Daisypath Wedding tickers

Daisypath Wedding tickers

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Updates

Wow, APRIL na next week!!!:)

Then May, then June and yes... JULY.:) Our one year countdown to be culminated by the "pamumulong" or better known as "pamamanhikan".:)

I am getting excited about the whole thing. Time seems to fly so quick when you are enjoying every minute of the wedding preparations. We are not only preparing financially (we still need to save up on the payment for the expenses hehehe!), but also physically (diet and exercise) and most importantly, spiritually. Above all, it is that personal relationship we have with Jesus and God that we need to nurture the most in our individual lives and as a couple.

Since we are on a tight budget, we have booked early to avail of the precious PRICE LOCKS. From the looks of gas and other prices hiking up, it would not be a surprise that suppliers will hike up their prices the second half of this year most probably. So we are done in booking our MAJOR suppliers and will be moving on with focusing on the wedding details and saving up. Here are the major suppliers we have booked:

1. VENUE: Rosemont Gardens-DP already paid
2. P/V: Daniel Lei Studios- DP already paid
3. CATERER: Passion Cooks- DP to be paid on March 28
4. L/S and PROJECTOR SCREEN: MetroMix- DP already paid
5. SOUVENIR: Wacky Shots Photobooth- DP already paid
6. OTD Coordinator: Events Memoir-DP already paid
7. BACK-UP PHOTOGRAPHER: Randell Liwanag-DP to be paid in April
8. HMUA: Irene Manigo-DP already paid

The only suppliers left to be booked are the following:

1. GOWN/BARONG Suppliers
2. HMUA for Entourage
3. HOUSE and TRANSPORTATION for JP's family in Tagaytay
4. RINGS
5. PS/ENTOURAGE SOUVENIRS
6. PASTOR
7. BACK-UP TENTS
8. ENTOURAGE FLOWERS
9. HONEYMOON- eyeing either CDO-CAMIGUIN, CORON or CARAGA :)

That's it for us. We do not need to have any band or strings or cake. They are nice-to-haves which we will only be getting if we have extra money for. The PS/ENTOURAGE gifts, I might DIY. I am thinking also of making some pillows for our guests to take home. Maybe by June, my bestfriend and I will go to Divisoria and Quiapo to hunt for supplies for our initial DIYs. I would write a whole new post about it after I update my posts for the other suppliers.

So the research for suppliers stops here. We will be shifting to doing DIYs and getting ideas for it. :) Detailing is a task I would not really want to spend so much time obsessing about and I hope I do not. I rather be obessesd with preparing for marriage than this. It is a good thing we have booked major suppliers as early as now, we have time to focus on ourselves and our relationship.

More posts to come.

Summer is here BTW!:)

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Inching Our Way Closer To God

Yesterday marked the beginning of the lenten season.

So for today, let me tell you something of my relationship with Jp and our relationship with God. Eversince we have been together, we have agreed to put God at the center of our relationship. In whatever possible way we can, we always pray to God about us.

And since we started preparing for our wedding, we somewhat realize how we should strengthen our faith more. Wedding preparations and more so, marriage itself will be full of difficult moments we have to overcome just as it is full of  happiness and new adventures. We realize or actually, I realize that our faith in God would help us in those difficult times. It helps to have a strong faith in God and in all things good. It makes someone a better person. Well it should be most of the times.:)

For now, we are going to buy devotional bibles so we may learn the word of God in our hearts. We promised to attend a church and I would continue to attend mass on my own time.:) We also agreed to pay tithes to the needy as our way of honoring God and I am sure along the way we would start a prayer ritual.

It is an exciting process for me.

Our own way of discovering new things about ourselves and our relationship through God.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Flower Girl Gown Inspirations

Remember Katherine Heigel's movie "27 Dresses" wherein she played the part of always-the bride's maid-never-the-bride kind of girl, I was once in a similar situation. But instead of bride's maid dressess, my closet was full of flower girl dressess. I was always our family's flower girl from the age of two till I was ten years old. I once counted my flower girl gowns in my closet and I think I had more than 15 of them, excluding those that were already lent to my cousins and never returned to us. In fact, we reminsced who among my father's cousins did I became a flower girl and we discovered that each and every child's wedding of his aunt or uncle, I was once the flower girl.

But you know what, I was the kind of girl who HATED to be a flower girl. I absolutely hated it. I grew up a tomboy and because I cannot say no to my parents yet, I cannot do anything about it. I hated wearing a gown that is too heavy and itchy, not to mention I have to wear stockings or gloves to match and some heavy shoes. I would always cry to Mommy everytime I would feel itchy with the gown's lining or it became too hot for me when I play. Oh and I hated the make up and the hairspray! (I still do as an adult hehehe!:P) I hated the taste of lipstick and when the hair spray sting my eyes.

