The V Experience: The Appointment

I love her to bits!!!

Okay, so after a millenium, I am writing the....uh... third (?) installment of my Veluz experience. I hope people will still read this.

Anyway, so you all know how and when it all happened. Now here is what came about on our first meeting.

After Ms. Gercel and i spoke over the phone (a few hours from reading Ms. V's email, that is), we've settled on having my appointment set with Ms. V in three days. I honestly didn't care the time conflict the appointment may encounter as all I ever wanted was to see her and talk to her in person and see her sketch my gown and all that.

Our appointment time was 4 hours from the moment I get off from work. At the time, Nico and I was still contemplating as to how we would get there the soonest. Excited much? :p

We left Araneta before 9 in the morning. We took the MRT then decided to take the LRT route to Quirino instead of the initial plan of taking a cab ride to Ms. Veluz's shop. We were there before 10.

I don't think my heart ever relaxed that day.

Everything went by like a blur. Since we were early for our 11am appointment, we had to wait.

I saw her emerge from the back office/fitting room where she was with the client scheduled before us. I was hearing her converse with the bride who has having her fitting. They were talking in a very sosyal way. Nosebleed ako. I whispered to Nico, who was preoccupied browsing through the magazines and pictures of Veluz's creations, "Baby, puro english-an sila. Nakaka-intimidate!"

And imagine how it felt even more nerve-racking to me when the bride came out of the fitting room: dressed in a black corporate tailored suit, her curves accentuated and her skin just screams out "alta-sosyedad".

Kamusta naman,Nico and I were in our usual casual wardrobe from work. We looked like usyuseras in a red carpet scene, for crying out loud.

I only felt the intimidation and nervousness fade when Miss V said hi to me and signaled, "Wait lang ha!" with her wholehearted warm smiles. I felt like melting at the sight of a high school crush.

So there, after more minutes of trying to look busy and not inip, I was asked to proceed to her office. The room was spaceous, and everything in it spelled class, elegance and warmth. I remember a few words in the first five minutes of the meeting.

"Kamusta?" she said in her most cheerful and ever welcoming tone.

The conversation was also a blur but there's one distinct moment that I will forever remember. As she was making kwento and all that, she mentioned about this bride's blog that she got to read. My heart was ultimately hammering as I listened to her describe how sad the fate of this bride was because this bride wanted so much to have her create her wedding dress but she won't be able to. My teary eyed expression at first burst out completely into soft sobs when it finally dawned to me that the blogger that she was referring to was me. She said something like, "Wow! tingnan mo nga naman diba! Ikaw pala yon!" And yes, it was something like destiny. Like fate. That I was to become an actual Veluz bride as I dreamt to be.

I couldn't believe it. She'd read my writings. I felt embarassed and swept away by the mere fact that she has bumped into my blogsite. It felt like my writings were unworthy of her time to be read and all the drama. Sabe na lang nya, "Ano ka ba! Ayan umiiyak na sya! Ate, pakisukatan na nga si Apol at naiyak na sya eh!"

Basta!

I came home with all-smiles. Teary-eyed due to an overwhelming gladness I was feeling. I didn't mind the tiring byahe that we had heading back home to Cavite, not to mention the puyat and stress we got from coming directly from work to Miss Veluz's shop. Everything felt very sulit. As in!

Crash and Burn

Been MIA for quite a number of weeks now. Well you see, work has been more than demanding lately with a couple more responsibilities and associates being endorsed to my plate. Pretty much I can say that I am all burned out at this point considering the stressful nature of my job. On top of that, our beloved and ever so loyal home computer crashed down. It was as if it reached the point that it doesn't want to work anymore (like owner, like computer maybe? :p) and it decided not to boot up. Just like that.

For that, I have to suffer a complete internet diet. And oh, we still haven;t picked out the images for our wedding album because of the recent events. How about topping that?

Hopefully, the forsaken computer will decide to wake-up without taking it to the "doctor".

The V Experience: An email

This is where the dream began.

So there was this topic from our wedding e-group in which I posted a reply to about gowns and Veluz. As you all my readers know, I've always been very vocal and open to the issue of desiring to be one of them Veluz brides but at the time, I had a different designer who was to make me my wedding gown in a cheaper rate. After a while, I checked my email and got a message from a fellow W@Wie about Veluz. She said, "sana tinry mo. no strings attached naman kung makipag appointment ka or magpasketch." and also mentioned a few information about the payment details.

Being the obsessed crazy Velus fan that I was, I immediately wrote a new message, addressed to Miss V's gmail account.

I knew it was a long shot. A very loooong one, for that matter. because considering the situation I was in during that time, even if she replies, I just know we cannot, in my wildest fantasies, afford to pay. And of course, taking into account the fact that my email can be compared to a tiny dust out of all those numerous emails she was getting, I can only expect about 0.000000001% response from her.

But for some miracle, she did! She responded! And I hyperventilated. Hahahahaha! Imagine my shock upon checking my inbox that blessed morning. I was at the office then and one of my agents noticed my discomposure, s/he said, "TC, okay ka lang? Bakit nanginginig ka?" :p

Oh, God must have really loved me.

....to be continued.

Vent Out: Unwanted Pahabol - Long Read

It's been exactly a month from our wedding.

Anyway, I was supposed to finish the selection of images for our wedding album and write more wedding kwentos most especially my V experience and complete our suppliers' ratings but I don't think I'm in the mood. Why? Because one of our 'almost-'wedding supplier is stressing me on top of the work pressure I'm getting.

This is the supplier that we booked when I was at the height of excitement for our wedding preps but this supplier was someone I just settled on getting. At the time, it so happened that this supplier's name was kind of sikat in our e-group for its service affordability and being super nice kausap. yes, the supplier was indeed a very nice person to talk to. However, I didn't expect this supplier to give me this kind of feeling after my wedding, considering that this supplier didnt even have a role on the actual wedding itself...

So we dropped this supplier at least 4-6 weeks before the wedding. The supplier asked why, and of course, it is my responsibility to let them know the reason, for courtesy's sake. After finding out our reason, they asked if we would still avail/claim the final output. I said, "bahala na po kayo kung anong plano nyo but dont worry po, I will pay the remaining balance." The issue was settled then.

