Updates of An Excited (sobra!) Bride

Actually, marami nangyari this past few days. Try ko lang i-recall lahat. Mag-a-update lang ako about my accomplishments as of today. hehehe!

Done with:

• Church: Twin Hearts – fully paid – All requirements passed ... waiting for misalette approval.
  
• Reception: Windmills and Rainforest – 50% DP – maximize number of guest to 300... bakit? Well, just happened that Dad finally decided he wanted to invite his friends sa office. He feels guilty daw kasi, everytime yung mga anak ng mga officemates niya kinasal, eh iniinvite daw siya (Dad, siyempre boss ka, saka di sila maka-leave w/o your approval.) Hehehe joke alng po yun ha ... no offence meant. Confirmed that the chocolate fountain is free w/in our package. Ms. Nora told me that I don't have to worry coz hindi daw mauubos ang chocolate fountain. Refill ng refill... ay grabe! Baka wala ng uwian yun hahaha!
• I Do Bridal Gowns - Bride's gown and Female Entourage gowns - 75% paid - last Fitting on Oct 7. Pumayat ako at napansin nila yun dahil ang luwag daw sa may bewang hehehe. Pero nagpagawa pa din ako ng corset dahil yung puson area malaki pa din hahaha. Hindi na ata liliit yun hehehe.
• Tesoro - Immediate Male Family member and Groom's Barong - Fully paid, picked up after a week. Since Dad has been a client for too long, lahat ng barong na pinagawa ni dad including Jasons; Kuya and Bunso ... nakakuha kami ng discounted price. And those people really saw us grow. Kasi minsan sinasama kami ni Dad dun pag nagpapatahi kami ng Barong niya.
• Photo: Paul Vincent Photography – paid 50% - paid also printing and binding of guestbook. Hindi kasi kasama sa package niya yun. So instead mamroblema pa kami san magpapa-bind o magpapa-print eh si Paul na ang bahala dun hehehe.
• Video: Dan Pamintuan - paid 50% - sa wedding day na kami magkikita ni Dan kaya no updates for him.
• Cake: Sugarbox – 50% DP - I texted her last week if she can add gift tags for the mini cakes. because those are also one of my gifts for my entourage. Ayaw namin sila mawalan ng cake so better may pangalan na yung per box of it. Para mahiya naman sila kumuha ng cake hahaha! Sabi nya ok daw na gawin niya yun for me pero siyempre, ako daw magpoprovide nung tags, siya lang daw magkakabit. I think I can do that. :)
• Flora@eleven01 - Flowers for entourage - paid reservation fee - hay di pa ako makapag-sched ng appointment with Mr. Rex kasi naman inaayos ko na muna lahat bago yung mga small details. Para di ako mangarag.
  
• Suarez Wedding Rings - fully paid na - hehehe i love our rings. Pero Jason and I are planning to have a pair of silver ring para sa pang-araw araw na gamitan para daw hindi maluma yung rings namin. Hmmm ... may Titanium rings ba dito?

• Invitations: Vprojekt Design and Concepts – fully paid, distribution still on going. Ang DIY sa invites namin is yung RSVP Map at yung parang tassle na nakalagay sa mga two-page invites. For plain guest kasi, one page lang nilagay namin. Yung Labels din kami ang gumawa ni Jason. Actually, idea niya yun. Very simple but elegant. Some of our guest love it.

Eto yung mga naka-dangling sa invites na ginawa ko. Mga spare to dun sa ceremonial cord na ginawa ng pinsan ko, kaya ginawan namin ng paraan na di masayang at ginamit ko for our invites as well as our DIY Pens. Mas mabilis talaga ako gumawa ng DIY pag nandiyan si Jason. Saka napapagalitan na kami ni Dad ang bagal daw namin gumawa hahaha. Kaya ayan hinapit talaga namin. Ok na kami sa guest namin. Kaso sila dad ang marami iniinvite kaya hinahapit namin gawin mga invites nila. Feeling nga namin magpapadagdag pa kami ng invites. Kasi po naman, ang spare nalang namin ngayon is 10 pcs nalang ... eh mukhang madadagdagan pa. Huhuhu!

