We arrived GM at around 7pm. I was surprised to see Angie and Ogie at the driveway waiting for us. I wasn't really expecting them to show up for the retouch since the gap between the preps and the reception was really quite long. Besides, I just brought it up once when I was inquiring for their services over the phone. That's what you call professionalism. :) Anyways, we were a bit confused as to where we should proceed because the guests were just arriving that time. Luckily, the manager of GM allowed us to use their office as waiting room where we could rest and do some retouch. Angie perked up my make-up a bit so I can achieve that "party look". The original plan was to let my hair down for the reception. But the up-do was lovely anyways so Ogie just put the hair piece on the side to achieve a different look. And wow, it did make me look dainty (the initial look was classic). Then, they also helped me remove my straps for the 2nd look.

At around 7:30pm, Clarice informed us that we may proceed to the reception area. While we were on the staircase, I could hear Sound Salad playing our entrance song - "Ain't that a Kick in the Head". Ang galing galing! I felt all the more ecstatic when I set my eyes on the reception venue. It’ fabulous!! It's as if the reception was held in a ballroom! I love the entire ambiance - the jazz music, the swags, the flowers, the VIP and couple's table, the mood lights, and oh, Alex's cherry blossom cake which was oh so very lovely (and yummy too). Everything's just so perfect and went way beyond my expectations.

From the grand entrance, we went straight to the dance floor for the first dance. The music we chose was Westlife's rendition of "Let there be love" (originally sung by Frank Sinatra). Why we chose that song? When we were just starting on our wedding preps, we would always play the album of Westlife called “Allow us to be Frank” in the car. “Let there be love” was our ultimate favorite and you know, we get mushy whenever we hear that song. That simple! *LOL* The song goes... "Let there be you! Let there be me! Let there be oysters... under the sea!" Would you believe, we didn’t practice at all for the first dance, not even once. And so as expected, we just made a fool out of ourselves in the dance floor! And the guests thought we just forgot our moves. *LOL*


After the dance, we went to the stage for the cake cutting. Of course, we have long forgotten how to properly cut the cake. Since the cake was frozen, e talagang nanggigigil yun mukha ko sa pag slice. But thank goodness, we didn’t make a total disaster out of it coz we were able to recall Alex’s habilins after a few tries. Though not perfect, we still made a decent slice… or at least it looked perfect on the pics. *LOL* The taste? Heavenly… I so love the mangoes and the icing. Should have told the waiter to serve the unfinished cake on our table, as what Aggie did on their wedding. Sayang yun cake!

Next in line was the bestman’s toast and then the opening prayer. During the prayer, I was surprised when I heard Sound Salad singing “The Lord’s Prayer”. It wasn’t included in the programme, but I’m glad they did it. The voice of the female singer was just awesome and I had goosebumps all over! Then Fr. Sierra (our parish priest) offered the prayer with music still on the background. Ang solemn talaga ng dating.

After the prayer, that's the only time we were able to notice the guests. It was a relief to see that most of the tables were filled. Dinner was served while Dex and I went table hopping for group photos. And we’re so glad we did the table hopping coz we were only able to recall the guests who have attended after we saw the pics. And oh, the picture AVP prepared by Dino was played while the guests were having dinner. As we’re going around, we received lots of complements on how nice our photos were. A lot of them were even asking who our photographer was. Of course, it’s another opportunity to plug Dino’s services. (master commission namin ha! *LOL*) Anyways, can you guess what’s the common feedback of all? --- Parang koreanovela daw. And I still get the same comment until now. Mukha ba kaming Korean celebrity? *LOL*

We were finally able to sit down and relax after going around for almost 30 minutes. Here’s the rest of the programme:

• Our choir friends performed a series of surprise numbers for us which really made the programme lively. They sang 4 songs in all – Love is the Answer (the choir’s ultimate favorite for weddings), Beginning Today, When You Say Nothing at All, and a Chinese song called “Peng You” (Friends). Ang pamatay – they made an MTV of the song Meteor Rain and the boys themselves acted as F4 members. Ano bay an, nabuking tuloy ako na F4 fanatic! Super funny! As in…
  

