Wedding in Manila - The Clock is Ticking

Okey, I'm almost done with all my diy except for the favors.

1. All the boutonnieres for the principal sponsors, groomsmen, man of honor.
2. All 160 table name cards and 18 VIP cards. These will be given to the guests upon registration so that they won't get lost.
3. All 160 programs. These will be given to the guest upon registration. The booklet contains two games: i spy and fill the surnames, there's a detachable page for the guests to write their messages to us, a snippet with our entourage and thank you message as well. It serves as thank you card also.
4. All 170 ring napkins.
5. All 14 table names in photo frames.
6. All 160 menu cards.


What else?

Dresses for Flower Girls

Here are some dresses I have found online for the flower girls:

Wedding in Manila - DIY Favors

For our tokens for the guests, we are going to DIY them - sweets in a jar. I've searched online on a better way to package or to represent the token. Here are some pictures to help anyone who would like to make sweets in a jar as tokens for their wedding.

CTTO - Milk Candies in a Jar as Wedding Favors

Personalized Mason Jar as Wedding Favors - CTTO

CTTO - Love is Sweet Jar

 

Candies - Just Jars Australia

Sweets in Mason Jar Wedding Favor - CTTO

Minnie Candies in a Jar - CTTO

For those who wanted to DIY their wedding favors, the important thing to remember is that 'it is all about the packaging'.

Wedding in Manila - Mixed Marriage in Roman Catholic Church

I went back to Manila for the mixed marriage interview. My H2b is an Aglipayon and I am a devoted Roman Catholic. We are going to get married at San Sebastian Church in Manila. The priest interviewed us regarding the rules of the church for mixed marriage. We signed the paper saying that we are going to comply with the rules and we went to the Intramuros Diocese to give the paper that we signed (for the mixed marriage - dispensation letter). The letter shall be returned to San Sebastian Church after they annotated it or something.

Wedding Manila: Guest Lists Tracker and Planner

For a wedding in Manila, guest lists planning is very important to make your life hassle free during your wedding day. For a small or big wedding, guest lists tracking is very important. I made a guest list tracker for my wedding. This helps me to count the number of guests, track each guest, name, track the invites and manage my wedding guest lists. It will be easier for me to make the escort cards and make the seating plan organize. Although, you may have wedding coordinator or something, but the thing is, they don't know your relationship with the guest/s. As much as I wanted to make the wedding like "sit wherever you like", for 150 plus guests, there will be a commotion if you will not have a seating plan.


Here is my wedding lists tracker:

If you wish to have a template like this, you may download this here ---> Download Guest List Tracker

Wedding in Manila: Wedding Shoes for the Bride

Okay, my table is really damn messy.

 Currently procrastinating, sa sobrang mixed na plans.. nakakatamad mag ayos ng table.

I'm searching for a luxury bling bling shoes online. I have a thing for sparkly things that's why our motiff - SILVER, white and icy blue. Plus, I'm a very lazy person that's why I usually do online shopping (yung days na Ebay plang uso sa pinas ganoon na ako kaaddict sa online shopping).

Check out what I found:

Nine west Sparkle Shoes 

This bridal wedding shoe above is around 2200 pesos. 

This bridal shoe above is around 3000 pesos/pair.

This bridal shoes above is around 4000 pesos.

This bridal shoes above is around 6,000 pesos.

This bridal shoe above is around 10,020 pesos per pair.

Wedding in Manila: Table Name Holder

These past few days I have been busy procrastinating.There are days that I get really tired with the wedding preps and I would just spend my days sleeping and watching documentaries online . I wanted to have a descent wedding but at the same time I was thinking; I never really wanted to have "the wedding". My mom just wanted me to get married in a church. I did not have plans of getting married in a church, I wanted to have a civil wedding where there would only be 20 guests. But for my mom's sake, I am having a church wedding. So there..

