That Happy Day

Got our wedding memories!

2014-06-25T15:31:00.002+08:00

Hello! We know it has been a month and we are still not done with our supplier reviews. We'll get back to that soon, but for now, here's an update!

We finally got our wedding album, videos, and prints from our photographer/videographer, MyPhotato, now known as WeCelebrate. A and I had a wonderful time going through everything and reliving the day. It was like a terrific anniversary gift! We'll be sharing what's inside the album soon.

Our wedding is in the Josiah's blog!

2014-05-06T00:23:00.000+08:00

Hi! We just have to share that Josiah's Catering, our caterer, featured our wedding in their Real Weddings blog! It's a very cool anniversary gift! Thank you Josiah's for helping make our wedding perfect for us, and thank you for sharing our happy day on your website. Please click on over to the blog post on the Josiah's Catering website to see the entire article.

The Bride's Bouquet by Holland Tulips [Happy Details]

2014-04-28T15:25:00.001+08:00

I am not a flower person. I don't really like getting flowers. I prefer chocolates, toys, books, music -- things that I can keep. The wedding was the one time I actually wanted flowers, so I chose my favorites, which are blue roses and orange tulips.

My bouquet was a gift from my cousin and our principal sponsor, who is also the GM of Holland Tulips. He just told me to call one of their employees and who was very helpful. She told me what kind of blue and orange flowers they had, what would go together, and how the bouquet will look. Luckily, they had my favorite flowers! I wanted my flowers to be modern and big but still girly, and they delivered. I'm was really surprised at how pretty they were when they were delivered to my hotel room on the day of the wedding. I wish they lasted forever!

Wedding Rings by Matus Jewellery [Happy Details]

2014-04-28T14:25:00.000+08:00

It's time to talk about our rings. They're really simple white gold bands that look like our promise rings from 1999 and my engagement ring.

Our wedding rings

Matus Jewellery was our ring-maker. Almost all our transactions with them were done at bridal fairs, except for our final fitting and pick-up which happened at their store in Megamall. [See these posts for our Matus stories: Wedding Expo Philippines, The Weddings and Debuts Fair.]

Like I said above, the wedding rings we chose were based on our promise rings from long ago, and my engagement ring. They're half-round, white gold bands with diamonds (a Matus trademark) plus our first names and wedding date engraved inside them. Mine also had a mini diamond because it's my birthstone.

With the box

The rings

The package we got also came with mock rings made of silver. They look almost exactly like our wedding rings, but of less value. They are handy for beach trips, or any other situations where we feel like our rings might get lost, such as a trip to Binondo. We can tell the rings apart by how the silver rings are a bit flatter than the real white gold ones. The mock diamond also looks dull, while the diamond on the real ring is sparkly and clear. The silver ones also don't have diamonds inside.

We had a really smooth experience with Matus. We inquired, we booked them, we did an initial fitting at the bridal fair, we had a final fitting at their store, and that was it. It was hassle-free, they knew their stuff, and we didn't have to make adjustments or make any other changes. The rings came out perfect. They're heavy and thick -- just like we wanted them to be. We saw other less expensive rings from other suppliers that looked like ours, but they were a lot lighter and not as solid. I guess when it comes to wedding rings, you get what you pay for. Matus offers great quality and great customer service at great prices.

The Bride's Reception Dress by The Secret Creations by Edgar Basilan

2014-04-24T21:43:00.003+08:00

At our reception in the dress

It has a somewhat naughty back!

With my closest cousins and cousin-in-law

On the dance floor

Yes, I loved my bridesmaids' dresses so much, I had my own made! Who says you can't do that? It's your wedding, heh. Here are behind-the-scenes photos during the making of the dress.

My unfinished dress on the dress form at the shop

Entourage Dresses by The Secret Creations by Edgar Basilan [Happy Details]

2014-04-24T20:23:00.000+08:00

Now that we have finally posted about our happy day, it's time to talk about the details. If you've been following this blog since we got engaged, you probably noticed that though we had a ton of stories to tell, we didn't really post about the specifics. That's because we chose to keep it all to ourselves so our wedding could still have the element of surprise. Well, we can talk about everything now, yay! p.s. Please read our note about suppliers.

First, an update. Okay so we didn't make our anniversary deadline -- no surprise there. It's all right though because our wedding photo album and our videos will only be coming in at the end of the month. That's the only time we can talk about our photographer and videographer because that will be the end of our experience with them. The good news is that this blog will remain active until then!

Today's post will be about our entourage dresses. Our dressmaker was Edgar Basilan of The Secret Creations. He has been making gowns for my sister-in-law for a long time, so he was highly recommended and trusted. I wrote about it a lot already in this blog so there really isn't much to write. [For our booking story, fabric swatches, dress sketches, dress pegs, etc. please see these posts: Dressmaker - Check!, A Day with My Girls, A Day with My Matron of Honor, Bridesmaids Day.]

Kuya Ed was tasked to make our bridesmaid and flower girl dresses, as well as the gowns for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. He also ended up making a couple of dark blue gowns for two of our principal sponsors, but those were done separately. That's a lot of dresses!

My main peg for my reception dress and entourage dresses was this Tibi dress. The bright orange and color-block design appealed to me, so I wanted something that looked like it, but isn't exactly it. Kuya Ed had to design different necklines for me and all my bridesmaids, as well as design the flower girl and junior bridesmaid dresses based on that design. I made my bridesmaids choose the design they wanted, and Kuya Ed adjusted the designs to fit their body type. The fabric had to be cut into different pieces and sewn together. The dresses had different-colored linings and petticoats with uneven hems.

My bridesmaids

With the groomsmen

Up close 1

Up close 2

Given that the peg was a $675 high-fashion dress, and considering our resources and budget, we thought Kuya Ed did a great job. The dresses turned out looking super summery, which was exactly what we wanted, and each dress was unique. He also threw in matching pouch bags for free, which the girls loved because they were so roomy.

For our junior bridesmaid and flower girl, he designed color-block dresses with poufy petticoats. The kids loved the poufy skirts and the way the dresses bounced was so cute!

Our junior bridesmaid with our junior groomsman

Our only flower girl

My mother-in-law's dress was a long, powder blue, lace gown. It had long sleeves and a high neckline, because she wanted a Victorian sort of look. Kuya Ed had to dye white lace to match the exact color she wanted. The dress came out lovely.

My mother-in-law, with the husband and my father-in-law

My sister-in-law's dress was a fun orange number with blue details. Kuya Ed followed what she wanted, but also with a little of his input.

My sis-in-law on the dance floor

Kuya Ed was so nice and hardworking. His designs are very classic, so he needed a little nudge when it came to modern designs, but other than that, he was so easy to work with. He even made house calls for all of our fittings. His seamstresses also worked double-time for my bridesmaids who had to travel from out of the country. It was great working with him. Ending this post with some behing-the-scenes pics that I never posted.

The back of an unfinished bridesmaid's dress on the dress form at Kuya Ed's shop

Another dress

The front of an unfinished bridesmaid's dress on the dress form

Mom-in-law's unfinished dress

One Year!

2014-04-22T00:08:00.003+08:00

It wasn't the best of first years. It was actually a difficult one. The good part is that now we know that we're in it for the long haul. Being married to each other and the happiness it brings trumps everything else.

DIY Invitation and Program Stamps [Happy Details]

2014-04-16T18:52:00.005+08:00

I am just blasting through these posts because, well, I'm on a deadline! Heh. I thought I'd take a break from supplier stories and talk about our wedding DIYs. We had quite a few, simply because it was much easier to do things ourselves. More importantly, we had our Wedding Fairies, who went above and beyond their creative duties. Everything we thought wasn't doable was totally possible for them!

One of the things we wanted was a personalized stamp for our invitation envelopes and our misalettes. We simply thought it was a cute idea, and it's easy to achieve anyway. The little details make all the difference, so we made it happen.

We knew that it would take time to make the stamps ourselves (we're not that talented), so we first inquired at the personalized stamp stalls at the mall. They were ridiculously expensive! We knew that there were stamp-makers out on the streets selling stamps for a fraction of the prices at the mall, so we decided to go that route. We first made the design on the computer to print out. We just wanted the venues and the date on it for a sort of instant reminder.

The design

Wedding Fairy Clang likes going on solo field trips. She came across this guy on the street making wooden stamps and luckily, she had the design with her. After a quick BBM exchange with me to confirm and some waiting time, the stamps were done. A and I picked up a large blue ink pad at National Bookstore, and we were good to go.

Stamps!