From 2days before the wedding until last week, the supplier had been consistently texting me when will I be settling the payment for the remaining balance. It was 25% of the actual price. For 25%, I felt harassed and insulted.

Before I continue this story, let me just write the following:
1. The supplier's first concern was the budget I have for the service.
2. Upon acknowledging the amount I was willing to pay, the supplier will then only discuss how we would go about achieving what we want for the wedding.
3. We weren't given any contract of our agreement. (my fault, I didn't ask for one, I was too trusting with my suppliers)
5. The only documents/proofs that I have from that supplier are the receipts of our payments.

Okay, so you dear readers have a slight idea as to how I view this supplier's business attitude, noh?

I promised this supplier that I will settle the remaining balance today, July 6. He mentioned that there will be a storage cost per day if the payment is not made by July 6. We had the funds to pay and of course, I was very willing to pay even though it kind of means we're throwing away hard earned money for something that we weren't able to make use of. Unfortunately, because of my own procrastination, I fell asleep and I didn't get to pay the deposit to his bank account. I am most happy to take harshness for my partial negligence but please, was it enough to send me messages that imply something like I am a delinquent client who will make takas from my responsibilities?

I perfectly acknowledge my flaws that I forget things and that I tend to be too busy with work wherein I end up losing my time on just sleeping my butt off to catch up on rest. But saying "Naging stigma kasi ang hindi mo pagse-settle eh" as if I intentionally DID NOT settle the money I owe because it's my characteristic as a delinquent citizen or something. It was kind of disappointing. It would've been understandable if we did claim this supplier's full service and then we did not pay but hey, we would pay, time was just too stiff for us and take note; we didn’t get to utilize anything at all from their product and we don’t even have any trace or proof of our transaction except the receipts and a picture of how the supplier's product was supposed to look like. Other than that, do I deserve such a mark and reputation as a delinquent client/payer? On top of it all, we're not even talking about a five-digit amount of cash. Modesty aside, the amount we're talking about here is merely equivalent to the taxes being deducted from my semi-monthly salary.

I've had a couple of big suppliers but never did they make me feel harassed about paying. I may have asked one supplier if it was okay to make the final payment after the wedding (which, for the record, was paid in full at least halfway towards the completion of the service, 2weeks before the wedding) but again, they were all very, very polite and accommodating and I never felt that the whole business was just about money.

My husband and I will always be super thankful for having the people who took part on making our dream wedding come true and I must say that I am just glad we dropped this certain supplier who I see at this point as someone who cares more about the money they'll get rather than being concerned about the quality of their work, service, and their relationship with their clients.

By the way, I will make sure this supplier gets their money as soon as the bank opens tomorrow and I will tell them that I don't want anything to do with them anymore, the product is all theirs, I am not interested on even getting the sight of it.

The V Experience: the dream

It was an early Sunday back in February. We were on a Tuesday-Saturday schedule then and I was at work, preoccupied with wedding planning. It was after our last break at the office and everyone was feeling sleepy and tired and we all just wanted to head home to sleep or to bond with our families. After all, it was a Sunday.

So I was browsing and googling, looking for wedding inspirations when I stumbled upon this blogsite.

The exquisite designs, the meticulous details, the touching stories and eksenas of the brides. I was mesmerized. I was falling in love.

As I read through the blogs, I didn't realize I was on tears. Oh yes, the cry baby that I was, I cried over images of beautiful and breath taking wedding dresses and the gloriously described moments of those women on their weddings.

Ahh. I just knew I wanted to be one of them. I just knew I would love to be in one of the dresses that the blogger created.

I didn't know much about her at that time. All I know was her name and her pieces. And that I could only have her to be my designer in my dreams.

I wanted to be a Veluz bride.

The V Experience

I've been meaning to write about THE gown drama ever since it dawned to me that my bridal dream was coming true but I had to hold myself back as I wanted it to be a 'surprise'. A lot of people thought that I would be in a wedding dress that is made not by my dream designer and I was then ready to let go of my only dream as a bride but wait, the Lord apparently had bigger plans. T'was a plan more pricey but nonetheless way more exciting than what we had at the time. Besides, it was what will make me happy and Nico will want anything that makes me happy. Sweet, I know!

Okay.

So most of this blog's readers probably know I had a Veluz gown on my wedding. ^_____^ I couldn't be more thankful than I still am right now for that. It was kind of an impulsive moven but every tiny bit of it was all soooo worth it!

Yes, all those cryptic blogs I wrote before is about THE wedding dress. I took a couple of shots during our visits at her shop but no, there weren't any pictures of the actual fitting session. Will post a series of blogs about this experience as soon as I get to spare a couple of hours to go online at home. ;)

Wedding Kwentos #2: Keep Putik Away!

So I believe last Saturday was the day when the skies poured out all remaining waters in the clouds as it rained all morning and until the end of the church ceremony on our wedding day.

Imagine my worries and horrors when I realized that the veranda suite where we were staying for the preps is a walk on puddles of water towards the lobby and the hotel entrance/exit. Here's the thing, Island Cove Hotel is not your typical hotel wherein the rooms and the suites are all in one tall building with numerous floors and elevators. The suites that they provide for brides like me for the wedding preps are the executive veranda suites located outside the main building wherein the pathway towards the suites are surrounded by trees and plants and is an open space walkway. Meaning, puddles of water and mud and wet leaves and plants are all over the pavement and we would get wet if we don't walk carefully and with umbrellas.

The evening prior to the wedding day, I've been contemplating on switching rooms with Nico and his groomsmen. Their hotel deluxe room is inside the building, free from getting wet if you go outside the room. But we realized I just had to make the best out of what we have. Turned out, the rains became an advantage for taking pictures. It made the background look more green and fresh. The only thing I was left to worry about is my exit from the suite towards the lobby. I was worried about my Veluz gown of course. And my white Veluz wedding shoes.

My mom suggested to wear plastics to cover the shoes and walk back to the lobby on it. I said no as I'm sure, one way or the other, the shoes will still get dirty. So what did I do to resolve the dilemma? See the photos below. :p

See what I was wearing when I when I stepped out of the room?

