Tomorrow, we will go full blast on our preps.

Destination:

(1) Divi - We will go to Divi to scout for gown makers, luminaries, cloth, and souvenirs.

Gown Makers >> We were able to get 3 names from W@w.
a. Leonie Bautista - H14 Cluster Building 1, 2F Tutuban Shopping Center
09178906778 / 8293672

Clarice, Apols, and Didith refer her. Clarice paid 5,500 for her gown and Apols had hers at 8k.
I sent her an SMS message and I was surprised to receive a call. She told me that she wouldn’t be on her shop tomorrow so we agreed to meet on Monday at 10 am. She seems easy to talk to and very accommodating.

b. Angelita Chua >> Traders Shopping Center, Pasilio A, Stall # 107-108, Ilaya St.
09176031857

Referred by Christine Daria and Joanna Sychingho. I also sent her an SMS message and she will be at her shop.

c. Ate Liza or Ate Lourdes >> New Ilaya Textile, Pasilio F, Ilaya St. Infront of Tambunting Pawnshop
09168775125 / 8775125

Katrina Edejer refers her. I called and was able to speak to ate Liza. She seems nice so we set up an appointment with her tom.

Luminaries >> Jenn told me that she was able to buy hers along Tabora St.; the shop was near those selling kitchen utensils and glasswares. She bought the whole box (72 pcs) for 600 pesos. This is approx 4-5 each.

Cloth >> This is for our sponsor’s gift (not really a priority, we can come back later if we couldn’t squeeze it in)

Souvenirs >> I heard there are a lot of these in Ilaya st. We might canvass for lights as well.

(2) Next stop is Ongpin to scout for our wedding rings. I was able to get some name of stores through recommendation of fellow w@wies.

a. Greatwall Jewelry (Cathy Sison) - 800-A Ongpin cor Gandara Streets
733-7756
Recommended by Denise Sanico, she said that this shop is comparable to Mariou’s in Greenbelt in terms of price and quality.

b. 3J Charmy Jewelry - Along Ongpin St. infront of Metro Bank.
Recommended by Irene Palma, Addie Torres. They said that they were able to get a big discount. This shop opens late so it is advisable to go there after 10 am then eat at President’s restaurant after.

c. Mayfair or Mayfare - Ongpin, infront of Royal Garden and beside Binondo Suites and Equitable PCI.
Didith Orquiza bought a tricolor ring (18k yellow & rose gold then 14K white) at less than 10k/pair. Lean bought theirs : band no stones 2 for 7,500.

d. Fine Stone Jewelry - china Plaza Gold Center in Ongpin
Katrina bought a 2-toned Saudi gold with 5 princess cut diamond. Original price is 13K but they were able to have it lower to 8k/pair.

(3) Last stop is Dangwa to look for florist.

a. Tropical Blooms - 1258 Dos castillas St.
I was able to talk to Matet and she told me that Angel would be at Dangwa tomorrow in the afternoon.
09194433836 / 3094384

b. Emma’s Flowershop (look for Lani) -

c. Mang Boy Mahusay - stall # 16 Dos Castillas St.

d. Gemma’s Flowershop -

c. Nene’s Flowershop (look for Nene or Clifford) - 30 Dos castillas St.
731 2351 - shop / 711-6985 - house

We are really in for a very busy day tomorrow. All the best to us!!!!! ;p

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We celebrated our 25th monthsary yesterday. We had dinner at Global Cafe then we went to Starbucks afterwards. It was really great as we had a lot of time to talk. M0rn1ng brought with him a list entitled : 50 Ways to say I love You. We had sooooo much fun discussing it. He also gave me a greeting card with a heart warming message :
I love you enough to fight for you, compromise for
you , and sacrifice myself for you if need be.
Enough to miss you incredibly when we’re apart,
no matter what length of time it is for and
regardless of the distance.
Enough to believe in our relationship, to stand by it
through the worst of times, to have faith in our
strength as a couple, and to never give up on us.
Enough to spend the rest of my life with you, be there
for you when you need or want me, and never,
ever want to leave you or live without you

I love you this much.

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Here are some of the things I did for our wedding preps today :

(1) Called Hillsborough to ask update on our request letter. I was able to talk to Donna and she said that the letter is still with their main office. She promised to call me as soon as they have it approved. They also agreed to let us use the Hampton Court in case it rains on our wedding date and as long as nobody books it. Given that our wedding date falls on a Monday, there is a slight chance that it will be occupied. Yehey!!!!!

