Jam & Ing

On a Tight Budget: Should you let go of your dream wedding?

2017-07-06T05:20:00.001-07:00

Most -if not all- girls have dreamt of their perfect wedding. The big white dress, the sparkly chandelier, the beautiful flowers, champagne, red carpet and of course the handsome groom. Once you get engaged, all of those sparkly dreams will come rushing back and this time, it's for real. But then you realize (to your horror) that it's not going to be cheap!

Budgeting your dream wedding maybe is the hardest thing you'll go through during the wedding planning. Do you shell out more money? Do you even have that much money? Or do you keep a modest budget and use the rest of your money for the future?

It's a hard decision, but the good thing is, with the right planning and research, you can have your dream wedding and your emergency fund! With the advent of internet and wedding fairs, it's no longer a hard feat to stay within your 500k budget. There will be sacrifices, for sure, like Jason Magbanua or JayJay Lucas, but there are other photographers or videographers that can also do magic. Those two are on a different level for sure, but there are others out there, who are up and coming, who will give you the same passion and talent with half or maybe even 1/3 of the price.

Of course in the end, no big dress or champagne would ever be more important than the dream husband. It will definitely be more practical to let go of the sparkly chandelier than to let go of your groom because you can't agree on your wedding budget. :)

Here are more tips on how to plan your dream wedding on a budget :)

Wedding Planning: Wedding Fairs of 2017

2017-07-03T05:49:00.000-07:00

Attending wedding fairs are a must when you are planning for a wedding. Not only it can give you so many ideas for your wedding, but you can score major discounts and freebies when you book at fairs.

What I did before was make a list of the suppliers I have already researched and decided on, asked them what Bridal fairs they will attend - and attend those so I can book them. :)

All of these have free entrances, but I do suggest pre-registering for the event in their websites. You get additional freebies when you pre-register so that's enough reason I think. :)

Here's a list and the event websites of the wedding fairs for the remainder of 2017 and a few for the first few months of 2018:

JULY 2017:
July 8 to 9, 2017	Before I Do Wedding & Debut Fair	SM Megamall
July 14 to 16, 2017	Kasalang Filipino 2017 Davao Leg	Abreeza Mall Davao
July 15 to 16, 2017	Getting Married Bridal Fair Philippines	SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia
July 28 to 30, 2017	Kasalang Filipino 2017 Lucena Leg	Pacific Mall Lucena
July 29 to 30, 2017	Save the Date Bridal and Debut Fair	SMX Convention Center, SM Aura Premier
July 29 to 30, 2017	The Grandest Midyear Wedding Debut Expo	PICC Forum, CCP Complex

AUGUST 2017:
August 5 to 6, 2017	Brides and Beyond	The Tent at Enderun, Mckinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
August 18 - 20, 2017	Kasalang Filipino 2017 Imus Leg	The District Mall Imus

SEPTEMBER 2017:
Sept 9 to 10, 2017	Wedding Expo Philippines	SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia
Sept 22 to 24, 2017	Kasalang Filipino 2017 Subig Leg	Ayala Harbor Point Mall Subic
Sept 23 to 24, 2017	Before I Do Wedding & Debut Fair	SM Megamall

NOVEMBER 2017:
Nov 4 to 5, 2017	Getting Married Bridal Fair Philippines	SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia
Nov 25 to 26, 2017	Before I Do Wedding & Debut Fair	SM Megamall

2018:
Jan 20 to 21, 2018	Getting Married Bridal Fair Philippines	SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia
February 2017	Weddings and Debuts Bridal Fair	Megatrade Hall 1, 2, 3, SM Megamall
March 10 to 11, 2018	Getting Married Bridal Fair Philippines	Megatrade Hall 3, SM Megamall

Happy Planning!

Wedding Planning: The Wonderful and the Wicked Side of Planning Your Dream Wedding

2017-06-29T19:21:00.001-07:00

Based on my experience, wedding planning can be really tricky. It's exciting - yes, but also very stressful. They say you'll learn a lot from this and would also learn new things about your partner - also true - new things - both the good and the bad.

Put in a very stressful situation, a person would almost always show his/her true colors. How they handle stress and how they interact with other people during stressful times would definitely show what kind of person he / she is.

Petty fights are the norm during wedding planning. What color should the theme be -- No I don't like pink, it's too girly -- Well, black is too sad. Who should get invited -- I don't like your Aunt -- well, too bad because they are invited. -- I don't like these people! why are we coughing up money to pay for their food.. -- Well, tell that to my parents --- and so on and so forth.

I have known friends who let the bride take over the planning - decide on most major expenses and just offer finances as their share. But I really disagree on this. It's a precedence on how you will spend your married life. Also, giving in on the requests and wants of the bride is really not a good idea, most especially if you do not have the money for it!

But it's not always fighting and bickering. At this stage, you'll also learn a few wonderful things about you as a couple - that you can agree to disagree, you can put your head together and plan a wonderful wedding, that you can agree on money matters, etc. It's actually a preview of your married life - who handles the money, who handles the household stuff, and who gets to have the final say on things. (The wife, of course, haha)

It's a JOURNEY. And definitely, the wedding is not the end of it. You'll have more decisions to argue about, more things to consider, more finances to compute, and more agreements to share.

In the end, it's a great opportunity for both the bride and the groom to take a step back, and realize, you're no longer making decisions for yourself. You are a part of a team, and you have to make decisions as a team. Being selfish is no longer an option, as another person's life (and finances!) is also affected. It's a dress rehearsal, of some sort, to your life as a wedded couple.

So in every petty fight and argument and who gets to sit on the presidential table, take a step back and think -- who the hell even remembers where they were sitting at a relative or a friend's wedding -- honestly, IT DOES NOT MATTER. What matters is that when the wedding day comes, the priest is there, the food is prepared, the dress fits, and the bride and the groom are present. Honestly, that's the most important thing.

And my favorite motto of all during wedding planning - IT is always better to BEND a little, than to BREAK. ;)

Booking Your Honeymoon: Why Travel Fairs Are Worth The Effort

2017-06-29T18:33:00.004-07:00

A couple of years ago, husband and I attended our first ever TRAVEL FAIR in SMX Convention Center in MOA, Pasay. It was definitely an effort to attend events like these - no parking space, long lines at the entrance, hundreds of people walking aimlessly at the event - but after that, we religiously attended each and every travel fair in SMX, no matter how tiring it can be.

Because, as we found out, they do give out the best travel deals, and they do have the biggest discounts that you can find. We have managed to book five start hotel packages on 50 to 60% discount and staycations on Buy1 Take1 promos. You can probably book your Honeymoon Package during a travel fair on a huge discount!

First order of business when we attend travel fairs was to go there EARLY -- like opening early on a Sunday (less traffic) so that you'll be able to find a parking spot on the parking area in front of the convention center. Once we're there, we make sure to eat heavy breakfast before looking at all the booths, and I mean ALL of them.

I'm a somewhat OC ( or organized person :)) so we go through the booths in an orderly way. We start at one end and walk along each rows making sure to check which hotels have the best offers.

Here are my tips when booking through travel fairs:

1. Contain your excitement on booking your honeymoon and do not book on your first trip around the venue! Just take note of those that really interests you and also don't forget to note what row they are as it can be very confusing!

2. Do check online before booking. Sometimes they have better or they have more freebies on their online sale than what they offer in travel fairs so don't forget to double check!