• Souvenirs – Unique Novelty Toys Corp. – fully paid – picked up the items, for wrapping nalang. Nakagawa na ako ng photo inserts sa frame. Kaso ang problema paano siya babalutin? Kasi medyo malaki yung photo frame. Magastos sa tulle ... hinihintay ko nga yung pinsan ko na tulungan ako. Medyo busy pa ata. So set aside muna siya.
• Wedding Paraphernalia: Home and Bride Essentials – fully paid ... ganda ng outcome. I Love Ms. Gerri's work.
• HMUA: EJ Litiatco – paid 50% DP – gonna have my beauty regimen 3 weeks before the wedding... special offer for brides.
• Band: Velvet Mood by Gary Silang Cruz – paid DP, finalize nalang songlist for them. Hehehe ang hirap kasi mag-isip ng list of songs lalo na kung gusto mo lahat yung nasa repertoire nila hahah.
• Bridal Car: AdeB - booked the Benz E320 model, downpayment to be paid on Tuesday. Ok kausap si Ms. Lester. Kaya I booked them agad. And the cost of their rentals is so affordable. Malapit pa sa bahay nila Jason yung office nila so si Jason na yung pupunta sa office nila to make the downpayment.
  
• DIY Pens conceptualized by Jason. Hindi kasi ganyan ang original plan ko. Pero mas easy and cute ang naisip niya. I bought the pens for only 8.50 for 3 pieces. Imagine 8.50 ang price ng tatlo... retractable pa yan ha. Another cheap find. Akala ko talaga super magagastusan ako sa pens na gagamitin sa guestbook. Pero hindi pala hehehe.
  
• Hotel Preps - Hotel Rembrandt - booked 2 Family Suite and 1 Executive suite. Pero baka madagdagan pa ng rooms dahil yung mga tita ko from the states na pupunta sa wedding namin iha-house na din namin sa hotel.
  

To-Do's:

1. Misalette – draft is done already for approval.
2. Guestlist (ok na pero nadadagdagan pa)
   
3. Party poppers
4. Songlist for the quartet.
5. Wedding Reception Program (papa-check pa kay Jason kasi baka may i-rerevise pa siya)
6. Mini wines for the wine holders (Principal Sponsors)
7. Honeymoon Getaway (wala na sa budget hahaha)
8. Souvenir wrapping
9. Hotel Preps wardrobe hehehe!
10. Accessories (hay ano ba ...dami pa pala)
    

Ang balita ko pa, my Auntie Josie will sponsor a feast sa Laoag ... parang lunch / dinner na rin for our kamag-anak na di makakapunta sa wedding namin. Ang saya... dalawang party ang wedding namin. Kakatuwa. Ma-iinvite ko na mga friends and officemates ko sa Laoag. Sana naman pumunta sila or else uupakan ko na talaga sila apg di pa sila pumunta hehehe. Sabi nga nung isang pinsan ko napurnada pa daw ang honeymoon. Suggestion niya, tumuloy nalang kami sa Fort Ilocandia instead sa bahay kami matulog. Para parang nag-honeymoon na din daw kami. After nun sabay fly kami to Bohol. What a great idea insan.

So I guess wala na ako nakalimutan. Yan na muna hehehe! OK back to ... to ... hmmm... ano nga ba gagawin ko na?

Our Celebrity look-alike

Nakita ko to sa blog ni Wellapot ... hahaha nainggit nanaman ako. Hirap talaga walang trabaho ... walang magawa waaaaaaaahhh!

Kumuha ako ng isang prenup photo namin ni Jason. Eto yung lumabas na result sa amin dalawa Eto naman ang kay Jason hehehe ... imagine si John Woo kamukha niya dito. Buti gwapo yung iba ... labs hindi kaya kaya kamukha mo si Cuba kasi maitim siya. Ano, gulpihin na ba natin to?

Tomorrow na ako kwento about our wedding updates ... so far so good ... we already have a bridal car whoopeee! Sa wakas ... ang pang-fullpayment nalang ang kulang sa lahat plus our accessories pa pala. I'm starting to print out our inserts for our photo frame souvenirs. Problema naman ngayon pano yung wrapping niya ... hay o hay ...