That was the easy part. The hard part came when we had to stamp the invitation envelopes and the misalettes. There were a lot of them, and we had to be careful not to get ink on the rest of the paper. We made a few mistakes, but we all worked as a team and got things done.

Our invitation envelope

Our misalette

This was one of our easiest DIYs. The stamp helped bring the look of our invitation envelopes together, and gave our misalettes a minimalist feel. It made our lives a heck of a lot easier too, because all we had to do was stamp.

Bride's Wedding Shoes by Vivienne Westwood + Melissa c/o Geleia [Happy Details]

2014-04-16T14:49:00.000+08:00

My wedding shoes caused so much excitement during our preparations. They were almost impossible to find, and I was close to giving up on them. I'm glad I didn't, and I was able to wear my dream wedding shoes on that happy day. Here's the long story behind the shoes: My Wedding Shoes.

At the time, I kept the shoes a secret. I only posted a picture of the box here. I did tell a few of my friends about them when I was still on the hunt because I needed help finding them, but that was it. These shoes were so special to me that I wanted them to show up on that happy day and not before.

The shoes are Vivienne Westwood + Melissa Lady Dragon Heart in Dove Grey and Blue. I got them at Geleia. Like all Melissa shoes, they're an updated version of the jelly shoes, and are made of a really fragrant kind of rubber/plastic. They're part of a collaboration between the Brazilian shoe brand and the British designer.

When I told people about the shoes I got some interesting reactions. "Plastic? Really?" "You sure about that?" "They're cute but they're plastic." Well brides-to-be, as I always say, remember that it's your day, and what you want goes. As long as it makes you happy, go for it!

The shoes were just perfect for me. I don't like anything frilly, so the fact that they were plastic/rubber drew them to me. The blue hearts were so me -- they tied in really well with my wedding perfume, the petticoat of my dress, and our color motif. The design is also obviously modern and a little offbeat, which I loved.

This reminds me of a funny story from our wedding that our friend (and Wedding Fairy) Clang told us. She said she stepped out of the church to use the powder room before the ceremony started and she chanced upon me standing in front of the church, preparing to walk down the aisle. She said there were two nuns who were walking by and stopped to watch me. She heard them whispering to each other. One said, "Look at her dress." The other said "Look at her shoes!" The first one then excitedly said, "Let's watch!"

By the way, these shoes are super comfy! They have cushioning, the heels aren't that tall, and the smart design keeps feet from hurting (the back kind of extends a bit so your feet don't feel trapped). It was a joy wearing them the entire day.

Now, almost a year later, I still adore these shoes so much. They're one of my favorite things in the world. I scrounged up the photos I took of them the night I finally got them (I did an unboxing and everything), so I'm ending this by posting the pics here, with extreme shoe love. <3

The Bridal Gown by Edwin Uy [Happy Details]

2014-04-14T17:14:00.001+08:00

The dress!

Here's an excerpt from my blog entry about booking Edwin Uy.

I really didn't have many choices when it came to my gown designer. I'm kind of quirky when it comes to my dress preferences. I want an amazing bridal gown, but I don't want beads, crystals, florals, ruffles, lace, and other girly things on it. I realized that I needed someone who would be up to the challenge of making a breathtaking dress without the frills. I also wanted someone a friend can recommend, or someone whose design I've seen in person. Of all the weddings I've been to, I liked my high school friend Anabel's gown the best. I thought it was really well-made and beautiful, but minimalist as well, which was the main reason it drew my interest. I asked her who made her gown, and she told me it was by Edwin Uy. She also generously gave me the other details like the price range and such. We found out that the designer's home base was near our neighborhood too, so we figured, it was the right choice.

We worked a lot with the designer's assistant, Jeon Varon, but Mr. Uy was the one who sketched the designs, oversaw the creation of the dress, and was there during our final fittings. Mark, one of the assistants, as well as the grandmotherly seamstresses all helped at one point or another during the process. They were all so easy to work with, so accommodating with our requests, and again, like with our other suppliers, we had no problems with them whatsoever.

As you can see from the excerpt above, I was actually one of those clients that could be considered difficult because I didn't want traditional things. They were initially weirded out by my preferences, but the great thing was that they were up to the challenge. I was also tough to work with (in my opinion) in the sense that I knew what I didn't want, but didn't know exactly what I wanted. Despite that, they did a fabulous job creating a design for me that ticked all my boxes. My gown ended up as a collaborative project between all of us.

The heart-shaped bodice

My dress was exactly what I didn't know I wanted. It had no frills, but there were little details that made it Me. The pleated -- striped -- bodice, layered skirt, and the uneven hem went with our wedding invitation and my entourage ladies' dresses. The blue tulle petticoat peeking out underneath is a little tribute to rock music, and our color theme. It was all very Vivienne Westwood! Love. I had no idea though that it also had a heart hidden on the bodice until we saw the pictures! It matched all the hearts in our save-the-dates, reception decor, my perfume, and my wedding shoes. It was such a lovely surprise detail that I never expected.

Other angles

I didn't want an extremely long train, so my gown was something I could move around in. The gown package included the veil and a hair accessory, and I was glad I didn't have to worry about those things.

Pretty silver

The simple, sheer veil

The final fitting was surreal for me. Unlike brides you see on TV who have their entire entourages with them, I was alone, with only my then-fiance waiting in the lobby. I asked my cousin and sis-in-law to come with me, but they didn't make it due to scheduling conflicts. In a way, I was glad I ended up by myself. At least the dress was kept a surprise for everyone until the day of the wedding.

The unfinished dress during my final fitting. Petticoat was still detached.

One of my favorite things about it -- the layers

I didn't fit the finished gown (Filipino superstition and all that), but I did have that teary moment after Jeon and the seamstresses zipped me up and got me into it. They left me alone in the dressing room and I got to see myself in the dress for the first time in the mirror. The tears came because I thought, "This is it!" and I was so happy, but I also shed a little tear because I wished so hard that my mom was there with me.

The Moment. We tried a different petticoat color at first but we went with dark blue in the end.

Jeon was also there to dress me at the hotel on the day of the wedding. He was incredible throughout the entire process! I love him so much.

Photo taken by our bridesmaid Cielo

My bridal gown was the most important dress I have ever worn in my entire life. It was everything I wanted and more. I will treasure it forever.

With Aleq

Wedding Coordination by The Best-Case Scenario Events [Happy Details]

2014-04-04T15:33:00.001+08:00

Camille (in metallic gray), just looking after things at our reception. (Photo by 4play Band)

As I posted in my first entry about Best-Case, my husband and I had a hard time finding a wedding coordinator. No one we knew whose wedding we liked could recommend their coordinator wholeheartedly. (It was really surprising, actually.) I had a couple of coordinator contacts too, but we had reservations due to personal relationships. In the end, it came down to research and gut feel. We looked up the coordinators of the weddings we liked online, and decided to go with Best-Case. When we met up with Camille, we were really impressed with her professionalism, resourcefulness, and creativity, and we just felt like we clicked with her. Coordinator -- check!

Best-Case packages are mid-priced. They're not in the range that could be considered affordable for most brides, but they're also not in the extravagantly priced range. I think for our entire wedding we chose a lot of suppliers whose services weren't cheap but also weren't super expensive. Trust me when I tell you though, that Best-Case is worth it.

We went for the Day Coordination package. We liked that though it's only on-the-day coordination, Camille starts work one month before the big day. She is also available on email for consultations from the time you booked. During our preparations we communicated mostly by text and email and met three times. We were too busy with work and the preps during the final month that we just didn't have the time. We also had a lot of confidence in Camille and her team at that point and didn't feel like we needed more meetings though she was open to them.

Our first meeting was the booking, where she presented to us what her team is all about, and we gave her a general overview of what we wanted for our wedding. She also gave us a few supplier leads to start with, as well as some logistics ideas. We emailed a ton during all those months of prep, and she gave us loads of helpful advice with whatever we were unsure with.

Our second meeting was a month before the wedding, and that's when we hunkered down and went through every detail, dilemma, and supplier. We turned everything over to her, and from then on she was in charge of supplier contact, keeping track of the balances, scheduling, etc. She also helped us with some last-minute supplier bookings that we somehow didn't get to, like the entourage flowers, host, projector, sounds, and mobile bar, which saved us so much hassle. She was able to negotiate good deals for us, and her taste in suppliers were exactly in tune with ours.

Our third meeting with her was with our host, Atom Ungson. We discussed what we wanted in the program, pinned down the program flow, and figured out really quickly how to work together at our reception. Camille and Atom worked together before, so they were already a good team right off the bat.

