wedding preps

first came the proposal.

simply defined as an offer of marriage, we now are very much aware that we are doomed. errr, bound?? hehe seriously now, we knew we were going to get married. k even proposed a wedding date one month into the relationship (while i was watching a christopher cross concert in cagayan de oro!). :)


after the proposal, wedding plans began. k and i made a list of our priorities, and agreed to first settle when and where we were goingto get married. initially we wanted to get hitched in november (k said we should be married within our first year together!) but after some discussion, settled for a december wedding. the atmosphere would be festive by that time, weather is cooler (sans the rain!), balikbayan relatives can come home to join us, etc. next came the hunt for our church and reception venues. we wanted these two close together since we didn't want our guests to travel far after the church event. we loved chapel on a hill in tagaytay and sonya's garden, but an out-of-town wedding may be too difficult to handle logistically (boo!). in metro manila, we checked out the archbishop's palace along shaw boulevard and wack wack golf, but the palace was booked to the hilt. next was mary the queen church and greenhills west clubhouse - both available. perfect! :) we wanted a not-so-big church, but an aisle long enough for me to savor my bridal walk. mtq fit both requirements. the clubhouse was newly renovated, airconditioned, with high ceilings and a block away from mtq. yey! we booked both, and are very happy about this arrangement.

next comes the wedding suppliers. boy, planning a wedding is no walk in the park! see my checklist below, in no particular order (i may even have missed some!):


1. church - check!


2. reception venue - check!



3. entourage - ang hirap pumili!
4. guest list (madugo!)
5. caterer - (a major chunk of the wedding budget goes here)
6. photo and video - (eats up another major chunk of the budget)
7. gowns and barongs (i wanted my k to wear a suit but he prefers a barong)
8. invites (sa recto na lang hahaha!)
9. coordinator (i know i need one but i can't seem to get myself to pay 10k-15k for a day's work! i know, i'm buying peace of mind, which is priceless. hmmm. i need to think it over pa rin hehe)
10. flowers (dang! i didn't know flowers could cost so much! punta na lang akong dangwa!)
11. souvenirs
12. music sa church and reception (i want a choir, k wants a band)
13. priest (c/o church)
14. cake (c/o caterer)
15. bridal car (c/o caterer)
16. mass readers/lector
17. reception emcee (c/o caterer)
18. hair and make up artists (am i willling to spend 20k for hair and make up that i will wash off in the evening? hmmm. NO. )

and there are other details to take care of. we have been to 2 bridal fairs, and 5-6 (i think) food tasting events. it's true that it takes most of our time (need to get up early, drive to here and there, etc.), but then again, it's so much fun! k and i enjoy preparing our dream wedding (minsan lang daw sumasali sa preps ang mga groom-to-bes [g2bin w@wie talk] kaya ang swerte ko talaga!) and are willing to go through it all for that once special day in december. :)

by the way, here's the link to a blog on us (thanks gym8!):

http://gildamic.wordpress.com/2008/11/26/its-a-rosey-rosey-pink-world/

good thing also that i was advised to sign up at weddingsatwork.com. i have become a w@wie, and with my daily online interactions with co-w@wies, i am learning all things weddings (sic)! i love this egroup!

sigh! our original budget has ballooned to almost double the amount. argh! pero sabi nga nila, minsan ka lang ikasal. :) k and i agreed to get the best out of our hard earned money, and so far, so good. we know what we need, and if we can afford it, get what we want.

what's important is we get married. period. :)