Showing posts with label PI Wedding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PI Wedding. Show all posts

Thursday, January 28, 2010

We're in love all over again!

It was a Monday, the day right after Jeff arrived in Cebu, we had our pre-nuptial photo shoot. Basically it was part of the wedding package that we had with our official photographer. The location was at one of the luxurious beach resorts in Cebu, Shangri-la Mactan Resort & Spa. I remember it so well. Rolando Pascua, the photographer, wanted to get a sunrise shoot so we had to wake up darn early. Jeff still had some jetlag while I, on the other hand, was feeling so jittery and anxious with how the pictorial would come out. It was a hot and muggy day and for the pictorial to look good, we had to change into different outfits several times. While a beach setting was already perfect for the shoot, we wanted to have a different location for the afternoon shoot as well. After we ate lunch, the photographer then led us to the remote and picturesque Busay Hills. It was indeed a very romantic ambience. I love the provincial feel of the place. However, the experience was not as comfortable as the morning shoot. If you've lived in the Philippines or even visited the country, you know how it would have been like to be out in the open under the scorching afternoon heat of the sun. To make matters worse, we didn't have a decent place to change outfits so we had to do it inside our van which is totally uncomfortable. It really was a good idea to hire a personal make-up artist that did the retouch in between shots. Do I sound like a celebrity now? Well, if you'd be photographed for 9 long hours, you'd feel like a celebrity, lol. One thing I've learned from that day, it's super duper hard to be a model, so I'd rather just be a simple Jenn, hahaha! Don't get me wrong, we had so much fun during the shoot. It's a once in a lifetime experience and we savored it until the last minute. Anyway, we're ecstatic that the shots came out great! My friends loved it and it makes me smile every time they'll say they want to get married again after seeing my photos, hehehe! Below are some of my favorite shots. If you want to view more, visit my Pre-nuptial Pictorial album on Facebook...

*Click photos to enlarge*














Saturday, January 23, 2010

Wedding Highlights Video

You've seen the photos...

Now, let me present to you the video highlights of our wedding done by Franz Arrogante and his team. This covers the preparation down to the church ceremony. I personally picked the music background, "When God Made You" by Natalie Grant. It's one of my favorite Christian wedding songs and I've always wanted to use this for my wedding video. Below is the lyrics of the song and the video of course. Enjoy everyone!
It's always been a mystery to me
How two hearts can come together
And love can last forever
But now that I have found you, I believe
That a miracle has come
When God sends the perfect one

Now gone are all my questions about why
And I've never been so sure of anything in my life

I wonder what God was thinking
When He created you
I wonder if He knew everything I would need
Because He made all my dreams come true
When God made you
He must have been thinking about me


Saturday, December 12, 2009

Dress-up and Make-up at Marco Polo Plaza Hotel

The culmination of all the hard work put forth for this wedding happens on the 9th of January. There's no better way to end the preparation and get ready for the Big Moment than to stay in a grand bridal suite at Marco Polo Plaza. The entourage will meet at the said hotel for the make-up and pictorial session. We were allowed to see the suite before I made the reservation and I must say I was impressed with the room. It's spacious and modern-looking. The only drawback I saw was the location of the hotel. Dominating the Cebu City skyline, it is situated at 600 feet above sea level in the district of Nivel Hills. But that can be easily remedied since a lot of public transportation like jeepneys and cabs can take people there. Besides, some of my entourage drive their own vehicles, so that shouldn't be a big problem. I rented a 45-seater air-conditioned tourist bus to transport my entourage from the hotel to the church, then to the reception venue. The big day is getting near. But before that happens, I need to have my groom with me, don't I? That part is fixed too. My hubby (who will be my groom for the 2nd time) will be arriving in Cebu next week. Woohoo! I can't wait to be in my hubby's arms again!



Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Pre-nup Pictorial Location: Shangri-la's Mactan Resort & Spa

I had a hard time deciding where to have my pre-nuptial pictorial session. I once considered mountain view background, lighthouse or even a provincial setting as location for my pre-nuptial photo shoot. But in the end, I've decided to have a luxuriously romantic setting instead. I think Shangri-la Resort is perfect for that. It's convenient as far as distance travelling is concerned as opposed to having to travel hours to go to the province. Plus the fact that we can enjoy the beach waters after the photo shoot is too irresistible. I've never seen the place except on photos until weeks ago, when I made reservations for our stay on December 21st. I love the place and the ambience. Jeff will arrive from the U.S. on the 20th and despite the jetlag and time zone adjustments, we need to have our pre-nuptial pictorial right away, because we need the pre-nup photos for different purposes such as the slideshow presentation on the reception, wedding give-aways with frames provided, background for our foto-booth wallpaper, and for our wedding Guestbook. Whew! There's still so many minor details to take care of, which reminds me of getting in touch with my wedding coordinator later today. I'll try to update you more about my wedding preps from now on. Enjoy the internet photos of Shang, everyone!





Saturday, September 26, 2009

Cake: The Icing on my Wedding





I couldn't imagine mixing fashion with cakes. I'm so impressed with the creative ideas that these clients have come out for their cakes. But of course, there's a person molding these ideas into unique and yummy cakes that makes every event more meaningful and special. She has the imaginative hands and the awesome talent to create wonderful cake creations like these. She is Trina Ang. When I saw the photos on her website, I knew I found the one. I didn't think twice. I chose her to make the cake of my dreams. I know I would never go wrong with her ability to create that perfect wedding cake for me. The photos above are some of her celebration cakes. I'm pretty sure everyone could agree with me that she does a pretty good job with those designs. I can't wait to meet her in November and brainstorm about my own wedding cake. Below are some of her brilliant wedding cake creations.





*Photos are from Trina Ang's Multiply site.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Ceremony at Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral

I have always wanted to get married in Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. I knew in my heart that one day, I'd be walking down the aisle in this historical piece of architecture. When my chance to get married came along, I have only one church in mind. However, just to be on the safe side, I have thought of a few other church options, just in case I won't get lucky enough to get booked at my first church of choice. But after going through church requirements preparation, I was finally booked at Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. The ceremony is at 4:00 P.M. and dinner reception follows at 5:30 P.M.

Why Cathedral, you might ask? Well, aside from the apparent beauty and grandeur of the architecture inside and out, this church brings back a lot of cherished grade school memories. My sister and I went to school at YLAC Elementary School from Grades I-VI. It is a free Catholic school run by RVM sisters which is situated right at the back of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. During major examinations time, my sister and I, along with my mom who brings and picks us up from school would hang out on a small, comfy, cool shaded area right beside the church at lunch time. Mom would help us review for the exams. On occasions when our school had to attend mass, all grade schoolers would march to Cathedral escorted by our teachers and principal. Since my wedding is a very personal occasion, I think it's just fitting to include venues and people who were part of who I am. Considering how many brides would like to get married on the months of December and January, I just feel so lucky to have the opportunity to be wed here.


Wednesday, September 2, 2009

An expression of beauty: Florist and maquillage artist

Kalidades is my wedding florist. We had a bad experience with my sister's florist 5 years ago. The supplier seemed nice and good but on the day of the event, it turned out that the choice of flowers and the arrangement itself are not what she promised to us when we signed the deal. She told us she's gonna use imported flowers but you can hardly see imported in her arrangement. That's why I have always been wary with my decision on which florist to get for my wedding. I don't need the fancy, very expensive floral decoration but I just want to get my money's worth, if you know what I mean. Flower arrangement is one of my least priorities as far as my wedding expenses is concerned. But I must say, it still made a great chunk from our budget. If I had a choice, I wouldn't spend that much for my flowers but after spending a great deal of time looking for a good but affordable florist, I realized that in this time and age, I have made a reasonable deal. I just hope that unlike my sister's supplier, they would be true to their word with me. I may not get the exact arrangement in the photo for my reception, but I'd like to have something similar. I think gazebos look romantic and chic.

Now, I'm going to talk about my make-up artist. He is Emi Ayag. She's pretty, isn't she? Much prettier than the bride, I would say, lol! Definitely one of the best make-up artists in town! It comes with a hefty professional fee, but I don't mind as long as he's going to make me look the best version of me on my wedding day. The last thing I would want is to look pasty white and fake-looking on my big day so I invested a little bit more for my make-up artist.