I must admit though that I love the attention I get when it is my turn to walk down the aisle. I would whine and whine and WHINE some more before the procession, but once I hear the music playing, I would be at my most behave, smiling. So it only means one thing, as a young girl, I hate looking like an adult.

That is why for my flower girls, I would want them to wear something like these gowns/dresses:


They would wear a gown in cotton or linen with a soft lining inside. It must be loose, so they can move around and play in it. I would be providing them cardigans that match their gowns to protect them from the cold. They can wear sandals and not suffer from stockings and uncomfortable shoes. And ABSOLUTELY NO MAKE-UP! My flower girls will be spared from the ickyness of adult make-up and spray net. It will do them good.

For my ring/bible/coin bearers, I would just let them wear a barong for the ceremony and then they can change to their regular clothes after.:)

Kids are kids, so we should let them be.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Entourage Wedding Gown Inspiration

In my line up of entourage, I am in-charge of filling in the girl's line up.:) Since my ladies will be shouldering the expense for their gown, I let them have a free reign on what kind of design they like, so long as they follow these rules:

1. Length of the gown should be: for my matron of honor- floor length and for the bride's maids-knee length and for the secondary sponsors-below the knee respectively
2. Must be light and airy in design.

For reference, here are some of the designs I have envisioned for them to wear:


My ladies must be at their prettiest on my wedding day. So feminine and lady-like.:)

Mother of the Bride/Groom Gown Inspiration

As I am in the wedding attire inspiration streak, let me show you some of the Mother of the Bride/Groom gown inspirations I have lifted from the internet.

Since our wedding will be in Tagaytay, I would love our respective mothers to wear something with sleeves as to keep them warm when the cold Tagaytay weather sets in. Both our mothers are petite (I think Mommy and Tita Dyes are of the same height hihihi!), so we need a kind of fabric that will be light and airy plus a cut the takes away the eyes from the length of the dress and rather focus at the details of the dress. Here are some of the pictures:


Don't they look elegant?:) I am pretty sure our mothers' will look regal on our wedding day.:)

Saturday, March 5, 2011

How to Deal With Wedding Preparation Issues

When I told my childhood friends that we are getting married and is starting with our wedding preparations, the advice I got from most of them is: NEVER FIGHT ABOUT THE PREPARATIONS.

It was sort of a warning from some of them because a few had their relationships broken with their partners due to the pressure of wedding preparations. I never quite understand the advice and frankly, I was a bit offended with it because in my mind I was wondering why they think it might happen to us. I mean, why would any couple fight over the preparation of a milestone in their relationship.

I am beginning to understand now what they meant. Wedding preparation are like the litmus paper test for couples in starting the married life. The reason is because reality starts to set-in in their relationship with the idea of spending the rest of their lives with one person and raising a family of their own. Little by little, signs of maturity or immaturity surfaces in handling money and decision-making issues. It either strengthens a couple or yes and sadly, breaks them apart.

I have read and heard a lot of stories of weddings not pushing through because both parties were not able to resolve the issues to their wedding preparations. Usually, it is the inability of one partner to support the other and the feelings of neglect couples by sheer pressure that drives couples to fight during the preparations. So far, for Jp and I, we have yet to  tackle a road block on our relationship based on the wedding preparations. It helps that we have an open communication and that we had the following rules that we follow:


1. "WEDDINGS ARE A GIRL'S THING" ATTITUDE
-I have said it before that Jp and I had a mutual agreement that when it comes to the wedding details, I will be the one to handle it. Not that Jp does not want to participate, it is just that he does not have a clue what to do for the wedding. I know not everyone will agree with my post but for us, this set-up works well. As much as I would want Jp to help me in researching our wedding theme, motif, wedding flowers, cake designs, pre-nup ideas, I know that his personality does not really interest him to do so.

What it simply meant was, if your boyfriend is not into the wedding details, do not force him to participate if not wanted. In our case, I know Jp, if you try to tell him to do something he does not like, he won't do it. The more I whine and nag about it the more conflict it would bring. Men eventually come around when the guilt feeling reels in. You will be surprised that he actually will research on his own. Anyway, I get the free reign on what I want for the wedding without waiting for Jp's contribution.:)

2. MUTUAL AGREEMENT ON THE BUDGET
-We have set a budget for the wedding based on the amount of money we can afford to save. Our agreement is, we will only get a supplier within our given budget and it cannot absolutely exceed regardless how much we want to get the supplier. We cannot afford to jack up our expected savings and just rely on luck for us to come out with our wedding money. In this department, we are helping each other to be rational. Money is a valuable thing to waste and money should never, ever, ever BE AN ISSUE! If it does not fit the budget, it should not be considered.


