The New "It" Dress Inspiration & Motif

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Dear Online Diary,

I can’t quite contain myself. I just love the new Belle magazine. Why? It’s because of the magazine’s fab cover. It’s perfect – I mean the dreamy dress and the motif (turquoise), not to mention, the fab fascinator. I think I’ll change our motif from teal to turquoise (the dark turquoise and not the bright flashy one) and here is the culprit:

{Source: Belle Magazine}

X.O.X.O.,

Nice-To-Have: Fireworks Display Finale

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Dear Online Diary,

Nothing says “celebration” than featuring fireworks display to end the night of our wedding. While searching for P/V supplier, we’ve viewed portfolios of their past wedding coverage and I’m always fascinated at how fireworks can add instant glamour into a wedding.

All the while, I thought what the couple do is use the ordinary fireworks we buy and use during New Year celebration. Upon further research, I found out that there are special fireworks display packages intended for weddings and it’s unbelievably lavish, as it can cost up to P40,000.00.

With that price, I think H2B and I will be off watching the fireworks display of SM Mall of Asia (every Friday and Saturday) and save the money for our future use. Nonetheless, breath-taking fireworks display is one of my nice-to-haves. :)

{H2B caught this Disneyland-like fireworks display at the SM MOA presentation}

X.O.X.O.,

DIY: Will You Be Cards

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Dear Online Diary,

We’re on a roll, man! Yes, we are.

H2B and I have completed the members of entourage last week and what way to let them know (read: ask their permission) that they are going to be walking down the aisle with us is by sending them a Will You Be Card.

I designed the cards on Polyvore.com, which is really easy to use. I searched for items related to our theme (Nature Photography) and the entourage role just like what a magazine layout artist would do then I finalized each card’s design on Photoshop.

We’re not expert graphic artists but I like how it turned out. These are some of the Will You Be Cards:



It’s ready for distribution with only 9 months to go. More importantly, it’s one item off our checklist. Happiness. =)

X.O.X.O.,

Wedding Checklist: Venue

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Dear Online Diary,

H2B and I went on looking for possible reception venue when our first choice, SJA Hall, is not open for 2010 booking. The parish of St. Joseph released valid reasons for that matter.

So off we searched for another venue that is near from our church, affordable and accessible until we found PHILAMLIFE Clubhouse. The place is secured as it is inside an exclusive village. There’s a mini park beside the hall that we’re renting which is perfect for post wedding ceremony pictures.

We were both ecstatic when Ms. Lorwie, our AE, told us that our wedding date is still available. Among the three halls to choose from, we chose Dazo hall as it is fully air-conditioned and it can hold up to 200 guests. It’s the hall nearest from the mini park and has a clean, well ventilated wash rooms and mess room (for the caterer). We signed the contract, handed the down payment and went to the hall to take some snapshots to show our caterer and/or event stylist in the future.

{The Dazo Hall's main entrance; The Mini park's entrance; Inside snap shots of the hall}

It’s one item marked off our wedding list, a hundred more details to go. Happy preps! =)

Supplier Contact Details:
PHILAMLIFE Clubhouse
Earl Carroll Ave., PHILAMLIFE Village,
Pamplona Dos, Las Pinas City
Tel#: 871-2285/872-3596
Look for: Lorwie Eusebio

X.O.X.O.,

Prep Break: Our Take on Ilocos Food and a Beautiful Church

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Dear Online Diary,

This is my third and last post about our Ilocandia vacation. =)

Anyway, before we went to Vigan, we scheduled a prenuptial shoot (supposedly in Baguio) but sad to say, we encountered an issue with the photographer. Although it’s a little disappointing, we were grateful to have another shot at rediscovering the province.

We succeeded in finding the historical Bantay Church, a beautiful and well-maintained church in the town of Bantay, Ilocos Sur.

{The archway where we can see a glimpse of the church and the tower}

{the beautiful facade of the church}

{the breath-taking bell tower. the tour guide said that it used to be a lighthouse a hundred years ago}

{another shot of it's beauty}

{ala prenup shoot: souvenir picture taken by the tour guide}

H2B and his family introduced me to a few Ilocano specialties:

{Ilocos' ultimate pasalubong favorites (clockwise from left, 2nd row): empanada, bagnet, bibingka, longanisa and chichacorn}

{Only in Ilocos: batcho, pupulo, dinengdeng}

{some of the home made food served during the New Year celebration: grilled liempo, ensalada, grilled milkfish stuffed with tomato, onion and pepper, chicken inasal, sopas, and fruits for good luck}

Our vacation wouldn't be as enjoyable as it was without the care and loving guidance of H2B's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Reynaldo Agcaoili. Thank you very much for taking care of us. Most especially by letting me feel like I do belong in your family. Salamat po =)

{Our kind-hearted hosts: Tito Papang and Tita Mamang (H2B's parents and yes, my future parents-in-law)}

That's it. I hope that you learned something from our experience. With only nine months before our big day, I'm raging to continue our wedding preparation. Happy New Year to each and everyone of us and God Bless us more!

X.O.X.O.,

Prep Break: Holiday Vacation Part II

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Dear Online Diary,

Our next stop was Baluarte, a local zoo owned by ex-governor Chavit Singson. What’s good about Baluarte zoo keepers is that they let visitors interact with the animals. Here are some of the snap shots taken by H2B and yours truly =)

{Baluarte Zoo}

We had so much fun interacting and feeding our feathered friends...

Manong, the zoo keeper, asked me to feed this camel, which finished it's food in less than a minute...

{Ostrich from Brazil}

We had the time of our lives at the Butterfly Garden...

{H2B comically plays with the flowers while I'm enjoying the butterflies}

{The Animal Show}

They do have some interesting stuffs, too...

{H2B sings "We all live in a Yellow Submarine"...}

{Llama from Brazil... I miss playing FV}

{The albino and regular peacock}

Let's not forget that 2010 is the Year of the Tiger... Have a Blessed 2010, everyone! =)



X.O.X.O.,

Prep Break: Holiday Vacation Part I

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Dear Online Diary,

Happy New Year, everyone!

It’s been ages since my last post. I have to apologize for not giving you an update about our wedding details. To date, H2B and I were able to accomplished two wedding items on our checklist ever since we came back from our holiday vacation. However, this post is not about our wedding checklist – just yet. I’d like to share some of the things we love from our Ilocandia vacation.

Our trip to Vigan, Ilocos Sur will be incomplete without visiting the Heritage Village. H2B shot gazillion juicy stuff with his trusted dSLR and here are some of the snapshots:

{Uniquely Vigan}

{Woven products}

{Wood crafts and pots}

{Cosmo addict! -- this is what I was doing while H2B's busy snapping the fun away =)}

While it’s true that Vigan became commercialized, what with the tiangge and a couple of fast food chains, it’s still booming with cultural artefacts and antiques dated more than a hundred years ago to give us a sense of historical value.

{Little trinkets: You didn't think that we went home empty handed, did you?}

That’s it for now. I will be sharing equally interesting stuffs from our vacation tomorrow.

X.O.X.O.,