He gave us a lot of photos but I will just share one over here :) I did my own make up for the shoot and we just chose from whatever clothes I had with me! It was a fun experience! :)
So I mentioned before that we will not have a pre-nuptial photoshoot. We did not see the point in them and we did not want to shell out cash. But this is more of a personal thing—I understand that some couples like it and I respect that and it’s great! To each his own, I think. Upon learning this, one of my good friends here in Singapore, Sam, offered to shoot for us. Since we are close friends and colleagues, he just wanted to give us a nice memorabilia or documentation of our pre-wedded bliss and love!
He gave us a lot of photos but I will just share one over here :) I did my own make up for the shoot and we just chose from whatever clothes I had with me! It was a fun experience! :)
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Wedding planning isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. It has its ups and downs; its joys and its stresses. I can imagine the most OC bride will have a difficult time (depending on how she handles emotions and stress) as not everything will go as smoothly as she thought it out to be, no matter how much preparation and eye for detail she has. I thought I was going to be that. Thankfully, I am more calm and unaffected than I ever expected for myself. Sure, there are times when I’d really lose it, but I always go back to my more phlegmatic and rational self who always seeks to find peace of mind and a common ground.
In my previous post, I mentioned about sticking within the budget. So yes, I really thought we had everything laid out—that we knew all the costs we were to shell out. As the days are approaching our big day, there are a whole lot of “little” things we didn’t think about. For the guidance of other brides to be out there (and my own checklist too), here were some items we had to pay for that we didn't originally plan: 1. Upgrade the musicians to play at the reception and not just the ceremony. I know. We should have thought of this, but the stingy part of me didn’t think we needed this. When I spoke to Queen, she mentioned that having a band or a choir play during the reception adds a visual value to the ambiance of the reception. For months out, I was pondering about swinging it with just piped in music. But I guess, she has a point. FINE. 2. Upgrade and go for Metrotech Projector rentals with 3CCD camera for livefeed and a 9 by 12 feet screen. Again, I thought the whole time, we were okay with having our own projector plus the screen available at elements (6 by 8 ft.). Our host Darlene (and our coordinator, Queen) recommended that we get Metrotech as they were the industry’s best plus their operators really had experience. I must admit, I hate it when something goes wrong with the visuals. Our photographer suggested we get a minimum of 4000ANSI lumens—which we did. As for the screen, the 6 by 8 ft. was apparently too small for a crowd of about 250 guests. What did I know? Haha. So I had to upgrade and get the projector from Metrotech too. And by Queen’s suggestion—we went for 3CCD camera for livefeed. Why livefeed? Well, once your guest list hits 200 plus, it’s hard for everyone to know what is happening up in front. It’s better with livefeed so at least even those in the far back of the room knows what’s going on. I for myself know how it feels like to “not know” what’s happening and think “I’m left out” in all the activity. FINE. 3. Balloons, party poppers, etc. Simply put, we don’t have a lot of effects and drama that’s photo and video candy so we had to have it. That’s all there is. I like the idea of using the balloons for a post-ceremony pictorial with the entourage. It just looks so pretty on photos and on the SDEs! 4. Neckties for the entourage. This part—I think this was our fault. We assumed it was a good idea to have everyone--the guests and the entourage--wear Barong, except for the groom, who will wear a suit, so he stands out, right? Then again, during our coordinator meeting, she mentioned that having that setup was over the top for a groom. E is already a tall guy who has commanding presence. It’s too much if he was the only one wearing something different as the rest of the guests. So from this point, we made the decision for the guys in the entourage to wear suits as well. With that decision, we needed to provide for their neck ties to match with the colors of the women in the bridal party. 5. Souvenirs for the entourage. Hahaha. This is our fault again. Okay, E and I are so stingy, we never thought of this. Well, I think we did but we dismissed it. So again, we were reminded that considering that our girls and our guys will be paying for what they’re wearing (not the guys, actually), it was only right that we give back something as a “thank you” gesture. What were we thinking not considering this?! Now we have to add this on our costs! So far, these are the things that just make my head shake, smile and breathe deeply. These little things—they seem so minute but once you add them all up, it still makes a dent to your budget. Less than a month to go and I’m sure there will be more “surprises” along the way. Thank goodness He provides us with our needs, that He never lets us down. …and our last “monthsary” of being boyfriend and girlfriend. Plus some of the dainty little details we have been pre-occupied with. I am just brimming with sooo much love and happiness :)
I just came back to Singapore following a 5-day “holiday” in Manila. I put that in quotation marks as it wasn’t really a holiday for me. E and I were all over Metro Manila fixing our documents, marriage license, church requirements, etc. Knowing how it is in the Philippines, you can expect that things weren’t really straightforward. There wasn’t any step-by-step manual on how to go about through the process. So, yes, you may have a list of requirements, but once you’re there, it’s really up to you how you find your way through offices, people, etc.