• Picture AVP prepared by Dex's college barkada. Actually, it was suppose to be my assignment. But as the wedding date drew near, I really can't find the time to do this. So we asked Gelbert to do us a favor since he's a graphic artist by profession (and a fantastic photographer as well). We just gave him a CD containing our pictures. The song we chose for the AVP was "High" sung by Lighthouse Family. Why? Coz it was my favorite when Dex and I were just starting to get along. *LOL* Anyways, the AVP was wonderful! Thanks Gelbert! :)
  

• Single's Game. To get away with the usual calling of names, this is what we did. The host (our ever dearest friend Grace) asked everybody to stand up. Then she asked the seniors, minors, and married people to sit down. After all the ineligible were eliminated, those who remain standing joins the game. The game was pretty simple. We called it the "King and Queen of Hearts" game. Clarice handed the singles with a deck of cards (which by the way was our wedding souvenir) and they were asked to choose one each. The guy who has the King of Hearts is the Bachelor, while the girl with the Queen of Hearts is the Bachelorette. Then we also have prizes (Starbucks GCs) for those who got the jokers. The bachelorette for the night was our candle sponsor and the lucky guy was a friend from the choir. Funny nga coz the two knew each other too well. Anyways, the usual na yun wearing of garter so I will not expound on it anymore.

• One of the highlights of the reception was the On-site AVP prepared by Threelogy. Actually, we gave Bong the liberty to use any song suitable to the video. I just told him na make sure I’ll have goosebumps. *LOL* True enough, the team was able to deliver the perfect video that touched everyone’s heart. I so love the music used on the MTV. It's Joy William's "Every Moment". All the guests were raving about our on-site video.

• Speech of the couple. It was suppose to be the speech of the groom. And you know how clever Dex's speech was? Here's what he said "We would like to thank everyone who shared this night, actually this whole day, with us. Sabi nila pag may prepared na speech parang scripted ang dating. So hindi ako nagprepare kaya eto, wala akong masabi." THAT's IT!!!! OMG!!! Well, it's so typical of Dex to say "wala akong masabi".. but but but... this is a wedding speech! As much as I want to get rid of any talking that night, I have no choice but to continue the speech – take note, impromptu. Here's how I started "We would like to thank all who shared this special moment with us. To the principal sponsors, suppliers, friends, and the elders..." Pardon me, I get barok and stutter whenever delivering speech in English, not to mention in public. See, I even forgot to thank our parents! Oh anyways, kakatapos ko palang sa word na "elders..", may naririnig na akong hagulgol sa tabi ko. Si Dex umiiyak na at nagtatago na sa shoulders ko! My God!!! Everyone's instant reaction was to laugh at him coz they thought it's a joke! Even the photo and video people thought it was a joke. I got teary-eyed din and have to pause a while before I continue delivering the rest of the speech. "You are so priviledged to see Dexter cry. We've been together for 8 years and I have never seen him cry like this before (Oh! I forgot he cried when his grandma passed away). I guess that's how grateful he is." blah blah blah... Well, that's how history was made. Now, everybody calls him "iyakin" (cry baby). *LOL*

• Duet - some of Dex's relatives requested a song number from us. So even though unprepared, we sang the song "Cherish the Treasure". This song was printed at the back of our invitation. Why? Because this was originally included in the programme. But I chickened out the last minute coz I don't want to get tensed the whole day. Anyways, we did well naman... ang taas lang nga ng key! *LOL*
  

The program ended at around 10pm. Exactly after serving the dessert. We're supposed to have some dancing after the program, but as some of the guests were already leaving, we have to go to the exit area and thank the guests who were leaving the venue. Sayang, I so like the music played by the band pa naman. When we came back the party has already ended. But we were still able to take some photos with our friends and the suppliers.

And you thought that’s the end of the story. Well, not quite. We had a short meeting with Clarice's team after the reception. She reported all that had happened that day including the glitches. Her team was efficient in handling whatever glitches and we did enjoy our wedding with minimal or almost no worries. She also did a tally on money matters and full turnover. Dun lang namin nalaman, their team wasn't able to eat dinner. We actually had 3 supplier tables but the boys were just that humongous so all food were swept away. I agree, ang lalaki nga nila! *LOL* Nakakahiya nga kina Clarice so we just gave them food allowance nalang so that they could have dinner elsewhere.

