The Entourage Gowns

Here's a sneak peek of the gown/dress designs that will be worn by our female entourage. :) Actual pictures of the gowns, as created by Rene Belinario, will be posted after our wedding day.

The Wedding Gown

I have always dreamed of our wedding day -- the flowers, the music, the food, the people, my make-up, my groom... but not my wedding dress. :)

Before, the wedding gown is not on top of my priority list, since I don't want to spend too much money on a dress that I will only get to wear once!  But as I browse through various blogs and websites, and I see the brides glowing and looking so graceful in their wedding dresses, I understood why some people would really want to splurge on it.

VonCar Couture

I was able to find out about Carmen Lazaro Couture or VonCar Couture throgh W@W and GirlTalk.  I have sent the design to their email and got Von's reply.  I found their quote very much reasonable and within our budget, so I have set-up a meeting with Von during my mandatory leave.

Von was very nice and perky.  I instantly liked him, his angels, and the P200 pretty wedge shoes from Divi, so even if they're the only supplier that I have spoken to for my wedding gown, I've immediately booked them. :)

Here's the additional accessories that comes with their package:

• Bride's Accessories - Bridal Veil (6 Meters, Soft Illusion Tulle), Bridal Pouch/Purse, Bride’s Headdress, Bride’s Leg Garter
• Accessories for the Ceremony - Ring Bearer’s Pillow, Bible Bearer’s Pillow, Sponsor’s Veil, Sponsor’s Cord, Arrhae, Bible Ribbon/Garter
• We'll pay a little extra for Mannequin Set-up + OTD Bridal Assistance :)

Carmen Lazaro website: http://carmenlazarocouture.multiply.com/

Our Wedding Singer

Almen Rule is one of Pierre's closest friends from college.  A member of his church's choir, we chose him to be our wedding singer since Pierre is confident that he can deliver the songs with feelings and make our guests feel our love through his voice. :)

We are very excited to hear him sing on our wedding. :)  Thanks very much, Almen, for agreeing to be a part of our special day!

Our Wedding Music

Pierre finds it funny that most of the songs that I know are oldies and I can follow their lyrics very well. :P  I also love classical and jazz music since I find them very much relaxing and pleasing to the ears.

Since we will be holding our reception in Sonya's Garden, having a quartet play for our wedding would be great and really romantic.  In addition to that, Pierre's good friend, Almen Rule, has already agreed to be our wedding singer, which makes it even more perfect! :)

We have been reading through various wedding forums for months now.  This was how we were able to find out about Libante Strings.  After researching and listening to their sample performances on the web, we have decided to book them for our special day.  Their package is really affordable as compared to the other suppliers during wedding expos. For the Church + Reception rate in Tagayatay, they are only charging 17k for the quartet (sound sytem should be provided).  We got the Violin + Double Bass + Flute + Piano setup.  :)

You may listen to Libante Strings' music from the following websites:

Main website: http://www.libantestrings.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/libantestrings

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/arnielibante

Feel free to suggest a song that you would like to be played on our wedding day. ;)  Thank you!

Our Photo Booth

It's fun, it's free, it's unlimited!

To save us from all the trouble of looking for the perfect wedding souvenir, and to save our guests from the clutter, we have decided to rent a photo booth for our special day.

During the March 2010 Themes & Motifs Wedding Expo, we have tried a couple of photo booths--

Ang puti namin.. :)

Nice quality

Nice quality + Cool promo! :)

There are actually more suppliers to choose from, but when we saw Pose & Print's offer, we just couldn't resist it. Here's what we got:

3-hour Package:

• P9,000 (discounted from P11,500)
• 3-hour Photo Booth Service
• Unlimited High Quality 4R Photo Prints
• Creative Picture Layout
• Customized Backdrop
• Online Photo Gallery
• On-site Technicians
• Digital Copy of Pictures in DVD
• Use of Props like Wigs, Masks, Hats, etc.

Freebies:

• Additional 1 hour service (worth P2,500)
• 2-Print Setup (worth P500/hour)

For a total discount of P7,500! Not bad, huh? :)

Plus our picture was selected as the album cover for that day!


Pose & Print website: http://www.poseandprint.com/

Our Photographer & Videographer

Photo/Video coverage is one of our top priorities in our wedding budget, and we have been scouting for our wedding photo/video supplier for months now.  Bear have been eyeing to get Redfox Photography, however when we saw their package during the wedding expo last September 2010, we decided not to get them anymore since their package was too pricey already. :(

We started looking around for other suppliers within the expo and when we came to pass by the Luminosi Studios' booth and saw their wedding package & albums, they instantly became one of our favorites.

After going through the other suppliers' samples and packages, we went back to Luminosi's booth to inquire.  We were able to speak with John Taca (he's one of the primary photographers and co-owner of the studio).  He was very honest with us when we asked how long they have been in the wedding industry -- he said that they just started venturing into wedding photography, since they have previously focused on advertising (i.e. magazines, print ads, etc.) We also saw their sample AVP, and to be honest, it really does need some more innovation.