3. Do check Agoda.com - there are also instances where Agoda provides lower rates than that on the travel fair.. so better check before booking!

4. Be prepared with credit cards or cash as these promos are almost always book and buy. An ATM is available at the ground floor of SMX Convention Center, but be prepared to wait in line for this.

5. Be prepared with your honeymoon travel dates! Some of hotels/resorts only offers the promo on specific periods and some also requires you to book the dates during the travel fair.

6. I'm sure you already have a dream honeymoon destination, so it will help you if you only have a limited time in the fair. You can skip all those destinations where you're sure you won't be going to anyways...

7. BUT - even if you already have a shortlist, it does not hurt to check out other places while you're there (If you have time to spare!), as you can discover new places where you can maybe spend your next vacation on.

8. Lastly, and not everyone knows this - try to haggle freebies! I have tried this and it worked! Asked for airport transfers - yes! Asked to get free breakfast for the kids instead of paying for additional breakfast - yes! Usually the people at the event are sales officers that do have the ability to provide you freebies along with your booking - so do not be afraid to ask! It won't hurt as well to say that this is for your honeymoon, maybe they'll give you free wine, chocolates and all the romantic stuff ;)

One thing we have not tried though, is to book airfare during travel fairs - they have looooonnnggg lines and I don't think I would have the patience for it. We usually ask for the price list, and also check online, most of the time, the fare difference is negligible that there's really point in waiting in line for hours just to book a slightly cheaper airfare.

ALSO, not all travel fairs are equal! We usually go to the one set in February as this is usually the biggest one. There's also one in July and September, we have tried going there, but based on experience, we only got really good deals during the Feb event.

Seeds And Cuttings 101

2017-06-25T02:08:00.000-07:00

When I started gardening, I got intimidated by the terms used by the video bloggers and Facebook groups I was following. But turns out, it was fairly easy to understand once you start reading and watching more and more.

So to start my gardening blog, here's a 101 on Seed Germination and Planting Cuttings. Of course, I'm no expert, everything written here are the result of my own experiences on my Urban Garden Journey.

Germination: the sprouting of a seedling from a seed.

There are two ways to germinate a seed, one is directly sowing them in soil, and another one, which I also just recently learned, is through the tissue paper method.

Soil germination is fairly straightforward. Sow the seeds in soil - make sure to follow the instructions in the seed packet on how deep the seeds should be. Keep the soil moist (but do not overwater!) and wait. For some, they leave the pots in a ventilated area / greenhouse and wait until the seedlings are bigger before they put them outside to "harden". In my case, since I don't have this, I put the pots outside and just keep an eye on them.

Don't forget to tag your plants so you won't forget what seeds you sowed!! Germination depends on the type of seeds you planted, some germinates within 2 to 5 days, some not until 2 weeks. Patience is a must in this case. haha.

Also for the soil, it took a while for me to get the right mix, but now I use part cocopeat (I buy in Ace Hardware and Handyman), ordinary potting soil from local garden stores, vermiculite (because it has been really rainy and I want my soil to drain better), vermicast (for nutrients), eggshells, banana peels and epsom salt (for nutrients as well). I find that this mix really germinates better and gives me healthier plants as compared to using just ordinary potting mix.

For the tissue paper method, it's basically putting the seeds in a moist tissue paper and keeping it in a dark dry place. See photos below:

Put in Tissu

Bell Pepper Seeds

After a few days, the seeds have sprouted roots. Leave this longer and wait until the roots are a little longer and bigger before transplanting in soil

Here are a couple more seeds I germinated via tissue paper method

Planting Vegetable Scraps

There are also several vegetables wherein you don't need a seed to start planting. I've tried Ginger, Pechay and Carrots, and so far, only the pechay has died. haha.

For the ginger, I soaked the shriveled ginger I've forgotten in the pantry in water for 24 hours before planting it in soil. It took around a month, but it sprouted and is now a ginger plant :)

I also tried this with carrot. I put the top in very very little water and waited until some roots and leaves sprouted. I actually tried this a couple of times before I finally was able to sprout one.

Stem Cuttings:

You can easily double your Basil, Peppermint and Tomato plants by doing cuttings. Cut a stem and put it in water and wait for it to grow roots. When viable roots have grown, then it's time to plant them in soil.

Basil and Peppermint cuttings

Look at em roots

Tomato Cutting

Seeds from the Grocery:

Have also tried planting the seeds I got from grocery vegetables and they germinated as well! Below I tried planting one whole slice of tomato, and I got more seedlings than I really need. lol.

Also on the last photo, I put the pumpkin seeds in my compost bin, and after a few days, all of them germinated. Hahahah! So I have no choice but to transfer them to pots. Sayang eh. haha.

Planted one whole slice of tomato

volunteer pumpkins

Next I'll post something on transplanting seedlings. Something I'm still bad at (because I have no patience. haha)..

Urban Gardening 101 - What I learned

2017-06-25T00:49:00.000-07:00

1. Never be afraid to try. Wide Open Spaces NOT needed.

Everything starts with trying. I have always shared to friends and family my gardening journey and a lot of them have said they wanted to try as well but are too afraid. I say go for it!! It's such a wonderful feeling growing from seeds and harvesting the fruits of a plant you tended to for months. Also, many have said -- but we don't have a garden! or I don't have enough space to grow plants! -- to this I say - Container Gardening is the answer! I do have a lot of extra space, but the soil in our yard is very rocky so I opted to grow in containers. It's amazing what you can grow in pots and how the plants flourish with the right nutrients, correct soil and enough love. So for those who want to try, I say start planting!

Almost all my plants are in containers

2. Internet is your friend

I really don't know anyone who has their own vegetable garden, so everything I know now I learned from the internet. It's pages and pages of blogs and articles and hundreds of minutes of Youtube videos (I follow California Gardener, and I find his videos the easiest to understand!). I also created an Instagram account for my obsession (!) and I found that gardening community in Instagram is soooo helpful! You can literally post a question and you'll get an answer in few hours, or even minutes! You'll be able to share gardening stories with people around the globe who share your obsession to grow things in their own lands, with their own hands.

I'm also members of two very groups in Facebook - Gardener's Tambayan and Manila Grows Food - these communities are really one of kind. You literally don't know anyone, but when you read comments and posts, you feel like you've known each other for a long time.

3. Asking does not make you less of a gardener :)

I've asked the most stupid questions in Instagram and Facebook, but never ever did I get a bashing for asking the wrong or silliest questions. As the say, ask and you shall receive!

4. Try and try until you succeed

I've killed many many plants in the few months of my gardening. And it does happen. Wrong soil, too much sun, too much water, pests (grrr). But eventually you'll get it. I've also wasted many seeds that did not germinate (I still don't know why!) and I found out that the easiest plant for you to grow, may not be the same for other people. I find onion and garlic so hard, but I know one from the FB Group which makes it look so easy! I think peppers are fairly easy, but I know some who until now still can't make their pepper plants fruit. So it's a different journey for each people. Don't feel so bad or intimidated when your seeds won't germinate. Maybe it's just taking it's time (It happens!) or maybe you just need to try again.

5. Those Cute Birds, they're murderers!

When I was a kid, I've always enjoyed watching the Mayas play in our garden. Now that I have my own garden, I still watch them- but not because I enjoy watching, but because I'm afraid they'll eat the leaves of my seedlings (and they do!!). Now that I learned that no matter how cute they are, they can still kill your plants. And so I know rely on the very important use of nets specially for seedlings. Protect them at all costs!

