Mahabang Kwento: Search Is On
Hmm. 38 days to go. And frankly, I can feel myself splurging. Going over budget a little bit here, adding some more stuff there, cutting just a wee little bit over there, finding out that we needed to book this and that supplier pala. Hay. In the end, pagkatapos ng compute, e napalaki talaga yung gastos. Grabe.Lessons for would-be brides and grooms: Don't cram. You'll make bad decisions. Or if you need to cram, make sure it's planned beforehand.
I think, just for last week alone, we booked (and are still looking for) some items that we didn't think we needed. Some of the stuff that we did last week:
- Wedding Coordinator: Well at first there was a budget for that. And then, after inquiring, parang...yikes ang mahal din pala. So tinanggal na lang sa budget. So, nag ambisyon ako gumawa ng checklists and mag delegate ng tasks sa mga friends ko, kaso nga, nung January na realize ko marami ngang tasks. And...baka di mag enjoy yung mga friends ko. And well, marami pang ibang issue. So dagdag sa budget ulit....mabuti na lang eh wedding coordinator and host din pala ang cousin ni Tenantz. So ayan, we'll be getting help on the day itself. :) We met Fraida and her boyfriend last week, and kahit pinsan nya si Tenantz eh sabi nya sa akin, basta it's my day daw so kung ano gusto ko, go! O, e okay nga talaga. Hehe.
Peso Power: Secret muna. Basta less than most OTD na nakikita ko.
- Wedding Cake: Last week, we also met up with Mary Ann Cuenca, Cakestop's owner. She's the one we booked during the bridal fair at Enterprise last year, the one who does cakes for Kink Cakes. Well, I was late. Hehe. Si Tenantz was early, and we all met up at Megamall Red Ribbon. Napag-usapan na nina Tenantz and Mary Ann yung cake details nun -- it would be something similar to the flyer she gave at the bridal fair (she calls it the Sampaguita style cake), but there would be different shades of blue, and of course, the unique cake topper that she would be making. Maging kamukha kaya namin? Or hindi? Hmm. Abangan!
During our meeting, sinama din nya yung cake decorator nya, who also moonlights as a florist. He had great ideas too, pero he was supposed to fax the price quotations, kaso too bad he wasn't able to do so.
Oh, and Cakestop also had mini-cakes, which we will give to our principal sponsors as gifts.
Peso Power: 3-layer cake, 2 layers edible, with unique cake topper - 8k; mini-cakes: 180 each
- Florist for Entourage and Bride: This I got from Jao's friend. Charlie the Florist also supplied the entourage flowers for one of Jao's former officemates, whose wedding also happened to be during March (last year), and whose motif also just happened to be powder blue. Hmmm. Di talaga unique. Hehe. Charlie met us at Gateway Mall last Monday, and friendly and okay din sya kausap. Marami rin syang ideas, knowledgeable about flowers, and alam din nya budget namin. Hindi sya full-time florist (day job: accountant), but he does a lot of weddings too. It will be orange, yellow, and lilies for me.
Peso Power: 5k
Follow ups: Pay 1/2 by Feb 11, pay the rest on day itself.
- Trial Makeup: Mia and Norma
Scheduled for a trial make up session with Mia (Jean's friend). Photos are scheduled to be shot by Frisbee teammates JB and Manny. =) Well, actually we have a studio prenup included in the photo-video package we got from our photographer. Pero nainggit lang ako sa lahat ng mga pretty outdoor pictures na prenups. And, sayang naman...outdoor people kami (well, in a way), tapos wala kaming pretty outdoor garden shots?! Hehe.
- Marriage License: Tenantz took half a day off (while I took the morning off as well) to attend to the filing of the marriage license. We went to Manila City Hall on a Friday, the day Manny Pacquaio did the rounds of Malacanang and City Hall. Hindi ko sya nakita, but he was there while we were there! Haha. Anyway, medyo mabilis naman yung whole process...we got there 8:30 AM, waited a few minutes, the seminar started at 9, ended at 10, and by 11 we were done. Marami pang booboos nun (kelangan pa namin bumili ng bagong form - 30 pesos - kasi napirmahan ko na sya sa bahay eh dapat "in the presence" of City Hall)
Peso Power: 120 pesos for the form.
Process at Manila City Hall: Enter City Hall, go to the Marriage License booth and tell her you want a form. She'll give you a piece of paper, and then you'll line up at the cashier to pay 120 pesos. Then you'll go back to the lady, and she'll give you the form and let you know the requirements. You would need xerox copies of your IDs (one of you should be a Manila resident), and your NSO-certified birth certificates. Seminar schedules are Monday-Friday at 9AM and 1PM. Registration starts an hour before. After the seminar, submit the form back to them, and they double check the requirements and the form. If ok na, she lets you look for another lady, who again double checks your form, then kung ok na ulit, you have to sign the form in front of her and raise your right hands to swear that everything you wrote down is true and correct (or something like that). Then tapos na. You can get the license after 10 days, and the license is valid for 4 months after.
Interesting din yung seminar, may pinakitang video ng babaeng nanganganak, yung lumalabas yung ulo ng bata, kita mo lahat, dugo and all. Wow, inspiring. Well in fairness interesting din naman yung seminar, ginawan ko nga ng kwento yung nurse na nagbigay ng seminar. Sabi nya kc 6 years na nyang ginagawa yun (ung pagbigay ng seminar sa city hall), and isa syang male nurse. Wala lang, feeling ko lang dive instructor sya kaya nasa pinas pa sya. Hehe. And binanggit din nya about the hand-clasping theory, which by coincidence I just reread in Arnold Arre's After Eden graphic novel a few days before.
