Hizons Wedding eBook

A comprehensive guide to planning your wedding

H

izon’s Catering is an offpremise catering company that specializes in weddings, private parties and corporate events. It was established in 1987 by Mrs. Baby Hizon, a Kapampangan with a passion for good food and gourmet cooking. What first began as a small family business grew into one of the best catering businesses in the country today, boasting of a ratio of up to 1, 588 weddings a year.

Insights from 1 ,588 Weddings a Year Copyright © 2011 Hizon’s Catering Services, Inc.

Russel Mae Asmolo Kerra Balabis Ma. Arabelle Saturno WRITERS Raymond David Judith Dayrit Drew Menor Grace Cawagas Chesca Pineda EDITORIAL CONSULTANT Karen Kate Pico COPY EDITOR Teng Asmolo Arra Saturno LAY-OUT ARTIST Joseph Hizon Baby Hizon PROJECT HEAD

Taking care of your event down to the tiniest details, taking the stress off of your shoulders, and making sure that you enjoy your wedding preparation are parts of the mission that the company upholds. A business established by the owner’s love for merry occasions and sumptuous dishes, the company has dedicated itself in making sure that, from the planning stage, every event will be an experience as enjoyable as the celebration itself.

About The Company The Team What Makes A Perfect Wedding? ng: Customs &Traditions)

I. Once Upon A Time (The Filipino Weddi

II. Bridesonality Quiz III. When Forever Starts… A. Your Wedding Date Before The Wedding B. Requirements And Documents Needed C. Your Wedding Guest List D. Your Wedding Venue E. Your Wedding Theme And Motif F. Your Wedding Flowers G. Your Wedding Food H. Your Wedding Look H.1. Your Wedding Attire H.2. Your Wedding Ring H.3. Your Wedding Hair & Make-Up I. Your Photo And Video Coverage J. Your Invitations, And Stationeries K. Your Wedding FaVors Manpower L. Your Wedding Coordinator And Other M. Your Wedding Transportation N. Your Wedding Program IV. And They Lived Happily Ever After… A. Your Honeymoon Wedding B. Updating Legal Documents After The Acknowledgements

The Team

Insights is the brainchild of an experienced and multi-faceted team from Hizon’s Catering, bound together with the same mission of helping every soon-to-wed couple go through their wedding preparation with ease and enjoyment.

Teng Asmolo

Baby Hizon Mrs. Hizon is the owner and CEO of Hizon’s Catering. Armed with a passion for cooking, she established the company in 1987 with the goal of having a business without having to leave her maternal duties. She’s graduated at the Adamson University with a degree in Psychology. She studied culinary courses at the California Culinary Academy and goes abroad from time to time to research about new trends in the catering business.

Teng is a graduate of Journalism from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and has worked as a writer for a BPO company and the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Council for Health Research and Development. She joined the company, as a writer, in July 2009 and is also currently one of the Marketing Officers for Hizon’s Catering. She blogs, writes stories, and enjoys photography.

The Writers

Kerra Balabis A graduate of Broadcast Communication from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Kerra is a jolly and fun-loving person who joined the company in August 2009 as a writer. She is a Marketing Officer for Hizon’s Catering who has passion for fashion and enjoys a good book, online shopping, and hanging out with friends during her free time.

Joseph Hizon

Raymond Da

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La Salle nomics at De s Degree in co E f o e at u d Joseph is a gra ila. He finished his Master’ ent and em an University M e Asian Institute of Manag e company. th managing th Economics at her mother in ’s General Manager ed p el h ce n has si ering y Hizon’s Cat ovative He is currentl e proponent of many inn king and th o who has been the company. He enjoys co projects within photography. r has passion fo

Raymond is th e of Hizon’s Cat Sales and Marketing Man ager ering. A grad uate of Busin Administratio es n s Tomas, he has from the University of San to been with the Since then, he company for 5 h keeping the sa as played a significant par years. t le in operation run s and marketing departm ent’s ning effectivel y. he takes intere st in photogra A “techie” person, internet for n phy, surfing th ew e gadgets in the ideas, and scouting for th e latest market.

t

Judith Dayri

pervisor ning Team’s su for n la P e th y tl g en Judith is curr ing, and has been workin otel er at C e of H ’s n o iz at H rs. A graduat lacion ea y r u fo r fo the company Management at La Conso 06 as a nt and Restaura ed the company in May 20 When . in er College, she jo ecutive and events plann e th ex y banquet sales dith loves to sing and pla Ju not working, daughter at home. er guitar with h

Arra Saturno Arra is a graduate of Communication Arts from De La Salle University- Dasmarinas (DLSUD) and has worked for GMA-7 before finally joining the company as a writer in 2009. At present, she is also a Marketing Officer for Hizon’s Catering who has a passion for music, especially song writing. She also loves reading novels, movie marathons, and good conversations.

The Planners Drew Menor

Grace Cawagas

Franchesca Pineda

With a dream of becoming a movie director, Drew went to Manila seeking greener pasture. He entered the company in February 2006 as a Food Quality Assurance Officer. With his knack for exquisite taste, he went on to become one of the top planners for Hizon’s Catering with Love Radio’s Nicolehyala and ‘Ja-Boom Twins’ Kristine Gonzales among his roster of satisfied clients. During his past time, Drew loves to watch films; keeping a wide collection of movies at home.

A graduate of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the Our Lady of Fatima University, she has worked for Hizon’s Catering for five years and is currently an Events Planner for the company. Her kikay and friendly personality is what helps her establish a good relationship with her clients. She enjoys shopping, collecting Winnie the Pooh items, car shows and a night out with friends after a long day’s work.

Chesca is a graduate of Fine Arts, major in Interior Design, from the College of the Holy Spirit. She has joined the roster of Hizon’s Planners in February 2008. She has been recognized as best planner by her supervisors and has a roster of satisfied clients to prove it. Her sense of style is also reflected in her hobbies such as collecting and selling accessories, and decorating her own home.

What makes a wedding perfect?

F

or more than twenty years of experience in helping people plan their wedding, Hizon’s Catering has been lucky to be part of every client’s most important day. It is an opportunity both challenging and rewarding. An average of 1,588 weddings per year gave us a play ground for ideas and an open door for learning new things about this industry that we love. If there’s one main thing that weddings have taught us, it’s that there is no standard formula in wedding planning and preparation. And you can never gauge the importance of a wedding by how small or big the guest list is, or how grand or simple the details are. Every wedding is a unique experience, with unique needs. Every wedding is important. In this book you will read random pieces of advice, bits of facts about the elements of a wedding, and some wonderful quotes that hopefully would inspire you as much as it had inspired us. You will also come across wedding personality guide, which we called “bridesonality” that may help you determine your wedding persona and give you a good grasp of how you will go about withyour preparations, and how you can utilize your resources with the best possible options. This book is made with the purpose of helping soon-to-wed couples gain a better understanding of how weddings are planned and prepared here in the Philippines. Based from actual wedding preparations witnessed by our team, we hope that you will find every page useful to your own wedding preparation. And though this book contains advices and suggestions, the final call is still up to you. Remember that there is no standard formula, no “secret ingredient”. The very essence of your wedding is in how each detail reflects who you are as a couple, and how you make every moment count.

PHOTO BY: TENG ASMOLO

Every bride wants her wedding to be perfect; and though there is no such thing as “the” perfect wedding, you have the power to create your own beautiful memories that will last forever.

Hizon’s Catering Team



&

To our past clients,

who have been the very reason why we have made it this far, This book is a sign of our gratitude for giving your invaluable trust

and support to the company.

To all the soon-to-wed couples,

May this book serve as your guide, as you make

PHOTO BY: TENG ASMOLO

the vital decisions for your most important day.

Once upon a time...

The Filipino Wedding Customs and Traditions

S

ome say fairytales are just for kids, but almost everyone, whether they are aware of it or not, wants their very own happily-ever-after. And when love proves its spell and makes lovers decide to take “the” journey, it’s when the subject of wedding begins.

“Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale.” – Author Unknown

Many people get the wrong impression that wedding and marriage are one and the same. When we talk about marriage, it is the entirety of your life together as husband and wife. It is that “forever after” that fairytales constantly speak of. And the process and specifics of marriage wouldn’t, and couldn’t be contained in any single book. Wedding on the other hand is a different and more concrete subject. If marriage is the “forever after”, wedding is the grand ball at the castle. It is the celebration that sets you for that lifetime commitment of love to your partner; and planning and preparing your wedding is what would be discussed in the succeeding pages of this book.

The Filipino Wedding The Philippine’s rich culture and the Filipino’s belief in the sacredness of marriage make the Filipino wedding a ceremonious and extensive celebration. Filipino wedding traditions make the wedding much more exciting and beautiful. Although some have already faded, there are still many beliefs and customs that the modern Filipino couples follow.

The Proposal In an overlooking hill with stars spread all over the sky, the man of your life suddenly kneels in front of you, and from his jacket took out a small box with a ring on it. He then utters the words: “Will you marry me?” All women have their own version of a romantic proposal. However it is done, the bottom line here is that this is the start of a lifetime commitment of two individuals who will soon embark on a journey to oneness. The Announcement Filipinos, being family-oriented in nature, would love to see their loved ones on their very special day. The announcement is telling the elder relatives of your intention to marry as a sign of respect especially to those whose grandparents are in the province. It is just like a courtesy call and introduction of your partner. This is also where you will get your blessings from your elders and a chance to invite your prospect god parents or principal sponsors. Be ready to tell your love story to many people, your partner’s educational background and work information over and over. The Pamamanhikan The pamamanhikan is where the groom and his parents pay a visit to the bride’s house and formally ask for the hand of the bride from her parents. It is usually done over lunch or dinner. The groom is expected to speak to the parents about his intentions of marrying her bride, then his parents will also call on the bride’s parents to gain their approval and to plan the wedding. Nowadays, the pamamanhikan is more of a discussion of the details of the wedding. It is where the first major wedding plans are made like who are going to pay what, how many guests, and the suggested venues and churches. This tradition can be very awkward and the couple may feel uneasy especially if it’s the first time for their parents to meet. A way of breaking the ice for both parties is for the groom and his parents to bring a gift or home-cooked specialty that they can share during discussion. This sounds so much of a hassle for any marrying couple. But at the end of the day, it is all worth the effort because Filipinos would love to have the blessings of their loved ones on the most important day of their lives. Despedida de Soltera It is the party organized by the bride’s family to show their approval and support of the upcoming marriage. This happens usually a day before or days before the wedding and is attended by the significant people who will be part of the wedding and also of the relatives from both sides. It is the best time to introduce the two families to each other and have a little bonding before the wedding itself.

PHOTO BY: JUN VALBUENA | LOCATION: SWEET HARMONY GARDENS

The BRIDEsonality QUIZ Before continuing on to the book. let us first take a quick test to determine your bridesonality. Each topics consists of five (5) questions that you will have to answer. Take note of it in a piece of paper. The letters with the most answer determines what kind of bride you are for each topic. Your results may vary per chapter, so it is best if you take note of it. It will be very useful as you go through the chapters of this book.

Good luck and have fun on your preparations!

The Wedding Guest List 1.) You are:

The Wedding Transportation 1.) When choosing the perfect wedding venue for my wedding I will go for:

a. An introvert. You sometimes want to be alone and are much comfortable being surrounded by your closest relatives and friends.

a. Somewhere that is easily accessible by public transport so that guests won’t be having a hard time going to my wedding

b. An ambivert. You relish having an alone time with yourself as much as you are comfortable with family and friends.

b. Somewhere perfectly romantic and accessible to my friends and probable guests

c. A social butterfly. You love to party and be in the company of family, friends and colleagues.

2.) How would you like your wedding to be? a. I want a small and simple wedding to share with close friends and families b. I want a wedding enough to share with families and friends, and a few colleagues c. I want to have a big and lavish wedding celebration to share with my families, friends and colleagues

c. My dream wedding venue, preferably out-of-town

2.) How can I make sure that my guest will be on my wedding venue on the scheduled date and time and according to plan a. Look for the best means of transportation for my guests b. Coordinate with them a month before my wedding and know their transportation plans, ask for a friend who can lend or use her car for other friends who doesn’t have one c. Rent a vehicle for them especially for out-of-town venues, have them booked as early as possible

3.) Upon entering your wedding reception venue you see... a. Mom and Dad happily chatting with your fiancée’s parents b. Your school and office friends mingle, talking to each other c. Everyone from your office and your neighborhood enjoying a drink and the sumptuous meal you’ve chosen for them

4.) In dealing with the wedding guest list, you:

3.) For my wedding car I will go for: a. A simple wedding car that I can decorate to become my perfect wedding car b. Something that suites my style and that is on the budget c. My dream wedding car! Something that is unique and will be the talk of the town

4.) The best way to have a wedding car is:

a. Are intently listing the names of close families and friends, carefully omitting those who are not familiar to both you and your fiancée

a. To borrow a car from relatives

b. Are checking the names in the guest list and are including some of the names your parents want to invite

c. Call all possible suppliers until you find the one

c. Are working with your wedding planner in how to organize the seating arrangements of your guests which include families, friends and colleagues

b. Look for a possible sponsors or wedding packages that includes the bridal car

5.) My dream wedding car is: a. Our 1995 Toyota Corolla that’s been the family car ever since

5.) Day one in making your initial guest list. How many guests have you listed so far? a. 20. Your immediate family and best friends. b. 75. Your relatives and barkada. c. Everyone!

b. A sleek Mercedes Benz Bug Eye that’s included in the catering package c. A Ferrari Enzo sports car or a vintage Rolls Royce that will surely catch the eye of everyone

Wedding Invitation and Stationeries 1.) My wedding Invitations and Stationeries will be.... a. Perfectly design and created by me and my husband to be b. One that suites my style but still within the budget c. Should be my personal brand, unique and with my wedding theme

The Wedding Photo and Video Coverage 1.) On your big day who is covering your wedding? a. Creative friends and colleagues who has a knowledge in photography and has gladly volunteered to help me b. A wedding photographer who offered me a good package c. Of course! The best wedding photographers and videographers 2.) A Pre-Nuptial Photo Shoot is:

2.) How will I make my wedding stationeries? a. I will spend time doing the designs and letterings of my wedding stationeries b. I’ll look for a friend who can help me with it. Probably ask them to sponsor the stationeries as a wedding gift c. I will have an artist put my ideas on paper and make sure that it will be printed according to my preferred number of guests

a. Not really needed b. A good way to collate photos that will be used for the invitation and the love story video that will be presented on the reception c. Something that should showcase my wedding theme and will excite my guests as they have a glimpse of it

3.) When choosing the right team to cover my wedding I will go for: 3.) I can make sure that my Wedding Stationeries will reach my probable guests through... a. Attending important gatherings where my probable guests will be present and personally hand my wedding invitations b. Delivering the invitation personally, going from one place to another to hand out the invitations to my guests c. A private courier will do

a. A friend or group of friends who has knowledge in photography and videography. It’s more likely than they can take photos that I would like because they know what I want and what will please me. b. A wedding photographer who can offer a valuable package. A package with both photo and video that is right on the budget for a good photographer is more than enough. c. Separate teams who specializes on wedding photography and videography. I will be assured that this team will give me the best results.

