gian and jeanie

love is in the details

2010-01-11T04:06:00.000-08:00

when people asked me why i needed a year to prepare for the wedding, i couldn't tell them that i needed the time for my diy and all the details i wanted. truth be told, i enjoyed the diy most and now that the wedding is over, i miss it terribly. anyway, i digress i guess the following pictures can justify why i needed that year right?

all the pretty pictures are courtesy of our wonderful photographers from imaginenation - jasondeg, jamie and lianne with the exception of the closeup of the birdcages which was taken by a dear friend and photographer/choreograper/performer marco esguerra. the pictures of the inspirations for the gowns and shoes were taken from the designers' site.

the invitations were a 100% handmade - from the pink and blue band, the map, even the diecut and embossed tag with our names. i also went crazy with the albemarle swash font for my invites and all the diy's during the wedding.

i did the layout for our invitation, the printing was done by a friend, corner rounding and embossing was done by hand as well. hubby glued the pink and blue heart-shaped gems on the map to indicate the venue. hearts mark the spot!

the arrhae which contains coins to symbolize wealth. this was bought from a local wedding store. i originally wanted to use a wooden basket with coins from all the countries we've visited but i wasn't able to have the coins cleaned to be shiny. and the holes from the basket in the local daiso were too big.

the cord was supplied by my designer. i love the white backdrop.

the candles were also purchased from a local wedding shop. i wanted to alter the embellishments and decorate the candles in our color but i figured it was better this way.

instead, i focused my creative efforts on the unity candle which was also purchased from the same local wedding shop. it was originally plain and bare, just white but i embellished it myself to be in line with our theme - pink and blue with flowers and birds.

our wedding rings. hubby's ring is not the original one from the pair, he lost it one day while cleaning the bathroom. the jeweller we bought it from didn't have any other one on hand. hubby found the exact same ring in his size two days before the wedding.

pillows in pink and blue provided by my designer as well. the blue and pink silk flowers are the same ones used in the entourage's dresses.

rag dolls dressed in pink and blue dresses to adorn the flower girls' baskets. my cousin was playing with her doll during the ceremony.

martha stewart butterfly punch outs used as confetti together with fresh blooms when we had the recessional after the ceremony.

pink and blue jellybeans for our favors. everything was done manually - from the packaging, tying of ribbons, even the tags were handmade!

pink ribbons for blueberry jellybeans. blue ribbons for bubblegum jellybeans

chocolate and vanilla cupcake favors in our colors - pink and blue. the tags were handmade as well, similar to the tags on our invites.

pink and blue icing flowers on our cupcakes.

birdboxes that contained sheets of papers and envelopes where guests can write their messages. birds were purchased from bangkok, all other supplies sourced locally. each one is unique and no two are alike.

placecards with stamped birdcage in the background.

colored pencils to go with the birdboxes doubling as guest books. tags were handmade and similar to tags used in jellybean favors.

wooden monograms on kraft boxes. these are similar to the birdboxes guestbook except for the wooden letters. letters bought from japan.

couples' table, blue glasses matched out motif. centerpiece was reused from the flowers in the altar during the ceremony.

couples table with our monogram bird boxes.

a close-up of the birdcage centerpiece. each birdcage was created by me and each one is unique.

birdcage centerpiece with birdbox guestbook and colored pencils. cage bought from japan, birds from thailand and all other materials sourced locally. flower arrangement was specifically created by florist with centerpiece in mind. even while i was being gussied up by the makeup artist, i was anxiously asking our photographer about the birdcage. as soon as i was beside hubby during the ceremony, the first thing i asked about were the birdcages.

a closeup of the birdcage. most of the guests took home the birdcages - must mean they love it right?

my shoes are custom made in the same shade as the entourage's dresses. this was inspired by aqua manolo blahniks. the bejewelled center was originally a brooch which i got at half off.

my shoes against the stained glass doors of the bed and breakfast we stayed in.

