Wedding Stories and Ratings: Sidenote

*All pictures by Jeff and Lisa unless otherwise noted.

Invitations: Cardprints
Peso Power: 35/invite + 200 fee for customization + 3.50/map insert = 4,050 all in all for 100 invites
Website: http://www.cardprints.com.ph/


We were not particular about our invitations because we knew that most people would just throw them away. Our budget for this was a maximum of P50/invite. We found our supplier in Cardprints. It was really easy for us to transact with them... we just booked them in Robinsons Galleria, chose the layout we wanted, then all the rest of our transactions were in email.

I'd recommend Cardprints for couples like us who aren't particular about their invitations, and just want simple but nice ones.

Rating for Cardprints: 10/10


Rings: Matus
Peso Power: A little over 25,000, discounted price due to bridal fair booking
Description: 14K yellow gold, with free mock rings and diamond inside, customized to our design



We went a bit over our budget for this one (I only wanted to spend around 20,000), but Rogel was really particular about the design he wanted. We inquired at two other jewelry stores and they both quoted more than 30,000 for this design. Thank goodness we found Matus and were able to book them at a bridal fair just three weeks before the wedding.

We're really happy with the outcome... it was just how we wanted the rings to look like. No problems whatsoever in our transactions with Matus.

Rating for Matus: 10/10


Flowers: Mang Boy Mahusay
Peso Power: 7,500
Inclusions:
Bridal Bouquet: 15 pcs. red ecuadorian roses with swarovski
Groom's Buttonierre: 1 red ecuadorian rosebud
Assorted bright colored flowers (red and orange rose, yellow gerbera, green button, etc) for:
- 2 mom's mini bouquet
- 1 MOH mini bouquet
- 5 SS/BM wrist corsage
- 10 female PS pin corsage
Loose Petals
Throwing Bouquet (red roses)
Car Flower
Offertory Flower






I love my bridal bouquet. It was just how I imagined my bouquet to look like. One of the reasons why we chose burgundy as our motif was because I wanted my bouquet to be pure red... I love the contrast between pristine white bridal gown and red bouquet.



The 15 pcs. red ecuadorian roses bouquet was just perfect. I also loved everyone's flowers. I hadn't really specified to Mang Boy what kind of flowers I wanted for the entourage... I only knew I wanted their flowers to be bright and colorful. Everything turned out great. I was even surprised how big the wrist corsages and pin corsages were... I was actually expecting them to be smaller.

All in all, I had no problems whatsoever with Mang Boy. I think he really has talent. I got a little worried before because he started having bad reviews in W@W. I believe this is because he booked too many brides last December and January... he actually bragged to me that they had booked around 250 brides for December alone... this is probably why the quality of their work really suffered.

Rating for Mang Boy Mahusay: 10/10
A little bit of advice: If you want to book his services, you should probably ask him first how many brides he has booked already for your date. And think twice before booking them for the busy months of December and January.


Giveaways: Milk (Rogel's sister)
Peso Power: Free - Her gift to us
Description:
For the guests: Earrings made of gold, pearl and red swarovski
For the PS: Rosaries made of gold and red swarovski or white pearl





I love Milk. She made our giveaways with love. She even used real gold, swarovskis and pearl... unlike the typical plastic colored beads used. Sadly, there are no pictures of the beautiful earrings that she made for our guests... I forgot to ask J&L to take a picture of them. I feel sad about this actually, because they're really beautiful. And no picture of the pearl rosary as well.

Even the boxes and label are so nice! Everyone really loved our giveaways. Even my mom got one of the red swarovski rosaries... us too! There are no words to describe how grateful I am to her.

She makes beautiful accessories... earrings, bracelets, necklaces, etc. If you're interested in her work/services, please send me a private message or leave a comment here with your email.

Rating: 10/10


Arrhae: Coins from Papua New Guinea from Rogel's mom
Peso Power: Free



I've always wanted to use real coins for our arrhae. I love our Papua New Guinean coins.