4.) The best way to announce my forthcoming wedding... a. Send an e-mail or text messages to my friends or probable guests regarding my wedding several months before the date b. A personal phone call will do. Or I can make a short video presentation regarding my wedding c. Make a unique Save-A-Date Card that will introduce my wedding theme

5.) Wedding stationeries are: a. Invitations and Thank You cards that can be easily done with a little creativity and with the help of friends and relatives b. One of the most important things that should be done by professionals but in an affordable price c. Little helpers that will showcase the theme and organize my wedding from the Save-the-Date cards to the place cards and food tags

4.) A good wedding album is: a. A scrapbook consisting of snapshots of the wedding day. Nothing beats candid pictures with a few formal ones to represent the real you. b. A leather-bound album with the shots taken by your photographer. c. A number of leather-bound Pre-Nuptial, Wedding Day, and Trash-the-Dress photo albums custom-made by the team who covered the wedding. 5.) What would your wedding be like? a. A one-on-one interview. You want it to be as solemn and intimate with friends and family. b. A press conference. You want friends and family to have a taste of the limelight, too! c. A premiere night. You want everyone to rave about your wedding, from the food to the smallest details. Reporters are more than welcome so that they may be awed by the grand celebration you and your coordinating and planning team have devised.

The Wedding Flowers The Wedding Venues 1.) Upon arriving at the venue, what’s the first question that would most likely come to your mind? a. How much does the venue cost? b. Does it have clean comfort rooms? c. Does it suit my wedding theme? 2.) One question that you would want to ask a venue sales representative a. Do you give promos or discounts? b. Who are your accredited caterers? c. Can your venue accommodate 300 guests? 3) When you find a venue that you like what would your initial reaction be?

1) What’s one phrase that can best describe your wedding flowers? a. affordable and simple b. artistic and reasonable c. elegant and one-of-a-kind 2) Where would you most likely go to look for your wedding flowers? a. Dangwa or local market b. Local wedding florist at your town c. Wedding stylist 3) If your church offers free floral arrangement for your wedding ceremony what would your reaction be? a. Perfect! I wouldn’t have to worry about my ceremony flowers after all.

a. Can we afford it?

b. That’s great, but can I add a little extra design to it?

b. I really hope it’s worth the money?

c. We appreciate it, but we prefer a wedding stylist to arrange the ceremony flowers.

c. I hope it’s still available on our wedding date! 4) How hands on can you get in selecting and preparing your wedding flowers? 4) What is the most important factor that you consider in a wedding venue? a. budget b. comfort c. ambience

a. I will personally go to Dangwa to scout for the best bargain and I will do my wedding flowers with the help of my relatives or friends b. I will go to Dangwa to look for a good Florist that can make elegant flowers that are still easy on the pocket c. I will hire a wedding florist or stylist and discuss with him/her how I want my wedding flowers done

5) If you could sum up your wedding venue into one word, what would that word be? a. decent

5) What’s the most important factor that you consider in choosing your wedding flowers?

b. convenient

a. budget

c. stylish

b. usefulness c. aesthetics

The Wedding Food 1) What kind of food experience do you intend to give your guests? a. a simple meal of familiar dishes which are easy on the budget b. a feast of food with variety and choices c. a unique gastronomic experience! 2) Aside from the taste, which factor is more important for you when it comes to your wedding feast?

The Honeymoon 1) What type of accommodation would you prefer for your honeymoon? a. a simple transient house or Inn b. a classy hotel c. a lavish private villa 2) What is the most important factor that you would consider when it comes to your honeymoon?

a. affordability

a. budget

b. variety

b. comfort

c. distinctiveness

c. luxury

3) How would you describe your wedding banquet set-up?

3) Which would you prefer?

a. simple and traditional

a. An adventure trip in Baguio or Tagaytay

b. artistic and durable

b. An island getaway in Boracay or Palawan

c. exceptional and memorable

c. A shopping spree in Paris and Italy

4) What type of service do you plan to have for your wedding banquet? a. do-it-yourself buffet that offers self-service b. catered buffet complete with waiters and food attendants c. a service-style banquet that serves plated food 5) Which of these food selections would you most likely serve at your reception? a. steamed rice, chicken barbeque, beef caldereta, buttered vegatables, juice b. seafood fried rice, lengua, chicken pastel, fish fillet in lemon butter sauce, lumpia bar, iced tea, softdrinks c. paella, angus beef fillet mignon, grilled lemon halibut, chicken cordon bleu, sweet tea, red wine

4) On your way to your honeymoon destination, which mode of transportation do you picture yourself using? a. bus b. private van c. plane 5) How much are you willing to spend for your honeymoon? a. not too much, we prefer to spend the money for other future needs b. fairly enough, we would like to have a memorable vacation within our means c. all the way, beautiful memories are worth every centavo

The Wedding Dress 1. Take a closer look at how you walk. a. Careless; walking is walking. b. I am kinda nervous and I can’t confirm how do I walk. c. I walk with elegance. My head is held up high, my back straight. I take firm, confident strides.

2. How do you describe yourself? a. Carefree and laid back, that’s me! b. I am gorgeous and pretty. c. I am beautiful and extraordinary.

3. Which celebrity wedding dress inspires you the most? a. Rica Peralejo’s wedding dress b. Judy Ann Santos’ wedding dress c. Ruffa Guttierez’s wedding dress

4. What does your engagement ring look like? a.

A simple yet classy silver ring.

b.

A two-toned ring with our names engraved on it.

c.

It is a beautiful ring with a huge piece of sparkling diamond.

5. What accessories would you like to wear on your wedding day? a. A beautiful clip would be nice! The simpler, the better. b. A necklace and earrings that will accentuate my dress. c. A tiara and anything diamond.

The Wedding Ring & Accessories 1. Which describes your personality the most? a. Carefree and spontaneous. b. Proper and preppy. c. Sleek and sophisticated.

2. How will you spend the weekend with your partner? a. Stay at home, watch movies in DVD and order pizza. b. Watch a movie in 3d and eat after. c. Dine at a fine restaurant.

3. How much budget will you allot for your wedding rings? a. We don’t think that an expensive ring is necessary. b. A reasonable amount that any couple will spend for a wedding ring. c. Any amount! As long as we are both happy.

4. What gem will you place in your wedding rings? a. I don’t really want a stone in my ring. b. My birthstone. c. A sparkling diamond.

5. Who among these movie characters reflects your personality the most? a. Drew Barrymore in “The Wedding singer” b. Jennifer Lopez in “The Wedding Planner” c. Sarah Jessica Parker of Sex and the City

The Wedding Coordination & Manpower 1. When it comes to planning things, you are:

The Wedding Hair & Make - Up



a. I love planning things especially and I am the organizer of our reunions.

1. What’s inside your kikay kit?



b. Average. I like to plan things but sometimes it stresses me out.



a. Loose powder, a blush on and a lipstick.



c. An epic fail. I am not good in organizing things.



b. Lipstick, eye shadow, concealer,



c. Foundation, moisturizer, make up base, concealer.. Basically everything!

2. How good are you in communicating with others?

a. I am not good at it. I am kind of shy.

2. Is an everyday make up important to you?



b. I am comfortable expressing myself with my family and friends only.



a. No, I don’t think it is “that” necessary.



c. I am a social butterfly. I love other people’s company.



b. Sometimes, when the occasion calls it.



c. Of course! It is a part of my daily routine.

3. What would you like your friends to do at your wedding? a. I want them to be a part of the little details of my wedding, after all, they are

3. How much would you like to spend in your hair and make up? a. As much as possible I don’t want to spend any money in my make up

volunteering! b. I can ask for some assistance from them, but I prefer to trust the important aspects to the professional s (wedding coordinators)



b. A reasonable enough amount that can make me blooming on my wedding.



c.. Whatever amount is needed to make me the most beautiful person on my special day!

c. Sit back, relax and enjoy every moment of the most important day of our lives. 4. Do you know the latest trends in make ups? 4. In planning your wedding, what is the role of your family?



a. I have no idea.



a. To be a part of every detail up to our wedding day.



b. I just hear it mentioning by my friends.



b. To help us all throughout the planning and preparation.



c. Of course! I am updated always.



c. To show support and to check every now and then if the planning is doing well. 5. What do you like to be in your wedding day?

5. What do you think about having a wedding coordinator in your wedding?



a. A carefree and spontaneous one.



a. It is unnecessary. I have lots of friends and family who can do the tasks for free.



b. A blooming and pretty bride.



b. It is helpful because coordinators will guide me during the preparation.



c. A princess and everybody in the church is staring at me as I walk down the aisle.



c. It will lessen my worries and will make me enjoy my day more.

BRIDESONALITIES TEST ANSWER KEY: If your answers to a particular Chapter’s Bridesonality test are:

Mostly As Then you are most likely a “Penny-Wise Bride” Mostly Bs Then you are most likely a “Value-forMoney Bride” Mostly Cs Then you are most likely a “Splurge-on-thebest Bride”

P

Your Wedding Date

erhaps Harry was right; you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible once the subject of wedding is placed on your doorstep. You start to take out wedding magazines and talk wedding receptions and all the wedding stuff, but before the preparation is directed elsewhere, you must first remember to set your wedding date. When we talk of weddings the first month that comes to mind is the marrying month of June. Well, that is true for some people, especially those who lived in North America and Europe, because June is the time between Spring and Summer and the start of summer vacation, and since we are greatly influenced by the western culture we have come to accept this as a fact. But here in the Philippines, December is considered more by many couples for their wedding date. It is a perfect time to celebrate a wedding because of the right weather (not to hot, just enough coolness to make your guests comfortable even on a garden wedding at noon) and the right atmosphere (December is the Christmas season and most people would be enveloped by the Christmas spirit, thus they become more generous in giving gifts and sincere in promising to attend your wedding). These reasons are practical and convenient. The country’s summer season (March to May) is also one of the best times to tie the knot. This is perfect for beach and garden weddings where you will get plenty of sun and good weather. Be sure though, to bring your sun block or have a venue with a good ventilation. Another solution to the heat problem is to set your wedding early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

“When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” (From the Movie: ‘When Harry Met Sally’)

The rainy season (from June to October) is the off-peak season for weddings, especially on the months of June to August which are the rainiest days in our country. This season is the best time to get discounts from suppliers, though. To solve the rain problem you would have to opt for a covered venue with ample parking space so that guests wouldn’t have to walk far under the rain to get to your reception. From years of experience, the best recommended time to get married would be after the busy month of December. January and February is a good time because the weather isn’t too hot, much like December is, and it isn’t as busy as December. It is perfect for any type of wedding, be it on the beach, in a romantic garden or in a covered venue.

Why It Matters Choosing a wedding date matters because it is the day you decide to say “I do” to the person you want to be with for the rest of your life. It has to be just right and perfect, customary to traditions, and favorable to everyone involved. The right date will also determine how many people can attend and which suppliers are available. Although most suppliers are available in any date you choose, suppliers like your wedding photographer and videographer, wedding singer or band, and wedding reception venue may already be fully booked. You will learn later on, as you go through your planning, that your wedding date will be affected by a lot of different factors, and you will have to decide which of these factors are on top of your list.

Your Traditions The Philippines is a diverse country, not just in the flora and fauna but also in the people living in it. Our country is composed of various races and enveloped by different cultures which made us unique. Traditions and cultures are big factors in determining your wedding date. Since most Filipinos are traditional by nature, we tend to base most of our decisions with them. Filipino Customs and Traditions that may affect you in choosing your wedding date: Since we are a country bounded by Customs, Beliefs and Traditions, we are going to tackle on how these can greatly affect in choosing your preferred Wedding Date.

Factors that Affect Your Wedding Date The Wedding Budget In choosing your wedding date you might want to consider this factor since it will determine how much the entire thing will cost. Most wedding suppliers have special rates for different seasons; that perfect wedding package advertised on the website of one caterer last year might have a different price this year, and that special discount rate offered for the wedding ring of your choice last June might not be available this December. If you are on a tight budget you might want to consider the off-peak months of June to August for great discounts offered by most suppliers The Season We all know that June is the start of the school year and the rainy season as well, so that definitely ruled out the June Bride belief. The four-season-a-year does not apply in a tropical country such as the Philippines. We only have two seasons: rainy and summer. Most wedding suppliers do offer special discounted rates on the rainy months of June to August, and most couples would avoid this month because of typhoons and unexpected rains. Of course, if you want a garden or a beach wedding you would most certainly avoid the rainy season and will most likely choose the months of January to May (less rain, more sun). But if August 2 is your anniversary and you’ve decided to get married in that date, despite the coming storm, a good solution is to find an indoor venue to incorporate the wedding ceremony venue to the reception venue so your guests wouldn’t have to inconveniently travel from one place to another amidst the heavy rains.

