Supplier’s Rating: Special Events by the Planner

Dear Online Diary,

Before we met Ms. Love and Ms. Beth, I’ve been reading a lot of not-so-good feedback from their previous W@Wie and GTalker brides. Thanks to their valuable suggestions and payo, we were able to design an all important game plan.

On the day of our first meeting, Ms. Beth went ahead and explained their OTD package – the inclusion, the freebies, the plan, requirements et al. I like the inclusion. It seemed promising especially since both of our families aren’t too wedding savvy. We will need their expertise on the day (since I’m pretty much ok on being a hands-on bride, I need trusted people to execute our wedding vision).

After the meeting, Ms. Beth sent a handful of wedding planning excel files for me to complete and send back to them. The files are structured and I can’t figure out how to complete most of them. Eventually, I only sent the Guestbook file back to Ms. Love (sorry, I did not care about the other files, hehehe).

How did they fair? Let’s see…

Hotel Preps Review: G Hotel

Dear Online Diary,

We first heard G Hotel from W@Wies who were raving about the hotel’s affordability and amenities so we took time and checked it out.

Skywalker: A Big No, no!

Dear Online Diary,

We got in-touched with Skywalker through Ronnie, the person behind Flytomanila, whom we first heard from W@W e-group.

When we called Ronnie to rent a van for our out-of-town trip early this year, he said he’ll give us the driver’s contact details the night before the scheduled trip, which is not ok but, fine. We can’t do anything about it. Eventually, the driver gave me a call to collect all the information about the trip and so on.

The transaction turned out great. We also learned from this particular driver that Ronnie works as an "agent" and if we want to rent again, we can call them directly (handing out their calling card) instead of contacting Ronnie. Since we like their van, the driver’s attitude and their service, we called them directly and rented a van for another out-of-town gig. This is when I asked them if they could also provide a car and/or vans for our wedding. A couple of days after that, I received a call from Arnel, the owner of Skywalker. I gave him our budget and requirements, to which he promised to provide a bridal car (8 hours) and a van (12 hours) for our wedding. This was about four months before the wedding.

A Little Bit of Sunshine: Rocky Blooms Flower Shop

Dear Online Diary,

Our floral requirements are simple. We’re ok with locally grown blooms as long as they will be fresh and vibrant on our wedding.

Ms. Rona and Sir Marlon are the husband-and-wife tandem behind Rocky Blooms. He’s the florist and she’s, well, the manager. :)) They are fairly new in the business but I can honestly say that they are very promising.

We first met them at a bridal fair. I stopped by their booth when I saw the pretty aster arrangement. We gave them our budget and asked if they could provide us with what we need (and want). Gladly, they were able to work around our budget so we booked them on the spot.

Supplier’s Review: Sweet Affair

Dear Online Diary,

Everybody loves chocolates (and candies). Chocolate fountain was one of our nice-to-haves but because of W@W Auction last year, we were able to get a chocolate fountain package for our guests.

Supplier’s Review: Excellent Audio

Dear Online Diary,

As lights and sound system isn’t one of our priorities, we looked for a supplier who can provide just what we needed. And then we found Excellent Audio.

Supplier’s Rating: Photobot Manila

Dear Online Diary,

Photobot Manila was the first photo booth we have ever tried. During preps, Ms. Aggie was easy to deal with, she follows up on us even through email and almost always, answers our inquiry in a timely manner. We booked them during one of the bridal fairs that we attended because their prints are of high quality, they offer affordable packages and we like their slim photo booth machine plus other amenities (soft and hard copies of photos, props, stop time, et. al.).

We also appreciate that Ms. Aggie and Sir Nards customized our layout and did their best to come up with a tarpaulin printed with turquoise and white damask (for our photo background). Unfortunately, the background did not resemble well on photos. When browsing through our photo booth pictures, it looked like we have a white background (possibly because of the camera flash) instead of damask. Prior to our wedding, we were not informed that they are not going to use a photo booth machine. They set up a camera stand and attached a screen just below the camera where we can preview our photo for each take. I was actually hoping to see the slim photo booth because that’s one of the reasons why we booked them.

The MC Come to Town: Bien Rivera

Dear Online Diary,

I’m been out and about but I’m decided to finish my supplier’s rating. Who’s our next fab supplier?

