My Wedding Suppliers

Thank you to all of our suppliers and friends for all your help at our wedding... As I continue my blog about my married life at talk on corners; I'll end this diary with Thank yous and more thank yous to all of YOU.

• Wedding Coordinator/ Wedding Concept by: Ezra Ballesteros +63 9189417105


• Photography and Video Coverage: Practical Photography, June Seculles +63 9175028310


• Chapel Venue: Caleruega,Batulao, Nasugbu, Batangas, Jaki/Melda +63 9212709890


• Reception Venue & Catering: Chateau Royale Sports and Country Club, Nasugbu, Batangas +632-7129293


• Pre-Nuptial Seminar: Catholic Engage Encounter, Dado Hipolito +632-8207352


• Hair and Make up by: Naska of Hair 2000 +632-8436380


• Wedding Gown, Barong & Entourage Dress: Ning Ramos (made to oder) +632-2449077


• Wedding Rings and Arrhae: Noel Carrillo +63 9175425619


• Bridal Registry: Rustan's +63 8133739 and Regalong Pambahay +632-6385478


• Giveaways: Dapitan, Mr. Bong +63 9184429206


• Flowers and Plants: Bypass Silang Cavite and Tagaytay


• Other suppliers: National Bookstore, SM Department Store, Divisoria.

Honeymooning in Singapore

I got a message from my friend who is requesting for an update here on my blog.. so thanks to wi-fi.. I'm pleased to share with you our pictures from our honeymoon and trip to Singapore... such a nice place to visit and live in too :) hehehe.. I can see me and adrian living here soon :D sino gusto sumama?

at the entrace of Jurong Bird Park

Click here for more photos. Enjoy!

Here Comes The Bride

Finally my most awaited day has come...

Here Comes The (Crying)Bride


The Newlywed, Mr. & Mrs. Adrian Dimaunahan


Our Principal Sponsors


with Varian (Best Man), Ellie (Matron of Honor) and Nancy (Maid of Honor)


Our Secondary Sponsors: Jakikay, Janess, Maya, Fritz, Dominique and Kimchi


The Bridesmaids and Groomsmen: Baet & Kim, Eric & Dave


our Friendsters at the Wedding

The stormy weather last Sept 3 was not given a chance to ruin our beautiful wedding.. Thank you very much to all those who made this day possible... our parents, our entourage, our relatives, our friends, and most especially my wedding coordinator, Ezra and her husband Butch who made our wedding day possible. Our heartfelt gratitude to both of you. I can't Thank You enough. Thank you! Thank you!

Thank you as well to all our guest who made it through the rain..(literally..hehhehe)A special thank you to Ellie who flown from San Jose, CA., Papa Jun for coming all the way from LA and Ninong Cris who flown in from Singapore. Your presence were deeply appreciated.

To those who were not able to make it..here are some photos from the wedding for you to enjoy (Thanks winnie and dave for these pics.) click here to view photos.

Compliments to our official Photographer, June Seculles of Practical Photography, +639175028310

click here for some edited photos courtesy of my brother Dave.

Pamanhikan

a filipino custom that has been followed for years. This is where the parents of the bride and the groom meet and discuss the details of the wedding. Who will pay for what, etc.. But in our case, since the wedding will be in 7 days.. and everything is already in place.. Adrian's pamanhikan became just a formality for our families to meet and get to know each other.

I was about to go to church when they arrived. Mom and I was busy doing the re-heating of the food that they brought from Nasugbu while my dad entertained them with his corny jokes..hehehe! dami ng food.. we had sugpo, grilled tuna, nilagang baboy, soups and salads and buttered veggies. Adrian also help us in re-heating the food and fixing the table... They stayed at home for almost 3 hours.. talked, laughed and just getting to know each other. Its nice to see that everyone was happy to be part of this new family that we are about to create.

our wedding rings

Today, our wedding ring was delivered at my office. Its in plain white gold with etchings Shiena Sept 3,2005 and Adrian Sept 3,2005. Its so simple yet beautiful and shiny :)hehehe! I also had my engagement ring polished and it looked so good together with my wedding ring. I can already hear in my head the words.. "wear this ring as a sign of my love...etc".

My Shoes! and Missalette

I’ve finally found my shoes in Vinacci. No size six so I settled for six and a half. I’m happy with my choice and I got it with a 10% discount since its on sale. Hehehehe!

Our missalette is already 80% completed. Adrian has painstakingly arranged the missalette I made so it can be printed in booklet style. And he was so proud to show it to me. I too am proud of what he did since he was the one who analyzed and thought about how to do it. As an OC, I of course have some revisions (but its all for the better ...hehehhe!) We are due for printing them this weekend together with the sit plan and the giveaway tags. Speaking of sit plan… there are 113 more invited guests that has not confirmed their attendance ... additional things to worry about. Gosh, I just wish we would be able to cover all them before this week ends. And one more thing ... We still have not bought any tokens for the entourage ... what do you think we should give them ...of course we are working on a budget here.

With 11 more days to go ...I ask for divine providence for us to endure these remaining days and to keep us sane.

Pre-nup Pictorial

We were scheduled today for our pre-nup pictorial. I have arranged for my trail make-up with Naska around 4pm. And then afterwards we headed to June Seculles’ studio (Practical Photography) in Bacoor, Cavite. I was so looking forward to this day and also nervous while we were on the road. After setting up the backdrop, we posed and he started shooting his camera. Playing and sometimes fooling around while June takes some candied shot of us making faces to each other, laughing and kissin’. It was fun ... the changing of clothes (we changed twice), changing of lights, different angles etc. We had a taste of being a model for an hour… but seriously it’s tiring. We had a total for 191 shots and hopefully I can post some of the pictures here (as soon as he emails them to me.)

Wedding Essentials

I’m guilty of not being able to update as much as I want too.. It has been so hectic in the office and stressful too. Balancing work with your wedding prep is really a challenge and I salute those brides who are able to do so with grace under pressure. Here! Here! to all of you!

So here is my update ... I finally have a choir ... thanks to my dad, he was able to contact one of the choir at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd here in Fairview. They are really heaven sent. I was already loosing hope then with only two weeks to go before the wedding and I still haven’t got a choir. We even planned to just play a CD during the mass but that would ruin the beautiful ceremony and the amazing ambiance of Caleruega. But I know God wanted this day to be perfect as much as we do that’s why even on a short notice the choir agreed to sing at my wedding. They are scheduled to do a dress rehearsal on Monday next week.. I can’t wait… I just know they’ll be great!