Sukob No, I will not be talking about the blockbuster horror flick rather the inspiration behind it. We all know that in the movie the two lead stars were estranged sisters who were married on the same day of the same year. After their weddings, things got a little freaky until most of the characters died of freak accidents because of the so-called sukob. If you and your sister decided to get married on the same day of the same year, things aren’t really going to be that morbid. No one will die, I assure you. This superstition is one of the many others that our elders have lived by. It is believed that if you and one of your immediate relatives (especially sisters, or cousins perhaps) are married on the same year, better known as sukob sa kasal, one will be lucky but one will have a bad luck. Another version of this is that a soon-to-wed person whose immediate relative had just died cannot be married within the same year

of the dead relative’s death. It is called sukob sa patay. This one can be explained logically. Of course, we have to be respectful of the death of a family member and should wait until the babang luksa (a year after the death date), because a happy celebration such as a marriage would be too merry for the mourners. Like any other superstitions, the origins of sukob is clearly unknown, but is strictly followed by some families anyway. You may, or may not follow this superstition; it’s your choice because you are the one to decide for your wedding, but if a relative or one of your immediate families strongly believes in these superstitions it wouldn’t hurt to follow them. Or, well… everything can be dealt with a good explanation. Feng Shui It is evident that Chinese culture plays a major part in our countries’ way of life; since there is a large population of ChineseFilipino community here in the Philippines. One Chinese tradition that has become influential for us Filipinos is the belief in Feng Shui. Literally meaning wind-water, feng shui is believed to use the laws of astronomy and geography to help one improve their life by receiving positive qi. Generally, an auspicious wedding date would be one that has the number 8 or 9, or that adds up to one of these numbers because according to ancient Chinese traditions 8 means infinity or is a lucky number for love, while 9 represents fulfillment and eternity. These dates would include the 8th, 9th, 17th, 26th, and 27th are among the lucky dates to tie the knot. The date 18th is considered most ideal because it has the number 8 and it adds up to 9. But the ultimate date to get married is on the 8th of August (8/8), that’s why a lot of Chinese people, or otherwise, got married

last August 8, 2008 because of the triple 8 found in the date. There is also another way to find an auspicious and personalized date for your wedding with the help of feng shui. Most soon-to-wed couples of Chinese blood or Chinese descent consult a feng shui expert to help them decide which date is favorable for them to get married. Your Parents Given that most of us have great respect for our parents, we tend to consider them when we make big decisions. We seek our parents’ permission and guidance in most endeavors we encounter in life, and that includes our wedding planning. Parents may want to get involved in deciding when you’ll get married, especially when you belong to the traditional clans, or if they are the ones paying for the entire celebration. You don’t have to get on a fight with them if you cannot agree on a specific date. The best thing to do is to hear out what they have to say and calmly explain to them your side. Compromise is the key and you’ll learn a lot of it as you go through with your planning. Suppliers’ Availability If you want the best suppliers for your wedding, chances are they are already booked in your preferred date, especially if you’re planning just a few months before the big day. So plan ahead and do your research to avoid disappointments. Availability of your Guests Of course, in choosing your wedding date you’ll also have to consider the availability of your guests. After all, who would want a lavish wedding set in a 500capacity venue with only a hundred or less number of guests? Look at the majority of guests you wanted to invite. If most of your guests are working, then you would most likely think about a weekend wedding. If you wanted to invite your nephews who are all still

studying, then summer might be a good day to celebrate with them. If you wanted to invite most of your families who are US-based, then July-September would be the best months to do your wedding because it is summer for them and they can easily take a vacation from work and school.

Tips in Choosing Your Wedding Date Here are some helpful tips based from more than a thousand wedding experiences:  Getting a weekday wedding will trim your wedding expenses because most suppliers have few weekday bookings in any time of the year, except December, because most couples will opt for a weekend celebration so that everyone will be available. Just be sure that most of your guests will be available to make adjustments if you decide to make it a weekday affair.  Getting a supplier as early as possible or booking them for more than a year ahead gives you better deals than booking them in less than a year, and doing so may exempt you from any price increase that they may implement. Of course one year before the wedding date is the ideal time for booking them; any more than that would seem silly and impractical because of the various factors that may affect your wedding planning, especially in the changes of dates.  Avoid rainy months if you want a garden reception. You wouldn’t want to risk your once in a lifetime event with mud on your shoes and rain on your face.  Choose a wedding reception that best fits the season of your wedding date. Garden and beach receptions are best for summer because of the good weather, while covered venues might be good for any other season, it is best for rainy seasons because it can protect your guests from getting soaked.  Avoid special holidays as much as possible.

If you think that it is convenient to set your wedding on a holiday so that you wouldn’t have to worry about your guests’ attendance, think again. Special holidays often cause unfavorable scenarios for your event like traffic, increase in the price of commodities like flowers for that matter. It is also very much applicable for church occasions like feasts of saints wherein your church of choice may be busy preparing for other things aside from your wedding.

When to Start Planning Your Wedding? Most people would say that the best and less stressful time span in planning your wedding would be a year or more ahead, while some would say that it is possible even with just four months of planning and preparation. Nine Months to One Year: The Less Stressful Way While planning a wedding can be possible with even just a month of preparation, the best and less stressful timeline to plan your big day would be nine (9) months to a year because:  Most suppliers will be available if you book a year ahead;  You will get discounts for “early bird” bookings;  This is practical and beneficial to those who are working and aren’t planning to hire a wedding coordinator;  You’ll have plenty of time for your DIYs (like invitations, table numbers, misalettes, etc.);

 Most popular churches and grand venues requires booking at least a year earlier;  You will be exempted from price increases. With this time span you’ll have to:  Research on the first two months. Use this time to talk with your partner regarding your preferences on how the wedding should look. Decide on your wedding date, color motif and the theme of your wedding and start planning from there.  Start planning your wedding DIYs. You’ve already decided on the color motif and your wedding theme, start doing the little things such as table numbers and misalettes (ask a copy from your parish) and design them according to your wedding theme. Make a template of the design so that you’ll just have to insert the menu (for the menu card) and names of the invites (for the invitation) later.  Pencil-book your chosen church and venues. This way you have reserved them without paying the exact amount for the down payment. Be sure to come back and pay the full down payment on the given deadline.  Attend Wedding Fairs and Exhibits. This is the best way to get discounts so make it a point to attend at least an exhibit or two. Five to Eight Months: Possible with a Little Help  Planning a wedding in this time span can be a little stressful but still possible because:  You still have time to book most of your wedding suppliers without as much problem with their availability;  You’ll have time for your wedding DIYs, just organize your time well;  Your preferred church and venue will still most likely be available but you have to decide fast.

In the five to eight months time span for planning your wedding, you’ll have to need help by this time, but it still is possible to be less stressful you’ll just have to:  Research on the first month. Scout all possible suppliers, venues and churches to see if they are still available;  Organize your schedule, especially for those who are working;  Hire a coordinator. Maybe not the best and highest paid in town, but the one that understands what you want;  Ask for help. Assign your closest relative or your best friend to answer queries related to the wedding when you’re not available, let them work closely with your wedding planner. Make sure that they are willing to help, too Four Months and Below: Leave it to the Wedding Planner  This is the most stressful time span you can have in planning your wedding that even the best wedding planner you’ll hire would be stressed out:  You’ll have little time to get a lot of things done on your own;  Your wedding DIY ideas will have to be shelved unless you’ll hire an army to get them done;  Your preferred church and venue will most likely be unavailable so don’t keep your hopes up and always have more than one backup plan;  You’ll have to dedicate most of your time not just in the planning of your wedding but also in the processing of the required documents;  You’ll have a hard time looking for suppliers especially if your wedding will be on peak seasons. With this time span, you’ll have to:  Hire a wedding planner. This is very important, especially for the working couples. Four months or less will be an impossible timeline if you don’t.  Tap all your connections. If you know a lot of people in the wedding industry then you’ll have to personally talk with them. It’s time to use a little charm to get the best workforce for your wedding.  Dedicate most of your time in planning. If you are working, ask for a leave or use your charm to ask your boss to give you more time for the planning of your wedding. If you want to be as hands-on in the wedding planning as possible then another option is for you to leave work—that is if you are confident enough that you’ll find another one soon after the wedding.  Advance notice. Inform most of the people you want to invite through text, email, or tag them on Facebook, this way you’ll have a general idea of how many of your preferred guests can make it to the wedding. Do inform your chosen principal sponsors in advance, too. Do not wait for the invitation to come because it might be too late.

“Whether it is based on customs and traditions, your instinct, whims or personal preference, choosing a wedding date is entirely up to you and your partner. Don’t let others force you into getting a date that you don’t like and has no significance to the two of you. It’s your big day! Just take it easy, and let your heart guide you.”

The Requirements Needed Before the Wedding K nowing where to start and what to do first are the keys in having a smooth-sailing wedding preparation. It is advisable to arrange the necessary papers first, so you will have enough time to fix it if anything goes wrong.

A. Legal Requirements Before the Wedding Marriage License - For a marriage to be considered valid, regardless of your religion, you must obtain a marriage license. It is a certification from the groom or bride’s local Civil Registrar’s office giving you the permission to get married. Marriage license expires after 4 months or 120 days, so you must secure marriage before the paper is terminated.

Obtaining a Marriage License To be able to obtain your Marriage License, you have to get hold of the following requirements:

“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Love is the law, love under will.”

1. Birth Certificate – To be sure, get an NSO copy of your Birth Certificate (some government agencies don’t acknowledge the old birth certificate). Fortunately, you can apply for a copy of your NSO Authenticated Birth Certificates online and have it delivered at your door step in just a few days. a. Log on to: NSO BIRTH CERTIFICATES DELIVERY http:// www.citizenservices.com.ph/nso/ b. Or call their office at (02) 737-1111 2. Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR) – It is a certificate issued by National

Statistics Office that states the singleness of a person who wishes to get married. 3. Parents’ Consent or Parental Advice – It is a form from your Local Civil Registry for your parents to fill-out and sign. Parent’s Consent is for soon-to-wed couples that are 18-21 years old and Parental Advice is for those who are 22-25 years old. When these documents are ready, go to the City Hall. If you are from different cities, you will just have to choose one. Go to the Civil Registry and ask where to file the Marriage Certificate. You will be asked to fill-out the application form and be given a list of requirements to be photocopied. Ensure extra copies of all the documents. Submit the documents in the same window. You will be most likely asked by the municipal representative to attend the Family Planning seminar at the City Hall. You may choose your preferred time to take the seminar depending on your schedule. Usually, the duration of the seminar is 4-5 hours. After the seminar, you will be given a certificate as proof that you finished the seminar. You will be needing the certificate later when you pick up your marriage license. Now, all you have to do is wait for 10-11 working days for the processing of your marriage license. Eleven days is such a long time for soon-to-wed couples like you, so make sure that you spend it productively like preparing for your church requirements.

B. Religious Requirements Before the Wedding Catholic Pre-wedding requirements It is best to complete the following documents

before making the reservations for the church. 1. Baptismal and Confirmation Certificates – These papers indicate that you are fittingly baptized and confirmed Catholics. You can secure copies from your respective parishes where you were baptized and confirmed. The papers must have a notation that says “for marriage purposes only” and must have been secured 3-6 months before the wedding depending on your parishes. 2. Permission to Marry Outside The Parish – This is a permit allowing the bride to be to get married outside of the parish. You must secure and present this to the parish where you wish to get married. 3. Ecclesiastical Banns – These are announcements that are being read and posted on a particular parish signifying your intent to get married. These are to be announced and posted for three consecutive weeks. Forms for these banns can be obtained from the parish where you wish to get married. You also have to prepare 2x2 or 1x1 pictures (depends on your parish). There is also a fee ranging from 300 pesos and up. 4. List of Names and Addresses of Principal Sponsors: At least two principal sponsors are required by the law and also by the church. They will serve as witnesses on the ceremony and as well as the signing of the marriage contract. The couple must submit the list during their final interview. 5. Certificate of Attendance – From the Family Planning seminar at the City Hall. If the required documents are already presented, there will be a series of interviews and formation seminars required to discern the couple’s capacity in getting married and having a family.  Initial Interview - Is done upon registration in the Parish Office. This is where the personal data of the

candidates for marriage are taken for the publication of Ecclesiastical Banns.  Canonical Interview – It is an interview with the parish priest where you chose to get married. This interview is to be conducted one month before the wedding.  Pre-Cana and Pre-Sacrament SeminarDerived from Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding in Cana, this is a seminar on the Christian and religious aspect of the sacrament of marriage that you must embark on.  Faith Catechesis – A faith-enriching instruction required to all candidates for marriage that serves as their spiritual guide to family hood.

Christian Pre-wedding requirements Christian weddings can be done in the church, garden or in the venue itself. It is much simpler than the Catholic wedding since it doesn’t have any church requirements.

2. Pahintulot Mula Sa Magulang – Marrying couple under 23 years old are obliged to present the permit to wed in the church. 3. Seminar – It is a pre-wedding seminar conducted by the Minister of the Local. The duration of the seminar may vary depending on the time of availability of the couple, but usually it lasts for 10 days. 4. Marriage License – It is one of the most important documents required by the church so be sure to secure your marriage license first before applying for a wedding permit in your Local. 5. Pagpapatotoo ng Pangulong Kalihim, Kadiwa ng Ministro – It is a document given by your local that you have completed all the requirements and seminars for marriage. Basically, it is your go signal that you have already arranged all the legal and church requirements and you are good to plan all the details of your wedding.

Islamic Pre-wedding requirements Most Christian couples get their trusted Pastor to officiate their wedding ceremony. Meaning the Pastor already know the couple way back and vice versa so they won’t be needing any initial interview or the “getting-to-know each other” stage. The only requirement for a Christian wedding is the Marriage Counseling of the officiating Pastor to the soon-to-wed couple. Here, the Pastor will brief them about the married life. What to expect during the first years of their married life, what are the problems most newly weds encounter and what to do during those situations.

Iglesia ni Cristo Pre-wedding requirements 1. Pansariling Tala – Or simply the Baptismal Certificate of both the groom and bride.

The sole requirement in a Muslim wedding is to secure a marriage contract. The marriage contract contains all the information about monetary matters like the amount that the groom’s family is bound to give to the bride. In this process, the groom and bride are typically placed in separate rooms. The officiating officer will visit them individually to ask for the consent and then sign the contract. It is important that there are witnesses present during this process.

Your Wedding Guest List

O

e c a l p l u f i t u a “Such a be .” s d n e i r f h t i w to be y the house elf -Dobb

ne very important wedding question that you will have to find answer to: Who to invite on your wedding day?

A lot of soon-to-wed couples, especially those who are in a tight budget, encounter problems in making their guest list. Many of our former clients experienced difficulty in deciding whether to stick with their original digits. They would often call weeks before their wedding to add a few more extra to their number of guests. Even so, there are couples who still experience food shortage or insufficient tables and chairs during their wedding reception because of unexpected guests. Determining the number of guests is helpful in finding out how much you’ll be spending for the wedding itself. It will determine the cost of the food and the beverages, the number of souvenirs and invitations, and even the transportation. All these can play a big factor in planning your budget as well. Initially, a wedding guest list is simply a list of people which you plan to invite to your big day. This is the list of the people you will provide an invitation, food, and souvenirs for, and the people that you will arrange in the venue layout. It would be composed of all the people who you want to be witnesses of your most special day, so basically this would be the most important people in your life.

