Food Tasting - April 17, 2010

Exactly 8 months before the big day, we had our food tasting in One Tagaytay Place. We scheduled the activity around 11AM so we have enough time to savor the food and the azalea resto wouldn't be crowded yet. H2b and FMIL(future mother in law ^_^) arrived early, we're a few minutes late due to traffic and road developments in south super highway, i hope that would be fixed before December or else our guests will have to schedule 2 hours travel time to Tagaytay, Mama, Sam and Gab was with us so the whole gang is present.

Upon arrival, we we're lead to a small and private room assisted by the Banquet Manager, Marivic and the ever attentive Capt waiter, Ariel. They greeted us with the first dish, the soup, we chose pumpkin because we had a preview of its taste during our first dine at Azalea and we loved it instantly. I forgot to take pictures of each dish served as we were too engrossed with the tasting, feedback and will-be-presentation of each but I was able to capture the complete serving: salad, assorted cold cuts, green beans, pasta marinara, poach fish and roasted chicken. We had minor comments on each serving, as the taste is already neutral; my taste bud is on the saltier side so I think all of it lacks salt hehe. The dessert, frozen layered mango, is the one I’m quite hesitant of. It’s not that sweet though I feel it’s too normal, though I am still working on something for the dessert it would still be best if it’s out of the ordinary.

Pumpkin soup

cold cuts, salad, veggies, pasta, fish and chicken

After the food tasting, we met the cake supplier – Sweet Solutions Café is the accredited bakeshop of OTP based in Imus, Cavite. Our AE for SSC, Sharon, bought some brownies and mini cake for taste test. I love everything she brought, the brownie and carrot cake is moist enough and not too sweet, just the way I like it (sugar free please!). We had a few requirements for the cake but right then and there she called the owner and confirmed that all requests can be done. Super happy! So far no additional charges, since we’re ok on the 3^rd layer to be the only edible part. I have to send her our inspiration cake though and the topper we want.

brownies and mini carrot cake

To make our day even more productive, we met the Bridal Car supplier after SSC. Galing ng OTP AE ko on scheduling, one stop! Robert himself from Don Robert bridal car is the one who met us, Jemike - my h2b, primes the meeting since it’s ‘car talk’ anyway, he showed us the cars left for Dec 17 because most of the vintage cars are already booked! My h2b is choosing from Austin or Mustang, the limo is very nice also but I think it’s too much already. My h2b even requested to Robert if he can drive the Mustang after the ceremony, Robert gladly said yes. H2b became even more excited but photo-op wise, the Austin will stand out totally! We will just check our budget sheet and if it’s still on the green zone then it’s a go for the Austin.

We were supposed to visit the ballroom again so my FMIL can see it but there’s a corporate event ongoing. Good thing we went to the 3^rd floor because there are new stuff there that we can use for the wedding set-up. As for the feel, Tagaytay during summer is supposed to feel like a bit of summer, but earlier it’s already cold and windy and we can’t imagine what it would feel like during December.

It was a tiring and yet productive day spent with our beloved moms who shared their precious time doing some wedding preps activity with their panganays. Thanks Mama and Tita Austre!

Lessons on Marriage

I got this article from the blog "Practical Pinay Bride" which she also sourced from PDI by Conchita Razon. A great read and reminder for couples:

LESSONS FROM MY MARRIAGE
By Conchita Razon

Raise your glasses and drink a toast to all the courageous souls who bravely step out and defy the sad and cold statistics of marriages that burn up or burn out. God bless them. Onthe verge of a dark and uncertain future, they hold their lights up and dare to believe in forever. In the US, the figures are staggering.. Roughly 50 percent of marriages end in divorce. Of these, a good 59 percent are couples who have lived in, before marriage. And yet, I read somewhere that most women dream of, at least once in their lifetimes, walking down theaisle "all dressed in white."

Are we giving more thought to the wedding and less to the marriage?

It takes courage to say "I do." Samuel Johnson said it well:"Marriage is the triumph of hope over experience."Asked to impart some words (of wisdom?) to hopeful couples, I can only call on my own battle scars and bruises. After two attempts at "happily ever after," these are some of the lessons I have learned.

I would not try to win every argument. There are no prizes after all. Being right is not really important. Issues do not get resolved if one party retreats into a corner.