Last weekend, we went to get the rest of the entourage’s gowns. Good thing that they were able to fix Ellie’s dress (she’s my Matron of Honor). I hope they fit perfectly on them. We also did some shopping ... bought table runners for additional accents on our tables in the reception, also bought rolls of ribbons and accents for my bouquet and the entourage’s flowers, candles for the giveaways, our unity candle, some bubble tubes for the kids, accessories for the ladies in my entourage and I also bought some accents for my hair (shaped in flowers with rhine stones). We also bought our bible as well.

It was one helluva weekend. I search and search for the perfect shoes for me but to know avail. I found one, but I was reluctant to buy it. So after some days have passed of thinking and searching, I’ve decided to buy the shoes but my friend Kim told me that when she passed by the store, its already closed. Panic has stricken me. All my entourage have found their shoes even my mom already bought hers, I the bride with 1 weekend to go until my big day has not yet found the perfect shoes. Gosh! Please show me the way to my bridal shoes!

Shower at Holiday Inn

It’s my second shower party courtesy of my friends from work. But the party starts after dark so I made plans for the morning to finish our distribution of invitation.

We found at last our ninang

The rain and cold wind did not hinder us to accomplish our plans for the day. We have one more ninang (godparent) whom we haven't delivered the invitation yet. I call her Ma'm Bhabes because she was my supervisor from my previous work. We had a hard time contacting her because her mobile phone got disconnected which was the only way we knew how to contact her. Good thing that Ate Normie (one of her staff before) told us how to get to her store in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan. It was a one-hour road trip from our house. Adrian and I are both new to the place and don't know where we are going ... We just rode the bus and a jeepney and took our chance in finding the right place ... I was actually praying that we’ll be on the right track. And luckily we were. We disembark when we reach Road 2 and asked a woman which of the store is owned by Bhabes and she pointed at the third store then I heard someone saying "hay, anong ginagawa ninyo ditto?" "kakasal na kayo?" (What are you doing here? Are you getting married?) ... with her identifiable laughter and voice ... I know we were on the right place. Thank God!

Bridal Shower

What: Shakey’s Bridal Shower
When: August 13,2005 at 7pm
Where: Rm 1202, Holiday Inn Galleria

Coming from Bulacan, Adrian and I went back to my place to get my overnight bag and then we headed to Holiday Inn. Its already 1:20 pm in my watch and I thought we’ll not make it on time for the 2pm check in. We took the MRT and cab to get there and guess what? We were just in time. After registration, I was given a card key to Room 1202. Adrian and I waited for Claude (who was the organizer of the successful shower) and Louie to arrive. Afterwards, Adrian and I went to Galleria Mall to have our lunch (that was around 3pm already). I was craving for a mango crepe so after our delicious meal at Sushiya, We headed to Fuzion smoothie café which was just in front of the Japanese restaurant.

After stuffing ourselves with food, we then went to burn our calories by shopping ... not for ourselves though. Since the bridal party is a pajama/lingerie party, I was assigned to pick the sexiest and foxiest girlfriend. So we went to Beauty Bar and I got some Canus Goat’s milk soap and body butter and a sponge as a prize. I also went to find some items as a giveaway to all of my guest… first I thought of giving them a bead bracelet but there are only 7 pieces of it left, thus I have to pass. I thought of giving a feathered ballpen but I thought it might not write anymore after a few hours of usage. What I end up with was a hand sanitizer from Zen.

I wasn’t allowed to be in the room until they have already fixed the place up. So I decided to have a manicure and pedicure while I wait for 7pm to come. While Febie was finishing the polish on my 3 remaining toes, my fone rang. It was Kim, asking me where I am. They are ready for me. I can go back to the room now. As I reached for the botton up of the elevator, my stomach was starting to feel butterflies all around. I reached the 12th floor with a throbbing chest. Knocked twice and I could hear Baet’s voice and laughter coming from the room. Claude open the door with a purple balloon on hand and they welcomed me with flashing of cameras… They are all already in their sleepwears, pajamas and lingerie. Since I was still in jeans and shirt, I headed to the bathroom and changed into my pj.

Party started with a buffet of bake mac, chicken lollipop, cheese sticks, chips and salsa (all courtesy of Patz). Then... the party started with a game... 5 teams was all give their own clay and they have to shape it into a penis. I get to choose who the winner is :) The second game was "How well do you know Adrian?" The consequence? For every wrong answer I have to take one shot of Tanduay straight up! Oh no! I’ll be drunk in no time. First question, wrong answer, after my first shot, I requested for just a gulp of Mindoro Sling so I can still enjoy my party and not vomit all night long. I know I was tipsy after 5 wrong questions because I started to laugh out of the blue and tears coming out of my eyes while laughing. I’m talking and laughing non-stop. No longer following instructions. Apparently, I only answered 5 right out of 20 questions. The game should have been entitled "How well you don’ t know Adrian?" But the questions are so damn hard!

Before another game began, they took out the cake that they bought for me... from Kink Cakes ... a brown bald man with a big tummy and a very large penis... And it looked so real in the pictures ...heheheh! It says "Make a Wish Bebe and Blow Me" hahaha! Who’s words are those Claude?

Everybody gathered around the penis cake.

The third game was pop the balloon and do the consequence ... got 3 actually ... How will I seduce Adrian through a belly dance, associate my sexual fantasy with a yoga pose ( I did a shoulder stand ... see photos) and my sexual advise... hahaha! Too censored to discuss here :-) Afterwards, it was time to open my gifts!!! I got a lot of panties (seductively sexy ones), a pair of Calvin Kline bra, a purse from china with a very revealing thong and bra, a matching tankini lingerie and panty, a kama sutra video and a silk robe which I’ll be wearing during the bridal pictorial. I also got a Precious Moments book for my Wedding.

The party just went on with more dancing, eating and singing. As one by one bid their goodbyes, those who stayed for a sleepover (Claude, Baet, Me, Abi, Maya and Emmy) just shared some girl talk and enjoyed the night in our pajamas. It was truly a fun party! I was surrounded by good friends and left behind happy memories. Thanks everyone! And special mention to Claude who organized it all. Muwah!

Choir O Choir, where are you?