The Best-Case Scenario Schedule (Photo by MyPhotato | WeCelebrate)

On the morning of our wedding, The Best-Case Scenario team arrived early. They breezed into our rooms and simply took over. The group was made up of one bridal manager, two all-around assistants, one floor director, and one technical director. Aleq and I somehow just let go of all our stress and worries -- maybe even a little too much because somehow, we just completely forgot to check on things. We were so relaxed and happy on the day of our wedding that we realized afterwards how lucky we were that Best-Case was so on top of everything, because if we had a less-than-capable coordinator, our wedding wouldn't have been as great. However, we also think that it might have also been the opposite -- we simply had a lot of trust in Camille and her team and knew that they would pull it off.

When they got in, coordination just went into full swing. They took care of the suppliers arriving, they made sure everyone (us plus our families plus the suppliers) had lunch, Camille burned our ceremony CDs right there in my hotel room because Aleq and I are such crammers and sent her the songs only the night before. They even took our unfinished escort cards which I was going to have one of my cousin bridesmaids help out with and they painstakingly stuck the cards on a hundred-plus oranges themselves, as well as helped put together everything else. There was a group that picked up all the materials for the church and left immediately to set up. The second group plus Camille left a little while after for the reception.

Best-Case with Jeon Varon from Edwin Uy, helping me get into my dress. (Photo by my friend Sheva)

The bridal manager assigned to assist me in whatever I needed was amazing! She was there beside me for everything, especially when it was just me, my dad and the photographers left at the hotel because everyone else already left for the church. She made sure I didn't forget anything. She helped appease my dad who is a total stickler for time and always wants to be an hour early. She helped me with my enormous dress in the bathroom before leaving (that was bonding right there lol). She had water ready for us during our photoshoot after the ceremony because she knew Aleq and I would be feeling hot. She took our picture for us in the bridal car. She helped me change into my reception dress. She even had my perfume ready for me (and I completely forgot about it) so I could freshen up. I seriously don't know how I could have managed without her that day. I didn't get to be with the rest of the team much, but Aleq said the guy assigned to assist him was also just as amazing.

The bridal manager helping me with my veil outside the church, which was threatening to fly off with the wind. (Photo from our friends Hilda and Joel)

Our wedding had no hitches to the best of our knowledge! The ceremony and reception program all went smoothly. There were no pauses or gaps, or sound/visual technical glitches. Camille also handled everything herself and didn't stress us with problems like seating. She and her team found solutions to anything that popped up. They never really came to us so we could solve a problem ourselves. Camille also trained her staff well. They knew exactly what they were doing. They're just like her -- they're methodical, they're organized, and they just get the job done. Like the bridal manager told us in the bridal car, it's their job to stress out so we could have a worry-free day.

We're really lucky that we found an extremely creative, professional, and detail-oriented coordinating team. We've heard so many nightmarish, traumatic stories of weddings that fell apart because the coordinators weren't very good, late, unorganized, didn't know the program, left too early, didn't care, etc. We're truly grateful to The Best-Case Scenario Events for giving us a wonderful wedding. We relied on their expertise, and they delivered. It was worry-free, indeed.

The Groom's Suit by Edwin Uy [Happy Details]

2014-03-28T17:18:00.001+08:00

Most important suit of my life

It ended up serendipitous -- as Julls would say -- because when she was browsing through Pinterest, she found this photo. We loved the color combination, especially since blue and orange are our favorite colors. It became our color theme, and I decided on a blue suit with orange details.

A better look at the pocket square

I chose Edwin Uy to design my suit. He also designed Julls' wedding gown, and we didn't encounter an hitches with him and his team. [See Suit Designer - Check.] His assistant, Jeon Varon, was especially helpful and we worked with him from start to finish.

One of the reasons why we chose to work with them is the five-piece groom's package. It included everything the groom needed -- the pants, the jacket, the vest, the white shirt, and the neck tie. It saved us the hassle of getting those things separately, and ensured that the pieces went well together. (Note: I did not wear the vest, which was part of the formal three-piece suit during our preparations because it was too hot. I only wore it at the ceremony and reception.) They also threw in the pocket square for free when we told them we were planning on it. It was a good deal.

In my crisp white shirt

One of the things I made sure when I had my suit made was that the color should be a subdued and serious blue, but also shouldn't border on dark blue. Since it was the summer, I wanted a lighter shade that would match with the orange necktie and pocket square I used as accent pieces.

Just blue

For the cut, I made it a point to have my suit as cut to fit as possible but with enough room for me to move. After all, the last thing I wanted was to rip a part of my jacket or worse, a section of my trousers. The end result was a suit that was snug enough to capture our modern theme but relaxed enough to give me some room to move around in.

Full-length shot

Ready

It was a fun process, having a suit done for the wedding. I plan on having another suit for less-than-special occasions done in the future, just for my wardrobe.

With Julls

Wedding Food by Josiah's Catering [Happy Details]

2014-03-19T13:15:00.001+08:00

Eating at our wedding!

We don't really have anything to say about Josiah's except that they did a fantastic job at our wedding! Our banquet and events consultant Karla didn't forget anything we told her, from how we wanted the backdrop to look to how we wanted to be able to eat at our wedding.

We left all the styling up to Josiah's, and we have no complaints. The tables were really pretty, as well as the decor for the rest of the venue. They followed all our instructions, from using a mix of milk vases and clear jars, to the random flower combinations. They are also really used to working with our venue, The Pergola so there were no problems at all.

The service was also impeccable. The waiters got a lot of tips from our guests, and my dad said he was really impressed with them. The head waiter (we weren't able to get his name) was on standby to serve me and A the entire time. He knocked on the couple's room before the program started so we could have canapes and cocktails along with our guests while my makeup was retouched and A relaxed. He was on the ready during the cake-cutting and wine-toasting parts of the program as well. Most of all, he was super alert in getting food to us during the program. He knew we wanted to be able to eat, so as soon as we finished a plate, he was ready with the next course. We were able to enjoy our food along with our guests, and that's really due to the combined efforts of Josiah's, our coordinators, and our host.

There's the head waiter on the ready.

The food was awesome. Josiah's did a bang-up job on it. Our guests have been raving about it. They said there was a lot, and everything was delicious. The make-your-own pasta bar was a hit, as well as the chocolate fondue, which got my brothers addicted. They missed seeing our childhood photo slideshow because they were out by the fondue table, bonding over the desserts! (That's proof that we're really siblings though. Hah!)

Our menu (thanks for the photo Camille I.)

The make-your-own pasta bar before it opened.

The dessert buffet

Blue iced tea during cocktail hour

Eggplant parmegiana

Spitfire Roasted Pork Belly with Au Jus

Sliced Roast Beef in Red Wine Reduction

Fried Chicken Steak

Mashed Potato

Classic Pan-fried Fish

Lemon Butter Sauce, Crispy Garlic, Mango Butter Sauce

Chocolate Mousse

I think these are Carrot cake, Strawberry shortcake, and Mango shortcake

Red Velvet and White Chocolate cakes

Creme Caramels

Fruits and wafers for dipping in the fondue

Chocolate and Mocha cakes

Raspberry Chocolate cakes and Creme Puffs

Blueberry and Strawberry cheesecakes

Chocolate Eclairs

Josiah's took care of everything for us. They were very accommodating with our requests, and even gave us a few freebies just because we couldn't decide on what to get. We had two kinds of sauces for the fish and two kinds of drinks (raspberry iced tea and dalandan juice) even if our package only specified one of each (we got the mid-ranged package by the way). We thought they were very flexible, and we were able to design the exact kind of reception we wanted because we had control over everything, from the table napkins to the chairs. If you're considering Josiah's, go for it! They're wonderful.

Our guests at the buffet

Toasting with our dalandan juice and raspberry iced tea!

Wedding Reception at the Pergola [Happy Details]

2014-03-18T18:01:00.003+08:00

The Pergola with our entourage outside waiting to do their grand entrance (thanks Noel for the pic!)

Now is the time to talk about our experience with them before, during, and after the wedding. The only advice we can tell other couples considering the Pergola as a wedding venue is to ask every single question there is that could be asked regarding the reception. Be specific, especially when it comes to lights and sounds. We chose the venue-only package for flexibility. It included use of the venue for five hours plus four hours ingress time. The only add-on we got was additional colored LED par lights to keep things from looking too flat. However, we mistakenly assumed that they would be able to handle all our sound requirements. The thing is, we hired a band for the wedding, and we didn't really know that they would have specific sound requirements, which required additional fees with the Pergola. The venue-only package came with basic a sound system, but a band just required more. After weighing things with our coordinator, we decided on hiring a separate sound supplier to make things easier.

