Celebrating our Anniversary, Celebrating US!

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Dear Online Diary,

Yes, H2B and I have been together for five lovely years (and still counting). It is 60 months of trust, 1,825 days of smile, 43,829.0639 hours of love, 2,629,743.83 minutes of hope, 157,784,630 seconds of patience, and the count can go on forever.

Just like most of us, ours is not a perfect relationship. We fought and had our share of tears but after misery comes acceptance and stronger love and commitment. On our fifth anniversary, we wanted nothing but to celebrate US.

After a looong drive from Las Piñas to Taguig to attend the scheduled bridal fair, we wasted no time to savor the city which is exactly what we needed. There are buildings under construction but we love the nature friendly ambiance of the place.

You see, we came from two different upbringings. He grew up in Ilocos Sur, where he lived a simple life with his family while I grew up here in the city. Imagine how our acquaintance came about. It was his first trip to Manila when we met. But I’ll hold my horses. I do not want to spoil the things that should be on our wed site. Reading this, you’ll have an idea on how our conversation transpired.

After several sight seeings, we went to Makati. More specifically, along the streets of Ayala and Paseo de Roxas. We love this place. Well, I’m being biased because this is where I work but nonetheless, the place is still serene. A celebration is not complete without a dinner date. We do not want to go to a fancy place of some sort. We wanted to keep it simple and nice. We end up going to North Park Makati Ave branch. It’s not my first visit but it’s h2b’s so I wanted to let him experience the great food North Park can offer. We ordered their best sellers – Sweet & Sour Pork, Yang Chow Fried Rice, Boneless Honey Lemon Chicken and Lechon Macau. Yum!

He responded very well on the food so I bet it will not be our last visit. I’ve been secretly trying to fatten him a bit on time for our wedding next year. *wink

There it goes. It’s a day just for us. No worries. No hassle. It’s just two happy hearts that beat as one. =)

{Photo Montage created on Animoto.com}

PS:

As for the gifts, I wanted to keep it a secret as of now. It’s too special that I wanted to dedicate another entry for it. =)

X.O.X.O.,

DIY Preview: Bride-Groom Logos Need your Vote

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Dear Online Diary,

I created a couple of matching logos for our bridal shirts. We are going to use the shirts during pre-nuptial pictorial, bridal fairs or family gathering. Please take time and vote for Bride-Groom logo combination.

My dear friends, you can send your vote on my friendster account or email it to me. My dear w@wie sisters, you can cast your vote on our virtual group. For your convenience, you can also leave your comment here. Thank you so much for your time and support.

Here are the choices for the Bride:

{Bride Logo #1}

{Bride Logo #2}

Here are the choices for the Groom:

{Groom Logo #1}

{Groom Logo #2}

X.O.X.O.,

Bridal Fair Escapade: Weddings & Beyond’s A Walk to Remember

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Dear Online Diary,

It’s bridal fair sharing once again. H2B and I was at the NBC Tent, The Fort, Taguig yesterday to attend the Walk to Remember bridal fair staged by Weddings & Beyond magazine.

To start it with, we stopped by the Golden Hills booth not to see their wedding rings but to make a partial payment. I have noted here that we found the “it” rings from their booth at the Wedding Congress. The ever bubbly Ms. Jenny assisted us, of course.

We walked from one booth to another to see what the suppliers can offer. We have no intention to book suppliers just yet but a little research will go a long way. I must say that we had a hard time seeing the products as the venue is not big enough to accommodate around 30 suppliers and their props plus the couples who came to visit the fair. Sad to say, it’s more like an indoor market than an elegant fair. We had to pass by each booth and rely to the pamphlets to understand what they offer. We stopped by some suppliers who we would like to get, like Leggiero Strings, Shutterbox and a cake supplier (I can’t even remember the name. I love their cake designs, though) to ask a couple of questions. I promise to get them once we made up our minds. We became fans of Leggiero when we heard them play at the previous bridal fair. Their music is great and they do not have additional charge or special rate in Las Pinas. Speaking of which, I cannot understand why most suppliers from Quezon City charge additional fee/OOT in Las Pinas when it’s clearly within Metro Manila. Their reason is because it’s near Cavite/Laguna. *sigh

Moving on, I like the package of one of the P/V suppliers we met at the fair. It’s not too expensive, it’s complete and they offer lots of freebies. I wanted to talk to H2b about it because the sample photo albums are great but it’s a bummer, we already got a P/V supplier. I’ll still try and see what he has to say.