I’ve been scouting for the perfect ensemble to be the choir on my wedding. First, I wanted to have a string quartet. After 2 Wedding Fairs and some inquiries, I decided to just get a duo and a vocalist. But unfortunately, by the time I’m eager to book the String Minstrels, I was informed that they are already booked on my date. (Stress level is at its highest) That was 2 weeks ago.

Today, we went to watch the demo of the Sentimental Groove. They are good but pricy. They are way over our budget. Since cost cutting is the name of our game and also I’ve realized that I don’t want to add 8 more heads to a whopping 393 invited guest list. Now, with 3 weeks left, we decided to ask Adrian’s officemate to sing for us at the nuptial mass and we’ll just find her a guitarist or a pianist. I just hope that before the crucial days come, this is already in my done list.

So many things to do ... so little time.

My Shower Party

I'm still searching for the right adjective to justifiably describe the bridal shower con bachelorette party last Saturday, which was organized by my barkada (exclusive group of friends) from college.

As I mentioned, I was waiting for their text where the party will be held. They told me that they’ll meet me at Weng's place and Mimaw and Jacq will pick us up and bring us to the party. Obviously, I'm (again) late because I fell as sleep while reading wei hui's book (it's the rainy weather's fault). I arrived at Weng’s place and it was dark and the gate was locked. Called her in her mobile and she said she'd come get me. When I finally saw her, she said: "Khor wanted us to drop by their house before we leave" and so we headed to Khor’s place. When we arrived at the apartment, everyone was there already. Even our friend January who I thought was still in the US. Khor, Jacq, Mimaw, Red, Edith and Rhona are all there. And they said that we are actually having the party there. After some chit chat, we had dinner and they gave me my gifts: ) I thought it was just that, and they have been blabbing about having a stripper. I was expecting it to be someone we know… a friend that has agreed to do a sexy dance for me.

First the blind folded me and they gave me a seat in the center of the living room facing the sofa where the rest of them were sitting. Then a song of Celine Dion was played and the next thing I knew, somebody was already dancing in front of me... in all fairness he smelled really good. In the middle of the song, he removed my blindfold and there he was, a person in a white shirt, jeans and boots was dancing in front of me. I was mouthing to my friends the words "Who is this guy?" but I only got smiles and laughter. After the first song. He went upstairs and I thought that was it. I was soooo wrong! The next time he went down (still in his clothes) this time he danced and did some acrobatic moves.. and started to take off his clothes one by one... I was shouting 'OMG!!!', 'Mommy!!!' the whole time... i was screaming and laughing. The lights were dimmed and the next thing I knew he went All The Way! I can’t believe it! OMG! OMG! OMG! I won’t go into details anymore...

The most important thing is that not only I enjoyed the party but my friends also did (not expecting their participation as well during the stripper's performance). It was truly a memorable bridal shower and bachelorette party…Thank you very much ladies... for the time, effort and thought. Love you all!

P.S. January also announced later that night that she was engaged to be married as well. She and her fiancé Dave will be married in Chicago this coming October... I'm sure we're throwing another party for her :) Congrats Jan and Dave!

P.S.2. I'm still waiting for Mimaw to email me our pictures... Mimaw, where is it?
>>>Thanks Maw for the photos :)The photos are PG13 so I won't post them here..

Just showing off one of my gift, a pink thong.

Répondez s'il vous plaît

33 days to go before the BIG EVENT and how do I fee? An overwhelming excitement, pressure and anxiety rolled into one, that’s how I describe stress nowadays. This is no joke I tell you. If you are not ready for this kind of stress level, don’t get married. You’ll get insane in a matter of days. I can’t wait for the day to come and get this over with.

But don’t get me wrong.. I’m so looking forward to be a wife to my fiancé..

It’s this wedding prep that is giving me all these jitters. Is this some kind of test or something to get you ready on what lays ahead?

People say that relationships are put to test during the last weeks before the wedding. Because this is were problems, misunderstandings, and other forces of nature arises. Which is actually very true and I myself experience this yesterday when Adrian and I were talking about our RSVP arrangements. Since Filipino culture is not really accustomed to RSVPs. They just show up as long as they are invited and they even bring some of their friends with them. But since we are in a budget and we are being billed per head, we have to be strict on this. Which Adrian is apprehensive because it’s hard to get RSVPs from his relatives in the province. I felt angry when he said that we’d just confirm all that we invited even without RSVPs. That of course I cannot agree with.

We are on a budget for heaven’s sake!
I just can’t let our money go to waste if I’ll confirm all 391 guests! And will have a turnout of only 300.

Thus, this has to be done the hard way... ask them one by one if they don’t reply on our deadline. Just to make sure everyone who will attend will have a place to sit and a plate for dinner.

Nobody said this was gonna be this hard. But then again, nobody said its gonna be easy either.

as posted on diary of a bride to be

road trip with the entourage

At long last, the entourage’s dresses are done. Today, me and Adrian together with my Mom, Janess, Kim and Baet went on a road trip to Manila. We then met with Nancy and Jakikay, Weng and Mimaw at the shop. Since Maya need to do some work related stuff, she was unable to join us. I just took her dress home. Anyway, the entourage’s dresses were very pretty. Some were just right, others needed to be altered but Mom’s pink dress needed an overhauled so badly as well as Ellie’s who would need six inches high-heeled shoes so she can wear it. I don’t know what happened, whether I took the wrong measurements or the dressmaker made a mistake. Since the dress is already made, they just have to do something about that length to fit it to Ellie...Gosh, I hope the repair won’t be as disastrous as this. I’m definitely praying for divine intervention here.

...34 days and still counting..

as posted on diary of a bride to be

everybody loves (our labor of love)

Another weekend has passed that means we again accomplish something for our wedding prep. And its not just any something... its the THING! I'm talking about the invitations. We went to Ezra's place to assemble our invitations. The night before, Adrian and I started cutting the inserts and the invitations (the one we printed at Kuya Noel's computer shop last week). We even bought a paper cutter to make sure that the papers are cut, equally straight. We kept cutting our eyelids gave up on us around 2 a.m.

Anyway, while at Ezra's place, Adrian finished the rest of the cutting while me and Ezra did the assembly of the invites. I collated what inserts to be included in each invitation - depending on the guests' role in the wedding, (making sure the number of reserve seats in the dinner reception card is in sync with guest list head count) while Ezra compiled them and knot the invites with potpourri flowers. The finish product is simply marvelous.

We distributed some invites at Nasugbu yesterday and today at our respective offices (my mom also delivered to her friends in our village) and it’s a unanimous comment... It's beautiful, elegant, very unique and looks expensive.