We actually have no complaints whatsoever about the Pergola's service. They were very easy to talk to and they replied promptly to all our emails. Our coordinator also had no trouble working with them. The reception went smoothly. The Pergola people, Ms. Lynn and Noel, were there looking after things the entire time. Noel even took pictures of the place before anyone else got there, as well as behind-the-scenes pictures during the event, which we're really grateful for.

The place looked great with our caterer's styling and the additional lights. Our guests and suppliers were also able to make full use of the place's different areas. People were hanging out in the cocktail area; the buffet area was spacious so nobody felt crowded while getting food; the trellis was used by our photographers, coordinators, and the band; and my husband and I were able to get some privacy getting ready before the program in the couple's room.

Lastly, just remember to be prepared to fork over additional money or let go of your deposit for an extension. We enjoyed ourselves so much with our guests that we extended our reception to one more hour before calling it a night.

Getting Married in UST's Santisimo Rosario Church [Happy Details]

2014-03-13T15:12:00.000+08:00

The church was one of the things that we talked about at length on this blog. It's the first thing you book, because it's the most important. You can't book suppliers unless you know the date of your wedding, and you can't pin down a date until you've booked the church.

The Santisimo Rosario Church, better known as the UST Chapel, was our only choice for the wedding because of our history. We're really glad to say that we had a lovely ceremony there that went without a hitch.

Santisimo Rosario

We encountered one hiccup at the very start and that was it. The only problem with UST is that you can't book your wedding until they have finalized the calendar for the school year because they prioritize school events over anything else. We had to wait anxiously for a while and had to delay all our other preparations, but it all turned out fine. Our pre-cana seminar and document submissions were trouble-free. We also found the time to do an ocular and just get a feel for the church before the wedding. [Read my posts on that at these links: Church Troubles, Church - Check!, Angelicum and UST Visit, Pre-Cana Seminar at UST, Church and Government Requirements - Check!] Our advice in booking UST is to be patient and persistent. Everything's easy after you're able to book the date. It's all worth it because it's a gorgeous place!

Pretty church

We also had our prenup session there. That was a bit tricky because you need to get permission to shoot in UST. You can't just go to the campus without warning. If you're thinking of doing a prenup there, inquire at the Main Building about how to get permission. We had to send a letter of request to the UST Vice Rector and he had to approve it. We also had to carry copies of the signed letter with us during the shoot because the guards were asking for it. We are UST alumni however, so it might be different for non-alumni. Also, make sure you schedule your shoot on a Sunday, when there would be less people milling around, if you don't want crowds during your shoot. Don't count on having no one there though. Remember, it's a school. [Check out our prenup behind-the-scenes.]

Us during our prenup shoot

UST had two wedding packages. One was their regular wedding package, and one was the simple package. Details are below, copied from the hand-out they gave us. [Note: Keep in mind that we signed up for this package in 2012 for our wedding in 2013. Their packages may have changed by now.]

Regular Wedding:

Decorative sidelights of the Church
Royal red carpet along aisles
Organist and soloist
Fresh flowers and lace along the aisle pews
Marriage rite souvenir booklet for the couple
Lunch and two snacks during the Marriage Dialogue
Stipend for the solemnizing priest
Registration of the Marriage Contract
Marriage Certificate
Solemnized within the Holy Mass

Simple Wedding (Tuesdays to Fridays only)

No flower decoration
No red carpet along the aisles
No organist and soloist but with a wedding march to be played
Solemnized within the Holy Mass

We went for the regular wedding package. We didn't want to have to deal with anything church-related on top of our other preparations. My priest brother was our officiating priest and we didn't have any trouble working that out with UST. We also appreciated that they took care of all the document-handling, and provided us with the marriage rites, which we copied for our misalettes.

We chose to just go with the church's decorations and flowers because they're really not that important to us. People are busy looking at the bride and groom at the church after all. Also, our caterer handled the flowers for our reception, and booking another supplier for the church was an added expense that we didn't want. Going with the church's own suppliers was a lot cheaper and saved us a bit of money in the end. UST didn't scrimp on flowers either. The altar was filled with the blooms, and the aisles had enough flowers as well.

A glimpse of the altar

The aisle

The same goes for the organist and soloist. We didn't want to have to worry about hiring somebody else to do the church hymns. We're glad we did that, because UST's organist and soloist was amazing. He did a great job! There were times when he sang along to minus ones, and there were times when he sang and played the organ at the same time. The church songs all turned out beautiful and solemn.

The organist-soloist in the background

[Note: Our wedding marches were instrumental rock songs by the Vitamin String Quartet. Our coordinator handled the sounds for the marches. They came armed with back up cds. We had to switch to instrumental at the last minute because UST only allows instrumental songs to keep things solemn. If you're getting married in UST, make sure you clear all your plans with them.]

UST also has their own coordinator that will help out on the day itself. You can even hire her to coordinate your entire wedding. She was efficient and easy to talk to, and was able to work with our own coordinators without any problems. Thank you Maricar!

Maricar in the background, handling the offertory collection

That's about it! UST was the church for us and we had a beautiful wedding there.

Our wedding is in BridalBook!

2014-03-11T12:33:00.002+08:00

Julls & Aleq

We're in BridalBook today! It's so rad. Thank you to the BridalBook team for the feature! We loved how they described our wedding -- classic mixed with contemporary and quirky elements plus a spunky motif. It's exactly what we wanted to achieve, yay! Most of all, we really just wanted it to be fun, and we're glad that came through.

It was also very interesting to find out what elements they would highlight and what photos they would pick. We must admit that we didn't expect some of the things they chose. It's cool to be able to see our wedding from a wedding website's point of view. They even knew the names of our flowers (we didn't) so props to them, heh.

We're glad that our wedding is there to be able to give inspiration to other couples planning their wedding. Please click on over to the BridalBook feature to read the rest of the story.

Update: BridalBook is now a part of FemaleNetwork. Here's the new link to our story.

Wedding Makeup and Grooming by Shu Uemura [Happy Details]

2014-03-07T02:13:00.000+08:00

We went with Cindy Pineda Dela Cruz of Shu Uemura Rockwell with Avril Seguin for the bride's hair and makeup, as well as the groom's grooming. We discovered them through our friends Anabel and Carl, who first got their services for their own wedding. [Note: Aleq and I chose a lot of suppliers whose work we had already seen for ourselves. We didn't want to take risks for our wedding, so we went with tried and tested people.] We decided on a separate team just for us, and another one for our families for efficiency. I contacted Cindy through Facebook, and she was really easy to talk to. We reached an agreement quickly, and after a reservation fee, we were good to go.

My trial session with them served as my makeup for our prenup shoot, which went really well. They did my look at the Shu Uemura store in Rockwell, and it was fun and a half. See the behind-the-scenes post from the prenup shoot for a blow-by-blow of the day.

Here's a rundown of the makeup Cindy used on me for the wedding. (The photos of the makeup and tools are from the day of the prenup.) Everything is Shu Uemura.

puRENovate Intense Pore Perfection Solution
Face Architect Liquid Foundation in 754
Loose Powder in 7yr light
Hard Formula Eyebrow Pencil in Walnut Brown
Limited Edition Chocolat Donna Eyeshadow Palette
Drawing Pencil in Matte Brown
Calligraph:Ink Liquid Eyeliner
Mascara in Black
Tokyo Lash Bar False Eyelashes
Glow On Blush in Soft Pink 336
Rouge Unlimited Lipstick in pk376

We used a MAC orange lipstick for the reception, and it was the only non-Shu product of the day. I actually bought an orange Chanel lipstick before the wedding, but we went with Mac instead. I wanted something loud and bright!

Cindy and Avril did my makeup at the hotel during preparation time. They came with their awesome pro cases, and were on time, fast, efficient, and just overall lovely people.

Here's a peek into the process on the day itself. I went from looking like a geisha of sorts to being a bride.

I decided to have my hair down for both the ceremony and the reception because I don't really like having my hair up. A lot of people told me it's customary for the bride's hair to be up, it's the classic look, etc, but that was one of those times when I just had to say, "It's my wedding, period." We went with tight curls for the prenup, but we loosened them up for the wedding ceremony, then loosened them up even more for the reception.

As for makeup, we decided on neutral and polished. Pink and natural shades all the way. I let Cindy choose the the pink lipstick for the ceremony because I wanted a sweet look, but it still had to be strong because that's me. I told her I wanted orange for the reception though, because it's one of our theme colors, and it's my favorite lipstick color. Plus, it's fun.