Why It Matters Not having a guest list would mean chaos! Just imagine, like in the province or in the time of our grandparents where wedding is a feast and everyone can join your wedding celebration. Gatecrashing is a common thing in the rural areas where even people from the next baranggay or the relatives of your baranggay captain come to eat at your wedding. Well, that would be okay in the province because expenses aren’t that pricey and your 50K could run a long way. But you are in the city, and letting these uninvited guests come into your wedding can spell disaster, not just in your budget but particularly in the serenity of your wedding, and that is a big no-no! Having a wedding guest list will also give you an idea of how many you have invited and who these people are, to avoid being surprised that your ex came, or worst, your partner’s ex attended without your knowledge.

How to Determine Your Guest List When making an initial guest list, sit down with your partner and (in separate papers) list all the names of the people you know and whom you would like to be in your wedding. You’ll have to include everyone in this list, and I mean everyone. (Yes! That will include your best friend, her escort, your cute niece’s yaya and your principal sponsor’s driver.) Start by listing the names of relatives you want to invite in your wedding, close and extended families, childhood friends, college friends, work friends, colleagues and friends that you’ve made along the way who didn’t fit in any of the mentioned category. Include in this list the names of their families, the children, and the drivers and yayas if there are any. But don’t fret, though! This is just an initial guest list and this will be trimmed down with factors that will affect and lead you to decide on the Final Guest List.

Factors that Affect Your Guest List After making the initial guest list where you, your partner and both side’s parents have listed the people that you want to see in your wedding it’s now time to trim down this list based on the following factors: Budget Perhaps the biggest factor that can determine your guest list is how much you are willing to spend for the entire thing. Budget is a big factor in making and trimming your guest list because this will determine most of the details in your wedding, the venue and its capacity, the food, the invitations, etc. After all, you don’t want to cut back on your budget and exchange that dream designer wedding dress you’ve saved up since high school for a less expensive ready-made gown just because you have committed a mistake of overextending your guest list. The bottom line is: you can only invite as many guests as you can afford to accommodate so think twice and be vigilant if you have to. Wedding Venue Imagine yourself entering your wedding’s venue all excited to see the happy faces of your family and friends who are equally eager to greet you. You heard the emcee announce your name, the door finally opened and you walk hand-in-hand with the person you have promised to spend the rest of your life with, you look up and BAM! Everyone is closely seated together; other guests are standing because the venue couldn’t accommodate the additional tables you’ve asked for; one waiter just spilled a tray-full of iced tea to one of your VIPs because he can’t easily walk through the narrow spaces of each table, you turned to your coordinator and she looked apologetic but you were too angry and you rant out everything to her. After you’ve calmed down you realized that you were the one who insisted on fitting in 300 people in a venue that can only accommodate a hundred.

Choosing a venue can be a big factor in deciding how many to invite on your wedding. You neither want a venue that looks too crowded, nor a wedding reception that looks too big and empty you can include 10 elephants and still have room for your guests. You don’t have to book at the NBC Tent if you only have 100 guests; and think twice before getting your village clubhouse as a reception venue if you have 500 guests. The location and accessibility of your wedding venue is another factor that will affect your guest list. If a guest is coming from abroad, you would have to make sure that she knows where exactly the place is or arrange transportation for them to avoid getting lost. As with destination weddings, a guest list is easier to handle because you’re sure enough that you don’t have to invite those that aren’t needed to come, like your nosy neighbor who has been asking all questions regarding the details since day one. Make sure though that this venue is easily located and perhaps you may arrange for your guests’ transportation and lodging to make them comfortable. Wedding Date Another factor that will affect your guest list is their availability on your chosen day to get married. Most people opt for a weekend wedding because most friends and families will be available during those times. You don’t have to beg your best friend to skip that important Monday meeting so she can be your Maid of Honor; and you don’t have to make your seven-year-old cousin miss his school fieldtrip so he could be your bible bearer. If most people in your guest list are working then chances are they are most likely to be available on the weekends without missing any other important things regarding work and school activities. Parents You and your partner have already finalized the guest list and you’ve started to write their names

on the invitations, then your future mother-in-law comes and hands you a list of her own invitees for your wedding. You might want to consider your parents and your partner’s parents in making the guest list and ask them who they want to invite especially if they are the ones paying for the wedding. Or you may have to negotiate with your mom if she insists that your neighbor and childhood friend, who also happens to be your ex-boyfriend, should be invited to the big day. The best thing to do is to sit with them as you make your initial list and politely discuss and defend why and how you came up with the final guest list.

Who to Invite at your Wedding After making the initial guest list and after considering all the factors, especially the capacity of your budget and the venue, you will now have an actual number of how many guests you’re going to invite. Then, it’s time to trim down that initial list and decide who to send that invitation to. When deciding how many to invite, you, your groom, and both your parents should have your definite shares, unless both your parents decided not to muddle with the decision making. The division can either be one of the following:  The couple chooses half and each set of parents chooses a quarter. So if you decided to invite 200 people in your wedding, you and your partner will have the freedom to choose 100 people to invite, your parents will get 50 people to invite and your partner’s parents will get to decide on the other 50.  The couple and the parents each get one third of the invitees. If you’re going to have a wedding of 300 guests, you can invite 100, your partner can invite another 100, your parents and your partner’s parents can the other 100 slots.  The bride’s family chooses half and the

Set some rules in inviting your guests to help you cut your master list. Here are a few: groom’s family chooses the other half. If you’re going to invite 500 guests, each family can split the number and will have 250 slots of guests to fill in. After deciding on the division of the number of guests to invite compare your list with your partner’s and your parents’ list and combine it. With this you may be able to trim it as you remove the duplicates, or count as one the names of people that you all have written, thus creating a master list. Upon arriving at a master list, you may start to cut it. Think of including only the people you, your partner and your families know really well, this will be those people who truly mattered and who have supported you all the way. A wedding is a family affair; obviously, this will include immediate family members, so don’t erase your sister whom you’ve had a fight with; and if they’re already married then include the name of her husband, your cute nieces (who’s going to be part of the entourage), and their yaya. Don’t cut out the people who are dearest and nearest to your heart and you would want to share that special day with. If you don’t know a certain Fernando de los Reyes that your future father-in-law included in the list, you can remove him from the list even if he’s your future father-in-law’s business associate. Be ruthless, but be gracious. If your mother insisted in inviting a certain Miranda dela Cruz, hear her out before relentlessly cutting out the name in the list, you might be able to finally meet the best friend she’s been rambling about for so long.

 Don’t dig up old friends you haven’t seen for quite some time. So what if Emily Pascual was your best friend way back in elementary, or Adrian Bautista once saved you from being bitten by dogs when you were six? The thing is, if you haven’t seen them or heard from them for quite some time then don’t spend extra time and effort to dig them up. Chances are they would’ve left their old address, or they might have other priorities now, or they would barely remember you. So it’s okay to just skip them.  Set an age limit or totally cut out the kids whenever possible. If they aren’t part of the entourage and if your reception is set at a later time then just cut out the kids below 12 years old. Chances are they could be sleeping even before you cut your cake. Sure they are cute but inviting these kids would mean extra, starting from the food you’ll serve, to the tables, and not to mention the materials you have to provide to keep them occupied and avoid that ear-splitting cry they would make every now and then. These kids might also have nannies which could mean extra guests.  Avoid the AND word. Be careful in who you address that invitation to and avoid the “and” word if you don’t mean it. Don’t put Juan dela Cruz and Family if you just want to invite Juan dela Cruz and not his family. We Filipinos are accustomed to bringing our families even if the invitation is addressed to only one person, so you might want to explain well this invitation rule to your guests.  Your single friends may want to mingle. Only include your single friend’s partner if they have been in a relationship for at least a year, or if they are serious about each other. You’re going to get married and if

your friend’s partner isn’t your friend too, then chances are he might just steal away her attention from you. And ask those who aren’t in a relationship to not bring escorts, who knows? They might just find them among your other guests. Who to Invite from your Office You see them every day, share your opinions with them during lunch time and probably even ask for their help every now and then, and they have heard that you are getting married you probably even talk about it at the office so why not just invite them all, right? Wrong! You don’t have to invite all of them. Surely after mingling with them for some time there are those who’s truly been your friend and you’ve bonded with beyond office hours, then include only them on the list. And when it comes to your boss? Don’t invite him just to show off and score points; it will make you look sipsip. Genuinely invite him if he means something to you and you’ve been close to him. If you look up to him as a mentor, then you can even make him one of your principal sponsors. The Importance of an RSVP You’ve seen it all the time on invitation cards and messages in our emails and the internet, in fact you may have already written one before for your sister’s debut party, but do you know what it means? RSVP is not just a style that we get accustomed using on invitations. There is something more to this four-letter inscription. RSVP is a French word that stands for “répondez s’il vous plait”, which literally asks the recipient of the invitation to respond to the one who sent you the invitation. An RSVP is usually written at the bottom or the last page of the invitation and comes with a name and contact number or return address of the senders, so guests may know how to contact you to confirm their attendance.

If you have sent the invitations and you haven’t heard from anyone yet, chances are they don’t understand what RSVP means. It wouldn’t hurt if you’d do the RSVP yourself and ask or call them one by one to confirm if they are coming or not. With this strategy, you wouldn’t have to guess whether you should still wait for your best friend to confirm her invitation or if you would already have to replace her with another guest. Doing the RSVP can also cut your guest list, especially if the people that are included in it have sent their regrets. So other people that are on your waiting list can now have the chance to be invited. Set a deadline in receiving their responses. It is best that you start giving your invitations early on after you’ve set your wedding date and other important wedding elements that should be placed in the invitation. Your deadline for the RSVP should provide you with enough time to adjust your head count and make arrangements if many would not be able to come or if you suddenly realize that you really have to add extra food or tables and chairs. It is recommended that you set a buffer in cases of sudden changes in your headcount. The B- List After creating the initial guest list, you’ve now determined the number of people that you are going to invite to your wedding which is called the master guest list or the A-List. These are names of people that you, your partner and both parents have decided to invite. You’ve sent your invitation and almost a quarter of them have sent their regrets, telling you that they can’t make it on your big day because they have other more important things to do, or they’re just not available at that certain time. Now, where are you going to look for their replacements? In the B-List of course! Certainly, after making the master guest list there are some other people that are important to you too who didn’t make the cut, and you’re hoping that along the way you can squeeze them in, right? Well, these are the people that are on your waiting list, or

in your B-List. Creating a B-List is important and a less stressful way of finding replacement for the guests that has declined your invitation.

One way to organize these set of invitees is to put them in a table. An example of a Guest List looks like this:

The Guest List Table When creating a guest list it boils down to two things: Family and Friends. All your guests will be composed entirely of family and friends who you want to share that special moment with. Family A wedding is a family affair; every bride and groom share this very special day with their immediate family. Some even go to the extent of inviting relatives from abroad to witness this very special day. This may even lead to a reunion of your relatives especially when they are all coming from the province or abroad. So include in your guest list your immediate family and those relatives that you really want to share the moment with, and if you have an extra budget, you might also want to consider inviting those long lost Aunts and Uncles you wanted to reconnect with for a long time now. Friends When deciding who to put in your entourage, you will usually list the names of your closest friends and get their cute children or nieces and nephews to be a part of your entourage. Of course, these friends are the ones who have been with you and have been your closest confidants. Same goes with your partner’s friends. You may also want to include those friends who you have lost touch with, but you have been wanting to see for a long time. Be sure though that you are not exceeding on the target number of guests as you list them all away. Anyway, it’s okay and practical to omit those who are not that important to you.

Figure 1.1 The Wedding Guest List. This is a sample of a simple wedding guest list format.

Using MS Excel program will make it easy for you to calculate, manage, and finalize your head count. Also, you may utilize this database for monitoring and assigning things to your guests such as seat and table numbers, invitations, souvenirs, stationeries, etc. Of course, this is not the standard way to make a guest list but rather a guide for soon-to-wed couples to organize their wedding list. You may find other tables online, but here’s my take on creating a wedding guest list. Name The first two columns will be the last and first name of the invitee. Remember to write their entire name, and example of a written name in the invitation envelope would be: Mr. & Mrs. Adriano Gatchalian So it should appear as:

Figure 1.2 Filling out the guest list.

THE FILIPINA BRIDESONALITIES YOU, YOUR GUEST LIST, AND YOUR BUDGET

Role The Role column denotes the role of the person in the wedding as presented in figure 1.2; or the relationship of the invitee to the couple, as in figure 1.3.

The Penny-Wise Bride “I want a small and simple wedding to share with close friends and families.”

Figure 1.3 Showing that the Role column can be filled out with what the relation of the invitee to the couple is.

Address and Contact Number The Address column may not contain the entire address of the invitee because what’s important is to know where he/she will be coming from; chances are you will be handing out the invitation personally so you can fill it out with the city where the invitee is located. The Contact Number column on the other hand contains an updated contact number of your invitee. It will be of great help especially in updating the RSVP.

RSVP The RSVP column is where you will put the answer of each invitee. A simple yes, if he’s coming; or no, if he is not.

Number of Seats and Comment The last two columns include the number of seats the invitee has confirmed and the comment where you can put who the invitee would be bringing in your wedding celebration.

