James & Ann: A LOVE TO REMEMBER Wedding Suppliers Rating Part 1

It's been a month since our wedding and I can still remember how beautiful and solemn it turned out to be. Our dream wedding came true, the 1 year and 9 months preparation ( including all the ups and downs) were all worth it and it is because of our families, friends, suppliers, and most specially God's help. Every wedding, no matter how organize and grand the suppliers are, there will always be glitches (whether it is a major or minor one). In my case, I can only remember the feeling of nervousness and excitement that day rather than stress. James and Ayeth (Our coordinator that became our friend) joined forces to fix all the problems, so I could be a worry free bride and yes it really happened. I will let you know the mishaps later, but for now I will just start rating our wedding suppliers.

Because of our honeymoon trips, Lipat-Bahay projects, and the holiday season I wasn't able to immediately write our suppliers rating. Even though I'm in the office,  I can now start rating (petiks mode on).

Legend: 1- lowest, 5- highest

Wedding Ceremony Venue: IGLESIA NI CRISTO, TEMPLO CENTRAL
Rating: 5++++

Every INC couple dreams of getting married here and we are very thankful that we had the once in a lifetime opportunity. Templo Central is our main church and you are lucky if you got a wedding date slot here because not every couple's request are granted. We just tried our luck last year, and prayed for it. Thank God he answered our prayers.

Our ceremony was very solemn because guests are prohibited to take pictures with flash during the ceremony and mobile phones are being surrendered in the guard house area before entering the church premises.

Peso power: None! we don't pay fees for wedding ceremony reservations, INC ceremony choir, and officiating minister :)

Bridal Gown And Groom's Suit Couturier: EMIL OCAMPO
Rating: 5++++

What can I say, we love Emil!:) We booked him last year, so we got his old rate for our gown and suit. Of all the designers I've inquired, his price range was the most affordable.  Emil is so patient, quiet, and kind. I had 3 gown sketch revisions (maarte kasi ako) and 8 fittings! yes you read it right, 8 fittings because of my not so proportional back and waistline hehe. He made a very beautiful gown for me (that made me look so slim and fab!) and a dashing suit for James. Up to now, I still hear praises of my gown and James' suit from the guests. I know his rate right now went up a bit, but Emil is still one of the most affordable and talented designers in the Philippines. He will deliver you what you want, just let him know ;)

Pics of our gown and suit from Paolo Feliciano (our wedding ceremony photographer)

Peso power: Undisclosed. Old rate :)

Prenup photographer: BENJIE TIONGCO
Rating: 5++++

I discovered Benjie last year I think around June-July when he was just starting  his own photography business. Benjie was with Imagination photographers before, so yes he is well trained. I was having doubts with our first booked P/V supplier then ( because of a lot of negative comments I've read that time) so we decided to find another one. When we met Benjie, we were still not sure if we are going to totally give up our first booked P/V so we just got his prenup services.

Come prenup day, he's the bomb! for his age, he is young but very very talented. He made us do poses that we never imagined we could do. We had buwis buhay poses, like posing on a dead end bridge ( when you look down the sea awaits), and a running shot wherein James forgot I was wearing 4 inch heels so I slide down the ramp ( thank God I have no scratches, just a minor bruise on one knee).  To know more about our prenup shoot, check this link.

Some pics from our prenup shoot: (I can't wait Benjie to post these pictures in his blog)

 

 Buwis buhay shot 1

 Buwis buhay shot 2

Peso power: 10,000 pesos- His old rate for prenup services only :)

Prenup HMUA: ULY SARIEGO
5++++

Our original prenup hmua backed out 4 days before our scheduled prenup shoot for some LAME reason ( and I was so stressed that time!- PM me if you want to know who it was) thank God a friend of mine referred Uly ( she also got him as her prenup hmua) and he's my saviour. He transformed me into a hollywood star (naks!) during our prenup shoot. One of the employees in the prenup venue even asked if I am an actress haha ( kilig!).Uly is very nice and soft spoken (walang ka ere-ere). To know more about our shoot check this link again and our pics above.

Peso power: 1,500 pesos- Old rate . We provided him transportation (back and forth QC) so Out Of Town fee ( OOT) was waived.