(2) I had the pictures of our venue printed. This is in preparation of our Divi and Dangwa trip on Friday. I had to show the florist the picture of our venue so that they could visualize the arrangements needed to spruce up the place. I also had the picture of the bouquets and gowns printed as well. I must say that we are quite ready for Friday.

(3) Asked around for the cost of glass cylinders which can be used as centerpieces. I was able to dig Jeck’s (w@wie) post regarding this. I called up the store he recommended and was able to talk to Naning. She told me she will check if they will have stocks and she told me that it only costs 80 bucks per pc. I think we will just make our own centerpieces. We will buy calla lilies at Dangwa and put these on the vases. Then we will just ask Batis Asul to put it on the tables. We will also ask around for the cost of tea light candles. I hope it won’t be too expensive as we do not want to go beyond our budget.

Cost (Warning! Estimate only) :
Glass Cylinders : 13@ Php 150-80 >> Php 1,950-1,040
Flowers : 13@Php 40 >> Php 520
Tea light Candles >> Php 200

(4) M0rn1ng and I are discussing about our luminaries. I think we need 400 luminaries. We haven’t come up with a concrete plan on how to go about this. However we are toying with the following ideas :

a. Buy luminaries of past brides.
Pros : Less hassle.
Cons : I don’t think it is possible to obtain the needed 400 luminaries just by this way.

b. Do it ourselves using chicken wire.
Pros : More cost effective.
Cons : We need manpower to execute this.

***I’m leaning on doing it ourselves. I’m planning on asking Papa to provide us the pre-cut chicken wires and we will assemble it.

Now I wonder which is better. M0rn1ng is also thinking about it and we need to decide soon. If we are going for plan b, then I need to provide Papa the specs so that we can get it by 3rd week of Dec when we all go home for the pamamanhikan. Hmmmmmm…..

Cost (Warning! Estimate only) :
Candles (6 pcs per pack) : 66@ Php 25 >> Php 1650
Japanese Paper : no idea….
Glue : no idea
**** I guess this will cost around Php 2000-2500

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UP:

Last week was really great! Mama’s here and it is really good to have a mom at home. There’s always a yummy breakfast prepared on the table. Really, moms can make a big difference in a home. I wish I could be like her na “maasikaso” when I finally get to have a family.

********

UP:
M0rn1ng and I are talking about the rate for the gowns that Mommy Rose quoted. We both think that it is quite high so we decided to haggle. Yesterday, we got to talk to Mommy Rose and she agreed to lower the price. She asked us what our budget is and she readily agreed. Yipeee! The agreed price is 5k lower than our budget. Next Friday, we will be going to Divi to visit some stores that w@wies suggested and we will compare the price. Then, we can decide who will be making our gowns.

********

UP : My sister Ivy offered to treat Mama for dinner yesterday. We went to Rockwell to hear Soulful Mood. 3 days ago, I got to talk to their secretary and we are quite excited because they have lower rates. Only 2,500 per instrument. That’s a great savings because String Minstrels’ rate is 10k for a trio. We met Bong and Raffy and they were very accomodating. They even played our favorite song (The Way You Look Tonight) eventhough they’ve already packed their instuments. Imagine our delight when they unpacked the violin and started playing. We were sure right there and then that we are getting them for our wedding.

After that, we went to a Jap resto to eat. We all had a great time including Mama. I know because I heard her talking to Papa this morning and she was telling stories about last night excitedly.

*******
Downs: I called Hillsborough today and our request letter is still not approved. Since we changed our date, we required us to submit a new request letter. We would like to settle this as soon as possible as we’ve heard some horror stories of couples who thought they’ve already settled the place only to discover later that they are not booked. We would like to pay the downpayment so that we will have the necessary documents that we have the place for our wedding date. I hope we can have this resolved soon.

I also called Bernard of Soulful Mood today. I was pretty excited and would like to make arrangements to book them for our wedding. Well, guess what? He told me that they charge 3k per instrument. WHAT!!!!!!! I called M0rn1ng to inform him and we both agreed to wait until the next bridal fair to book our Musicians. I think there will be another fair come January. Isn’t that too late?

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Our blog has undergone a make over. How do you like the new look? I chose this skin in honor of our cat Vhozzie.