{Bien Rivera: Seasoned host and comedian}

We got Bien from attending Before I Do a year ago and met him (with his friend, Martin King aka our almost MC) just a couple of weeks before the wedding. He’s fun, spontaneous and personable– the three magic qualities that a professional MC should possess.

When Boredom Strikes: Meet Bridezilla and Groomkong

Dear Online Diary,

Are you familiar with Diner Dash? I used to play it on my sweet ol' PSP but earlier today, I encountered another version of this game – Wedding Dash 4Ever. It’s a strategy game much like the Diner Dash where the player has to satisfy each guest’s request and make the couple happy in order to win the game. Out of curiosity, I installed it and have a go. Before I knew it, I've been playing it for about four hours. It's quite addicting. :))

What excites me more than the game was a discovery. I’ve heard about brides becoming Bridezilla when stress gets the best of them. What I never knew before now is that stressed out grooms (mainly because of their brides) are called –Groomkong!

{Wedding Dash 4Ever Tutorial screenshot}

Oh, here comes my Groom(kong). I better get going *evil grin*. PDW will be back to regular programming on Monday. Have a great weekend! :))

X.O.X.O.,

Fondant Cakes by Mavic: Minimalist yet a Work of Art

Dear Online Diary,

We initially wanted a cupcake tower and a separate mini cake for cake cutting ceremony but it just doesn’t make sense that the cupcake tower rental fee costs 20% of the total price. Most of the credible suppliers that we found are from QC, all of which ask for not less than a thousand bucks just for delivery charge (I totally get this because cakes are fragile). If my calculations are accurate, the fees alone are more or less a quarter of our cake budget. These factors prompted me to look for a supplier from the southern part of the metro.

Ms. Mavic is another, shall we call, “Multiply.com wonder”. I was searching for an affordable cake supplier over at the multiply site when I spotted some of her beautiful cakes – minimalist, simple yet a work of art. That’s exactly what we want. When I sent an email inquiry, I was also hoping that she can work around our budget.

Supplier’s Rating: FG Rose Pastillas Basket from Sweet Blooms

Dear Online Diary,

I first saw these rose pastillas at a bridal fair that we attended. I love it's milky taste and it's fun to eat. Furthermore, it's edible yet it's not made of chocolate so it's something new to me.

Since we already booked a photo booth service as our wedding favor, we did the next best thing – get the flower girl basket arrangement for our little girls. I was so excited about the idea that we ordered on the spot especially when we saw this:

{Sweet Bloom's sample arrangements at the bridal fair}

Supplier’s Rating: Val Villarin

Dear Online Diary,

I learned about Mama Val through W@Wies who raved (and still raving) about his works and techniques. Looking at his portfolio, I like that each of his brides has a clean, natural airbrush finish. I thought I wouldn’t be able to get his services until I won one of the packages he donated to W@W via W@W Auction last year.

Last June, we agreed to hold the trial airbrush makeup in line with our engagement session to put the makeup to the test. It was the first time I met him in person. He (and his shi tzu, MAC) warmly welcomed us. While working, Mama Val went on to explain what each make up do to my face and appearance, which shade of lipstick will work best for me and so on. Here’s our photo right after the trial makeup session:

{Airbrush Trial Makeup with Mama Val, June 2010}

Supplier’s Rating: Marc Rancy

Dear Online Diary,

I did not expect to get Marc Rancy as my gown designer before the whole gown horror story but I came to know Marc and his elegant gowns when I watched one of the Philippine Fashion Week shows. When we decided to get a reputable designer for my wedding gown, Marc was one of the top on my list.

Despite his busy schedule, we were able to set an appointment with him. It was last July when mama Betty, Ninang Fely and I went to his shop in Buendia. He’s bubbly and fun to talk to. Kalog talaga siya. :)) He let me try some of the gowns available so I could see which type would look best on me. He also gave us a couple of tulle “wisdom” and showed us his precious collection. Here’s my gown by Marc Rancy:

11.9.2010: My First Birthday as a Mrs.

Dear Online Diary,

Yes, it's my first birthday as a wifey today and I was touched to see hubby’s surprises for me this morning.