Transplanting garlics

6. Germination and Transplanting 101

I learned that in garden, one virtue that you will really need is Patience. It takes a lot of patience to wait for your seeds to germinate, wait for your seedlings to grow bigger and to wait until you can transplant them. I learned the hard way that transplanting very young babies will only kill them. Now I wait. But not without constant checking lol. The rule of thumb is you wait until the seedling grows at least 3 true leaves (google it).

I have had both success in germinating seeds directly in soil and via the tissue paper method - again, my motto is - try and try until you succeed. haha. Also, not all seeds / plants you need to transplant. Some plants (I know Sunflower is one) doesn’t like to be transplanted. So again, research first before planting!

Powdered banana peels and eggshells as organic fertilizers

7. Eggshells and banana peels are lifesavers

I never thought that there will come a time when I will ask my co-workers for their banana peels. lol. I try as much as I can to go organic, and the go-to organic fertilizers are eggshells (for calcium), banana peels (for potassium) and Epsom Salt (for magnesium). My first mistake was that I put the crushed eggshells and fresh banana peels in the soil.. well, it's not really a mistake, but if you do it this way, it takes a looooooong time for the nutrients to be absorbed by the soil.

I learned that (After hours of Youtube videos) the way to go is -- Dry them, crush / cut them, put in blender to powder, and then you can put them to your soil. Or better yet, mix them in your soil before you transplant your seedlings. Use of Epsom salt if fairly straightforward, just mix with water and use it to water your plants every 2 weeks.

8. Don't Panic if it's not organic

I try my best to use organic materials to fertilize and to kill pests. But let's face it, it's really too much work. I have tried using chemical fertilizers to help my dying plants.. but pesticides, I admit I am still afraid to use 'em. But if you use both chemical fertilizers and pesticides, just make sure you read the label very carefully and do your research!

9. Sun and Water = Healthy, Happy Plants...But not all the time.

Before I started my garden, I've always thought that plants need sun and water. period. It was not until I've researched ways to grow specific plants that I learned it's a little more complicated than I thought. Some plants wants more sun, some plants don't. There are plants who doesn't want water that much (yes garlic, I'm talking about you), and some who loves water (I think our tomatoes and eggplants loves 'em so much). It takes a lot of research I admit, but it’s a necessary part of learning, plus if it will make your plants happy, then why not go the extra mile, right?

10. Dirty hands = Happy Heart

They say you shouldn't touch the soil with your bare hands as they contain so many bacteria. But honestly, it's not fun to garden with gloves. It's just not. So I say, use your hands, and wash them thoroughly after use. haha.

chaos in our garden

As a final thought.

I've always wanted to grow vegetables, but I never imagined that doing that would make me really really happy. It's an obsession now. But it's a good obsession. I don't want to leave the house because I want to garden (So less expense for the family. lol), I don't watch television or use my phone because I spend hours in the garden (less electricity expenses!) and we actually have used our own harvests for our meals (less grocery expenses!). Though I admit, I’m still in the negative because of the expenses on the seeds, the pots, soil and compost, but hell, it's really really really worth it.

I'm still far from my dream vegetable garden and there is still so much that I want to do like build raise beds, plant beans, pumpkins, etc. and I will get there. I know I will. And I hope you do too. :)

Creating My Dream Urban Garden

2017-06-24T21:56:00.003-07:00

I've always wanted a vegetable garden of my own ever since I was a kid. I remember many years ago, we tried to plant some seeds in the lot behind our house.. not one plant lived, however after a couple of months, we were surprised that one peanut plant actually survived and we harvested that -- to my amazement.

Last June husband and I finally moved to our own house, and at last I thought, I can finally start planting my garden. I started with herbs - the ones you can buy from Ace Hardware or Handyman that already has a pot, growing medium and seeds. I bought some basil and peppermint.. and lo and behold! the herbs lived!

Then I started buying more seeds (Ramgo) from Handyman. Also bought some Gro-kompost (also Ramgo), growing pots and fertilizers. I tried planting tomatoes and peppers (siling pangsigang) next. I managed to sprout them, but the tomatoes became too leggy (I didn't know this then) and my peppers have curly leaves. Then I started researching.. like actually reading blogs - just like this one! - and watching lots and lots of youtube videos (my favorite is California Gardening). That started my actual obsession with my vegetable garden.

I joined Facebook groups (Manila Grows Food and Gardener's Tambayan) and learned so much from these as well. Also created an Instagram account (IG: Growinglemon) for my gardening obsession (yes it's an obsession!) and the gardening community in IG is amazing as well! You get to see what others are growing and take it as inspiration, you can ask questions and one or more will answer you in no time!

Now I have started growing other plants - Eggplants, Parsley, Bell Peppers, Garlic, Onion, Sunflower, Marigold, Zinnias, etc. But even if my garden looks kawawa, I still managed to harvest from my garden - cherry tomatoes, eggplants, siling pangsigang, bell peppers and some herbs.

I am encouraging everyone to start their own vegetable gardens. It's an amazing feeling to be able to grow plants from seeds, and an even more amazing feeling when you harvest the fruits of your labor.

Travel for Two: A side trip to Dumaguete

2016-12-13T05:25:00.003-08:00

Since there's no direct flight from Manila to Siquijor, we took the Manila - Dumaguete - Siquijor route so we can also visit Dumaguete and finally try their famous Sans Rival

Rizal Boulevard. The whole stretch was very clean and very inviting

From the Dumaguete Port, we walked towards Rizal Boulevard which is around 5 minutes away. We had our brunch in the famous Sans Rival Bistro, and then had some desserts at the Sans Rival Cakes and Pastries which is really really famous for their, yep you guessed it, Sans Rival, Sylvanas and other cakes.

Sans Rival Bistro Facade

We really loved the Cinnamon Chocolate Cream Bun and our Mango Cake (I forgot the exact name), plus what's really amazing was their prices were really cheap (around 20 to 40Php per bread/cake slice)! And I mean bakery sa kanto cheap! hehe! Definitely a must try when you're in the area!

To die for Cinnamon Chocolate Cream Bun!!!!

Brew Bar in Sans Rival Cakes and Pastries

After the very satisfying dessert, we then made our way to Dumaguete Cathedral, around 5-minute walk from the Cafe. Took some photos and then went back to the Port to wait for our boat. (You need to check-in your ticket around an hour / 30 minutes before the departure so they can give you your seat number).

Bell tower of Dumaguete Church

When we left, I tried to research more on Dumaguete and turns out it's one of the best places to retire.. so that's definitely staying on our places to go back to list.. Also, the Sans Rival and the Cinnamon bun is more than enough reason to plan a return trip someday. :)

Food Series: Burzillian Nation

2016-12-06T00:17:00.001-08:00

There's a sudden boom of local restaurants and cafes in our area in San Pedro, Laguna, and the foodie in me cannot be anymore happier. Last weekend, I've decided to start a food series on the local restaurants to give my share of boost to the local food scene. I know we're far from being the next Maginhawa street, but hey, we got to start somewhere right?

First in the series, Burzillian Nation in Macaria Avenue, Binan City

Last week, a friend posted this burger place in social media.. I got curious because of one thing - their Burzilla - from the name itself the Godzilla of burgers.

