Our afterthought on midyear Wedding fairs...

Since getting engaged last month, we have tried our best to attend wedding fairs, summits and other congregations for about-to-weds whenever time permits us. These lovely affairs have been very useful, purposeful and ranks among the most exciting experiences during the course of our preparations. The incentives for signing up in these fairs have been worth the trip, or gas mileage – primarily since we’ve been mobbed by and rewarded with loads of freebies, huge and important discounts, and a host of nice benefits from equally accommodating suppliers. Inside summit halls, a smorgasbord of colorful stalls are scattered everywhere offering you menus brimming with wedding day and pre-nuptial ideas: from the exquisite to the simple, the creative to the mundane. Just about everything you need are there, or can be culled there. 

Last June 27-28, we attended a major wedding fair at the PICC – purportedly the biggest fair for the first half of 2010. Because it had such a momentous and grand tagline, we brought Mommy Cora along, who just had to witness how seriously we were invested into our preparations. Organized by Themes and Motifs, the summit featured numerous vendors and suppliers for photographer & videographer, makeup, gowns & couture, and rings & jewelries (but the divine ringwork of jeweler 'Hearts and Arrows' had already won us over....exquisite work, just exquisite.)

The most useful thing we drew from this Mid-term Wedding Fair was being able to exhaust ourselves going over wedding invitations and the like. The past couple of months, we’ve inspected and evaluated invites posted in the internet, in card and gift shops, magazines and assorted brochures – but each one had a deterrent: too pricey, too simple, too populist, too popular, too childish/comical, or too ambitious. We’ve been looking for something stylish, unique, but one that would ultimately fit our theme/motif. Luckily, our repeat visit to the invitations booth led us to PAPER FLAIR, a very flexible, versatile and gifted vendor whose packages matched our budget and personalities. It also didn’t hurt that because we had booked early, we were prized a 30% discount from among their best packages/layouts, and of course a free-hand to customize our cards ☺

Sigh. We’re on a roll. The plans are just getting better and better as 2011 inches closer, and falling into place - even in places we never imagined/dreamed they'd fall into. Hope the next fair won’t disappoint ☺

PART I, COMPLETE. Isn't June lovely??

CHOCFRAPPE’S PROGRESS REPORT AS JUNE ENDS...

We now officially love June.

With the formal booking of arguably the best Garden venue this side of Metro Manila over the past weekend, we’ve already accomplished something we’re undeniably proud of – that is, settling and securing the FOUR most important, and seemingly most non-negotiable items for our wedding. :D Favorite caterer? Check. Classy, private church with A/C? Check! Affordable but comprehensive photo and video services? Check!! Fernwood Gardens? Check!!! A few friends have said, now that we’ve booked ourselves these four essential wedding components, we can afford to relax, sit back to enjoy the flowers, pick up a hobby, and let things breathe for a while. We take comfort in the fact that we NOW have that luxury of taking much-needed time off from our series of event-hopping and tripping in preparation for the sweetest D-day yet. And to have completed the more critical first part of preparations 14 months before the wedding date, is just a superb accomplishment, don’t y’all think? We do need a pat on a back. (Or, more fittingly, a 120-peso drink from the nearest cafe).

Of course, we’re too excited now to simply sit down idly as the world passes by. We’ll be spending the next few months groping and grappling over many more ideas, considerations, gimmicks, and options for the remaining wedding items. We’re just having a sincere blast seeing our plans progress and ideas synthesize, and meeting friends, vendors and other people who will help us realize our dream setup.

Its an altogether heavenly high. A chocolate high.:)

Finally, we’re just happy that, despite the rough and tumble start to 2010 for us (months bleeding with workplace and interpersonal drama, and grown-up frustrations), our wedding plans have been able to repeatedly lift us out of our miseries in more ways than one. Every minute we shared – even under the sweltering heat of the summer months and under the cumbersome demands of overtime & household work – made us realize how lucky we truly are belonging in each others’ company, affection and passion. Every extra sip of coffee just sweeter, every extra car mileage more worth the extra half-peso, our darker shades of skin color worth the sweat and sun, our lighter wallets and bank accounts worth the plunge for (because face it, to celebrate in a special, singular, and custom-made fashion, your money will have to take a hit!)...

Just knowing that something as “perfecting” as our relationship can be bettered further by our tiring, but ultimately inspiring and rewarding plans, is as close as we can get to the feeling of b-l-i-s-s.

The next months will be amazing, no less.

But we love June, truly, madly, deeply.

Our Dream Venue- Booked :)

WE FINALLY, FINALLY GOT IT. It took us months to get to this point, but we got here at last. *sigh* And certainly, what a night it was to have finally booked the only venue that & we ever dreamed of holding a picture-perfect wedding. For a few months since we started planning, weve been to the major nuptial venues around the Metro (literally, North to South) each with its own advantage, and disadvantage. It was a costly and tiring summer endeavor, but we loved taking time off together to see these sites, and loved having mini, pa-cute arguments over this and that, and whatnot. The first time we went to an actual wedding at Fernwood (Coral) a few months ago, suffice to say, we fell in love with it (despite the cost!). Three of four Fernwood gardens appealed to us a lot (Coral and Cycad), but we were so fortunate last night to have seen another actual wedding setup in the original Fernwood Garden (venue 1), because it looked so magnificent, serene and intimate altogether especially under the evening rain. The serenade of classical strings, floral arrangements, the ample mist, custom-made waterfalls and a mini-lagoon filled with gorgeous swans, just W-O-W. Few minutes later, we were happily booking for ourselves and maybe 250 other guests the Fernwood Garden, with the owner, Sir Al de Veyra, cheering and smiling us on.:-)



As a dear friend had advised us during her wedding, the place has to speak to your heart. And so we have, and we just so blessed and happy that we did. *sigh* We can finally have the picture-perfect celebration we want to share w/ our loved ones -- even if we had to spend a bit more.


And even if it rains, the dream doesn't stop.

It's OFFICIAL "SEPT 3,2011"

 After a couple of months of impassioned discussion, calculation, recalculation, reflection and loving debate, we thought it in everybody's best interest to move our wedding date originally set for October to September 10, 2011. Apart from being a relevant date for us, 9-10-11 has a sweeettt ring to it... A couple of days ago [Independence Day], we went over to the Sanctuario de San Jose parish office to nail our preferred date..lo and behold, the attendant told us our preferred time/date had been booked some time earlier! Imagine that, we're 15 months before the wedding, and our Church'd already been taken! (Take your cues here, people!) Sadness and some frustration gripped us, momentarily, before we could get our sanities back. After mulling it over again briefly, we decided to move our wedding a week earlier, to SEPTEMBER 3. It's also still a memorable date for us, as our love story really began on the last week of August, and blossomed during the first week of September. :)



So, its official friends, family, and folk: September 3, 2011. it doesn't have that same ring to it, but its our date nevertheless, and it will be magical, no less. Cheers!