All we can say is its our labor of love.

Our Invitation...a Labor of Love

this is Adrian's masterpiece

Last weekend we had our wedding invites printed. We went to Kuya Noel’s computer shop so we can print for free. I thought it would be an easy task just like printing an ordinary document from a computer. Which I have done tons of time in the office. But it actually took us 8 hours to do the template and the actual printing for another 1 hour.

Before we began, I updated our guest list. Mom had some additional guest that she wanted to invite and also took out some people in the list who couldn’t make it to the wedding. After which, we started editing the template that Ezra made in Photoshop but after printing a sample, it looked distorted. It wasn’t what we expected it to be. So Adrian have to re-do the template all over again using PowerPoint. After some stressful and excruciating hours that seems like forever, we have finally finish the template for the invites, dinner reception and the entourage around 11p.m. When we printed the sample, it was a beauty. All the hard work definitely paid off. I told him that if I receive an invitation as nice as this, I’ll definitely attend. (sounds bias, huh? Hehehe ). But its true, really I’m so proud of our invitation and its truly is labor of love and hard work.

Adrian also did a great job on re-constructing a caleruega map that I got via google.com. Placing some images of the reception venue and the chapel that we took during the ocular visit. We actually finish printing everything around 1:00am. After which we headed home and let him sleep over our house since we already arrived at home around 1:30am.

But there are more things to do... so we just divided the task among our selves. He’ll print the name tags for the invites, while I’ll do the tracing for the location map because the roads on the other copies are not clear.

Next weekend, we’ll be heading to Cavite to assemble the invitations and come Sunday, we can deliver them to Adrian’s relatives in Nasugbu.

Countdown... 47 Days to go.

Trivia

Did you know that today is the anniversay of my engagement?

Perfect Wedding Script

Which script would be nice for our wedding invites?

Our Bridal Registry

After reading Shopaholic Ties the Knot (by Sophie Kinsella, which by the way, started my addiction to this chick lit series), I thought that doing my bridal registry would be a walk in the park. At first it was. Adrian and I started at Regalong Pambahay, where you can find a lot of very good items to accessorize your home. I felt like a class-A shopper where one doesn’t look at the prize tag anymore… just point your finger on the item that you want and your personal shopper would jot it down in the list and have it delivered in your home. I just hope that my guest will actually buy those items that I chose. But of course, not all that I want for our soon to be home was included in the list. Adrian reminded me that our (would be) apartment is just small, so space and size of the items should be considered. So I just picked out things that would actually fit in our apartment (with his approval of course). Even so, we left the store with delight and excitement.

Afterwards, we headed to SM Department Store. We surveyed first the items that we like to include in our list so as to save some time. We found this nice sofa bed and dinner set. To our dismay, we were advised by one of the sales assistant that their Bridal Registry was already scrapped so time ago. WHAT?! I can’t believe what I was hearing. Is this true? We went to the customer service to confirm it and its true. They no longer have the bridal registry service. Now, what are we gonna do? We tried to look for the store named AREA in Megamall but we couldn’t find it, so we just went to Glorietta.

Adrian and I were both tried already since we walked around Megamall in search for the AREA store and not to mention the tour we made around the home department of SM, we decided to take a break and watched the movie Fantastic 4 at Glorietta. The movie was okay and the actors were alright but I was expecting more fight scenes. After the movie, we went to Rustan’s and checked out their items. They have a bridal registry but we are apprehensive to register because the items are expensive. We are worried that our guest might not buy there because of this reason. So we left Rustan’s and headed to Powerbooks to check out some books. We stayed in the coffee shop and read some books while waiting for the 6 p.m. mass at Greenbelt.

After the mass, we decided to go back to Rustan’s so we can already finish our bridal registry. The personnel in the Bridal Registry office informed us that we have the option to choose our own gifts or we can just make a checklist of what we want and the guest can buy anything in the list that are within their budget. There was a spark of hope. At least we don’t have to impose to our guest to buy expensive gifts that are out of their budget. And the good thing is that, if we get duplicate gifts, we can exchange it with a Gift Certificate equal to the amount of the returned item and buy a different item. And so Adrian and I registered at Rustan’s. We were also given a 10% card exclusive for the Bride and Groom.

Hayy, finally we are done with our gift registry.

Food Tasting

54 days to go before the BIG EVENT. This is like the Super Bowl of my life. The most awaited day of my girlfriends. Why? Because it’s the day that I would say…"Yes, I Do" to the man I was born to love in front of all of them. The jitters and the butterflies won’t go away.

My weekends have never been so hectic in my entire existence. Since May, Adrian and me have been out on weekends to prepare for the wedding. Today was the best part of all…food tasting. We were joined by the food experts, my mom, my brother Dave, and Ezra. I did not invite too many people for the food tasting because I was informed that food were just good for 2 persons, but when they served the soup, it was in a big bowl good for 6-8 people. And as the entrées are being brought in and placed in our table, we were surprised to see so many food. It was not a food tasting at all, but rather a complete meal in it self. We were glad that we didn't have to leave the clubhouse to have our lunch, because the food tasting was enough to fill our bellies. Well anyway, all the food taste good, except for the balsamic salad, which we replaced with a tossed vinaigrette salad. The grilled blue marlin with broccoli and oyster was the best course of all. Ok enough of the food. Just the thought of it makes me hungry.

So we have already arranged with the reception personnel what we want the grand ballroom to look like. Ezra even draw the flower arrangements and the table settings that we want and asked them sign it. Just to make sure it will come out, as we want it to be. I also made the deposit and reservation for our room on the day before the wedding.

Afterwards, we headed to Caleruega to pay for our balance and so that my mom and bro can see the chapel in person. Though Caleruega is giving copies of the missalette from the previous weddings that took place there, I still bought a wedding missalette booklet as guide so I can already finish my missalette. We also took some more pictures of the serene landscape of the place. (Additional pre-nup pics..hahaha!). We also stopped by some florista and plant growers in Tagaytay along its highway and asked for their rates. We are planning to get the flowers from Tagaytay rather than transporting flowers from Dangwa.