I would bite my tongue and not let my anger speak out. Words have away of slipping out, doing irreparable damage and there's no way to take them back. Wit and sarcasm are first cousins. When let loose they create mortal wounds.

Learn to talk to one another. Learn to whisper. It brings you close.

Pray together. Let the third party in your marriage be no one else but God.

There is no wrong time to apologize. Hang your pride on the door post. It isn't true that love means never having to say you're sorry. I would not miss the sweet tender moments of making up, no matter that the pillow is still soaked with your tears.

I would be patient. Two pieces of wood, rubbed thoughtfully one against the other, will produce a spark. And then, with a gentle breath, it bursts into flame. In this day of instant and cyber everything, it is important not to expect love to blaze with a click.

You work at a marriage. There are no shortcuts. There are bumps on theroad. That's no reason to get out of the car. You learn to travel over them, around them, if necessary take another route, but always together.

Tell each other secrets. Build on your trust for one another.

Love is important, but respect is even more so.

Share your dreams. Make plans. Help one another achieve your goals. In spite of a far from commendable track record, I would not give upon love. I would still love with all of me. I know no other way.

They say that a successful marriage begins when we marry the one we love… and blossoms when we love the one we marry. The secret is to fall in love, over and over again, with the same person. Pity. One learns that sometimes a little too late.

Remember: It is not important to think alike, but you must think together. It is not so much the dance, but that you move together to the same music.

Make a million memories.

Take it from me. When the sun starts setting, when friends are few and nights are long, those precious memories will keep you company. They will be your warm blanket on a cold and lonely night. No one and nothing can take them away from you. They are yours always.

Only then will you know that you have found forever.

My Non-Negotiable

Every b2b's just got to have one. The non-negotiable is most of the time the bridal gown, it is the no matter what the cost is... the bride should have it!

As I always mention, my h2b is a practical guy. He will never agree on that non-nego for the gown, simply because we have a set budget and it will be impractical to allot a big chunk for a gown that I will wear for one day, oh let me correct that... a few hours. But of course, I still tried then failed, eventually though I found a way to make a deal and now I have an elegant and glamorous gown by compromise. Diskarte ^_^

So if I got my gown through compromise, what's my non-negotiable then? The where and when of our honeymoon ^_^

We will not have a honeymoon immediately after the wedding, so we can still save up and at the same time we will wait until end of March to see this:

Cherry Blossom season is usually late March and early April.

Initially we thought of a tour in the US, but he wants us to go somewhere that is new to both of us, so Japan turned as top of the list. The budget for JP is more reasonable for us and we have friends and relatives who lives in the area and can tour us around. We're not sure yet of the logistics, but most likely we will take PAL and of course it will definitely be TOKYO.

I'm super excited on this trip, I gave up our usual out of town summer getaway to start saving. And of course, it's our first trip as married couple ^_^ Can't wait!!!

God gave me you

I am just fascinated with men who really showed their love to their soon-to-be lifelong partners. Here's an excerpt from a blog site Match Made in Heaven, the story of finding the perfect couturier: "After hearing my hubby's comment, i felt lucky to have him as my husband, coz all he knows is how to make me happy and feel special everyday of our lives especially on our wedding day. All he can think of is how we can pull out our perfect dream wedding, he doesn't care how much we will spend but how much memories will savor after it. He will always tell me that, he wanted only the best for me, he cant settle for anything less, he didn't asked me to be his wife just to give me an ordinary wedding, that I am not the type of girl who deserve an ordinary wedding.. I just felt lucky.. he just loves me.. i cried to sleep thanking God for giving me such a wonderful man."

I guess we're all lucky in our own way because:

- some have partners who give their b2b's dream wedding, no matter what

- some have partners who help their b2b realize the balance of things

- some have partners who supports in every decision of wedding preps

- some have partners who are simply there to listen to rants on supplier but still lets her handle everything

- some have partners who are very hands-on on the preparation

I for one have a partner who is a mix of some of the list above. My h2b is a very practical person but at times he gives in when I make a good deal or I can balance our excel sheet. But every bride-to-be knows that preparing a wedding can be tedious and stressful, well at least that what I feel from time to time especially when I see that the number on my counter starts going down.

