This post is way overdue.. Sorry for that...;) I started working on a new project at work right after I got back from my PH trip.. So I've been a little busy, and I'm loving the new challenge!;) But of course, it also meant less time for me to blog and play Farmtown.. LOLz!!

Anyway, like I said, my h2b and I went to PH last Aug 8, and we were there for 9 days... As usual, our days were jam packed with appointments and meetings!.. Even the last 2 days which we thought was our "free" day to meet with friends, turned out to be filled with last-minute appointments.. It was definitely very tiring... But I can say a productive one also..;) Sorry this is going to be a little longer than my usual posts...;) So here goes my wedding update:

Aug 8 - We landed around 6pm, then straight from the airport (NAIA-2), just kissed my mom hello and g'bye.. met my bestfriend (and also my SS*), Jajah there and we're off to Tita Juliet's house for her measurements. On the way we just grabbed a take out at Mcdo for dinner, and picked up my other bestfriend (and SS* also) Debby somewhere near ABS-CBN.. Once there, the girls had their measurements taken.. and then Tita Juliet and I finalized the fabric, design and costs of the gowns.. Also scheduled their 1st fitting, which will be 1st week of October.. After that, we brought Debby and Jajah home.. So how's that for a first day?..;)

Aug 9 - Had our pre cana seminar in our parish church the whole day.. then went to mass in the evening.. somewhere in between, we were able to pass by SM Southmall to drop h2b's shoes for fixing at Mr. Quickie and do some last minute shopping for props for our e-session with Paul Vincent.. then dinner with my family at Monggolian.. Then my sister Joymari, h2b and I watched the last full show of The Proposal at Filinvest Festival Mall..;)

Aug 10 - Had an 8am appointment with our dentist.. Then, we went to Makati for another check up.. Unfortunately, it lasted longer (and costed more) than we expected..:( Then, we went to Wally Gonzales' office in Jupiter St. to pick up our Engagement album and frame!.. After that, Anthony wanted to go home early so that we can prepare for our e-session w/PV the next day, plus I had to drop him off in Cainta pa and drive back home alone to Las Pinas, so he didn't want me driving back too late..

Aug 11 - Our e-session with Paul Vincent!! This took the whole day, since our location was a 3-hr drive from Las Pinas.. We went to Hamilo Coast - Pico de Loro Beach & Country Club, in Nasugbu Batangas!.. The journey was tiring.. but once we got there, it was surely worth the trip! The venue was just picture perfect! I think we all really got excited during the shoot, that we didn't even notice the time.. The clubhouse was supposed to close at 5pm, but we were there 'til past 6pm, still shooting.. Ahaha!! We all really just loved the place! And the staff are all super accommodating!.. I would really recommend this place for e-sessions!:) On our way home, we passed by one of our Ninangs who lives in Silang Cavite to give our STD*/Will-you-be card..:)

Aug 12 - Final food tasting with Josiah's (pictures here). As expected, everything tasted good! I think we were able to pick a good combination of dishes.. Unfortunately, their florist called in sick so we had to reschedule the meeting for the centerpieces the ff. day. Since we finished a little earlier than expected, h2b and I decided to check out Discovery Suites, and good thing we did! We're almost 100% sure we'll be booking rooms here for the wedding preps.. The rooms aren't as elegantly beautiful as the ones in Edsa Shangri-La, but theirs are waaaay more spacious, which is more important for us, since there will be a lot of people during the preps (view pics here).. We also checked out Linden Suites after, but we didn't like it much.. After that, we met Judy Uson to discuss our cake design options at Edsa Shangri-La.. She gave us samples of her cake, and we loved them!.. but we'd have loved it more if it came with fondant topping as well (like Penny's - Jan 2 post) so as to get a better idea of the whole cake taste (not just the bread).. After that, we had dinner at SM Megamall.. Before bringing me home, we again passed by another Ninang's house to give our STD*/Will-you-be card...:)

Aug 13 - Had a haircut and foot spa in the morning.. I try to have these "kakikayan" when I'm back home, since it's a lot cheaper than here in SG. H2B then had his baptismal and confirmation certificate corrected.. his parish misspelled most of the names! Argh! Then we went to Market Market to have lunch, then meet our OTD* Events Manila.. It was during the meeting where our "free" days disappeared! Haha! Rose squeezed in an appointment with our videographer (Threelogy) and our florist (15-58) for the weekend! I got so many assignments from her, haha! (which reminds me I should start working on them!!) After that, h2b & I met (this time) one of our Ninongs for dinner, where we gave him his STD*/Will-you-be card too..:)

