official wedsite - update

i figured it's time to update the official wedsite again....

i finallly added the "How we Met" section...... i still need to get h2b's side of the story for the Proposal section.... i also need to update the Philippines wedding's Team since we pretty much have all the suppliers booked except for the wedding coordinator......

as to the U.S. wedding.... i still have nothing to put there still since we haven't booked our reception venue yet.... once that's taken care of all the other details will just follow....

im sorry, the official wedsite is still just for relatives and close friends..... you need to have the wedpass to view it.....

photobooth is out!

...atleast for our taste...

don't get me wrong, photobooth was a cool idea but being, well, somewhat a non-conformist that i am i try not to join the band wagon...... we liked the idea of having a photobooth on our wedding in the philippines to keep our guests busy while we're busy with our wedding photoshoot specially since we might need 2 hours (we need  to wait for the sunset)...... but i'm not liking the photobooth anymore....... tons of couple have done it already so we scoured the net for something different...... when we found this supplier that does onsite studio set up we're sold!  both the h2b and i are photo hobbyist so this is really something that would entice us....... plus we really think this would be a hit...... something our guests would enjoy...... specially my cousins and friends who are photo studio addicts, lol.....

so how is it different from photobooth? well, it's not just a booth where it can only take half body pix.....it's an actual studio, like a rolling studio.....with lights and softbox and everything so guests can do their glamour shots......... also excellent for having family portraits taken which would be ideal since everyone is there and are dressed nice......  oh! and like photobooths, it also does instant printing......

anyway, after thinking about it for months and months i finally gave in (the h2b was insisting on doing this but i was the one who was having second thoughts because they're somewhat pricey)............
we paid for the deposit to block our date last friday and they have just sent us the Conforme Agreement today......we'll talk about the details when our wedding date gets closer but basically, we just need a paris theme set up since that's our wedding theme "paris travel"........

image credit: http://www.jp-images.com/studio.htm

pinas ToDos

Things to do when i go home for a quick vacation (in no particular order):

1. Food tasting
    - h2b is v-e-r-y particular with food and the first thing he asked me to do is to NOT do the basic package. We're getting package C or D. We  really want D because we love chilean sea bass but the sauce that comes with it kinda scares us. So I need to make sure I tried that first before we commit to the food package. If that didn't work, package C it is.

2. Interview wedding coordinators.
     - I already have a shortlist of whom I want to get but we want to make sure we have a certain rapport therefore the need to meet with them face to face. We just need partial coordinating because we're pretty much done with the major stuff. We're done with the researching, haggling, booking, paying the deposits and ofcourse conceptualizing the theme of the wedding. We can actually just do the OTD (on-the-day) but I need someone who can do errands for us 6 months before the wedding because I really think that would be the stressful part. Like, I need someone to make "kulit" the couturier for my entourage gowns to make sure he/she delivers on time. I need someone to accompany my entourage during fitting. I need someone to close the deal about the detailing for the reception (what color of napkins, what table cloth to use, how to decor the reception area, etc). Basically, the wedding coordinator will be my "eye"  and my second hand when I go back to the U.S. And since I'm anal, I want to hire someone who's very organized and meticulous about stuff  like me too.

3. Go to divisoria.
     -  I need to buy my raw items for my DIY projects. I have DIY projects for both the US and Philippines wedding . See my  Divisoria to buy list

4. Meet personally with the photographers and videographers.
     - I might schedule an engagement photoshoot with my photographer or an MTV video with my videographer (i have to make sure my free trial make-up doesn't go to waste, lol)

5. Open a peso checking account
     - To make paying "large" items easier. Payment for "large" items starts 3 months before the wedding.

6. Visit the wedding venue
      - and take photos and videos. Also, I need  to locate the good spots for wedding pictorials.
      - ask about the bridal room..reserve it and see how it looks like
      - reserve gazebo as back up?  

7. Talk to the chapel's person-in-charge.
      - Ask about  "mixed" marriage (h2b is non-catholic) paperwork and if pre-cana and other seminars can be done in the U.S.