{Sample pics from Photobooth, free latest issue of Weddings & Beyond Magazine, Exhibitors' Directory & WB purple bag}

The bridal fair is a two-day event but we have no plans of going back today. We enjoyed the ride going to Taguig but it’s just too far from us. The supplier line up is great but they have the same offer we could get from the next bridal fair. Unfortunately, we did not get to meet new suppliers, which is kind of what we were hoping for.

Incidentally, yesterday was our chance to celebrate our anniversary. I’ll keep you posted for the story. Anyway, it’s simple and not fancy yet special.

I’ll end the story here, until the next bridal fair side story. Happy preps, y’all! =)

X.O.X.O.,

DIY Preview: B2B & G2B Matching Tees Logo

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Dear Online Diary,

It is insanely hot today and I am getting rather anxious. Either that or I’m too excited to attend the bridal fair tomorrow at the Fort. Anyhow, I’m not interested to gowns, nor shoes, nor cakes. I can't tell exactly what's wrong with me today but I would like nothing more than to work on our bride-groom matching tees. Here are my initial DIY logos. Hope to finish this project by next week.

PS:

Oh, now it hit me! Today is our anniversary! OMG. I have to go and wrap the present I got for him. Until next time. Happy preps! =)



X.O.X.O.,

OT: Why Blog?

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Dear Online Diary,

After 38 posts, a question hit me. Why do I need to blog?

Blogging is not really my thing. I’d rather sleep than sit in front of my laptop and rummage my brain with things I dare to say about something. As much as possible, I’ll choose the simplest way of life. That is, to be alone with my thoughts.

But everything changed when H2B and I started our wedding preps. I cannot contain my excitement everytime I get to encounter new wedding trends online or read about real weddings from a magazine. I need to talk and ask all-the-time. Trust me. I just cannot stop. This is my initial concern because I know the fact that I cannot talk to my friends all day about our wedding details, unless I want to hear “Will you shut up!” or “Can’t you move on?” from them. So I need to find another outlet.

That’s when blogging came upon me like a blessing from heaven. Mind you, I’m no writer. I’m not even good at composing a story. You may find grammatical errors here and there but that’s fine. It’s not so much of a big deal. What’s important for me is that I was able to express what I need to express.

Here comes the question again, why blog? The simplest and direct answer is because I made this to be my outlet. It’s like having a virtual friend who will always listen with no questions ask be it about my excitement over a prize I’ve won or a supplier that we have booked, maybe about our trip to a recently concluded bridal fair or even when I’m ranting about our wedding preps. It’s like a gigantic ear when I need someone to listen, the sweetest smile when I need someone to say that I’ve done a good job, the softest pillow when I’m distress and the biggest heart when I need to feel loved.

Huh?

Yeah, I know. It’s me being cheesy, but the thought of being able to reach more people outside my radar just by reading this blog and learning from it is an accomplishment.

How many times does a girl/lady/woman get to experience the wonderful feeling of wedding preparation? Most B2Bs say it’s only once in a lifetime. I agree. I’ll take every opportunity I have to post about anything here because I know that when my H2b and I were seasoned and old, we have this blog to remind us how meaningful our journey to married life is.