Before leaving Tagaytay, we pampered ourselves with Yellow Cab Pizza. It was a great way to end our trip. And as the fog gets lower and lower and the rain is waiting to fall, we headed home. And tomorrow, its wedding gift registry day...another (most) anticipated part of the preparation. This will be exciting!

my gown and his barong

Went to Divi this morning to accompany my mom and bro for their measurements. Dad was not able to come with us due to his condition so we just brought this old barong as sample size. We just took public transport since it’s a Saturday and it’s expected to be crowded there. We arrived at Ylaya, a little past our appointment schedule. We were greeted by the modista and after the introduction; she took my mom’s measurements then my brother’s. We gave her my dad’s old barong as basis for his measurements.

After which, I was told that my gown is ready as well as Adrian’s piña cocoon barong. We I saw my gown it was just like an ordinary gown with a trail, pink beads and tiny rosebuds. But after fitting it, and as I look at myself in the mirror, it transformed before my eyes into a simple yet very classy and elegant gown. And I don’t even have my make up on and my hair do was terrible. I just can’t wait to wear it!

Adrian’s barong is gorgeous. It was the first time that I saw the design he chose and what can I say, my man knows his stuff. I can’t wait to see him in it. I know he’ll be the best looking guy at the church wearing the best barong ever!

A message from David

Reception Dilemma is Over

My Saturday was a productive day indeed. Waking up again early in the morning on a Saturday is becoming a habit since it’s only during the weekends that me and Adrian focus on our wedding preps. Today we were set to go back to Chateau Royale to check on their actual wedding set up. There was a scheduled wedding reception at 12nn thus, we have to be there before the guests arrived so we can take pictures and show them to Ezra. (But won't be posting the picture here, so you guys will have more things to look forward to in our wedding diba?)

We arrived at the bus station at 8:30 am but unfortunately; there were no buses yet. So we waited for 30 minutes before we were able to settle in our seats. Its 9:30am and its just now that the bus is leaving the terminal. Gosh, I was praying that we’d arrive there in time for our appointment. Obviously we are running late, appointment was set at 10:30am and it was 11am already and we were still in Tagaytay. But finally we arrived around 11:15am and what a relief to hear from the guard that the wedding entourage & guest hasn't arrived yet. And so we headed to the lobby and Rachel (the sales rep) accompanied us to the ballroom so check it out.

The setting was very simple and bare but the stage where the bride and groom will stay was designed beautifully... ala nature inspired with fountain and plants all around. They have a separate stage for the mucisians. Over-all it was ok, we just need to add some other details so it would be perfert.

Afterwards, we decided to eat in Max's Restaurant in Tagaytay. And by the time we have ordered its was starting to drizzle. The sinigang na hipon was an excellent choice for this kind of weather. After having lunch, we took a jeepney and a bus to get to Imus the rode a van to Festival Mall. Ella, (Ezra and Butch’s 2nd baby) celebrated her 2nd birthday at Jollibee in Festival Mall. Since all of Ella’s gifts will be donated to Batay Bata 163, they have asked us to bring some canned tuna instead of buying Ella a dress or a toy. So we stopped by Shopwise to get some tuna... different brands and different style of cooked tuna. I was wondering what the cashier was thinking when she started to punch in our basket of tuna and placed it in the bag. She might be thinking we were on tuna diet…hehehe!

After the fun and games at the party, we headed to Makati Medical Center to visit Lolo Paco (Adrian’s Grandfather) who was in surgery a few days ago. By the time we left the hospital the rain is getting heavier and heavier. So we just decided to forgo with our movie plans and headed home.

I’m so glad that my worries about our wedding reception end here. I will finally be able to have a good night sleep …but wait! There are so much more of be worried about, still have no priest, no choir, haven’t started printing those invitations, haven’t planned the honeymoon yet, we still need to do our wedding registry...and many more .. Oh, God help us.

Marraige Banns

My dad said that our wedding banns were announced in the mass that he attended early this morning. I was excited to go to the church and I even left the house earlier than usual so I can get a good seat and hear our wedding banns (which are announced before the start of every mass). Before, whenever I hear wedding banns, I always wonder what would it be like if they announce in public that I'm getting married. And today, I can't believe I'm hearing it. Honestly, I was so proud to hear our wedding banns being announced. It's like my moment has come. It's my turn.

Mixed emotions are coming in and out of me… excitement and weariness, elated and scared. I just hope I'm still sane come my wedding day.

Canonical Interview and Marriage License

Yesterday, I’ve sacrificed one of my not so many vacation leaves for our canonical interview in Batangas. We are done (finally!) with our church requirements. I just need to endorse the marriage banns to my parish so they can announce and post it in the parish office. Why is that required? Beats me. I’m just glad we’re over with those requirements and I can worry about other things. Hehehe, it aint over till Sept 3. Anyway, while we were in Nasugbu, we also applied for our marriage license. I thought we will get the license right there and then, but the civil registrar told us that, it’s the officials from the church will be the one to get the license when they are available. So we then went back to the office of the St. Francis Xavier Parish and submitted a copy of the application form.

We were supposed to attend a family planning seminar at City Hall but since we have attended a natural family planning session during our Catholic Engaged Encounter seminar, the registrar didn’t require us to attend anymore. I was so glad about it, since I will not be sacrificing anymore another vacation leave credit. Yehey! By 10:30am we are done with our business both in the church and city hall.

We hitched a ride with Adrian’s relatives who are going to Makati Medical Center to admit Lolo Paco. We went along with them to the hospital until they were able to get a room for Adrian’s grandfather. By the time we left the hospital it was past 5:30 pm.

Since I was sick last week and we were unable to do our regular Thursday Movie-Date-Day, we decided to have a movie marathon. We went to Glorietta and watched Batman Begins (6pm screening), had some sandwiches for dinner then head to the last full show of Mr. and Mrs. Smith (10:30 pm screening). Batman Begins was okie, in the sense that the movie gave a clear outline on how Bruce Wayne becomes Batman. Though I did get dizzy during the some action scenes where the camera was wobbly. Both movies were good but I enjoyed watching Brad Pitt beat the hell out of Angelina Jolie and vise versa. The very well choreographed fight scenes, high tech gadgets and the comedic antics of the cast (every now and then) during the movie made it worthwhile for me.

Our Catholic Engaged Encounter

A Wedding is a Day ...A Marriage is a Lifetime.

Last weekend was a very interesting for my fiancé and me. We attended Catholic Engaged Encounter. No one referred us to attend CEE for our marriage preparation programme but I heard of another marriage preparation programme from a friend but theirs were a bit more expensive. It was a choice between attending a Parish Pre-Cana Seminar or a Weekend Retreat. But then decided to register Adrian and me to CEE. To tell you honestly, our reason for participating on this weekend retreat was merely because it’s a prerequisite so we can be married in the church. Not knowing that this experience will change my ideals on what marriage is all about and how to deal with the trials and difficulties in a marriage.

