Joan and Bobie’s Meant to Bee Wedding Cord

Oh, how I l-o-v-e working on accessories with a wedding theme! My so called “creative juices” overflow whenever I have to work on an accessory to match with the couple’s wedding theme. I’d like to think that that’s exactly what happened when I created the fab wedding cord of sis Joan and Bobie.

Browsing through this fab couple’s wedding website and reading their sort of cat-and-mouse-chase love story is awe-inspiring. I can’t help but fall in love with their chosen theme, which is “Meant to Bee” (flowers and bees). Their wedding monogram created by sis Joy (a fellow W@Wie) inspired me the most. See for yourself…

Our Wedding Style

Dear Online Diary,

Since H2B popped the big question, I always knew that I wanted to be a hands-on bride. Thankfully, I got a lot of help from my family and found wedding treasures from online resources such as W@W, Kasal.com, GirlTalk and TheKnot as well as the countless bridal fairs that we attended.

I’m sure I was able to share what our wedding theme and motif are, but it’s probably good to mention these things again now that I want to talk about our overall wedding style.

{Nature Photography: It's All About Us}

Our wedding theme is Nature Photography. We love to travel and take photos of almost anything and everything under the sun. Well, nature is our favorite subject. Nature-related photos dominate our portfolio. I may not give a precise explanation but photography is something that H2B and I enjoy doing together and we will probably doing this for the rest of our lives.

DIY: Head Candies for my Girls

Dear Online Diary,

You've seen the sneak peek... and now, I’ve finished one of my special projects – fascinators.

These fascinators are personalized, handcrafted and created with love for my female entourage, who are all very special to me. All designs are unique, just like each of my girls. :))

My MoH requested a small, simple fascinator. Here's what I've made for her:

{for my MoH}

A Quick DIY Update

Online Diary,

I’m on my second day of “hibernation”. I can say I’ve done most of the final details needed for our wedding. Before hitting the sack, I just want to post a sneak peak of what I was doing today, which I expect to complete tomorrow.

Wedding Checklist: Entourage Gowns

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Dear Online Diary,

Yesterday was fun, fun, fun!

Choosing the person who’s going to create the gowns of our female entourage was a breeze. Mama Betty and Tita Ehlsa (my MoH) told me months ago that they talked to Mommy Cora to see if she can do the job. You see, she created Mama Betty’s gown when she married Papa Noel (and Tita Ehlsa was a flower girl) so it made a whole lot of sense why they suggested Tita Cora to make the gowns.

It’s just not too easy to pass this opportunity. When Mommy Cora expressed that she can make the gowns but she can’t bead, I thought it’s perfect. I like the gowns free of beads so they could use it all over again. Yey!

So yesterday, we set an appointment with Mommy Cora and went to my grandparent’s place. It was easy to gather the girls since most of them are my cousins, save to Lory, my bestfriend and Veil sponsor. It was indeed a short notice but almost all of them showed up with excitement as I presented the gown inspiration and details. I was just too happy to know that they like the gown inspirations and excited to take part on our wedding (not to mention, the donuts we brought for merienda). And oh, can you imagine their excitement when we showed them our WedSite? It’s chaotic but in a good way. LOL

Here are some of the pictures we took of yesterday’s fun event:

{That's me (left) and Lory (my veil sponsor) discussing about the details of the gown}

{Mikha, one of my bridesmaids, is giggling about something}

{Our "behaved" flower girls}

{Lanie, one of my bridesmaids, while enjoying the the donut.}

{Best of friends: Eyzel and Lory}

{That's Mommy Cora taking Lory's measurements. Vital stats please. LOL}

{... it's Monique's turn}

{Yes, we're all here.}

I can't wait for their first fitting. As for the wedding checklist, Entourage Gowns = CHECKED!

PS:

It's Mama Betty's birthday today. We had a simple dinner last night to celebrate another milestone of her life. Happy birthday, Mama Betcha!!! We love you! :))

X.O.X.O.,

Romantic Bridesmaid Dresses

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Dear Online Diary,

The search for the gowns of our female entourage is over. I have found the perfect inspiration from Bari Jay collection. I want my girls’ gown to be romantic so we will stay away from stiff styles. Here’s a sneak peek:

{Source: Bari Jay}

I'm excited for my girls. I'm sure they're going to look pretty and chic. :)

X.O.X.O.,

All About Bridal Bouquet

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Dear Online Diary,

Today as I was searching for wedding bouquet inspiration, I remembered the seminar H2B and I attended last weekend. I learned that there are some pointers to consider when selecting the bouquet that will complete my look as well as the female members of our entourage.

