Wedding Details: The Rings!

yahoo, finally, i know where to start! :D

i've done my assignment and stared endlessly at our few-out-of-the-million photos. i have to nudge my silly self and start writing. so here goes...

i initially wanted an eternity white gold ring :D (okay, we can't afford that). but at least a white gold ring with some diamonds. i was feeling all girly when we started our planning, so i felt like a glittery ring will surely look good on my finger. i was that sure. while the husband, on the other hand, already knew what kind of design he wanted - white gold, plain, simple and thick!

when we started checking all the jewelry shops here in Singapore, (and I mean ALL, because even Indian shops, we visited to be sure we won't miss anything.), we were actually disappointed. most of them have the same designs. nothing unique at all. if there's something pretty, it was way out of our budget. but one thing i discovered during our search, the diamond ring did not look good on my finger :( well, in my own opinion. i realized, i am not the girlaloo type who can act prim and proper, so too much diamonds won't really suit me. i've decided, one diamond ring is enough, and that is my engagement ring.

we agreed to look online for the design we wanted and have it customized instead but we had no idea where to find a supplier. i was so frantic because i wanted to catch up with the sale period so we can at least save. but the husband convinced me, that we can't just sacrifice one of the things important during the wedding just so we can buy it cheap. (this guy is a smartie :D)

true enough, we waited! then i remembered i read through Tisha's blog that their wedding bands were customized by a friend. so we informed her, sent our designs and the good friend, Linette Ramos, gave us a really good rate. just perfect!

you see, we are easy to please. we didn't have an inch of doubt that Linette could not provide us our customized wedding rings. looking at the samples she showed during our one and only met up last September (3 months before our wedding), only proved that she could deliver. and boy, how lucky we were! the rings were ready after two weeks and they were the exact designs of the rings we wanted - white gold, plain, simple and pretty. the husband was so happy with the thickness of his ring while mine was just perfect for my little ring finger.

Linette was truly one of our heaven-sent suppliers, who came just in time to calm me from my paranoia. So if you're planning to have your wedding rings customized, don't hesitate to contact her at +63927-4344849.

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I can't write what I wanted to write...

boo to me!

how in the world could i not start writing about the pretty little things that consumed most of my time during our wedding preparations? how could i? :P

well, i don't have the answer too because as far as i know, there were just too many details to write about and i don't know where to start. haha.

i have an idea though. i will start looking at our photos again and from there, decide. that makes sense, right?

okay, back to photo staring. wish me luck!

p.s. believe me, i am ecstatic to write about all the pretty little details. *puppy eyes*

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What we're Thankful for during our Wedding Day

we've spent one year planning and preparing but we could not have pulled it off successfully without Mr. Universe conspiring. it's been 26 days after our big day and we are still so much grateful for everything and everyone.

1. we are thankful for Mr. Sun for shining its glory all through out the event. it didn't rain the whole day but it rained the day after. how amazing is that? to think we had a beach-themed wedding during the rainy season of december *big grin*.

2. we are thankful for our family and friends who showed their support and love all the way :) though some complained how early our wedding started but still they were there to witness. we didn't expect the church will be filled with guests but to my surprise, everyone was there. well, except for one who had a hard time locating the church *winks to jinky* . (in case you were not following this blog, our wedding ceremony started at 6:30am :p) we love them all!

3. we are thankful for our dearest suppliers who didn't give a bit of dismay due to the early dress-up. this was one of my concerns when we changed the time but Tisha assured me that they were all excited for their first dawn wedding. true enough, they were because they all arrived at 2am and some on their designated call time.

4. we are thankful for our dearest officiating priest, who i think didn't sleep at all just so he won't be late for the ceremony. it was their parish fiesta the day before our wedding so a lot of parties and noise were going on. add to that he has to travel 1hour plus to reach the church. super thank you Fr. Jun!

5. we are thankful for Maribago for the sumptuous food, lovely set-up and superb service. i have to thank my friends who are working there too coz i know in their own little way they have contributed some like securing the safety of our guests and adding pressure to the banquet's service =D. sending our hugs to the hr director, sales team, housekeeping manager & security manager :D

6. we are thankful for the pretty flowers, chairs, tent drapings, wishing tree and other abubuts in the reception which was very well taken cared of by our event stylist and florist, Sheila Ruiz. all i had we're pictures to show her and a bit of description mostly thru emails forwarded by Tisha. i didn't even know the names of the flowers i wanted haha. but viola! everybody was gushing about the pretty set-up.

