Sweet Surprises

Last Jan. 14, Sherwin and I attended the Weddings and Beyond Expo at the PICC with my Maid of Honor (read: alalay – chos!) – Ann.

Our assignment was to do some research and shortlist the suppliers we like before coming to the bridal fair. So that all we have to do is choose and pay.

But the day of the expo came and…waley! hahaha. I won’t even bother to make an excuse! We just ended up going around. and around. and around.

Oh wait, I didn’t neglect our assignment entirely! I had a makeup artist in mind already. She was highly recommended to me by my officemate and I was just impressed with her portfolio!

Check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002892405016

I was so happy to see her booth at the expo. I immediately felt that going there may not be a total waste after all! She was very personable – I was at ease with her in no time. We learned that her husband and Sherwin are both Bosconians and are both working in the same company – small world indeed! It was nice ‘coz Sherwin had someone to talk to while Kim was working on my trial makeup.

Here goes my before (as in days before! hahaha) and after pic!

I toned it down a bit when we wend to the mall.

Do you like it? I do! HAH!

Another good find for us that day was EasyPic Photo booth. Firstly, I love that they have white, minimal and elegant photo booth. I don’t know if it’s just me being OC but I can’t imagine the usual black and bulky photo booth in our wedding reception.  hehe. What we also like are the live multiple frame design selection, fast photo printing, and the photo quality itself – they are noticeably warmer and neater than other photo booth pics I’ve seen!

Other Photo Booths I’ve tried:

With EasyPic:

We may have gone a little over budget for this one, but we trust them when they say – “With EasyPic, you get what you pay for.” So excited to work with them for our background layouts.

Check out more of their work at: http://easypics.ph/

On a side note, I hope that when suppliers themselves are not able to attend to their booths that they assign people who know their service/product well. How many times was I initially interested but backed out when something like this happens:

Me: Miss, puro ready to wear gowns lang sa shop nyo?

Staff: …. Ayan po, gawa na.

Me: Hindi pwedeng customized?

Staff: ….

Me: May website na lang kayo?

Staff: <Tells me the shop’s name>

Oh, the fun of organizing your wedding! hahaha.

Yay for my longest post thus far!

-M.

The Story of Us

Next on our list is to find a wedding Videographer we can trust to capture and interpret the story of us…

Choosing our Videographer is one task we’ve gone back and forth with. But in the end, we’ve stuck with our idea to go for fresh and upcoming artists. ^_^

Yes, I have daydreamed on getting the most popular (read: most expensive! haha) Videographers. But early on, Sherwin and I have also decided to be open-minded and eager to discover equally talented suppliers. It entailed a lot more effort – doing research and reading countless blogs and reviews. But it’s completely worth it!

We met with Jake last December 30. Unlike other Videographers, given that it’s December and with his busy schedule, hindi siya magulo kausap! haha. He was even the one who reminded us of our meeting the day before. I don’t think he lives near Makati but he was very accommodating and agreed to meet us at Greenbelt.

Aside from their sample work, what we usually look for in suppliers are rapport, their knowledge and confidence in what they do, openness to suggestions, if they are easy to talk to, and my personal favorite – they must be organized! haha.

It made us very happy to find all of these in our chosen Wedding Videographer – Jake Olaso!

Check out his works in his site: http://www.jakeolaso.com/

Jake is a storyteller. His challenge for us is to think of a concept for our engagement shoot. I never imagined we would do a concept shoot. I always thought magpapa-cute lang kami, pa-sweet kunwari – we’re the shy type, you know! haha. But what the heck! It’s the happiest day of our lives and we want it to be fun fun fun! So concept shoot it is!

Any ideas?!

-M.

Inspired by Love and Life

So far, Marj and I managed to book the Church and Venue. Next among our priority to book is the photographer. So whenever I had spare time, I would search the internet for prospective photographers. I browsed wedding and engagement photos one after the other, and the list of suppliers went on and on. Madalas nagkanda puyat na rin ako kasi nakakalibang din mag view ng photos.

For about a month or so…Marj and I would exchange links of photos that we seem to like but none would convince us just quite yet.  When Marj went to Singapore with her family for a vacation, I found myself having more time searching the internet for photographers. Until one faithful dawn ( 4AM na kasi), I discovered sample works of this young couple, through a website “blissful-weddings.com”.  There I found “Ruffa + Mike Photography” listed as one of the suppliers.  I instantly loved their sample works, and Marj loved it too when I showed it to her. At this point we were convinced to contact them and possibly hire them as our wedding photographer.

Check out their link at: http://blissful-weddings.com/ruffamike-photography/

Meeting up with Mike:

Marj and I met up with Mike at Bo’s Coffee Shop in Greenbelt 3 (Power Books Branch).  Prior to meeting Mike, I was able to converse with him through email about the pricing, packages, and inclusions. He’s very responsive and accommodating, which is great because I kinda got the hint that he’ll be easy to work with. Coz one of our major considerations aside from the budget is that we must feel comfortable working with the supplier. After all, they’ll be the one taking our pictures and they will be with us every step of the way to document our wedding event. And when we started talking, Marj and I were happy to find out that he has a very bubbly personality. He would occasionally crack jokes that will make us laugh. We generally felt at ease and our conversation ran comfortably. I think what Marj really liked about him also, is his attention to details. Mike jokingly said “Pinaghirapan yan bilhin at ayusin, bakit hindi pipicturan?”. He showed us some of his sample photos and album. We can sense that he’s really passionate about his work…his art. We’re glad to choose Ruffa + Mike as photographers, and looking forward to our pre-nup and wedding shoot with them!

- Sherwin

It’s 2-0-1-2!

Let’s hear it for 2011!

It has been a great year!

It’s going to be a very busy year ahead! We’re so excited for 2012!

Blue Skies and Green Grass

We were looking for a reception venue in Makati or Taguig. We wanted something cozy and classy, modern yet romantic. There were actually a number of people who suggested this place already but never did I bother to look it up…

Thank God, one day, I finally did! And I was over the moon, the first time I saw it!

It’s elegant in a non-intimidating way.

Love Love Love the high ceiling!

Can’t wait to design this place! Weeeee!

-M.

What Dreams Are Made Of

Right off the bat, we knew the place we wanted to exchange our I Do’s.

He wanted to get married at his Alma Mater while I wanted a modern, white and intimate church.

And so…St. John Bosco Parish, Makati is just perfect!

We also love that it’s very accessible and has ample parking space. ^_^

Only glitch we have to work with are the restrictions on the wedding and entourage gowns.

Such a great start for us! We are so lucky because we agree A LOT!

-M.

Everything’s Right

January 19, 2013 will mark the start of our journey to forever.

We know that the road to our grandest day will be filled with tons of emotions and memories we will surely cherish.

And so, we say cheers to our Wedding Site!

We hope that you enjoy visiting our site as much as we enjoy filling it with reminiscences of one of the best times of our lives!

- Sherwin&Marj

Smiles light up as we walk in…Old conversations begin again…

Hey, Everything’s right, said everything’s right tonight!

Welcome!

So, I Love You…Because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to our Wedding Site!

- Sherwin&Marj