tallest edifice in the Philippines, it is a sought-after wedding venue in Pasig, and have a very beautiful interior but there's just no "This is it" feeling. I have also read from their Wedding Guidelines that the Parish Office will not accept the applicants' reservation fee if the required documents are yet to be completed. Aside from this you have to pass the canonical interview before you can reserve a date. This will cause a lot of stress and hassle on our part because we will not be able to finalize other wedding lists as well. 

Second stop - Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral in Plaza Rizal, Brgy. Malinao, Pasig City which had a electronic chromatically-tuned carillon bell and a very long aisle which can make the bridal march more dramatic.

Pasig Cathedral is comparable to beautiful cathedrals in Manila

Outside the Pasig Cathedral

Vendors just in front of the church' door

Criteria 1: Within our hometown - Checked! 

Criteria 2: Near the reception venue  - There is a reception hall inside the vicinity but according to my cousin it can hold only 150 guests 

Criteria 3: Ample parking space - The church have a provision for parking space but there might be a problem on its availability because there were many establishments near the church vicinity.

We were not able to inquire the rates and wedding guidelines of the Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral because it was already closed when we got in the place. But when I again saw the number of vendors outside the church, I have already decided not to pursue the inquiry with regards to rates and guidelines the following day. I love our Cathedral but since it is in the middle of a busy area and there are a handful establishments near the church vicinity, it can be too crowded during the ceremony.

I am hundred percent convinced, we will get married at Our Lady of Abandoned Church, Marikina City.

Church Reservation: Checked!

After months of waiting and after a series of pressures from our friends whenever they asked us when is the date of our wedding, finally, we have made reservations today at the Our Lady of Abandoned Church (OLA), San Roque, Marikina City.

We have also planned to book and pay for the reception venue, Kapitan Moy but their office is every Monday to Friday only so we were not able to proceed with the plan. Incidentally, the soon to be ex-boyfriend have no work on Monday and Tuesday because of Chinese New Year and since they are reporting to Singapore it will be holiday then on their counterparts. It was a perfect timing because we do not need to file a separate leave in order to reserve Kapitan Moy on our wedding date. God is really good all the time. Soon to be ex-boyfriend and I is optimistic that our chosen date is still available.

After booking the church, my soon to be ex-boyfriend and I treated ourselves because we have crossed one tasks on our long lists of preparations. We pig out at Pan de Amerikina, a famous place at Concepcion, Marikina. The ambiance was very cool, the food is tasteful and yet affordable.

The First and Only Chess-Themed Restaurant in The Philippines

The soon to be ex-boyfriend loves chess and he's loving the human-sized chess pieces.

Checkmate! I already captured my King!

The Queen after capturing The King

The soon to be ex-boyfriend captured! 

Second Bridal Fair with Friends

2013! This is it! It's for us, it's our year! But what happened to me? Any progress on our wedding preparations?

The start of the new year was not great for me; I have been sick from the 30th of January until the first day of    2013. I was disappointed because I have planned to write my yearly goals on the last few days of year 2012. I have also wanted to cook something special and unique on the New Year's Eve for the family. I have also thought of eating out with my family on the first day of the year. 

None of my plans have been pushed through because of my sickness; I felt excruciating pain in my back and it stretched to my stomach. I felt sick and weak on the first two weeks of January because of fever and chills every now and then. Occasionally, something sharp was piercing my back and sometimes the pain was not tolerable I forced myself not to shout. I could not afford not to report to the office even if I was not feeling well because it was year end and for accountants's working life, year end closing is very critical and busy period.

I began to feel scared because my health condition was not getting any better as months passed by. On October, before the wedding of my dear friend, I had urinary tract infection (UTI) and almost missed attending the big event.  November, I have suffered from pyelonephritis and have to be admitted on the Emergency Department of The Medical City. Few days before December ends, I have high fever and was too weak to celebrate the new year with a bang. And now January, I have a weird feeling of always feeling sick and week.

I am scared because even before my soon to be ex-boyfriend and I start our life together I am in agony because of my health condition.When you plan to spend your life with someone, you want your life to be long enough in order to have more time to build your life together. If eternity is possible, you want to wish for it because no matter how much time you have spent with that special someone, you just can not get enough of him or her.

Realizations? God allowed my suffering in order for me to take good care of myself more. These pains were his way to tell me that I need to be more health conscious, more cautious on my lifestyle. Honestly, I am very thankful to Jesus that he have given me these painful experiences, he have sent me a warning message before my health condition worsened.

At this point in time, I am still in the process of changing my lifestyle in order to improve my health condition. I see to it that I drink eight or more glasses of  water a day. If the situation permits, I drink coconut juice once in a while. I also lessened the intake of any colored beverage, be it coffee, ice tea, juice specially soda.

Thanks to God, I felt better on the third week of January and have manage to see old friends. The soon to be ex-boyfriend, I and the rest of Raissa Republic met with our good friend from Dubai, RR at the Mall of Asia last January 19. He treated us for lunch at Dampa and coffee in the evening at the Starbucks.

The soon to be ex-boyfriend and I have also attended the Getting Married Bridal Fair with the group at the SMX Convention Center. We still have not reserve a date for our wedding so we just look on the supplier's booth during the fair but have not booked any vendor yet.

We have tried Click the Fun Photobooth during the Bridal Fair

Getting Married Bridal Fair Name Tags

To end our day, we have celebrated Chris birthday and have some taste of Mindoro sling at Padi's Point Seaside.

On January 26, the soon to be ex-boyfriend accompanied me at SM Megamall to meet with my high school friends from Singapore, Reynan together with Malou and Venus. On the 30th of January, I had also bonded with girlfriend Ann and Erna and we have a few drinks at Steaks Unlimited with JR.

On the 31st of January, the soon to be ex-boyfriend and  I have also fought again because of some silly things. And you know what? I felt God is talking with me just like how he sent messages for me to take care of my health. On a Friday morning in the office, February 1 in the midst of our (soon to be ex-bf and I) arguments, the first and only yahoo messenger status update of a friend goes like this:

There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts, it is sword that kills.    

Now more than ever, I agree with our VGL Ayie, God is talking to us everyday of our lives and it's up to us if we will turn our head above and will take our time to listen to what he is trying to tell.

My realizations for the month of January? I should be open to changes:

1. Change to a healthier lifestyle
2. Change the way I think on my relationship with my soon to be-exboyfriend
3. Change on my current company's management and processes after the January 17 event (or can it be considered milestone)

Changes here you come!