O

ne of the ways to save up with your wedding is to be able to trim down your guest list. Having a small and simple wedding isn’t a sin! So what if you weren’t able to invite all your childhood friends and neighbors? You don’t have to show remorse for it, it isn’t a fault. It’s your celebration and you have the right to control it. Having a small and simple reception is one way of celebrating a wedding without spending too much. For most people who doesn’t have enough budget, this is the way to do it. Trimming your guest list down to a hundred or less involves really hard decisions. Soon-to-wed couples who have a limited budget should really think about this aspect because the number of guests you have determines how big your total wedding expenses are. The ideal number of guests for small weddings is about 100 to 120. Some can even be as small as 50 guests, though most weddings with this number are usually civil weddings. To be able to reach the 100 guest target from your initial guest list, you must first take note of your immediate families. These people should be the first one on the list as they can be the one who will help you from the wedding preparations to the entertaining of your guests in the wedding day. After listing both you and your partner’s immediate families, include the people who are part of your entourage. You may start with the best man, maid of honor and the bride’s maids and groom’s men because these people are your closest and dearest friends, and they will be the ones who can help you with all those DIY projects that you have in mind for your wedding day. The principal sponsors are, of course, also part of

your entourage. List the people you look up to that you actually know and who actually knows you. No, I don’t advise asking the city mayor to be one of your ninongs if you don’t know him personally. You have to keep in mind that these principal sponsors (or ninongs and ninangs as we call them) will be your second parents, helping you in times of problems, they will be the ones who can give you and your partner some tips and advices that you can use in your married life. So be sure to only invite those people who know you or your partner well. So you have listed your immediate families and the people who are part of your entourage, but you still have some slots left. It’s now time to include those that are on the B-List. These will include those people who can also help you with other preparations of the wedding. A former client solved her wedding expenses problem by inviting the people who helped them with creating the props for the reception and the ceremony, and he and his wife’s common friends who did the wedding photo and video coverage. You can never go wrong with friends who have experience in these areas because you are assured that they actually know what they are doing. They may not be professionals but you are assured that they can deliver you good service, and what’s best about it is it’s for free! Here’s an example of trimming down your guest list based on the previous discussions: Let’s say it’s the wedding of Angela Inocencio and Brad Vasquez. The first thing we do is to:

1) List you and your partner’s immediate family members

Now your guest list expanded from 9 to 20 people; this can mean you’ll be having 20 people to help you in your wedding preparation.

2) List your friends and relatives who are part of your entourage After listing down the names of your relatives the next step would be listing down the names of friends who will be part of your entourage. Usually, the Catholic Church requires at the most three Secondary Sponsors and three sets of bridesmaids and groomsmen.

In this case, there are already nine (9) people filling up your guest list because Angela has two (2) brothers and her parents while Brad has three (3) siblings and his parents. Since it is common among Filipinos to have a big family, with other relatives living in the same house or compound, you may also include in this list the names of other relatives that may be living with you. It can be your father’s single sister or your cousin who has been with your family since she was a child, or your grandparents whom you’ve chosen to take care of after they retired. So the list will become like this:

Let’s now add these 20 people from the previous 20 immediate families. Take note that in this part both Angela and Brad’s relatives (Angela’s brothers and cousin and Brad’s Sister) are part of the entourage so we should omit them to avoid duplicates. With the duplicates omitted the 20 additional guests will now become 11, plus the previous 20, so that fills 31 slots in our final 150 guest list.

3) List the names of your Principal Sponsors and their spouse List down the people who will complete your wedding entourage; in this case these are the people who you will consider as your second parents, your ninongs and ninangs. Churches in the country usually requires at least three (3) sets of Principal Sponsors, of course you can make it more than three pairs but it will also require you to give an additional charge. So, a set of three ninongs and ninangs is safer. Of course, when listing these ninongs and ninangs you would have to consider their spouses, which they usually bring with them.

Don’t forget to list everyone who has helped in your wedding. From the list that we’ve had, the total number of helpers is 22 people. Add 22 from the previous 43 and we’ll get 65 people. With 65 people off the guest list you now have 83 remaining open slots. You can divide this into four and you’ll have 21 people each to fill in, plus one extra person. Give the first 21 slots to your parents, the other 21 slots to your partner’s parents, the next 20 slots to your partner and the last 20 slots is all yours to fill. Your guest list tally will look like this:

Having six sets of principal sponsors would make our current guest list 37. But we should also take note that these principal sponsors are most likely to bring their spouses so that would become 12, add 12 from the previous 31 and we’ll get 43 people filling up the guest list.

Bride & Groom Immediate Families Members of the Entourage (without duplicates) Principal Sponsors Wedding Helpers Other Invitees

2 20 11 12 22 83

Total Number of Guests: 150 4) List the people who can help you with the expenses of the wedding You now have 43 people filling in your guest list. Ones who are part of your family and the entourage… but what about your photographer friend you’ve assigned to cover your wedding? Of course, you wouldn’t put him in the list of groomsmen or in the secondary sponsors, because how can he roam around taking pictures if he is part of the ceremony, right? So, you’ll have to list these friends separately; your friends who have decided and have agreed to become part of the frenzy and have promised to help you with your wedding in every way they can.

Of course, this will only apply to couples with 150 guests. If you plan to have less than 150 guests, let’s say 100 guests, then you shall divide the remaining open slots to four or you may want to talk it out with your parents on whether they shall give you control over who you wanted to invite or that they may just want to add five (5) or six (6) friends on the list, then you can have the rest. With that said, you shouldn’t be disheartened if you can’t invite everyone on your wedding day. It’s simply about sharing this special milestone with the people who are special to you.

The Value-for-Money Bride “I want a wedding enough to share with our families and friends, and a few colleagues.”

O

n the average, soon-to-wed couples would want to invite all the people that are special to them in their wedding. This will include families, friends, colleagues and the friends that they have made along the way that do not belong to the previously mentioned groups. If you’re one of these couples, your initial and ideal number of guests would be around 150 to 250 people. To be able to achieve this number, you must first list down the names of immediate families, common friends and the people who are part of your entourage.

1) List you and your partner’s immediate family and relatives It is common among us Filipinos to have a big family because of the close family ties that we are all accustomed with. This will include your immediate family and the aunts and uncles, grandparents, and cousins you’ve lived closely with. In creating the list of your family, you must include everyone, even your 8-month old niece or your twoyear-old cousin, especially if you really want them to be in your wedding. An average Filipino family is composed of two to four siblings and the parents. If we are to fill out the list with the exact number based on the average rate of Filipino families, it would become like this:

Take note that in the list some cousins and siblings are already married so you might also have to include their spouse and children on the list. Add these family members and you’ll get a total number of 45 people which will fill out your initial guest list.

2) List your friends and relatives who are part of your entourage Second step is to go on and list the names of the people who are part of your entourage. These might not necessarily be consisting of your families, but they can also be included.

We should take note that some of the names on the list are family members of the bride and groom so before adding the entire list to the total guest list, we should remove the duplicates. The duplicates would be eight (8), so we’ll have to remove them, and we will come up with the final number of 13. So, add 13 to the previous number of 45 and we’ll have a total of 58 people.

3) List the names of your Principal Sponsors and their family The next step would be to list the names of your Principal Sponsors and their families.

4) List the names of other friends and guests that you would want to have in your wedding but are not on the entourage and family lists Upon listing all the names of your family members and the people who are part of your entourage, it is now time to list the names of friends who wasn’t included yet. This will include college friends, common friends, childhood friends, and even work friends. But take note that you are limiting your guest list to 200, so you can’t invite all your neighbors. Oh, before you start to scribble away the names of all your friends you must first talk it out with your partner. Of course, he may also want to invite his set of friends. And both your parents will have their own set, too especially when they are paying for most of the expenses. From our example, we already arrived at 80 guests plus you and your partner, so you still have 118 left if you went for a wedding for 200 people. You have the choice to either divide the 118 slots into four (for you, your partner and both your parents), or ask your parents who they wanted to invite and if it’s not so many, you and your partner can split the remaining number of guests. But if we stick to the plan of dividing the 118 into four, to be fair to everyone, two of you will have 30 slots to fill and another two will have 29. I think that would be enough to include your closest friends, right? Tallying the guest list, we will arrive at this: Bride & Groom Immediate Families Members of the Entourage (without duplicates) Principal Sponsors Other Invitees Total Number of Guests: 200

2 45 13 22 118

Most catering companies in the metro do offer wedding packages for 200 guests, including free amenities that will cost you if you acquire it separately, giving you value for your money. So, you might want to consider this before anything else.

We have arrived with 22 people because we have included in the count the names of the spouses and the children of the principal sponsors. Add this to the previous number and you’ll get a total number of 80 people.

The Splurge-on-the-best Bride “I want to have a big and lavish wedding celebration to share with our families, friends and colleagues.” A big and lavish wedding celebration is best with celebrating it with all the people you know and love. Soon-to-wed Couples who opt for this kind of celebration usually has no wedding budget problems and want the best for their celebration that’s why they invite everyone they know to share their happiness with. Most big and lavish weddings (especially Chinese weddings) would have guests from 300 to 500 guests, or even as big as 800 or more, just like Ruffa Gutierrez’s lavish wedding at the NBC Tent. These kinds of weddings should be held on big tent or garden venues enough to accommodate each of them. It would be really foolish to fit 500 people in a venue for 300, right? You’re holding a wedding reception,

not a circus. But organizing a big crowd such as this can be a tough job to handle even if you have your coordinators to help you do the job. To be able to do this, you must categorize each name on your master list into different sections. One way of grouping these would be: bride’s family, groom’s family, entourage, bride’s friends, groom’s friends, bride and groom’s common friends, bride’s colleagues, groom’s colleagues , children, and so on. With these different sections you can work with your planner on how to properly seat these guests in each table that you have assigned for them. A sample grouping method would be like this: 1) You and your partner’s family and relatives List the family members that you have invited to attend your wedding celebration. This will include relatives that have migrated to other countries.

In this list, the bride’s families included relatives (grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins) that have migrated to other countries and are living out of town. Tallying the numbers from the list of the bride and groom’s families, we filled 76 seats.

2) Your Entourage List the members of your entourage, including who they will take in your wedding day.

The principal sponsors and wedding entourage includes the companions of the invitee. Adding 59 members of the wedding entourage and the 42 from the principal sponsors we get the number: 101. We will then add the 101 to the previous number of guests then we’ll get 177 total number of guests so far.

3) Your Friends & Colleagues The next part will include other friends that do not belong to the previous categories. This can be grouped into five sections: high school friends, college friends, neighborhood/childhood friends, work friends, and family friends of both the bride and groom and their parents. It is your decision if you’d split the number of remaining vacant slots into two or four (two with you and your partner, and four with you and your partner, and both your parents), whichever is convenient for you. 4) Others This list will include all the yayas and drivers of your guests who have decided to bring them along. You have the option to provide food for them or include them in the number of guests for the catering. If you want them all to be seated in a group so that they won’t feel awkward, or you may want to assign them to tables with other people which you think they might make friends with, is entirely up to you. Just make sure that in organizing a big group of guests you are able to determine where they are seated and how the layout would be, so that if you will be entertaining each table you’d know exactly who are there.

“The spell was broken. My Uncle learned to laugh, and I learned to cry. The secret garden is always open now. Open, and awake, and alive. If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”

Your Wedding Venue

- Mary, ‘The Secret Garden’

Y

ou have already decided on the date of your wedding and have made your guest list, now would be the perfect time to look for your wedding venue or venues.

Your wedding venue can be divided into two parts: the ceremony venue and reception venue. Here in the Philippines, the ceremony traditionally takes place at a church, or a place of worship and the reception venue at a garden, clubhouse, hotel, or a rented reception place like the Oasis Pavilion in Quezon City or Palacio de Maynila along Roxas Boulevard, Manila.

Why It Matters Your wedding venues are more than just places where you say your I DOs, set-up a buffet, or hold a party. It is where you will try to create life-long memories of your first day as a couple. It is where your wedding celebrations will take place. Years after your marriage you will look at your wedding photographs and you will always have a glimpse of how your wedding venues looked like. Before making any decisions, take a look at the factors you need to consider and evaluate whether your allotted budget for your wedding venues is worth every centavo.

PHOTO BY: JUN VALBUENA

THINGS TO CONSIDER IN CHOOSING THE PERFECT VENUE FOR YOUR WEDDING One of the most crucial decisions you’ll ever make before your wedding is finding just the right venue. So grab your notepad and pen and write down these important factors that you need to consider. It will help you avoid a lot of hassles and sudden mishaps on your special day.

AVAILABILITY – It is best to begin the venue search at least six months to one year prior to your wedding. This will allow you plenty of time to deal with possible conflicts. Also, bear in mind that there are thousands of couples getting married every day, so it’s best to start early if you want to book the best venue that fits your criteria. BUDGET – How much am I willing to spend on the venue? You need to ask yourself and your partner this question before making any ocular visits. You should have at least an estimated amount in mind, if not specific. Also, be realistic on setting your wedding budget. Don’t make a budget that is too low from the actual venue fees or you’ll go home frustrated and empty-handed. It is best to do some research first on different price ranges for wedding venues. YOUR GUEST LIST – Before making a list of your prospective venues, you first need to make a list of all your wedding guests. This need not be a detailed and final list yet. It can be a rough estimate of how many guests you expect to arrive at your wedding day. Aside from the aesthetics, you would want to make sure that your venue has enough space to accommodate your guests comfortably. THEME OR MOOD OF YOUR WEDDING – Do you want a formal or informal gathering? Do you have a specific theme in mind? Would your venue compliment the mood of your celebration? If you have a specific theme in mind, you may opt for a venue that has the same look and feel. For those on a tight budget it would also save you a lot of money because you don’t need to

put too much decoration just to achieve the look you want. RULES AND REGULATIONS – How long can you book the venue for your wedding? Is there a corkage fee or catering charge? Is alcohol or loud music allowed? Different venues have different rules and regulations to follow. For instance some churches have strict rules when it comes to attire or wedding song choices. Before you sign any contract, read it carefully. It’s okay to ask as much questions regarding the policies in order to avoid any problems during the actual wedding day. ACCESSIBILITY – In finding a venue, consider the proximity of the place from where your guests will be coming from. You need to make sure that your guests have enough means to go there in order to avoid delays or any inconvenience both for you and your guests. If your reception venue is different from your ceremony venue, it is advisable to have the two in close distance from each other. FACILITIES – Do they have adequate rest rooms? Is there enough space for a band or for dancing? Is there a room for the bride and groom to change and relax? Are there plenty of parking spaces for your guests’ vehicles? If it’s an outdoor event, do they have any backup plans for rainy days? You need to know if the venue has the appropriate facilities and services that you need for your event. WEDDING PICTURES – Venues with good lighting will surely bring more life and beauty to your wedding photographs. You may also want to check if a venue has other spots that are great for wedding pictorials such as a lush garden, or a great seaside view. When doing an ocular, bring a handy camera with you. It would help you determine if the place is photographable. Also, you could use the pictures as reference for your venue design planning, or you can give it to your wedding stylist if you have one.