And so last Sunday, we trooped to Burzillian Nation and got a pleasant surprise. The place was big! Not the usual small cozy place that we often get from local food places. It has an open, industrial feel, with a touch of something like Army Navy interiors. If there was one word I can think of, is that it looks really inviting.

We also were quite impressed with the prices. The Burzilla - 7 inches, 3 layer patty (1/2 kg of goodness), lettuce, tomato, mushroom, bacon cheese, hashbrown and egg - is 450 pesos. It's good for 3 to 4 persons. We also ordered two pitchers of black gulaman.

The Verdict:

Definitely worth the money! It was really really good!! The patties were juicy, the bun is perfect and buttery and the cheese sauce was good. I only ate a quarter of the burger, but I was already full halfway. On a side note, I was with my husband and 14-year-old stepson. They had big appetites, and were quite impressed on how full they were when we finally finished the burger.

Yummers!!!

We'll definitely be back -- still a lot of items on the menu that we need to try!!!

Hindsight is Always 20/20

2016-11-22T03:08:00.000-08:00

After four years of marriage, the memory of our almost perfect wedding day is still fresh on my mind like it just happened yesterday.. or maybe more of like last week. haha.

After relieving our special day for the 100000th time, there are moments when I look back and think about the things that we should have done or the things that would have made it better (though our budget wedding was awesome nonetheless). And for my sanity's sake, I listed them, and maybe I can finally move on after this. lol.

1. MIA Family Photo

Since we had a morning wedding, our preps started around 3:00AM. We were lucky because all our suppliers were there on time, but because of time constraints, we decided to take a family photo after the wedding reception.. Unfortunately, my parents left the venue to go back to the hotel before I can tell them that we still need to take photos.

In hindsight, I should've demanded that we still take the photo even if we were running a "little" late. (we were not late it turns out, I still had to wait for a good 30 minutes in the car before the ceremony started). But as they say, hindsight is always 20/20.

2. RSVP!!

It's actually easy to RSVP people nowadays because of social media. But what happened with us is we invited some relatives whom some of them I haven't even met (invited them for my father-in-law's sake) I mean, they are still family right? So we handed the invites to my FIL and asked him to tell them about our wedding. We reserved 20 seats for his side of the family and didn't confirm anymore how many are actually coming... and on the day of the wedding, only 6 showed up.

It was one of the things that we would definitely change if we can. We had a small reception venue so the number of guests were limited to 130. We had a hard time taking out people on our list, and seeing those empty seats during the wedding.. well it made us twice guilty and sad. So many people we could have invited and added on our list if we just insisted on the confirmation.

3. EAT and BE MERRY

I read a lot of blogs and forums before our big day and many have posted that you won't be able to eat during your wedding reception. And you won't believe how true it was. We had a breakfast reception and decided to get all our favorite food - bacon, eggs, pancake, pastries, beef tapa.. and even after we had seen the buffet table.. we had no appetite. None at all. Until now, I still wish I can go back and eat my heart out.

Also, forget about everything wrong that is happening!! Just enjoy and be merry. and EAT!! get your money's worth! haha!

4. The Importance of Doing an Ocular

And not just a simple ocular. It should be done on the same time as your wedding ceremony and reception. Since we had a morning wedding, the reception started around 9:30AM and lasted until 1:00PM. We did an ocular, but we did it late in the afternoon. So on the day of the wedding, we were surprised how hot the reception venue can get because of the glass ceiling! Enderun did have fans which they graciously took out to help with the air circulation, but some guests were fanning our menus because of the heat. lol. Also, venues can look way different during the day as compared to evening time.. this maybe important if you want to see how the lighting of the venue is if your have an evening reception.

5. Remind Your Entourage of their Attires!

Our secondary sponsor, my husband's brother, forgot his pants on the day of the wedding. He thought we bought it with us the day before when we checked in at the hotel. (Why would we?!) Anyway, this caused a MAJOR breakdown for my husband.. good thing our coordinators were there to calm him down. We eventually found pants that he could wear (Maternity pants of my sister. LOL!!!!) Well, that's what he gets for forgetting his own attire -- he's forced to wear maternity flaired black pants on our wedding day. haha. :D

I think that's about it. Hopefully this list can help you avoid some minor disasters on your wedding day. I think for the most part, what made our wedding still a success was that we got an uber-amazing wedding coordinators. I swear, it would have been a disaster if it weren't for them. :)

Money Matters: My Stock Trading Experience

2015-08-03T02:49:00.000-07:00

For quite sometime I have been wanting to try online stock trading, since I work in a Bank, many of my colleagues were already into it, and I was one of the few who were not yet aware of the earning possibilities from stock trading.

I started attending free seminars by BPI Trade (you can like their FB page and available seminars are posted there, some seminars though are exclusive to clients). What I suggest is attending a seminar and opening an account at the same time (since you need to submit a form personally to the office (3F BPI Head Office), why not do it when you're already there :)). There are lots of other online brokers (COL, Metrobank has their own, Security bank as well, etc). Personally though, since I worked in BPI, applying in BPI Trade was the most convenient way for me.

Here is a list of requirements from BPI Trade website.

After opening an account, I did not trade right away. I joined a lot of Facebook Groups related to stock trading (Traders Apprentice Pilipinas or TAP, Tsupitero.com, etc). I read a lot of articles and blogs on how to go about trading, but honestly, no blog post cannot really prepare you for the emotional roller coaster that you will encounter once you start trading.

I found out the hard way, that you need to keep you emotions in check when trading, and for me the hard way costed me around 20,000 pesos (Which I eventually earned back after learning to sit and wait). Here is my short list of things I wish I knew when I started:

1. You will not earn big money if you risk a small amount. Based on computations, the optimum amount you should invest PER TRADE is around 7,000.00, so you won't be "lugi" in transaction fees. Also, if you plan to invest only around 5,000.00 never expect that your money will grow to 6 digits right away. A good trade earns around 5 to 10%, so if you compute, you will only earn around 250 to 500 pesos less fees and taxes.

2. Never get swayed by the crowd without doing proper research and due diligence. Since I joined FB forums, I spent hours and hours on end reading posts and comments about certain favorite stocks. I started buying them because it was the talk of the town, and that was really a rookie mistake. Never invest in a company which you have not researched or read about. It's like giving away money to a stranger, and hoping (and praying) that this stranger will give you back your capital plus some more.

3. Learn to Sit and Wait. Patience is key when it comes to trading. I have heard numerous stories of people earning 30 to 50% of their investment in one day, but what I did not know, is that they bought the stock way before the breakout (e.g., when a stock who is trending sideways, meaning will go up and down day to day, then suddenly breaks out of the sideway trend and increases 10 to 50% in day), they bought, sit and waited until the day the stock rocketed to it's all time high. While what I did was buy a stock, wait for 2 days, if it goes down, sell. Buy another stock, wait for 2 more days, if it goes down sell. And more likely, a few days after I sell, these stocks will go up. I think my motto before was Buy High, Sell Low. Or worse, I buy during the breakout, or "naghahabol" which gives me a really high average, and if the stock does not sustain the breakout and suddenly drops, I will end up "Ipit", or someone who has a really high average cost as compared to the current stock value. There are two ways to go after being ipit, either you sell at a loss, or you just simply sit tight and wait for the next breakout.

