Weddings & Beyond Bridal Fair

The first bridal fair I've attended for the Year 2012 :-)

Went all by myself because Richard had to attend his class in UST. He's a part-time Professor at the Graduate School by the way.

There were the usual suppliers. This time though, I was able to attend the food tasting session of Center Table catering. Two thumbs up! The food was delicious and set-up was fabulous. Wished Richard was there with me.

Meeting of Parents

We scheduled the pamanhikan on my Mom's birthday. Richard and his family came to visit and had lunch with us. It wasn't the formal pamanhikan yet but more like meeting of the parents. The first time they were introduced to one another was during my cousin Abi's wedding, And that was back in January 2008. We did discussed about the wedding date though.

Everything went well actually. We plan to schedule a second meeting by next year.

Wedding Date moved to 10.23.12

If I could just go back in time, I would have consulted my parents on our wedding date. I didn't realize that October 20 was my Grandmother's death anniversary. I definitely would not want my family to be having mixed emotions on my wedding day. Problem is, there's no other available schedule for Q3 and Q4 2012 in Caleruega. I had to choose from these dates: October 23, October 24, November 3, November 4. Mother didn't like November 3 and 4, it being so close to All Souls and All Saints Day. So we decided on October 23, which is a Tuesday. Ceremony is still scheduled in the morning.

So now, it's going to be a Destination Weekday Wedding :-)

Pros

• ambiance - trees, garden, nature, great scenery
• away from the hustle and bustle of the big city
• ideal for intimate and solemn affair/gathering
• can negotiate for cheaper rate from suppliers
• a lot of suppliers still available
• no traffic
• not all guests can attend but I can extend invite to everyone
• auspicious date (Sept 15 and Oct 20 was neither auspicious nor inauspicious)
• not a busy day
• wedding and honeymoon can be done in one week, 2nd week reserved for arranging things in new home

Cons

• limited reception venues
• travel time of guests
• coordination with suppliers
• out of town charges
• additional transportation costs
• church doesn't have that many inclusions
• not all guests can attend
• reception program ends 3pm, post-wedding celebration to be held elsewhere

2nd Ocular Visit

NBC Tent Bridal Fair

1st Bridal Fair

Wedding date moved to 10.20.12

Last time we went to Caleruega, we also checked possible reception venues inside the vicinity and even the rooms where we could stay on overnight.

Veritas Hall

Rooms

Two months has passed and we still have not decided on the reception venue. Others we've considered: Splendido, Sonya's Garden, Josephine's, Antonio's, Summit Ridge Hotel, other garden type venues. We weren't familiar with the other reception venues in Tagaytay that's near Caleruega.

Richard suggested we just go for Veritas Hall in Caleruega so our guests won't be inconvenienced of travelling from one location to another. Besides, they'll already go out of their way to attend our wedding, so we thought that we don't want them to travel anymore farther. Also, not many people are familiar with Tagaytay area. We risk having our guests arrive late for the reception or really hungry if they get lost. Something we really don't want to happen.

When I called Caleruega to reserve Veritas Hall, I was told that the venue has already been reserved for a school retreat. There's no other option for us but to move our wedding date where both the church and reception venue is still open.

That's when we decided to move our wedding date to October 20, 2012. It's still going to be a Saturday morning wedding. I have also reserved two twin rooms nearest the church. Our plan is to stay in Caleruega the day before the wedding.

Now, we have an extra month to prepare :-)