While I had a hard time looking for generic favors for our
guests, I never had difficulties scouting for a supplier that would provide
affordable yet elegant souvenirs for our principal sponsors. WE are the lucky
couple who were able to grab the opportunity of their group buying promo.
Chelo is very easy to deal with, very down to earth and religious. She makes sure to update you about the progress of your orders. When she delivered our orders last May 23, I was really happy to see her and was really amazed by her personality. We instantly clicked!
All
of our ninongs and ninangs really loved the wines we gave them. Sayang lang,
since the wines were such a big hit during our wedding day, we weren’t able to
keep our own wine as a souvenir. But at least, we still have the cappuccino bars.
Some might say that wine giveaways for principal sponsors
are already “gasgas” – but I never had any regrets booking them because their wines
don’t look gasgas after all. THEY ARE ABOVE THE EDGE; ELEGANT; BEAUTIFUL and
REALLY WORTH IT!
As early as June of last year, hubby to be and I already
booked Rachebeli wines just to get the freebies included on their summer sale
promo. We were able to get such a great deal from them, and was too happy with
the decision to give out wines for our PS, even if this souvenir is quite ‘gasgas’
already.
What I really love about this kind of souvenir is we don’t
have to think about the packaging and labels we need to do; most especially
that Rachebeli takes care of this task. Their clients just need to provide the
materials such as the soft copy of their invitation and their favorite pre-nuptial
picture on a high resolution.
I am satisfied with the output, because it’s as if our
labels were created to match our wedding invites. I showed it to one of my
officemates to get constructive feedbacks, and they said that it is really lovely
and Rachebeli did a good job editing our wedding invitations. Now I am wondering
how they were able to do it since the file I sent them was a PDF file. Tee hee.
Overall, I would give them 5 stars for being consistent and
for fulfilling the lead-time they have committed. Our next step
would be the delivery of the items, and I can no longer wait to see the finished
products. I’m excited how the layout would fit on the wine bottles and custom labeled
chocolates!
I am so eager to post reviews about our major suppliers but since the wedding day is not yet over, I can’t do it yet since technically, we’re still on the planning stage. Hehe. But let me rundown and carve up good things about our suppliers ;)
Don Bosco Church – Mark and I booked them last March, and we can say that the associates on the church are really accommodating. However, we weren’t able to talk to the person in charge of weddings, since she usually arrives between 2 to 4 PM. (we went there at exactly 9:00AM) haha. I heard that Ms. Ging (person in charge) is really nice and they really make the wedding ceremony worry free.
The moment we booked them for our 2012 wedding, the person we transacted business said that we should already submit the marriage license & certificates 2 weeks after the date of our reservation. Being baffled by the requirements she told us, Mark and I already wanted to back out and check NSDG instead. However, with my inquisitiveness, I told the girl that we cannot present the requirements yet, since the validity of the license is only good for 2 months. And so she checked her records again, and she just found out that she inadvertently reserved us for May 2011 wedding. Haha. After she found this slip, she immediately gave us questionnaires that will be asked by the parish priest to Mark and I for our Canonical interview which is scheduled on December 6. =)
Rates
(non-air-conditioned) – 17,000
Air-conditioned – 22,500
Reservation is only 2,000 & yes, they do accept pencil bookings
Inclusions:
·The wedding ceremony within the Holy Mass.
·The registration forms, marriage certificate, red carpet (center aisle), nuptial and unity candles and booklets (for the couple only).
·Flowers in the center aisle and around the altar.
They recently updated their package rates, since the rates posted on their website includes the organist & soloist.
Taken from my Phone's cam. Don Bosco lights up the altar during masses & weddings. Take a look at the picture below to give you a glimpse of how it looks like ;)
Lovely Altar!!!
Church set - up (Photo courtesy of Mr. Google)
Great Eastern Hotel – after going to Don Bosco, we immediately went to GEH, hoping we could reserve our wedding date too. I was informed by the receptionist that the reservation fee is 10% of our total bill. Since I have been exchanging emails and calling the hotel before we went there, I have already partially computed our total bill, so I thought that reservation would be 10K. In contrast with the reviews I read online for GEH, I would like to express that the attendants are really nice and 100% accommodating. They were kind enough to answer all my inquiries even if our contract with them had too many erasures due to my numerous change of mind. Haha. We initially booked the grand ballroom (the one w/ winding stairs) but we went back to have it changed to Empress Ballroom. So again, changes have been made w/ our contract again. I looked at the other contract on their folder, and good gracious, the couple’s contract was too clean. As in no erasures. Hihi.
MV Dela Cruz – Balo – MV will be our HMUA artist during our pre nup and wedding day. She was referred to me by a GT sis (Female Network). MV or Maricar is so nice, and always replies to my inquiries. (whether email or via text message). She does make up for passion, and she uses high end, and branded make ups ONLY. =) Since this isn’t her full time job, her rates are 100% tempting. I’ve seen her works on her FB account too!