Ooops… the night was long and the story’s not yet over! We went back to the hotel after reception for the traditional chinese tea ceremony. The photo and video guys were with us to cover the ceremony. Parang energizer bunny ang mga yan. *LOL* If you're curious what this tea thingie is all about, it's like this. The bride has to offer tea to the groom's family and they in turn give me red packets as a gesture to welcome me into their family. I don't know how others do it but ours was a simple one.


After the tea ceremony, we did another round of pictorial at the hotel lobby kasi sayang naman we paid for pictorial fee but we were only able to take a few pictures before we went to the church. Dino's team and Threelogy were game as well. When all was done, it was already around 1am. Ang tibay!

So finally, this ends our wedding kuwento. The reception kuwento was supposed to be a short one but I just kept remembering details while I compose this post. *LOL*.

Before I finally say tata, I have a trivia for you. Do you know how much time was spent for Dex to unbutton my gown? – 15 minutes! There were too many buttons!! gusto na nga gupitin ni Dex! *LOL*

Labels: wedding

The bridal car arrived at the church before 2:30pm. I'm not sure what's happening inside the church but when we arrived, the wooden door was already closed. There were some friends and relatives who waited for us outside (making usi *LOL) and taking photos. Ade (a friend of ours) couldn't stop gushing how perfect my make-up was. Hm... did she say "ang ganda mo?" or "ang ganda ng make-up mo?" *LOL* I was hoping to see the entourage march from the car but since the door's closed, I couldn't see or hear anything. So, we waited for a couple of minutes then Clarice came signalling that it's my turn. I stepped out of the car (with Niko's assistance) and waited for my once-in-a-lifetime bridal march. Veluz and Niko were fixing my train and veil while Bong (threelogy) and Dino were preparing their gears for the perfect veil shot. That's the time when nervousness kicked in. I started to tremble and had shortness of breath. Niko saw my expression and jokingly said "uuyy, iiyak na si Wanda!" God gracious! Lalo ako naiyak sa sinabi niya. I told Tita Veluz, "kinakabahan ako... ayaw ko na..." Hey, people do say stupid things when they're nervous. *LOL* I'm just so glad I had this bunch of supplier friends who were there to cheer me up and crack jokes just when I badly needed one. When all was set, the coordinators made the que for the door to open.


I clearly remember the cracking sound behind the opening door - the wooden door I fell in love with and see everyday on the way to and from the office. The guests gave me an applause the moment they saw me. Well, the clapping was actually choreographed by the church coordinator (Dennis) but hey, it's really a nice gesture to welcome the bride. Made me feel all the more excited! *LOL* I waited for a couple of seconds and took a deep breath before I started to walk towards the altar. Despite the short aisle, what made the walk perfect was the bridal march that accompanied me as I march down. As oppose to Sound Salad singing "Panunumpa" for the march, it was my groom serenading me with the song "Minsan lang Kita Iibigin..." Ok I admit, I mistakenly read Dex's text message a few days before the wedding and broke the surprise myself. *ARGH* As soon as I found out, he didn't admit either. So, I was thinking he wouldn't really do it. But hey, that's my groom! I had chicken skin all over. I tried hard to hold back the tears as I was sobbing uncontrollably. All eyes were on me and I felt really nervious. Actually, I felt a little stiff coz I was afraid I might trip. Went a little off balance actually but nobody noticed I guess *LOL* I met my mom and my cousin at the middle of the aisle and they walked me towards the altar. The moment I saw Dex in front of me, I couldn't help myself but I kept smiling and giggling. I dunno why. Sabi nila natawa daw ako sa mukha niya. Siguro nga. *LOL*

Sound Salad took charge of the music during the mass. There were response songs that were sung by our choir friends as well since Dex really wanted our own version of Our Father, which is in Chinese and lyrics composed by yours truly (love your own! *LOL*). The church florist and coordinator (Dennis) took care of the flowers and the altar really looked nice. Extravagant if I may say.