Since our wedding will still be next year, we thought that they will still have enough time to improve. :) (fingers crossed!) Yes, booking them may be a VERY BIG risk for us.  But as my Finance teacher says: high risk = high return.  I do hope this holds true for photo/video suppliers as well. :)

Btw, here's the package that we got from them based on Angel's quotation (we paid a little extra for additional photographer & videographer & very minimal fee for OOT):

• 2 Lead Photographers + 1 Master Photographer (unlimited photos)
• 2 Videographers with editing
• 1 Book USA Couple's Album (40 pages, 10x10)
• 2 Book USA Parent's Album (40 pages, 5x7)
• 1 Book USA Guestbook (10 pages, 10x10)
• 1 16x20 Blow-up Photo with Frame
• Prenup Pictorial (w/in Metro Manila)
• 1 Leather CD-case album
• On-site AVP Presentation (Flashback, Prenup, Preps and Wedding highlights)
• LCD projector and screen

Anne Curtis in "The Wedding", photographed by Luminosi

Luminosi Studios website: http://www.luminosistudios.com/

Our Wedding Theme

For our wedding theme, we chose BEAR + SPRING. "Bear", since that's my term of endearment for Pierre since day 1 and "Spring", because I super love,love,love flowers and happy colors :)

Here are some inspirational pics and ideas that we grabbed from various websites:

 

Our Color Motif

Was able to find this color inspiration from The Indie Bride and tweaked the pallette a little bit to fit our desired motif.

The Reception

I am a sucker for flowers and absolutely loves shabby-chic style. :)

That's why when Bear and I first set foot in Sonya's Garden way back in 2005, I immediately fell in love with the place. It's super cozy, shabby chic, refreshing, and very well maintained. Not to mention their food was great (and they have friendly dogs too)!

 December 2006 Holiday at Sonya's

We have been coming back to Sonya's at least twice a year since then, and I have witnessed how their business have expanded over time. To be honest, I liked it better before when it was less commercial, but who can blame them? A place as nice as this cannot be kept a secret forever, right? ;)

Here are the things that we have considered when selecting Sonya's as our reception venue:

1. Food

• While Sonya's is known for their Salad / Spaghetti set menu, they also have the Filipino menu available for weddings.
• Filipino menu is composed of 5 viands - soup, chicken, pork, beef, and fish, with unlimited rice; bottomless fresh dalandan juice; banana rolls, sweetened sweet potato, slice of chocolate cake, and tarragon tea for dessert.
• Since the food is quite limited, we are still planning to add lechon and 2 more viands, subject to corkage fee.

2. Venue charge

• Sonya's only charges P10,000 for the venue, but we still have to pay extra for the sound system.
• For a minimum of 100 guests, we will be given a free overnight accommodation at the Bed and Breakfast.

3. Styling

• Since Sonya's is already naturally beautiful, we don't need to spend too much on flowers and decors.
• It's also a perfect choice for our Spring (and Teddy Bear)-themed wedding.

Sonya's Garden website: http://www.sonyasgarden.com/index.html

The Church

We have always wanted to get married in Tagaytay.

This is where we first kissed, where we first celebrated his birthday together, our first holiday vacation, where we frequently dated, and where we got engaged! :)

Sonya's Garden is our first choice for the reception, so we scouted for churches just within the vicinity.

• San Antonio de Padua Church - big church, beautiful altar, lots of parking space, quite far from Sonya's

• Chapel on the Hill - nearest to Sonya's, name speaks for itself, very open structure, rattan chairs, limited capacity, no parking space

• Caleruega - very beautiful church with big garden, with parking space, limited capacity, will need to pass by a rocky road

And the winner is...

Caleruega! Isn't it breath-taking? :) Will be praying for the road to get fixed before our wedding. :)

The Proposal

"Bear's proposal was short and sweet" :)

July 10, 2009-- our 4th year Anniversary.

I was scheduled to take a leave that day, so I worked until 4am. I haven't told Bear that I stayed in the office that late because I don't want him to get mad (but he later on found out about it). I remember waking up feeling so tired, but I have to get up since Bear is on his way already, and I still have to get a pedicure and I haven't made a card for him yet (yikes!).

At Firelake Grill, Cliffhouse

Bear arrived on time as usual. I came out still in my pajamas and my hair was still dripping wet. I recall him looking at me disappointingly. If I had known that he had big plans on that day, I should have taken more beauty rest. :P

We arrived at Firelake Grill a little after lunch time. Bear ordered his favorite steak and I ordered tomato soup and fish. Yum!

By the time our meal was over, I gave Bear my card. I know that he has also prepared a card for me so I asked him for it. He was hesitant to give me the card and he said that he will just give it to me later. After a few kulits and pilit, he finally handed it over to me.

When I opened the card, I was very surprised to see a ring! I looked at him and he was just smiling. I read what was written on the card, and looked at him again.. and he was still just smiling. I was waiting for him to say something! And then the waiter came to give us the change.

Bear quickly hid the ring on his pocket. Later on he said he's shy and he doesn't want the waiter to know that he just proposed (why?) :) Anyway, after asking the waiter to take our picture, we left the restaurant and continued our conversation in the car. I asked him if he's sure with what he's doing. Bear then started to give his speech. Honestly, I don't remember exactly what he said, but it's something like how he have become a better person because of me and that he wants to spend his life taking care of me and become a good provider for our family. I was really touched with what he said, so we began to cry (tears of joy). :)

Of course, I said yes, but I don't want to get married soon. So we have set the date - October 8, 2011 - our birthday month!