Wedding Preparations: Berjaya Manila Hotel

The moment we booked our hotel for the reception, Mark and I decided to get the Honeymoon package on their wedding packages. However, after checking the rooms that are inclusive on their packages - everything had changed and we decided to shed and invest more peso power for our hotel room accommodation. Being an internet savvy bride to be, I found great deals online but quite hesitant to buy groupons since I have heard and read a lot of negative reviews from these fad websites.

Good thing, a friend of mine, recommended this reputable website (which I also confirmed from the hotel that they do accept bookings from this website) and I was able to book their LIMITED early bird rates. Though the taxes are not published on their website, the total charges we are going to incur are still way much lower as compared to their original rates.

Website: www.booking.com

Unlike other websites, booking.com doesn’t charge your credit card right away. You will only be billed on the day of your check in.

Here are the pictures of the rooms we were able to book thru Booking.com

Hotel Name: Berjaya Manila Hotel 

We booked 2 Deluxe Rooms (one for my family, then for h2b's family) - for wedding preps 

Then 1 Suite for the night after the wedding. ♥

If you may notice, both of these rooms are almost the the same. The only difference is that the Suite has a separate living room, and of course, bigger. The rooms are quite promising and I must say the rooms we were able to book are quite enough for our families. 

Deluxe 

Studio Suite

2 months to go

2 months, yes, 2 months to go and I’ll be Mrs. Alcantara already! Can’t wait for that day, but with all the excitement that h2b and I feel right now, we’re also nervous at the same time. Good thing we started early with the wedding preps, and we’re not cramming that much. With only a couple of days left, here are the tasks we need to accomplish before the month of March ends. H2b and I are targeting to be on relaxed mode already by the month of April. (keeping our fingers crossed!)

*Claim our marriage license

*Distribute invitations

*Confirm RSVP (now this is the hardest part) we all know that there are guests who do not know how to confirm.

*Arrange Seat plan

*meet with suppliers

*DIY guestbook

 *Print all the prints? :D (I’m not sure with the term though, but I am referring to the thank you cards, misalette, wedding tags and the like

*Confirm layout with suppliers (photobooth, wine labels)

I couldn’t believe that the wedding preps we started last year are now turning into reality. ;) 

Helpful tips for Pre-nuptial session

I can say that I’ve been a camera enthusiast ever since the evolution of camera cellphones. I love taking pictures of special events & places and I make sure that I get to take a picture of myself too during these significant events.

Little did I know that having a pre-nuptial pictorial session is not that easy as compared to the normal picture taking. I am not used to in posing in front of other people most especially that this is just not a snip snap posing, but your photographer needs to capture something worth showing to other people, and be printed out on a guestbook and album. WE have to think of poses that would match our personality and theme.

Honestly,  I was never that excited when e-session planning took its place, but as the day of the e-session gets nearer and nearer, I experienced a lot of tension looking for tips and suggestions from other bride to be’s.

Looking at the prenup pictures we have right now, I can truly say that it really showed what’s US in our relationship. Happy, Wacky, Sweet, Loving. Mind you, we had a lot of wacky and candid shots, and there were only handful of pa-sweet shots. It was not an easy pictorial most especially that my h2b is a super camera shy. Thank you KikongManlalarawan for capturing the happy moments during the session! ♥

So here are my tips if you’re going to have a pre-nuptial pictorial

Research about possible prenuptial venue, that would suit your theme. In our case, we chose Philippine Airforce Museum not just because it matched our peg, but the venue rate is also affordable. 

 Research for some poses. Tell your photographer what you want to happen, and what he needs to capture during the pictorial. You must have a very good client-supplier relationship with your PV. Take it from me, it’s not easy posing in front of someone whom you barely now. Also, they get to see the raw shots first, before the client. Haha. (define candid shot faces. Haha! ). Good thing, my PV is my friend, so I felt comfortable working with him).

That's KikongManlalarawan

 Check for possible outfits, and do not bring a lot of clothes during the pictorial. Maximum of 4 outfits would do. During our pictorial, h2b and I brought a lot of outfits. Decide what accessories to bring that would match your outfit. Do not mix and match during the pre-nup session day itself. It would eat too much of your time! (that’s what happened to us) hahaha!

 If you are going to DIY your props, make sure you do it a week in advance.

Prepare you attire the night before. Make sure you make list of things to bring. That way, you won’t miss anything.