7. we are thankful for my lovely gown and Mario's suit by Bernardo Flores. hayy i could not explain in words how everyone adored my gown and how handsome Mario looked in his suit :) i had my first fitting last september and second/last fitting two days before our wedding and it fit perfectly during the day itself. while Mario had only one fitting :D it was simple and elegant and soooo us! just the way we wanted it :)

8. of course how could i not thank my dearest coordinator, Tisha, who got panic with all the details i have in mind :) i had so many things going on inside my head and Tisha was there to enlighten me and put all things together. i was so glad i didn't worry a bit during our preps. well, there were some which were unavoidable like the super warm weather around 10am but really i was not stressed at all. she's got all the positive energy and words a coordinator should have :)

9. special thank you to my super SFC friends who inspite of my last minute assignment, still agreed to do their part wholeheartedly :D some even proactively showed what they learned in service :)

10. lastly, we are super-duper grateful to God Almighty for overseeing everything from planning until the wedding day. for giving us physical strength as early as 2am until the wee hours of 2am the next day. yes, we had a 24-hour wedding celebration. i could not describe how we were able to sustain our energy and enthusiasm that long. enough said.

truly, a miracle of its own.

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We Will Not Grow Old

many thanks to Tisha, for suggesting the song *hugs*

Mario & Yvonne's Wedding from Digital Minds on Vimeo.

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92 days to go!!!

oh yes, it's less than 100 days and should i even panic? naaahhh, my brain has no room for any bridezilla thoughts more so panic-inducing images. =D

so yeah, we're back after our very short 4-day vacation/wedding preparation in Cebu. but those 4 days were really memorable and a lot of fun, even if we had marathon meetings with almost all our supplier friends =D

we've accomplished a lot inspite lack of sleep, scorching heat and sudden rain pour. the weather was really erratic but nonetheless, we are thankful as it cooperated during times when we needed it most.

here's a run down of our hectic 4 days:

• Food tasting and 3rd ocular visit at Maribago Bluewaters. Yey, Food is soooo yummy!
• Wedding rings booked, custom-made and ready this week. Yes, that fast. :D
• Church flowers, bridal bouquet, entourage bouquets and reception venue decoration - all finalized!
• Met up with our dear videographer and discussed our SDE.
• First gown fitting. Yohoo!
• Mario's suit measurement. (he is soo excited, mind you!)
• Sent out "save the date" cards to our principal sponsors.
• Processed our Marriage License (we were just on the initial stage. we were not able to finish due to unavailability of the signatories. so my mama will take it further)
• Had our whole day/rain and shine engagement shoot with Charles Buenconsejo.
• Finalized entourage and mothers' gowns with our designer friend and his personal seamstress. My future in-laws (MIL and SIL) and I were able to canvass the fabric as well.
• We had our interview with the parish priest too. It went well but we had to submit some new documents because there were few changes. (our mothers will handle this)
• We also had the chance to meet up with our prospect suppliers for our PS gifts but we haven't decided if we will order. Esep-esep pa :P

Indeed hectic! but it was all worth it because we went back to Singapore relieved that we've done so much.

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Documents

all ready to go! weeeeeeee =)

as early as February, we already filed our Cenomar and NSO birth certificates :D i know it's way too early from our schedule but according to my dearest mother (who has some connections in the municipal), better early than late :D makes sense though! hehe. i will let her do her thing with this one. mother knows best anyway.

so come September, all we have to do is visit the municipal office and sign our marriage certificate. actually, even without submitting our complete papers, we can do this. hmmm we did this last December for our supposedly "civil marriage" haha.

good thing, my 'lil bro will have his first communion this november. at least we don't have to worry about the required certificate so he can be allowed as our ring bearer.

we are really grateful for mothers who keep legal documents neatly and who has a network of powerful/government employed/good friends :D