Photos by: Atty. Raymond Fortun

Our Wedding Kwentos #1: The Arrhae

Starting with this post, I will try to blog our wedding kwentos and eksenas. The first I'll post is the story of our arrhae.

I've always wanted to use some of my sister's wedding accessories that she used when she got married ten years ago. My mind was keen on using their cord and arrhae until we picked up my dress from Veluz's shop. The package includes the wedding cord and the arrhae pillow without the arrhae. My nanay and my sister insists that there should be an arrhae included in the package but I said they only provide our pillows but not the things we'll put on it.

With that argument resolved, we then proceeded to looking for my sister's arrhae (2 days before the wedding) as I mentioned that I wanted to use hers. Dethe (my sister) said, "Dapat yung aras nyo eh inyo lang talaga, hindi yun pwedeng nagamit na."

Long story short, we stopped looking for her old arrhae and decided that nanay will just buy one for us.

Friday morning, my nanay was up early. SHe left to buy other stuff that she needs and our arrhae na rin. She was home by 9am and she showed me what she bought.

There it was, our very own arrhae. Fresh from the palengke. :))

But who would ever thought that our arrhae is actually bought from the public market? Lookie below.
Photo by: Dreamline Digital Photography

Old Times

We got the raw pics from our main photographer last Monday. We've browsed through it but never really got to admire how beautiful the pictures were. I have two of my favorite shots by our main photographer, Kuya Peter (Dreamline Photography).

These photos remind me of old movies.





Photos by: Dreamline Digital Photography and Videography

Officially Married!

Photo by: Raymond Fortun

Rain, rain, go away, come again after Saturday

Noooo!! Please, I'm not asking for a super sunny weather on Saturday. Just please don't give us rains and strong winds. Can they move those clouds a little more over to the right? Then stay there until June 7.

Madudumihan ang gown ko!

Zilch

We are three sleeps away from our wedding day. I'm almost falling for the the first sleep of the three but no, I had to blog something.

Unfortunately, despite the numerous things that I've experienced for the last two weeks before our big day, I can't seem to get all my thoughts collated in one file to be put in writing.

I want to blog about my birthday.

I want to post something about yesterday.

I want to write about today.

But I just couldn't get myself to compose a decent blog lately.

Am I really stressed?

The Prenup Experience

Two weeks before the wedding, we had our engagement shoot. We only had about an hour of posing, though, because it was uber traffic and we arrived at the photographer's office at around 5pm. With little time left of natural light, we had to cram.

I did my own make-up. The clothes we wore were only bought in the morning of the same day. And I am leaning towards wearing the same dress for my preps. ^_^

Here's a sneak preview of the shoot. As for the rest of it, click here

A Non-Wedding Post

Okay, okay. So I have 13days left. But that's still 13days, right? For the meantime, I just want to say this (or write, rather) out loud.

I heart Chuck and Blair!

Hair matters

So here are my actual choices for the wedding hairstyle. My Angel told me to have my hair in a 'puffy' hairstyle framing my face to soften the look.

Being a Gossip Girl fan and addict, I truly love love Blair's hairstyle here. Blair's, okay? Not Chuck's. :p

Another Leighton Meester hairstyle that my heart desires.

I totally forgot her name but doesn't she look fab on this do? Ooohh, and take note of the eye make-up, too!


Hail, Queen Amidala! Natalie Portman in her 2009 Oscars look.

And because I remember the things that my Angel suggested, I distinctively heard her say, "You know, ala Jessica Alba?" So here's my best bet for Ms. Alba's hairstyles, taken from the Oscars

I am totally confused. Can someone help me here? :p

A new definition of the word STRESS

Stress means two weeks for me. Oh yes, we have exactly two weeks left before the big day. I know that we're almost good to go but I still feel that a lot of things are still yet to be completed.

Fifteen days before the wedding, one of my second sponsors came by the house to fit her dress and catch up on little stuffs. Kamusta naman, we fought pa over text messages two nights back as I was getting all frustrated that the girls of our entourage haven't had their fittings with their dresses so I can see what needs to be fixed pa and I felt that she was being uncooperative. I think that was the first fight we ever had for the entire duration of our friendship. Also, it was just yesterday that I saw what my mom would be wearing on the wedding day. I was under the impression that she's going to be wearing a plain dress with just a ruffled bolero as its 'oomph' factor but little did I know that she and my sister have chosen a dress that one would be mistaken for a bridesmaid dress and not a mom's dress. It's cute! And the best part of it, I'll get to have it after the wedding hahaha! (she said she wont have any use of it anymore and since we're of the same size, yey for me!)

Also, my aunt arrived from California last Wednesday. It was only yesterday that Nico and I took the time to visit her at her house (take note, we're neighbors, she lives right next door lang ;p). It was awkward when we visited her. I introduced Nico to her and she smiled, her usual widesmile but she didn't talk much.

Oh well, at least we're done giving out all the invites to my relatives. Nico's relatives and friends' invitations are our next goal to be completed.

I will also have my fitting schedule tomorrow. Excited? Definitely!

On Sunday, we're going to have our prenup shoot with our main photog. Finally.

Monday, we're planning on going shopping to buy Nico's mom's dress.

By next week, I plan to give the pegs for the cake maker from the caterer and the must-have shots to our photographer. Or maybe I can get the must-have shots discussed on Sunday as well?

I'm still working on the playlist. I am yet to contact the choir head again for the song choices. I need to remind the caterer that we;re changing the pork dish.

Argh, still so many things to do. I think the last strand of sanity in my head is going to snap real soon.

God does provide

Luke 11:9

"So I say to you: Keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep searching, and you
will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened for you,"

Last weekend, my heart and my mind was devastatingly confused and I was crying to death over an important wedding matter. I asked Nico, "Baby, simba tayo sa Sunday." as I felt that God will give His guidance and light to the darkness of my thoughts.


And so we did go to Church last Sunday with my Mom. My eyes were welling up with tears, deeply praying for help on my discernment and decision-making.

We went home and my mind was almost set on the decision, I was then praying for His healing touch for me to accept things as they were.