“Familiarizing yourself with the important factors is one of the best tools that you can use in order to get the best venue for your wedding.”

THE FILIPINA BRIDESONALITIES: YOU, YOUR VENUE & YOUR BUDGET It is true that your budget pretty much directs your decision making. Church or ceremony venue fee varies in every location. In Metro Manila, Catholic churches usually charge a fee which includes minor arrangements of flowers, carpets and the priests who will officiate in the matrimonial ceremony. The price for this would range from P 2, 500 (for simple decorations, a carpet, and a simple ceremony) to as much as P 45, 000 (for churches with elaborate flower decorations, carpets, and air conditioning). Prominent Catholic churches, such as those found in Major cities and are of great historical value, usually cost much more than your local parish church. They may also require an additional fee for excess numbers of principal sponsors, bridesmaids and groomsmen. Garden weddings may be costly. A wedding in an exclusive garden or a private chapel may cost you around P 15, 000 to P 40, 000 depending on the venue and location. But some reception venues include in their amenities the usage of their gardens for the ceremony, which will save you a lot in the budget department. However, not all churches require a fee. Religions such as Iglesia ni Cristo and other Christian sects does not require payment; some churches just ask for donations. You may also ask your local church regarding the matter. A Civil Wedding may be simpler and will cost a lot less than a church wedding, ideal for practical couples who are on a tight budget. All you have to do is pay for the officiating judge and present witnesses on the day of the wedding; this can either be done in the judge’s office or in a garden reception, depending on the couple’s preference. On the other hand, the rate of reception venues in and around Metro Manila and nearby provinces ranges from P 3,000 to P 195,000, which does not include VAT and reservation fees of usually P 10,000. Quite frankly, those are huge numbers. You could have envisioned a perfect garden wedding or daydreamed about a walk down the long aisle of a grand church cathedral, but come budget making, your heart suddenly broke into pieces having realized that your dream wedding might just not make it to reality. On the contrary, you may have the biggest budget to spend but because of wrong decisions, you still end up with a venue that screams disaster. Of course who would want anything like that to happen? May the succeeding discussions here help you mend your broken heart from a dream wedding that would just remain that way: a dream – or better yet, save you from regrets and wrong choices. To better aide you in planning, and finding the right venues that also fits your budget, let us take a look once again into the three bridesonalities. The Penny-Wise Bride “I only have a limited budget, but I hope I can still get decent venues for my wedding.” This is the part where you begin to tell yourself that a decent venue is enough and you start to put all your dreams into a drawer and forget it ‘til forever after. But, I certainly hope you haven’t thrown the drawer key yet. Look Around your Neighborhood. Sometimes the solution to your problem is right in front of you. Before looking elsewhere, take a look around your neighborhood, see if there’s a clubhouse that you can rent for a cheaper price than your target venue. There are even clubhouses that

you can use for free or only ask for electricity charge. A clubhouse is a great option for a wedding venue because most clubhouses already provide the amenities that an event venue provides. And who knows, maybe you can even find a clubhouse with a swimming pool, and still achieve that outdoor, beach feel that you want for your wedding. If you can’t find any clubhouse, there may be gardens or parks near your area that would allow you to hold a wedding within their premises. In Quezon City for instance, the Lamesa Eco Park and Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife both allow some parts of their park to be used as venues for weddings. Gardens or Parks are also good options because you don’t need to put a lot of decorations or flowers because the place itself is already a masterpiece on its own. If you’re a Catholic, you may want to check your local parish church if they have a function hall that they allow to be used by their parishioners. Like the clubhouses, you can get these function halls for a budgetfriendly rate. And if you are also holding your ceremony on the same church, you can even save up on your transportation expense and avoid the hassle from heavy traffic from the church to your reception site. Another typical option would be to hold the wedding reception at your own place. But this option is laborious and you need to really do a lot of planning in order to execute it well. If you have plenty of space in your backyard, or if your garage is big enough to host all of your guests, then this is a good option for you because it will cut down on the cost of your venue. BUT be careful, on choosing this option because sometimes it can cost you bigger expense and even more hassle. You need to consider if your place can provide enough space for your guests’ vehicles and if you have sufficient lighting and ventilation. You also have to think about whether you have enough help when it comes to cleaning up your place after the party. The good thing though about having your reception at your own place is that you have the freedom as to how long you would like to hold your reception. If your place is also situated near your relatives and friends then the cost for transportation will be saved and you can add a few more peso to your budget. You can also add whatever design you want because there are no rules that may restrict you from doing so. This

option really requires a lot of effort on your part but if you have enough manpower and with the proper coordination and planning, it can turn out to be a win-win game between your budget and the dream wedding you want to achieve. Never Underestimate the Power of Friendship. If your dream wedding venue suddenly turned into a pumpkin patch because of limited budget, then maybe you need to seek the help of a “fairy-god-mother” in the form of friends. When your own place is only big enough for a candlelit dinner for two, and your neighborhood doesn’t have a clubhouse or park, it would be really helpful if you have friends who can refer you to their own village’s clubhouse or can offer you their own place for a very friendly rate. Tune in to Your Inner Creativity. Having a limited budget is not reason enough to settle for plain and boring. Let your creative side come out! Each person has the ability to come up with good ideas, especially if it is for something that is of great importance to them. Now, you may say that you’re not the artsy type – that’s okay! You just have to use a little imagination. For example, if you don’t have the budget to pursue the Spanishinspired venue that you want, then maybe you can do it in a function hall just behind your parish church. Ask the help of your relatives and friends to decorate the hall with Spanish accents. Find old portraits and antique pieces from you and your partner’s place and use it as ornaments to elevate the Hispanic look! Cut Down on Your Guest List. The number of guests plays an important role in your reception budget because venues’ rates also adjust to it. Trimming your guest list will also help you find a more affordable rate for a venue without sacrificing much of the aesthetics and amenities that you need your reception venue to have. Be Flexible. Do not limit yourself to few options. Be open-minded. Once you realize that your budget cannot accommodate your desired plans for your wedding, like the kind of venue you like, then it’s time to evaluate which part of your wedding is of better importance. After evaluating, you will then have a clearer view on what particular elements of your wedding you need to stick with and what parts you can adjust. For your ceremony venue for instance, if you

dream of walking down a long aisle but can’t afford a grand cathedral wedding, then look for other churches that has the same ambience and structure as that of a grand cathedral, but for a cheaper price. The important key here is knowing the factors that make up your dream venue and using it to look for other options that will work well with your budget. It is the same for your reception venue – being flexible means that you don’t just settle for less than what you deserve. It means that you try to bend your plans in such a way that you still get a venue that is close or similar to what you have initially planned – but for a cheaper rate.

reception: the pool side, big function room and small function room, with a price that can work well with your budget. Fr. Mark Horan Hall (Mt. Carmel Social Hall) – P 4,000 – P 15,000 This wedding venue is located just inside the premises of the Mt. Carmel Church at Broadway Avenue, New Manila, Quezon City. It is ideal for those who do not want to travel far from the church and risk traffic. UP Balay Kalinaw – P 3,080 (non-aircon) – P 6,125 (aircon)

If you can’t afford a Boracay wedding, there are beaches around Bolinao which also offer white sand, or you can try Nasugbu, Batangas. If your budget cannot give you a Tagaytay wedding overlooking the Taal volcano, try looking for gardens or private resorts around Antipolo area, the scenery there at night over-looking the Metro Manila lights is just as breath taking.

Balay Kalinaw is perfect for a traditional-themed wedding celebration of up to 200 guests. With its Hispanic structure and affordable rate, you can achieve a Spanish-themed wedding without emptying your pocket.

Also part of being flexible is considering the time of day and the date of your wedding. Venues have different rates for their daytime and evening events. Daytime events are cheaper than the latter. Also avoid wedding peak seasons like the month of December (here in the Philippines). If you want to save a lot of money, be flexible on the date and time of your wedding.

St. John Marrie-Vianney Parish

Plan Ahead. Give you and your partner enough time to scout for affordable venues. Don’t fall into the trap of “shot-gun” decisions just because your wedding is only a few months away. Plan ahead of time and you’ll definitely have a great chance of saving a lot of money.

Here’s a list of churches that you can also put on your list:

Address: Marcos Highway, Mambugan, Antipolo City Rate: P 5, 000 – with flowers and carpet / P2, 000 – ordinary wedding St. Michael the Archangel Parish Address: Fort Andres Bonifacio, Taguig City Rate: Standard Rate: P 5,500 / Aircon rental: P1,000 per hour Sanctuario de San Pedro Bautista

Below are examples of reception venues that can work well with your budget:

Address: 69 San Pedro St., San Francisco Del Monte, Quezon City

Makati Park & Garden – P 3,000 – P 8,000

Rate: P 1,500 – P 8,000

For those who wish to have an affordable venue that is close to nature and has a lovely surrounding, this is a venue that you can add to your list.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish

Casa Milan – P 10,000 Situated at the north of Quezon City, Casa Milan features a lovely main hall, alongside a pool, offering tranquility to wedding guests and the couple alike for a budget-friendly rate. Palladium Clubhouse – P 3,500 – P 10,000 This Greek-inspired venue is sited inside the posh neighborhood of Palladium Subdivision in Mandaluyong City. It offers three venues ideal for a beautiful wedding

PHOTO BY: TENG ASMOLO

Address: 124 13th Avenue, Murphy, Cubao, Quezon City Rate: P 2,500 – P 8,000 Santa Clara de Montefalco Parish Address: C. Raymundo Avenue, Caniogan, Pasig City Rate: P3,500 – wedding rite with mass only / P 10,000 – with flowers, carpet, soloist/organist, mass

e. The v si n e p x e e b to e v a oesn’t h d g in iends d fr d e m w o l fr fu ti lp u e a h f o t lo A be , ask a ic st ti r a l, fu e stage c g r u in so n e r n : la e p b e to th is m y o e k ve fun fr a h s y a lw a to d n a and family, life. d ie r r a m r u o y f o t up to the star

The criteria on your own comparative table would depend on the features of a venue that are important to you and your partner.

The Value-for-Money Bride “I have just the right budget and I want to make sure I get the best value for my venues.” Defining what gives value for you when it comes to your wedding venue… There’s a quote by Ludwig Wittgenstein, an AustrianBritish philosopher, which says: “The aspects of things that are most important for us are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity”. And I think it is true for most of us. We are often focused on the big stuff, and the bigger picture that we often forget the very essence of why we are doing it in the first place. We are unique individuals and we have different views on what is and what is not valuable for us. Even you and your partner can have varying opinions on this matter. So it is best if you talk about it and write down all your thoughts. While doing so, here are some tips which may come handy in scouting for your venues. Make a list. Sit down and talk with your partner. Make a list of all the things you want your venue to have and find a common ground. Some of the factors which you may want to consider are the following: ample parking space, clean wash rooms, great ambience, good lighting (for your wedding pictures and video), proximity of your ceremony venue to your reception venue, proximity to where your guests will be coming from, and good acoustics. Having a list will also save you a lot of time and energy because then you would know exactly where to look and what to look for. Research, Research, Research. Nothing beats good research. May it be online like forums and wedding blogs, through print materials such as wedding magazines, or even through interviews of people who have experienced planning their own wedding. A good research is a powerful tool in getting the best value for your venue. Don’t get too excited and impulsive in choosing your venues. Yes it’s true that you should also consider your gut feeling but hey, it would make a whole bunch of difference if you support it with good research. For your reception venue, equip yourself of useful

information before visiting or talking to a venue’s sales representative. Their intentions may be good and there are a lot out there who are really sincere in helping you out but let’s face it, their opinions are not that objective and of course they would highlight the positive features of their venue. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t believe them, because what they will tell you are also useful, but you shouldn’t rely on it alone. And most importantly don’t make decisions based on pressure. That’s why it is advisable to give yourself and your partner enough time to prepare for your wedding. That way you will have the time you need to do research. Make a checklist of all the important questions you would like to be answered regarding the venue. One bride told me that it would really help a lot if you write every question that pops out of your mind. That way you don’t have to keep calling the venue for information that you could have asked when you and your partner did the ocular. She shared that she usually remembers a good question to ask before she goes to bed, and she writes it down and compiles all the questions before calling the venue or doing an ocular visit. Make a comparative table of venues. This will help you when you have several venues that you like and you and your partner can’t decide. Write all the pros and cons of the venues you are eyeing and compare them with the others. Here is an example of a comparative table. Parking Space Venue 50 slots A

Ambience w/ aircon

Capacity 100pax

Time Frame 6 hrs

Quality of Service is also an important deciding factor in choosing the venue. Good customer service is always worth the money because it is one of the things that you and your guests will always remember about your wedding. Ask for venue packages, like a ceremony package that includes the use of their red carpet, choir, sound system, entourage coordination, and free floral arrangement for the church, or a reception venue package that includes the catering and other amenities like bridal car, and bridal suite. Packages are great ways to cut cost and stress on your part because you don’t have to scout individually for the things that are already included in the package. But of course, before choosing a package, evaluate carefully if the package fits your needs. Below are examples of reception venues that may work well with your budget: Oasis Manila – Lounge P25,000 / Gallery P35,000 / Pavilion AM (4hrs) / PM (5hrs) Weekday: P50,000 / P60,000 ; Weekend: P55,000 / 65,000

Gazebo Royale - Weekdays(AM; PM) / Weekends (AM; PM) Champagne Hall P80,000; P90,000 / P85,000; P98,500 // Phoenix Avenue P50,000; P60,000 / P55,000; P65,000 // Bamboo Grove P18,000; P20,000 / P20,000; P22,000 Gazebo Royale is a special events venue located along Visayas Avenue in Quezon City that features 3 venues that can suit your individual taste and needs. Their venues have spacious floor areas perfect for dancing. And the surroundings are adorned with pretty lights and garden landscapes for photo opportunities after the party.

Here’s a list of churches that you can also put on your list: St. John Bosco Parish Address: A. Arnaiz Avenue corner Amorsolo Street Barangay San Lorenzo Makati City

Perfect for a garden wedding, as well as a beautiful indoor reception, Oasis Manila offers ample parking space, stylish structure, accessibility, and good customer service that will give you your money’s worth.