 Be on the venue, 2-3 hours before the start time of your pictorial. If you are going to fix your hair and do the make up on the venue, remember, it’s not an easy task to do. Most especially most pre-nup venues do not have a dedicated place for prepping up. In our case, my hair and makeup artist curled my hair for more than 2 hours, and had my makeup done for 30 minutes. So make sure you prepare your own schedule of “things” to do on the venue.  We were supposed to start at exactly 1PM, but the session started at half past two. 

 Bring water and pain reliever during the pre-nup session. Based on my experience, I had a major headache and left with no choice to endure it just for the sake of good shots. Ahehe. Staying under the broad sunlight can really cause a major headache + it rained a bit during our e-session.

Take a good rest, and sleep well the night before the e-session.

 Bring a good friend who can be there to support you.

 

.   .   During the pictorial, don’t tire yourself too much. Take a rest if you want to. :D The pictorial itself is already tiring, so don’t double your burden.

Lastly, enjoy the day! Make sure to have wacky shots. It will really set up the mood for a good pictorial.

PS. Even if there are some undesirable candid shots, I still consider 'em as one of the best shots! ♥

DIY - Accordion Pinwheels for our Table Names

After a couple of weeks contemplating what design to use for our table names, I finally found an inspiration from one of my favorite wedding blogs! I always wanted to have something that would look as if it’s also an additional centerpiece for our guests table. Thank you RuffledBlog for presenting so much ideas to internet savvy and budgeted brides – and I am so happy to find a unique and “cute” way to DIY our table names.

This is really easy to do, most especially that I used to make paper fans when I was still a lil girl. Doing this wouldn't really hurt your pockets most especially that you can use old books/ magazines instead of specialty papers.

Since I have been very excited when I saw this online, I created 2 accordion pinwheels as the prototype. I tore 5 pages from my wedding magazine. Hehe :D  (Sorry, I didn't have the time to cut the edges to make it look better) :D 

The Pinwheel on the left has smaller folds, while the pinwheel on the right has the bigger folds. I find the small folds much better. 

I am going to put bamboo skewers at the back so we can put it inside the flower vases.  Take a look at the sample below: Photo grabbed thru ruffledblog.com

DIY - Bottled water labels

Ever since I found out that the price of bottled water near our place is to some extent affordable, I already thought of doing DIY bottled water on our big day. Though this is not a 100% great idea for my DIY’s (most especially that this is not an OOT wedding), it never stopped me from doing the water labels, just in case this impression would take place!  There are a lot of editable templates you can download on the Internet, and what I came up with using the template I found online! :D  

My mom suggested that we can buy 30 pcs. of bottled water and give it to our guests after the ceremony. But then again, how can we be so sure if the guests are really thirsty right after the ceremony, most especially that the actual wedding rites won't even  last for more than an hour. ☻

Editable templates can be found in: http://ruffledblog.com

Can't get enough of monograms

Even if H2b and I already have our official monogram, I just can't stop myself playing with colors and create  labels and designs from one of the useful sites I have googled a couple of months ago. With the leisure of time I have for tonight's work, here are some labels I have created!  ♥

Bridal Entourage Gowns - Checked!

Last Sunday, two of my bridesmaids together with my mom and my little sister had their first fitting already. We were really happy with the designs they made for us and it really has a touch of vintage! I was able to get H2b’s attire as well ( too early! ahaha) and I can pretty tell that he really looked good when he fitted  early this morning. The suit, suits him very well! ♥♥♥

With the permission of my two bridesmaids, I am going to share the design of their cocktail dresses. ;) The drawing is really cute. :D Gee, I can no longer wait to see the finished product!

BM1

BM2

My Engagement Ring ♥

Yesterday, while going back to my old pictures on my mobile, I saw a couple of old files that made me smile and reminisce the early stages of our wedding preparation. In less 100 days, I am already going to marry my other half and my best friend. I just couldn't thank enough! ♥

Look! My engagement ring looks exactly as the E-ring on the Metro Weddings Magazine! 

That's me! flaunting my E-ring. haha! The day he proposed to me. ♥♥♥

Marriage license application in Las Pinas

Yesterday, H2b and I already filed an application for our marriage license.Even if there were some problems with my documents everything went really smoothly as expected. I was too worried for the past few days, since my mom’s maiden name was misspelled, and I can no longer afford to file and get another copy CENOMAR and wait for another 7 days :D I was informed by the lady who assisted us during the application what matters most is that my name reflected as Single, and not yet married. ;) Mind you, the whole application process went really fast, except filling out the application forms. I volunteered myself to fill out all the forms, except the interview sheet since h2b’s penmanship isn’t that good. I wouldn’t want the person in-charge of typing the license get a hard time reading the forms; so I thought of writing all the information by myself.