I am almost done booking my major wedding suppliers. I still need to do some more when I go home in November but at least I have taken care of the most important details. Truly, weddings are stressful but this is my dream wedding so I'd like to be very hands-on in choosing the people who's going to help me make this day a fab and memorable one.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Foto-booth will spice up my wedding reception!

Basically, Foto-booth is a mobile photo booth rental for birthdays, debuts, weddings, corporate events and children parties. I have first read about it several months before I even seriously started my wedding preparation. I saw a couple from Manila used it on their reception and I was interested to have it on my wedding as well. Unfortunately, I've learned at that time that there's no vendor yet in Cebu. But a few weeks ago I found out about Foto-booth. It is the FIRST mobile photo rental in Cebu and I was so glad I found them while I was doing my search for my wedding. I didn't think twice, I contacted them right away and they are so prompt with their responses. I have booked them last week and I'm pretty sure my guests will enjoy having unlimited photos taken for free as a souvenir. All photos will be printed in 4" x 6" format in a customized layout pre-chosen by me. After 24-36 hours, all photos taken during the event will be posted on the vendor's multiply website. Below are some Foto-booth samples taken at weddings and debut.



*photo courtesy of Foto-booth multiply site*

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Our official wedding videographer

Time for some wedding updates here...

Franz Arrogante will cover the important moments of our wedding through videos. There will be 2 cameras shoot for the entire wedding day and everything will be covered from the dress-up in Marriott, to the church ceremony and down to the reception in Casino Espanol. A 3-5 minute video highlights of the wedding will be shown at the reception in an MTV style. Two DVD with 20-25 minutes final output as well as a copy of the raw footage will be provided to us. They say the wedding only lasts for a few hours but after that, all you have are the memories captured through photos and videos, so I made sure both will be taken care of by one of the best professionals in town. We're getting closer to the big day!!!

*photo courtesy of Franz A.'s multiply site*

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Sorry for my long absence

I can't believe that it's already been a week since I last updated my blog. I don't usually wait this long to write some updates but things have been going pretty hectic lately. After work, most of my time and energy had been spent researching for wedding suppliers. It's not easy planning your wedding when you're thousand miles away from everything. Good thing there's internet, it's really been such a helpful tool for me.

For the past week, I have been busy taking care of important stuff. I've sent out our church requirements through UPS. I have been waiting for the bridal shop to call me about my wedding dress, they said it should be delivered within this week. The waiting is killing me, lol! I really have to have it as soon as possible so as to take care of the alterations immediately.

After spending quite some time looking for people to complete my wedding dream team, I have finalized my florist, make-up, video and wedding planner choices. Hopefully, my mom would be able to meet them all within this week for the contract signing, that way I can feature each of them here on my blog.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

My Wedding Dress

...is a Monalisa Royale by Maggie Sottero.

It has always been a dream of mine to walk down the aisle and feel like a princess. When I first laid my eyes on this gown through the designer's website, I knew right then and there that this is the dress I'm going to wear on my wedding in the Philippines. We went dress shopping for 2 days. The first bridal shop that we went to does not carry Maggie Sottero's designs but I still went ahead and try something that looks a little bit similar. It was pretty, but I would still want to find a place that carry the Monalisa Royale. The last 2 shops that we visited are authorized dealers of Maggie Sottero and I was ecstatic that they had the exact dress that I wanted to try on. Just as what I've thought, the dress was gorgeous. Hubby went with me but I stayed the whole time in the dressing room, that way he won't be able to see me on it. But he laughed so hard when I told him that I fell in love with myself when I saw myself in the mirror with the Monalisa on, lol! We bought the dress last Saturday. I got lucky that there's one on my size in their warehouse so they are going to have it ready for me in 10 days. It needs to be altered because I'm so short for the gown but at least we have plenty of time to do that before I fly to the PI in November.

The website describes the gown as a one-piece, corset, strapless, full A-line gown with sweetheart neckline. The gown features regal embellished embroidery accented with Swarovski crystals, bugle beads, seed beads, glass beads, and sequins. Embellishments ornament the bodice and center front skirt panel. The caught-up cutaway skirt is richly decorated with motifs that also accent the caught up skirt back. The embellished chapel length train finishes the style. It is available in All White, White/Pewter accent, Ivory/Pewter accent.