Two days after, I felt His answers to my prayers.

I felt lighter. Happier. Worry-free.

Truly, God provides. He indeed provides.

Thank you, my Lord.

Bridal Hairstyle and Hairpieces?

Just got off from chatting with a new-found friend, my opposite kakambal :p, Apple. She's probably dozing off to sleep by this time already.

Anyway, in between kakulitan on chat, we shared a few pictures of things for our weddings. And for a little commercial she shared these pictures.






And no, I am not getting my stylist do these with my hair on my wedding day. I'm following my Angel's advice for the hairstyle. ^_^

18th Month Surprise

And it sure was the greatest gift ever that he's given me. A pleasant, pleasant, uber pleasant surprise.

Find out about it.

Soon. ^________________^

Little Updates

So we were Curacha yesterday. Walang pahinga. We got off work around 7:30am. We headed to meet someone and left their place at around 1:45pm. We were at Bacoor, Cavite by 3:30pm, thanks much to those stoplights, crossings and undisciplined drivers, we got stuck in traffic and calloused our butts for 2hours when we could've spent the time eating decent lunch or resting, to the very least.

Earlier that day, I texted the mananahi of our entourage's cocktail dresses that I'll be picking up the dresses after lunch. So after lunch was a vague description of when we'd arrive at her shop. We got there by 3:30pm. Thanks to my maid of honor, who patiently waited for us at McDo.

So we headed to the dress shop, my MOH had her fitting, a little adjustment and off we go. I didn't get to check the rest of the dresses as I'll have it delivered and fitted by the rest of the girls this Saturday. Overall, the dresses were okay, not that stunning as we didnt get to have them accentuated with beads or any other embelishment. It was simple, but still elegant. For Php600 each, the dresses were nice.

We didnt get to drop by the printing shop for our invites to deliver the paper materials. I promise we'll get it done by tomorrow so we could get the output by Friday and have it distributed by Friday evening and over the weekend.

And oh, we didn't get to sleep. We were home by 4:30pm, freshened up by 5:30pm and 6:00, we were then riding the bus again, heading to work. Again. Almost no shut-eye moment at all(we only get to close our eyes on the bus ride) but nonetheless, the day was great.

By the way, we're getting our license in a couple of days. Can't wait!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!

Wala lang. I just wanted to release that feeling na parang super scared and nervous and overwhelmed and problematic but still ecstatic.

Yun lang.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!!!!!!!!

I know.

Crazy, right?

Who cares?

I don't. =))

Thank you, Divisoria!

Despite of me not feeling that well, we headed to Divisoria to buy materials for our souvenirs and check out other stuff that we need for the wedding.

As expected, thousands of variety of choices are there and of course, millions of people in all levels of society. I even thought that a W@Wie and her groom-to-be was there when we were checking out our flower girl dresses. :p

Anyway, here're our finds:

1. Tatay's suit - Php2,500 for the coat and the pants. Name of the establishment: Hi-Ico Commercial, located in 50-52 Pasilio W Cor. Pasillio Z Ilaya St., Yangco Market
>> we used Nico's body to fit the suit for my Tatay. You see, my father is the type who prefers to stay home. That is why he argued with us during the pamamanhikan when we told them that we intend to have the reception at a restaurant and not at our compound. Anyway, luckily, when we went home and had my father fit the suit and the pants, it was perfect. ^_^
2. Flower Girl gowns - Php400 each. We bought two for the little ones. Since we are on a black & white motif, we chose a white gown for them with minimal design on the torso as we plan to put a black satin/silk sash on the waist for them. Again, since it's Divi and we're from Cavite, we didn't bring the kids with us, so we have to use the power of our imagination to make 'tantya' the sizes of the dresses. When we got home and had the kids try them on (which by the way, they looked very cute with the dresses, too bad there are no pictures), both dresses fit the girls exactly however, my sister and my mom thinks we have to get a size bigger for both of them as they deem the girls to grow bigger in 4weeks time. Seriously? 4 Weeks and they'll grow bigger? Well, as they said, "Mabuti na yung may allowance kesa maliit." Okay fine. Oh, we bought the dresses from Jack & Jeng / FNB Bridal Boutique at Pasillio V, Yangco Market, Ilaya St., Divisoria

We haven't bought the black sash yet. But below the flowerettes will be where the sash will be attached.

3. Towels and ribbons for the towel cake souvenirs - Php, 1700 for 10 dozens of towels and 10yards of ribbons. My sister wanted the towel cakes for souvenirs as she has been lacking of creativity practice so, we let her be. And besides, the photobooth is a surprise. :p

4. Roses for headdress and entourage dress accents. - Php25.00 each. The first ones we found cost about Php45.00. Good thing we looked for other items and was eventually referred to Morning Glory store where all ribbons, beads and flower decorations are available in the cheapest prices. ^_^ I think this store is at Ilaya St. as well.

Lucky Cat Creations #3

I did not notice there were actually three different designs hahaha! I was so overwhelmed by the first one that I saw. Good thing I was reminded by my agents that there are apparently 3 designs to choose from.

Please vote which one you girls think is best.

Lucky Cat Creations #2

When H2B and I were at the first stage of planning for this wedding, we thought about the color motif. I browsed thru numerous googled sites and found a website that explains things about choosing the wedding colors and its meaning. We were targeting the combination of black and red but I saw there that it was bad luck! Haha! To keep the black motif along, I saw the meaning of the black & white combination motif. The Yin and the Yang. Balance. I thought, perfect. I never thought of pushing through with a monogram but when I made the deposit with Partypics, Miss Nadia asked me to send softcopy of files of the invites, the monogram, the prenup pics and the details for the photobooth backdrop. That was when I started googling again for sample monograms that I can use as reference when I design our own. I thought back to when we were starting the preps and I rememberd the yin-yang thing. I googled and found this yin-yang image with the rose. I then emailed JJ, my very artistic,-award winning- graphic designer friend the yin-yang image that I found and asked if he can make extra time to create us a monogram using the image as inspiration. Here’s what he was able to do for us.

I fell in love.

