Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Long cocktail dresses

AS the big day nearly approaches, my own light bulb is working with some great ideas. Ideas that would surely change a big chunk of our wedding concept – and that is our wedding theme.
Vintage played a big role on my ideas for the past few months; however, it has been a challenge for me to inculcate the ideas I have seen on the internet, since buying vintage *props* and *paraphernalia’s* for the big day would contribute more costs.
So, granted that I am a fickle minded and hands on bride to be, I FINALLY decided, as in 100 % sure, that the concept for our big day would be Grecian. When I say theme, it doesn’t mean that the place where the ceremony and reception would be decorated as if we’re on Greece. – It’s an implication that a part of my wedding has a touch of Grecian style.
As opposed to the previous concept, the latter would have a big change in terms of the dress that my wedding entourage would wear. Instead of knee- length dresses, my ladies would now wear long cocktail dresses.  The colors would still remain - and I am pretty confident that Grecian / long cocktail gowns are going to look perfect on color brown. Brown plus gold accessories -  they are just so elegant! I can no longer wait to shop for accessories. Tee hee. 
Some of the inspirations. 









Friday, September 23, 2011

Lady, another part of the entourage ♥

It’s exclusively a "rest – month" for me, since I wanted to keep myself from being to hectic preparing the bits and pieces for our big day. No more booking and schedule agenda yet, but I know for sure that starting next month, my days would be already demanding. And to keep myself thinking too much about the wedding, I went out to meet my college BFF who also happens to be my bridesmaid.  It was actually a great feeling to see each after a very long time. She’s still the Lady I’ve known – funny, adorable, sweet and a friend who can really make me laugh big time!
No, we didn’t talk about our wedding, but instead, reminisced the good ol times we had during college days. It's so nice to have another outlet too aside from being too busy about the wedding! I missed this kind of life. Going out with friends, Made fun about our friends, and of course, picture shots galore. Yes, we are really freaks when it comes to taking pictures. :D  
We had dinner at Kitchen, Greenbelt and went to Qoola to grab dessert. And since she’s turning 25 this 28th, I gave her a Birthday card. Sorry BFF, your Bes doesn’t have moola, so no bongga gift for you! To my surprise, after I handed her the birthday card, she gave me a blackberry housing! :D                                                                      
Sharing our pictures! :)
It was actually Lady who encouraged me to get a BlackBerry too. Good thing H2B was kind enough to buy me one as an Anniversary gift. Teehee.

Birthday card for BFF ♥

Some Random Shots we took from S. Galaxy tab

Another one!

Taken at Kitchen, Greenbelt

Lady's gift to me! -- A hello kitty back casing ;)


Another wacky pic ;)

After having a late dinner, we went straight to Qoola to grab our healthy dessert -- Raspberry and Cheesy Yogurt!



To prove our love for pictures together, take a look at the pictures we kept during our college days together ;) 


Breakfast at the Pancake house before going to school :)


Collage she made during 2nd year college

Yes, this was taken from a restroom

Studying Law -:)



We may not have bonded that much after our graduation, but we truly believe that our friendship is more on the low-maintenance side. Because after not seeing for a long period of time we were still able to take the conversation from wherever we had left without having any complaints at all. ♥

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Girl Behind the Crystals and Beads