Rating: 10/10


Bridal Shoes: Nine West
Peso Power: Around 3,600 (forgot the exact amount)




Love my shoes. Didn't hurt my feet at all even though I'm not really used to wearing heels. We even walked to Roxas Boulevard to have pictorials, and I glided through our first dance with a breeze.

Rating: 10/10


Bridal Car: Karlo Mortel
Peso Power: 4,500 for 3 hours
Description: 2007 BMW 316i (e90 Body), light silver color



I wasn't that particular about our bridal car. I actually wanted to get a simple Toyota Altis, but Rogel wanted a nicer alternative.

We booked this just two days before our wedding. We found it at sulit.com.ph.

The car was really nice. The aircon was very cold, the exterior and interior was clean and new. The driver was quiet and nice.

Sadly, we don't have a picture of us inside the car. You can see in the above picture that Lisa was taking pictures of me inside the car, but the result was probably dark and so they didn't include it in the DVDs.

All in all, I was very satisfied with the car.

Rating: 10/10


Next stop, our simple but beautiful church ceremony.

Wedding Stories and Ratings: Getting Ready

*All pictures by Jeff & Lisa Photography unless otherwise noted.

Hotel for Preps: G Hotel by Waterfront
Peso Power: 5,500/suite/night with breakfast for 2 (promo rate)
Website: http://www.g-hotel.com.ph/

It was the morning of May 23, 2009. Rogel and I woke up around 8am, and proceeded to have breakfast at the Cafe Noir of G Hotel. My friend Ice joined us, as well as my sister Jean, cousin Jeanie and Eric (who were also staying at G). We were all relaxed, enjoying the time before the preparations began.

Around 9am, Rogel and I went back to suite 502 and spent some time with our son Mari. My poor baby got a huge insect bite on his forehead the night before. Bed bugs, most likely.



He's still a happy baby though, always smiling.

The day before we had some problems with room assignments. We had gotten two suites, one for my preps and the other for Rogel's. We had requested suites that were next to each other. We also requested that they be in the 5th floor, so that's 501 and 502. When we checked in the day before the wedding, they told us they had long staying guests in one suite per floor, so they could only give us 502 and another suite on the 4th floor. So okay, we were fine with that. They said they were still cleaning the suite on the 4th floor, so we said we'll just get the key after we ate lunch.

When we got back to the hotel after eating lunch, they suddenly told us that the other suite assigned to us was now on the 2nd floor. We were surprised... we thought we had already been given the 4th floor suite? They said the one who was staying at the 4th floor suite suddenly extended their stay for another night.

Rogel got a little steamed about this, and I can understand 'coz we had already been given the 4th floor suite. But I told him to let it go, it's okay, it's not that big a hotel anyway so the rooms aren't really that far.

The convenience of two suites in one floor would've been super nice though.

We didn't have any problems with bringing in food as well. We had Chowking delivered to the hotel.

For the rate we got, I believe we still got a steal because their suite is nice and spacious.



It comfortably accommodated all our suppliers and most of my entourage during the preparations.

Pros: nice and spacious, good rate, can bring food
Cons: didn't accommodate our room requests, gave our 4th floor suite to someone else, my baby got a bug bite during the night

Rating for G Hotel: 7/10
Would I still book them if given a choice? With the rate we got, definitely yes.


The first to arrive among our suppliers were our coordinators. When they saw Rogel still there, they immediately shooed him to suite 201. And the preparations officially started.

OTD Coordinators: Rhona & Jets
Peso Power: Decided not to disclose the rate we got... please inquire directly from them if you'd like to avail their services.

Honestly, I love these two. I only got them for on-the-day coordination, but they've really given us the royal treatment. I'd like to enumerate some of the things they did for us before the wedding:

- They coordinated the meetings with our emcee and worked with her to produce a wonderful reception program.
- They did our reception layout, and it turned out perfect! They were really able to maximize the space at Ramon Magsaysay Hall.
- They coordinated with our caterer, and this is where I'm most thankful for. I gave them a free hand on choosing the best centerpieces for the tables, and honestly, I loved how everything turned out!

There are only a few of the things they did for us. Rhona even constantly reminded me to pass everything to them, telling me to relax and let them worry about stuff. They were the ones who contacted our suppliers of their call times and such.