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Random Thursday

today is our 46th monthsary and we've decided to spent it frugally =D. we tried out, for the first time, the newly opened mang kiko's lechon in lau pasat. we promised to spend only S$10.00 for our dinner but to our dismay, one set meal of liempo costs S$6.00 *sigh*. nevertheless, we gave away our S$12.00 since we're both hungry, too weak to find another place, and craving for that oily grilled porky huhu. we'll be poorer than ever in the next days to come. kaluoy tawn! hehe :p

next stop after dinner, is strolling around raffles (holding hands haha). we didn't plan to have dessert coz we're trying to be "frugal" but we passed by starbucks and i heard the cheesecake calling me as if begging to be devoured (ok, exagg! :p). seriously, i was also craving for something sweet (the moment i saw starbucks that is :D ) because the liempo and chicken was too oily for my taste (i'm trying to be semi-vegetarian btw hehe). so there, moyo gave up on me and i happily savoured the capuccino cheesecake. aylaavveeettt! such definition of frugality (and semi-veg). whateva basta busog! =D

***
my sister, lovely, happily offered to buy chocolates for our choco bar. yahhhoooo! i didn't force her, promise! i just shared to her this blogsite and let her do her thing, that is, to read hehe. she told me that she can buy ferrero, hershey kisses, patchi and will try to buy godiva as well (chocolates in dubai are pretty cheap). isn't she lovely? hehe. i can't even complain though it seems too much. i mean, thats her, being generous =D. but we'll see if i can control myself from eating those sweets before the BIG day or else, we'll just give away chocnuts haha :D thank you dear sister! but i still hope you'll be present huhu (she's still undecided to come home due to work chuva).

***
it's my youngest sister's, katrina, birthday today. she's now 24 and will be leaving for UK this october. how sad is that for the eldest sister-bride-to-be? she was informed just this morning and i don't know if that was good or bad news. surely, it was good news for everyone because finally, after the long wait, she'll be working professionally (paid higher) as a nurse. she is supposedly my maid of honor but now...sinaw *sigh*. seriously, i can't imagine how our wedding would turn out knowing my family is not complete. haller its my big day kaya!

anyhoo, i am really happy for her, from the bottom of my heart. i know she's also sad that she cannot attend especially that its her first time as maid of honor (you can just imagine how giddy she was when she forced me to let her be my MOH). but what to do? her future is at stake and i just can't take that away from her and from the whole family. i have to look at the positive side. at least, there's a lot to look forward to. Europe tour is one =D

***
i sooo love how the littlest of things make me giggle! yes, i'm shallow like that =)

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Confirmed!

yohooo! i am just uber excited for the days to come! =D

finally, our CEE application is confirmed! our date will be on November 13-15. this is a Catholic Engaged Encounter that we will be attending in lieu of the Pre-cana seminar which we surely cannot attend. we have forego the MPC because our target date is already fully-booked.

and, and, we have finally booked our tickets for our September vacation-serious wedding preps-in three days only. another yey even if it would look like a marathon for us. kevs!

i surely can't wait!

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Confession of a Chocoholic

i am yvonne and i am a chocoholic! :D

that partly explains why i easily suffer from tonsillitis (aside from being stubborn :p)

i am just happy to share that my addiction will play a major role in our wedding reception. we will be having a chocolate/candy bar for our guests!!! HA! i can't wait!

the bar will look something like this...

yellow candies, yellow jellybeans, hershey's kisses and perhaps will add some locally made chocos like those from goya's or nestle's. (those egg-like chocos were my favorite when i was a kid :D )

these sweets will be kept in something like this...

oh yes, definitely our Love is Sweet! aaawww =)

but, but each guest will be initially given a pretty mini jar full of... whatelse??? still chocolates!!!

ain't it the sweetest act from the couple? LOL :p

* pics from one of my inspiration weddings.

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Invite Teaser

the cover

some teeny-weeny revisions on the layout.
thanks to my ever talented good friend, Arman Po.
final invite to follow.

p.s. Arman will also design our Save-the-date cards.

at first, i thought we won't be needing it but i guess we are.
we need to send/give one to our far-away relatives who don't have an email ad.

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In Search of the Perfect Yellow Shoes

i have search high and low in almost all shoe stores here in Singapore but to no avail :( i have not, for the life of me, found the perfect not-so-bridal-yellow-shoes. darn!

i wanted to get one during this Great SG Sale period so I could avail of big discounts but aside from that i need to have one for my first gown fitting come September. *sigh*. i promise to get back on my feet and do the rounds again. i hope my target store has some new items "on sale".

look at the yellow shoes. prettiness, isn't it?
and of course, mario has to wear something yellow *wink*
this looks really fun!