my shoes.

my shoes amidst a sea of jellybeans.

the blahniks that inspired my shoes.

my bouquet. i specifically requested for peonies, the same flower i used as background in my invitation. i fell in love with peonies during the process of making my invitations. i was afraid i couldn't have them because my florist warned me they were hard to come by especially since they were seasonal.

aside from the peonies, i also asked for pink carnations and a mix of blue roses and white liliums.

another lovely sight near our cottage - a victorian inspired statue.

i loved the homey feel of the cottage we stayed in.

my gown. the first time i saw the gown from a simone carvalli ad from martha stewart weddings, i knew this was the gown for me. never mind that more than one designer told me this did not suit my frame. lucky for me, i found a designer that made it work for me.

my gown in the stone path leading up to our cottage. hubby had to close his eyes when he was passing by.

my gown with our cottage as a backdrop. the weather was perfect that day - bright and shiny but cool and breezy. perfect tagaytay weather. the next day, it was overcast with a slight drizzle.

another shot of the gown i found from the designer's site.

the simone carvalli gown i saw in martha stewart. i never had any doubts, the first time i saw it i knew this is my gown
the bejewelled shrug that was a nice addition to the original simone carvalli design. i was supposed to take it off during the reception for a different look from the ceremony. but my makeup artist suggested i use it as a ruffle over my chest. i finally took off the shrug after the program so i can move around as much as i wanted. so instead of two looks, i ended up with three!
the inspiration for the versatile shrug that was the addition to the original simone carvalli design.

more pictures to come with more people. i am just really giddy with all the details so i wanted to share them first. hope you liked what you see!

the dream is coming true

2009-10-25T17:04:00.001-07:00

it all started with these:

i tried to make these:

and made this:

and just when it all seemed to be just a dream, i found this in osaka in july (and at Y105, how can you say no?). despite what everyone else was saying, i got 16 of these, bought a new luggage to put them all in and flew them all the way back to manila. now to find the birds.

so i started to dream about these:

2 months later and my search for the perfect birds was still not yielding results i am happy with. and then there was jatujak. at the precipice of a storm and amidst a sea of eager shoppers, i found them. wading through ankle-deep water and maneuvering around potential electrocution, i had to make a second trip for this. i got around a hundred of these, in different sizes and colors:

it's all coming together. and i couldn't be happier. the dream is coming true. i really wish i could share the fulfilment of that dream here but it has to be on our wedding day. yay! i really am so happy.

the word is out

2009-05-17T02:35:00.000-07:00

yeah, i know, we are lousy with the updates but i am pleased to say we were able to tick off some items in my checklist, although a bit late from our original timeline. more on that later.

we were finally able to get our electronic std's out in email (yes, we are trying to be environmentally friendly). we might have missed out a couple of people because a.) the mail merge/auto-email was acting up so either it was sending out two emails or none at all. but we are double-checking so we might have to resend some and apologize for the flooding. b.) we don't have other people's emails or the ones we have are no longer up to date. so after months of agonizing over the final design, this is our electronic save the date.

you noticed i explicitly stated that it was the electronic save the date because we do have a handful of paper save the dates for our principal sponsors because we wanted to convey our gratitude and appreciation this way.

what do you think? anyway, here are some of the things we managed to accomplish since the last post:

1.) couturier - we already decided on a couturier and we will schedule an appointment next week to finalize the details and designs for my gown and the female entourage. more on this later.

2.) song arranger - we had some problems with the music sheets we shared with the choir as they were set for a duet, not a choir. an officemate was able to recommend a musical arranger at a rate we can afford. we have the music sheet for the first song and if all goes well, we will ask him to complete the arrangements for the rest of the songs.

3.) newsletter - yes, we have a newsletter for our entourage to make it easier to share information about the wedding. i just have to find a convenient way to share it with them and then i will share it here as well.