Reception venue and caterer: THE GRAND TERRACE AND VS&F CATERING
Account Executive (AE): Val Jamora
5++++

I chose The Grand Terrace (TGT) as our reception venue because it's very near our ceremony church. We didn't visit other venues, and thank God we made the right decision. Come wedding day, TGT and VS&F delivered more than what what we expected, and it is because of the high efforts our AE, Mr. Val Jamora exerted.

A brief side-kuwento, Val was not our original AE. We had two AEs before we are turned-over to Val. Our first AE was Clarice Enriquez, but all of a sudden she resigned without informing us. I just knew about her resignation, when one day I decided to call VS&F for some reception decor inquiries. Ms. Maricel Tupas ( I think she was Clarice's supervisor) apologized and told us she instructed Clarice to inform all her clients before leaving. Starting that day, Ms. Maricel handled our account. My mom was still not satisfied with our AE,  because she wanted the AE who handled her friend's son reception in TGT before ( and that was Val), so even though Ms. Maricel was nice, my mom called VS&F and requested for Val. That time Val was still on-leave so for the meantime Ms. Maricel handled our account. I think a month already passed, and my mom still insisted of changing our AE so she called again VS&F and finally talked to Val. Val happily accepted our account, and accommodated our every request.  I know sometimes he gets annoyed because of my mom's frankness and "kakulitan" but now looking back, I am thankful that my mom was makulit and I have so many requests because our reception was very beautiful! We even changed our venue from Venus Garden to The Grand Pavillion of TGT ( it was bigger that it can accommodate 200-300 guests) though changing venues means extra charge, in the end it was all worth it.

Val meticulously designed our reception area. He exceeded my expectations and he even added a surprise Eiffel tower centerpiece in the buffet area  as a gift to us with no extra charge! ( Yes, James and I had a Paris inspired reception theme). From the table covers, table centerpieces ( I didn't expect that my centerpiece will be that pretty because it was just twigs and some flowers on top, but indeed it was rustic chic!), table napkin fold, cake, olympic drapings and crystals etc.

Our guests loved the food! a friend of mine, who was one of my bridesmaids told me that they heard guests raving how good our food was while they were retouching inside the bathroom. From the start until the end of the reception all guests were full, happy, and satisfied :)

Note: If you are looking for a great reception area around Q.C. visit The Grand Terrace. They have different function rooms that can accommodate your desired number of guests and their food? superb!. Though TGT have a small parking space, but no worries because they rent out Isuzu's front parking lot during occasions. The guards will lead you to proper parking spaces :)

Peso power: Undisclosed. Old rate :)

String Quartet: LEGGIERO STRINGS AND CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 
Rating: 5++++

In 2011, I was looking for a string quartet that can perform modern/pop songs. I liked this particular quartet but their price was not within our budget range so I let them go and searched for another. While researching, I found Leggiero's website and they definitely caught my attention! they have sample performances in their website, they can perform Katy Perry, ColdPlay, Bruno Mars, Maroon 5 songs and etc. James is very meticulous when it comes to music, when I emailed him their website he suddenly texted me and told me to book them immediately.

During our reception, I listened carefully and they perfectly played every song in the list that I gave them (The song list was a combination of modern and ballad songs that James and I love hehe). I didn't know that one of their members is an INC too!so cool :)

Note: They bring their own floor monitor so you don't have to rent one  :)

Peso power: 10,000 pesos. Old rate :)

Wedding photographer: PAOLO FELICIANO
Rating: 5++++
From w@w auction

How am I going to start? hmmm...Okay so I got 3 photographers! haha. One is Benjie Tiongco for our prenup, the 2nd one was our original photographer ( we decided to change them for some reason-PM me if you want to know them) but we still availed their prenup services so our DP won't go down to waste, and finally Paolo as our wedding photographer.