Avril went up to Aleq's room for his grooming. It was so simple -- Avril just lightly styled his hair and dusted his face with some Shu powder -- but it came out terrific. Aleq says he felt like he looked like a million bucks, and he did! Grooming is really a must for grooms, if only to help look a little more polished for one of life's most important days.

We had a retouch session in our bridal suite at the reception before the festivities started. Here's a behind-the-scenes photo of it, taken by our venue, The Pergola.

At the end of the night, my lipstick was still as orange as Aleq's tie, and Aleq's hair was still as nice as it was when the day started. We still looked super fresh!

Cindy was really meticulous and is truly a trained pro, while Avril has a deft styling hand and knows his craft well. Needless to say, we were very happy with everything!

Our Happy Day

2014-03-04T18:00:00.000+08:00

I never had any plans for my wedding. Sure, I wondered about it in the past and at one point in time even considered a blue and silver theme if ever I do get married, but that's about it. There are always stories of girls knowing exactly what their dream wedding would be even before they got proposed to or even had a boyfriend, but I somehow never got around to that. The funny thing was that Aleq never thought about his wedding either. We always figured we would think about it when the time came.

Well the right time finally arrived and somehow we just went with the flow and winged it. Blue and silver never happened. In fact, we ended up with a wedding that was very different from what we had in mind when we got engaged. We just relaxed and enjoyed the ride, and somehow, it turned out just right.

The day before the wedding we were stressed to the max. Things happened beyond our control, and we ended up arguing and annoyed at each other. We somehow made up quickly (chalk it up to true love, heh) and we managed to finish our cramming at 4am. Yes, we were still awake and with each other before dawn on our actual wedding day. When we said goodnight for the last time as boyfriend and girlfriend before retiring to our respective rooms with our families, we were completely happy. We knew that the next time we would see each other was at the church at 3pm.

The morning greeted us with a haze of suppliers, coordinators, family members, and friends. The first doorbell rang, and the chaos began.

When Aleq and I were dating he would give me chocolates, books, toys, cds, and what-not, except flowers. I get sad when they wilt, and I would much rather have things I could eat or keep as mementos. Despite that little fact however, I always told him I wanted a blue rose -- just one -- for kicks. Well, he never gave me one! Our wedding was finally my chance to get a blue rose and I did -- a whole bouquet, actually. It was from Holland Tulips, and it had blue roses as well as my favorite flower, orange tulips. Pearls were wrapped around the stems, which I thought was a lovely touch. It was exactly what I wanted.

Getting pretty with my Shu Uemura glam squad -- Cindy Pineda dela Cruz and Avril Seguin. I was so glad my closest cousins and bridesmaids Sheila and Lek were there. They kept me sane amidst all the frenzy, while the rest of my family got ready in other rooms.

Our wedding rings by Matus. They're plain, white gold bands (with the exception of a single diamond on mine) that looked exactly like the promise rings we gave each other when we were just 18 and 19 years old. http://www.myweddding.com/alessandrojullienne!

Sofitel that morning looked like any other morning.

In his room, my groom was getting ready too. Avril came over to prep his face and style his hair. His parents and cousin, plus my best friend and my cousins were popping in and out to get their makeup and hair done with Anne Viray and Jennette Rondilla.

Our wedding coordinating team, The Best-Case Scenario Events, was very organized. They tacked schedules in all the rooms and made sure it was followed to the letter.

My wedding shoes <3. Vivienne Westwood x Melissa Lady Dragon Heart!

My groom wore his blue and silver Relic watch. We gave each other matching watches as anniversary gifts the year before we got engaged.

Our colorful wedding invitation by Wink (Written in Ink) was done in our modern, color-block theme.

Our save-the-dates and "Will You Be My" cards were made with love by me and our Wedding Fairies, Lek and Clang.

Flowers of May did our entourage flowers. The pastel colors were so pretty! Kyle, my niece and god-daughter, and our lone flower girl, wore a flower crown on her head and carried a flower pomander.

That day was the girliest I have ever felt in my entire life. I was the star of my own show and everything revolved around me. It was absolutely fine to just sit pretty.

My best friend and matron of honor Hazel lent me the garter she wore during her wedding for my "something borrowed." Aleq's cousin Aielle, who was our junior bridesmaid, was so excited to wear her dress and step into her role that day.

Our wedding stationery

The groom getting groomed; my aunt Eve, one of our principal sponsors, and my cousin Lek caught on cam.

Aleq's wedding shoes were from Zara. The blue and orange-y lining and the blocked design were the perfect details.

I chose Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Lovers in Love for my wedding perfume -- really appropriate, don't you think?

Everything in our wedding was white gold or silver, except for our arrhae. My sister-in-law Ate Weng made us choose from regular silver coins and coins covered in melted gold. Aleq chose gold, because for him, treasure equals gold.

Aleq chose Burberry The Beat as his wedding perfume, simply because it was his favorite.

I am still obsessed with these shoes. They were my "something blue" of course.

I wore my mom's diamond earrings that day. It was my "something old" and my way of keeping her close to me. I knew she was with me that day -- and everyday -- in spirit.

Aleq is also still obsessed with these lace-ups.

We decided to do a pocket square instead of a boutonniere in keeping with our modern theme.

The bright pink Shu Uemura lipstick Cindy used on me was one of the little details that just made me happy.

There were quite a few hearts at our wedding -- our save-the-date, my shoes and perfume, etc. -- but we never noticed that my own dress had a heart on it until we saw the pictures! Edwin Uy and Jeon Varon made me an absolutely beautiful gown. My "something new" was the silver accent that came with the dress.

One of my brother Manny and sis-in-law Weng's surprises for us were these orange and blue fans that we gave out to the guests at the church. My wedding fairies and I made the message cards that went with them. (Everything had messages, to show our love for words.) Our wedding was in April, at the height of summer, and though all our venues were air-conditioned, these were very much appreciated.

Our misalettes, which we kept stark and simple, was another Wedding Fairies project. They had Aleq and mine's stamp of approval. Literally.

Aleq's navy blue suit was also done by Edwin Uy and Jeon Varon. Modern and matte was always the theme.

The most important dress I have ever worn

I have never smiled the way I did on my wedding day in my entire life. The joy inside me was evident on my face.

My blue preparations dress was from Forever 21, which I wore with orange Havaianas.

My pensive groom

When the rest of my bridesmaids arrived, the excitement went up a notch. This was how the bride's room looked that morning. It was a crazy hub of activity!

These scenes of Aleq and his dad getting ready together are so precious.

My dapper man!

When the groomsmen arrived, the energy in the groom's room went from busy to insane. They're funny guys.

I was the last to dress up.

My dear Hazel can be such a ham!

My nails either looked like the depths of an ocean or a glittering corner in space. Deborah Lippman's Across the Universe was the only polish I wanted to wear.

My gown had a secret rock element to it -- a dark blue petticoat! It had an uneven hem to show it off and my shoes.

Suit details -- matte everything, stark white shirt, bright orange tie and pocket square

So ready.

With his parents and groomsmen

With my bridesmaids and family

Aleq left first.

I was the last to leave.

And we're off.

Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we're together

And I just wanna stay with you

In this moment forever, forever and ever

- Aerosmith, I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing

The University of Santo Tomas was the place where we met, where we spent our college years, and where he proposed to me. That is why the Santisimo Rosario Church, also known as the UST Chapel, was the only place we wanted to get married in.

Waiting in that bridal car with my dad was a blur. It was like time sped up then. I hardly remember a thing, as I was feeling the butterflies.

Aleq walked down the aisle with his parents, followed by our wedding entourage, to an acoustic version of Aerosmith's I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing by the Vitamin String Quartet.

Our little ones!

The wind created this magical moment as I walked up to the church! The air was perfectly still before, and it was totally unexpected that it caught me off-guard. MyPhotato, our photographers and videographers, all scrambled to capture it.

I caught the last strains of I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing when I walked up to the door, and it made my heart swell.

My dad looked so thrilled to finally give me away.

I walked down the aisle to The Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Tears immediately came when I took the first step, but I was so happy, I didn't want to cry. My makeup artist Cindy told me that morning that if I needed to keep myself from tearing up, I have to avoid looking at the people because seeing them would definitely make me cry. I didn't have a problem doing that -- I was only interested in looking at my groom.

Aleq was the exact opposite. He was smiling the entire time! People actually told him he was "bungisngis", because he was grinning so much while staring back at me. He told me he was simply so happy, and all he was thinking at that moment was "This is really it!"

I think my bridesmaids got misty too.

Our friends, who served as our readers, were waiting for us at the altar.

My brother Manny was our commentator, while my cousin Camille was one of our lectors.