4.) favors - we have a couple of ideas and managed to make some prototypes, will be sharing more here.

5.) invitations - no progress in this area. perhaps now that most of the major items e.g. venue, photographer and couturier have already been finalized, perhaps i can really focus on starting this.

6.) table numbers - i have started working on a prototype as well, just have to put it all together. will also be sharing once it's done.

so far, i think we're doing good. i will try to share more about our couturier and the gowns (except mine!) in my next post after we meet up with our couturier. hope you had a great weekend. :)

the girls said yes

2009-04-06T23:15:00.000-07:00

and hubby has yet to ask all of his boys (for the entourage that is). all the girls said yes and yes i know, we are late for our monthly deliverables. my only accomplishment for march was booking our hmua, more on that in another post. i just want to share my "will you be my" cards for the girls in my entourage. i am wrapping up our save the dates, will share that when i am done. hope i can get more wedding preps tasks completed over the break. :)

the february report + the march goals

2009-03-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

yes i know, i am a week late. remember this post about my deliverables for this month. well, i am 85% done. i think.

1.) we've booked our photographer.

2.) we've submitted the songs to the choir (music sheets + program draft 1 + mp3's). another post on this later.

3.) i am 70% done with the invitation prototype, i have the design in mind and i've dabbled a bit in photoshop. i did a bit of tinkering with the colors and i've gone as far as cutting some papers but that's about it. on a side note, i joined a scrapbook contest and won a 2000 bucks gc for national which i will use to buy the papers for our invites. more on this later. as some of you might know, i am into scrapbooking so i am constantly inundated with all these inspiring ideas and techniques i see that i want to incorporate them all in my invite. but i have to choose soon.

4.) and the last piece of news that i am actually excited about, we've finalized our entourage. i've trimmed the list down to 5 bridesmaids. last week, i finished "will-you-be-my " invites and this week they will be on their way to their owners. i was happy with how it turned out but it was a painstaking process and it was only about 10 invites. multiply that by 10 or 15. here are some sneaks of my first diy project. i will share all the details once i've received a response from the girls. i hope they like it though. and more importantly, i hope they'd say yes. i think the list of tasks i needed their help on is too long and might be intimidating. these girls mean a lot to me and to hubby and it would really make us happy if they can be part of our wedding.

so for march, these are our deliverables:

1.) book an hmua

2.) settle on a design and designer for my gown

3.) finalize the gown design for our entourage

4.) complete invite prototype 100%

anyway, that's about it for me. have a great week ahead everyone. :)

the theme: vintage french country chic

2009-02-23T07:55:00.000-08:00

let me start with our motif, blue + pink. pink because like most girls, i like pink despite my early denial thus my affinity with yellow four. blue because this is hubby's school color. well, mine too but i think pink + green or blue + green are better combinations. this is actually one of those times i wish hubby or i were from la salle.

i had a bit of a struggle with the motif because:

1.) pink and blue reminds me of prom

2.) pink and blue reminds me of baby shower

3.) and worst, pink and blue reminds me of mmda...

but eventually, i gave in as this was one of the few things hubby specifically requested. after much color-shopping, i finally settled on midnight blue + coral/pomelo pink + light pink. the color of the site is more or less how the wedding colors look.

so now for the theme. most of my friends know that i am into scrapbooking and paper crafting. i also wanted my wedding to be as distinct and as personal as possible so i decided to integrate this hobby in my wedding. also because of the global financial crisis, i decided to diy what i can for the wedding. my diy mishaps and misadventures to follow.

while trawling the web for ideas, i came across inspiration boards which was really very helpful for me because while i had an idea what i wanted, i had a difficult tiem coming up with fancy names for it. inspiration boards from snippet & ink and magnet street weddings.

vintage

i have a fascination with old stuff or the fancy term for it, vintage. i have this dream of going to antique stores and second-hand shops to find old typewriters and soda bottles, chipped cups and figurines and yellow-edged posters and books. well, that's the romantic spin on old stuff at least.