I won the w@w auction last 2011 and got Paolo's wedding photography services. At first, I really don't know him and his works only if it wasn't for my w@wie friend Roan. She introduced Paolo's website to me, and suddenly I became a fan. It was my first time to join an auction, and hell it was so good to bid! I read the rules and Roan gave me tips ( because his hubby always bids at ebay), so there I suddenly received an email that I won!:)

At first, I thought because I only paid half of his original price, his team will also be half on our wedding day hehe ( meaning less photographer to shoot), but I was wrong. Paolo and his whole team came on our hotel in full ( they are 6 in the team including the Photo slideshow maker). They shoot here, there, and everywhere! Paolo made me look like a cover model of a wedding magazine :D During our reception dinner, they played our Photo slideshow and everybody loved it! all the pictures in the slideshow are RAW (meaning unedited) but we are stunning!:) I'm going to get the pictures from Paolo anytime soon, so for the meantime here are some teasers from our wedding :)

  

 

 I only exchange FB, email, and text messages with Paolo after the auction  and it was our first time meeting him during the w@w Xmas Party 2012 at Blue leaf. He's really very nice (good looking too hehe) and accommodating.

Peso power: 16,000 pesos only for service thanks to w@w auction! and additional 3,500 pesos for the SDE photo slideshow.


That's it for now, wait for my suppliers review part deux! :)

1st prenup photo shoot: DONE!:)

Disclaimer: You will see a lot of exclamation marks while reading this post. It only shows how happy I am with how our prenup shoot turned out.

Last June 5 was our first prenup photo shoot, and it was a successful one! :) It was held at the Water Craft Ventures Shipping dock in Subic, beside Subic Bay Yacht Club ( It's a a private shipping company selling boats, yachts, speed boats etc.) and we owe it all to our Ninang Ghe for the free access (thanks Ninang we love you to bits!). It was our first time to ride a yacht for a whole day shoot and we felt like living the life of Manny Pacquiao. Our prenup photographer is Benjie Tiongco and my hmua is Uly Sariego. They are amazing! Benjie was really really good in his craft and Uly made me look like a star that day!:)

James and Kevin (James' cousin) arrived at our home around 5:30 a.m. The original plan was to wait for Ninang Ghe, because she will ride on our vehicle ( Thanks Kevin for lending us your sweet ride), but she called us up and told us that she will bring her own car together with his husband, Tito Jojo. After we fetched our suppliers, we'll just meet up at Shell Gasoline Station along NLEX.

We fetched Benjie and his assistant ( Sorry Kuya I forgot your name), around 6:00 a.m. at SM North, The Block. We waited another 10 minutes for Benjie's friend ( a photography enthusiast too) to arrive, but unfortunately he's still in Santolan MRT station, and that's still around 10-20 minutes minutes away from SM North. Since we are in a hurry, Benjie told me to leave him and proceed to Uly's waiting place.

Uly was very prompt. He's already in 7-11 near Jackman, Munoz around 5:30 a.m. Take note, he lives in Fairview .I didn't know he lives in Fairview, If only I knew it earlier I will told him to wait in SM North too. I was surprised to see him when he went out of 7-11, because I thought he was big! because his profile pic in his FB account says so, but no! he's so thin in person. I even told my mom " Mama, usog usog ka dito sakin medyo malaki si Uly." (Hehe bad me), but like I said, he's the other way around. Being the curious me,I can't help asking him what he did to be that thin hehe. He said, when he started dieting, he just ate fruits, vegetables and fish, take note, no rice and meat. But now, he enjoys eating any food he wants but in moderation. Upon hearing those words from him, it motivated me more to pursue my diet and exercise routine for the big day hehe. I am now doing the 1 rice a day challenge and Zumba workout 3-4 times a week, and so far it works for me :)

When everybody's complete, we took the NLEX- Mindanao Avenue route and met Ninang Ghe and Tito Jojo at the Shell Gasoline Station in NLEX. We followed them until we reached the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and arrived at the Water Craft Ventures Shipping dock area. We got there around 9:00 a.m., It took us around 3 hours to get there.

At first look, the place was not that pretty and enticing..it's just a normal shipping dock area. The prettier version of it is the Subic Yacht Club, just in front of us hehe. But when you walk around the venue and reach the end, you could see ships being made and furnished at the steel area. The place for me was perfect for our movie and casual theme so I told James not to worry, because Benjie will unleash all his creativity to make plain areas look unique and pretty...and so he did :D

We stayed on the Water Craft's yacht the whole day. We had our costume changes, make up and photo shoot there. While Uly is applying makeup on my face and James is getting ready with his outfit, Benjie walked around  the vicinity to scout for more prospective photo opp areas. I love Uly to bits! he achieved my desired look for our themes. All the people in the dock ( Benjie, my mom, James, Kevin, Ninang Ghe and Tito Jojo) were in awe and they all asked "Ann Ikaw ba yan?" , James even said " Sana han ganyan ka nalang lagi.." haha. After the final touches, we started the photo shoot on the yacht and later on went around the venue for other photo opps. Supposedly, we should have another prenup venue in Subic, but James got really tired and he told me, he never thought that a prenup shoot would take that long hehe.