The Hand Clasp Theory: (click the picture for a larger view)
So maybe Arnold Arre also attended a marriage preparation seminar at Manila City Hall? Or is the hand-clasping theory really common and it's just the first time I heard about it? :)
- Caterer - Batis Asul: Over the weekend, we went to our caterer, found out na super bare ng table setup. No flowers and just a bowl with colored water and floating votive candles. Well nung una kasi, when Tenantz mentioned it before, akala ko ok lang. Kasi maganda naman yung mga pictures ng setup nila. Well it turns out wala silang picture nung "basic" setup talaga, yung mga pictures na pinapakita eh usually may add-ons na for the table setup. Wala silang mapakitang basic table setup pictures, medyo mataray na nga ako nun, kasi parang hello, hindi ba you should have samples of what you're selling? Pero reasonable naman ako, and di naman kasalanan ng girl or anyone else. Siguro ganun lang, minsan not so good service talaga. Hay. Magpapalit na talaga ako ng caterer nun, kaso sabi nila masarap daw talaga pagkain nila. As in. Eh syempre di ko rin natikman, and wala rin sila sample food. And parati nila ako kinakalimutan i-invite sa food tasting eh nire-remind ko naman sila. Next month pa daw (mga Feb 11), kontakin na lang daw nila kami for food tasting (yung dish na talagang nasa menu na namin). Hay naku, I heard that line before. Pero sana ngayon totoo na, kasi kailangan na totoo na no. Hmph. Gusto ko pa naman wala nang gagawin sa Feb. Haha. Asa pa. :)
Sidenote: Hmm...just read through a classified ads post that Batis Asul will be having food tasting from 4-8pm on Feb 11. Ha! At di pa nila kami inform. Hmph.
- Event Stylist - Balay Kandila: Well dahil super bare nga ng table setup sa caterer, napa-book kami ng event stylist. Actually, the other option was either get a florist, or get their affiliated event stylist. Partners kasi sila. When we visited our caterer, the florist rates they gave us was a bit steep, so we put the florist discussion on hold muna. Plus, we were still scheduled to talk to another florist (who was Charlie), so baka mas cheap sa kanya since bulk naman. So tinanong namin about their affiliated event stylist. Well iba pala office nung event stylist sa caterer, pero since almost near na rin, we decided to eat lunch first (at Mr. Kebab), before dropping by the event stylist's office.
Well nung tumawag kami sa phone, e super bait pala ni Ronald, the guy who runs Balay Kandila. Binigyan nya kami ng directions, and when we got there, maasikaso sya, and mabait. Kung baga, parang nabawi yung bad service ni caterer. And sabi pa nya, masarap daw talaga sa caterer namin. So ayan, na-excite na naman ako. And, binigyan nya kami ng table setup for 23 tables, 1 long table (for VIPs), and may backdrop pa for the gazebo. Actually, hehe hindi ko rin nakita yung backdrop before (hanging candles on a trellis), pero nakita na ito ni Tenantz dati and maganda nga daw. And worth it naman daw yung price, kasi ang quote pag galing ke caterer yung backdrop is more expensive. Yung table centerpieces naman, ok lang, medyo marami na rin kasing beach-themes so hindi na sya ganun ka-unique. Pero ayoko na mag-isip ng theme na bagay sa skyblue, and I don't think may time and patience pa ako to go to Divisoria and buy vases and candles and seashells and sand and have someone arrange it all sa reception tables once na-setup na sa venue. So kahit na alam kong overbudget na ito para sa amin (as in, talagang over budget), dahil napaka bait at helpful and accommodating ni Ronald, e binook din namin sya. And natuwa kami. See, the power of good PR. Hay.
Peso Power: Plus 22k sa budget. Aaah!!!!
On a sidenote, ang ganda din ng mga home-made candles nila, available in different shapes and sizes. Ganda. :) Wala na kaming budget pambili, pero wala lang, nakakatuwa dahil maganda talaga tingnan :)
- Bridal Car:
All along, we were planning to use my Dad's Silver Nissan Exalta. Lalagyan na lang ng car bouquet and ribbons. Kaso sabi ng nanay ko, ayaw daw nya. Hehe ang taray pa nya, kahit sya na lang daw magbayad, kuha na lang kami ng bridal car.
So ayan. Maghahanap pa kami ng bridal car. Was planning to call rent-a-car agencies pero haven't yet. Cheapest I found so far (from the usual bridal car companies) was 3500 for the basic Mercedes. Gusto ko rin sana nung bug-eye na Mercedes, kaso 6k yun for 3 hours. And isa pa, while surfing around for sample prenup pictures, eh guess kung anong nakita ko. Ang luwag ng kotse. Ito pala ang dream car ko. Hehe.
Above photo from Mimi's (of Fotogra's Karl and Mimi) blog. See the couple's lovely slideshow too.
This is just a sample photo of what their car looks like. Note that I don't know the couple, I just found their pictures really classy. Tipong, simple, classy and elegant. Yung kotse, mukhang galing sa commercial ng Alaska (I remember yesterday...the world was so young...That's you lolo? Let's Dance lolo!)
Side note ulit: ang cute ng kotse. ang cute ng cake nung couple na pinakita sa slideshow! :) ang cute ng bride. hehe. sigh.
- Accomplishments for this week:
1. Paid Balay Kandila
2. Schedule of Saturday's prenup shoot
3. Bought our first appliance -- a gas range and hood!
posted by xieurx @ 9:00 AM
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