4. Do Not Be Greedy. A gain is a gain. Learning when to sell a high flying stock, it's a talent I have yet to perfect. Once you get to 15% gain, you keep telling yourself, it can still go up, it can still go up. And before you know it, your 15% gain will turn to 10, and then 5 and then nothing (because all other investors were selling and turning their paper gains to actual money, while you cling to your hopes that the price will still go up). A useful tip is to always have Trail Stops and a target price. Sell when one either one is met.

5. Read, Read, Read. There are basically three types of investors, one is the fundamental investor, wherein one takes into account the business, income and the management of the listed company and use this data to decide whether to invest or not. Another is the technical investor, where they use charts, indicators and price action to tell whether they should start buying or start selling, and of course there are those who are hybrid (which I really think is the best way to go).

Whichever way you go, you need to read up to be able to understand the different terms, computations and theories that is being used by traders. I have an accounting background, so the fundamental data is easier for me to understand (Including reading the companies Income and Balance sheets,etc). For the technical side, I tried reading a lot of investment books, but the best for me is The Trading Code by Jason Cam (Check out their profile in FB, it's worth every penny, promise :)). By far, this was the most thoroughly explained technical theories (charts, candles, indicators, etc). Also, I get to easily understand and apply since it's by a local trader.

I am not by far a good trader, I am still learning (the hard way) and honing my trading skills, but after 10 months, I think I learned the basics and now ready for the next step. My goal now is to earn enough to put my capital in the 6-digit level. I still have 5 months to reach my goal. You should set a goal as well, so you have a clear picture why you want to trade, and what do you want to get out from it.

Happy Trading!!

OFF-TOPIC: Applying for UMID Card in SSS

2015-07-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

For the longest time, I have been putting off going to an SSS branch to apply for an ID, as I have heard numerous horror stories from going to a branch at 5 in the morning to reach the daily quota, to waiting in line for hours and hours.

But since I'm a simple housewife nowadays, with not much to do, but stare at my laptop all day (watching trades, not youtube hehe), I decided to finally (after 10 years of being an SSS member) apply for an ID (Also, I felt the need to have another valid ID, presenting your passport everytime you are asked for a valid ID is just weird).

Surprisingly, applying for an ID was really really easy. First step is to print out the form found in SSS website. Second, find an SSS branch closest to you. Now this might be a little tricky, because not all branches accepts UMID application, and second some branches have quotas (like the one in Binan, Laguna). So I decided to go to the SSS Main Branch in Ayala, Makati. Also, don't forget to bring a valid ID! (The list of the valid IDs are included in the second page of the downloadable form)

I arrived around 8:30 am, surprised that there was not a lot of people in line, told the guard on duty that I was there to request for a UMID, showed by form and a valid ID, he then gave me a number in the "Generalist" line. I was number 59, and they were currently serving number 47. (On a side note, the branch was only open for 30 minutes, and they were already on their 47th customer, Amazing!).

So I waited for around 30 minutes, after they checked my data, I was sent to the UMID line. Actually, there was no line, I was processed right after I arrived (#7 for the day). Kuya UMID took my photo (after 5 tries, I finally gave in to the no teeth, ears out photo which was not very flattering), got my fingerprints, entered my data in the system and that's it! Done! He gave me a slip, and told me that the ID will be delivered in our doorstep, after 1 to 3 months (lol). Total processing time: 45 minutes.

Oh, and the best part? No fees! (For the first timers, no fees, but if you are going to request for a replacement, a minimal fee will be collected)

If I had known that it will only take me 45 minutes (and could be shorter if I had just arrived earlier), I should have requested for my ID yearrrssss ago!!

So for those of you who have yet to request for their IDs. Time to request for one. :)

Travel for Two: Siquijor

2014-08-09T21:58:00.001-07:00

As a couple, we told ourselves that we need to visit atleast one new place each year, and this year, we decided to continue our botched honeymoon in Siquijor, Philippines. This was our original honeymoon plan, but that did not fell through because of all the rescheduling and me getting sick after our wedding (which eventually costed me all my leave credits. huhu).

Siquijor is an island province located in the Central Visayan region and based on their official website: "The original inhabitants called “Siquijodnons” came from Cebu, Bohol and other adjacent islands. The native name was “Katugasan” derived from the molave tree that covers the hills. The Spaniards, however, called it Isla de Fuego or Island of Fire because of the swarms of fireflies found in the island "

How we got there:

From Manila, we took an early flight to Dumaguete arriving at around 8AM (There are no direct flights to Siquijor Province, you may either go through Dumaguete, Cebu or Bohol). Once outside the airport, you can hire either a van (P300) or a tricycle (P150) to take you to the Port (Just tell them that you're going to Siquijor and they'll know where to take you). At the port, we bought our tickets (OceanJet, P420.00 two way)* and since the fastcraft schedule was still 12:50PM (ETA 1:40PM), we decided to walk around Dumaguete City proper to kill some time and have our much needed breakfast.

*There are other boat schedules for the Dumaguete-Siquijor Trip, but OceanJet has the fastest travel time, other trips will take around 1 to 2 hours.

Siquijor Port

I'll be posting our Dumaguete side-trip on another blog post (so this one won't be too long :))

After 40 minutes of spine-tingling and vomit-inducing boat trip (I have byahilo. Sorry.) We finally arrived in the most beautiful port I have ever seen (I'm not kidding. And not exaggerating at all).

From Siquijor Port, we were greeted by the hotel staff (we decided to get the hotel transfers because the staff said that we will be sharing the 800 peso fair with other guests, which totaled to only 100/person in the end (If we took the tricycle, I later learned that they will be charging us 300 to 400 for the trip).

Where we stayed: Coco Grove

Sunset Vista (Our room was upgraded. woot!)
P4800/night (with set breakfast)

Coco Grove is one of the more expensive place in Siquijor, however we still decided to stay there since they have everything already (Pool, Beach front, Restaurants). It was quite an experience, since there were not many guests, the resort was really tranquil and perfect for a relaxing vacation.

I guess choosing a place to stay would really depend on what you want your trip to be, if it's more of a laid-back tulog-kain-tambay type like we wanted, then Coco Grove is the best choice.

Nothing beats having breakfast by the beach, reading great novels by the beach and having a good cup of coffee while enjoying one of nature's best creation.

Our Sunset Vista Room

Enjoying our terrace and the waves

What we did:
Other than lounging by the beach and swimming in the resort's pool, we decided to tour the whole island, there were two options, one was to get the hotel's tour (1200/person) or make our own itinerary and just rent a tricycle outside the resort (P1,200/tricycle). We ended up taking the second (and definitely cheaper option) and in the end, I guess it was really one of our best decisions. :)

Based on other travel blogs, Siquijor Island is small and can be toured within one day, and boy were they right. We literally toured the whole island in 5 hours riding a tricycle. We started early right after we had our breakfast and ended the tour around 2PM.

The Enchanted Balete Tree

Lazi Convent

Lazi Church

The Beautiful Cambughay Falls

Salagdoong Beach

Cliff Diving at Salagdoong Beach (Nope, we did not try this one)

Oldest house still standing in Siquijor

View from Triad Restaurant

Souvenirs

And the BEST PART OF OUR TRIP..... TARZAN JUMPS in Cambughay Falls!!!
(Okay, my jump may as well be as an epic fail, but still! the experience was worth the pain

JamIng Turns 1! (Super Late Post)

2014-07-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

3 days before we celebrate our very first wedding anniversary we were still trying to book our rooms for our trip. But after all the cramming, our mini road trip / food trip was a success :)

First Stop: Pandi Lake, San Pablo, Laguna

Budget: 400 per head (200 if there are many of you in your group), inclusive of balsa and sumptuous lunch.