X.O.X.O.,

DIY Preview: Will You Be… Card

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Dear Online Diary,

It’s official. I am a Polyvore addict. I never thought that I can enjoy the kind of work a fashion magazine layout editor is paid for. I am completely fascinated with the clothes and the little matching game. This site is super handy, too. I was able to come up with a Will You Be… card for our ring bearer. This is only a sample work. Anyhow, please enjoy. =)

{Photo created on Polyvore website}

X.O.X.O.,

Our Motif: The Elegance of Nature

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Dear Online Diary,

Selecting the color combination for our wedding is a walk in the park. Nature is our wedding inspiration, hence combination of blue, green and yellow are our hands down choices. Blue represents the sky above us, Green represents the plants, trees and flowers and Yellow represents the sun.

Aside from that, online resources gave meaning to these wonderful colors. Let’s take a look of what these colors symbolize:

Blue symbolizes youth, spirituality, truth and peace.
Green symbolizes life, nature, fertility and well being.
Yellow symbolizes happiness, prosperity, wisdom & intellectual energy.

But we do not want to settle with primary colors so we decided to play with these shades. It took us six months before the final color motif was selected. The final choices are:

Teal (#008080) is for elegance. This is our primary color.

100 Euro Green (#86C67C) is a shade so cool that I never thought it exists. This is our secondary color.

Gold (#8B7500) is perfect for detail and contrast. This is the minor color.

Overall styling: Teal and Gold damask.

I’m so in love with teal and gold damask. It spells nothing but elegance. Surely, this is going to be the backdrop for invites as well as church and reception details and programs.

The inspiration board is currently on the works but here’s a sneak peak of what’s to expect:


Next will be the story behind our wedding theme and the final inspiration board. I can’t wait to share it.

{Inspiration board created on Polyvore website}
{Sources:Meaning of Color, Color Hex}


X.O.X.O.,

Wedding Checklist: Honeymoon

-Dear Online Diary,

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"O.M.G."


It was my initial reaction when I saw this blessing-from-heaven email. Checking my inbox is part of my routine every morning. This particular e-mail caught my attention because I am unfamiliar with the sender. I opened it up and read the content…


“Two days before” (Let’s flash back a little bit, shall we?)


I was desperate to work on our budget. Because I am slowing down with our wedding preps et al, I finally faced the pile of brochures and freebies we got from all the bridal fairs that we attended. They’re all in one box waiting for me for almost three months now. Then I saw this elegant white envelop. It hit me. It was the gift certificate we won from Martha Stewart Bridal Fair, which is the first bridal fair that we attended. The voucher entitles us to 4 days/3 nights stay with breakfast for two in one of the premier rooms at the Ocean Wing of Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. It is valid until March 31, 2010, which is only fitting as our wedding was scheduled on March 2010 at that time. We then planned to go there, spend our honeymoon and experience their so-called paradise resort.


After the decision to move our wedding date, this is one of the concerns that H2B and I talked over 2 cold Starbucks strawberry cream shakes. What now? H2B, being the thinker that he is, suggested that we can still push through with the plan and let it be the venue of our pre-nuptial pictorial. We might as well use the nature’s beauty which is perfect for our theme.


For many months, that’s the plan -- the ONLY plan. Until I read the old W@W entries about requesting an extension of suppliers’ GC validity and making sure that you let them know that you are going to use it. I have to quote Ms. Benz when she said, “Suppliers may forgot that they offered that discount. Let them know as soon as you can that you have plans of using it. If you won a GC that will expire before your actual day, you may request for an extension. Malay mo, they like you so much that they can extend it for you.”


This inspired me and gave me the courage of composing an email to Mr. Timothy Wright, Shangri-La’s General Manager. With H2B’s go signal, I told them our story and the reasons why we have to move our wedding including our intention to visit the place and such. In a heart beat, I’m done. I hit the send button with prayers that they will find some time to read my humble email.


“Today, around 9:00 AM”


As I was saying, the e-mail caught my attention. The e-mail came from Ms. Joibi, secretary of Shangri-La’s GM. With my heart beating so fast, I opened the e-mail and read it. True enough, when it’s for you, nothing is impossible. I chose not to rephrase her sentence (while editing the part where our wedding date should be), “As per your request, we are pleased to extend the gift certificate validity up until (the end of our wedding month).”


