wedding fever

yep.. my thermoregulator's still registered on high. i have been back home in exactly a week now and i haven't really been out to anywhere except work. i still have this constant fixation to look at countless number of photos from my six week vacation that i still have on my hard drive waiting to be unloaded. and to top it all of, i just dreamt about our wedding... "the rainless" version. ay grabe na to.

oh, and to complete this entry, i just found out this neat function from photobucket where videos can be loaded..... ay, todo na talaga 'to! Lol.

just married!

well, it's actually been more than a week past the big day but still feels like it was just yesterday :) ganon pala yun, hehehe! they say rainshower on a special day means blessings. and if it so, then brian and i were blessed to the fullest on our wedding day!! we definitely take blessings coming in from all sort... lalo na kung bagyo pa yan :) july 25th was when typhoon glenda decided to join in the celebration and so the weather was really MAD! part of the reason why while inside my bridal car, i was in panic mode. thinking no people will come and brave the floods and crazy rains. but surprise, surprise! we've alotted for 150 people and 128 showed up! certainly not bad for a heavily pouring day :) this is one of those rare times when you know that people you care about really care for you as well. ian and i wholeheartedly appreciate everybody's presence. joining in the fun and having a good time themselves on a very challenging road trip to fernwood gardens to celebrate our union in God's home meant more than what words can ever describe. we definitely felt so loved and special having everyone around.

here's to share more about our day:
full blog entry by Threelogy (c/o Bong) here
and a beautiful On-Site AVP here

photo sampler by Paul Vincent Photography taken by Paul himself here

signing off. taxing out.

i can now say i am ready to go except i can't leave without refills for my toothbrush. they're a bit expensive in PI so might as well get them here.


alright. july bride signing off this weekend.
see yah when i see yah!

daughter moment

i'm having one right now.
i'm in the middle of sorting what to pack and out of the blue, i came across a bagful of these:

these are some of the beanies i gave dad.
i used to give him one everytime he needed to be at the hospital.

^{"Never dreamed that he would be gone from me
If I could steal one final glance,
one final step,
one final dance with him
I'd play a song that would never, ever end
'Cause I'd love, love, love
To dance with my father again..."}

one week to go + wedding gifts

i will be flying back to see my husband in exactly a week. weee!! like always, the long flight does not excite me at all pero isang ambien lang kapat nyan, ok na. mom has been very vocal about her excitement to the point na nakukulitan na ako sa kanya, hahaha! i don't know but for some odd reason, i haven't really been excited during the past week about the wedding.. do not get me wrong. i am very much looking forward to seeing my husband again. but it's probably the cake supplier issues and our mishandled civil marriage documents (that we paid for and never got!) that pulled down all the adrenaline in me.

however, we are blessed with people helping us out in dealing with such dilemma. thanks to you for helping us iron out issues with the cake lady! and to ninang nilda and ninong manny for taking time in getting our documents from toronto :). problems solved. and today... i'm back on the roll, packed wtih all the giddiness in me! soon as i woke up today, all in my head's about the wedding... and even my fortune cookie for lunch made me think more about it:


yesterday, i started receiving wedding gifts from people here and that kicked the excitement back in me! here are some of them:

target gift certificate c/o my friend jet that i used to purchase these jasmine scented candles for the ceremony
^{click here for more photos}

and yet another nice set of gifts from mom! engraved with our names & date, double heart accent with swarovski at the stem that she got from Things Remembered

flute set
^{click here for more photos}


cake server set
^{click here for more photos}

I SO LOVE MY MOM!!!!!

now as if those were not enough to excite me, i found these when i took my lunch break and walked over to the hospital's giftshop:

^{click here for more photos}
aren't those perfect to hold our unity coins (round) and wedding rings (heart)? definitely a good find at the hospital (of all places, ahhahah!)


haaayyy.... now i'm dying to go home and get married!

our wedding invites!

finally. after all the hoolah balooh and mind-blowing frustrations, we've found the right guy to make our invites!