Aug 14 - The most tiring day! Started with me driving to Sta. Lucia Mall Cainta, to pick up h2b. Then we went to Josiah's in Marikina again for the centerpiece samples (more pictures here). Unfortunately, the florist didn't wait for us, so we weren't able to talk AGAIN!:( We definitely loved the samples they made, BUT was informed that we need to pay additional Php600/table for it!!?!:( so right now, we know the colors and style we want.. but we'll just need to be a little creative and research for some cheaper alternatives for violet hydrangeas.. (anyone have suggestions?).. then, we picked up MIL* in Filinvest Cainta. Then went to Tomas Morato for lunch meeting with Trina for our invites.. More or less, we have finalized the idea we want for our invites. We'll just be sending her pictures from our e-session, then we'll get samples already.. Then we went to the Makati branch office of Jorge Palmos for MIL*'s measurements (see mothers' gown designs here). After, we brought back MIL* home in Cainta, then went to Threelogy's office in Teacher's Village, QC. There we finally got a copy of our contract and was able to watch a sample of their full video coverage!:) That ended our Friday!;)

Aug 15 - I had my 2nd fitting this time in Jorge Palmos' Alabang branch.. Sorry, no pictures this time! H2b reads my blogs!;) ehehe! It already has beads on it.. the skirt had it's "bustings".. We decided to be a little daring (sexy?) and lowered the back a little more.. Now I really have to lose weight! Haha! Can't wait to wear it once it's finished!!:) After that, we passed by another Ninong's house to give him his STD*/Will-you-be card.. Then we met my friend Grace for lunch in BF Resort.. After that, we met my family for a dinner treat for my youngest sister Joymari (she has been recognized for being in the Dean's List for the whole SY! Sooo proud of you lil sis!) at Red Crab in Greenbelt 3, Makati.:) Also did some grocery shopping for things to bring back here in SG and picked up my test results from the check up (Monday) then..

Aug 16 - flight back home... Phew!!!;)

So that was it!.. Warned you it's gonna be long..;) 'til the next update... Ciao!


* SS - Secondary Sponsor (Veil, Cord, Candle)
MIL - Mother-In-Law
STD - Save-The-Date
OTD - my short term for On-the-day coordinator

xoxo,

As I mentioned in my previous post, my fiance and I had our food tasting last January 2. From Fernwood's list of accredited caterers we picked our top 2 caterers: Center Table Catering, Inc. and Josiah's Catering, Inc. We got good feedbacks from friends for these 2 caterers that's why we picked them.

The food tasting went well for both caterers. We both liked the food we sampled, although I preferred Josiah's a little more (maybe I'm just biased, because it was my friends who had Josiah's, and Anthony's friends who tried Center Table)..;)

So with food taste out of the list, the decision for us boiled down to the reception set-up, package price and (for me this is really important) the AE...

Regarding the 1st concern, so far, based on our visits in both Fernwood and Fernbrook, we honestly usually notice/like the set up of Center Table more.

For the price, their minimum package rate is the same. Of course, it just differs with the freebies they are willing to give, and what other items are included in the package, like guest book, dove, cake, sounds, etc. On this issue, if ever there is a difference bet. the packages, I was confident I could haggle it from the caterer we choose... so this wasn't really an issue for me...

And for the last, but definitely not the least, issue: the Account Executive.. This for me is really important.. Because we were both overseas, I want to pick suppliers that would require lesser time (and cost) for us to manage... Hands down, I was impressed and got excited with Josiah's AE!.. The person we talked to then was Xarin. She was confident and showed she really knows her job, and yet friendly enough to let us know she welcomes whatever it is we had to say/ask/suggest.. And she gave us freebies, like the chocolate fondue!;)

Of course, those who've already visited our WEDsite would know we already chose Josiah's Catering. When we confirmed with them, we learned that we were assigned a different person to handle our wedding. At first we were worried.. Because she might not be as easy to talk to as the previous AE.. But thank God, we got the BEST AE ever!! Maui is simply godsent! She is very friendly, hard working and most importantly (esp. to overseas couple like us) very accessible! She's almost always online in YM. And we'll be forever grateful to her that she was able to book Missy (our emcee) for our wedding!;)

Missy is a very popular emcee for weddings.. And we were really afraid that she'll be book on our wedding day if we don't book her ASAP. We read in w@w that it's hard to book her thru caterers, so we had already decided to look for her ourselves. Then, just when we were about to book her directly, Maui came back from her maternity leave, and helped us book Missy thru Josiah's (since providing us an emcee is part of our package)! Didn't I say she's Godsent?!;)

We haven't met Maui in person yet.. but we are sooo looking forward to our second food tasting with Josiah's this May, and for us to finally meet our AE in person..:)

I'll post again how the food tasting goes.. and this time, I won't forget to take pictures first before we eat the food!;) ehehe!!

xoxo,