On the day itself, they were constantly at hand, ready to assist with anything. Oh, and they even ironed my wedding dress! It had been boxed when we got it (the couturier's services did not include setting up a mannequin nor helping the bride dress up), and it got pretty wrinkled. I had rented a mannequin the night before, put the gown on it, and prayed that the wrinkles would straighten, haha.


I can say they're truly my lifesavers. We were able to relax and just enjoy our wedding because of them.

I'll continue my stories for now, but I'll definitely mention them again as the day goes on.

Pros: very organized, our lifesavers
Cons: none

Rating for Rhona & Jets: 10/10
Would I still book them if given a choice? Definitely YES.


Main HMUA: Angie & Ogie
Peso Power: We haggled for their old rate, so decided not to disclose again.

Angie & Ogie arrived at 10am on the dot. They were also the ones who did our hair and make up during my sister's wedding last year, so even without having a trial, we decided to book their services again. They're really good in their craft, and I really felt beautiful on my wedding day. My mom, sisters and cousin also loved their hair and make up.














I believe the pictures say it all. They were also fun to work with... my sister Jean and Ogie greeted each other like old friends, hehe.

Perhaps my only negative comment about them is that Ogie kept asking me why we chose Ramon Magsaysay Hall as our reception venue. He kept mentioning that there are so many other much nicer options out there. It's just not something I want to hear while preparing.

Pros: We all loved our hair and make up.
Cons: negative comments on our reception venue

Rating for Angie & Ogie: 9/10
Would I still book them if given a choice? Yes.


Second HMUA: Keiz Caballero
Peso Power: 850/head for 4 adult entourage, 500/head for 2 flower girls

Keiz and her team actually arrived earlier than Angie & Ogie, just a few minutes after Rhona & Jets arrived. I must admit I didn't really get to work with her personally... She immediately moved to suite 201 because it would've been crowded already in our suite if both she and Angie & Ogie stayed in one place.

I obtained her services based on the feedback I read in W@W. I thought everyone's hair and make up looked fine, but I'd like to include my entourage's comments on her services.





My friend Ice, the girl on the left in the 2nd picture, didn't like her make up that much. My friend Ross, the girl on the right in the 2nd picture didn't like her hair. She wanted it down and even told the one who did her hair to put it down, but Keiz's partner was insistent that Ross looked better with an updo. My aunt, the woman in red in the 3rd picture, loved her hair and make up, and even plans to hire Keiz for her daughter's wedding next year.

I feel though that I cannot give an accurate rating, so I'll just leave her rate blank. Just see the pictures above and decide for yourself.


While the girls and I were having our hair done, Rogel was also preparing in suite 201.

Groom's Barong: Onesimus
Peso Power: Around 2,800
Rating: 10/10

Rogel was actually planning to just use the barong his cousin's husband volunteered to lend him, but during our last week of preparations, while we were at the mall, my dad insisted that we should just buy something off the rack. So we ended up doing just that. Onesimus really has some fine choices. Rogel likes the jusi fabric 'coz it's not itchy.

Rogel's dad helped him dress. His dad is really big on traditions, and was really insistent that he be the one to assist Rogel on his wedding day. I only learned about this afterwards, but I couldn't help but think how sweet and poignant that was.










And just a few floors up, I was also being helped into my dress by my mom and sister, who was also my maid of honor.

Bridal and Entourage Gowns: Blanca of Plaridel in Angeles City
Peso Power: Around 50,000

I had posted before about how stressed I was by my couturier. But thank goodness all the gowns turned out fine, and in the end, I fell in love with my gown as well. It wasn't what I had had in mind, but when I put it on, it became the gown of my dreams.












I had thought I was ready at this time, but my petticoats kept showing... it was actually longer than my gown! Good thing Rhona was ready with double-sided tape and a pair of scissors... we were able to remedy my gown in no time. My lifesaver!













Though Blanca was such a stress to work with, I'm just so happy that all the gowns turned out beautifully.

Rating for Blanca: 8/10

And finally, we were on our way!


See you at the church!