O.M.G., right? I still cannot believe it. I wasted no time in calling H2B to deliver the great news even when I knew that he’s at work.*wink. It's worth it. H2B is as static as I am. Who could have thought that an email can also be a blessing? We do and here's something that we will be looking forward here after...

{ the famous aerial view of the island }

{ lovely sunset}

{ Ocean Wing premier room }

{ Relaxing resto bar }

.. and as always, W@W made all this happened. I cannot imagine our wedding preps without W@W. Thank you very much!

Photo Credits: Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort Website

X.O.X.O.,

The Revamp Phase I

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Dear Online Diary,

After I expressed my disappointment with the status of our preps, H2B and I had a little talk. I had him read my blog as well as the comments from w@wies and listened to what he had to say.

We came to an agreement and a couple of resolutions. We agreed to take things slowly and intelligently. We have to be careful when choosing the suppliers and design a workable timeline. We can make the wedding simple with some exceptions. We may consult our friends and family about a certain decision but the final resolution should come from us. Lastly, we should never EVER fret and let stress get the best of us. Just relax, enjoy and count the blessing that comes our way.

This may not be the last stress alert that we are going to encounter during the entire wedding preps. Rather than worry, now I know that I should just charge this to my experience and learn from it THEN find a solution. I have this blog not only to remind me that God is here to guide us but also to let me feel that I’m not alone. There’s my family, H2B and his family, friends and of course, the w@w community. The advices I got from w@wies helped us a lot. Thanks so much especially to Rachel, Diana Grace, Bhey, Christine, Len ni Orj, Pinky, Sai, Blanche, Len ni JR, and Doc Ging Glori for the beautiful advices and support. We owe you one.

Having said all of these, it’s time for me to let it go and move on. I can honestly say that you can expect more cheerful and informative entries after today. Happy preps! =D

{ Photo Source: http://sayingimages.com }

P.S.

If you are following this blog, you may have noticed the new header. H2B took the initiative and created it just for this blog. Thanks, bhy!

Related Topics:

Wedding Preps Mayhem

X.O.X.O.,

Wedding Preps Mayhem

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Dear Online Diary,

"Hold IT!"

That’s what I keep on hearing at the back of my head and it goes on for-e-ver. It seems that I cannot stop it even when I want to.

Someone asked me, “At what stage of wedding preps ka na?” then I stared straight into that someone’s eyes. I tried to say “We’re good!” or “We’re on the right track!” but I can’t utter a single word. As much as I want to extract some ideas deep into my head, I can't. Something's bothering me. I just don't know what it is.

Ours is a pretty long engagement. We have to move the wedding celebration to a later date for a number of reasons, which in a way, helps us in preparing ourselves toward the married life.

How are we doing so far? Here. Let’s take a look at what we have accomplished as of today.

Church: Bamboo Organ Church
Booked on February 2009
Notable Notes: H2B and I love this church so much. This church witnessed some important events in my life while H2B adore it ever since we attended a beautiful Holiday Mass back in 2004. These are some of the reasons why this church is very dear to us.

Wedding Bands: Golden Hills Jewelry
Booked on February 2009
Notable Notes: Three months after the proposal, this is the second major supplier that we booked. We found them at the first bridal fair that we attended. Of all the ring suppliers, they caught our attention with their wide selection of fine jewelry, good customer service and flexible payment terms.

Photo/Video: Photoline
Booked on May 2009
Notable Notes: I was surprised when H2B booked them without my knowledge. At first, I was hesitant to get them because they are unknown to W@W community, perhaps to the rest of the wedding industry. They are best known for photo business and you probably seen their stalls in major malls. Why Photoline? I’ve realized what H2B has been telling me. Photoline has great upcoming photographers that maybe unknown now but will surely grow on their field. We should take advantage on that. A plus factor is the customized affordable package they offered to H2B which includes an 8R photo album (magazine type, hard bound) with 20 glossy pages, unlimited digital shots with DVD copy as proof, 45-mins MTV style video, a GC worth P500.00, 2 photographers, 2 videographers and 1 lightsman. It’s a good deal considering that the average cost of this package from other suppliers is around P40,000.00 to P50,000.00. Another advantage that is worth mentioning is just in case we decided to get a senior photographer or videographer, we can still keep them as back-up photographers and videographer.