******
We were able to accomplish a lot during the past long week-end.

• Gowns : Last Sunday we met Mommy Rose. She is a good friend of ours and she made my gown last year when my friend got me as her bridesmaid. I liked her workmanship because it is neat and it fits well. I brought along with me the design for my gown as well as the entourage’s. From there she gave me an estimate. I was happy because it was below our budget but I still need to compare it Divi. If the difference is not that big, we might decide to let her do the gowns. She is more accessible as her shop is near our place.

• Hotel for Preps : This is one thing off the list. We booked a De Luxe room at Vivere. We also requested to make the check-in time earlier. Originally, it is 2:00 pm but they changed it to 12 pm. Yipeeeee! We loved the room as it has a small dining & living area and it has a partition to the bedroom area. Great!!!!

• 1st Meeting with Batis Asul : We had a successful meeting. We met at Aqua Park 9 am in the morning and surveyed the place. They brought a digicam to take pictures and after a while we were able to conceptualize the layout of the ceremony and the reception. We were all pretty excited!!!! Hope it doesn’t rain on our wedding day as it would ruin the outdoor setup.

We have also finalized the menu. As of now, we are having :

1. Salad bar
2. Beef Stroganoff
3. Tropical Chicken
4. Fish Fillet with Tartar Sauce
5. Pasta Marinara
6. Steamed Rice
7. Fresh Fruits
8. Iced Tea

*** Morning’s dad will provide the lechon. Yehey!!!

Mr. Jun and Gay are so nice to talk to. We are happy that our expectations are met.

Here are some pictures of the Aqua Park :

i i i

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We are going pass forward. From 10.24.05 we are moving it to an earlier date, 05.23.05. Why? May next year is really the original date for the wedding but to accommodate 2 of h2b’s sisters we moved it to a later date, that of October. Lately, they’ve informed us that they won’t be able to go home next year. :c So we thought why not go back to the original date? We thought long and hard before deciding as there are major factors to consider. One, if we can go finish the preparations in barely 7 months and primarily due to some issues concerning my parents. You see I am the eldest in the family. You know how parents feel when the first child announces that she will get married? Just imagine the “Father of the Bride” movie. In my case it was more of the mom giving that reaction. When we told them our plans last July, they did not object. My dad gave us words of wisdom and assured us that they will not interfere with our plans. My mom was just quiet and stood by my dad’s decision. However, during the course of our preparations, I noticed that my mom was not really that happy that I am getting married. Whenever I tell her stories about our preps she tries to ignore it by shifting to another topic. Other times she couldn’t help but blurt out subtle negative comments. I know it is bad but I get offended at times. You know the feeling when you are so happy and you tell others but they are not enthusiastic about it? It feels like cold water has been poured to dampen my spirits. So as to avoid having these negative feelings, I intentionally stopped telling my mom about our plans and preps. I just went on with the preps with the help of h2b. Sometimes, I get this feeling of loneliness creep in for I couldn’t share the things closest to my heart to the person I love, my mom.

Due to the issues I am having with my mom, I decided to talk to my dad. I told him of our plans of moving the wedding to an earlier date. He did not object but I can sense that he is saddened by it. I asked him again directly on what he thinks but he just said “eh doon din naman ang punta nun”. After the conversation my mind is in a whirl. I should be happy because they did not object but I feel bad at the same time knowing that they just said yes not because they really want to but more of they do not have any reasons to object. ***sigh***

Anyway, we still decided to move it on an earlier date. I pray that we have the enough courage to complete the necessary preps in just 193 days. I also pray that my parents will soon accept wholeheartedly the fact that their daughter is getting married to a wonderful man. We are setting our hopes high. After all, positive thinking goes a long way.

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P1010001
Originally uploaded by n1cemorn1ng.

My tita is into the handmade bags business and I find the product real nice. Last time Dady brought 5 bags in their office and he was able to sell them all. Now we’ve had a lot and I’m planning to sell it to my friends and officemates. Since they are so bulky to bring into the office, we took a photo of them and I plan to send to everyone I know. I’m so happy because I was able to sell 2 of them today. They are easy to promote as they are affordable (price ranges from 200 - 450) and everyone is into buying gifts. I hope I can sell everything and make even a small profit. Sayang, pangdate din namin ni Dady yun.

Please feel free to look at our nice samples here.

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We also ventured into selling chichacorns. We are from Ilocos and it is one of the specialties that we have. In appearance it looks like an ordinary cornik we see, but it is far from it. It is really crunchy and easy to munch. Last time, we were able to sell 200 pcs and our profit was enough to have our small living and dining room painted. We are selling the 250 grams pack at 35 each or 3 for 100. There are different flavors : Garlic, BBQ, Cheese, Hot & Spicy, Sweet & Spicy. Sweet and spicy is my personal favorite. Sarap kasama while watching TV.