Highest props to my dear friend, JJ, aka the Lucky Cat for creating us the designs that suits us and our wedding perfectly. With little instructions and a couple of pegs, he sure did one hell of a job for achieving the absolute look that I was aiming for. I love you, friend!

P.S. Anyone interested on his designs, let me know and I'll tell him. Not sure though if there would be corresponding rates next time. Hehehe

Lucky Cat Creations #1

Prior to my friend and I's attempt on having a DIY invite, I originally asked a guy friend who is a graphic designer to do our invitation designs. But due to his busy schedule, we weren't able to discuss stuff until about the middle of April. He was able to get into working on the designs only about a three days ago (I think) because he was waiting for me to email him the details of the invites.

Earlier tonight, I received a text from him saying:

"May sinend ako sayo. Grabe, nahihiya ako sa inyo"

and another, 30minutes after the first message:

"Pasensya talaga. I kind of let you down."

I was on a cab then when I read the message, an hour and half after he sent it. I replied, "I haven't seen it yet, keri lang noh ka ba" though I must admit, i kind of got worried, thinking, "hala, ano kayang ginawa nyang ichura ng invites namen?" I felt chills run down my spine. Apparently, it was just because I was soaking wet and the taxi's aircon was in full blast. I was just feeling cold, nothing related to the invites yet. Haha!

And so, I arrived at the office 20minutes late from my scheduled shift. Darn that nonesense of being stucked in traffic for an hour and a half.

As soon as I was able to pull my systems up, I checked my work email and opened my yahoo mail secretly. I know this will get me in trouble but heck, I won't wait til tomorrow to get home to see what he did for us. And there I saw his name under the From tab and the subject, "invites design" with an attachment. I was excited and scared while waiting for a few seconds for the email and attachment to load. On his email, he wrote:

Pasensya na inabot ako ng pagkatagal tagal. I had a block, kaya pasensya na sa mga design, kung mayron lang ako naging extra na oras sana napaganda ko, eh i've been busy kasi, lam mo na, biglaan ako nawalan ng trabaho eh kaya madaming mga inaasikaso. Sana hindi pa kayo huli at hindi ko sinayang ang oras nyo. Okay lang kung yung original design nyo na ang gamitin nyo hehe seryoso. Pasensya na talaga.

You can mix and match elements from the different studies, you just tell me. If you want to use the designs, just proof the copies, tapos advise mo lang ako para maprepare yung files for printing.

Pasensya na ulit. If you dont mind stretching your schedule a bit, i can prepare a couple more studies, bigyan mo din ako ng ibang pegs.

He was apologizing for what he was only able to do for us. Nahiya naman ako lalo. For me, the fact that he accepted my request for him to create an invite design for us was already too much and beggers cant be chosers, I was more than thankful already regardless of his output. And so i opened the attachments and here are what he sent me.

mock-up sample image

I wont be posting the details of each page of the invites though. I'll have it saved for the wedding pictures and stuff. ^_^

He also created a monogram for us. That will be saved til the next post.

I TOOK THE RISK!

I did! And I do not know what to feel. I am embarassed for the sound of desperation on it but I am excited and hoping that I'll get a favorable response though I must admit, I am scared to bits that if she says yes, where would and how would I produce what is asked of me?

Ah, the price that we have to pay.

Hope my prayers will be answered.

The Church and my little issue of kaartehan

How will it be possible for the entourage march to last 3:25 minutes and the bridal march to take at least 2:00mins with a church aisle as short as 10pews (at a maximum)? This would not be like Caleruega wherein there's the pretty garden 'trek' that they could use as alternative for a longer aisle effect.

I have a month and 2days to analyze things. *shudders*

taken through my phone's camera. i'm already at the farthest point from the altar here.
got this through googling. this shot is from the gate and shows the right front side of the church entrance

Sunshine after the rain

And after days of pouring rains and with the sun refusing to shine it's light, now we're feeling the summer again. About time.

Along with the bright light of the sun is an answered prayer for one of the important keys on our upcoming marriage. The wedding rings.

I have previously posted how depressed and frustrated I was with the outcome of our wedding rings. After we took the courage of returning the rings and talking to my sister's friend, the rings were sent back to its maker and was re-furnished.

What we asked for was done. It may still have a few things off from what we were expecting but at least, what we hoped to be a better output was given to us. Our rings were simple as we wanted them to be. And it's simplicity made me love 'em more.

Here's how our rings turned out to be, after the 'tragedy'.

this is by far the best image we've came up with for the rings. Bear with the camera phone.

Spaces, Two Letters of the Alphabet and a Period

And I thought it was just me who has issues with names.

For those who know me from school, my first name has always been twined with a "Ma." (short for Maria). After 21 years of being identified as the youngest V with the Ma., and writing the longest whole name on every school paper, I found out that my birth name was just as plain as my face, without any accents, or second names and what-have-yous in it.

Eventually, I got over it. Haha. my only mistake was, I was stubborn to still put Ma. on some of my employment information. But no worries, in about a month and a half, I'm officially changing last names, and along with that, correction on my first name. Sigh!

The chaos with names doesn't stop with me. Apparently, my husband-to-be also has a teeny bit of discrepancy on his middle name. His was De La Cruz, with all the spaces evident on his birth certificate. And for crying out loud, i cannot believe a single space (or the absence of it, for this matter) can cause so much inconvenience! His driver's license and other valid IDs shows his middle name as DELA CRUZ. The DE and the LA clearly attached with each other. He even took time to argue with me, comparing his middle name with a known school here in the country. To top it all off, his mother, my MIL2B (mother-in-law-to-be) also doesnt have spaces on her maiden name on her voter's ID. Wow. Talk about overlooked detail. And for that, they got everyone all confused. Me, the registrar's office employees and even my parents.
Geez. I thought submitting the darn documents for the marriage license application will be as easy as paying for my dark mocha frappuccino. I clearly thought wrong.

Eventually, we were able to secure an affidavit of discrepancy for Nico and shelled out extra funds for that. Whew! I was almost on the verge of quitting. Good thing, my future husband is as patient as ever and super positive all throughout the process.