We took the vows, ring, and arrhae ceremony very seriously. The feeling while saying those words out loud to each other was indescribable.

Our offerers were made up of family and friends. Two of them didn't get to join the procession. Our friend RA wasn't able to make it to the wedding due to a family emergency (he was supposed to proxy for another friend Kate who couldn't make it), while our friend Arwin was simply late. This was the perfect example of things not going as planned, and we didn't even notice until after the wedding. Our coordinators did a fine job of fixing the problem by having my sister-in-law and our friend Kitch carry two offerings each. Also, we didn't take it against our friends -- things just happen.

Candle, cord, and veil.

The officiating priest was my brother, and he delivered an amazing homily. That was the one thing I knew I wanted for my wedding -- for my brother Rev. Fr. Walde to marry us, and for my brother Manny to be beside him as commentator. I teared up when we were finally all together at the altar.

We kept stealing moments to whisper to each other, we were so happily distracted!

"You may now kiss the bride." It was surreal. Aleq took it slow and made sure my veil was all nice before tenderly leaning in to kiss me. We both thought it was sublimely different. It was so sweet, it felt like our first kiss in 1999.

Bright smiles while signing our marriage contract up on the altar.

With our families!

Husband and wife. We couldn't believe it.

Coming out of the church and having everyone greet us with flower petals and camera clicks was one of our favorite memories of the entire day.

Our best girls and guys!

Mr. and Mrs.

Let me be the one you call

If you jump I'll break your fall

Lift you up and fly away with you into the night

If you need to fall apart

I can mend a broken heart

If you need to crash then crash and burn, you're not alone

- Savage Garden, Crash and Burn

Party time! We wanted our reception to be bright and fun, and it was exactly that.

Oranges, one of our favorite fruits, were used as holders for our escort cards. The Wedding Fairies made the cards and Best-Case Scenario painstakingly stuck them on top of the oranges right before the wedding. "Orange you glad you're here with us? Thank you for coming. Aleq + Julls"

Josiah's Catering did the food and reception decor. Being sweet-tooths, we had to have a sweet buffet. It had 15 kinds of desserts, including chocolate fondue in three flavors-- milk, white, and dark. Tidbit: My brothers missed our childhood slideshow later that night because they were outside at the dessert table, bonding over fondue! That's how we know we're siblings. We're all chocoholics.

For cocktail hour, we welcomed our guests with different kinds of canapes and blue iced tea. Our bar also opened early, and everyone who wanted a cocktail got one (actually, several).

A lot of Filipinos aren't big minglers, so we made sure the guests had lots to do while waiting for us to arrive. We had message cards for them to fill out, as well was a word puzzle, because Aleq and I are both writers by profession. Menu cards were also on the tables so our guests could plan out how to raid the buffet properly, heh.

We wanted flowers in different shapes, sizes, and varieties, and we chose a combination of milk bottles/vases and glass jars to give the tables a carefree vibe.

Mixed Mobile Bar's drinks were fantastic! Their Flaming Lamborghinis were a hit.

We had Papemelroti make these blue and orange wooden letters. They also did our A+J at the welcome table.

Our venue, the Pergola, had a pretty chandelier. Next to photos of us, almost all of our guests posted photos of it in their social media streams.

Our wedding was the only time in my life that I wanted flowers. UST supplied the church flora, which we kept white and simple, and our entourage ladies carried real bouquets. We had Josiah's fill the reception venue with flowers. We had blue and orange blooms, complemented by pink, white, purple, and yellow flowers. Our guests were free to take home any of the flowers that caught their fancy at the end of the night.

Each table had a photo of us from one of our 13 years as a couple, plus a cootie catcher.

Love how my nephews just opened up the cootie catcher and read the Aleq and Julls trivia inside.

Our host, Atom Ungson, started up the program. He was our master of ceremonies of sorts, and was responsible for all our crazy party shenanigans!

The moment for the grand entrance came when Savage Garden's Crash and Burn started playing. Our entourage led the way.

The music changed to Third Eye Blind's Semi-charmed Life when Aleq and I entered. It was a totally joyous, fist-pumping moment.

We danced to Savage Garden's I Knew I Loved You. It was our cheesy song back in college, hah! We've discussed over and over how everything feels different at your own wedding. We've danced with each other a ton of times before, but in that moment, everything faded away, and it felt like we were the only people in the world.

Our pretty and modern chocolate ganache cake from Cakeline. It was a joy to look at (and eat)!

Aleq's aunt Deanna -- one of our principal sponsors -- and her hubby Mark, gave us these silver goblets for our wine toast. They were so Game of Thrones, and so us.

We had a game where every table had to pick representatives to name that tune and sing part of it to beat the other tables to the buffet. We were so surprised that our guests got so into it! Look at my high school friends, partying it up! Our veil sponsor, Rein, stole the show with his version of Katy Perry's Last Friday Night! (By the way, our dress code was color-blocked and modern. We were amazed at how great everyone looked!)

The food was scrumptious, and until now it is still one of the things that people rave about. We tried to balance what we liked, and what our guests would like. We pretty much chose comfort food and stuck to the classic and familiar.

4play Band played acoustic versions of our favorite 90s songs during dinner. We still can't get over how awesome they were.

This picture is everything -- the orange and blue Japanese paper lanterns, our laughing faces, table napkins on our laps, and food on our table. We heard too many stories of brides and grooms who didn't get to eat at their wedding and we didn't want that at all. Though Josiah's and The Pergola had canapes and drinks served to us in our bridal suite before our grand entrance, we still fixed the schedule so that we could eat and enjoy at the same time as our guests.

Atom told us to pick a couple we wanted to tease. He would toss a coin and have the couple kiss whether or not they got heads or tails. We picked my cousin Lek and her boyfriend Pete. It turned out to be a lucky kiss because they are now engaged!

Watching the onsite edit of the day's events. Love the wistful looks on our guests' faces.

We wanted our reception to be all about the party, so the only speeches made that night were by our dads.

Cheers! Aleq and I both wanted different drinks. I wanted dalandan juice, while he wanted raspberry iced tea. Josiah's let us have both!

The table trivia game was hilarious. We found out that our family and friends didn't know us as well as we thought!

So much fun.

The last teary moment of the night came when we stood up to thank our guests. Aleq thanked our respective families and friends. We were truly touched that they came to celebrate our special day with us. I talked about my mom for a bit afterwards. We really wished in our hearts that she was there.

Finally, it was time to kick back, chill, and relax! Here's my groom being silly with our veil sponsor -- former housemate Sheva and her husband Bin.

I had to get out of my formal wedding gown and into something comfy. I loved my bridesmaids' color-block dresses so much, I had Edgar Basilan of The Secret Creations make me my own too! Cindy also changed my lipstick into a bright orange-red one and Avril loosened up the waves in my hair for the reception. My shiny, shimmery, splendid, studded heels were from Zara. I forgot to change my purse from white to orange though. Whoops!

Bridesmaid fun!

My Wedding Fairies and I had a quick celebratory pic together. Job well done, girls!

We really made sure we had enough time to be able to go around and see our loved ones. Our day wouldn't have been complete if we didn't have them with us. This shot taken by my cousin Jhack says it all.

Mint to be! "Did you know that when Aleq was courting Julls back in 1999 he would sneak Tic Tacs into her bag? She kept finding fresh boxes from him whenever she ran out of mints, and sometimes the candy even came with a letter or a poem. Her favorite flavor was orange, while his favorite flavor was extra strong mint. Fast forward to 2013 and their wedding theme is blue and orange -- the exact colors of the Tic Tacs that started everything."

The dance floor was a blast! We played 90s pop songs for the party. It started with Wannabe by The Spice Girls and took off from there. MyPhotato came out with wigs on and got everyone hyper.

The bar was very busy too! The rest of the night just passed us by. Kampai!

Before we knew it, it was over.

Minutes before we fell asleep that night we talked about how just felt so lucky to have had a day like the one we had. Best. Day. Ever.

All the things you said to me today,

Changed my perspective in every way.

These things count to mean so much to me,

Into my faith, you and your baby.

It's out there. It's out there.

It's out there. If you want me I'll be here.

I'll be dreaming my dreams with you.

And there's no other place,

That I'd lay down my face.

I'll be dreaming my dreams with you.

- The Cranberries, Dreaming My Dreams

ALEQ & JULLS WEDDING from MyPhotato on Vimeo.

A+J Wedding Same-day Edit/On-site Photo Slideshow from Jullienne Yerro on Vimeo.

