89 Days ♥

Changing my status and my last name in 89 days! :)

Will start preparing tomorrow for our civil wedding on January 6, 2012 and I'm excited for December 2012 to come for our church wedding. I'm praying for God's blessings and praying for our plans next year and for the years to come.

I will come back tomorrow and update you guys! ;)

XO,
Justine

Something Big, Something New!

WE HAVE SOMETHING BIG TO TELL OUR FRIENDS, RELATIVES AND LOVED ONES. :-) AND... WE HAVE A NEW WEDDING DATE! WE'LL ANNOUNCE SOON!

WE'RE REALLY, REALLY EXCITED! I HOPE EVERYTHING WILL GO WELL!

XO
Justine

The Sacrament of Confirmation

Believe it or not, I haven't received it, yet! I wasn't well aware (I think as well as my parents?) how important this sacrament is. When I was a kid, I thought the priests would slap you in the face! Haha! And I was wondering, I studied in a Catholic school during grade school, haven't they slapped me? Anyway, I was scanning our documents and files and couldn't find a certificate, so yeah, I haven't been slapped before.

My friend got married two years ago and like me, she haven't received the sacrament of confirmation. I learned that you won't be allowed to have a Catholic church wedding if you haven't been slapped. This is a major, major requirement. Anyway, few weeks before her big day, she asked me if I could be her "ninang" and of course, I said yes. I was her MOH, by the way. It was a regular Sunday service and in the middle of the service the priest announced that there is someone who will receive the sacrament of confirmation and my friend was asked to stand in the middle of the stage and the priest started doing the ritual. After several minutes, the priest suddenly called "the ninang" and I was asked to stand beside my friend and rest my hand on her shoulder, in front of everybody else! Wattanexperience! And I don't want/need the attention. And by the way, priests won't slap you!

I thought I should get the sacrament before 2010 ends. And obviously, I was too lazy and I forgot to sign-up for this. And come January 17 - Tadaaa!  My fiance proposed! So by hook or by crook, I need to get this over and done with and the earliest schedule I know for this year is this August, the feast of San Bartolome. There'll be another one in December but what the heck, I don't wanna wait anymore and I wanna accomplish something wedding related. 

I'll be passing my requirements tomorrow and it's a good thing my cousin works there, there's someone who can help me. It feels so weird that almost everyone who will receive the sacrament of confirmation are like gradeschooler's. I'll be like one of the ninangs! Hehe! Anyway, I can do this! A friend volunteered to be my ninang! Yay!

xo

Justine

New Date! :)

Our new wedding date 12-01-12 :)

513 days more!

Food Tasting - Ma Del's

We finally had our first food tasting last Sunday, July 3. As I've said on my previous entry, the event was held at the penthouse of Marc 2000 building in Quirino. Ms. Anj told us to be there by 4 in the afternoon because the event will start at 5. We arrived around 4:10 and there were a few guests already. Early birds! We then asked the receptionist for Ms. Anj and we were lead inside the hall. 

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Everything was in place already including the food, wait staff and everything. The set-up was simple but it looks really elegant. Just the way we want it. We don't want our reception to be overly decorated. Here are some pictures:

The Presidential table:

Sit-in for the presidential table

Table set-up

Potato Croquettes for starters

For the couple (picture taking purposes). The couple will eat at the Presidential table 

Buffet area

If we're to change anything, we'd probably change the cloth underneath the vase on each table. But everything  is okay to us. Ms. Anj also told us that if  we have a theme in mind all we have to do is tell her so they can work it out without extra cost. I'm very glad James loved everything :)

And guess who we saw and met? Mr. Elmer of Rejekrew! Ms. Anj told us that Mr.Elmer is the one in charge of the lights and sounds (he's highly recommended in GirlTalk as well!). It's like hitting two birds with one stone! James approached Mr. Elmer first then we asked about his services. The lights are amazing and the sound system is very nice, too! We took Mr. Elmer's number and we'd probably get him on our wedding. 