french country

i have always been drawn to homemade stuff and the country charm, think papemelroti. but i especially love how the french can make anything seem so charming and dainty. thus, the second inspriration board.

something blue

as i've already shared, blue was a specific request from hubby, a "manly" blue like midnight blue mind you. not the cutesy blue like tiffany blue or the "faux blue" like periwinkle. this was the blue that got his nod and the blue that i think i can work with.

pretty in pink

and finally pink. like most girls, i love pink. i initially thought i would be ok not to have the color for my wedding especially since most everyone will have it. boy was i wrong. now i find myself flipping over evry pink paper, fabric and inspiration i can grab.

now how to bring it all together? well, that's what i'll be attempting to do in the next few months. we've almost finalized our entourage and i have to complete the program and song list so i can submit them to the choir master tomorrow. have a great weekend ahead everyone. :)

the photographer: jason de guzman of imagine nation

2009-02-13T02:29:00.000-08:00

remember the photographer i was talking about here? we finally got him! as soon as the mall opened today, i went to the wedding fair and booked him. hubby was impressed with his portfolio and the imagine nation team as a whole. when we were reviewing the portfolio of our other top 3, he was most impressed with him and the team.
see, hubby is more logical when it comes to these things. mine was an informed decision based on feedback from a photographer friend. but i have already made up my mind even before i asked for my friend's input because of what i saw in their site - their mission and most importantly, their passion not only for photography but their faith. somehow, it was just apt to get them. i told you i am a highly intuitive person.
i also learned from their brochure the stringent process each imagine nation photographer has to go to. think about this, only 12 out of the 60 who apply qualify for their apprenticeship program. along the way, half quit and only 6 continue to become junior photographers. then, 1 out of 3 become a senior photographer and only half become masters.
i am raving about them and we haven't even started working with them. i am just happy i guess that i feel we have been blessed enough to acquire the help of people we truly believe in and are passionate about. that's about it for me. i have a pre-valentine's date with hubby. happy valentine's day everyone.

the almost coup

2009-02-10T05:37:00.000-08:00

i cant' wait for friday so i called up the photographer i finally "convinced" hubby we should get for the wedding. last sunday, while waiting for our order to arrive, we were looking through pamphlets and flyers we've collected from our wedding fair hopping. i have already made up my mind about the photographer but i wanted to go through the actual logical and methodical selection process to avoid the guilt of compulsive shopping. i actually asked one of my photographer friends what they thought of my prospect's works and he was all praises for his works. the fact that they are a christian company is also a big plus for me. anyway, hubby and i narrowed our list to about 5 or 7 then ranked our top 3 choices. we were agreement in all our choices (not our ranking) except one.
so after dinner, we checked out the sample works of our top 3 and after much cajoling and budget reallocation, hubby gave in. we agreed to book them during the fair this friday so we can avail some of the promos during the event. however, i was so restless about it so i decided to give them a call. i was surprised by my sadness when the girl told me that the photographer we wanted was already booked during our wedding day but was immensely relieved when i realized she got the wrong name. after what seemed like an eternity, she said he was still free and we are booking him this friday!yey!
after all my ramblings, i have not mentioned the photographer's name yet. i don't want to jinx it until we've finally put pen to paper but i will share more this friday. anyway, have a great week ahead everyone.

p.s.
is there really such a thing as a "marrying period" - for lack of a better term? in the span of a week, 3 people i know have been engaged. that's like one every other day. but i am so excited for them. in fact, i was screaming and shrieking when i heard of the most recent engagement. my friend even took a video of my reaction. :)

the venue: sonya's garden

2009-02-08T06:09:00.001-08:00

i know i have been remiss in updating this blog but we have been busy getting things ready for the wedding. as early as november 22, we've already booked our venue. yes, after that single visit, we decided on sonya's garden. since it will be a christian wedding, the ceremony and reception will be in the same venue. anyway, here are some overdue shots from that trip.

we're moving along at a slow pace but we're happy with our progress. at least we still manage to get our bit of fun (him with his xbox and me with my scrapping) amidst all these preps. for this month, here are our deliverables (you think that sounds geeky? believe me when i tell you i am just the tip of the iceberg).

