Happiness in Littlest of Things

Just wanted to share my happiness in finding out that our confirmed back-up photographer will still be available for our wedding in spite of asking him for a meet-up and subsequent placing of deposit in March of this year which never did materialize till now. I was so hesitant to write him a follow-up for fear of being rejected but I of course have to ask. It is a damn-you-do-damn-you-don't situation and it got me worried there a bit.

For one, I don't want another back-up photographer, I want him. He takes candid photos the best among those who fit our budget and he really sound nice in his emails and I put premium on that. Email exchanges are a form of glimpse to who the person is behind the letter. I just had that gut feel we will click with him.

Felt like sharing this because as much as we share our rants to suppliers, I feel it is more worthy to highlight the positive side of encountering suppliers that are very much customer oriented. Give praise where it is needed so to speak and happiness in littlest of things is what should really matter. In wedding preparations, I believe it to be the most important of all, to be grateful for those pockets of sunshine in a rather stormy and grueling preparations.

So I write about how I feel blessed knowing we still have our original back-up photographer on the team. Check his portfolio out:  

http://randellliwanag.wordpress.com/

Happiness!!!

Wedding Preps Lull

We are having a lull period.:(

At the time when I am supposed to be getting on the details of the wedding. I guess when very important things in life comes first like job responsibilities, family issues and such, wedding preparations get the back seat. More so if you decide to be on a long engagement like us. We have no problems so far on our budget, God is blessing us in ways He intends for our wedding financial breakthrough. It is the time to seat down and attend to the wedding details that we have neglected so far. You can tell from the lack of posts in our wedding blog that we are both busy.

But it is already less than a year into the wedding preparations and action must be done.

May be I should do a to-do-list like I do in my work. Then may be I would be inspired and excited to really make time for the wedding preps. I need to start on my DIY as well and get suppliers for our invitations and back-up photographer. So here goes...

TO-DO-WEDDING-PREPS-LIST:

1. Update MS Excel file of wedding budget and deposit wedding money contribution to wedding money account.
2. Make down payment to caterer.
3. Asses budget and suppliers overall; see what suppliers are still needed.
4. Finalize list of wedding entourage and principal sponsor.
5. Inform wedding entourage of roles.
6. Trip to Divisoria for wedding cord and fabric flower DIY.
7. Diet and exercise. :)
8. Look for our supplier's contract.

I need to really manage my time to include the wedding preparations on weekends and wedding detailing on some weeknights. I REALLY NEED TOO!!! I have a lot of plans and I guess amidst the busy schedule, time management is always the key to really do a lot of things. I AM DETERMINED!

Mabilis na lang isang taon diba?:)

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!:)

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.:)

Wedding Planning 101: On Booking Suppliers

In the past few months since we got engaged, I am on the search for the best and affordable suppliers that we can have for our wedding. We have already booked a few and I am still on a search but so far I have been satisfied with those who we have gotten. My current job entails me to talk to suppliers for seminars and events for our project, so in a way I am knowledgable on these things.

Which has gotten me to think what kind of a customer I am in booking suppliers. Now the reason why I had myself thinking is because I think I am a bit easy to deal with in booking suppliers. I tend to do my research and once I have found the supplier whom I feel will be the best for our requirement, I go meet them and see if we will click. Almost, always I will book these suppliers on the spot, some I have not met yet personally but I booked them anyway.

Let me tell you that not all brides/grooms are the same as not all people in this world are the same. I have heard of stories of brides who are diva-ish to the point that they really do demand heaven and earth to get what they paid for. I have also heard of brides who are doormats, who ended up apologizing to the supplier for a bad behavior that was caused by no less than a bad service from the supplier. Most are fickle minded and some are OC.

As I analyze myself, I realize I am the type of bride who does her research, talks to a supplier to get a feel of the kind of working relationship that can be established, book them instantly and have faith they will deliver. I am not fussy about trivial things but I would want everything to be written in the contract and that they would be prompt in delivering their services. I am a feeler and if I do not get that "IT" feeling that the supplier is the one, I wont get them. The opposite is that if I get you, I will expect a lot.