For the past few months, I have been blogging about my wedding preparations as well as with my suppliers. Since we’ve already booked the suppliers we need to book for our big day, it would be hard for me to update my blog with all my wedding inspirations. Meaning, I’m lost with ideas already. Haha.
So to help me keep from updating my blog, I think it’s also a great idea to blog about my friends who are continuously helping and supporting me all throughout this stressful process. – With all the kind of stress, I think planning for a wedding is the greatest stressed I am experiencing right now. I’m relatively keyed up to *meet* wedding jitters!
I’ve already introduced my Maid-Of-Honor, and now it’s about time to give the limelight to the girl behind the beads and bouquets – the girl who would create the bridal entourage bouquets, boutonnieres and wedding cord.
Hazel was my previous agent and was apparently transferred to a different team. I actually had a hard time letting her go since she was very diligent and actually one of the best reps I had ever since I got promoted. –except that she has tardiness issues. Lol. However, recently, I just realized that it’s actually a blessing  that she got transferred to a different team too, since without this instance, we wouldn’t be super close, as there will always be a border line between the Team lead and the agent.
I can still remember when Hazel sent an e-mail, thanking about the things I have done for her. See below:
                “I’m very thankful & proud to have you as my TL.  You’ve been very helpful to me (to us) since day 1.  You’re very approachable, kind & easy to get along with, which makes me feel very welcome.  So even if I’m a shy person (esp. at first), I feel comfortable in approaching you when I have questions, when I need help on some requests, etc.  I’ve learn so much from you, & I know I’ll learn more from you.  You always encourage us to be the best.  You inspire us to believe in ourselves that “WE ARE CAPABLE”… YOU inspire ME.  You’re an instrument for our growth as individual CSAs & as a team, Team CHI.  You’re a role model.  Hard worker. An outstanding leader.  You deserve where you are right now & more. J  You’re such a blessing to us.  When I learned about this Flatter Me Line for the CSA group, you’re the first person that came into my mind.  I want you to know that I appreciate YOU.  I’m doing this not for anything but because of just one simple reason…. YOU DESERVE IT!!! J  I meant every word. And you deserve to know that you are appreciated. Keep it up! Again,…THANK YOU!!!!”
So fast forward, Hazel loves creating beaded wallets and because of my nosiness, I asked her to create our wedding cord as her gift to us. Haha. After agreeing with my request, I also asked her if she can also create boutonnieres, pens, and down to the crystal bouquets. Sorry for requesting too much. Hehe. Before agreeing, she showed me some samples that really made me feel so giddy and was 100% sure that she works like a professional bead-maker? (not sure with the term though)
So Hazel, before you thanked me for being so helpful, and now it's about time, that I say "Thank you for being so accommodating with all my requests. You're such a blessing to Mark and I, and  I want you to know that I appreciate all your works. :D Mark and I can no longer wait to see the finished products too! ♥
That's Leah (one of the offerors, who said that she's going to offer Bayabas and Nilagang Saba on my wedding day) and Hazel ;)
To see Hazel's works, please check:
http://bloggingb2b.blogspot.com/2011/09/crystals-and-beads-for-pens.html
http://bloggingb2b.blogspot.com/2011/09/corsage-bouquets-crystals-and-beads.html
http://bloggingb2b.blogspot.com/2011/09/brown-crystals-boutonnieres.html


Interested to have her create the boutonnieres on your wedding day? Please contact her thru: 
09157983425/ 09284385736

Introducing my Maid of Honor

Distance really does matter when it comes to choosing the bride’s maid of honor. The greater the distance, the harder it will be for the bride-to-be and maid of honor to communicate and work on the details for the said *big day*.   Since it doesn’t have to be a family member, choosing my maid of honor, whom I’ve known for not so long, was quite easy for me. -- Since the person I chose to be my maid of honor is just a few steps away from my desk here at the office –  :D and she’s Jenny Lyn Mirabueno.
Jenny Lyn who’s also known as Jhen, is such a sweet girl, and a super supportive friend when it comes to my wedding ideas. Though there may be times that she disagrees with my ideas, we would always end up compromising and end up with my inspirations for the wedding. It’s because she knows that this is my wedding, and everything must be followed according to my plans, needs and wants.
An added factor why I chose Jhen to be my MOH is that she is a good friend of my H2B too. Actually, the two of them were already super-friends even before Mark and I started our relationship. So meaning, Jhen knows how Mark started pursued me. ♥
Thank you Jhen for being so supportive, sweet and reliable for the entire wedding preparation. I know we still have few months to prepare for the big day, and I am pretty sure we’d be frenzied in the next few months!