1.) book a photographer (another post on this)

2.) give sheet music to choir (another post on this)

3.) finish prototype for invite

4.) finalize entourage (yes, we are way behind on this. as of this writing, i have 7 bridesmaids in mind!)

the peony craze + the plea for help

2008-12-27T17:08:00.000-08:00

we're back!wedding + honeymoon stories to follow. in the meantime, we've finally settled on a flower + theme for the wedding. it's amazing how everything else is falling in place. anyway, i would like to ask for your help finding a better image of the one below. or any ideas how to turn this into a vector image (that is the term tight?) so it won;t warp or screw up when we play around with it. really would appreciate any help. thanks. :)

can you imagine the endless possibilities for these beauties? here are some sneaks. hope you had a joyful christmas and wishing you a blessed year ahead.

60 and 425 Days to Go!!!!

2008-10-19T02:49:00.000-07:00

60 days to go until our civil wedding and 425 days until our church wedding. Who would have thought that time flies so fast when you're in the thick of wedding preparations!!! For our civil wedding, the only thing left is to finalize the bookings and getting the marriage license. We hope to get the license on the 23rd (I hope that there is no line at the Makati City Hall) and finish the rest of the preparations the week after. Our work on our church wedding is still beginning. I know it is a very challenging undertaking but with Jeanie by my side, I know that we can accomplish it and have lots of fun at the same time. Come to think of it, its quite interesting that our first project as husband and wife is to plan our wedding. That's a chicken and egg situation for you :)

Over the next few days and weeks, I will chronicle all our preparations as we move closer to the 2 big days. Stay tuned..... :)

the ring that got lost

2008-10-19T00:52:00.000-07:00

i was supposed to post this last wednesday but i was too busy so i am posting this only now. :)