Eight Months, Our First Christmas and New Year, Plus a Few Updates

2014-01-24T17:27:00.000+08:00

Hello! It's been a while. We got bitten by the bug that hits almost all newlyweds after the wedding. Getting over the stress of wedding planning, basking in the exhilaration of the wedding, and then focusing on starting a new life together can certainly make couples ignore things like the wedding photos and blog. Our lives had a chance to settle down a bit over the past few months, so we figured it was finally time for some updates.

Eight Months!

First of all, we celebrated our eighth month as husband and wife last December! We only celebrate sporadically to keep things interesting, heh. (Actually we usually just forget. Having been together 13 years before we got married, we are not so good at monthsaries anymore. Those are a lot of months after all!)

L-O-V-E!

First Holidays

We also had our first Christmas and New Year! 2013 was a mix of highs and lows for us. The year started out amazing but it got tough near the end. The wonderful thing is we now know that we meant it when we said "for better or for worse" at the altar. 2014 is going to rock.

A + J on New Year's Eve

What's up?

Now for updates. We completely forgot about That Happy Day for a while because real life got in the way. That will change. We'll be celebrating our first anniversary in a couple of months so we really have to complete our engagement and wedding stories here.

I also got emails and messages from bride-to-bes or friends of soon-to-be-brides asking about wedding advice and supplier feedback. I answered and gave info as much as I could. It was really nice to be able to help other women out there who are planning their own happy days. Before the wedding, I was trying to balance the process of documenting things and providing info. I didn't want to give things away so that we could still have the element of surprise at our wedding. Now that it's over, I can finally blog about everything I left out. The emails and messages I got have also pushed me to really get this blog going again.

What happened to our wedding photos?

First up are the photos. Even though I have posted our same-day-edit video and photo slideshow in this blog, I have never posted the actual photos. To be honest, just going through wedding photos is almost as stressful as planning the entire wedding. We had to sift through a gazillion photos from our photographer and our family, friends, and suppliers. We also had to choose specific ones according to where they will come out -- the official wedding album, Facebook to tag guests, this blog, etc -- and we had around 4000 raw photos (official and unofficial pictures) to choose from. A and I found ourselves kind of wishing we lived in the days when there were only 36 shots in film cams and wedding albums only had a fraction of the number of photos we have now.

Photo overload!!!

We only finished turning over the photos for our official wedding album and posting more photos in Facebook last November so we can probably expect our wedding album and video to arrive around our first anniversary, heh. We just couldn't narrow everything down to 120 photos when we had hundreds! We settled with our photographers at 135. I'm very obsessive-compulsive as well, so I usually have a hard time with these things. But hey, I have friends who only finished their album after 5 years, and friends who are on their 6th year but still haven't chosen pictures. A and I aren't so bad after all.

The good news is, I finally got my "nutshell" folder done today! It's a folder that has more than the number of photos in our wedding album, but has a lot less than our ultimate folder of wedding photos. (See? OC!) I'll be posting the photos after this post, yay!

The Start of Preparation and Supplier Kwento

I'll be starting my stories on our wedding details and suppliers soon. I'm excited to post about our DIYs and other fun stuff! My Wedding Fairies would be happy to hear that, I'm sure.

I have to say though, that I won't be posting any supplier reviews. We had a wonderful wedding and we don't really have anything to say but good things about our suppliers. Instead of reviews, we will just be telling stories of our experiences with everyone. Our day wasn't perfect, but those imperfections were just very little things. Talking about them feels very nitpick-y for us. If we did have anything major we'd like to warn other soon-to-wed couples about we would write about them for sure, but we simply don't. We've heard a lot of annoying and even to the point of nightmarish stories out there. We truly feel very lucky not to have experienced any major mishaps and to have picked very trustworthy and capable suppliers. We actually still can't believe our day was as perfect as it could possibly get actually.

The MyPhotato (aka WeCelebrate) guys, partying at our wedding

That's about it! Thank you for reading the blog and keeping up with us this entire time. We'll most likely finish everything by our first anniversary. It has been a blast!

Bachelorette Party Late Post - Pics from other cams, more video, and the traumatic Brando segment

2013-10-25T04:16:00.000+08:00

My bachelorette party/bridal shower was ages ago, but I completely forgot about these pics and videos from my friends Hazel and Sheva. They sent everything to me right after the event and of course I forgot about them and eventually lost them in the deep, dark corners of my notebook. I was only reminded when my cousin Camille messaged me and our other cousins earlier asking for bachelorette party ideas. I'm such a doofus sometimes.

So, I'm posting it all here now. There are pics from the afternoon when they were still preparing and decorating the place before they took me there. There are also some funny candid shots and pics of the sweet part of the party. My friends wrote me notes that they put in a sort of time capsule and I'm supposed to read one note every month after the wedding until I run out of notes to read. I have actually forgotten those as well -- whoops -- so I'm going to look for them and catch up on the notes. Sorry girls!

I also stitched together all the videos they took into one humongous video. I posted a video from my own cam before of me getting there from my perspective, but there's also a video from the other side of the door, from the perspective of the girls waiting to surprise me. There are also a few funny videos of Pin the [censored] on the Borgy (haha), and the most traumatic part of the party for me -- when a guy named "Brando" surprised me. Here we go!

Sheva looks so into balloon-blowing lol.

Balita ko hirap na hirap si Lek.

Sorting the favors

Pink and black chaos

Clang, Cielo, Hazel, Lek

These girls did an amazing job! Couldn't believe how creative they were.

Sizing up my banana haha.

Getting ready to take a big bite

Sheva the Games Master

I was such a strict eggplant judge lol.

Verns, umaasang manalo haha.

Clang making her mark on Borgy.

With Brando aka my hubby A

Sheva

Verns

Hilda

Jaja

Sheva, ready to put her note in the box

Cielo

Clang

Lek

The party table

Yay, love letters!

Ok now I need to find this box and read the notes. Eeep!

Mini Honeymoon and Staycation

2013-10-23T22:40:00.003+08:00

Note: Just realized we never posted this here!

Aleq and I haven't planned our honeymoon at all, so after the wedding, we went home the next day, dealt with post-wedding debris, and then went off to Edsa Shang the day after to have a mini honeymoon of sorts. The staycation did us good! It kind of let us escape urban life for a bit without leaving the city. It was a wonderful way to spend our first days together as husband and wife.

Hello, Edsa Shang! We stayed in their newly-renovated wing - it's so pretty!

Loved all the blue.

Liked this little nook.

Cool desk area

Hello TV! Tidbit: both of our TVs conked out before the wedding so we didn't have a TV at this time! We watched our TV shows on our notebooks, which is not the same, so we really enjoyed this TV haha.

The white, bright hallway

Cozy bathroom

Sink and shower

Hello there!

We left and crossed the street to Shangri-la Mall. We did a bit of shopping (we missed it after a year of not shopping because of the wedding) then we had lunch at Sumo Sam. That's Aleq's usual katsudon.

My watermelon shake.

The only thing I ever order at Sumo Sam - bacon-wrapped dory.

Happy us

Back at our pretty hotel.

Ah, everything was so pretty!

Look at the carpet, and that's our pretty door.

The view from our window. The small building behind that large one in the middle is ACE Water Spa - right in our neighborhood, heh.

Julls

Aleq

Newlyweds

Loot from the mall

Because I like taking pictures of hotel toiletries.

Yep.

We brought our We Say cards with us. These were filled out by guests at the reception. (Yes you were supposed to correct that bit at the bottom, people! Hehe.) Here are some notables. LOL at our friend Arwin!

Our groomsman Sean

Our friend JM

Our flower girl Kyle

Our offeror Jaja

Our friend Abby

Aleq's uncle Kuya Tommy

My aunt Au

Then we went out again for dinner at Pages Deli in Shang. That's my grape shake.

Hungry couple

I don't remember what Aleq had. It was some sort of seafood thing. [Edit from Aleq: It's The Tempest. It had fish, squid and mussels. I think it had some shrimp in it too. :P]

Pic-ception!

My favorite A Midsummer Night's Dream - grilled grouper fillet with tomato vanilla sauce on herbed mashed potatoes

Also known as the bookworm cafe

Then we headed back to the hotel. We had a nightcap at the Lobby Lounge. Orange daisy + tea light = yihee haha.

My new favorite cocktail and I forgot what it was called. I think this was the Sea Breeze. Look at that beauty. It's yummy too.

Aleq's cocktail - he likes fruity things, heehee. [Edit from Aleq: This was NOT entirely fruity.] [Edit from Julls: It was a Tequila Sunrise! :P]

Bar munchies

Super chill hubby

Kampai!

Lounging

Married Julls

Married Aleq

The next morning started with taho at Heat! We got to scoop our own taho! I wanted to throw away the excess water but Aleq wouldn't let me.