Jhen is so sweet, and she makes it a point that we see each other before and after I leave the office! Haha. We always take our breaks together, and it’s a must that I say good bye to her before I leave the workplace. LOL
See our conversation below:

9:54 AMMirabueno, Jenny Lyn

i love u neng

9:54 AMMirabueno, Jenny Lyn

d p  kita nakikita..

9:54 AMChua, Katrina

awww

love yo more neng

punta ako dyan

Introducing... my Maid of Honor! ♥
Sorry Neng for posting this :D
Me with the velvet lips! lol :D

Monday, September 19, 2011

Canon in D and Bridal March

To all bride-to-be’s who still do not know the new ruling about playing of love songs during the bridal march, please be advised that the Commission of Liturgy recently announced that only Canon in D and Bridal March are only allowed to be played during the bridal march. This new rule will be implemented on October 2011.
Thank you so much sis Chie (health.gal) for sharing this information! It’s so nice to be in the know a few months before the wedding. At least we still have a lot of time to adjust and adapt though. ;)
Below is the letter received by a bride – to be that sis Health.gal also posted in the 2012 brides forum.
The parish would like to inform you of the revised GUIDELINES FOR WEDDING SINGERS/MUSICIANS. As per instruction of the Archdiocese of Manila – Commission on Liturgy, the Entourage and Bridal march are already part of the Wedding Mass so liturgical songs must be played. Only two songs were approved by the Commission on Liturgy, and these are: CANON IN D and BRIDAL MARCH. Love songs are only allowed during picture taking.
The church will implement this instruction effective October 2011, and revisions have been made in our Guidelines for wedding singers/musician (please see attached). All hand-outs given before the said date are now void. The parish in-house soloist and organist have been informed of this instruction. No special requests will be granted regarding this matter.

Thank you for your kind understanding regarding this matter.
If you have further questions, you may contact the Commission on Liturgy - Phone number: 02-4043891. You may also check the church where your wedding ceremony would take place and ask them if they are also implementing the said rule. ☻
So when I found out that love songs are no longer allowed to be played during the bridal march, I felt sad right away since I’ve already set my mind to have Velvet Mood play *Two Words* as I walked down the aisle. I have already fully absorbed the lyrics and shed too much tears as I listened to this song 2 months ago. :D  Fortunately, while I was browsing the internet to listen to different versions of Bridal March, I found this very beautiful piece that really made me feel the *this is it moment* again.
Beautiful bride to be’s, you might want to watch and listen to the video posted below. This is the version of John Cain's bridal march ♥

I've checked John Cain's official website, and unfortunately, the music sheet is not available, but for those who are interested to download the song, you may do so by going to this website: http://jonathancain.com/ 

Wedding labels

While browsing some of the wedding checklist I have printed out, I noticed that Mark and I are complete with the major To-do’s before the wedding day. However, there’s this one fraction we must’ve missed out – and those are the useful templates and labels that we need to print out for the reception.
Yeah right, creating labels 8 months before the wedding is too early, but since I am too hands-on, its not bad to start as early as now to find designs for table numbers, gift tags and the like. This is not a big chunk of our wedding checklist, but I know this will be very useful not just to the receptionist, but it will make the wedding party more organize. 
Here's the sample table number I've created ♥
Brown and Pink to match our wedding motif ☻  

We're planning to use this as our tags for our giveaways; aside from the mustache and *mwah* tags I've created before. 
 *Re-sharing* our Photo booth direction label ♥


  To cut down costs, we'll just buy specialty paper from a bookstore, and have the labels printed out from a computer shop. I can no longer wait to share the finished product for our labels!

Mark and I are also planning to provide a *Will You Be My* to our entourage - (will you be my is a print out that soon to be weds give to their close friends whom they chose to take part of the wedding entourage; and since I've been an Internet Savvy bride-to-be, I'm just planning to tag these pictures on their Facebook account. Haha. So no need to print em out and that's a great bang for the buck! ♥ It may be too casual, but for sure our friends would appreciate it that much given that we chose them to be a part of our bridal entourage.