Right after we walked out of the registrar's office, we both heaved a sigh of relief. 14 days. 2 Weeks and we're getting our license. Hopefully.

Wassap! Wassap!

No, this is not Toni Gonzaga and Vhong Navarro's old Studio23 TV Show. I'm just posting a bit of what we've been up to with regards to our wedding preps.

Aside from buying my shoes for the wedding, H2B also bought his from Traffic at MOA. For crying out loud, I really cannot believe and super cannot understand why a pair of men's shoes will cost that much considering they all look almost the same to me, with the exemption of course of some with tied laces or buckles. Think of this, with his shoe value, I could've bought at least two pairs of Charles & Keiths!

Anyway, aside from our accomplishment for our wedding shoes, we were also able to finally find and buy his wedding suit! And on top of that, we got the coat and the pants for a total of Php4,500 only! H2B, happy. Me, happy. Our wallet, super happy! I was actually expecting to find the costliest at about Php5000 for the whole suit but lo and behold, Wharton saved us. ^_^ He is still contemplating on going all black with white tie or white tie and white longsleeves inside. He is also considering wearing a vest. Oh dear, I thought I was the one who's supposedly maarte between the two of us on what to wear, but hey, I am so dead wrong.

**For an overview, he's aiming for a Justin Timberlake-look on our wedding. And who am I supposed to be? Britney? Hahahaha!**

In addition to our wardrobe accomplishments, one more paperwork to go and our documents are all set to be submitted to apply for a marriage license. We just need the physical presence of our parents upon signing the parental consent form to submit for the license application. It sure is difficult to get married nowadays. *sigh*

On Saturday, hopefully we get to complete our church requirements both documentation and seminars. Lord, we pray for Your guidance.

That's all for now. I'll go visit Suyen's site again and try refreshing the page, hoping she's uploaded her wedding pics already! Excited much? Hahaha! Best wishes and Congrats sis Suyen!

Success!

I know I mentioned they won't be silver but hey, beggers cant be choosers :p I did follow most of my guidelines, though.
1. No blings!
2. Not higher than 2inches
3. No flowers
4. No exaggerated bows

And for that, here's my lovely lovely new pair of peep-toes, my bridal shoes!

White Ladies

I'm tamad to write lately. So I'll post pictures instead. These are from Rock and Roll Bride (click and drool ... lovely, lovely weddings there!)

What's the word? Teamwork!

I've been chanting those lines over and over again while H2B and I were doing our own little mock invites hahaha! I bought sample materials a few weeks back but never had the time (kasi tamad) to actually start with printing out samples. What we tried to finalize was the invite main page which details the wedding celebration itself. I just wanted to see how it would look like. :D So here're some pix of our first tangible DIY hehehe!

Materials used for our samples are just plain white bond paper and black cardboard which has this sparkling effect in the actual form.

A lot are still to be finalized as to the printing of the invites, though. Hopefully, we'd get to produce the look that we're aiming for.

Credit goes to www.weddingpaperdivas.com for the template/image

It's not colored

It's black and white.

Our wedding, that is. I was thinking of having black and white photos, too, but maybe I'll just have a copy of the images in that tone instead.

Here are sample images of possible looks for our reception. Kinda too formal, I know, considering our personalities. Hopefully, this gets to be executed by our caterer's events stylists with the fun twists.

Above is too black. Kind of a bit too dark and this is an indoor setup.

This one is simple yet I think it exhudes elegance in its own way. I'm thinking of having this, look at the tied ribbons with the flowers on the white linen covered chairs. Simplicity is beauty.

Another indoor setup. It's vice versa is shown on the image below.

This one, with the tent. We could do this but the black linen covers are really difficult to find. Love the chandelier-lamp lights on the tent's ceiling. I'm in kind of doubt, though. This will be in a garden set-up. Hopefully it will fit well. Daanin natin sa flowers! hehe

If I had the...

... skin, the body and the boobs! I'll wear this dress on my wedding :p

The Million peso question

I used to get into conversation with people about what we would do to one million pesos if given the chance. I know that I would usually say I'd buy a car, or travel asia (hello, hindi keri ng P1M makapag travel sa buong world, kamusta naman! So, trip around asia na lang siguro :p) or for the sake of charity, yes, I'd donate some to church and charity institutions, etc.

But now that I am a bride-to-be, if I would be given a million peso to spend, I'd spend it for my wedding, of course!

There are four suppliers that I really would die for to have. Veluz of course would be on top of the list.

Florists, flowers, and my sister

Some weeks back, my Dethe (3rd of 4 daughters in the family) said, "Dalawa na lang pala tayo dito sa kasal mo."

There were four ladies in the family aside from our Nanay. Exactly one year ago, I remember being at this poorly maintained hospital in the province of Laguna, three hours (at the very least) away from the comforts of our home in Cavite. I remember calling all friends whom I think can assist us to an immediate financial need at the time for my family to get my sister safely back to a better hospital at our hometown. I remember my mom, crying nonstop and my two other sisters trying to compose their selves to serve as strengths of one another. I remember texting my dad, assuring him that everything was fine as he was left alone back home. I remember standing by my sister's hospital bed, whispering to her as tears ran down my haggard face.

We went to Laguna to visit some relatives and start an early summer outing. None of us expected that it would be the last time that we would spend together with my Ditche.

By 8am today, it will be officially a year ago since I was able to see my sister.

Earlier, I went again to Dangwa with my only sibling here in Pinas. Our panganay went abroad to work and support her kids. It was just me, my Dethe, my nanay and our little kids at flowers street.

Our agenda then was to buy flowers for my Ditche's 1st year death anniversary and also book the florist for my wedding. I was keen on booking Ma. Coleen flowershop because of it's very affordable quotation. However, my contact person wasn't there. I was already heading to the other florist that I asked quotations from two weeks ago but we passed by Angel of Hearts' stall. Though I didn't think the owner was there, I took courage to ask where he was. Luckily, his house was just a walking distance from the street. In a few minutes, he was there and we were discussing about business. Kuya Lawrence was warm and very accomodating. I got comfortable talking to him as soon as we started the conversation. He's also good in remembering his clients!
I knew how good his outputs were because he was also the florist of my good highschool friend who got married last December.