For most brides I think, they wanted to have a perfect wedding. Who doesn't want anyway? But the reality is there is no such thing a perfect one. Some things might not go well with the plan. But the important thing is the happiness that you will feel on that day and the days to come as husband and wife. Some brides kasi, they wanted like this or like that. Kapag may nakita silang wedding or invitation ng friends nila, they would like "gusto ko mas maganda dyan'. Then they end up na wala na silang money sa pag start ng life nila as one. I remember when my brother's best friend got married, they had to loan 1M for the wedding. WTH. It's not practical now a days. For some, makakita sila ng ganito kagandang wedding invitation then sasabihin nila "ako hindi ako magpapatalo" I also want like that or better than that. For me, I just wanted a descent wedding, yung my family and friends would enjoy, and they they would tell themselves "your wedding day... ah that day...".

When I was younger like 3 years ago, where I was just bumming around, like drinking, partying etc. My 25th birthday was one of the best days of my life - I can say. It was an all black party. Every guests should be wearing black. Everyone enjoyed the celebration. You can't see it in the picture though.

What I am trying to say is that, yeah.. you can have the best invitation. You would have the better and more luxurious shits for your wedding. But the main purpose of getting married is the celebration of two people united as one. Plus, sharing that special day with your family and friends. Yun ang essence ng wedding right? So there you go...

Today, I printed a sample table signage/sign (whatever you call it) for the wedding. I bought about 20 pcs of picture frames (as table name holders) at Ikea. They are on sale anyway, last time one piece was about 1.80 or 1.90 sgd I think, then right now it is just 90 cents. What a bargain? I will be placing the table names in the picture frame.

table name holder

Actual set-up in our wedding - table name

Wedding in Manila Amazing Couples Area

According to Mark Twain, too much anything is bad. But for flowers in the wedding, too much is not that bad at all. I've searched online for couple's area / stage arrangements/design, I have realized that when it comes to wedding reception arrangements or couple's area/stage designs, Indonesia and middle east countries got the best. I even asked my friend, how come in the Philippines I have not seen these kinds of arrangements?

So here are the pictures (credits to the owner).

 

Couple's Stage from Lightworks Indonesia

Wedding Entrance Area

 

Entrance area

 

 

Wedding Manila: Osep and Mimi Photography Bad Exp

Osep and Mimi Photography - So for an overseas bride like me I relied looking for suppliers with search engines - google, yahoo, bing, etc. After a thorough of search I found Osep and Mimi photography. I asked for their rates. I immediately got their rates on that day. Their rate is "abot kaya". I searched for reviews about them - "osep and mimi photography reviews", osep and mimi photography experience, om weddings reviews, etc. So I only got few reviews and those few reviews seemed okay. According to some reviews, some couples found them accommodating etc. So I thought osep and mimi photography was for me or i should say us (me and h2b). So I immediately booked them since Osep said if we booked them right away makakahabol pa sa "promo" nila. We immediately placed a down payment and I sent him the copy of the deposit slip. But I received no reply or email confirming that he received the deposit. So I sent him messages twice thru email, once through viber and two times of sms. After sometime, he replied that he received it (without any acknowledgement receipt attached). 

We set a meeting sometime - end of January 2014 para sa contract because he did not send any contract pa or acknowledgement receipt (even though I asked him). So he told me to meet sa end ng January para sa contract and to talk about the pre-wedding shoot. 10 days before I went back I emailed him asking kung kelan sya meet but he did not reply. So okay busy siguro kaya hindi nag rereply. 

Then, bago ako umuwi ng Phil, I tried to call him but no answer. Nasa Phil na ako I called him and texted him kung nasaan na sya at ano na meeting but walang reply. On my birthday I even emailed him but walang reply. After 4 days he texted me gabi nun saying "bukas po ba kaya nyong makipagmeet 10am sa may Mindanao Avenue. Kaya ba ng 10am? Ha?? What the hell is wrong with this guy? Nag set sya ng time at place ng agad agad. Ako ba ang supplier or sya? So I told him na hindi ako familiar sa mindanao ave at nakaset ang umagang yun sa pagkuha ko ng PRC license. May ibang time pa ba na pwede at place. Then after nun he did not reply na. So isipin mo, I emailed him to set a meeting before pa ako umuwi. Days na nasa pinas ako but he was not replying. Then agad agad magtext sya nga ganun. So sabi ko sige next uwi ko na lang. I asked him to email me the contract na lang at acknowledgement receipt sa payment namin. So nakabalik na ako ng SG, lahat lahat na, I emailed him again and again. After almost 3 weeks he sent me this:

Isang blankong kontrata. Even date man lang at yung down payment ay wala. So narealize ko na OM weddings photography or Osep and Mimi Weddings Photography could be good in their craft as wedding photographers (based on the pictures I saw) but they don't know how to do good business (based on my experience). So I emailed him to cancel na lang and if we could get the down payment since wala pang kontrata as in wala pa kahit resibo. But I did not get any response kahit man lang apology na hindi na nila mababalik ang down payment or something as in wala!

For those who are going to get photographers na hindi pa nila nakikita or meet in person specially kung overseas kayo take time or mag papencil book muna kayo para hindi kayo maloko or maisahan. Ang photo industry ngayon maraming nag sulputan na wedding photographers in Philippines, freelance wedding photographers etc. The thing is, sabihin na nating they could be could in what they do, but wedding photography is hindi lang craft yun; business ang wedding photography at yun ang hindi narerealize ng wedding photographers na nag join the business ng photography. May time ka dapat sa clients, alam mo dapat na after nag send sayo mag sesend ka ng acknowledgement receipt, etc. Ito ang consequence kung kukuha ka ng wedding photographers na parang Osep and Mimi photography because ikaw yung laging mag follow up. Sobrang hassle in terms sa pag follow up etc - taas ang anxiety level nyo. Kuha ng kuha ng clients kapag nag bayad na ang clients eh wala ang eagerness na mapunoan ang pagkukulang in terms of business. Ako sa din naging freelancer sa Pinas back in my "pariwara" days so kahit gusto mo din intindihin na walang time na ang tao sa sobrang dami ng ginagawa edi sana hindi na lang tanggapin. Usually naman tlaga nakaka overwhelm ang kapag maraming clients na gustong kumuha. Mas maraming clients mas maraming kita. Pero sana mag set lang ng quota siya per month na pwede. Hindi yung okay ng okay at the end walang makukuha ang clients kundi pag taas ng anxiety. Tapos hindi pa ibabalik yung money kahit reply man lang eh wala.

CONCLUSION:
 1. In getting a freelance photographer like Osep and Mimi Wedding Photography you should be prepared with the following:
A. bag of patience -  because you have to follow them up like forever! If a bag of patience is not enough, then you should be prepared an extra bag.
B. time - they are usually busy and do not have for meetings, so you have to adjust your time for them.
2. You have to meet them first in person before paying them. Just look what happened to me! I never got a email after asking them about the payment. There was no contract nor acknowledgement receipt so wala akong mahabol or something.

Wedding in Manila: Table Names

Table name is small detail in a wedding reception. But as for me, it took me a little of pag-iisip what would be the table names in the wedding reception. The usual thing is by table number but numbers are related to hierarchy. Some guest might feel "ohhh" if their table number is 10 or 7; something like that - so we are opting for table names instead of table numbers. Plus, it is a great way in putting something personal in the wedding reception.

Here are some of table name ideas you can have for your wedding reception. 

1. Name of Cities - So you can use the cities of the country where you are working or maybe in your home country.

2.  Favorite Songs - One of a great way to personalized your table names is through your favorite songs. Then, you can add description on it. 

3. MRT Stations - If MRT station is part of your love story, then a great way to personalize the table names is by names of MRT stations; eg. Gil Puyat, Edsa, etc.; Woodlands, Jurong East, etc.

4. Favorite Author - If you are a book worm or both of you; then your favorite authors would be great.

5. Favorite Actors 

6. Favorite Movies - if you both love movies then your favorite movies would be a great idea for table names in your wedding reception in Manila.

7. If you have a theme, like for example a fairy tale theme, then you can use the terms in fairy tale land as the table names. eg. Magic Wand, Fire Flies, etc.