Sosy taho

Breakfast!

My plate, with itlog na maalat, pan de coco, tocino, longganisa and tapa - so normal, parang nasa bahay lang.

Aleq's plate - bibingka, scrambled eggs, and the same meat stuff.

Ube yogurt actually tastes better than ube ice cream.

Aleq always needs his coffee in the morning.

My thick tsokolate. Mmm.

And the favorites: bacon + smoked salmon with capers! Plus a random scotch egg that we didn't like very much (give us kwek kwek any day).

Stuffed A

Stuffed J

Heat

Busog

Inside the golden elevator

The pool looked inviting, but we woke up way too late so we didn't get to go swimming. That is why there needs to be a next time.

The honeymooners

*sighs at the pretty carpet*

Last few minutes at the room

Checking out. Bye Edsa Shang!

We dropped by Aleq's mom's house for a Krispy Kreme break. Yay Mickey and Minnie Mouse donuts + watermelon juice.

Another gift delivered (thank you) and a Puggles cameo.

Heehee Aleq went upstairs but barred the way up so Puggles couldn't follow him. Look at her waiting! Aw.

Trying to find a way

Still thinking

The Puggler doesn't give up haha.

Then we left to watch Iron Man 3 at Podium!

Afterwards we had a Mexican dinner at Madeca. That's his Coke and my Mojito.

Him

My sisig soft tacos! Scrumptious.

His chicken burrito

When we finally went home we had another gift waiting. Thank you!

The Day After and Gift Opening 042213

2013-10-23T16:09:00.003+08:00

Note: Just realized we never posted this here!

The day after that happy day we enjoyed the time we had left at Sofitel (and Spiral yum yum). Then we checked out and took our little junior bridesmaid home to Merville. Made a coffee stopover at our Ninong and Ninang's place there, then we went home to Pasig where we ate leftover wedding cake at Aleq's grandma's house. Our coordinator also sent all our stuff there, so we carried all of it over to our place.

Then we started sorting through wedding debris, and our wedding fairy Clang messaged that she was going to come over to eat wedding cake and take our pictures. We agreed right away, of course! Thanks to everyone for your awesome presents! We didn't include pics of the tags anymore but you know who you are. Thank you so much.

Twitpic from that morning. First breakfast as husband and wife: bacon love!

My plate

His plate

Our shared plates. Smoked salmon forever.

My family checked out really early so we had breakfast with the mother-in-law and cousin Aielle.

Mr. and Mrs.

Chilling after breakfast

Aleq's tribute to our groomsman Josiah

Watashi

Bye Sofitel!

Stopped for coffee at our Aleq's uncle and aunt's (also our Ninong and Ninang) place in Merville. We told everyone at the reception that they could take the flowers home, and we saw some of our flowers there. So pretty. They also had a ton of our oranges, heehee.

More flowers at Aleq's grandma's place in Kapitolyo + our mostly whole wedding cake.

YUM.

Gift opening time!

All the pretty boxes

Got hungry after all of that and got McD's delivered. Here's me with our photographer fairy Clang.Thank you Clangers!

Then it was enveloping-opening time! Thanks again everyone!

Six Months!

2013-10-23T00:17:00.002+08:00

Somewhat late -- we forgot, LOL.

Wedding Afterthoughts

2013-10-09T17:42:00.002+08:00

Pic by my cousin Jhack of A and I talking to friends near the end of our wedding reception

My friend Payi and I were talking about weddings on Viber yesterday and I ended up telling her some of the realizations that Aleq and I had after our wedding. I've actually been meaning to blog about it after that conversation with the hubby, but I totally forgot and only remembered yesterday. Here goes my ramblings.

People get married because they love each other and want to immortalize that in a lifelong commitment. Some people think getting things down on paper is an important part of it, while some think that they want to honor the person they love by saying their vows to each other in front of friends and family. Others however, don't think that way. They reason that love is enough, and there doesn't have to be a wedding to prove their love to each other. I say, to each his own. Everyone has their own views on love, weddings, and getting married.

For me and my husband Aleq though, deciding to get married and have a wedding is one of the best decisions we ever made in our lives. True, weddings come with a lot of expenses and stress, but we have no regrets. We think that the planning, preparations, and the wedding itself was one of the best bonding experiences we've ever had as a couple.

See, weddings require a lot of time, effort, thought, patience, and love. It took us a year to plan ours, and it wasn't easy. There were a lot of things to consider and decide on, so it was very easy to stress out and argue. The budget -- which nobody really admitted to us until it was so close to our wedding date and therefore too late -- really doubles the last few months before the wedding. The division of tasks can also cause strife, as the sheer enormity of the event can make it is easy for one to think the other person is doing less and vice versa. There are a lot of issues that arise during wedding preparations, including the involvement of friends and family. It can be tough.

Aleq and I decided from the very start never to fight about the wedding. We reminded ourselves everyday to compromise. Arguments did happen. There were times when we were so tired from running all over town, or worried that the money was dwindling, or infuriated about family input, but somehow we never let it cause enough of a rift to make ourselves question getting married. We tried to remember everyday not to let what friends or family think or say cause us to doubt each other's decisions. It was our wedding, and only what we thought and felt mattered. We learned to trust that we could pull it off and to never give up on each other.

The enjoyable moments during prep overpowered all the negative ones. We had a lot of fun picking suppliers and deciding on what we wanted. We were excited about everything. We went to each and every bridal fair and supplier meeting together. We learned a lot about each other along the way -- how one deals with stress, how one likes certain things, so on and so forth. We found ourselves wanting to give each other what the other wanted. We had the time of our lives putting our wedding together.

Then came the wedding itself. After a year of preparations, just seeing it all happen on top of finally getting married to the person we loved truly made it the happiest day of our lives. To finally reach the finish line and have all our loved ones there to celebrate with us was the best feeling ever. Each moment of that one happy day was like a jewel for us.

In a way, a wedding is a project -- one of the biggest, most important projects you'll ever have in your lives. You have to go through it together. It's a trial by fire, and it takes a united couple to come out of the entire process unscathed. It's also a gem of an experience to be treasured forever. Aleq and I will always have this time in our lives to look back on and remind us of what we are made of as a couple.

If you, dear reader, are already married, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you're engaged right now, enjoy this time it to the hilt! If you are single and still wishing for the person of your dreams, remember this when you finally find the one. And if you, on the other hand, are in a relationship and thinking of getting married, we say go for it. It's a wonderful way to prepare you for a life together. It's a trying, but fantastic and unforgettable experience.

What We Wore on that One Hot Summer Day

2013-10-04T01:28:00.000+08:00

Note: This is a cross-post from my obsessions blog, The Blue Purse. Please bear with me when worlds collide.

Hello, Flashback Friday! The hubby and I have finally posted our prenup pics -- One Hot Summer Day -- as well as the behind-the-scenes photos at our wedding blog, That Happy Day. It's only fitting then to document what we wore that day on this blog.

We wanted a casual prenup. We didn't want it to look like a movie or have magazine poses. We didn't want to act differently from how we would typically act. We also didn't want to have props or wear stuff that we wouldn't usually wear. We just wanted it to show us spending time with each other on a normal day at one of our favorite places, UST -- the place where we first met.

Our only concept for the shoot was modern color-blocking, which was the overall theme of our wedding. We chose orange and blue outfits, our favorite colors. When he wore a blue top, I wore an orange top, and when I wore something blue, he wore orange. We really went orange and blue all the way, from the proposal day (when we didn't know we wanted blue and orange for our theme yet), to our wedding day.

On A: denim Cotton On shirt, orange jeans and brown sneakers from Forever 21 Men

On J: orange Bayo top, navy Zara trousers, blue and orange Punkberry ribbon flats

Blue and orange plastic bangles from Cotton On, knuckle ring from Yhansy

Blue and silver and gold and silver Relic watches

On A: orange shirt from Landmark, Human jeans, black and orange Mizuno sneakers

On J: blue Mango dress, orange Forever 21 wedges

Gold and orange triangle Aztec necklace from Yhansy, Dolce & Gabbana glasses

Orange cocktail ring from this store I forgot the name of at Alabang Town Center, gold and orange triangle bracelet from the St. Francis tiangge

On A: orange shirt from SM Dept. Store, blue Bench shorts

On J: denim tie-dyed Forever 21 shirt, Bench jeans

Blue studded wrap-around bracelet from Meg

Oversized gold and blue Aztec ring from Yhansy

Orange tank top and blue wedge sneakers from Forever 21, white and orange sneakers from Nike