^{click image for more details}
Supplier: Norman Lleses of YRL Designs & Prints

Norman actually was not our first choice to supply our invites, nor the final design we've come up with (i initially wanted the cherry blossom ones). but, like they said, "the best are saved for last". and it's true! Norman did deliver the specifications we've requested, not to mention the numerous times we've revised each and every pieces of the entire set just to get it the way we really wanted it to be. i really have to salute the guy for his patience on me! hehehe. conversations were purely sms and YM chats that took loooong hours. there was even a time when i forgot our time difference and poor guy had skipped lunch just so he'll be assured that he'll get all of my requests and changes (even last minute) correctly. he surely made it to our top suppliers' list :)

_{*again, thanks to w@w suppliers' directory*}

bridal shower

last may 12th my co-workers threw a bridal shower (that's minus the stripper) for me and a fellow bride to-be, Lewie (her wedding is a month before mine), at Marj's place. some of the girls thought we were not goin to have fun without having a male stripper coming in to play with. they thought wrong! after all, this has been by far the wildest, whackiest party ever, anyone of us has had at marj's! our boys (from work) came and loaded us up with gallons and gallons of booze and overflowing supply of barbequed everything :)

click here and here to see more

i was supposedly lewie's designated driver. however, since she doesn't drink more than 2 (or i think 3) shots of anything with alcohol, i ended up taking the shots meant for her.... lame excuse to drink, i know. ehehhehe. ah basta ganun. and so everytime i turn, there's a shot waiting for me, hahaha! so naturally, by nine i was out! i didn't see any games nor get to open my gifts with lewie =P. oh well. it was such a good party and a loud one i believe that's why at around eight the kid next door knocked and posted this at the door:

ahh, poor child. cute idea tho, hehehe. so just imagine me as i was walking to my car the following morning while the neighbor was washing his car outside giving me a dirty look ... i wanted to yell and say "it wasn't just me!!". i opted not to and decided to just deal with my headache issues.

i had so much fun! thanks to you guys! :)

my sad-happy tickets

just before you all think the bride in me went away for good, i am back with so many stories to tell! but i'll do installments and start with this one.

but first things first.. (commercial muna tayo)
to all those who emailed me about my wedding dress, thank you for the nice comments! and for those who asked (so sorry for the delay on this) about Njork's 411, here it is:

for PI brides:
ph. no. +632.416.9098 or +632.925.5495
AE: Sharon Tonogbanua email her at: sharonrose09@yahoo.com

for US brides:
send your emails to Miguel Leyva at advocatefashion@mac.com
--and yes he will fly out to any state (he's from frisco) with prior arrangements! just give him a heads up :)

and now moving on...
sad ticket. well, like most often than not, i was, once again, running late for work. i blame it all to our house's proximity to my workplace, which is seven minutes -- inclusive of 2 traffic lights and 5 three way stops. kasi i noticed that when you work so close from where your house is, all the more you get friends with your alarm's snooze button which gives you high tendencies of becoming unprofessional but popular to night shifts, kasi i see them at the parking lot on their way home as i come in, hehehe (this is punishment 101, from me to me -- self humilitaion). but today is not my ordinary late-for-work kind of days. this is BIG time punishment 101 for me. i sure didn't make daddy proud of me today.


Everyone, all together now, say hi to my first traffic citation ticket after ten years of driving. Baaahhhh. For someone who has recently turned 28 in the last 2 weeks, this is sooo pathetic! Totally repulsing. According to the cute, hunk of a man, stern officer, i did a "rolling stop". Well, i really did. I got too nervous when i saw the police car at the corner of my eyes with lights going all over my rear view mirror! I forgot the golden rule my dad used to tell me: when officer asks you "do you know why i stopped you?" ALWAYS ANSWER: No, i'm sorry sir i don't. Well, today my friend, ms. smarty-lil-pants in me stupidly answered yes! Bwiset. Di talaga ako marunong magsinungaling. Pweh. Now what do i get? A definitely huge fine coming in the mail and an option to either contest my citation ticket or attend driving school class or online class to lessen the fine AND keep my driving record clean at the same time. Sweet. Just what i needed on top of ten thousand things i needed to do. And to make it worst, when i came in to work my charge nurse told me: "oh dear, i'm so sorry. we're overstaffed today and when i checked the staffing book, it says it's your turn to be flexed". Great. Just mother f*cking great. I wanted to slap her with the ticket i just got.