or why i am blessed with the most wonderful boipren in the world.
as i am writing this, my entire condo is in a mess after i turned it upside down looking for my engagement ring.yes, i lost my ring.
part of my morning routine is putting on lotion and eversince i had the ring, it has been my pet peeve not to be able to put lotion on my left hand ring finger without getting some lotion on the ring. it's a weird oc thing. so every now and then, i would take off the ring when i put on the lotion, this was one of those mornings. after i was done, i started getting dressed for work. when i was putting on my earrings and watch, i realized that the ring wasn't where is should be. so i started moving around the things in my vanity table, rummagging through my bag and finally, down on my knees on the floor peering under the tables and my bed trying to look for it.
after almost 15 minutes of searching, i was already half in tears and in full panic mode. my unit is small and any missing object should be found in 10 minutes. it was a good thing boipren dropped by on his way to work after i told him i lost my ring. as i was trying to retrace my steps, he was assuring me that it would just be there when i get back. i was 90% sure i placed it on my vanity table but 10% was wondering if it slipped while i was going about my bathroom activities or worse, if i accidentally flushed it in the bowl.already i was thinking i was running late so i finally conceded and decided to postpone the search. seeing how disoriented i was, he offers to take me to work but i tell him to drop me off at the mrt station instead.
in the car, while rifling throug my bag, he was telling me to calm down and not to worry so much about it, it's just a ring. i know, i told him, in between my sniffles but i am crying because of its sentimental value. i am sad, i said because you gave it to me and i was careless and lost it. he tells me, it's just a ring, i can buy you a new one. it doesn't change anything between us, i will still marry you. and that made me cry even more. if i had known at that time how much the ring costs, i would've cried even more.
i made a quick stop at the post office to pick up a package that arrived but despite the new scrapbook goodies, i was still too sad, i didn't even open my package immediately like i always do. That’s how sad i was, i couldn’t even be distracted by scrapbook goodies. the 10% bathroom scenario was slowly gaining number on the probability scale. knowing that i would be too distracted at work and worrying myself about the ring, i decided to take my calls at home and asked boipren to take me back to the condo. when i got there, i started moving around everything in the condo in search for the ring - everything i can turn upside down, i flipped.at one point, i was even contemplating uprooting the bowl. after leaving my condo in a mess, i was 50% worried that i lost my ring in the bathroom and i was also 50% insane so, yes, you guessed it, i stuck my hand in the bowl (the water was clean) and tried to check if the ring was there. i even called the lobby guard to ask if there was a way to retrieve the ring i lost in the bowl. he patiently explained the concept of the septic tank, its vastness and why there is no way i can get the ring. boy did the lobby guard get his dose of crazy that day.
so finally when it seemed that i really lost the ring to the bowl, i called up boipren. i was already crying and berating myself for being so careless. i asked him if he was mad and he said there's no point to him getting mad, instead he said, he'd just get me a new one. i told him, he doesn't have to. after all i thought, even if the ring just costs around 20000-50000, i still don't think it's practical to get another one.but out of curiosity, i asked him how much the ring costs and i gasped then almost choked when he told me. that ring could've paid for half of my condo or 2/3's of our big wedding budget! sorry, i still couldn't get over how such a small thing could cost so much. and really, unless you subject it to extreme physical stress test, who can tell the difference between white gold and platinum? i even suggested putting it somewhere safe and letting me wear one of those plastic rings with an edible candy for a stone. at least i can eat that.
see, despite my scrapbook sprees, i still maintain that i am more practical and money-wise than boipren. even up to now, i am 50% convinced about having a big wedding despite what boipren and my friends tell me that this is a once-in-a-lifetime event and i should do it for me. i still think the money would be better used as downpayment for a house. anyway, i digress.
so while i was talking to him, i was setting up my laptop to start working when out of the corner of my eye, i noticed something shiny at the edge of keys. yes, it was the ring. i think when i tucked away my laptop, i didn't realize my ring was in it. i was still crying that time but in a split second, i managed to shriek with tears in my eyes.
so finally i could tell boipren about the lengths i went through to find the ring and he was laughing so hard. he told me to wash my hands with soap, then with alcohol then with lotion and do this 10 more times. even then he tells me, he probably won't hold my hand.
i told him, we don't have such an exciting or outrageous story about our engagement - it was sweet and packed with kilig but it didn't have the usual bloopers or hilarity that has been the trademark of our stories. well, today, this morning, barely halfway through the day, i managed to have a story that we can tell our kids and our friends. the ring is back safe in my finger and yes my hand is thoroughly disinfected.

the 4 early sunday morning sessions

2008-10-18T05:12:00.000-07:00

and we finally completed our premarital counselling sessions in church!
when we were informed of our 11am-sunday-sessions, boipren and i had to readjust our weekend lifestyle otherwise known as the grand life of extreme couch potato. we would be asleep until lunch, alternating between the occasional quick bite and tv time. then after lunch, boipren would drop by the condo, i would be scrapping or watching tv, he would be surfing the net or playing with his laptop. then around 5, we would leave for church and attend the sunday vesper service.
we started with our first session on august 3 and we were both late - not a good first impression for our counsellors elder peping and tita liway. they were worried that if we started late we would not be able to make the most of our 1-hour sessions. during the first session, we talked about our family backgrounds, the dynamics of our relationship and why we wanted to get married. i think at that time, when i told them that we would have arguments and fights every week, they were wondering why we were even getting married. they reminded us how we need to put God in the center of our marriage, comparing Him to the center of the triangle and the two of us at opposite ends. the closer we get to the center which is God, the closer we are to each other.
during the second session, we we were early, which i think made up a bit for our previous tardiness. and also i think their impression of us improved a bit when they realized that despite our different temperaments and outlook, we actually share the same hopes and dreams for our future. they asked us to take a quiz separately on our perception of the roles and responsibilities of a husband and a wife. and surprisingly (not for us), we agreed on all the important points like:

i agreed to support my husband's decisions and not to say "i told you so" even if it doesn't turn out well

he agreed to continue courting me even after the wedding (yey scrapbook stuff!)