I tend to stress myself thinking about the suppliers I like, I want and I have. I seldom feel that "this is it" feeling since I always think of the budget and if it compliments the whole concept. After booking a supplier, most of the time a few days after I will think if they can really deliver and if its really the one I want. Then I will be pacified by my fiance, friends or by the good reviews I read from the forums or w@w.

Then again, the real and deep meaning of all this wedding brouhaha is not just to have a grand dream wedding nor to please anybody but the lifetime union with the person you truly love. So on Dec 17, 2010 whether its perfect or with glitches, I will enjoy and be thankful for the day because it will be the start of a new chapter and a new adventure. And suddenly i feel that day will be wonderful because God gave me this person whom I will share the excitement of the journey to forever.

The pamamanhikan preps

On the first sunday of 2010, aside from celebrating my 32nd birthday we will have another big leap of our wedding preps, the pamamanhikan. Pamamanhikan is a Filipino tradition for soon to be wed couples where the meeting of two families happens. Ours would be formality and have both parents/families meet and mingle.

H2b and I planned this to be a double celebration; it will be an early dinner as not to have a late get together because there's work the next day. Our objective: have a short and sweet meet up where both parties will still feel comfortable and at ease but at the same time will be able to discuss all that matters.

So how do you prepare for a pamamanhikan?

The list below is my opinion on how the bride-to-be should prepare for this day:

1) Set the time properly. Make sure that you won't have long hours of lull time or short talk time for important stuff.

2) Let your h2b know that they need to bring something. It's a tradition that the h2b's family will bring food to the b2b's family, most of the time it's the family's specialty food.

3) Prepare all the wedding related stuff. This helps avoid any argument from both families and can set the direction of the conversation. Let them know your plans: before, during and after the wedding.

4) Be yourself but dress well. In my humble POV, it's still a formal event you don't have to buy a gown or have your hair done at the salon. Just wear something nice and comfortable. Your h2b's family will be appreciative that you value their visit and prepare not just the food but yourself as well.

5) Enjoy. This is just the beginning of having them all together, savor the first!

In all honesty I am anxious and tense for this day, I even started looking for the proper dress to wear and thinking already of what food to prepare. Hope everything will end up fine, so before this h2b and I will have our year ender wedding prep meeting to set everything up. ^_^

an early year-ender part 2

I'm glad that I was able to do the 2nd part before the year ends, or otherwise it wouldn't be appropriate to use the early year ender title. The 2^nd part covers our nth visit to Tagaytay for the church choir and a meeting with the OTP FB Manager.

I woke up early on that warm day of November 29^th, sent an SMS to Rins and called h2b. Meeting place is at Starbucks 6750 and call time is 7AM unfortunately I got there almost 8AM (thanks to the external HD that was missing and took x hours off my travel time).

Heading to Tagaytay from SLEX is a breeze but since it’s a long weekend (Nov 30 is a holiday) Tagaytay proper welcomes us with a heavy traffic.

On the way to Tagaytay, pictures pictures at the gas station. H2b pissed-off at the traffic hihi and adik friend Rins working inside the car.

We weren’t able to start the 10AM OLLP mass, but were able to hear the Lourdes Tagaytay chorale sing. After the mass, I approached the choir coordinator and talked to her about the possibility of getting them for the wedding ceremony. The conditions are acceptable, the peso power is more than reasonable and so I asked the coordinator to pencil booked our date. One month before Dec 17, we need to go back, meet with them and finalize the song list. For those interested to contact them, here’s their multiply site: http://ltcg.multiply.com/ they do accept wedding from Calaruega, COTH and different areas of Cavite.

After that very short meeting, we attended the 11:30 AM mass then headed to OTP for the complimentary lunch and meeting with the FB Manager. The FB Manager greeted us when we arrived and had asked their head waiter to take care of our late lunch; they prepared 3 meals instead of 2 with no additional cost to us. The meal was filling and started off with a pumpkin soup (i love this!), grilled chicken with steamed veggies and fruits for dessert. After the tasty lunch, we re-visited the Aurora Ballroom accompanied by the OTP head waiter. When we got to the place, we were able to envision the set-up of the venue and thought of other stuff we can include to perk up the place. We pretty much covered everything and just needed a confirmation from our AE and the FB Manager.