I'm very glad on how things turned out last Sunday :)

Here are pictures of the take home sample Ms. Anj gave us. These are the food the couple chose on their big day. Our take home samples are placed on microwavable containers. We had a little of the main courses

Food samples in microwavable containers, placed inside a brown bag

Pasta, my favorite

James and I liked the food. We ate half of everything and I took the rest home for my parents to taste and I'd like to know what my chef dad thinks. I also informed my parents we could request for another food tasting - our choice of menu.

Ms. Anj is very nice and accommodating. Thank you Ms. Anj for squeezing us in your very busy schedule. :)

• Marc 2000 Building Penthouse rental: P15,000. You'll get a P2,000 discount if you know a Rotarian. Secured and ample parking space for your guests.
• Rejekrew: P8,000 for amazing lights and sounds.
• Ma Del's Food and Set-up: P375/head. (Standard)

Email us for questions: happybrideblog@gmail.com

XO,
Justine

Food Tasting 101

You have no idea how excited I am! :D we're scheduled for a food tasting this July 3, a Sunday at Marc 2000's Penthouse in Quirino, Taft Avenue. Sweet!

James and I started talking about our wedding again and the excited me started day dreaming again, searching the world wide web and lurking at the engagement and wedding section of GirlTalk. 

We're set to book the following before this year ends: Church, P/V, Caterer.

Church - We already know where but we will finalize our wedding date first before we go visit the church.

P/V - We have a shortlist

So we're left with caterer. We're on a budget wedding so we're looking for affordable yet offers good service and yummy food! Thank heavens for GirlTalk! BTW, my dream caterer would be Passion Cooks. I always browse their site and drool! :p Unfortunately, we can't afford them. Oh well, next time. :) GirlTalker's highly recommend Ma Del's Cuisine and Quido's Catering. Also, there's Kusina ni Kambal and Center Table Catering. They cost more or less P400/ head.

I know choosing a caterer will be a very long process. We have to attend food tasting's, actual set ups and meetings before we decide. I know, I know. We have more than a year to prepare. But you see, those caterer's with affordable yet offers good service and yummy food get easily booked and we don't wanna lose our chance!

I texted and emailed Ms. Anj of Ma Del's Cuisine last June 23rd around 12nn and she replied to me around 3pm telling me about the food tasting sched and other details. I asked my fiance and when he confirmed, I confirmed our attendance with Ms. Anj. Food sampling is on July 3rd, a Sunday. There's a wedding in the afternoon and people inquiring about Ma Del's catering could go at the wedding reception venue before the guests arrive. 

I also emailed Ms. Gina of Quido's and she replied promptly with their food tasting schedule. Most of their clients are around Sucat area but unfortunately, that's too far from us. They have an event in Intramuros, Manila around October so we'll probably go there. 

I'm a happy and a super excited bride and I can tell that my groom feels the same way, too! :) My mom is as excited as me, by the way. 

Wedding Date Crisis and More

We're thinking of changing our wedding date. Well, it was actually my mom who requested to move it to another month and we just couldn't say NO to her again. At least it's within the year we want. Initially, my mom was bargaining for another 5 years. My reaction was "Ma, menopause na 'ko nun!". After sometime, she asked if we could move it January 2013 and her reason was "para maganda ang pasok ng taon"! Haha! Unbelievable! She'll do anything to prolong my stay at home :) Two months ago, she mentioned again that we should move our wedding date. July daw is rainy season plus many, many, more reasons. She suggested a month and she was successful on her third try! Haha! I was thinking "yeah, why not?". I've discussed it my fiance and consulted my MOH. Moving our wedding date won't hurt us. In fact, it will help us adjust and save a few more thousands for the wedding. 

We already have a date in mind and I know my mom and dad will be thrilled! :) But it's not final, yet. We'll discuss again probably next month. I'm not saying anything to my mom not just yet.

So that's it for now. I'll be back real soon! 

XO,

Justine