There were 5 married couples that shared experiences on their married life. And yes, it’s not always a bed of roses. It was really an eye opener for Adrian and me. Since he is not outspoken about what he feels, I’ve learned a lot about him, his views, ideals, values and attitude on marriage. It was wonderful to discover that we have a lot in common in terms of morality, life-giving situations, openness in communication, decisions in marriage, sexual intimacy and our values on people around us. And it was interesting to know that we differ on some aspects of marriage too, like our values in money and time. But the most important thing is that we are both open to change and to compromise on this matter.

I thought having a happy marriage is the best a woman could hope for. But after CEE, I realized that unity is what keeps a marriage happy. And that “I’m sorry” is not enough but asking for forgiveness to your partner whom you have wronged shows that you are humbled by your insensitivity. I’m so glad to have experience this weekend. It was not like any other retreat I’ve taken before. Now, more than ever, I can wholeheartedly say that I’m ready for marriage. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

We’d like to thank Cory & Dado, Bernadette & Robbie, Malou & Galo, Susan & Tim, BimBim & Mike and Fr. Dave. For sharing your experiences with CEE’s Weekend Batch # 61.

This Weekend marks an important part of our relationship because it opened our hearts and minds to the different aspects of marriage. It not only tackled the spiritual part of marriage, but also the planning and what goes beyond marriage. –Adrian & Shiena

If you wish to know more about how CEE can help you prepare your marriage for a lifetime, contact Mr. Dado Hipolito at 810-0222 or email at ceephilippines@yahoo.com.

nature becomes an invitation

our invitation

This is the final invitation. What do you think? This will be a labor of love, as we put everything together. The invitation card of the wedding ceremony, dinner reception, [beautiful words by Ezra], location map and gift registry. Topped with nature and its enchanting scent [the dried flowers and sinamay fibers are preserved in scented oil.] Sealed and tied with an abaca string.

Is there such a thing as hassle free weddings?

I have 2 objectives to accomplish last weekend. The Photographer and The Reception. I was all set and ready with my checkbook and my ever-reliable sign pen. Funds has been transferred to our account the night before [ah ha! the convenience of online banking, i love it!] But even though all the resources are right there, why is it that things don’t go well as planned? Is it common in wedding preparations for glitches to occur? Is there such a thing as hassle free weddings? If there is, I want to know where I can find it.

Troubled with what the caterer would do on my wedding day. We don’t have a slightest idea on how they [the caterers] do their weddings. We are faced with the dilemma of renting the ballroom only and getting our own caterer but spending more and going over our budget or stick with the venue’s in-house caterer and costs within our budget but not confident that they’ll be able to deliver a good result. So is this a problem or not? With 3 months and 10 days before the wedding, why are we allowed to face this kind of challenge? We are yet to decide on which is which, until we see them in action. It was a blessing in disguise that I saw another contract, which had a wedding date of June 25. And so we are going back [again] on June 25 to see how they’ll set up this wedding. I just hope [and pray] that we will like it so we can be done with this burden.

They say, you win some you lose some. I’d say finding June Seculles of Practical Photography was a true winner. A trusted photographer of Ezra and who has done a lot of projects for her clients too. He gave us a very reasonable price [vs. other suppliers] for a metallic [digital] storybook album, with 500++ shots, coffee table book, framed portrait, pre-nup pictorial and dvd video. His rate was actually over our budget but as Adrian said, we can splurge a little if they are very good in what they do.

time for measurements

I've been looking forward for this day since last april when I set up the schedule for gown measurements of all my female entourage. And now the day has came and I woke up late (WHAT?). Now everyone was blaming me that we left Adrian's place around 8:45 am when our call time was 8 am. Though I'm glad that everyone (in consensus) said that I only have the right to be late because I'm the bride... haha! These are unique perks that a bride should enjoy. (don't worry I'll be on time for my wedding ceremony :D)

We squeezed ourselves into Varian's Corolla and all 5 ladies (Me, Nancy, Kim, Maya and Jan) sat at the back with just 1/2 of our butt sits on the cushion. Laughing, joking and conversations kept my mind off my odd position. But I actually didn't feel any stiffness in my legs and butt not until we got off the car. Buy 9:15 we were in Divisoria and traffic has welcomed us with open arms. We decided to walk to Ilaya from Juan Luna while Adrian and Varian looked for a parking space near 168 Mall. And there, they were to meet my other college friends, Jacq (who is part of my entourage), Mimaw and Weng. Baet got lost and went to another Jolibee outlet but was able to make it at Pasillio R safe and sound.

After everyone was fitted according to the design of their gowns. We searched for a fabric that would fit to Ellie's gown design (she'll be my Matron of Honor). We found a light pink embroidered fabric that looks alike the one in the photo that she sent me. But I would be needing additional measurements from her so her gown will have to wait until our next visit next week.

Adrian also had measurements for his Chinese-collar Piña Barong (pineapple fiber). I haven't seen the design so that would be something that I can look forward to on our wedding day:)

After all the measurements, we headed to 168 Mall to do some shopping (the shopaholic in us are alive again) I bought a neck tag for my flash drive, a pashmina and a sporty addidas watch which is of the exact design as Adrian's watch. I always wanted a his and hers watch :D. Adrian bought me a set of abanico (handheld fan).

Shopping was over by 1:30p.m. While the others already gone to do their own thang, Maya, Kim, Adrian and I, went back to Adrian's place. We had lunch around 2:30 p.m. at Pizza Hut which was right across his apartment. After a delicious pizza and pasta, Kim and I took a shower before we all head to Greenbelt where we disassembled. Kim had her hair cut, Maya went for a little more shopping at Glorietta. While Adrian and I went to Greenbelt3 Cinema and watched Kingdom of Heaven (Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons etc.)We ended the night with a cup of cafe Latte with caramel syrup, cafe mocha and a slice of oreo cheesecake.

It was a tiring but accomplished day. I'm happy. To my entourage, I may have not thanked you enough for sharing your time and weekend with me and taking that long and hot trip to Divi. I appreciate it very much. See yah guys soon.