Caterer: Lady Leigh Catering Services
Booked on May 2009
Notable Notes: Lady Leigh is another supplier that is unknown to W@Wies. They were referred to us by an officemate. The story of how we discovered this caterer and our food tasting adventure with them can be read here. My major concern about them is that I’ve read some negative feedbacks about their service and food. I brought this up with Ms. Emie, our AE, and she was able to explain to me the truth behind it. Does “crab mentality” sound familiar? Yes, at least on this business. Despite all this, I trust them. That’s what we need to do at this point. TRUST that they are going to deliver and exceed our expectations.

That’s what we have so far. Don't get me wrong. I'm proud of our accomplishments. The big question that needs a huge answer is --- WHAT'S NEXT?

This is where the problem starts. I suddenly feel that we’re on a huge maze. It’s either we started too soon or we come up with SO MANY ideas that we (more specifically, I) do not know where to start. Imagine this. The original plan is to have a simple wedding – the simplest wedding there could be. But now we (again, more specifically, I) forgot all about it. I listed down all our wedding plans and projects. As expected, the nice-to-have items overpowered the must-haves.

It's only now that I've realized how we badly need a major revamp, ASAP, before I end up like this...

{ Photo source: http://images.veer.com/ }

X.O.X.O.,

Wedding Checklist: The "It" Rings

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Dear Online Diary,

Finding the right wedding ring was not an easy task for H2b and me. We want a ring that will last forever as it’s the only remembrance we could carry for the rest of our married life. It’s the symbol of our love and promise to each other. It’s the symbol of fidelity. It’s more than just a fit. It’s not just another piece of jewelry as it will not often leave our finger. Hence, the quality of the material is of utmost importance. It was a good thing that we chose the right supplier who patiently guide us and answered all our queries in almost every bridal fair that we attended.

More and more wedding ring suppliers today offer customized wedding rings to suit the needs of every couple. Having an extensive choice of styles and designs is just overwhelming so it took us six bridal fairs to find which suits both of us the best.

As soon as we saw the pair of rings, we both feel the “This is it!” feeling that B2Bs feel when they have found the right bridal gown for them and I know that W@Wies can relate on this matter. The pair may not be one of our initial choices as what I have posted on my previous post and I cannot stress how hard it was but I’m glad that we have found the "it" rings. Here's the pair:

Each ring has a .14 karat vs1 eye color diamond, channeled, flat finished, 14k italian white gold in matte finished with smooth lining. This is just a sample pair from Golden Hills. Our actual rings will be like this except that the lining is in yellow gold.

The good thing about this is that it has lifetime warranty which includes free cleaning, engraving, resizing and a cute arrhae.

What a great way to end this entry is to share five helpful tips in choosing one's wedding ring that we learned from a seminar that we attended:

Tip#1
Consider your lifestyle in terms of work and sports. Bear in mind that you’re going to wear the ring every single day for the rest of your life after you say “I do”.

Tip#2
What is your personality? Is it simple, artistic or elegant? You can definitely find a ring that will match your personality to a “T”.

Tip#3
Think about the comfort you can embrace and match it with the width of the ring.

Tip#4
Matching design is a personal preference. Couples need not to get matching rings these days. Some couples, if not all, prefer to get a pair of ring wherein the bride’s diamond ring matches her engagement ring while the groom prefer to skip the stones.

Tip#5
Will you consider it as part of the wedding cost or more of an investment? Remember that wedding rings are made of gold, platinum or carbide, which are precious metals.

Related Topics:
Wedding Rings Galore

X.O.X.O.,