The width of the hallway going to the ballroom

The cocktails area, in case we will have one.

Convy of our options.

We met the FB manager after the ballroom inspection and were very pleased with all his suggestions/recommendations for the reception, these are those that we know of but were thinking it may add up on our cost fortunately he gave it at to us for free! I gladly jot down these suggestions and was already thinking where we can include this in the program. We also cleared up the inspiration setting we sent him for the ballroom and I'm so happy to know that it was all doable. Yippeee! I just hope that he can deliver, we will see then. We ended the meeting with an agreement that he will get back to us on our requests.

And we mean business... hahaha serious!

After OTP, we went to Rowena’s since I can’t go home without my blueberry tart cheesecake (yummy!). It was a long day indeed and so we decided to chill out for a while at Starbucks Paseo de Sta Rosa, of course coffee is on me for being late ^_^ still its great to relax after a long and very productive day.

an early year-ender part 1

It's a month away from 2010 and yet I'm already writing on my year-ender accomplishments for the wedding preps. I feel that we have accomplished a lot in the past 3 months, actually we've covered around 70% already ^_^ super glad that I have a very cooperative h2b! So how was the month of November after the proposal? Check out our weekly accomplishments:

November 14 - H2b and I invited my dad for dinner at House of Wagyu in Podium, it's the day we will ask for his blessing. While waiting for our dinner i started talking and talking and talking to ease things up and make them both comfortable with each other. After a sumptuous dinner of pumpkin soup, baked oysters, salad, wagyu steak and seabass h2b started the talk about our plan to get married. My dad has a hint already and so was just waiting for us to tell him ourselves. He even suggested ninong and ninong for our wedding. I really appreciate how he welcomes h2b to the family. Love yah Pa!

Yey!!! It's finally OFFICIAL! WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!

November 21 - On this day I plan to source out suppliers for the flowers, so my close friend Rina accompanied me to Dangwa. I was stunned on the number of florist in the area but was pleased to learn a lot about flowers and floral arrangements for the church to reception . Little did I know that sourcing a florist is really a tedious task, as I need to know the flowers and arrangement for each of my entourage from MOH to flower girls, sponsors and moms. Though I was pretty sure what I want for my bouquet, pure Ecuadorian roses! Good thing Rina was there to help me decide. We have to choose from half bouquet or pomander or wrist corsage or the usual corsage and the flowers that will go for each. We need to think of how I would like the reception to look like, the photo albums of the florist helped though. We left Dangwa with an idea on the cost and some sort of final flowers for the entourage.

After Dangwa, we went straight to Megamall for the "Before I Do Bridal Fair" as we want to check out the suppliers in the event and who knows we might book somebody. We met h2b in the area and immediately told him of the probable cost we will spend on the flowers, his answer: "mahal naman! sayang lang malalanta lang after" which I understand, but but if I can get away with it why not? Hehehe

So us 3: me, h2b and Rins went around Megatrade to visit first the florist booths and quite a number of them has a package we can choose from. With an idea of the ento flowers + church arrangement rates I thought already of pursuing the Tagaytay florist since the packages I got doesn't seem to fit my intended budget plus the OOT might even spike up the total cost.

It's around 30 minutes before closing when we saw the florist that I want to check out in Dangwa but their store was closed.

Its a sign: What are the chances of the photos displayed on his laptop is the setting/styling we want for our reception!

My h2b was ecstatic when he saw it and so I immediately asked about the package, with this that flowers for me and my entourage and the church set-up. The price given to us was Dangwa-price, I think it was quite reasonable but still way beyond our budget.

Groom-to-be & Bride-to-be Instinct: At first we want to think things over and review everything that's how we do things on this big project of ours. But during the conversation with the owner with their 2 bookings on our date already and can just accommodate 3 plus what he can add to our event with price of Php xxxxx ^_^ h2b right then and there decided that it's a GO. So he went to the bank to withdraw the DP, he called me while he is there just to confirm, I can feel his excitement but at the same time wants to check out if I'm ok with it. Sweet! So when he got back to the booth, the owners prepared the contract (we were the last to booked them that day) and viola we have our Florist/Stylist!!!

here's a peak of what I want for my bouquet:

Flowers for the bride, entourage and church - CHECK!