8. Name of Flowers - for nature loving people, you can use the names of flowers.

9. Animals - if both of love animals, then you can use the names of animals as table names.

10. Coffee Flavours - for coffee lovers, coffee flavours as table names is one great idea in personalizing the details in your wedding reception. 

As for us, we are going to use the names of the greatest philosophers. 

Wedding Reception Oasis: Electricity Charge

Okay, so here's the deal with the electricity charge at Oasis Manila. Here's the shitty thing having your reception at Oasis Manila. We have to pay 500 for photo booth outlet. They will charge 1.5K for every 10 amperes of electricity you will be using. So for us, I think we will be paying more than 10K for the electricity. WTF! Even if we change our lightnings to LED we will be paying alot. The calculation for ampere rating is like this: using the ohms law for single phase the calculation for the electricity P(Wattage) = V (Voltage) x A (Ampere). In order to get the ampere rating A (ampere) = P(wattage of the equipment)/V(220V). For every 100W there is 0.4545 Watts.   Oasis Manila calculation for ampere is 100W = 0.5A.

For example, if you are going to have a haze machine in the venue; the wattage of haze machine could be 1500W. So =(1500W/100)*.5  You will get, 7.5A for that. So it means if you are going to have one haze machine and one bubble machine probably OASIS MANILA will charge you 1.5K pesos for the two equipment (it actually depends on the wattage of the equipment).

Since we have 24 units of Par 64 LED; Approximately the wattage of normal 3W LED Parabolic 64 Uplight is 110W. So it means for 24 units, the ampere rating will be 13.2A. So we will be paying another 3K for that.

I guess, we will just rent a generator. The Oasis Manila (they) charge way too much for the electricity.

Wedding Manila: Pre-Cana

Tonight, I'll be flying back to Manila for the pre-cana. Pre-cana is a course that couples must undergo before getting married in a Catholic Church. For San Sebastian Church, the pre-cana is usually every 3rd Friday of the month.

For more info you can contact San Sebastian Church:
San Sebastian Church
Tel. No. 7348908
Every 3rd Friday
Php 500/couple

I've been sad for a week now. My closest cousin just passed away. Shit happens.

UPDATE:
If you are going to wed at San Sebastian Church, then, there is no need to pay for 500 pesos. But if you are guest couple meaning you are going to wed in a different church then a fee of 500/couple is required.

The pre-cana started around 7pm, although the call time was 6:30pm. The session started with the priest explaining the sanctity of marriage and his experiences with the couples being wed at San Sebastian.

Then, another speaker spoke about the difference between man and woman, life of a married couple, etc.

Lastly, the event coordinator of San Sebastian spoke about the rules of San Sebastian Church.
> The wedding is strictly 1 hour. So if you want to have more picture taking, then you must pay another 1 hour - it means that you must pay 50K.
> If you opted for 1 hour only, they suggest that the officiating priest should be from San Sebastian Church since they already know the flow of the ceremony in San Sebastian.
> No offertory in San Sebastian.

Manila Wedding Detail: Guest Book

If your tired with the boring guestbook, here are some unique alternatives I found online for Wedding Guest Book:

1. Wishing Tree (Alternative for GuestBook). Ask the guests to write their wishes and hang them on a wishing tree.

2. Stamp (Alternative for Guest Book). You can have a printed tree on a huge cardboard. You will allow your guests to leave their finger prints on the branches of the tree. You can use your motif for the color of the stamp. Then, they can sign their names on their finger prints.

3. Guest Blog. Using a webcam;Your guest will take a photo of himself/herself; post it in a blog (you created); then he/she can add a message for the newly weds. Techy ah?

4.Heart shape paper to be filled with message for the newly weds. I guess I'll have this kind of guest book. Simple but cute.

5. Stone Guest Book.Allow your guests to write their wishes on stones.Rustic.

6. Alternative GuestBook . You can place the one below on the seats of the guests then they can just add their wishes/messages. Simple as that.

7.Alternative GuestBook. The same as with number 6 but you can put different wordings.

8.Fill in the Blanks Guestbook

9. Bow of Wishes (Alternative Guestbook)

Here's one of our wedding guest booklet