Final Guest List and Invitation

The long wait is over... last weekend, Adrian and I have finally finalized our guest list. And the lucky number is... 350. And here I thought we only have 200 guest at the most. But then when you start writing them down, you realized how many relatives you have and how many common friends you and your fiancé share. I was also delighted to know that we only need 118 invitations since most of our guests are either living in one roof, married or group of friends that only require 1 invitation. Though we might need to make additional arrangements for the souvenirs since we only ordered 150 pcs of it and from our last count we need 166 + 16 special gifts for our parents and the entourage.

I'm glad that the guest list has been finalized, but another dilemma comes in. Our invitation. When we inquired with the supplier of the handmade paper that we want to use, they require us to order 100 sheets. But we only need 20 sheets. I have asked almost every one in the office if they knew someone who makes handmade papers but to no avail. My friend Jan, told me to drop by SimpleJoys at Megamall because the sell handmade papers too. Baet and I went there yesterday and I saw 2 handmade paper that I like. One in pink and beige.

Darker shade of pink than our motif (baby pink). the flower is embossed. sheet is a little bit thicker than the prototype. -- my impression: a little bit girly-girl. P60/sheet. Sheet size is 1/2 smaller than the one we found in market! market!

The other one is in beige/dirty white with long thin green leaves. same thickness as the prototype. -- my impression: This one is perfect for our "nature" theme but they don't have this in pink.P55/sheet. same sheet size as the latter.

Both Adrian and I liked the Beige colored paper. My coordinator will still try to check with her contacts if she can get a better deal. But if not, I'm keeping my options open for the handmade papers being sold in SimpleJoys.

4 birds with one stone

What a day this was! Hitting 4 birds with one stone ... No, we didn't kill any of them...I mean,we have accomplished 4 major wedding particulars today. My wedding gown, the invites, principal sponsors’ giveaways and guests’ giveaways. Ezra, together with hubby Butch accompanied Adrian and I to a wedding dressmaker in DV. Yup that’s right, Divisoria. I trust Ezra’s judgment that Aling Ning is quite good in her craft and very affordable too [which is very good for weddings on a budget]. I was so excited when it was time for my measurements to be taken. Reality check: I really am getting married. We also chose the entourage’s fabric, baby pink star satin and glittered fuchsia chiffon silk for the details. I can't wait to bring my entourage for their measurements too. I know they’ll love the colors ... so pink peach is out ... its baby pink-fuchsia for my motif ... its every girl's right to be fickle.. right Kim? I also bought a fabric for my mom’s gown. And I’m so glad she liked it :)

Anyway, lets back track a little earlier in the morning. When Ezra and Butch picked us up at Adrian’s place, Ez, showed me the prototype of the wedding invitation that she made. And it’s an absolute beauty. With touches of femininity because of the flower and pearl. And also a touch of masculinity because of the bark of tree. And what’s cool is that the invitation’s envelope is exactly the color of the entourages’ dress. [Click image to see full size image.]

our invitation

Moving forward, after a bit of shopping in DV. We went to Dapitan, which is famous for its array of house ornaments and decors. Adrian and I went around and took some pictures of them.. and they are so cheap ...and export quality as well ... we saw a lantern (which Ezra bought 9 pieces of different designs) with a price tag of US$18.99 and they only selling it for PhP 200! (peso-dollar conversion is P54 =$1) When these items are sold in department stores, it already costs 1000-1500 pesos. I’m definitely going back here if we get to have our own house. Anyway, were already on our way to the parking lot when Ezra decided to stop by another shop. And guess what? We found our giveaways! And that’s not all, it cost less than our estimated cost and the design matches our theme... Nature! Yippee! But sorry, won't be posting the picture here.

items for sale at Dapitan

As tired as a carabao, who worked all day, we went for a relaxing massage, of course the loving husband and fiancé paid for our massages. We actually went in around 3:30 pm and left the day spa around 7:30 pm ... and to think the massage package was just for an hour ... so we actually slept for 3 hours ... but why did it just seemed like for 5 minutes. Waaaah! I want some more of those Swedish-Shiatsu massage!!!

We ended the day with dinner at Gerry’s Grill. What a tiring, fulfilling and relaxing day!

Wedding Expo Philippines 2005

Went to another wedding fair, this time with my wedding coordinator Ezra and his hubby, held at the NBC Tent, sponsored by Themes and Motifs Special Events Co., entitled Wedding Expo Philippines. Since we are planning to have a "wedding on a budget", suppliers in these kinds fair are expensive. It’s good to have a coordinator who knows where to get supplies that are within one's budget. We actually had a fruitful and productive visit to this fair since we gathered a lot of ideas. Like the candles in glass bowls with water and shells in them and candles are beautifully lit on top of these bowls, which will look good in the tables of the principal sponsors. We also saw an invitation made from recycled paper that we want to have as our invites but it cost P95/piece. Ezra told me that I can save as much as 50% if I make it myself. We bought a piece of recycled paper that looks exactly like the one we saw for only 60 pesos which can actually make 6-8 pieces of the envelopes. That's 10/pesos per envelope. For the inserts, that may just cost us 30-40 pesos for the printing and the cards. Ezra will make 2 prototype of the invitation and we will just choose which will be our invitation. I can’t wait to see the finish product.

Ezra also suggested, for me to save money on my gown and the entourage's dress, there are so many very good dressmakers in Divisoria that can imitate wedding gowns from the pages of a magazine. And it’s very affordable. One of her clients also had her dress made in Divisoria and it was beautiful.. Her gown and the entourage just costs, 13,000 pesos with labor.. Wow! and designers charge 25,000 to almost 100,000 for a gown that you'll wear for 3 hours. Since I'll be shouldering the dresses of my entourage, I will definitely save a lot more if I have my dress made here... and I can't wait to visit the shop of the dressmaker. Ez is also going to bring to Dapitan so I can check out some items for my reception. Our theme will be "nature" so everything will be in line with this theme... the gift for the principal sponsors, the design of the reception etc. I've decided that my motif will be peach and pink where my entourage will be wearing a monochromatic of baby pink and fuchsia pink. I'm just so excited!

I also want to have some bite-size chocolates on the tables for our guests to enjoy when they get to the reception. And guess what, Ezra's cousin makes these bite-size chocolates as a hobby... and she'll try to see if she can commission her to do it for us.

6 months to go and we still have to meet with the photographer & videographer that were referred to us so we can decided on who to get to cover for our wedding. I also already inquired at Discovery Weekend and Catholic Engage Encounter for our pre-wedding seminar. I'm still in limbo when I'll schedule Madge Lejano to do my trial make up. Finalize our guest list. Find an officiating priest. Look for a choir for the church and quartet for the reception. And many more in my checklist. I hope everything will work out ok on my wedding day!