Sometimes it bothers me that I do tend to not look around anymore for another supplier for comparisson. But I have always lived by my gut feel and more often than not, the gut feel is correct. I do worry if they would deliver but I stand up to my choices and make sure I am vigilant about their service. I may appear to be nice but I am strict. I expect only the best. The upside of things is, I am very easy to work with.

My suppliers are booked for one reason, I know their talent and dedication will create the wedding I envision.

Wedding Planning 101: Budget

So after the family blessings has been given, the next thing most couples would do is to determine the budget and how much they will save for the wedding.

In our case, it was planning first how much we will save and then determining the budget we would allocate for the supplies we will get. And oh boy were we in for a ride when we started canvassing suppliers. Our target savings is minimal compared to what we have to pay for the wedding we want.

It may seem problematic for some, but the way I see things, it is better to have a bigger expected budget than a safer one. That way we may know what to get and where to get the suppliers our actual savings will allow. Good thing in this area I am level-headed. We are not expecting family to shell some wedding money also.

So right now we have a modest budget for our wedding. I say modest because really, weddings are an industry right now with costs sky rocketing every year. My game plan is that we do price locks for our P/V coverage and venue if we can. I have spoken to one caterer I am eying at who is willing to do our budget and I have a fall back in case we cannot really afford them. We have a rule not to scrimp on the venue, catering and P/V but of the rest I have to employ my strict budgeting skills.

So my spread sheet seems daunting but yes, still workable. It will be the toughest challenge I will encounter as I will be the one handling our finances for this.:)

Wedding Preps 101:Planning Stages

After a schedule Sunday lunch with my family, our wedding preparation will be "legal". Why do I say so? Because we kept our engagement secret to our families nearing a month now. Well to Jp's side knows about it. Not that we do not want them to know, we are just waiting for the right time to share with them the good news.

Which is actually the signal for every wedding preparation and this entry is about our first hand experience on starting our journey towards a lifetime of togetherness and the things we learned and will learn along the way.

Before actually telling our parents, we already talked about the wedding date. Sometime 2007, I was daydreaming about marrying Jp when I had this urged to find the perfect date for us. Initially, I do not want our wedding date and our anniversary as a couple to be different from each other. While browsing my then mobile phone's calendar, I saw that our annivesary date will be on a weekend in 2012. From then on, Jp would always tell me that we will get married in 2012 and knowing Jp, he will be true to his word.

Fast forward to 2010. One day we talked about our plans of getting married and how we do not have the money for it still. It was then that we decided to push through with the wedding preparations and what followed was his proposal. The initial date was scratched because we want my family from the US to have a chance to come over for our wedding thus July 21, 2012 is the new date.

Dreaming of your wedding is one thing. All ideas will flow in your head and you can easily visualize the wedding happening. What most of us bride-to-be's do not really know is this: IT IS HARD TO PLAN AND EXECUTE OUR WEDDING. :)

The intial stages of wedding planning are like a maze for most of us. I myself did not know where to begin. But being trained to be responsible at an early age, I knew saving up for the wedding and the wedding budget is our top most priority. At this point, we already have a conservative amount to save from our combined income and a wedding budget I am bent on reducing further. Both our conservative savings and wedding budget do not match but I rather make the budget a bit more and work it down rather than save more at this point.

Simutlaeously with the savings come the canvassing of suppliers. I want to book a venue and photo/video coverage before the year ends to at least take advantage of price locks if offered. Here is one thing about supplier-hunting: the more you do your research, the more you want to get the best of things even if sadly, you cannot afford them. Good thing with me I am level headed with this one and also I have asked my boyfriend not to indulge in my wants even if he likes making me happy. So far, it helped me look into some suppliers that are within our budget.

Wedding preps are dizzying and OVERWHELMING. At this point we are still getting the hang of it. I am thankful for being a part of this e-group for the help and ideas I am getting.

But really, at the end of the day, we rather focus on what comes after the wedding which is the committment of a marriage.