Anyway. Back to mr. officer. when he finally let me go, the first thing i did was to look for my cellphone and dial up my husband. I was practically sobbing when he picked up the phone. and after making sure that i'm well... all he said was "Honey naman, gumagaya ka pa sakin eh". I had to laugh so hard when i suddenly remembered that he just had a ticket himself some two days ago for making an illegal right turn somewher in manila, hahahhaha! Dios mio, mag asawa nga kami! Hayyyy.

ok. time for happy tickets.

i really don't care if korean air means longer flights with longer lay-overs in between. it's the cheapest and earliest flight i can get this peak season. i am just very happy (in every essence of the word) that i am headed way home soon.

^{up next: more wedding updates....}

sneak peek

last time brian went to Njork's for the girls' first fitting session, he was able to take photos of my dress. my, my, it's half way done!!! last time i got to wear it was in january, when it was still all barren and plain. the beadings are now all over and i am just very happy with the results! as francis, miguel and i agreed upon, i went non-traditional with the color and chose an off-white dress, swarosvski crystals were used and liberally embellished to accentuate the lace patterned bodice. i specifically requested to give emphasis on the back and keep the front of it simple. here's bits and pieces of it. i'd bring the entire profile of my dress on supplier ratings entry after the wedding... but if you're a fellow w@wie bride scouting, then just holler and i'd give you access to it!

tagged!

definitely not wedding related but i haven't done this in so long so i'm giving in:)
here you go, c/o cousin-in-law rosa:

four jobs i've had in my life:
1. medical assistant to a very nice but super kuripot opthalmologist
2. ICU admin staff (full time to part time)
3. Nursing Educ. Dept. Admin staff (part time- soon.. in about two weeks)
4. a wife ...and a mom (soon??)

four films i can watch over and over again
1. deuce bigalow
2. one fine day
3.
4.

four places i have lived
1. binan, laguna
2. calamba, laguna
3. sta. rosa, laguna
4. san diego

four tv programs i love to watch
1. tfc shows
2. bubble gang
3. trading spaces
4. everybody loves raymond

four places i would have visited, if i had the money
1. back to niagara
2. bahamas
3. london to rome to florence to pisa to milan to venice to vienna to munich to berlin to amsterdam to paris (i know it's plenty but they're all in one continent, so i figured might as well).
4. amanpulo

four websites i visit daily
1. gmail
2. yahoo mail
3. my blog
4. weddings at work

four of my favorite foods
1. my mom's pinoy spaghetti
2. hans & harry's strudel
3. shrimp tempura maki
4. shrimp muishi

four places i would rather be
1. beside my husband
2. in a spa
3. in a beach with a book and chilled appletini
4. lulla land dreaming about my dad

four bloggers i am tagging
1. keith
2. tinggay
3. angie ni bizzi
4. other w@wie brides

wedding mags

today's entry is brought to you by the letters C-L-E-A- and N.

finally! after my weekends work, i planned today to be my clean up day. read: did quite a few laundry, vacuumed (hate it!), made my home workstation tidy, shredded my junk mails and detailed my car's interiors (something that is loongg overdue!).

and along the process of cleaning, i just realized that (i think) my year's subscription of wedding mags had just ended. they are now piled up at the side of my desk occupying a spot that i can have better us of. i still flip through them once in a while, if time permits. but sometimes, browsing and reading back issues do not really help. specially now that we're more than midway the wedding plans. the things i read and see in these back issues still somewhat influences the things that we have already decided on. bad, bad habit. i always have side comments such as "ay, maganda to!" or "uy, cute! gusto ko tong idea na to!" hehehehe! i tell yah, i'm positive that i am a big part of the reason why my husband's hair is thinning fast, ahahhahhaha! i don't really have plans for these mags as of yet. maybe i'll sell them when i'm done like the other b2b's. or maybe save them for the next b2b in the family, if there's any next in line (*wink, wink*), hehehe.