I got mine in Ivory/Pewter accent. Woohoo! I am so excited. I can't wait to actually wear it on my wedding day. Now, I'm gonna start to think about what accessories go best with it. I'm actually thinking of getting a set of 3-row pearl choker necklace and earrings. Instead of a tiara, I might wear an elegant but simple crystal headband. I'd like to have my hair down with little curls but I'm not sure if it will look good on me. We'll see. Awwww! I'd better stop rambling, hehehe! I'll share more photos about it as I am getting everything finalized. Oh, by the way, if you've read this far, thanks a lot for taking time to know more about me and our upcoming wedding. It's my pleasure to share this with you, guys!


Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Sonata serenades us on The Big Day

I am a self-confessed hopeless romantic. It has always been a dream of mine to get a balladeer to sing for me and my guests on my dream wedding. Someone who can sing the songs of Gary Valenciano and Martin Nievera from the heart. I was lucky that my good friend Joanne actually know of somebody who can do it for me. The group had sung for her wedding and she highly recommended them. I’ve checked their website and listened to a sample of his songs and right then and there, I knew I'd have to have them on my wedding. I didn’t wait long enough to contact the group and finally last weekend, we’ve made it official! I booked Sonata Singers for my upcoming wedding in the Philippines. Woohooo!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Our plane tickets to the Philippines now booked!

After a few weeks of searching for the best travel deals online, we got a very good one at Expedia. I'd be flying ahead of Jeff because I'm gonna take care of the final details of our wedding. My flight schedule is in November while Jeff's is going to be on the 3rd week of December. We decided to book our flights as early as now, so as to avail the different promo deals that travel websites are offering. Rose, of Texas Life, was the one who actually suggested to me a couple of websites to check out. I've looked into Travelocity, CheapTickets and Expedia. I've heard horrible reviews about CheapTickets so I concentrated my comparison between Travelocity and Expedia. The latter is slightly cheaper than the former, though both sites are very reliable and safe when it comes to booking online. I'm quite happy with our purchase. We expected to spend $2,000-2,500/each, considering the time of the year that we would be flying. Thankfully, I only paid $1,239.70 for my ticket, while Jeff's ticket costs $1,520. Then, an additional $60.00/each for our roundtrip flight from Manila to Cebu. Not bad, huh! I think it's cheaper when you book your flights 6-8 months before your departure day. Jeff had been to Cebu twice to visit me but never did he get this good of a deal online. He's pretty much happy with our purchase too! Yohoooo!!! Philippines, here we come!!!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Booked and Confirmed at Casino Español

It's final and official. My wedding reception is going to be at Casino Español Ballroom. My mom had gone to meet Aneth, the venue's account executive last Wednesday. We made a downpayment for my wedding that's going to be on January 9th, 2010. I know it's still 9 long months before the big day but I just want to secure the reception as early as now because we could not afford to move the date any longer. We're only be staying in the Philippines for a little over a month and since we want to spend the holidays there, there's not much options but to have it either on the 2nd or 9th of January. Since January 2nd has already been booked by someone else, I didn't have much choice but to move it on the 9th. I like it because it's a Saturday and people must have been rested enough from the holidays so I hope everyone invited could come and celebrate with us on our special day.

The place has 12 different menu packages to choose from. It ranges from Php408.00 - Php928.00/pax, exclusive of beverages and service fee of 7%. They serve 5 different kinds of appetizers, 5 main course, rice and 2 kinds of desserts. They offer free corkage for lechon so I plan to get 2 lechon for the occasion. For my guests who have sweet tooth, a chocolate fountain set-up of pure Belgian chocolates is something that they could look forward to. Oh, am I excited! The preparation and planning is definitely not yet over but I'm glad that we have so much time in our hands, not to mention the power of Internet technology has really helped me with my supplier choices providing me convenient ways to get in touch with them even if I'm thousand miles away from the Philippines.

Monday, March 30, 2009

The Man I Trust with my Wedding Memories:


Rolando Pascua
...