Here are some tips shared by Eve & Co., a floral and event styling company.

Tip#1
The first tip is to know when to stop. As B2B’s, we have to filter the good ideas and then select the best.

Tip#2
We have to keep it real. Make a list of Must-Haves and Nice-to-Haves then select the best based on the flower’s cost, safety, suitability and time needed to implement.

Tip#3
It’s all about the fit. The flowers should fit the couple and their entourage. For example, petite B2Bs need to carry either a regular Beidermeire, Classic Hand-tied or Composite instead of a cascading bouquet or big arrangement that will make her look smaller.

There are at least 6 kinds of bouquets B2Bs can use. They are (Please click on the picture to follow its source):

Pomander is a bloom-covered ball. This is not a popular choice among the brides as it is more suitable for the flower girls.


Cascade is about 2 and 1/2 ft. long. Florists usually recommend this to B2Bs with a Spanish-themed wedding.


Nosegay is a small round cluster of flowers. In this case, chocolates and flowers. Perfect for the secondary sponsors and bridesmaids.


Beidermeier is similar to nosegay but bigger. Generally, flowers are arranged in a circular structure.


Composite is a compilation of loose flower petals arranged under a single flower to create an illusion of a single big flower. Roses are the hands down choice in creating this type of bouquet.


Classic Hand-tied is a collection of flowers beautifully arranged and tied together.

Incidentally, I found the perfect inspiration for my bouquet. I want something I can carry, fun and unique. Here it is:

It's something, isn't it?


X.O.X.O.,

Entourage: My Three Fair Ladies

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Dear Online Diary,

Looking for people who will be on our entourage is just like casting the actors and actresses for a certain movie. They got to have what it takes to do their part with justice and perfection.

Our wedding may not be until next year yet we want to complete our entourage as early as possible. We want to make sure that they are not only perfect for their roles, but they are going to be comfortable come our wedding day.

Choosing the female secondary sponsors is quite a challenging job because h2b has a lot of female cousins. It’s a good thing that we agreed that I’ll be choosing the ladies and he’ll choose the guys, but the final entourage list will be subjected to each other’s approval. Fair enough.

In choosing the right people, we have to understand the roles of a secondary sponsor for candle, cord and veil. I think they have one of the most important roles in a wedding ceremony.

The Veil Sponsors are those who will place a white veil over the shoulders of the groom and on top of the bride's head to symbolize their union and being "clothed as one" in unity. The Couple's Veil (white) has come to be a symbol of purity. Its original meaning was the symbol of the presence of the Lord, as the cloud was a symbol of His presence.

The Cord Sponsors are those who will lay a knotted cord over the couple's shoulder. The Cord is a symbol of the couple's bond; that indeed they are no longer two but one in their new life as a couple.

The Candle Sponsors are those who will light the candles on the altar. The candles symbolize the Light of Christ, the same light they received at Baptism and now receive again to lead them in their new life as a couple.

Having known the importance of their roles in the ceremony, we have chosen the ladies for our secondary sponsors. Some thinks they have to be the couples closest to the wedding party but hey, they don’t need to be married. We want people who’ve been a part of our lives to be there, one way or another.

Our female cord sponsor is no other than my only sister, Eyka Paula (talk about closeness). My mother volunteered her to be my MoH but I was set to get Tita Ehlsa for the role, which she gladly agreed. Eyka agreed to be one of the female secondary sponsors but she made me swear not to assign her to light a candle for a good reason. Hehe. H2b and I both think she’ll be perfect for the part especially that she’ll be more lady-like next year.

Our female veil sponsor is my good friend Lory Mae. Mare is our term of “endearment”. She’s my co-worker in my previous company. We share the same characters – sweet, charismatic, and hard-worker yet hopeless romantic. Although we’ve been apart for more than a year now, we managed to keep our communication line open. If you knew how soul mates work for girls, that’s exactly what we are. As my soul mate, she’s got to be there.

Our female candle sponsor is my favorite cousin, Marjie. She’s a good person, inside and out. I used to spend summer vacation with her family when I was a child. Hay, I miss those days when we’re carefree. I’ll be forever thankful to her family because they treated me as their own. Owing to our childhood experiences and a whole lot more, no one else is worthy to light our path better than she is.

I'm still waiting for h2b's list of male secondary sponsors so watch out for it. The good news is that I got the approval of these fair ladies. Yey! They will be walking on the same aisle as I will be. Now we know how movie directors feel when they have found the right people -- Satisfaction. =D

X.O.X.O.,