crane's & papyrus + disposable cameras

the past few weeks has been quite slow for wedding preps. san diego weather has been very, very sullen. i love rain. but rain, minus my bed, and no snooze? baaahh. nakaka depress lang when i think about it. oh well. i was able to sneak in some mall time in the afternoon that there was no rain, though. here are some of my good finds:

disposable cameras with instruction cards from Walmart. other wedding websites sells them for $5.99/camera while walmart has them for $15.99/ box of 4 cams. that's $2.00 savings x 20 cams = $40.00... cashing! cashing! i looove walmart! this cameras will be in each table for the guests to take snaps.



blank engraved initial notes from Crane's & Co. to write letters for our Principal Sponsors. see, this stationary is so darn pretty for my sloppy handwriting. i really gotta figure out a way how to tweak the settings on my computer so i can print them out instead.



blank notes in pink with brown trimmings to write letters for the wedding party from Papyrus. with this one, i'm not quite decided on wheter i should write them the note now (eventhough i've met them already in person and have asked and told them that they play a role in the entourage group, with STDs disposed off accordingly) or just write them personal thank you notes and tuck them in inside their gown/barong boxes? we'll see.


now i hope on my next mall adventure i get to find those monogram cake toppers!

marriage prayer + tealights

in the middle of a busy day at work, who would've thought i'd still be on the roll for wedding preps. while at lunch i stumbled upon this catalogue that sells assorted candles. first flip brought me to the page that shows a candle that says "Marriage Prayer". of course, i took the idea and thought it'd make our unity candle somewhat atypical from the rest. here's the prayer:

Marriage Prayer
Lord, help us to
remember when we first met
and the strong LOVE that grew
between us, to work that LOVE into
practical things so nothing can
divide us. We ask for words both
kind and loving and hearts always
ready to ask for forgivemess as well
as forgive. Dear Lord, we put our
marriage into Your hands.
Amen.

now, only if i could find someone to make me those candles! we inquired at doc's candles, a small stall we found at south mall. they do actually have our cherry blossom motif but they quote us 3k for a set of three to make our unity candles. now, that's a bit pricey for us. i still have quite a bit of time do some research anyways, so the search is still on :)


meanwhile, look what mom and i found at one of my favorite stores, ikea:

scented TINDRA tealights
$3.99/42 pcs.

good deal! and it's perfect to match the motif and they even come in chocolate, caramel and orange combination as well. these little ones will sit at the center of each table surrounding the centerpiece c/o Juan Carlo (?not sure if we will need to hire an event stylist or not). and to hold these tealights, we're in the middle of deciding which between these two to get:

HEJ tealight holder from ikea
$0.50 ea.


votive candle holders from divi
Php 50.00 ea

they all look pretty --one's minimalist in style while the other is more dainty. i guess it's just a matter of price and s/h fees since i'd have to ship the ones from ikea from here. hmmm... we'll see.

gifts: female principal sponsors

it's kind of tricky thinking of gifts. most specially if the gift that you have to come up with are to be given out to people whom you have utmost respect and care for you as if you're their own child. after shopping around online and countless number of malls both brian and i have been to, we took francis' suggestion of providing our female principal sponsors the fabric for their dresses.

fabric cost: Php 80/yard
wrapper cost: Php 120
tools: photoshop, didi, scissors

the fabric is silk in dope dye pomelo pink. we wrapped them individually using two shades (closest color we could get to match our motif) of japanese paper, wooden placemat we found in greenhills, and colored paper in eggyolk. we finished the wrapping design with square cut-out logos (DIY) that has both of our initials. we've given out most of these gifts already and we're happy that ninangs are just sweet enough to appreciate our gifts to them. now all we have to think about is a small token we can give them on the wedding day itself.