My Wedding Kikays

We're so busy finishing our invites. Nagkaroon pa ng problem. Kasi nagkaroon ng typo error sa surname ng isang Ninang namin. I texted Ms. Trina agad if she can furnish kahit 1 set o a new invites with the surname corrected. Sabi niya ok lang daw. Makukuha na namin on Saturday. Thank God! Lifesaver ko talaga si Ms. Trina. Tapos na kami sa invites, except for additional guest pa from mom and dad. Lumobo ang guest list namin. We set up an appointment with Ms. Nora on Sunday para magawan ng paraan i-maximize yung venue for us. Waaaaaahhhh kaloka ... ang hirap ng madaming kamag-anak. Tomorrow I'll post our invites as well as our DIY pens for guestbook. Natapos na namin ni Jason gawin yun kanina.

Pero right now share ko lang ang aming Unity Candle set and Symbol holders. I order all these to Ms. Gerri Diokno of Home and Bride Essentials. Ms. Gerri love your work sobra!

This is our bible holder. Small lang ang binigay nila tita na bible sa akin kaya nag-fit naman sa holder na ginawa ni Ms. Gerri for us. Parang sinukat nga eh.

This one naman is our Unity Candle set ... simple lang di ba, may touch lang ng aming motiff at Monogram namin dalawa ni Jason.

Our ring holder ... cute no?

And lastly, our arrhae holder. Nakalagay sa pouch bag yung coins so that pag binigay na daw sa akin ni Jason sa ceremony, wala daw malalaglag. Pamahiin daw kasi wala dapat malaglag ... di ko alam kung bakit hehehe.

Tomorrow naman punta kami ng Malate kasi magpapasukat na ng barong si Jason saka yung dalawa kong gwapong kapatid sa Tesoro's ... so excited grabe!

The Sacrament of Waiting

I don't have nothing to blog about today. Except that for wo consecutive days, our Smart Wifi Connection is now doing okay. Thanks to Manong Ruel for fixing our canopy (sana po bigyan kayo ng bonus sa Smart). Kahit umuulan ok na ang internet namin kaya wala ng sakit ng ulo. At eto pa ... a Smart Broadband representative called us that our request for a rebate is approved. 500 plus rin ang nabawas so, 300 plus lang babayaran namin next month. What a relief :) buti naman no! And today, Jason will pick up our Unity Candle set from Ms. Gerri Diokno :) excited na ako makita. Post ko photo pag nakita ko na tomorrow.

I'll just share this with you guys. I got this thru mail from Discovery Weekend. You might want to read it lang.

THE SACRAMENT OF WAITING by James Donnelan, SJ

The English poet John Milton once wrote that those who serve only stand and wait. I think I would go further and say that those who wait render the highest form of service. Waiting requires more self-discipline, more self-control and emotional maturity, more unshakeable faith in our cause, more unwavering hope in the future, more sustaining love in our hearts that the great deeds of deering-do that go by the name of action.

Waiting is a mystery – a natural sacrament of life – there is a meaning hidden in all the times we have to wait. It must be an important mystery because there is so much waiting in our lives.

Every day is filled with those little moments of waiting – testing our patience and our nerves, schooling us in self-control – paciencia lang. We wait for meals to be served, for a letter to arrive, for a friend to call or show up for a date. We wait on line at cinemas and theaters, concert and circuses. Our airline terminals, railway stations and bus depots are great temples of waiting filled with men and women who wait in joy for the arrival of a loved one – or wait in sadness to say goodbye and give that last wave of the hand. We wait for birthdays and vacations – we wait for Christmas. We wait for spring to come – or autumn – for the rains to begin or to stop.

And we wait for ourselves to grow from childhood to maturity. We wait for those inner voices that tell us when we are ready for the next stop. We wait for graduation, for our first job, our first promotion. We wait for success and recognition. We wait to grow up – to reach the stage where we make our decisions.