Long story short, I booked him. :p The price was about 3k more than my actual budget but what the heck, I know my wedding's in good hands with him being part of our dream team. He also gave us some flowers for my sister's death anniv, to boot!

So there. We got loads of pretty flowers for my sister. And my other sister, Dethe, arranged them last night. I remember, our Ditche was one who loves her own, and I know, she'd be happy to see those flowers and me on my wedding day.

Yes, there will be just the two of us, my Dethe Vivian and me on June 6, 2009. But I'm sure, Ditche will be there, too.

We miss you, Ditche. Hope you like the flowers we bought.

Who said we can't do DIYs?

I will be forever grateful to adobe photoshop for making it possible for us to DIY our invites and therefore cut short on invite expenses hahaha!
Of course, my unending thanks to my good friend, my pards, Ahbei, for helping me on this project. I really do appreciate that you took the time off from your board exam reviews to help me! Love you, my friend!

For a sneak preview, here's our 'cover'. ;)

Our Dangwa Adventure

Last Saturday, h2b and I went on a trip to Dangwa with my sister and my nanay.
I was very excited to see Dangwa and the flowers! It was my first time, eh. :p
So there, we looked muna for a safe parking area which we found in front of St. Jude College. Then we started walking.
We first headed towards the very first street that we saw with flowers alongside it. I was a bit shocked and annoyed when we started looking around and men are approaching us with nonstop spiels of "Ma'am, pa-quote kayo samen! tara na!" Though i absolutely appreciate them being very proactive on their offers, the approach is just way too blunt and kind of 'impolite'. And take note, some of the men there are very makukulit in which they would follow you around.
So there, after the men finally got tired of following us awe started asking. I was specifically looking for baby's breath flowers because of this blog that I read from one of my W@W sisters. We wanted the flowers to be simple, inexpensive but still nice as the flowers for our wedding is not really on top of our priorities. We were told then that a bundle of it costs from Php100-150 depending on how big the blooms of the flowers are (read: mas maraming bulaklak kesa dahon). I guess, the quantity of the flowers naman are reasonably numerous in one bundle, so it's okay na rin.
As we walk around, finally, I got convinced by one of the 'kuyas' there to have a quotation for our flower needs. It was Kuya Rodel Palatino of Hand Country Flower Shop. She asked first of the details of my entourage members. I told him I have 1 MoH, no bridesmaids just 3 Secondary Sponsors, 4 pairs of Principal Sponsors, 2 mothers, 2 fathers and of course the groom. I specified that I wanted wrist corsages for my ento members and the bouquet will just be for me. I told him I wanted roses for my bouquet, and gerberas for the wrist corsages then roses again for the principal sponsors. She quoted me Php3000 for the ento. Wow! "Pasok sa budget!" I thought. Then we discussed the decors for the church. SInce Our Lady of Fatima Parish church is not very spacey and the aisle is not fit for cathedral train parade, I asked for only 4 flatsprays and 2 large arrangements with stand. He also gave tips that we should not have calla lillies because they wilt faster compared to other flowers. Overall, Kuya Rodel gave me a price of Php5,300 for ento and church, with freebies like throw bouquet, bridal car bouquet and petals. I almost booked him but my sister said we should look for other possible suppliers pa with better deals. So I told kuya Rodel that we will contact him once we decide na lang.
While I was discussing with Kuya Rodel, my nanay pala has been busy with her own flower shopping. When she came back, she handed h2b at least 3 kinds of flowers in multiple bundles. She looked very pleased with her finds!

After we were done looking around that first street, we headed to the street across the first one. Here I found stall #16 which I assumed was Mang Boy's (Jurielle's ata un name ng flower shop). I went and asked the guy doing the "she loves me, she loves me not" activity on the roses' petals hehehe. He called another guy which I thought was Mang Boy pero hindi pala. Apparently, the designer was the only one there at Mang Boy's stall. We were referred to the first stall on the street to be accomodated but there was still a couple there having their package quoted. Then another couple came in (the girl was pregnant so I let her sit na lang on the chair that was provided to me). It was very hot and I felt like giving up already and just book Kuya Rodel but the man called me and said, "Miss, dito na lang tayo sa kabila." We went back to Mang Boy's but I was lead to the stall before it which was Ma. Coleen's Flower Shop, point of contact, Ate Juanita. I told her the same thing I said to Kuya Rodel. SHe quoted me Php6,500. I was somehow disappointed and maybe she saw that in my face, she asked, "Magkano bang budget mo?" I said, "Wala po kami plano lumampas sa 5k na budget para sa bulaklak, ate..." Then she said na lang, "Sige, 5,500 na. tapos add na lang natin to ng offertory flowers bukod pa dun sa mga ibang libre. Holland roses na tong mga bulaklak nito." Oha!
I was also comfortable with her, the same feeling I had while talking to Kuya Rodel. Ate Juanita's price was Php200 more but I thought about having holland variety roses for the flowers over baguio roses. Most likely, we'll have Ate Juanita for our florist, then.
On top of the florist hunting, we also found a lot of rare flowers. My nanay was very amazed. She even proclaimed, "Babalikan ko tlga to kahit linggo-linggo!"
Our trip was fruitful (or should I say flowerful). My nanay was happy with her flower buys and I am happy with my supplier finds. ^_^

"Ping-pong" flowers. They look like pingpong balls in actual.

Wedding Ring Tragedy

This is how we wanted our wedding rings to look like with very minimal alteration. Instead of all in white gold, we wanted the sides to be in yellow gold and keep the white gold on the rest.

But earlier this morning, our excitement on the wedding rings went out like *poof*. We got the two-tone requirement that we specified. But the rest of it is just, tragedy. The diamonds are too far apart with each other. Sabe ko na lang, "Baby, galit-galit yung diamonds natin, o!" And it's not just that. There are even more lapses in the quality of the rings. The lines on the sides are not smoothly created. There are a lot of "bubbles" on h2b's rings. "Dirts" are even visible. On mine, the way the diamonds were set on the gold was poorly done. The distance between the three ices are uneven. Moreso, the lines in between the stones are not there. The engravings are sketchy. It was as if a gradeschooler made his engraving project on a soap bar. To make the description short, the simple elegance of the rings that we wanted was just... not there. :(

We exceeded the budget for the wedding rings as we never wanted the quality to be sacrificed or in any way compensated with it's worth. But at this point, I can't even say that the price did justice to the final output.