8. Talk to prospective vans or coaster rentals.
      - For entourage transpo.

9. Buy h2b a barong
      - For the beach wedding in the U.S.

10. Do the trial hair and make up.

 11. Talk to the hotel manager.      
     -  We have made up our mind on where to stay 3 days before the wedding. I need to talk to the manager to ask for wedding discounts for out-of-town guests.

12. Meet with my entourage.
       - Thank them for agreeing to be part of the wedding.

13. Look for entourage couturier.
      - Should be near the majority of the entourage.

14. See if I can book the surprise gift this early.
      - That "thing" that I'm sacrificing my gown to.

15. Go to cartimar and look for bird cage.    
     - Nope, we're not using it for the doves. It's for something else which I will reveal on the wedding.

<to be continued>

image credit: halfdozendaily.wordpress.com

yellow meadow, where art thou?

this past few days i have been driving the h2b crazy because i was pestering him about finding a yellow meadow, lol

since i live in suburb philly there are a lot of wide empty spaces..... unfortunately, none of them is a yellow meadow.... when i say yellow meadow, i'm talking about yellow wild flowers..... buttercups, rapeseeds or daffodils

i am actually finding those yellow wildflowers all over the place since last saturday but the problem is it's just a small random area..... or if i did find a 'somewhat' big area, it's right next to a highway! i need a big open, kinda discreet area...... because i want to do this:

or this:

but we'll keep looking..... i'll drive around this week after work to see if i could find some.....


i also mentioned to the h2b my plan about doing the winter photoshoot at his yard..... i said we can buy those cheap arch/arbor at home depot and we can use it as props..... he thought it's interesting but first we need to put arbor vitae so we could have some privacy if we decide to push through with the pictorial..... we might start planting some arbor vitaie this fall--hopefully...... our wedding expenses are piling up so we'll see if we still have money to afford those trees, lol......




image credits:  thaoski.com/

tiffany blue - inspiration board

our civil beach wedding inspiration board...
click the image for bigger view

four seasons prenup

we got this idea when one of my friends posted her spring engagement photos (hi anne!) and she mentioned that it was supposedly a four-season prenup but time wasn't on their side because they got too busy......

that's another advantage of a long engagement, we can do engagement photoshoots on all four seasons-autumn, winter, spring and summer...... and the other nice thing is we'll have two chances of autumn and winter season for photoshoots.....  we could have two summers too but we need to lose weight first, haha...... so we'll start our first prenup this autumn.....  i get so excited just thinking about it!

anyway....

right now we're busy looking for locations...... we have already found two good locations for our autumn photoshoot - valley forge and longwood garden.......... summer's easy, because we can just go to any beach plus our civil wedding photos can double as summer prenup too....... i mean, "church" prenup, i know, it's confusing, lol ....... spring is easy too but i really want a buttercup meadow (like on that photo above) but i'm not sure if we can find one without travelling long distances......... if we can't find a yellow meadow i guess we'll just go to fairmont park or longwood garden.....  the really tricky location to find is for the winter photoshoot......  we're looking for a place with long lines of trees and a wide space with a bench (like that on the photo)...... if we can't find one maybe  we'll just do it at h2b's yard....... his yard looks pretty at winter time....

image credits:
weddingbee.com
chicagoillinoisweddingphotography.com/category/chicago/
victoriawithroses.blogspot.com
thaoski.com

beach wedding motif

when we went to cape may and witnessed a beach wedding there's one thing in that wedding that immediately caught my attention--a dark color motif  is not a good color for a beach wedding....

why?

the bridesmaids looked like they were wearing  black dresses (it was some kind of dark purple)  from afar specially when they are back lighted......

we figured we need to have a color that's really bright..... something that's the same color as the ocean.....or sky....or some other happy beach colors..... a color that would pop out even if it's cloudy....something that would complement the color of the ocean......

then on one of our visits in cape may, i was wearing a bright blue top and had my photo taken infront of a life saver boat that has "cape may" written on it and with the ocean as my backdrop.... and boy oh boy, that color really popped out ....... and that's when we had an epiphany, lol...... so what would be our civil wedding color motif is now?

                               

tiffany blue
(or aqua blue)

image credits: kaboodles.com and tiffany.com