we both agree that we will get our own place when we get married, living with either of our parents is not an option. after all, part of us being ready for marriage is financial readiness which at the very least includes being able to provide for our needs.

we both agree we didn't want to take on jobs that would require us to be apart physically for more than a month. don't get me wrong, i admire couples who are able to subsist on seeing each other a month or two in a year and living on phone calls and chats for the rest. it's just not me, i am not a long-distance-relationship gal, and lucky for me, neither is boipren.

during the third session, we talked about our conflict management strategies to help us understand how each one of us approaches a a conflict. we were also asked to prepare a budget, separately of course, and compare if we have the same views on how we allocate our money. it wasn't difficult to come up with the budget as boipren and i have already discussed how we will do the budget even before we started with the sessions.
and finally, during our last session, we took a personality quiz (i am an infj and he is an entj/estj person). most of the things that were said about our personality were correct but i think what we found most helpful was getting a clearer picture of our strengths and weaknesses and the adjustments we need to make when we get married. we ended around the second week of september as we had to skip some sessions when our counsellors were out of town and i had to leave for japan.
we both learned a lot from those sessions (and we actually fight less now - either we improved on our communication or we've gotten more patient and slower to anger or we're getting too old to fight), and although this is not a guarantee for a happy marriage, this is something that can help us get started on the right track. we still have around 7 more sessions to go for this other young couples seminar we are attending twice a month at church, i will talk more about that in another post. but for now, let me leave you with a picture of our certificate of completion (my secure mode is on full gear so i blurred our middle names in case unscrupulous folks might use it for scams, better be paranoid than sorry right?). anyway, have a great weekend ahead everyone. :)

the favor prototype #1

2008-10-06T22:27:00.000-07:00

this is just a quick post. i've been feeling guilty for neglecting the wedding preparations after we've settled on the venue a few weeks back. my feeling of inadequacy is further heightened upon seeing my friend who is also getting married doing more preparations - she has more ideas and have checked out mroe suppliers. hopefully, we can get on track when we attend another bridal fair this weekend.

we have not yet decided on a final motif, although it looks like we will both get what we want - gian and his midnight blue and me with my coral/poppy pink. i am eager to lock down the motif so i can start working on our favors, invites and maybe, our save the date cards.

here is a prototype of the wedding favor i was planning to make, i have to change the colors, of course. but i wanted something that i can easily mass produce and something that people can actually use. let me know what you think. enjoy the week ahead.

the search for the perfect venue

2008-09-23T02:06:00.001-07:00

so we left manila at past 10. i think the guards at the condo laughing when they saw me carrying a big bag with the kids in it. we stopped for a while in shell to grab something to eat. it was raining when we arrived in tagaytay so we were worried we might not be able to go around so much. it stopped raining eventually and we were supposed to meet some friends for a late lunch at sonya's. we figured it was one of the places we wanted to check out, so might as well hit two birds with one stone.
we've been to sonya's a couple of months ago when we took my parents to tagaytay. everyone enjoyed lunch except me - i'm not much of a vegetable fan. it should not be a problem for us to find our way but that day, maybe because of the rain or hunger or exhaustion, we took a wrong turn. after almost half an hour, we managed to get back on the main road and went to sonya's.
we had a full afternoon ahead of us so we planned to check the place, say a quick hello to our friends then leave for our next stop. the funny thing was we planned the itinerary for our occular for 3 weeks but it took us 5 minutes to decide we wanted to have our ceremony/reception there. it was a good thing the date we wanted was still wide open and we had dibs on the venue. in the end, we opted for the bigger venue with higher ceiling and an unobstructed view of the "aisle". so with nothing left to do, we had impromptu photo sessions and a very late lunch. more pictures here.