Wedding Library’s Bridal Fair

Last Saturday, me and my fiancé went to our very first bridal fair held at Mega Trade Hall, Megamall. I registered so we need not pay for the entrance fee. We were given 2 pink hearts so as to indicate that we are the bride and groom so that the suppliers would prioritize us. So as we went in, suppliers of Photo and Videography were the most prominent among all the booths. As we booth hopped from one supplier to another, we inquired specifically if they charge OTF (out of town fee) especially for the photo and videography. Since our wedding will be held in Batangas – this is an essential info that we need to consider. For Caleruega, photographers usually charge from 4,500- 5,000 pesos for OTF. We also browsed through invitations, where the simplest 2 cards invitation would cost you from 60-70 pesos each. Yayks! So expensive that’s almost 7K for 100 invites only… how about the rest of the guests :( We also inquired on some Musicians, a Quartet is actually charging 20K for Church and Reception performance (this already includes OTF). Seems like this will be the first thing that will be slash off the list if ever budget won’t fit. I was also expecting to see affordable couture suppliers but unfortunately for me, there was no one within my budget… So I guess I should start looking into some referrals of my friends.

Anyway, Adrian and I agreed to just get all the flyers and contact cards of all suppliers and we’ll just decide which is which afterwards since we feel that we might pick the wrong supplier if we won’t put much thought in it. Adrian particularly liked the Chocolate Fountain for the reception but it’s a whopping P 48,000, WHAT!? never mind, next booth please...

We both like Director’s Cut Photography by Niel Bordeos who was there and we were able to chat with him. He was the one who did Christine Bersola and Julius Baboa’s wedding coverage. What I like about their service is that they’ll interview some people for the video, which others don’t do. He’s also talking about pre-production meeting so we can discuss what to shoot and what not to shoot and the sequence etc. So most likely we’ll get Niel unless another supplier can give us a better deal of course. But for me, quality and affordability are two important factors.

We are at our last sets of booth and we came across the booth of Madje Lejano, a make-up artist and as one of the person in the booth did his sales pitch I was so surprised to see how Madge was able to hide the imperfections of a person (the bride had pimples all over her face) and after doing her make up.. She was as flawless as a baby. Colors are so natural and it shows the person’s real beauty. I definitely want her as my make up artist, and she’ll be there all though out the event.. retouch in the church and before reception.. I can’t wait to book for a trial make up :-)

It was really a tiring day…but I’m glad we did this. I still want t go to other bridal fair so I can have more options. I’m looking forward to the Weddings at Work bridal fair on March in NBC Tent @ The Fort.

My Trial Hair and Make-Up

I was invited to attend Adrian's Uncle Rene and his wife Lorraine's renewal of vows yesterday at San Agustin Church. Adrian suggested that since I need to have my hair and make-up done, why not have a trial make-up as well, so I can already start scouting on who will be my hair and make-up for our wedding. Its like hitting to birds with one stone. I have read in the Knot that a bride should have at least 2-3 trial make-up before she decides on who will do it on her wedding day. This goes to the hair also, have your hair in different styles so you'll know what best hair do complements the shape of your face.

Ezra, suggested to me to have my trial make up with Naska, who is a resident makeup artist of Hair 2000, which is located just across the street where Adrian lives. Naska is the make-up artist of most of the brides of the weddings that she coordinated. And the result?....

All make-up products used on me are by M-A-C (Make-up Artist Cosmetics,Inc.). A total of 5 color combination was used for my eye shadow, brown, beige, blue, red and black. I love the color of my lips, its a MAC sheer plum lipstick topped with a lip liner and gloss. And my hair was pulled up in a ribbon like style with 3 folds.

But for my wedding i just want look as natural as possible. So my real beauty can really shine :)

Wedding Liturgy

Last weekend, I was in the mood of doing something for my upcoming wedding. So I decided to do my Wedding Liturgy. Obviously, I use the most convenient tool in making my missalette. What else but the internet. I came across a local website which specializes to everything about weddings, http://www.kasal.com. And I was so glad that they have this make-you-own-missalette section. Though one must register to be able to make one. And so I did. I chose the readings, the psalms, the gospel, the Marriage rite ceremony, the blessings of rings and arrhea. It was so easy..you click here and there and the next thing is that your ready to print.


I also had another missalette at hand that i refer to, which was used for the wedding of Mario and Candice. Candice, was previously the GM at the company I work for. Anyway, i was surprise to find out that we chose the same first reading and words for the blessing of the rings and arrhea. I also chose an entrance hymn, which was not originally in my plan for choosing the songs in the ceremony. The entrance hymn will be, I Will Sing Forever . The song came about because, I was humming this song on my way home from church last night. When I saw Candice's missalette that they have an entrance hymn... I realized that I don't have an entrance song for the celebration... so i decided to include the this song in my wedding liturgy.


I can't wait to finish my missalette. I'm already in the in the part of the blessing of rings and arrhea. I've never realized how exciting making your own missalette. I'm actually imagining what will be happening in every portion of the Liturgy while I'm writing it (ok.. cutting and pasting it..heheheh). the readings, the responses, the songs, the marriage rite..hehehehe!

Our Guest List

As THE DAY comes nearer and nearer each day, we need to finalize our guest list. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we still have not finalized our guest list. This list is essential and the backbone of a lot of things in a wedding. Just think of the reservations for the number of heads in the reception, the souvenirs, the place cards, the invitations, the missalette, all of these rely on the number of guest that will be invited.


As suggested by our wedding coordinator, Ezra, Adrian and I listed all our friends and relatives that we want to invite. So far we have a total of 180 guests. Not including the guests that our parents want to invite. Adrian already called his mom in the States and asked her to send her guest list soon and I’ve also asked my mom to give hers to me.


Our dilemma is that the number of guests will be way over our budgeted number (which was originally 150 and became 200,and now 250 at the max). But Ezra said that the idea is to list all friends, relatives and officemates and when the list is complete, that’s the time to finalize it. If you listed more that the budgeted number, scrap those that you think are not important to be in the list. Just include the closest friends and relatives up to the 2nd degree.


I’m hopeful and positive that our list will be completed before the end of the month. So we can already decide on the “who’s in and who’s out” on our guest list.