We cannot remove this waiting from our lives. It is part of the tapestry of living – the fabric in which the threads are woven that tells the story of our lives.

Yet the current philosophies would have us forget the need to wait, "grab all the gusto you can get." So read one of America's great beer advertisement – Get it now. Instant pleasure – Instant Transcendence. Don't wait for anything. Life is short – Eat, drink and be merry because tomorrow you'll die. And so they rationalize us into accepting unlicensed and irresponsible freedom – premarital sex and commitment – against expecting anything of anybody, or allowing them to expect anything of us – against vows and promises – against duty and responsibility – against dropping any anchors in the currents of our life that will cause us to hold and wait.

This may be the correct prescriptions for pleasure – but even that is fleeting and doubtful – what was it Shakespeare said about the mad pursuit of pleasure – "Past reason hunted, and once had, past reason hated". No if we wish to be real human beings, spirit as well as flesh, soul as well as heart, we have to learn to wait. For if not we never learn to love someone other than ourselves.

For most of all, waiting means waiting for someone else. It is a mystery, brushing by our face everyday like a stray wind or a leaf falling from a tree. Anyone who has ever loved knows how much waiting goes into it – how much waiting is important for love to grow – to flourish through a lifetime.

Why is this? Why can't we have right now what we so desperately want and need? Why must we wait – 2 years, 3 years, 5 years and seemingly waste so much time? You might as well ask why a tree should take so long to bear fruit – the seed to flower – carbon to change into diamond.

There is no simple answer – no more that there is to life's other demands – having to say goodbye to someone you love because either you or they have already made other commitments; or because they have to grow and find the meaning of their own lives – having yourself to leave home and loved ones to find your own path – Goodbyes, like waiting, are also sacraments of our lives.

All we know is that growth – the budding, the flowering of love needs patient waiting. We have to give each other time to grow. There is no way we can make someone else truly love us or we them, except through time. So we give each other that mysterious gift of waiting – of being present without making demands or asking rewards. But there is life in the gift we give.

So lovers wait for each other – until they can see things the same way – or let each other freely see things in quite different ways.

There are times when lovers hurt each other and cannot regain the balance and intimacy of the way they were. They have to wait – in silence – but still present to each other – until the pain subsides to an ache and then only a memory and the threads of the tapestry can be woven together again in a single love story.

What do we lose when we refuse to wait? When we try to find short cuts through life – when we try to incubate love and rush blindly and foolishly into a commitment we are neither mature nor responsible enough to assume? We lose the hope of ever truly loving, of being loved. Think of all the great love stories of history and literature – Isn't it of their very essence that they are filled with this strange but common mystery – that waiting is part of the substance – the basic fabric – against which the story of that true love is written.

How can we ever either find life or true love if we are too impatient to wait for it?

May nalaman ako ...

In addition to my Smart Wifi disappointment (we have no internet again for 3 hours now … bakit? Kasi umulan nanaman), I called my cousin who’s working in Globe Telecoms as Technical Support Engineer. Since Globe also recently launched their Wireless broadband, I asked him if they’re also having difficulty regarding weak signals on their broadband. He said that they also get a lot of phone calls regarding no signal with regards to their broadband subscriptions, especially when it rains … sabi ko, eh ano ngayon kung umuulan? Pag umuulan zero visibility talaga ang signal not unless katabi daw namin ang cellsite ng Smart. Ah ok … so kailangan pala bumili kami ng cellsite para lumakas ang signal namin. Mabigat yun insan ha? Hehehe! Gnaun daw talaga yung wireless ... sosy lang pakinggan pero sa super sensitive niya konting interference lang naaapektuhan na siya.

At ito pa ang isang info … wireless internet uses 400 frequency box which also the frequency box walkie-talkies use. That means, maraming interference ang nagaganap sa frequency box na yun. Ang saya di ba? Sana lang nakuntento na kami sa dial up kung ganito rin lang ang magiging problema namin sa WiFi na ito. Ang sabi pa ni insan, nag-ask na ang Globe (kasama na din ang Smart) sa NTC na mag-open ng isang box para yun na ang gagamitin ng Smart at Globe for their wireless broadband. Sabi din ni insan, pag di daw na-approve yun, Globe will terminate their client’s subscription of their wireless broadband and concentrate on the Globelines broadband (DSL) nalang. Wow, buti ang Globe may plan na ganun … ang Smart kaya meron? Naku sa mga sinusulat ko na ito, matatanggap pa kaya ako mag-work sa Smart? Nag-apply pa naman ako ng work dun hahaha!