This is our wedding rings we are talking about... :(

Wow, legs!

I was on my way to our office cafeteria to get some drinking water and saw this lady with a nice pair of strappy skin-toned sandals. If i was a regular guy, she would have thought I was rude to stare at her legs because I was almost drooling over the gorgeous footwear she has on hahaha!

So there goes the lady with the pretty strappies on while I headed towards the cafeteria. As I was waiting for my water bottle to get filled up, I thought about the shoes and how jealous I was of the sexy effect it had on her feet and how amazing her legs looked with it. I wondered, can I wear those high heels in a dress without looking like a tall grass in the midst of the talahiban?

I've always been jealous of girls who can wear high heels without too much effort. As for me, I feel awkward in heels. I get overly conscious with my height and skinny frame (I'm 5'7" and weighs 105lbs). When people compliment my figure and my height with, "Nagmo-modelling ka ba?" or "Bakit di ka sumali sa Bb. Pilipinas, ganda ng height mo eh!" I would usually retort with a sarcastic "Ngeh! Height lang maganda saken!" As if height is the only basis to join stuff like that, eh?

H2b always says that I should wear high heeled shoes and skirts/dresses. I'd say no because, three things:

1. As previously mentioned, looking taller than my actual height makes me feel awkward and more conscious
2. My legs have good shape, yes that may be true but its skin is ugly :( I have this peklat that has been there for ages and even with sebo de macho, it's still there!
3. I'm skinny, therefore, i have skinny legs. skinny legs are not considered nice sight. I'm going to look like an ostrich.

And with all these mentioned, I think I might have a wee bit of a problem finding THE wedding shoes. It's not going to be a walk in the park looking for gorgeous flats to match with the bridal gown noh! *sigh* Wish me luck!

Next stop

So we're almost done with the dress. Technically.

We're done booking the major suppliers. Smaller details are already on the works. Now, we have to maximize the time left for us to figure out how we would want to look like on our big day. H2b had been googling so much for his wedding shoes, imagine that!

After my meeting with Noe Reyes, I was already thinking of the shoes and the hair. I found a few that I liked at various malls but the heels are keeping me from buying them. I wanted a pair of wedding shoes that I would still be able to wear after the big day. I want something that I could walk on at the office or wear any day and anywhere I'd like. And for that, I'm not going to get shoes with too much bling or glittery stuff. And best of all, I wanted to get a cute wedding shoes for Attorney Fortun's photograph! Hahahaha!

Now here are the keypoints that I have to check when looking for the perfect pair of wedding shoes:

1. NO to too much blings/glitterry stuff on the shoes themselves
2. NO to high heels. 1 inch can do but it wont be higher than 2inches
3. NOT silver
4. Preferably black&white combi on the pair
   
5. NO flowers on it
6. Bows will be okay but let's not exaggerate
7. Flats would be perfect!

*Sigh* wish me luck!

Reyes to create my dream wedding dress!

Nope, as much as I wanted to, it's not Veluz REYES who would be making my wedding gown. It's Noe Reyes!!

He wasn't really my first choice (obviously) but nonetheless, when I went to visit him for his designs, i knew and i felt that he is the one. He fit very well to my budget and best of all, when he sketched his vision for my wedding dress, it was almost exactly the same as I have imagined it to be! Me: happy. H2b: happy. Our wallet: very happy! hahahaha!

Anyway, so I was late for about an hour from our appointment of 7pm. I travelled from Cavite to Cubao and hello bonggang bonggang trapik! I almost took a picture of the whole traffic scene but I realized, I'm saving my battery to make I get to photograph Noe's sketch for my bridal gown.

I really wanted my wedding dress to have a ball skirt, more like fairy tale princesses. Also, I have read on a wedding article that for brides with skinny figures, ball gowns are much recommended as it adds volume to the bride's body. I also asked Noe if he could make me look at least 1 inch smaller from my original height as h2b is almost as tall as me but I look taller than him because I'm skinny and he's, well, more malapad than me :p

So there went Noe's hands. He was telling me the details of the gown and asking me some questions related to my wedding while sketching and highlighting stuff on the drawing paper. And after about 5minutes or so, he showed me the draft of my dress. And all I was able to say was, "It's perfect." with a deep satisfied sigh. ^_^

Let me share his sketch for me. Hope everyone who's going to view it will comment on it as well.

by Noe Reyes for Veronica "Apol" Prodigalidad
I can't wait for my first fitting!!

Uyeh!!! ^_^

Super excited! We may not be getting our dream designer (read: Veluz) to make my gown but look who's our back-up photographer! He's uberrrr nice, funny and really captures great moments and views! Can't wait!

Cute Blogger Award

Tagged by Macy. Loko ka sis hahahaha!

1. Each blogger must post these rules.
2. Each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about themselves.
3. Bloggers that are tagged need to write ten facts about themselves. You need to choose ten people to tag and list their names.

Here goes the ten random facts/habits about me

1. I still don't have a voter's ID because I still am not a registered voter (sue me! :p)

2. More than 4hours of sleep makes me more sleepy

3. I buy a venti mocha frappuccino everynight before I go to work or on my 1st break

4. I need my h2b's "meme", more commonly known as masahe, for me to get to sleep

5. I tell people I have fear of heights whenever I'm asked why I do not wear high heeled shoes

6. In college, I was an active part of the school publication. My favorite memories were during my associate editor days for the The Sebastinian Gazette of SSC-R Cavite

7. I can play the guitar and keyboards (not the computer keyboard :p)

8. I'm quite a talker

9. I love One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl! I even plan to do a Gossip Girl inspired prenup pictorial hahaha! xoxo :p

10. And I do not gain weight no matter how much and how often I eat :p

I'm tagging Candy, Mae-z, Chi, Suyen, and all the other w@wies who will bump into my blogsite ^_^