we also ran into another friend who was also looking into venues for their wedding. i think they were more thorough in the inspection of the place while we were just too absorbed with taking pictures.
afterwards, we headed to bag of beans to catch up with our friends. we were too full to have dessert and too tired so we didn't join them for dinner back in manila.
gian already has lots of plans to spruce up the place, i like i the way it is. but we'll see. right now, i'm just excited about making save-the-date cards. any suggestions?

the story of how it all started

2008-09-22T04:21:00.000-07:00

it was a theology class on marriage in 2001. he was the guy at the back row, who was sometimes late and yes, with a girlfriend then. she was the girl in the front row who was never late and yes, with a boyfriend then too. he was on the school council, she worked in the school paper. she knew him but he didn'tknow her. two years later, he is still with his girlfriend, she broke up with her boyfriend, they graduated and ateneo won the championship.
he became a manager in a bpo company with a new girlfriend, she became a software engineer in a japanese company with no boyfriend. she decides to move to the everything-is-possible company, he follows a few months later. in his first email to her, he reprimands her for an oversight at work.he was diplomatic and got along with the boss, she was feisty and stood up to the boss but somehow they clicked and became good friends. then, they were both being eyed for the same role and suddenly there was tension. but they managed to talkabout it, much like they could talk about anything else, and it brought them even closer. in the end, they both got the position.
eventually, they would have impromptu brunches or late dinners, he would take her home and she would tell him about her crushes. people at the office and their friends were thinking something was up, his girlfriend was jealous, her crush didn't care but they both insisted they were just friends. he liked her even then but didn't know how to tell her, she was too dense to realize it. so he came with her on a group date with her crush and she has a valentine's dinner with him. yet they still insists, they're just friends. then he resigns and gets a new girlfriend, she stays and starts to date other guys and they lose touch.
a year later, she was heartbroken from a guy she was dating, he just broke up with his girlfriend. she needed a place to stay after two months in europe and he offers to sublet his condo to her. he was devastated and needed a distraction, she invites him to her church. he was depressed, she was always drinkingand they took turns venting and leaning to each other.
then finally he realizes she was the one who has always been there for him and that she was the one person he can talk to about anything. but how would he tell her because she knew his mo and the cheesy lines he would spew? but he head to try. he tried to court her but she thinks he likes her friend. he tried to tell her so many times but she would ruin it - she is late, she brings some friends or she falls asleep. he gives her gifts, she thinks it's to impress her friend. he calls her overseas, she thinks he's just being helpful. he picks her up all the way from tagaytay, she believes him when he tells her he just needed to test drive his new car.
so when he couldn't wait any longer, he goes up to her condo, knocks on her door with her almost empty coffee that she left in his car and tells her. she was half-asleep and half-listening and after his long speech, all she could say was, "what do we do now"so for the next few weeks, they would have dinner together, hang out with friends and text frequently.
a little over a week later, she tells him, let's give it a try and he was so happy, he couldn't believe it. a few days later, she starts getting sick and when he confronts her, she says she wasn't too sure about saying yes to him. he asks her why she told him she loves him too and she says she didn't think "thank you" was a polite reply to his "i love you". he was frustrated but he stayed and for the next few days their relationship was in limbo. she saw how patient he was with her and finally realized that this time she could mean what she would say, she just couldn't say it out loud yes. so she texted him and she never looked back after that.
this year, they will get married. and yes, ateneo might win the championship again after 6 years.

welcome!

2008-09-19T17:12:00.000-07:00

we've officially invaded the internet! we will be updating the site with our preparations for the big day. please feel free to visit us. :)