Ang suggestion ni insan, instead of terminating the contract (sayang kasi yung ibabayad sa termination fee, kaw pa nalugi) eh hingi nalang daw ng rebate sa Smart na bawasan yung monthly fee naming kahit 50% kasi ok sa alright naman daw yung connection pag walang topak. Nagagamit naman daw namin kahit papaano. Kaya rebate nalang hingin namin plus a technical crew to look for a better location of our canopy. Kakatawag ko lang sa hotline nila, asking for a rebate. Sana lang babaan muna nila yung 999 pesos a month nila to 499 a month habang hindi pa stable yung connection ng wireless broadband nila.

At umuulan nanaman ... mawawala kaya ulit ang internet namin? Of course ... asa pa ako hahaha!

Our Latest Photo ...

Okay, this is our latest photo in RAN Online (printscreen) hehehe! Tampo kasi siya, bakit yung photo ko lang sa RAN yung post ko sa blog namin. Jason's character (JaYShawN) is a level 57 pow type Swordsman while my character (JeishaAnn) is a level 60 Int Type Shaman. Medyo li-low muna kami sa game dahil we have a lot of things to do pa eh. So set aside playing muna hihihihi! Naku mamimiss ako ng mga playmates namin. Kasi some of them can't fight without a Shaman. Hahahaha! I just practically give them buffs (Ragnarok term) and heal them. Some of them kasi lalo na yung mga INT at POW type characters masyado mamon (1 hit lose a lot of HP's already) while mga DEX type characters makunat sila. Kahit ilang suntok konti lang bawas sa kanila.

Dad called na one of our ninong is in Manila. He lives in Cebu kasi. So instead of sending it on LBC eh gawin ko na daw yung para sa kanya. Kahit yung sa kanya muna. Kaya ayan may rush work tuloy ako hehehe.

Less than 2 months...

After a series of mock-ups, arguments, and kulitan ... finaly we come up with a good design for our envelope label. Since Jason will be busy until September 15. I'll be in-charge with the invitations. May deadline din ako ... Saturday is my deadline hahaha. Sabi ni Jason, we'll gonna start on distributing our invites next week so I better start doing it. We are also done with the list (almost ... still waiting for mom and dad's list hehehe) and done typing it on our label template. I'll start first with the map. 2nd batch of printing is the labels.

Last Friday, we were invited to one of our Ninong's birthday party in Meza, Quezon City. It's run and owned by Gervy Santiago (sounds familiar?). The place looks good ... and it's open for prenup shoots. But of course, Mr. Gervy is the photographer ... bawal ang bitbit na photographer hahaha. Food taste great, ang dami kong nakain na mango crepe na kailangan pigilan na ako ni Jason kasi dumadami na kinakain kong dessert hahaha.

Last Saturday naman, binyag ni Alex, Jason's niece sa cousin niya. Nahuli kami sa celebration. Kasi pagka-gising namin ni Jason nag-RAN Online agad kami. Wala na talaga kasi siya plan pumunta dahil sabi niya sa bahay lang naman yung kainan na yun. Kaya wag nalang pumunta. Tapos nag-text yung sister niya na may venue pala yung binyagan, hindi sa house ng cousin niya. So madalian kaming naligo at nag-prepare. Pero huli na nag lahat, nasa bahay na sila. At dun nalang kami kumain hahaha. Kaasar! Alex is so adorable ... weirdo mga babies ngayon. As early as 4 months pinipilit na nila magsalita hahaha! Puro mumbles and baby talk naman ang ginagawa nila. Sigaw ng sigaw tapos tatawa ... so weird nila.