Rate: With aircon: P17,000 / Without aircon: P15,000

Palacio de Maynila - P224,000 for 150 pax / P265,440 for 200 pax / P334,880 for 300 pax

Rate: P 15,000

This wedding venue is strategically located along Roxas Blvd., easily accessible through public transportation. Spacious and fully air-conditioned, this venue also offers a great view facing the Manila Bay. Light of Love - Love P50,000; P8,000 / Integrity P40,000; P6,000 / Atrium P50,000; P8,000 / Trust P100,000; P16,000 / Loyalty P80,000; P12,000 / Cherish P40,000; P6,000 For those who seek a private venue with a great garden, Light of Love has six venues that you can choose from depending on your preference and budget.

Venue 100 slots B

w/o aircon 200pax

4 hrs

La Castellana – Standard Rate for 4hrs: Weekday Rate (Mon-Thu) P55,000.00 / Weekend Rate (FriSun) P 65,000.00

Venue 60 slots C

w/ aircon

6 hrs

A promise of exclusivity through celebrating one event at a time is what sets La Castellana apart from other special events venue. Located inside the

150 pax

historic walled-city of Intramuros, its traditional wooden doors open up to a chic Spanish inspired architecture, which is a tribute to heritage, history and architecture.

Binondo Church (Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz) Address: Plaza Lorenzo Ruiz, Binondo

St. Pancratius Chapel (Paco park) Address: 959 San Marcelino St. Paco, Manila Rate: P 15,000 Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish Address: Mahinhin St., UP Village, Diliman Quezon City Rate: P 8,500 (inclusive of flowers on the altar, red carpet, candles, organist and singers and priest to provide the rites.) Nuestra Senora de Gracia Parish Address: 7440 Bernardino St., Guadalupe Viejo, Makati City Rate: P 13, 000

The Splurge-on-the-Best Bride “I have a great deal of budget and I am willing to spend it for the best venue there is.” The fully air-conditioned tent can comfortably house up to 500 guests in a lavish sit down dinner, and the spacious tent can be a playground for the ever imaginative bride-to-be as she makes her dream wedding come to life.

One of the wedding elements that really eat out a large part of your budget is your wedding venue or venues. And you are really blessed if you have a big budget to spend on it.

NBC Tent - Standard Rate (Whole Day): P 195,000 + 12% VAT

If you already have specific venues in mind, then the next most important thing that you have to make sure is the availability of the venue on your wedding day. Even with a big budget, there is still a big possibility that you won’t get your dream venue if you don’t book it early. Six months to one year is an ideal timeframe to book the venues of your choice, both for the ceremony and reception.

For a wedding like no other, the tent can comfortably house 800 guests in a sit-down dinner, with its look and feel designed according to the couple’s liking. It features a kitchen mess hall, spacious comfort rooms with an adjoining powder room for the ladies, spacious reception area and ample parking spaces for guests at the Fort Strip.

Now if you don’t have target venues yet, here are some tips that may help you in choosing the right venue that will give you your money’s worth. If you wish to splurge, splurge on the ambience. If there’s one element of a venue that could be a deciding factor, it’s the over-all ambience of the place. A venue with a good ambience will make you and your guests feel comfortable and your celebration even more memorable. One good example would be Fernbrook Gardens in Portofino South, Daang Reyna, Las Pinas. The whole place makes you feel as if you’re in a grand palace. They also have a chapel inside the venue and a manmade river with gondola that can add a special touch to your celebration. Make a check list as well. Just because you have more freedom and choices because of big budget, it doesn’t mean that you would not be meticulous in your venue search. Write down all the things you want to achieve in terms of your wedding venue and check if the venue fits your criteria. If you have a specific theme in mind and you want to create a unique ambience for your wedding then renting a big air-conditioned tent is your best bet. A tent is like a blank canvass and would be perfect if you want to put your creativity and imagination to the test. You can put swags and other designs and make it appear like your very own venue that no other couple has ever used before. For a choice like this, it would be best to hire a stylist to help you achieve the look you want. Examples of airconditioned tent venues are the NBC Tent in the Fort Taguig, and Rockwell Tent in Makati City. Be Hands-On. You may have your own coordinator, but even with your busy schedule, find time to personally visit the venue. You may have hired the best coordinator out there but still it would make a big difference if you put your time and effort in

Fernbrook Gardens – P 130, 000 - P160, 000 + VAT

checking out the place to see if it really is ‘the one’ place where you’d like your most important day to happen. Also, don’t rely on online pictures from venues’ websites. Most of what you see in the pictures is computer edited or not updated. Seeing the actual and updated look of the venue is still the best way to evaluate if the venue will give you your money’s worth. If you are planning to invite prominent people on your wedding, then consider the security of the venue as well. Also check if they have enough parking spaces especially if you are going to have a big guest list. If you wish to make your guests really comfortable all throughout your wedding, pick an airconditioned church as well. They may be a bit pricey compared to non air-conditioned churches, but if there’s one thing that you can splurge a little extra on, it would be the comfort that you and your guest would feel during your most important day.

Below are examples of reception venues that can work well with your budget: Rockwell tent - Standard Rate (Whole Day) P 125, 000 + VAT

Fernbrook Gardens is a European-inspired wedding venue that lets you experience a magical and dramatic ambiance making your fairytale dreams come to life. Blue Leaf - Standard Rates: AM(5hrs) / PM(5hrs) Jade Day: P70,000 / Evening: P90,000 Silk Day: P80,000 / Evening: P100,000 Banyan Day: P90,000 / Evening: P110,000 Jade and Banyan Day: P140,000 / Evening: P185,000 Located at the posh neighborhood of Bonifacio Global City’s McKinley Hills, the Blue Leaf has three contemporary Asian-inspired pavilions designed with spacious interiors against a backdrop of luscious greeneries. The pavilions are fully air-conditioned, has a sound system, a lounge, caterer’s area, an LCD projector with 8’x8’ screen, spacious parking area, and security, engineering and maintenance staff during the event. Fernwood Gardens - Fernwood 1: P50,000++; P86,000++ / Courtyard: P45,000++; P74,000++ / Cycad Garden: P46,000++; P79,000++ / Coral Tree: P50,000++; P86,000++ You don’t have to go out of the metropolis to find the perfect venue for a garden wedding. Fernwood Gardens give you the beauty of the out-of-town scenery within the immediate reach. In the midst of Fernwood Gardens’ exquisite nature-inspired landscape stands a quaint nature

chapel and baroque-styled gazebo both splendid for wedding ceremonies.

Here’s a list of churches that you can also put on your list:

National Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Adress: 8002 Manlunas St., Villamor Airbase, Pasay City Rate: Wedding with aircon: P 40, 500 / Wedding without aircon: P 27, 000 Sanctuario de San Antonio Adress: McKinley Road, Forbes Park, Makati City Rate: Standard rate parishioners/nonparishioners P20,000 / P25,000 reservation deposit: P5,000

San Agustin Church Adress: Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila Rate: P22,000 / Video Electricity: P1,000

Christ the King Parish Address: Greenmeadows Ave., White Plains, Quezon City Rate: P 25,000

Shrine of Jesus: The Way, The Truth and The Life Address: SM Central Business Park, Reclamation Area, Pasay City Rate: P25,000 for 1 1/2hour wedding

Your Wedding Theme and Motif H

ave you ever experienced attending a wedding where as you stand in line at the buffet area, waiting for your turn to get food, your eyes can’t help but wander around? What were the things that you have noticed? Flowers, table arrangements, drapery, ribbons, candles, colors – all these are components of your wedding design. Commonly, the design is patterned to an over-all motif or theme of a wedding. It is an element usually overlooked especially by those with a tight budget. But your wedding design could also be as important as what you feed your guests. It is what appears on your video and wedding pictures. It is what sets the vibe of your celebration. A good design is not totally dependent on how much money you have, but on how much effort you exert on planning – or for some, finding the right people to do it. Selecting colors or themes can either be a fun activity for you and your partner, or a source of headache if you can’t decide on what you would like to use. When planning for your wedding design goes from exciting to excruciating, it would help if you would first explore and familiarize yourself with the wide range of options before making any decisions.

“In our life there is a single color, as on an artist’s palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the color of love.” ~ Marc Chagall

Wedding Motif Have you already decided on what your wedding motif would be? Here in the Philippines, many Filipinos still can’t get over the concept of a single color motif. But with the many colors to choose from, a multiple color motif can add more life and style to your wedding design. You just have to find the right combinations that will match your personal style. But if you are still hesitant and confused on what colors to use for your motif, familiarizing yourself with the COLOR WHEEL may just be the trick you need. A color wheel is a graphical representation of the relationship of colors in a circular form. It shows the 3 basic levels of colors: primary, secondary, and tertiary; and how they interact or affect each other. Using a color wheel to determine your wedding motif or theme may seem hard or geeky but actually it provides a lot of help. And you’ll be surprised at just how easy it can to blend and pair colors if you understand their nature.

You have seen the color wheel before, your grade school art teacher may have taught this to you already, but let me just refresh your memory and insert a few tips to help you decide on what colors to choose.

Analogous Analogous colors are colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. This type of scheme creates a group of colors that have one main hue. Examples of this color scheme are green, yellow green, and yellow. The Analogous color scheme is easy to work with. But avoid using to many hues in this scheme as it may ruin the harmony of your design. For example, you can either choose to make green the main motif of your wedding, and use yellow and yellow green as supporting accents.

A perfect way to use complementary colors is at themed weddings. You can use purple and yellow accented with gold and create a magical ‘Arabian Nights’ inspired celebration.

be careful in choosing which colors to use for this kind of scheme. It should be done beautifully and with creativity, otherwise it has the tendency to be plain and boring.

Triadic

A Monochromatic scheme is perfect for those traditional couples who doesn’t want to experiment much on their color motif but still wants to achieve dynamism in their design.

This scheme involves three colors from the color wheel. Each color is equally spaced around the color wheel. Examples of this type of scheme are: red, blue, & yellow (primary colors) and orange, violet, & green (secondary colors) Triadic color scheme offers contrast while maintaining the harmony and balance of colors at the same time. Tip: Avoid using all three colors of a triadic color in the same amount as it may appear to be overboard. Pick a main color from the triadic scheme of your choice and use the two remaining colors to accentuate the main color.

Complimentary

Neutral Color Scheme This type of scheme is composed of colors not found on the color wheel: black, white, grey. These are neutral colors that are used to add light or remove light from other colors. For example, by adding white the design becomes illuminated, and lighter colors will advance towards the eye. Darker colors on the other hand will create a feeling of distance. A perfect way to use a neutral color scheme is in a traditional black tie wedding. Classic and elegant, you can never go wrong with this type of scheme.

Monochromatic

Complementary colors are opposite of each other on the color wheel. These color hues would greatly complement each other. Examples are yellow and purple, red and green, blue and orange This type of color scheme offers more contrast than other color schemes. Complementary colors, if used well, can create a vibrant atmosphere to a celebration. For best results, combine cool colors with warm ones like blue and orange.

Monochromatic colors have a common hue but have different shades or intensities of that particular hue. Examples of a monochromatic color scheme are the combination of light blue, blue, and dark blue, as well as pink, red, and dark red. This type of color scheme is quite safe and easy to achieve. It gives a classic and elegant feel that is perfect for a solemn celebration. But couples should still

Accented Neutral This type of color scheme can be achieved by pairing neutral colors and one or more small doses of other colors. Examples of this type of combinations are: (brown & beige w/ blue) and (grey & black w/red)

Warm Color Scheme This scheme uses warm colors such as orange, yellow, and red. They are vibrant and exude energy which can add liveliness to your event. Just be careful in using these colors because too much of it can turn your wedding to eyesore rather than accent. A warm color scheme of yellow and orange is perfect for an outdoor morning wedding.

Cool Color Scheme Cool color scheme makes use of “colder” colors such as blue, violet, green and other colors with the same hues. These colors create a calm feeling. A combination of blue and violet is perfect for an elegant evening celebration.

Familiarizing yourself with the color wheel and the different color schemes will help you understand the basic principles of combining colors. Once you understand these basic color combinations, there are many variants you can experiment with in your wedding motif. And don’t forget to let your personality reflect on the colors you choose.

Garden Theme Colors: Shades of Green, Yellow, Pink, Brown Venue: Botanical Gardens, Parks, Spacious backyard with a nice landscape Centerpieces: Flowers and Fruits in a basket, Hand-tied fresh flowers in a cute vase, Potted flowers Souvenirs: Plant seedlings, potted herbs

Wedding Theme When mere colors aren’t enough to explain or describe the ambience you want for your celebration, wedding themes can help you make it happen. A wedding theme pertains to a specific idea or concept that you want for your wedding. It can be inspired by a favorite movie, a particular era, your sense of style, or something that you really love to do – like travel. Choosing your wedding theme need not be a complicated task. One important thing you may want to ask yourself though is this: “Does our wedding theme reflect our personality as a couple?”

3 Popular Wedding Themes Beach Theme

Winter Wonderland Theme Colors: Dark Blue, Silver, White Venue: An air-conditioned venue with crystal chandeliers or spacious white interiors. Centerpieces: White and Silver Twigs in a cylinder vase with hanging crystals, Ice sculptures for the banquet table, Souvenirs: Snowflake-shaped key holders, champagne glass filled with chocolate balls wrapped in metallic blue and silver foils.

Colors: Aqua Blue, Cream, Shades of Orange, Light Brown Venue: Seaside, Poolside Centerpieces: fishbowl filled with seashells, a nicely painted sand bucket filled with sand and big seashells and starfish, small bamboo tiki torch with hand-tied ribbons Souvenirs: message-in-a-bottle, cupcakes with starfish toppers, shell-shaped chocolates PHOTO BY: ALAN MERCADO

Organizing Your Ideas through a Wedding Concept Board Have you experienced scanning through wedding magazines or the internet and seeing random elements that you want to have for your wedding? Are you having difficulty discussing your wedding theme to your designer or your family and friends? Then I suggest that you make a wedding concept board. A wedding concept board is a collage, a collection of pictures that may come from magazines, newspapers, internet, or even from your own closet. The things that you include in your concept board are elements that you would most likely want to achieve in your wedding. It may include the color combinations, flowers, dress, cake, and other little details that may help you arrive at your desired theme. A wedding concept board is also a perfect tool if you and your partner have different preferences when it comes to your wedding motif or theme. Make it a fun activity for you and your partner. Get all the magazines that you have at home, scan through all of it together and pick all the things that you will find interesting. After doing so, go through all the elements that you have picked, maybe with your designer present if you hired one, and think of a way that you can incorporate these elements in your wedding theme.