While filling out the form ♥

After 38minutes of writing, (yes, 30 minutes) we immediately submitted the forms to the civil registration, and we were interviewed on the spot too. Don’t worry, the interview isn’t like a normal job interview, but I was really surprised when they only asked us 2 questions. “Buhay pa ba ang magulang nyo?”.

We were able to do and accomplish all the requisites in time, and our licenses are expected to be released on the 27th of February! Thank God! We were able to file the most important document for our big day!

For those who are curious about filing an application of marriage license in Las Pinas, here are the documents you ought to bring:

Photocopy of birth certificate (bride and groom); Yes they do accept photocopies! (1 copy)

Photocopy of CENOMAR (bride and groom) – (1 copy)

Consent of parents; if applicable – but in our case, since we’re on the right age already, consent or advice is no longer needed. Haha!

And lastly, bring your own pen!

***Both parties must be present upon filing of marriage of license. Release of license will be 10 days after filing and submitting all documents.

Wedding Invitations = Checked! ♥

After several days of spending time and revising with our wedding invitation layout, I am proud to present the actual sample of our wedding invitations.

This is one big part of our DIY for the wedding! It’s such a great feeling to see something “cute” and hear compliments from other people about a hard work. The layout I have printed in black and white and nth time of revisions has turned into actuality! H2b and I couldn’t believe I was able to do this design on my own, even without seeking professional help, but rather moral support from my friends. Weeh! 

Our Pre- nup Teaser

I have been an avid fan of Save the Date and Wedding Videos Teaser even before Mark proposed to me.  However, since I have watched a lot of videos already, it became a challenge for me to depict what concept we would like to have on our wedding teaser.

So just before we had our engagement session last January 28, I told KikongManlalarawan, that the shots and clips he should create must be quirky and fun. It shouldn’t be the typical sweet and mushy but should have a lot of candid video snippets on behind the scenes of our Engagement Photo shoot Session. 

Kudos to team KikongManlalarawan for doing what Mark and I really wanted! Even if we only had 3 hours photoshoot session, you guys were still able to capture some of the most memorable parts during the shoot! ♥

Venue: Philippine Airforce Museum, Villamor Airbase
Music: Fresh Feeling by Eels (Instrumental) 

HMUA: MV Balo

Kat and Mark 05.26.2012 Wedding Teaser from bloggingb2b on Vimeo.

We are "MINT" to be ♥

Mark is into mints and it has been a part of his daily routine to take mints before going to work (to freshen up his breath while talking to me. ) haha, so I thought of adding some mints on our table as an additional centerpiece.

Last year, during the first few months of our wedding preps, I have seen a lot of styles how to use mint candies as a wedding favor. Unfortunately, the rates are unbelievably expensive which I do not find quite practical anymore.  Due to my frustration, I planned to do a DIY and emailed a couple of suppliers who are selling tin cans. Much to my surprise, the tin cans are not that expensive, but if I am going to add the costs of mints plus the materials I am going to use for the DIY, it would sum up and even higher to the actual prize of mint favors I have scouted online.

As luck would have it, I was able to find an alternative way how to pack the candies. I would have to let go of the tin cans and stick to the inexpensive way of course.

I bought 20 mini baskets (1 basket per table - each guest will get their own pack of mints of course); in one of the famous warehouses here in the country: D and 3 dozens of Tic Tac mints. 2 yards of ribbon and here are humble the results:

(Of course, the Mint to be Tags that I used below is just again, a prototype:D ) 

DIY - Wedding Matches

Yesterday, I started making our wedding matches. Ever since I found out that buying wedding matches from bridal shops are not practical (99 pesos for 2 matchboxes); I promised myself that I will do our own wedding matches for the wedding, and spend the most inexpensive way for this wedding paraphernalia.

After our marriage counseling last February 1 at Don Bosco, H2b and I finally had the chance to buy some DIY materials for the wedding ceremony. We were able to buy some goodies from NBS and we were also able to buy mini baskets and mints as a part of our DIY’s for the reception. I am still clueless how to pack the mints; but I already have an idea how it would look like. :D 

So let me share the prototype I did for the wedding matchboxes. I am going to revise these boxes a few weeks before the wedding.  

Damask wrapper: 12.50

Scrapbook material (flowers: 12pcs): 20.00

Commando Matchbox (8 pcs) : (yes commando! ): 14.00

Gluestick: Existing

Total Peso Power: 46.50

That's half the price based on the wedding matches I have seen from the Wedding Library. I can even make 8 wedding matches if I want to. haha! ♥