Contact Person: Ate Sioni, 0929 978 9565

Travel time from San Pedro is almost 3 hours (including lost minutes because we had a hard time finding the "parking lot along the main road". lol. From the parking area, you still have to walk around 20 minutes to get to the lake. You will be greeted by the mini tour guides and they will lead you to the pathways going to the lake.

Finally Here!

Lake Yambo is on the other side of Lake Pandin, a steep climb will lead you to another beautiful and very serene lake. We decided not to go down but instead just take a breather and appreciate one of the hidden beauties of Laguna :)

Our Lunch Prepared by Aling Sionie

TIme for some swimming after the delicious lunch!

Our second stop is Casa San Pablo, room rate includes lunch, dinner and breakfast. The food I must say was really really good, and they were very generous with the food servings. Meal includes two main dish, one vegetable dish, soup, rice and dessert. So happy to say that we were well fed during our stay. (And that's really important. :))

We loved Casa San Pablo's homey feel and quiet environment. We also loved the scattered art sculptures and surprising decors in the area.

Breakfast with a view

Around 4PM, we tried to follow Viaje del Sol map and managed to find (after being lost again) Cafe Lago and tried their Turon and Noodles. The Turon was only so so, not what was I expecting. :(

Cafe Lago is directly in front of Lake Sampaloc, it was still raining and so we were not able to take more photos.. Lake Sampaloc is located in the middle of a residential area.

The next day, after checking out from Casa San Pablo, we went back to the city proper and had lunch before going back home, we decided to eat in the famous Si Christina, around 10 minutes from Casa San Pablo. Si Christina is located along the main road, so parking is a little tricky. We parked in front of the Cathedral instead and walked our way to the cafe.

Our lunch was not that amazing, it was okay I guess. Though what we loved was their desserts and the coffee. :)

We were so happy to have discovered new places that were located on our own backyard (well not literally). Sorry that this blog was 11 months late, but hey, better late than never right? :)

Budgeting Your Dream Wedding

2014-06-08T18:39:00.002-07:00

Being an overly organized planner, it was no surprise that I recorded our wedding budget and expenses up to the last peso. And as someone who is passionate on telling the world, that yes, you can have a beautiful perfect wedding with a tight budget (aka 400k wedding FTW!), here is our attempt in helping other couples achieve their own dream budget wedding.

Our original budget was only PHP 300k, however as they say, you have to add atleast 30% of that and that should be your maximum limit. On our part, our final expenses amounted to PHP 398K, so that was an increase of 33%, and that amount was mostly because of items I was not able to include in our original budget (like sounds, tents, etc). Not bad really, considering that the average cost nowadays (based on reading wedding forums/blogs) are around 500K to 800K. (btw, our wedding was last August 2012, and I can't believe that it has been 5 years!)

I'm not a hater, and I guess it is perfectly fine to spend that much money, if you have it in the first place, what I don't understand is how some people would stress about budget, that they don't have money left and after the wedding they are left with a humongous debt, when in the first place they had the choice to spend less for a one day event (and more on their future as mr.& mrs.)

So, here are some of our insights on how you can successfully budget your dream wedding:

1. Create a list of items and your budget for each. And make sure that your budget is realistic! Next is compare this to how much can you really afford to spend on one day. If you will only start saving for the wedding (like how we did), make sure that you meet your target a couple of months before the actual wedding, since suppliers usually require payments before the actual event (Down payment during bookings, half of the contract price usually a couple of months before the wedding, and full payment 2 weeks before the actual event).

If the end total is expenses > savings, then adjust the expenses. NEVER get a loan solely for your wedding, only because after that there will surely be more expenses (new house, new car, new baby) that it may become harder for you to pay up your loans.

I'm sharing with you our original budget spreadsheet so you'll have a general idea on the cost, the payments that we made are not updated on this one since I used the local copy in my hard drive (that crashed hours after the wedding ceremony!). But the budget and actual expenses in here are correct, while the DIYs listed here are probably posted somewhere in this blog (like the invites and table numbers).

2. Don't leave out the small items, when added you might be surprised that they will take around 25% of your whole wedding budget! (and this is based on experience)

3. Decide where you want to spend most of your wedding budget on, the top three items are

(1) Food/Reception rental (our personal favorite)

(2) Bridal Gown (which can cost a lot by the way)

(3) Photographer/Videographer

Something has got to give, BUT always remember that spending less does not necessarily mean lower quality, with enough research you can have the same quality of service with half the price!

4. Give yourself one "splurge" item. For us, that would be the Starbucks booth, it was not a necessity by any means, and we had to pay additional corkage fee for it, but we decided that we really wanted that one, and that will be the splurge on our wedding.

5. Control & Research.

You can budget your wedding all you want, but in the end, it is how you make your decisions that will matter. Never book on the spot without proper research (Weddings@Work yahoo groups was our wedding savior) and without comparing them to other suppliers. No matter how good the package is, never ever forget to do your research first!

6. Book During Wedding Fairs.

It's amazing how many freebies and how big the discounts you'll get by simply booking your suppliers during wedding fairs. But remember to do number 5 first before booking anyone! You will be attending a lot of wedding fairs, and that's fine. I mean what is 2k worth of gas expenses as compared to tens of thousands worth of discounts and freebies right?

Suppliers usually attend more than one wedding fair in a year, you can look around first, make a short list, do your research at home and go back to the next wedding fair to book them. You can also always ask suppliers when will their next wedding fair be, so you will know what fairs to attend and what to skip. Not all fairs are created equal!

Also, don't be shy in bargaining and asking for discounts or freebies! Some suppliers only give them if you ask

So that's it, I think that't the gist of all the lessons that we have learned during our own wedding planning and the planning of the weddings of several of our friends.

As a final note, don't forget to have fun and to enjoy the experience. You'll only be planning your wedding once, and make sure to get the most our of it. Also, when making decisions or during arguments on the supplier you want to get or how much should your budget be, remember that it is always easier to bend than to break.

Final decisions on the wedding should come from both the bride and the groom, and not from eager bibo parents or any other person for that matter, unless the parents (or other people) are paying for the wedding, then it is their decision that should matter. :)

Happy Planning! :)

More tips on how to budget your dream wedding here!
Even more tips on avoiding minor disasters like what we had! :)

More Wedding Photos (Larry Leong)

2014-04-14T15:54:00.002-07:00

It wouldn't be fair if I only post more photos from Alex, so here are my favorite photos from our Main photographer, Larry Leong :)

On a final note, I will never be grateful enough to Larry for capturing such wonderful moments of our little flower girl, Lia. A couple of months after our wedding, she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and just a couple of days after we celebrated our first wedding anniversary, she unfortunately lost her battle and joined our creator. She was and will always be our little warrior.

I am just sooooo glad that we had the privilege to have her as our flower girl, our little warrior.

More Wedding Photos (Alex Ruelo)

2014-04-13T05:22:00.000-07:00

Since Alex does not maintain a blog of his own for his wedding photos (I mean, none that I know of) I'm posting some of my favorite photos taken by him during our wedding.

