Half-Year Update

In exactly one day, we have half a year to go before the big day! Here be the things that happened so far...

Felt Bouquet

Still undecided on what to do for the handle but we definitely need to decorate it to look vintage-y. Maybe wrap it on a burlap or a lace. Kath's bouquet will have add-ons to make it look slightly different than the entourage's. By the way, reworks has been done to arrange the felt flowers ala umbrella instead of how it looks before na tightly clumped together. Nakakagawa na kami ng apat na bouquet so far.

planning how the handle-wrap should look [kat]

Boutonniere

Most of the time, we craft our boutonniere during our tambay-nights after work. As of now, we already created 22 pieces in all. Halos tapos na yun. Kailangan na lang subukang lagyan ng magnet para hindi masira yung mga barong ng magsusuot if in case we use saftey pins. Also, we plan to have Obi's boutonniere unique by adding a DIY heart plushy.

button-air

Other Pending DIY Projects

• Flowers for the colored tin pails (for Flower Girls)
• Pillow (for Cord and Arrhae)
• Additional decor for the giveaways

Wedding Rings

Miss Katrina of La Real Jewelry had a meeting with us to have a sample fitting. Replica pa lang ng singsing namin, ang ganda na! And she has been really accommodating to us throughout the time that we are paying for the rings. This month, fully paid na kami. Woot!

top and bottom (with the Baybayin script)

Catering Service

We downgraded our package to exclude some of the items that we will not need due to us getting a dedicated event stylist. It lessened our overall cost significantly without affecting the choices of food so good job!

Hotel Accommodation

Pumunta kami ng Eastwood Richmonde Hotel a couple of weeks ago to have an ocular and inquire about the room rates. In summary, maganda yung lugar at walang masyadong restrictions para sa wedding photo shoot kaso alanganin pa din sa budget. We will try to inquire in Astoria Plaza - Ortigas next.

Presiding Priest
We went to the Malolos Cathedral two weeks ago to visit one of their parish priest, Father RJ Brion. Family friend siya nila Kath at ayaw niyang magpatawag na "Father" RJ sa kanila since they saw him grew as a kid to an ordained priest. Bata pa siya, matanda lang ng kaunti sa akin. He agreed to officiate our wedding kahit ang date ng kasal namin ay bisperas ng fiesta ng parish nila (Feast of the Immaculate Concepcion which is on December 8). Yahoow! Di na kami kakaba-kaba na baka biglang mag homily ng RH Bill or Gay Marriage ang pari sa kasal namin. LOL.

The Wedding Band (Not the Headbanging Type)

Despite being groggy and dead tired from an R&R with friends at Club Manila East last Sunday, we still could not pass up the chance to look for potential wedding suppliers and headed straight at "The Philippine Wedding Summit - June 2012" organized by Themes & Motifs.

free tote bag and a wedding magazine upon entrance

The World Trade Center Metro Manila is huge and perfect for such event that although there's a lot of guests and a wide selection of supplier booths, may sense of breathing space pa din at relax ang aming pag-iikot. Our last wedding fair at the NBC tent wasn't this convenient, medyo stress dahil ang sikip ng lugar.

Dalawa ang targets namin for the event. Una, mag-inquire sa Queendsland Catering Services (we learned ahead of time that they will have an exhibit there) at pangalawa, makapag-canvass ng wedding band (singsing). We were able to accomplish both... and more!

First, we learned that aside from the food, Queensland would only cover the table set up. Akala namin may package din sila for decorating the reception venue na parang sa Tamayo's. In any case, kung ang basis ay yung mga malulupit na table setup nila from the photos we saw online, their prices are well worth it. In fact, may mga trip na kami sa basic designs nila.

saw this from one of the suppliers... love the flower cones

Next, we saw this supplier (15-58 Flowers and Styles) that offers decoration services and their arrangements looks totally elegant. We love the idea behind their conical flower stands and they just have a lot of similar creative works under their portfolio. Nakaka-engganyong magpa-book agad! 

Lastly, the wedding ring. The discounts on wedding bands are huge and the freebies are enticing! So enticing in fact that we booked outright (ang plano lang namin sana ay mag compare ng mga prices). It went down to three suppliers na maigi naming pinagpilian before we finally booked La' Real Jewelry.

They're giving out a 50% discount! At may libre nang aras at custom wedding cord (design of our choice) on a very convenient payment package. They will also provide us (for free!) with a cheaper replica of our wedding band that is perfect for daily casual wearing.

Although we picked a ready design from their plethora of rings (see photo below), La' Real will accommodate some customization from us. Majority of it will be in rose gold and the middle part (holding the diamond) in white gold. Sobrang sold kami sa kulay ng rose gold (see sample here). It being unconventional made it look even more appealing. Bonus na lang na it complements our skin tone.

our rings will be based from this design plus a few customization

We want a Baybayin (alibata) script engraved somewhere on the ring (most likely on the opposite end from where the diamond is, on the visible side of the ring [obi]). This is aside from the usually engraved name and wedding date (which we might actually forego). So far, ang napili naming salita for the alibata word ay 'habangbuhay' (forever) at mukang ma-angas naman tignan yung scripted version nito. We'll see how we can arrange for it but overall, we're so excited for our rings!

"forever" in Baybayin

Take Note: It's wise to buy the wedding band ahead of time (especially for us na 1 year and several months pa ang actual date) because gold and diamond appreciates in time. Mas makaka-mura kung bibili ng mas maaga.

By the way, we got our entrance to the event for free. Thanks sa complementary ticket Ate Joyce!