Bag of Beans: the Magic then as it is NOW...(lovey-dovey prose/anecdote/story due every September)

365 (er, 367 as of this writing) days ago, we never got to take a picture of ourselves enjoying an incredibly fine meal at Bag of Beans, Tagaytay. "Enjoying," of course, did not comprise eating or drinking, as neither of us really sat down to slice and dice our way across robust slabs of steak and pork, or to whet our appetites with the creamiest pumpkin soups. About 15 minutes into our dinner, the food served had considerably cooled down, and I'd only munched down on about a third of my meal; Kat, about a fourth. But who cared? It was our first dinner together, and, to be more dramatic, the first time our constellations coalesced and pretty much dipped into a galactic vat of the sweetest dreams ever conjured.

The food must have cost a thousand, and we must've only eaten through less than half of it. That was the best part. The economics of love, as they say, isn't one to be bound by rationality; but the returns are indelible as they are delightful, or to take delight in. They exceed whatever zero-sum, pareto-optimal semantic you can throw at me. And for me, the returns traced down the effervescence of Kat's beautiful face, which shone, laughed, and shimmered against the gentle tides of the evening. In rhythm, my heart - amid its congenital murmur - beat with hers, as did my every gesture, gaze and breath.

And had I been cavalier enough, I would've held her hand in the brewing opaqueness of the evening, and told her legendary stuff.

But there was no need for a fairy-tale ending; I felt that pixie-dust, guised as thick Tagaytay fog at 10pm, had already suffused the night and taken over/enhanced our fixations. The fog, fittingly, brought us to a nearby Starbucks for usual musings and helpings of frappuccino and chocolate. (I say "fittingly" because thats how we would, in the months that would follow, style both the convention and splendidness of our coupling.) The night drifted. And drifted. And drifted. It drifted as much as love brewed between two listless, amazing souls. It drifted inasmuch that she could no longer allow night to crossover to dawn. Because I'd spent the past hours basking in the caffeinated bliss of her company, intruding her stories with an artillery of glib and gab, and finding a neverland chapter in her real life storybook, that I couldn't imagine being anywhere else, or with anyone else, at that precise moment of earth's history. Only with her, Kat.

I'd tell the world, despite its perennial immediacy and endless, tireless list of must-to-do's: "I have to go about seeing a girl." (If you'd seen Goodwill Hunting, you'd know this).

And that's what I keep telling the world still, 12 months after, after having just commemorated that first evening in Bag of Beans: I got to go about this girl.

I got to be with my woman. My fiancee, now.

And in another 365 days, or so: My wife.

Absolutely Fitting.

@ Bag of Beans, 365 days after that first one.

Everywhere here: Love brews.

this time, we get to FINISH our food. :)

@ sbucks tagaytay ridge, for the nth time. never fails to perfect the evening.

choc/frappe :)

Bleu Weddings & Events Management Booked!

I have always loved weddings and originally thought I would have a huge role in planning my wedding and will not be needing professional coordinators to work for us. But as the planning progresses, Gabby & I also considered the fact that "who's going to assist us or do this and that for us during the event- Wedding". we need someone to work for/with us a week before and the day of the wedding.

Last Monday (Aug 31), We, together with Gab's mom /tita Susan met with Ms. Bleu and her lovely set of daughters in Techo Hub, CBTL to book her On-the-day coordination for our wedding. Bleu Weddings and Events Management offers complete event planning and consultancy services specializing in Weddings, debuts, graduation balls, anniversaries and more! Her passion for weddings and events inspired me to pursue my dreams of becoming an Event Coordinator someday as per Ms. Bleu "life is too short to spend doing something that you do not feel passionate about!

What a long HAPPY and PRODUCTIVE weekend before the official 12 months countdown BEGINS...

Ms. Bleu, Me, Gab, Tita Susan & The Lovely (youngest) daughter of Ms. Bleu at CBTL

  

The Meeting

The Contract

EXTRAORDINARY: As planning crawls into August

A dear friend had told us shortly after her wedding: “after a few months of heavy preparation, you’ll hit a planning gap, before the planning takes off again...”

Much to our chagrin, its been over a month since we last updated our blog. But beyond being busybodies ourselves, there just has been little progress to write or ponder about since we last attended that large midyear wedding fair at PICC. We’re not complaining of course; among the many valuable and helpful things we’ve relearned so far during our sweet wedding planning – it’s that you really invest/allot time in the things that matter to you the MOST. Just like getting into a small-scale business: time is as important a prerequisite for achieving a modicum of “success” as infusing generous heaps of capital. This is to say that we both have spent considerable time and money (capital) since we decided to marry – and we are undeniably happier for it even if it translates to a few absences here and there from the office; even if it means allowing our savings to bleed openly, or our ATM cards to be thrust in and out of random cash dispensing machines; even if it means needing to MOOCH and leech from willing patrons and not-too-willing siblings [whether in cash or in-kind doesn’t matter!!]

We’ve also used the past month to renew our chase for <ehem> more trivial things that nonetheless complement/pronounce our increasingly-shared personalities. For friends who’ve been keeping themselves up-to-date, we purchased a top-of-the-line Lumix Camera to capture in more vivid megapixel the endearing, important moments lined up for us these coming months. Accordingly, we booked for ourselves and a few VIPs a gratuitous trip to HongKong. And should the weather agree with us, the 4d 3n trip should be most rewarding and picturesque! 

We also took time out to visit Quezon province to indulge in non-urban delicacies (i.e., Lucban’s Finest, and pancit habhab) and find sweet solace in local respites. There might be a few hectares of arable properties waiting for us, as well! 

Last but not least, we’ve used the past 30+ days searching for viable micro-scale businesses where we could pour in any semblance of loose cash still with us.

In the end, we’re faced with a bursting, opportune reality of a planning horizon that remains roughly 12-months long! And since we’ve frontloaded a lot of the wedding preparations, we feel there is more-than-enough time to enjoy both the conveniences and inconveniences of nitpicking and detailing out the remaining items on our to-do list. (And we all know how much brides-to-be love to nitpick!!!) The shortlist still includes couturiers, musicians and florists. Does the long preparation period afford us less excuses to stage a wedding that is nothing short-of-perfect? It does, certainly. But in that lofty standard lies our pursuit of a celebration that will be as fitting and memorable, as it will be special to us, to our friends and families.

Like enjoying a blend of warm cocoa and hazelnut syrup on a drizzly September night – filling the entire evening with the nigh palpable aroma of love and magic. And the aroma being cast over the twinning of hearts and souls – and the process of the entire universe conspiring anew.  So, while the long preparation period does afford us less excuses to stage a wedding that is nothing short-of-perfect, there is much more reason to hope for the extraordinary to take place.

*Sigh*...and watch us take off again.....

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!