Being prepped by the wonderful Chinky Tanjangco

Right before we leave for church (with Charise constantly reminding us -- "Time Check!")

Frame worthy photo

Father-Son / Groom-Best Man

Look Pa, no eyes! hehe ;)

THE (moment after the) KISS

And of course this wouldn't be complete without our EPIC GROUP PHOTO

Taking advantage of the uber lovely Enderun grounds. I swear, you won't see any guest not smiling in these series of photos

(To the right, to the left, closer and wave!!!)

Thank you again and again Alex!!!

Doggie Love

2014-03-08T19:40:00.000-08:00

We have always wanted to include Bob (our engagement goggie) in our wedding, and since our church wouldn't probably allow our dog to be our ring bearer, here are some of the ways we made sure that our Bobbie becomes part of one of the most special day of our lives :)

1. Save-The-Date / Invitation Video

Since we were super blessed to have a uber-talented Sister, we decided that she'll shoot a STD / Invite video with Bob. IT was such a hot day that morning and Bob was not really in the mood to walk around since we just wanted to stay under the shade, though after a couple of hours trying, my sister called a wrap, and here's the final product :)

2. Table Numbers

As a part of ourDIYs, we decided to take Bob to yet again another photoshoot so that we can use his photos as base for our table numbers. We just bought a couple of props from the department store (plastic flowers and bow tie) and then shoot away. We just edited these photos and added the table numbers.

Also here are some BTS from our save-the-date shoot :

H&M Wedding Dress Anyone?

2014-03-07T21:23:00.000-08:00

Was just googling wedding stuff and new wedding ideas that I can share here and then I stumbled upon this news. Yes yes yes! H&M helping couples to ACTUALLY spend withintheir budget! Haha!

According to several wedding blogs, H&M will be releasing their $99 wedding dress later this month. Yes you read that right, $99! That's approximately 4,500 in Philippine Peso, and almost at par with the prices of the gowns sold in 168 mall! amazing!! Now the big question is, when they finally open their store in Mega Mall by second half of 2014 (I can't wait!!!) will this pretty pretty dress be available for the Filipina eco-shabby soon-to-be-brides?

More Enderun Photos

2014-02-15T06:12:00.000-08:00

Finally had time to post new stuff here! So based on the stats, many of you guys have been reading bout our reviews on Enderun's Atrium as our Reception venue. Posting some more photos that may or may not help you in your quest for that perfect Reception Venue.. hehe. Enjoy! :)

On Weddings and Friends

2013-08-04T23:35:00.000-07:00

Our highschool barkada has been in the wedding bubble for more than a year now, first barkada wedding happened in February 2012 and then many of us followed after that, one in March, May, August (this is us!), September, November 2012 and then June this year and we are still not done. We still have 4 more weddings coming up (September, December 2013, May and October 2014).

I have not shaken off that wedding mode since we started planning until now, since whenever we get together, our forever topic is wedding planning. I admit, there are still things that I wish we had done during our wedding (like mingling with our guests more), but that was that, all I can do now is tell my friends the stuff that we wish we knew before our wedding day.

It's amazing how people handle the same situation in different ways. I have friends who were not stressed as much, and friends who were stressed soooo much more than we were. We have had disagreements on the budget and costs and suppliers, but in the end, what is important is that they will have the final say in their own wedding, and that all decisions will come from both parties and not just from one person.

Weddings are such a happy occasion, even happier when you have your friends and families to help you from planning until the big day. I wish that for all our friends to enjoy not just on their wedding day but to also use the wedding planning to be closer and to know each other better.

Happy Planning and Happy Wedding! :)

our soshikul barkada on our wedding

352 Days After...

2013-08-04T23:11:00.000-07:00

13 more days till our 1st wedding anniversary and I cannot wait!! :)

First of, Jam wasn't supposed to be here on our anniversary, but his business trip which was supposedly 2 weeks before our anniversary was suddenly moved to next month (lucky us!). Secondly, we have no budget for our anniversary! haha! Since he was not supposed to be here, we did not even try to save for our celebration. And so here we are, 13 days till our anniversary, no major plans and worst of all, no budget.

I have been trying to find cheap ways on how to celebrate our anniversary, however, since this is once in a lifetime (how many times can you celebrate your first wedding anniversary right?) I think we should go for it and celebrate it the best way we can. :)

Since we looovee breakfast, I wanted to research on the best breakfast place in and around the metro, and we finally found it. Breakfast at Antonio's was written to be were the best breakfast food is served in the Philippines. It may be a little costly for our taste, but what the hell, this maybe the first and the last time we will eat there. haha.

Wish us luck! :)

6 Ways to Have a Cheaper (But Awesome!) Wedding

2013-05-01T17:50:00.003-07:00

From Day 1 of our wedding planning, Jam and I were hell-bent on being as cheap and as simple as possible. We just cannot bear the idea of paying 500k pesos for a single day event -- and so our journey to keeping our budget low (and our imaginations big) started.

Reading other blogs, there are sooo many ways to keep your wedding costs from ballooning beyond control. Although I admit, from our initial budget, we had an increase of 33% in cost, HOWEVER, our original budget was really small to start with, so after all the cost cutting and scrimping, we still managed to have a cheaper wedding than most couples do nowadays. And we're really really proud of that. :)

Here are some of the ways how we managed to cut our costs and have an awesome budget wedding:

1. The Biggest Slice of the Pie

One of the biggest portion of the wedding costs are the reception venue and food. What we looked for (apart from the homey, casual, open feel) is a location where we need not pay hundreds of thousands of pesos just to rent the place. We found one in Enderun, where only a minimum amount spend is required. So in the end, we only paid for the food and not a cent on the venue. That's at least 50,000 peso worth of savings. :)

If you cannot find a place where they offer free venue for a minimum amount spend, there are a lot of other places where you don't need to shell our 50 to 70 thousand pesos for the rent (you know the places that I'm talking about!). We found very nice locations around the city where they will charge you below 15,000 (Filipinas Library in Makati (they closed already :( ), Clubhouse for Exclusive Villages in Makati and Taguig areas) for the rent, which is so much cheaper. :)

P.S. I recently heard that Enderun is now charging for rent, and they have a new venue as well called The Tent.

All Those Dainty Dresses

2. Cutting Costs on Entourage Dresses:

I never liked the idea that my entourage will be wearing a gown (that we paid for - or that the entourage is required to pay for, and that they're only going to wear once in their life) on my wedding day. I always thought that it was an unnecessary expense on the couple's part, or to anyone for that matter. And so we decided to be practical, since we were having a morning casual wedding, we got our entourage infinity dresses from 168 Mall. It was semi-formal, and they can do whatever style they want PLUS they can still wear it after our wedding, which is sooo much better than getting formal expensive gowns . Each dress costs around 800php. Around 2000 peso saving for each member of the entourage. :)

3. On Budget Bridal Gown:

Just like any other bride, I had this wedding gown idea on my mind that I was hoping I can get made. Although, when I started sending my peg to designers, I was shocked at how much my perfect wedding gown would cost! They quoted me from 30,000 to 70,000 pesos (already a quarter of our budget gone to one gown!). After I got over my shock, I realized that it was just a gown, I don't need to pay that much for a gown that I will only wear for a couple of hours. And so we trooped to 168 Mall and looked and looked for my perfect (and cheap!) wedding gown. After 3 tries, we finally found it, the gown was a perfect fit (and it was not one of those kinds were the back is adjustable) and perfect cost (6,000 for the gown plus complete accessories). And the rest was history. I was just as happy in my cheap gown as I think I would be if we bought the 30k (or more) gown. :) That was more than 30,000 peso saving. :)

All The Small Things (Which when added up costs wayyyy too much)

We decided to do a lot of DIYs, first because of the costs, and second because I LOVE ARTS and CRAFTS! (Time to let out the craftee in me!)