Thank God for E’s aunt who helped us secure and apply for our marriage license. She literally arranged everything for us and introduced us to people she knew in the municipality. This made the process a whole lot easier than if we were to say, just go there and figure out for ourselves. Marriage Preparation Seminar at CEFAM Over the weekend, E and I spent two days at the CEFAM at the Ateneo, where we had our pre-marriage seminar. This is a requirement of the church, but this was also something we wanted to do for us and our marriage. We knew about half-day seminars—but we opted for a much more in-depth preparation for the marriage. The course was about 5,000 pesos per couple. There were about 20 couples in our batch--all background ranging from really young couples to couples who came from previous marriages. Though I have nothing to compare it with, I really like the setup and the topics covered by the seminar. E and I were able to discuss thoroughly real-life issues a couple encounter once they are married. What’s great is that each couple gets a facilitator who will walk them through each “situation” and discuss our views and insights—what works, what might not. To be totally honest, E and I learned only a few things from the seminar. Not because it was bad, it was really good actually. It’s that, I guess when we started out as a couple; we weren’t being “cutesy” with each other anymore. We went straight into our expectations as partner and a spouse. Much more so when we moved to Singapore, where we learned to become independent and really build our partnership—without friends or parents. We have covered a lot of the topics prior to the seminar, such that, our views and insights were almost if not totally the same with each other! And I wasn’t surprised. We have already talked about handling finances, in-laws, jealousy, families, having kids. Suffice it to say, we came away with the knowledge and the confirmation that E and I were really on the same level and the same page with our view of our relationship, our family, our role as parents and as husband and wife. More than anything, this validation was something I really needed for some two years now. Being away from everyone and everything, E and I fight, fix things up and learn from our mistakes over and over--just the two of us. No family, no friends. In the end, we always come back to each other—even better than before. Within those times, I often wonder, are we doing the right thing? Is it normal to fight like this? Are we really supposed to fight over difficult topics and situations when we are only boyfriend and girlfriend? Shouldn’t it be just romantic and happy and fun? After the seminar—all my questions were answered. :) Everything was well worth it. Meeting the Queen Days before going back to Manila, I sent an SMS to Queen and informed her about my schedule. I was telling her it was okay if we did not meet during the 5 days since I was busy running around doing errands. She insisted on the other hand that we meet and turn over to her everything that we had. So I did put it in our calendar. Before our flight, I put together a clear book of all our contracts and list of our entourage with their contact details. Surprisingly for me, despite thinking I got it all covered, Queen gave me a lot more things to think about that I have never even considered! I was so glad I agreed to meet up! Even E made serious decisions after we met with Queen. She was just really our “calm” before the storm. Haha! E and I were in a stressful mood prior to meeting with her—we were so overwhelmed with lists and templates and preparations leading up to May 17 and here she was—sounding so calm and collected, telling us, “It’s okay…take it one at a time.” After our meeting, I felt a sense of relief that we truly were in good hands. She was the glue that was binding all the details together. With everything said, I felt the five days I spent back in Manila was very productive! The hardest part is over…now it’s easy letting go. ;) Haha! |
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29 year old newly-wed wife. Born and raised in Manila. Used to work and live in Singapore, now in Australia. Archives
December 2015
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