Meeting with P/V Supplier and Coordinator

We scheduled an appointment to meet Bogs Ignacio at his studio in Cainta Rizal. Since our pre-nup photo shoot is set on July 6, we wanted to have an idea of what will happen, things we should prepare for/anticipate etc.

But since Richard will be transferring to a new job by end of the month, we decided to move the pre-nup on a Saturday. Bogs gave us July 21 since he's available on this date. He showed us pre-nup pics he shot in Intramuros, UST and La Mesa Ecopark. I like the pics at UST the most. Plus it's something that Richard and I have in common :-)

Since it's the rainy season already, an out-of-town pre-nup shoot or beach venue is out of the question. We decided to have it in UST instead :-)

After our meeting with Bogs, we had lunch at Abe in Serendra. I went to BPI to make the deposit for our wedding rings while Richard went to McKinley to sign the job offer.

We left Taguig past 5pm to go to Mall of Asia and meet with Kim Oania of Blissfully Hitched. We had quite a long discussion with Kim. She shared several wedding stories, her experiences and challenges she has encountered. Aside from the reasonable rate she gave us, reason why I chose Kim is because I wanted a coordinator who lives or has ties in Tagaytay (her parents live there). In this way, she can easily check on the venue, suggest nearby suppliers for other wedding items most especially accommodations, give us inside scoop of what's happening in the area, update us with a weather report etc.

So there. We booked Blissfully Hitched for our OTD Coordinator :-)

Wedding Rings

Richard and I went to Trinoma Mall to check out Fiona Jewelry. Richard's friend based in the US knows the owner and told us to visit the store. First time we went there was after the Center Table food tasting session, held last May 20. There were two designs that we both liked. So we went back to the store so we can personally meet Bojie and hopefully give us a big discount :-)

We were not disappointed. He gave us 50% discount on the rings! We chose the 18k white gold pair that had small diamond stones. We had them resized and engraved with the following: Richard's ring - Diana 102312, Di's ring - Richard 102312.

We were told to just come back for them in a week's time. Yay! We now have our wedding bands :-)

Imagine Nation's Alex Ruelo

We scheduled dinner with Alex Ruelo (from Imagine Nation Photography) and met him at Sentro Restaurant in Greenbelt. Vignette is our official photographer/videographer but we opted to have a backup photographer to cover all angles in our wedding. We figured that we could also get more candid shots from them since Vignette will be getting most of the formal/posed shots.

We had a nice conversation with Alex. He was also talkative and shared a lot of stories about his craft and even his personal life. He showed us some sample shots and I must say, they were very good and with minimal or no photoshop editing at all.

Visit to Caleruega w/ Family

My parents wanted to see Caleruega and also scout for nearby hotels/houses for rent where our relatives could stay. It took us 1 hour and 15-20 minutes to get there. We arrived a little before 11am but no one was available to show us around. It appears that the whole staff of Caleruega attended the 11am mass and won't be available until 1pm. We had a quick tour of the place and left to have lunch in Tagaytay.

I think my family loved the place :-)

Wedding Preps: Gown, Caterer, Florist

For the 3rd time, we're going to visit Tito Boy in his shop hehe. Well, I just have issues regarding the color of my gown. Tito Boy initially suggested champagne color. Although I know champagne color would probably blend well with my skin tone and make it more flattering, I still have 2nd thoughts about it. I guess for me, a wedding is all about wearing a white gown. I know I know, I really am traditional and old-fashioned hehe. So that's what I voiced out to Tito Boy and he was ok with it.

Also, I have been feeling less confident lately on whether I can pull off wearing the "bonggang" gown he had in mind for me. I have been thinking of going back to the original design. But then Tito Boy said that it's my wedding and that I really have to stand out from the crowd. He assured me that he's going to make the gown really beautiful, "ako na ang bahala..." And I decided to just trust him to do his magic on me and let it go :-)

After our meeting with Tito Boy, we went to Light of Love to attend grand food tasting session of Eloquente Catering. Me and Richard are decided on getting them as caterer because of the reasonable price, amenities and inclusions in the package. With the package we'll be getting from them, we don't need to scout for the emcee, sound system and cake.

This time we were able to see Eloquente's reception set-up. We had our 1st food taste with them in their head office and there wasn't any set-up/arrangement at all. This time, we were blown away with the venue. Ren of Amaranthus Florist did a great job in styling the whole place. They presented so many dishes for the guests to try, some of it are the foods included in our chosen package. We also met Jem Santiago, the emcee included in the package. She did well in hosting the event that day. She also happens to be a singer and sang several songs that afternoon.

To cut a long story short, we sealed the deal with Eloquente and Amaranthus Florist :-)

Center Table Catering Food Tasting

We went to Fernwood Garden to attend Center Table's Food Tasting session. Unlike the 1st food taste I had with them, this one was disappointing. Richard was also not impressed.

Egg Offering to St. Clare

Two of my good friends (Jackie and Cha) accompanied me to visit St. Jude Church in Mendiola and St. Clare Church in Katipunan.

This was my first time to visit St. Clare and I did the traditional egg offering. I wrote my petitions on a slip of paper, prayed for good weather on my wedding day and offered half-dozen eggs. I plan to pay a visit to these two churches every month until October :-)