4. DIY Wedding Invites:

We tried to look for suppliers from wedding fairs but we only wanted a couple of pieces, around 30 (mainly to be given to the principal sponsors and to uncles and aunts). We asked around and every one of them said that the minimum number of invites is 100 (Not sure if this is still the case now) but why would I want 100 pieces of invitations when I only need 30??. After that, I played around the idea of actually making our own invitations since this will definitely save us some money. We did some research, downloaded Adobe Photoshop, and lo and behold we actually managed to pull it off!! Our invitation was one of a kind, very personal, very chic and very cheap. Haha!

5. Wedding Souvenirs

Nobody, and I mean nobody keeps traditional wedding souvenirs nowadays, that's why I guess photobooths are so in right now. It's the "souvenir" of yourself attending somebody's wedding, and of course, people tend to keep pictures of themselves. Hehe! We decided to forego the traditional souvenirs, and got the photobooth instead. We also decided to make small boxes (DIY again!) which we used to hold chocolates (Kisses and Goya). That was a hit, specially on the kids. :) <More DIYs ideas>

6. Free Wedding Car!

From the start, I wanted to have a unique wedding car, we played with the idea of a taxi, a tricycle and even our own personal car. In the end, we decided to stick with the traditional white car, but we were looking for someone whom we knew (and who is our guest) who can lend us one.

We were so lucky since my sister's boyfriend just bought his new SUV (a white one!) before the wedding, and we got him (or coaxed him) to also be our wedding driver. haha! On the day of the wedding though, he got sick, my sister, who was my maid of honor was supposed to drive us instead (she was an all-around-gal) though in the end, we got my brother-in-law to drive us to church. LOL. This is probably one of our better ideas since we managed to save around 5 to 8 thousand pesos from wedding car rental. :)

There are so so so much more ideas that you can try to save on your wedding day (like doing a DIY bridal bouquet (Pinterest is a lifesaver!) which will save you around 4 thousand pesos), foregoing a reception stylist, finding a cheaper but just as good photographer and videographer, etc).

In the whirlwind, chaotic and stressful journey of wedding planning, many couples, brides most especially, forget why they are getting married in the first place - it's not because you want to show the world that you can afford a lavish, expensive wedding, it's not because you want to wear a big bold (and expensive!) gown for one day, it's not because you want to be treated like a queen - But because you want to spend the rest of your life with the guy you're getting married to. If you keep that in mind, specially when booking suppliers, and I'm sure you can and you will keep your wedding costs really low (or within budget). :)

As I told one of my soon-to-be-married friend (now married! ;)), not all suppliers who cost a lot are worth it, and even if you can afford it, it doesn't mean that you should pay for it.

So here's to your journey on having an awesome, unique and very personal cheap wedding! :)

Event Malditas - A Very Late Review

2013-05-01T16:52:00.002-07:00

Wedding Coordinator: Event Malditas
Cost: 12,000 (with discount for being a w@w member :))
Rating: 5+++

It's been 8 months since we got married, and it's only now that I'm finally finally finishing all our supplier reviews. This is the last one, but as they say.. Last but not the least.

Our wedding coordinators are Event Malditas, again, another one of our amazing suppliers that we got from w@w :)

We met Charisse and Em for the first time in Megamall, we hit it right away during the first meeting, and the rest was history. They are both very nice and very organized, plus they like to talk. A LOT. Hahaha! I just love them both. Charisse is like the big sister who will help you go through everything and anything you need to check for your wedding. Even if we only got the On-The-Day coordination package, I felt like we got that and so so so much more!

On the day itself, there were many hiccups, but the kept us in line and they managed to keep us calm, specially Jam. hehe. The call time was 2:30AM, and they were there on time. They organized all the suppliers call time, called our table supplier whom we were not sure if they were going to show up or not, haha. Had us make a plan b for everything, specially if and when it rains (It was a Stormy stormy week after all). We also heard no bad comments about how they handled our entourage and guests, which is definitely a good thing, since I have experienced many wedding coordinators who are soooo masungit. :p

I will be forever grateful to them for keeping everything organized and helping us get our dream breakfast wedding. :)

Enderun's Atrium : a review

2013-04-15T07:52:00.002-07:00

Reception Venue: Enderun Colleges, Taguig City

Rating: 1MillionStars :)

Cost: Venue is free with a minimum amount spend. Contact Iyette Labang for details :)

Website: http://101.enderuncolleges.com/?banquets

Looking for the perfect reception venue may be one of the most important things to do during the wedding planning. We looked for places around Makati / Taguig area, and even played around the idea of a Tagaytay wedding because of Sonya's Garden. We were looking for a new place, somewhere not so formal, and somewhere new. Found Enderun's Atrium through W@W and immediately emailed Iyette Labang for a proposal. She gave me a menu for dinner/lunch, but I asked if they offer breakfast menu. And they did!! (this was honestly one of the best moments of my life! haha!) We scheduled an ocular, fell in love with the brick walls, high ceiling, the open casual feel and the rest was history :)

see more reception details here

Iyette was honestly one of our angels during our wedding planning. I cannot say a single bad thing about her and her work. She was there with us every step of the way, and helping us coordinate all the things we need and all the things we want. She answers her emails on time and even calls you when she needs to explain stuff. Love love love her! :))

We managed to get our dream breakfast buffet (with the bacon and all) plus some brunch menu. The menu was very flexible and they will give you the adjusted rate right away. Everything went well, guests raved about the food (from the pink salmon, to the bread with the pink thing on top. hehe) I just wished I could have eaten all like our guests did :(

The only bad thing was it was really hot during our reception party (9am till 130pm), the A/C was no match for Mr.Sun who came out on our wedding day to party with us. haha. They took out Electric fans to help with the heat and some helped, but we saw a lot of guests fanning themselves with our menus and wedding guides. hehe!

All in all, am still in love with Enderun. No amount of heat can take away the ease of our planning plus their awesome food. I just hope someday we can attend a morning wedding like ours in Enderun, and eat like I'm paying for my food. hahaha!

Atrium's beautiful facade

At the courtyard - we rented two tents, one holds the photobooth & starbucks
while the second one holds the reception area

Enderun!!

Our breakfast lover menu (which got great reviews from our guests!)

Assorted pastries

Mango Cheesecake

More breakfast breads

Assorted Fruits

Assorted Cheese

Pink Salmon

Beef Tapa

Rest of the menu (not pictured) : Bacon, hashbrown, ham, chicken and pork sausage, 3 kinds of eggs, assorted dumplings (siomai, siopao, etc), fresh salad and the lunch menu which consisted of fish and a chicken dishes (forgot the name!).

P.S. I heard from a friend that Enderun is now charging 25,000Php for the rent of the Atrium plus a minimum spend, and 50,000 for the rental of their new event place "The Tent", it may be more than what they were asking when we got married, but still, I think the amount is fair enough and they are still charging wayyyy wayyy less than other reception venues ;)