The day before:

Woke up early in the morning to prepare the things we have to bring to the hotel. We booked rooms at Manila Diamond Hotel and our target was to be there by 2pm. A little pass 12pm, I was at the new house doing some last minute round-ups. I was only able to receive the turnover checklist from Clarice the night before due to some problems with her email. Dex was running some errands nearby and was finally able to meet me at around 2pm na. We rushed to Sta. Cruz church for our last confession. Luckily, the confession finished in a breeze. Super rush na talaga, something I was dying to prevent even long before. Lo and behold, we weren't spared from last minute panic.

We were so late, the staff at Diamond Hotel even called me up on the cellphone to confirm if we're going to check-in. We went back to the house after confession and we packed-up everything and prepared ourselves to leave. A friend of ours was kind enough to pick us up and be our chauffer and "kargador" for the day. Of course, the FX was provided too. Hehe... talking about abusing one's kindness huh? While we were driving along Roxas Boulevard, I was so captivated by the sunset view at Manila Bay. I double checked the time and kept in mind that we should be by the bay around same time the next day for sunset pictorials. Arrived the hotel at around 5:30pm. The boys had a hard time moving the things coz there were a lot of boxes – all heavy and bulky! Imagine we need 3 carriages to transport our stuff from lobby to the room! Kahit yun mga bell boy natatawa sa sobrang dami ng gamit namin, para kaming naglipat ng bahay kasi. *LOL* We booked 2 executive suites, one for each family. Being late has its advantages din. The hotel was fully occupied that day so we were able to get free upgrade on one of the Ex Suite to Diamond Suite. Since the free upgrade is for one night only, we decided to let Dex's family occupy that room. Lesser stuff kasi nila para hindi maghirap magcheck-out the next day. My room was on the 11th floor facing the bay. Nice view and the room was spacious. Pero I was dying with envy when I saw Dex's room. His room was located on the 25th floor, facing the bay din. The size was about the same as my room but the interior's a little different. Mas class at mas bago. At merong warmer pa ang toilet bowl!

After settling our things at the hotel, we part ways na. I went to Robinson's Place to have my nails done while Dex went to Gloria Maris to pick up the doves (yes, the doves). Another round of panic nga for me coz I went to several salons and they couldn't accommodate me anymore due to clients sa queue at malapit na magsara ang mall. Glad I was able to locate Let's Face It sa kasulok-sulokan and they're open until 10pm. I had foot spa and hand paraffin which was really relaxing. I love the scent of the paraffin wax so much I kept sniffing my hands the entire night! *LOL* You might think I'm nuts. Would you believe I also had facial the night before the wedding? Crazy yeah, I just felt the need to relax and be pampered. I just asked the girl who did the facial to skip the pricking coz I don't want my face to look like a swollen tomato on the wedding day. She suggested cleaning the white and blackheads at the least – and ouch, it hurts! *LOL*

While in the middle of the pa-beauty session, I got a text message from Niko saying he's on the way to Diamond. I asked him to just look for yaya who was at the hotel. By the time all the kikay stuff were done, it was already 10pm and I didn't have dinner yet. But since it's late already, I decided to just go back to the hotel (take note by foot). While on the way back, I realized na buti nalang we made the right decision of booking a hotel that's near the mall. My initial plan was to book Phil. Plaza since I wanted to have sunset shots. Then we moved to Manila Peninsula, then finally we ended up at Manila Diamond. I was thinking of the convenience to grab anything within reach kasi in case may mga last minute na kailangan bilhin. At least, it's enough to prove na hindi ako praning sa mga nacoconsider kong scenarios before. hehe...

When I reached the hotel, yaya and nephew Pete was watching TV and I could "hear" my mom sound asleep. The moment I stepped into the bedroom, my reaction was - shocked, dazzled, impressed, overwhelmed, and excited (kulang nalang himatayin na ako.. exag hehe) - upon seeing the fitting form standing right next to the window with my gown on it. And the paraphernalia was displayed neatly on the coffee table beside. Siguro kung nandun pa si Niko that time, hinalik-halikan ko na siya sa sobrang tuwa. Haha...

A few minutes later, Dex and bestman Shioks came back from Gloria Maris and they bought me snacks from Contis (inutusan kasi ni Dex na ipagdrive siya... abuso!! :D). Aaww.... at least hindi ako nagutom... is't he the sweetest? :) Obviously, we didn't follow the pamahiin na couple shouldn't meet the day before the wedding.

After the guys left, I didn't feel a bit sleepy at all. Nanood nalang kami ni yaya ng Sana Maulit Muli. Hihi.... Pero too many crying scenes that night so I stopped watching. Wala ako sobrang magawa, kaya ayun, kinuha ko yun ribbons, scissors and tape... and embellished the arrahe and signing pens. Haha... I wasn't planning to do all that... wala lang talagang magawa at di lang ako makatulog. After getting tired with decorating the wedding stuff, I double checked the things we need to bring to the church and reception and put them in separate plastic boxes for turnover to the coordinators the next day. Something I learned from fellow w@wie brides.... promise, hindi talaga ako OC. :) After ko magpack at satisfied na ako sa mga hinanda ko, bigla ko naisip yun DSLR that I brought with me. It's nice to do some test shots especially yun mga wedding paraphernalia. Siyempre, feeling wedding photographer ako e. Great opportunity to capture macros. :) So ayun, kinuha ko yun camera. When I started to click... PFFFTT.. nice, no card! urggghhh!! Imagine yun gigil ko. I have the urge to go back home and get the card right there and then - which of course was impossible. Buti nalang nandiyan si yaya... papakuha ko nalang early in the morning. Buti nalang din malapit ang hotel sa bahay namin.. 30 mins ride lang. Buti nalang di ako makatulog kaya naisipan ko magpicture... I could imagine kung pano ako iiyak if ever I notice na wala akong card on the wedding day itself na. Buti nalang...

Pass 12:30 am, I decided to hit the bed. There were 3 of us on the king size bed – Pete, Ma, and me. Staring at my gown, I didn't notice I've fallen asleep... :)

... to be continued ....

Labels: wedding