The mass was officiated by Monsignor Esteban Lo, Fr. Bong as we fondly call him. He spoke English, Filipino, and Chinese during the mass and was able to relate the homily with the bridal march. That's how personalized the entire ceremony was for us. There were no dull moments as Fr. Bong would make every body laughed out loud with his jokes from time to time.

During the exchange of vows, Fr. Bong whispered to us to just look at each other and he'll just guide us with the words. It's a total relief actually coz we have long forgotten about the vows, and certainly not words. Hindi naman daw halata. Mukhang memorize daw namin sabi ng guests. *LOL*

Another thing worth sharing. Dex was so funny when he lifted my veil for the first kiss. Sorry, he didn't lift it up pala. Halos hinagis na niya yun veil ko so everybody were really laughing out loud. Later on he explained na akala niya mas maganda daw sa pictures kung ganon. haha.. Nagmukha tuloy siyang atat! *LOL*

Anyways, the ceremony was a bit longer than usual since the homily was really quite long. But of course, the church people didn't complain since it's Msgr. Bong who's in charge of the mass. Hindi nila dare siguro.. haha.. We had to rush the pictorial though since our time slot's almost over and the next wedding's about to start. The pictorial was really a mess towards the end and we had to really make pacute to Dennis so that we'll be allowed to take a few more shots. Well, albeit chaotic, we were able to take picture naman with most of the guests.

Our exit march was accompanied by the upbeat song "Seasons of Love". Actually we didn't just walk. We were holding each other's hand and were literally swaying all our way out of the church. With the music and the sway-sway, love's in the air talaga. At least, that's how we felt. :) When we reached the door, we were showered with LOADS of party poppers and flower petals by our friends and relatives. Would you believe we bought like 3 dozens of poppers in total? It turned out nice naman sa pics. *LOL* Then we had dove release afterwards. May blooper dito, will just include it in the bloopers list at the end of this post. As in... :)


After the ceremony, we took some pictures around the school (yes, St. Peter the Apostle School beside the church). Dino bought 2 packs of popcorn sa turo-turo. Akala ko nung una gutom lang sya. Hehe props pala namin. I so love the pictures we took on the students/yaya waiting area and the school gate. Yan ang powers ni Master Dino! He was able to turn something not so eye-catchy into a work of art. galing!

After a round of picture taking at St. Peter, we were thinking where should we go for the sunset shots. Dex said he was hungry and he needs to eat! Dapat nga McDo kami but we can't think of a McDo branch with sunset view. *LOL* In the end, we decided Harbor Square is the place to be. *LOL* By the way, another booboo here. After we have decided where to go, napag-usapan namin na Dino will ride in the bridal car so that we could take some photos. Siyempre, natural lang the PA coordinator should ride along with the photo and video team. But Ms. PA requested na sa amin nalang daw siya sasakay coz the boys kept teasing her. I was like, uhm.. o.. ok. But of course, I would prefer if Dex and I could ride the back seat by ourselves so that we could have a full shot of the bridal car. Pero naawa naman ako kay Ms. PA kasi talaga the boys were teasing her. So pumayag na rin ako. So yun nga, mukha kaming merong chaperon sa mga photos namin sa bridal car. Yan din ang comment ng friends namin, meron daw kaming chaperon. *LOL* Note lang, it's no biggie actually for us, nakakatawa lang. :D


We were a bit early for sunset shots when we arrived. So nagparty muna kami doon. The boys ordered Tapa King and beer. Nag-happy hour muna kami *LOL*. Surely, there were lots of people staring at us. It's just amazing how relaxed Dex and I were and the wandering eyes didn't make us a bit uneasy either. And so, we waited for the sunset and had a couple of shots by the Harbor. After a few shots, we decided to go to Baywalk naman para buo ang sunset shots. Takbo naman kami sa next destination parang Amazing Race. *LOL* We were dropped off in front of Aristocrat. Tuloy pa rin ang pictorial while we were crossing the streets. There were quite a lot of people that time so we can't find a spot where we can have a full shot. Nakiusap lang kami sa mga tao to free up a little space for us. Siyempre nung nagpipictorial na kami, nakapalibot na sila sa amin. There were even photography hobbyist taking our photos that time. Diyan palang kami nakaramdam ng hiya. *LOL* Anyways, after the pictorial, we headed for the reception na.