3. IF IT IS A NICE-TO-HAVE, WE SHOULD PAY FOR IT ON OUR OWN
-Example, I want a back-up photographer and he does not. Since we agreed it is just something nice-to-have then I would be paying for it myself. It translates to less arguments for us.


4. MUTUALLY DECIDE ON GETTING A SUPPLIER
-What I do is I research on a supplier. Once I have short listed a couple, I would send to Jp all the links of their website and packages then we decide both on the supplier we want the most. It pays that we have the same taste.


5. AND LASTLY, OFFER OUR CONCERNS AND DECISIONS TO GOD
-When we do get to a point that we sense we would have an issue in our wedding preps, we have agreed to always pray to the Lord for guidance. If we cannot handle it, we will let God.

Wedding preparations should always bring the best in the couple and not destroy them. After all, the decision to get married is based on the fact that the relationship has reached the point of stability for issues to be confronted and solved. These things work well for us and I hope some of you can pick a thing or two that you can apply on your own.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Groom Barong Inspirations

One thing with Jp, he hates an extreme weather.

His ideal weather is lukewarm, not too cold and not too hot. Because we are getting married in Tagaytay, hot weather is not a problem. But since our reception will be at night and it will be in a rainy month of July, my biggest concern is what kind of attire he would wear.

Ever since I started to envision our wedding, the idea of a Western suit for Jp's attire did not cross my mind. Why wear a Western suit when you will be getting married in a tropical country like ours? You are in the Philippines might as well wear the national costume right? At least to my mind that is my question and opinion. So a barong tagalog is always the groom attire's choice and that of the entourage and even the guests. Of course when we decided to wed in Tagaytay I thought about it for a second. I mean, most barong are thin and flimsy. It scares me to think that Jp will request to wear a jacket be it a formal one and of course I don't want him getting uncomfortable during the whole time, so I went on the internet in search for barong styles until I found this, a BARONG SUIT:


It is thicker than a normal barong but still made from pinya and jusi fabric with matching embroidery. I always wanted him to wear a Chinese collared barong for our wedding. I find him POGI in it.:) I will let our fathers wear the same kind and may be our respective brothers as well.

Who would have thought that such innovation exists. Just perfect to make my groom at his handsomest on our wedding day.:)

DISCLAIMER: Owners of all photos used are acknowledge by the author. The author does not claim the photos to be hers.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Wedding Gown Inspirations

I am an old soul.

I have always been fascinated with anything vintage. In college, I use to hoard vintage dresses and wore them with pride. My friends' call my look the NORA AUNOR look and would always refer to my clothes as Nora Dresses hahaha!:) Somehow it defined who I am and I have kept that in my character minus the vintage clothes of course (we all have to grow up somehow;P) but the fascination continued.

Of course it is but natural that I would want a vintage theme for our wedding. Moreso, I want a vintage inspired dress for my wedding gown. My wedding gown is the least of my worries but I would want for it to have a certain look. The fabric should be light and flowy with minimal or no beadings at all and it has to have some sleeves. And please, for the love of all things good, NO SHINY FABRIC!:) I am "allergic" to that hahaha!;P

So below are the inspirations for my wedding gown design:


This one's from the Martha Stewart website. I stumbled upon it way back 2009 and has kept a printed copy in black and white in my office planner, just to have for future reference. Turns out it will be the source of my major inspiration. I want LACE, LACE, LACE for my wedding gown and that the neckline plus back be V-shaped. I am partial to a V-shape neckline as it highlights my assest the most which is my shoulder blades.


The cut is similar to this one although everything must be in lace. It would also be an empire cut with an A-line skirt. Must be empire cut since my stomach is my problem area hihihi!:)



I just love the lace used in this one!:)



This one comes very close to the final outcome of my wedding gown I envision.:) For my something old, I will use the brooch my Lola Lagring onwed. She has passed on and I love her dearly and I want to honor her by wearing that brooch close to my heart when I walk down the aisle. I know, even if she did not show, she approves of Jp.:)

So there you go. I think our family designer can work his way around my inspirations.