DIY: Save the Date magnets

here's my first shot on DIY:


total cost: $13.99/5 sheets of magnets (makes 40)
tools: photoshop,didi

this actually is the second style for our magnetic std's. i figured the first one looked too busy and crowded with too much information in it.

simpler looks better.

what do you think?

final colors + theme + a lot more

after the long hiatus, it's time to keep the ball rollin' again. back to wedding preps, wedding preps, wedding preps! all the details of what brian and i had accomplished since november had clogged up our brains now. time to let them all out!

on dresses. remember my dilemma? well, the color saga had finally come to an end (at last!). when brian and i finally sat down with Francis, he was kind enough to help us choose colors for the dresses. since we've decided that the theme would invovle mainly of cherry blossom flowers and chocolate, we came up with these colors for the girls' dresses:

the first two pink swatches (light pink and fuschia) are for the female entourage, with eggyolk (far right) as the accentuating color and salmon pink for the two moms. gown sketches for the female entourage has been drawn and finalized. the only thing missing are the barongs for the guys, which is brian's assignment in lucban, laguna, where we are hoping to get the best deal from.


and to incorporate the chocolate theme, brown shades will be visible on the little details such as the inivitations, cake, chocolate fountain(s) --one 35' tall + two 18' fountains (only if budget will still fit) and a few of the paraphernalia to be used at the wedding rites.

the cake. here's a scanned photo of the cake we wanted from the martha stewart weddings 10th anniversary magazine. our coordinator, jenne, gave me some cake101 lessons when i inquired about this. she said, since this type of cake is chocolate coated, gumpaste will be used instead of fondant. we chose the top most layer to be fruitcake (so we can save it and eat it a year later), and either apple walnut or banana walnut for the rest of the layers. we wanted the real thing so no dummies shall be used on this one.
cost: Php12,500.00
supplier: chocolato (?not sure if i spelled that correctly)


the invites. another inspiration spotted inside the martha stewart weddings 10th year mag. our invites are inspired by this theme. it will not exactly appear to be a replica of this since ours will have metallic chocolate brown as the outer cover, where dry embossed cherry blossoms are visible in the front flowing all the way to the back covers; 6'x6' in size; with several inserts for the big day's details, etc.,etc.... we're just practically taking the flower details on this one to suit the theme. the design hasn't been finalized yet so mock up invite photos to follow.
cost: Php85.00/set
supplier: Laguna Printing Press, Inc.



the placemats. (optional)... still from the martha stewart weddings collections. this is a neat idea where the placemat will have the menu written on it. we're still debating if we will include this one. heres the sample photo:
cost: Php35.00/piece
supplier: Laguna Printing Press, Inc.


these are only a few of what we have done so far. there are so many more things to write about. 'til the next post, fellas!

the first man in my life

Maj. Antonio Nido Enate
January 17, 1926 - December 08, 2005

It's been more than a month now but it still feels like it was just yesterday.
Thank you for the twenty seven years we've spent together.
Thank you for putting up a good fight battling all your illnesses.
Thank you for letting me, ate and mom take care of you.
And thank you for waiting for me to come home and enjoy you some more.
I know you're an added angel up above now to look upon us.
You will remain in my heart forever.
I love you and I miss you so much, Dad.


***

More the a month of no posts, no updates. No matter how valid my reason is for being away, i'd still choose to write and update non-stop just so this day won't come. I think i had prepared Mom better than i had prepared myself for this day. Or heck, i don't think anyone could just easily ready oneself for death or a death of a loved one. After my three week vacation in november, i got home very tired and sick, yet happy to see Dad back home from the hospital and enjoying thanksgving with the entire family. I was able to join them at home for a week since i was sick. I can see clearly that Dad was very happy he was home. Barely two days after i started back to work, Dad left us. His wishes was to be taken home back to the Philippines and be burried at his mausoleum and for his three other children to see him. It has been a very tough month for all of us. And a very sad way to end our 2005.

I wish not to frequent this blog with entries such as this. I wish to keep this blog happy from now on.

^{To all those who went to the viewing and sent their sympathies... thank you.}