I was awaken by a Happy Birthday song playing loudly (somehow gave me the chills since papa Noel used to do the same on each family member's birthday). I thought I'll see hubby beside me but I found a gift with a funny note:

{Hubby's gift on my first birthday as his wifey}

He suddenly appeared and said that he has plans for us today so I better get going. I just want to share how sweet he is. :))

X.O.X.O.,



PS:
Thank you to everyone who did not forget to greet me on my birthday (aka friends in FB). I've read all your messages but will reply later. Earvz, not so sure why you can't post on my wall but will check on it later, too. Probably there's something about my account setting that I have to adjust. Happy Nov 9 everyone! :))

Supplier’s Rating: Ms. Thet Hernandez of RTJ Photography

I can remember it clearly as if it happened just yesterday: I was browsing our W@W e-group when a certain post caught my attention – a free backup photography service was being offered by a previous W@Wie, by the name of Ms. Thet Hernandez, who ventured into photography together with her husband. I composed an email and sent it with prayers. In a heartbeat, my prayer was answered by an email from Ms. Thet congratulating us for making it to the list. True enough, our wedding date was posted on their website.

{We made the list: RTJ Photography Service}

Supplier’s Rating: Sophia’s Chocolat

Dear Online Diary,

I was glad (and relieved) to have found Sophia’s Chocolat while browsing multiply.com. We were a bit stressed during the homestretch of our wedding preps because we haven’t found the right giveaways for our PS and entourage.

Sophia’s belgian chocolates are not too sweet nor bitter. Our parents love the chocolates (as much as we love them) when we brought some for them to taste test. Sophia’s offers different kinds of packaging and molds on reasonable prices. It was a breeze negotiating with Sir Alex and Ms. Michelle, the husband-and-wife tandem behind Sophia’s Chocolat.

{During our first meeting: Thank you, Sophia's Chocolat! :))}

Supplier’s Rating: Goldenhills Jewelry

Dear Online Diary,

Booking Goldenhills Jewelry is by far one of the most memorable experiences of our wedding preps. We booked them at the first bridal fair that we’ve attended, which led us into winning a honeymoon package.

Their wedding rings collections are gorgeous, they offer lifetime warranty (cleaning and resizing), and they offer layaway plan, which entitles the couple to pay their wedding rings within a certain period. It’s best for those who are on a budget but wants gorgeous wedding rings for a lifetime.

Supplier’s Rating: Written in Ink (Wink)

Dear Online Diary,

We initially wanted to DIY our invitation but later chose to find a supplier that can provide quality printed invitation without hurting our budget, which led us to Written in Ink (Wink).

We were truly grateful to Ms. Noky Gatmaitan (owner of Wink and its affiliates) for extending the bridal fair discount to us even if we booked them after the bridal fair. She even arranged our meeting with our AE, Ms. Jo. They were easy to deal with, offers a huge range of invitation concepts and their package rates are considerably affordable.

{During the first meeting with Ms. Jo: Thank you, Wink!}

Supplier’s Rating: Little Dreams By Decisive Moments

Dear Online Diary,

It was hard yet easy to contact them since our AE, Ms. Jane, do not always reply to text or email messages. If a decision has to be made – say regarding schedule, location or number of photographers, we have to wait a week or two because she has to consult it to someone else.

Bumawi naman sila. During our engagement session, they sent four photographers instead of two– Ken, Jerome, Ian and Sir Mel, who do not need to be there but chose to join his “kids” since according to him, he has nothing else to do. :))

{Ken, Jerome, Ian and Sir Mel at work}

Special Deliveries: Wedding Photo DVD Copies

Dear Online Diary,

Today is a special day!

We received the DVD copies of the shots taken by two of our three photography teams. The fully packaged DVDs came from Atty. Raymond Fortun while the other copies came from Photoline. We’re very excited to see the raw photos.

{DVD Copies of our Wedding Photos from Atty RF and Photoline}

La Boda Horror (The Wedding Horror)

Dear Online Diary,

I am so ready to give the supplier’s rating so let’s get rid of the horror story first before we move on, shall we?

Many of you may know that the original “maker” (sorry, I can’t call him a designer after what he did) of my gown is Sohrab Arcega. He has a shop in Divisoria and a long time friend of tita (who’s my MoH), which basically the reason why we landed on getting him to make my gown. Everything was going fine until the first fitting.

I’ve shared on our e-group my horrible experience with him, rather too emotional. I never thought that it will blast like a bomb because as soon as I posted that particular message, complications happened.

So, you may be wondering, what’s the story? What really happened?