DISCLAIMER: Owners of all photos used are acknowledge by the author. The author does not claim the photos to be hers.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Candy Buffet Inspiration Board

Our wedding details are slowly building itself up. Ours is not new to many but one that represents who we really are. As much as I would want ours to be unique in its theme, I do not have the time to really conceptualize one to the core. So I borrow inspirations here and abroad and my contribution is to tailor fit to our personalities the themes and ideas we have borrowed. That in its way would hopefully make our wedding unique.

One of those ideas I am leaning on are candy buffets. They somewhat fit our light and bubbly personalities. Since it is vintage, I am on a look out for candies of our childhood that I am sure our guests would appreciate. I have a few in mind as to what kind I would get. Here is my inspiration board:

Sweetsy!:)
The only problem with this concept, I came from a diabetic family hahaha!:) It's no joke that both my parents are diabetic and has a sweet tooth, so I have to devise a way too keep them away from this buffet spread.

My next task is to find a tutorial on how to make give away bags.:)

DISCLAIMER: Owners of all photos used are acknowledge by the author. The author does not claim the photos to be hers.

Wedding Planning 101: Customer-Supplier Relationship

I am almost done with booking our major suppliers.:) I think I only have three more left on my list and I am done. And our Daisy Path ticker shows we have 16 more months to go hahaha! Well such is the wedding preparation life for couples on a budget like us. You take advantage of the price locks hahaha!:)

Now that I am closer to finishing booking our major suppliers, it made me think of what kind of customer-supplier relationship would I like to establish with my suppliers. It cannot be over emphasized enough that establishing a good working relationship with your suppliers is very important in ensuring a good working environment on your wedding day and days after that. You sure do not want to be stressed out on your wedding day and of course the gauge of every suppliers' service I believe, is the delivery of the output afterwards.

In my readings at W@W, brides and grooms before us have taught us "newbies" that being friends with your set of suppliers help. You can sweet talk your way in getting extra service or discounts. Being friends and having a good working relationship with your supplier brings a lot of good things on your wedding day. There are a lot of stories about couples being surprised by an extra service on the wedding day apart from what is written on the contract simply because the couple and the supplier established a good working relationship.

But on the other side of things, a bad relationship would bring just all negative feelings for the couple and for the supplier itself. I would like to believe that as much as we hear horror stories from couples on a certain supplier, I bet the suppliers' themselves have a lot of horror stories to share as well. I bet there might be a forum as similar as W@W for suppliers where they rant also of their horror customers hahaha! There are always two sides to a story and being that my convictions on fairness dictates I listen to both side, I always take with a grain of salt a negative review on a supplier I got.

Based on my experience in meeting suppliers, I am first drawn to those who response promptly and on a friendlier note to my email. I am your typical Piscean (although with the "new" horoscope they say I am Aries now:P) who always live by my gut feel and if at the first email I get that "this is it" feeling, I will be meeting up with that supplier. So far, in all the suppliers we met, we had a very good feeling about them and that I can sense we can establish a good customer-supplier relationship short of saying that we jive or click.

And in order to take good care of the kind of relationship I am so far having with our suppliers, I am employing the following strategies:

1. Let them have a full reign on how they would execute their services on our wedding based on my inspirations and ideas.
-Of all the suppliers I met, I always tell them, do as you may please with our wedding. Why you may ask? Because the reason why we hired them in the first place is because we believe in their talent. I sure do not know a thing about photos and videos nor styling the reception, so I leave everything to my suppliers. I just would like them to follow my inspiration and theme. I found out the they appreciate this kind of trust that we give them and hopefully this will work well for us in the end.

2. Establish and continue an open communication line with your suppliers.
-Every good relationship is established by an open communication. Since our wedding will be 16 months away and we have booked suppliers as early as now, I am intending that we update our suppliers every once in a while and then drop a "hi or hello" so they would remember us hihihi!:) I believe that we should always tell our suppliers our concerns and not just sit around on it waiting for our concerns to be solve by themselves. If you do not like a particular outcome, let them know. If you feel that their service is taking long, confront them. Of course do everything in the most civil way possible. Just because you are friends with your supplier does not mean that they should be lax also. Just speak up and be heard.:)

3. Feed them well on your wedding day.
-I always believe that people work at their best on a full stomach that is why on the wedding day itself I will feed my "army" with the best food I can buy. Mabubusog tlga sila hihihihi!:)

4. And lastly, APPRECIATE, APPRECIATE, APPRECIATE.
-Saying thank you is free right? Never be stingy in appreciating your suppliers for all the efforts they have made. As much as they do business with us, what makes them happier is knowing that couples appreciate their talent and their service.

These  are my battle plan in establishing a good relationship with our supplier. So far so good. I am hoping that this will bring us less stress in the future and then "some" of course.:)