Rachebeli Wines – I learned about Rachebeli through GT Forum – one sis posted a topic about this and I tried to lurk and back read all the replies. Curious as I was, I checked their website and was really impressed by their products. I shoot an email asking for their promo (they had a summer promo the time I emailed them) and they instantly replied within 24 hours. They also reply fast via text message. Mark and I are lucky enough to avail of the Bride’s package & double the freebies promo. In order to avail of their promo, couples must book a total of 30 cases . Good thing the time I booked them, slots were available & there was a volunteer consolidator. Our freebies?: 24 customized labeled chocolates worth 1200. (such a great steal, isn’t it?)
Velvet Musical – since organist is not included on Don Bosco’s package, Mark and I have to find something that can make our wedding ceremony more solemn and lovely. Hehe. I first heard Velvet Musical played during Mother’s day and I was truly touched by the way they played (that time, I didn’t know that the name of the quartet band is Velvet Musical) – The moment I saw their contact info on Metro Weddings Magazine, I immediately emailed Sir Edwin but that time, I didn’t know that they were the quartet band who played in SM. I only found it out when I checked their website and recognized their faces. Sir Edwin is super magalang, most especially over the phone. He loves saying ‘PO’. :D
Reservation is only 2,000 and dates are interchangeable.
Rate for Quartet: 12,000 (church and reception) – with unlimited songs ;)
Picture Capture – I got them through an online buying site, and was able to get their promo rate for only 5,000. Their original price is 10,000 for 3 hours. I was planning to book our photobooth during wedding fair, and I find this deal more affordable rather than getting a 20% discount from the fair. So this is also a steal for us. Reservation must be made at least 2 weeks before the wedding, but the owner was again, kind enough to pencil book our wedding date. ;) They are easy to reach via text message, and the owner was very accommodating too!
Ysabela Florist – Ysabela florist is one of the best and nicest suppliers we have talked to. They are too kind and so patient with all my requests and inquiries whether it be email or text. Ysabela was referred to me by a GT sis too. They were able to customize a package for me good for wedding entourage and reception flowers. I gave them my budget, and they are very much willing to work on it. Just like what the owner said to me over the phone, when I called them last March “Lahat po napag uusapan Ms. Kat” ;)
Norly Dizon – To be honest, I never had plans hiring an emcee during our wedding day since what Mark and I really wanted is to have someone host our wedding party who knows the love story between us. But due to the good reviews I have seen online (FYI: I’ve never read negative reviews about him) All the brides really loved how he handled the guests and to top that, he’s a good singer too! And so I was persuaded to book him even 10 months before the wedding. Norly is just so in demand, and I made sure that we book our wedding date 100% on time. Luckily, due to our early booking, Norly gave me a freebie. ;) A female receptionist!!! See picture below:
Nope, Angel Locsin is not the receptionist!!! ♥
Reservation: 50% -- so that would be 4,000 to block off the date
Total rate: 8,000
Zandel’s Mini Cooper Rental - Unlike other brides, I included bridal car on our major supplier list. I searched online via Sulit.PH and to Mr. Google, and had too many options in mind. But since Mark wanted to inject something unique, I opted to have a Mini cooper as our bridal car. They reply fast on email and text, but you have to call them because they reply kind of vague via text message.
Reservation: 3000 – to block off the date; this is refundable
Total rate: 6,000 (good for 4hours, flowers and driver) – Pearl white mini cooper
Rosy’s Bridal Shop – I’ll make this short, True to its tag, the owner and the manananahi are very accommodating -- They kept us calling 'apo' and 'anak'.
Yesterday, we already made a down payment to Rachebeli Wines. We're lucky enough to avail their summer saver promo :) Hopefully, KC, who is the volunteer consolidator for their groupon discount can gather more orders from B2B's :) Once we’ve reached the total cases required, B2B's can double up their freebies. This is such a great deal for a sweet-tooth like me!
Take a look at the pictures below to give you a glimpse of how they customize their products (Pictures were grabbed from their facebook account)
Originally, Mark and I planned that we would give sinamay lamps to our primary sponsors, but we're a bit worried about the packaging that we have to use, since the lamps that we're planning to give them are quite huge.
So when I came across the Rachebeli wines website (which I have been seeing on the forum website I have subscribed to, but didn't bother to read it) ; it made me so interested because one of the flavors they are selling is actually my favorite fruit-- mango! :) -- so the favor is upon me again.
Good thing Rachebeli has a summer promo, and we are so fortunate that we can make use of it even if the wedding is still next year. They do have great freebies and one thing I love the most about their product is they customize the wine label at no additional cost! To top that, they offer free delivery within the Metro. ;)
Part of every purchase you make goes to Project Brave K.I.D.S. whose mission is to assist children with cancer and their families by enhancing their social, emotional and physical well-being in the hopes of improving their quality of life.