After much careful thought and deliberation, we chose him to be in-charge with the most important aspect of our wedding day, the Photography. If there is one thing that we should invest more for this wedding, I'd say it's the memories that we keep after, and what a best way to document everything is through the artistic and creative hands of our wedding photographer.

I may be thousand miles away from Cebu, but I managed to find one of the best talents in this field. Thanks to the power of Internet! I've lurked in a few other Cebuano photography websites but I must say Rolando's packages are worth every peso you spent. I've chosen the "With Album" package and I'm so grateful that he gave me a decent rate of discount so I need not think more, we'll be formalizing everything on Friday, April 3rd. He emailed me a copy of the contract and I'm gonna have my mom sign it on Friday on my behalf.

Here's more of Rolando Pascua's wedding photography.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Wedding reception dilemma


I must admit that I was disappointed when I found out from the account executive of Casino Espanol that January 2, 2010 was no longer available if I was to hold my reception at their ballroom. How could that be? It's still 10 months from now. I mean who would have thought that aside from me, there's somebody else out there in Cebu who also plan to get married on the 2nd day of the year. I didn't choose that date for feng shui, horoscope, star signs or any goodluck reasons, which I don't see anything wrong if I did. But that seems to be the most practical date for me and Jeff considering his limited number of vacation days. We wanted to spend Christmas and New Year with my family so after the wedding day, that would leave us roughly 2 weeks for our honeymoon in Boracay and a visit to some of our favorite dining places in the city. But since we could not have it on the 2nd of January, we were forced to move it to January 9th. I was told the date is still open but I'm still waiting for a reply from the account executive as to how would I be able to reserve that date for me. Initially, I did not want to confine myself and my guests within the four corners of the venue, that's why I've always wanted it to be in a garden or at a beach. But I don't want to put the convenience of my guests at risk especially since December and January in the Philippines are known to be rainy season, and that eliminates the choice of a picturesque garden or beach venue.

If you're not careful, reception itself is gonna cost you a fortune. No matter how tempting it is to choose Waterfront, Marriott and the like, I didn't want to succumb to it because I wanted to be practical. Yes, I've been dreaming for this wedding my whole life but I don't want to go crazy with my choices and end up depleting our savings just to prove a point. I choose to have it in an elegantly simple venue, within our price range and most importantly a place that serve good food. After all, a reception is all about food and the special memories that I'm going to share with the people that I hold dear to my heart which are my family, relatives and friends. I really hope I would hear back from Casino so I can get this part out of the way. I have 90% decided on most suppliers that's going to be a part of my dream team. I believe the reception is the most expensive part of the wedding (aside from my gown =)), that's why I'm giving this my utmost attention. I hope everything will fall into place as soon as I have my church and reception set.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

On Top of a Hill or at the Beachfront?

My current dilemma is having to choose between two equally wonderful locales for my Philippine wedding reception. This ain't the final two yet but for now, my mind is set on these two venues. I'd like my reception to make my guests feel closer to nature. So I've always wanted an outdoor venue. My original choice is at the beachfront. I know this shouldn't be a difficult choice since Cebu has a lot of very wonderful beaches. But I also have certain conditions. I wouldn't want it to be right on the sandy shores. I want my guests to admire nature at the same time feel comfortable without having to worry about sands getting on their feet. Another thing that I consider is the price of the package. Reception venue rates can be pretty ridiculous nowadays. I want it to be within our budget. And I think VistaMar Beach Resort in Mactan is the right choice for us. I have here two pictures of the place that I grabbed from my friend Hazel's Multiply site. She also had her renewal of vows at VistaMar and she recommended this place to me. It's a perfect venue for small and intimate weddings.

VistaMar Boardwalk

VistaMar Boardwalk

VistaMar Boardwalk


But after searching for more wedding inputs online, I came across with a forum that talks about Cebu weddings and there I saw another perfect venue for a simple and romantic setting. The place is Chateau de Busay, a haven that is nestled on top of a hill with a breathtaking view of lush green mountains and overlooking the magnificent city of Cebu. Ok, I must admit, I am a sucker for a great, romantic view. By looking at my choices, you probably realized it by now.


Chateau de Busay (City Garden View)

Chateau de Busay at night