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I Want Bubbles!

pic from one of my fave site.

...simply because they look gorgeous in pictures.

now, where to find one?

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Monogram Designs

thanks to fozzy, w@wie member, who designed these pretty monograms for us. she also did most of the pretty monograms of almost all w@wie members, for free. what a good heart!

she made three for us and i can't choose because it's all pretty (gawd, how many times have i mentioned the word "pretty"? hehe)

anyway, i am posting so you can help us choose. mario and i have different favorites :( whichever design has the most number of votes will be declared the winner hehe. will be using for thankyou2 chuva, souvenirs (if we have one :p) and other kaartehan that i can think of LOL.



mario likes number 1 while yvonne likes number 2. so how?

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Finally...the Church!!!

booked and reserved for a 6:30am ceremony =D



photos from this site.

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Petals or Balloons???

i want something to be thrown outside the church right after we go out. but i am still undecided if it would be petals or balloons. which do you think is more dramatic? =D

yellow, grey and white balloons?

or yellow and white petals?

whichever i could decide on, the photographer and videographer should be ready and alert to capture its drama :)

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It would be CooL to use this...

we are thinking of using this yellow beetle car for our ride. but if the budget won't allow, then will just make use of our grey pick-up :) still fits the motiff anyway!

i'm still crossing my fingers though! hope my FSIL will be able to convince her friend to lend us his yellow volks :D free pa! *big grin*

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Preparing for Marriage

true, that engaged couples should not only prepare for the wedding but the marriage itself. it will be a waste spending thousands or even millions then filing for annulment after a few months just because you both didn't give much importance to what's ahead of you as married couple.

for me, it is not only important but VERY important! i have clearly discussed with Mario in the beginning that while preparing for the wedding, we will also prepare for our marriage, emotionally and spiritually. we have been sharing thoughts on some serious issues about the married life and so far, we have consistent and similar answers. there are still some points that we differ, of course, but we have learned to compromise and talk seriously.

so while we are here together in Singapore, we both wanted to take every opportunity to improve our relationship thus we are planning to join a Marriage Preparation Course. this is such an exciting course because we will be sharing thoughts about marriage to some other couples, young and old. this will be a 6-session course done every Sunday at 9am. whooaaaa!

we have not submitted our application yet because we are waiting for his work schedule. once everything is final, off i go to singpost to mail our forms!

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PartyPicsLIve

contemplating....noooninoooninoooni *grin*

sample photo from partypicslive website

it could be a nice souvenir for the guests. still hoping it will fit our budget or else walay souvenirs! *tongue out*

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A Short Visit to Bernardo

last weekend, i had a very short/emergency vacation in Cebu. it was just over the weekend because i need to bring my little brother home since the sister did not push through with her trip to SG.

anyway, i never intended to use my time for any wedding preparations because i wanted to spend some time with my lola, who is in the hospital. but after much thinking, i realized i needed to meet Bernardo for my gown measurement because come September we will be home again for some serious preps. (yes, i have finally finally confirmed my gown design but i won't tell you which one para thrilling kunuhay haha.)

it was such a last minute decision but glad that Tisha was able to arrange it.

the short visit was successful! Bernardo got my measurement and we finalized the contract. we scheduled the first fitting this September and Moyo's measurement. we also scheduled our trial make up, just in time for our prenuptial photoshoot with Charles.

i can't wait!

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Some Changes.

after much discussion and careful consideration of some important details, we have decided to hold the wedding ceremony early in the morning. we are thinking of 6AM!

Moyo and I are very much excited to wake up as early as 2AM for the preparation and so as our coordinator. she even confirmed the availability of all the suppliers (in their behalf) after i finalized with her that we are changing the time. i love her! *wink*

now, we are looking for another church because St. Joseph does not accept a 6AM wedding ceremony (actually, most church does not).

when i went home last weekend, my mother and i checked this church in mactan airbase. when i saw it, i got that "this is it!" feeling. it is something similar to the Archbishop's chapel (which is my dream church). it is small and very intimate. the surrounding itself is very quiet and looks peaceful (i bet it is, with all the military-uniformed men staying at the gate *grin*).

anyway, we are still waiting for some updates if the parish priest will allow. we are crossing our fingers and toes for its approval. please pray for us!

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