Bloopers that happened during the ceremony:

1. Fr. Bong delivered his homily at the left side of the altar (the table where the readers usually stand), so I have to tilt my head to the left to be able to make eye contact with him. Little did I know, natatanggal na pala ang false lashes ko sa left eye since medyo hapit ang veil at natatamaan sya. Well, of course no one noticed. I learned about it only when I saw the raw photos. HAHA... here's how I look... funny isn't it! *LOL*


2. One of the ninang's gown was broken when they were called to go up the altar. I only knew about this when Clarice was doing a round-up after the reception. Pumutok daw yun zipper and ninang's back was almost half naked. God gracious! Buti nalang, Clarice stood behind her to cover her back while she was at the altar and was able to do some remedy on her gown afterwards. The saddest part here is, we were the ones who insisted to provide that ninang's gown. :( I can't bare to blame the supplier for the accident but it's really sad and diyahe for us. That ninang didn't show up na sa reception. I hope she's not mad at us. HAAAY...

3. I've been reading a lot about dove accidents, most especially sa blog nila dino and threelogy. I can't imagine this could actually happen on our wedding. Nung dove release kasi, Clarice handed us the doves then nagpose muna kami for picture taking. The dove I was holding flapped its wings so nagulat ako at nabitawan ko sya. As in, ang lakas ng tili ko in front of all the people. *LOL* Buti nalang, sanay na ang threelogy guys with these kind of incidents. Would you believe, CJ (threelogy) was able to like grabe the tail of the dove in a blink of an eye! (see pic below) Buti nalang, or else walang partner ang dove ni Dex. hehe.. Btw, shortly after we released the poor thingies, one of it went straight to the hands of the bystanders. Kainis.


Wow, this surely is a long long long wedding kuwento. And I still have the last installment to post. Stay tuned... promise, it won't be this long. :D

credits: paper by michelle coleman, clustered frames by nancy comelab, staples by lisa whitney

Labels: wedding

Despite the busy schedule, I just find myself yearning to scrap from time to time. The urge is even stronger whenever I get to download or purchase new kits. And imagine, I download freebies on a daily basis (at busy pa ako niyan ha). The kits I purchased are almost useless as well since I hardly scrap. I don't want to start counting how much I have spent on them but surely it is the culprit of the big whole in my pocket. I have thought of unsubscribing from the newsletters and blog RSSes to cut away the temptation. But, heck, I receive more emails and blog notifications each day. *LOL* Anyways, I just feel like I need to organize my life a bit. Do the things that needs to be done and hopefully have a little me time at the end of the day to do a little blogging, scrapping, clicking (of the camera), and reading. I have started to dump the things that usually eats up my time for nothing - the first thing I did was to edit the email delivery of my yahoogroup subscriptions to 'web reading only'. I was glad to see less than 20 new emails in my mailbox this morning. Oh well, at least it's a big step forward. :)

I managed to squeeze some time and did a layout for my god son Lance. Scrapped this at work (bad!). I add a little something in between breaks and it took 2 weeks to finish the puzzle. Oh well, at least... *LOL* Nothing fancy. Just wanna scrap this photo of Lance who looks really funny with choco all over his mouth. :)


You were visiting ninang and ninong's new house one saturday night. It's getting late and you were starting to feel cranky. But you had a sudden change of mood the moment you saw the choco fondue. And we can see that you enjoyed yourself very much, little buddy. See the evidence left on your mouth? :)

I would also like to share this LO I did some weeks ago. Something I produced in participation of Corina's guinea pig activity. Glad I was able to scrap this. I still have lots of honeymoon photos to work on. I'm aiming for a 10-15 page album for this trip. uhm... Hopefully... :)

Labels: blabs, scrap