After that we went to SM Fairview to meet Gerard, co-UAP Capitol Chapter Board Member ni Jason. Kasi may papagawa siya kay Jason for his project. Yun yung gagawin ni Jason for 2 weeks. Tie-up sila and si Jason mag-eestimate. Gusto ko sana tumulong pero may kailangan din naman ako gawin para sa wedding preps namin. Kaya I'll leave it all to Jason. Since 3-day sale sa SM Fairview, ang daming tao. Waaaaaaaaaa ... hate ko talaga pag sale sa mall. Kasi lahat naman ng sinisale nila either old stock na or wala ako size. Nagsasayang lang ako ng pagod pag sale. Saka kumukunot noo ko pag madaming tao. Kaya pag-sale hindi kami pumupunta ni Jason sa mall. Not unless he needs to purchase one.

We went to Tagaytay Sunday morning. I'm with the whole family plus Jason and Ate Yang (Kuya's girlfriend). We went there to see how many percent na natatapos sa house ng tito ko. Unfortunately, 10% palang. After that we went to Bag of Beans to buy Tablea and other bread products. May dine in pala sila sa ibaba ng store nila. Kala kasi namin bilihan lang ng coffee. So dun nalang kami kumain instead of the initial plan na sa Viewsite kami kakain. The food is great and super laki ng servings nila. Kaya super busog na kami as in. Kaloka sa pagkain dun ha. Nung hinatid na namin sa house si Ate Yang, nagluto naman ate nya ng homemade shawarma ... super busog nanaman kami hahaha! Grabe na to ... parang balewala yung diet ko ng 1 month. Biglang bumalik ulit hahaha!

Less than 2 months na ... wala pa din barong sila dad at Jason ... wala pa rin kami bridal car ... di pa din sure kung ok na hotel preps namin ... Panic Alert no. 2 ....

DIY Updates and Our Wedding Ring

Ms. Trina of VProjekts Design and Concept texted me that the invites are ready for pick up today. But Jason told me to text her that he'll be picking it up on Saturday. Ang bilis, for a week tapos na ang invites namin. Hindi talaga kami nagkamali on getting Ms. Trina.

Jason went here yesterday to bring the materials needed for our DIY RSVP with Map. Yes, our RSVP and Map is combined in one page. This is how it looks like ... kaso di pa tapos yan dahil for checking pa ni Jason yan eh. He also bought a ticket puncher in National Bookstore Cubao for only 31.00 pesos.

Nagpunta nga pala siya sa Quiapo. Nag-site visit kasi siya. I told him to go to Wellmanson. Wala palang ticket puncher dun. I assumed kasi na halos lahat ng things you need for crafts eh meron sila sa Wellmanson. Pero bumili na rin siya ng satin ribbon for the envelpe labels ng invites namin. Nag-start na kami mag-conceptualize. Hindi pa naman kami natataranta hehehe.

And another thing is that, he already paid our rings. And binigay na niya sa akin. It's really pretty I must say. Wala naman pamahiin sa pagsukat ng rings right? Kasi sinukat namin dalawa kahapon yung rings namin. And I can't wait to wear it on our wedding day.

I've finished also doing our photo insert for our photo frame. And it looks like this one. I made 4 different photos from our prenup. Eto kasi yung ginamit ni Paul sa tarpaulin namin kaya eto yung isa sa ginamit kong photos. Thanks for those who helped me on how to crop photos. Super natuwa ako grabe! Super mega practice nga ako. Pati yung photo tinting marunong na ako. Thank you Photoshoppe! hahaha!

Today I'll be getting my wedding bans already. After that I'll gonna settle some of my bill payments muna then we'll gonna watch You Are The One. Corny ko hahaha! Yung GF kasi ng kapatid ko gusto rin panoorin yun kaya kinunchaba na namin yung kapatid ko on watching it with us. hahaha! So bad talaga! Mukhang maganda yung movie kasi sabi nila 5 times daw sila umiyak. Na-curious lang ako kung bakit. hahaha! Take note: Lalake nagsabi nun... straight! hahaha!

Oh my God September 1 na waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! Super duper lapit na kaya!