Uly was always with me, retouching my makeup and fixing my hair during the photo shoot (except the last shoot because he got lost, he didn't know where we went hehe). Benjie had lots of posing ideas, that we felt we were celebrities that day.I even told myseld, "Ang hirap palang maging artista!" haha. I had a minor accident during the shoot, we had a scene wherein we need to run, but James forgot I am wearing high heels so he ran fast while holding my hand, so I tripped off and got a small bruise on my right leg. Benjie told me, he thought I sprained my ankle because I slide down and sat in a very weird twisted position, but Thank God he didn't let that happen :)

All in all, it was a fun but very tiring shoot. Thank you Ninang Ghe and Tito Jojo for the free access and for accompanying us to the venue, to Kevin for lending us his van and to my mom for the delicious snacks she made for us.To our suppliers, Benjie Tiongco and Uly Sariego, thank you so much for the wonderful and very memorable prenup shoot.Last but not the least, Thank you God for giving us a very good weather on our prenup shoot. Days before the shoot it was raining hard, but on our prenup day it was hot and sunny :)

Below our some pics from the prenup shoot and prenup teasers from Benjie :)

My mom and Ninang Ghe

(L-R) Uly, Kevin. Mom. Moi, Benjie and Hannie :)

Again, last shot for the happy group :)

The Prenup Teasers

Love it! <3 <3 <3

Exactly 6 months to go!

I had the chance to blog today while in the office, because our "BIG BOSS" is blabbing around and hearing his voice gives me a headache. So to shift my mind off, I decided to post a blog while hearing his voice :D

Today is exactly 6 months to go before our big day! I'm nervous, knowing that in a few months I'm going to leave home and miss my family but at the same time happy, because I'm going to spend the rest of my life with the man I'm going to marry. So for our progress, tomorrow will be our first prenup photo shoot with Benjie Tiongco and his team. We prepared  three themes based on our common interests. The first one will be a movie theme ( from one of our fave movies),second a casual beach theme ( a.k.a kulitan blues habang nasa tabing dagat hehe) and last but not the least the music inspired bohemian theme. We prepared three different outfits per theme, but my friends suggested to bring a fourth outfit just in case my photographer suggested to change. I am also going to bring lots of props and accessories to accentuate each theme.

Before I end this blog, I wanted to share my experience with my ex-prenup hmua. She was referred to me by a friend, saw her portfolio, and booked her last year. Now,six days before our long time scheduled prenup shoot she called and told me that she can't go to our prenup shoot anymore because the scheduled arrival of his dad ( which she hasn't seen for 16 years) was rescheduled to June 5 instead of the original plan of going home on June 7. She reassured that her friend will replace her instead. Upon hearing the replacement hmua, I still kept my cool because I know that she'll give me someone she trust. Two days after, she texted me again that her "replacement" friend backed out too because she didn't agree with the amount I booked with my original prenup hmua, so she told me she'll find one within the day. Upon hearing those words, I panicked. I don't want to spend my weekend thinking who will be my new prenup hmua, so that day I decided to research for myself.  I got angry with her because she gave me stress that day, a major stress. I

After several hours of researching, my friend Jen noticed and asked me my sad YM status so I told her the whole story. I'm very thankful for her help because she recommended me her prenup hmua, Uly Sariego. Uly is nice and very prompt in answering my questions. He even texted me earlier reminding me not to put conditioner on my hair tomorrow ( so that he could curl my hair better). I promise to post my prenup suppliers review after the shoot, when? I still have no definite date, but I promise I'll post my review with pics.I've been also praying for a good weather..hopefully tomorrow God will answer it :D

Hoping to get some good sleep tonight,coz tomorrow Subic here we come! :)