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I missed blogging. I’ve been sick these past few days so I wasn’t able to work Thursday and Friday. Oh I hate it when weather changes erratically because my throat will be sore then nose will be runny and at best have asthma attacks. Plenty of liquids, medicine and rest are needed but it didn’t fail me for I feel so much better now. On the downside, I wasn’t able to attend the Power Presentation Seminar scheduled the last 2 working days of the past week. I was really embarrassed because the company has already paid for it and got their money wasted because of me. Waaaaah! What if one day they just fire me? The thought gives me the shivers.
*******We are pretty excited because we are scheduled to do some serious wedding preps on:

Nov. 15 : Designer hunt begins. I have the following list:
-Leonie Bautista
-Randall Solomon
-Cecil Abad
-Paul Haute Couture
I’m still looking for others, preferably someone whose shop is near Makati area. I want their shop to be accessible and convenient to visit.

Nov 26: Ocular with Balay Kandila. I hope we would be able to push through with this. We are awaiting BK’s quote so that we could decide on what theme to have. Main consideration is our budget. We also plan to visit Dangwa to look at other options. We are thinking that we can pull off our Calla lilies theme successfully working with some florist in Dangwa. Below are some people we would want to talk to:
-Boy Mahusay
-Gemma
Any recommendations?

Nov 29: Continuation of our designer hunt.

I hope we can accomplish all the tasks we’ve set. Also we are contemplating on moving our wedding on an earlier date… 23rd of May 2005 to be exact. Hmmmm. Will we still have enough time to accomplish everything that needs to be done? To date we have booked just the caterer, ceremony and reception venue, photo-video. I had a trial with 1 MUA. What do you guys think? Can we do the rest in 6 months time?
*****
This is too good not to share. Bioessence celebrated their 10th Anniversary last month and we were one of the tele-winners. We got a free whole body massage for 2, which we claimed 2 weeks ago. The massage was really heavenly. Dady enjoyed it, as it was his first time. Hehehe.

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***Episode 3 – The RingOh no, this is not a horror story my friends. But a continuation of my lengthy narrative of what took place on our 2nd Anniversary.We prematurely went home because I was not feeling well. I thought that our celebration has now come to a close but reality was far from it. When we reached home, we decided to take a picture with the bouquet that he has given me earlier that morning. So I went upstairs. To my surprise, the whole room is covered with white rose petals. Rose scented candles lit up the room. I’m wondering why is there such a romantic setup, so I went down carrying the bouquet. Since the living room is well lit, I was able to see a jewelry box conspicuously placed on the bouquet. Oh my! I really thought that this is it. He is really giving me a ring!!!!! I was nervous, excited and happy all at the same time. I opened the box and I was really in for a big surprise because it just held a note saying : “tinamaan ka ng NAKS!” Huwatttt! Okay, so it was just a joke. My sister and Dady was laughing and I pretended to be disappointed, after which Dady drew a ring from his pocket. He came near me and slipped on a yellow gold band with 7 stones. He said that 7 means completeness in Biblical sense and he added that it means him loving me completely. I was really at loss with words and all I did was hug him at that moment. After that Dady told me that I could do the official press release to all my friends in our congregation for I have the proof in my finger. I am soooooooo ecstatic.

My sister on the meantime was playing the role of a good accomplice. She got it all documented through photos. Thanks sis! = )

it’s not the flowers, wrapped in fancy paper
it’s not the ring, i wear around my finger
There’s nothing in all the world i need when i have you here beside me,
here beside me

so you could give me wings to fly
and catch me if i fall
or pull the stars down from the sky
so i could wish on them all
but i couldnt as for more
cuz your love is the greatest gift of all

in your arms, i found a strength inside me
and in your eyes there’s a light to guide me
i would be lost with out you
and all that my heart could ever want has come true

so you could give me wings to fly and catch me if i fall
or pull the stars down from the sky
so i could wish on them all
but i couldnt as for more
cuz your love is the greatest gift of all

you could offer me the sun, the moon and i would still believe
you gave me everything when you gave your heart to me

so you could give me wings to fly and catch me if i fall
or pull the stars down from the sky
so i could wish on them all but i couldnt as for more
cuz your love is the greatest gift of all

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