My Dream Wedding List If you don’t have the time or luxury of scanning though magazines or the internet, just grab a piece of paper and a pen and take a couple of minutes to think about your dream wedding. Write down all the aspects that you can think of. Don’t hesitate; don’t think of your budget yet. Just write it all down. Same goes with your partner. You can also write about your likes, hobbies, or your favorite activities or trips together. You can get a lot of inspiration by doing this. Remember that the main essence of your wedding celebration is to show who you are as a couple and share it with the people you love. So you need to think of how you can make that happen.

Your Wedding Flowers Y

ou’ve finally settled on the wedding date. The wedding venue and caterer is already booked. You’ve decided on your wedding theme and maybe on the style of your wedding dress. The next big question that you need to ask yourself is “What flowers should I have for my big day?” Why It Matters Flowers are essential part of every wedding. Some couples have a tendency to make a quick decision about their wedding flowers not knowing that it can make or break the entire celebration. Wedding flowers are not merely ornaments to a banquet table or a bride’s fashion accessory. Flowers can set the romantic mood, liven up the ambiance, and it can even make a statement about who you are as a couple. Choosing the right flowers for your wedding can be really challenging, and often confusing, especially if you have no definite idea on what you really want or if you just can’t tell the difference between a carnation and a chrysanthemum. With so many varieties to choose from, a simple bouquet can be a bride’s headache. So aside from the floral design, it would be helpful to also put into consideration the color, the availability, the price, the function, and the type of flowers that’s there on the market.

Things to consider in choosing the right flowers for your wedding

 The Theme of your wedding – The theme or motif of your wedding would pretty much direct what flowers and colors you would need.

“Flowers are love’s truest language” - Park Benjamin

 The Type and Season of Flowers – There are flowers which are perfect for bouquets

and those that aren’t. Also consider the season of flowers so that you won’t have a problem if it would be available on your wedding day. It would also help a lot if you’re on a tight budget.

 The Color and Design of the Attire – you should consider the color and design of you and your entourage’s attire in choosing what type of flowers and style of arrangement you will use.

 The venue’s facilities and ambience – When you do the ocular visit of the church and reception venue, it can also be a good time to think and observe what type of flowers and arrangements are best for the look of the place. If you’re having problems thinking it all by yourself, bring a camera and take a snap shot of the place for a florist or stylist to see.

 The Price of flowers - Tulips, orchids, star gazers, and roses are top choices for beautiful floral arrangements, first-class bridal bouquets, boutonnières and corsages, and decoration for the church and the reception. But bear in mind that these imported flowers are expensive. For couples who are on a tight budget it is best to use flowers that are produced locally.  Imported vs. Local Flowers – this factor would have a bearing on the price and availability of your floral selections, so it’s better if you do a little research or even just familiarize yourself on the flowers that are grown locally and those that need to be imported abroad.

Your Wedding Flower Checklist: WEDDING ENTOURAGE FLOWERS ARRANGEMENT

Bride’s Bouquet

Maid of Honor’s Bouquet

PURPOSE

The main entourage bouquet held by the bride during the entire wedding

the bouquet held by the maid of honor

Bridesmaids’ Bouquets

floral bouquets for the bridesmaids

Secondary sponsors Bouquets

floral bouquets for the female veil, cord, and candle sponsors

Flower girls’ headpieces

flowers used to accentuate the flower girl’s hair style

Flower girls’ baskets

flowers placed in little baskets held by the flower girls. They usually contain lose flower petals that flower girls spread on the aisle as they walk toward the altar

Groom’s boutonierre

small flower pinned at the left side of the groom’s coat or barong

Best man’s, Groomsmen’s, and symbol bearers’ boutonierres

small flower pinned at the left side of the Groomsmen and best man’s coats or barongs

Mothers’ corsages or bouquets

flowers carried by the mothers of the bride and groom. It can either be a bouquet or corsage.

Fathers’ boutonierres

small flower pinned at the left side of the father’s coat or barong

Male Principal sponsors’ boutonierres

small flower pinned at the left side of the male principal sponsor’s coat or barong

Female Principal sponsors’ corsages or bouquets

flowers carried by the female principal sponsors. It can either be a bouquet or corsage.

Bouquet for Bouquet Toss

secondary bouquet for the bride used for the bouquet toss during the reception program (sometimes florists give this for free with their entourage package)

SAMPLE PICTURE

Bridal Car Flowers

Floral arrangement placed on top of the bridal car (most of the time it is included in the entourage package of suppliers)

Presidential Table centerpiece

floral centerpiece for the presidential tables

Guest Table centerpiece

floral centerpieces for the guests’ tables

Buffet Table centerpiece

floral centerpiece to accentuate the buffet table

Cake table arrangement

flowers to accentuate the cake table

Dove Cage arrangement

floral arrangement to accentuate the dove cage

WEDDING CEREMONY FLOWERS

Entrance Décor

Aisle Décor

Altar Arrangements

flowers used to design the entrance of the church or ceremony venue

flower arrangements placed at the ceremony aisle

floral arrangements used for the altar design

WEDDING RECEPTION FLOWERS Entryway arrangement

flowers used to design the entrance of the reception venue

Couple’s Table arrangement

floral arrangement used for the couple’s table and it’s backdrop

 

Flower arrangements courtesy of Hizon’s Catering (reception), Andrea’s Flowershop by Hizon’s (entourage), amd April and Karen Yu Flowers (entourage & ceremony). Cake Design by Ms. Gel Colet of Swell Sweets.

Exploring the Options for your Wedding Flowers BUDGET is one very important aspect that is always considered when it comes to choosing the flowers for your wedding. A large chunk of the wedding budget will most likely be allotted for the ceremony & venue rental, or for the food expense. Often, the budget for wedding flowers is compromised and couples resort to do-it-yourself floral arrangements. It may work out to your advantage if you have the skills or if you have relatives or friends who are capable of making beautiful arrangements for you. But if you are new at this field it would be best to know your options before making hasty decisions. A trip to Dangwa may just be the solution you need. Or maybe hiring a professional wedding florist may work out well to your advantage. Flowers may not be the most essential part of your big day, but it is still important. After all, it would show up in almost all of your wedding pictures.

wide array of choices displayed before your eyes, you will know first hand how the flowers look like and what would suit your taste and your budget. You can choose to buy the flowers and the accessories and arrange them yourself, but if you don’t have the extra hand or time to do so, there are a lot of available local florists in Dangwa to help you with your arrangements. Just ask the sellers, most of them are equipped with the basics of wedding floral arrangement.

“Exploring the many possibilities when it comes to your wedding flowers will help you come up with perfect floral arrangements without exhausting your wedding budget. All you need is determination and lots of creativity.”

A TRIP TO DANGWA Here in the Philippines, there are a lot of options when it comes to wedding flowers. The most popular ones, though, are roses, tulips, chrysanthemums, gerberas, and carnations. Majority of these flowers are available locally, except for a few like tulips and Ecuador roses. Most of the flower supply here in the Philippines comes from Baguio, which is considered the country’s flower capital. But the most popular destination for buying flowers is Dangwa, in Manila. The flowers there are sold at relatively lower prices compared to other markets because their supply comes directly from Baguio. With the

Price Range (Wedding Flowers in Dangwa) Entourage Flowers – (consisting of bride’s bouquet, principal and secondary sponsor’s flowers, flower girl’s baskets and headdress) *Prices range from P 5,000 – P 10,000 depending on the flowers used. Church Flowers – (consisting of pedestal aisle arrangement, spray arrangement for altar, candle holder arrangements, and topiaries) *Prices range from P 7, 000 – P 15,000 depending on the flowers used.

Reception Flowers – (consisting of table centerpieces, pillars for backdrop and entrance, and dove cage arrangement) *Prices range from P 10,000 – P 20,000 depending on the flowers used.

WEDDING FLORIST FOR HIRE To hire or not to hire – is the usual dilemma of most couples when it comes to the topic of hiring a professional wedding florist. Some still have that notion that hiring one is impractical and a waste of money. If you are on a tight budget, do-it-yourself arrangements may be your best bet. But if you’re still not sure about it, you may want to know why a florist may just be the “fairy-god mother” you’ve been waiting for.

Why do I need a wedding florist? It may seem easy to arrange flowers. All you need to do is buy your supplies in Dangwa or at your preferred flower shop or market and get your relatives or friends to help you make the arrangements. But there are lots of factors that need to be considered that you are unaware of. 1) Proper care of flowers - Flowers in general are delicate and require proper handling. And though you are making all the necessary measures to ensure that your flowers will be at its best form during the wedding, there may still be a big possibility that you will end up with unattractive flowers on your celebration. It’s because different flowers require different ways of handling. There are those that need to be put in water, other flowers should not be exposed in too much light; tulips in particular should be kept in a cool place. Florists are well-informed about this field. You can be assured that your flowers will be at its best shape for your most special day. 2) The Right flowers for your wedding - You may already have your favorite flowers in mind to use for your wedding but sometimes they may not work well with one another. There are flowers that would make a great bouquet but may not be the perfect centerpiece for your banquet table. It is best to have someone who knows the what and whatnots of floral arrangement. You can even have a big chance of saving a lot of money just by hiring the right person to do the job. 3) Creative/Artistic touch - If you have a specific theme in mind, you should really book a florist. If you can turn your own concepts into reality or you have a relative or friend who can do that then you can go about with your do-it-yourself plans. But florists are florists because they have the expertise and the capability to put magic in your wedding flowers. 4) Stress - The most important purpose of having a

florist is to “Keeping yourself opentake away minded with every option the burden for your wedding flowers off of your will help you achieve the shoulders. It is your perfect floral arrangements big day and without compromising your the idea of budget. What you need to standing in front of a do is prepare ahead of time huge crowd and find the right people is already that you would be most nerve comfortable working with” wracking. If you want a worryfree day for you and your soon-to-be partner, you need people who know their job and would help you achieve the memorable event you wish to have.

How much would it cost to book a florist? Most florists have ready packages that you can choose from, but these packages are often flexible and would depend on what the couples want for their wedding. Don’t hesitate to talk to as many florists so that you would know who has the best packages that can fit your budget. Ms. April Yu of April and Karen Yu Flowers said that the prices for every floral arrangement vary, depending on some factors like: guest size, season (Christmas, Valentines Day, and All Saint’s Day), type of flowers used, and other materials and extra details that needs to be incorporated on the design. Couples these days already have the chance to customize their own floral packages to suit both their taste and their budget. At present, the price of flower arrangements done by professional florists range from Php30, 000 – Php100, 000 depending on the factors mentioned above.

How early should I book a florist? After booking your ceremony and reception venues, you can already start planning your wedding theme and booking a florist. As early as 6 months to 1 year in advance is the ideal time to look for a florist. This would ensure that you’d get all the flower supplies you need and you may even get discounts and other freebies. Wedding fairs often showcase different florists and you may want to try attending one to get a good start.

FILIPINA BRIDESONALITIES YOU, YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS, AND YOUR BUDGET

C

ost of flowers for your big day may be categorized into three: the entourage, the church decoration and the reception/venue decoration. The church’s decoration can be included in the payment for the church or the church may require a certain supplier for this which may range from a simple decoration of P 4, 500 up to P 15, 000 if it includes imported, rare and off season flowers. Ceremony flowers are usually composed of the altar flowers, aisle arrangement, candle holder flowers, and topiaries. The reception/venue decoration on the other hand is mostly covered by the caterer if you are hiring one, so it is best to coordinate with them the kinds

of flowers that you want to have in your reception. The reception flowers are mostly table centerpieces for the couple’s table, presidential table, and guests’ tables. Also included are the floral arrangement for the couple’s backdrop, and buffet centerpieces. Entourage flowers are usually composed of the bridal bouquet and the bouquets of the maid of honor and bridesmaids, flower girls’ accessories, corsage, and boutonnières; price for a package of these items range from P 5,000 to P 20, 000, depending on the flowers used. Looking through the perspective of the three bridesonalities will give you a better idea of what you can do with your budget.

The Penny-Wise Bride “I only have a limited budget; I want to keep my wedding flowers simple and easy-on- thepocket.” Buy your flowers from Dangwa and ask the help of your family and friends who are skilled in floral arrangement to do the arrangements for you. It is advisable to have a vehicle that you can use to pick up the flowers from Dangwa. Provide sufficient amount of time to pick-up and put together all your arrangements. Learn how to make your own floral arrangements online and include your relatives or friends in the project. If you plan on making your own floral arrangements for your wedding, there are a lot of do-it-yourself guides on the internet that can help you learn it. Include your relatives and/or friends on the project so that they can take over the task during your wedding day and relieve you from stress of arranging your flowers. Here is a list of sites that provide do-it-yourself guides for floral arrangements:  http://budget-bride.com/DIY-WeddingFlowers.htm

 http://www.do-it-yourself-weddings.com/ You can also try searching videos on www. youtube.com:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV_ slWig7us  http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=4yHC4udQKsA  http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=AKA5BTGLknE&feature=fvw

Use the same flowers to decorate your ceremony and reception venue. Choose flowers and arrangements that will compliment both your ceremony and reception venues. After the ceremony, transfer the flowers to the reception site to be used as buffet and table centerpieces. You can add little trinkets that you can buy in bulk from Quiapo. Try going to Well Manson beads and accessories store near the Quiapo church, along Villalobos street. Adding a little extra touch to your wedding flowers will make even the simplest and cheapest flowers come to life and give a better meaning and color to your event. Instead of using too much flowers, you can add

candles and other centerpieces that would also compliment the theme of your wedding. To avoid spending too much on your flowers, save up by using candles, ribbons, and other centerpieces like lamps and lanterns. That way you can have the choice of cutting your wedding flower budget in half. Centerpieces and candles need not be expensive. If you are living in the metro, try visiting Dapitan Arcade in Dapitan Street, Quezon City, Quiapo, and Divisoria. You’ll have a wide variety of choices for a cheaper price. Avoid buying items from the mall. You can buy Japanese lanterns, and candles in Divisoria for half the price as compared to those that you see in the malls. It is also best to

buy supplies in bulk to get discounts and great deals. Choose flowers with abundant supply and are in season. Hard to find flowers and those with limited supply are for-a-fact more expensive than those with abundant supply. If you want to save-up, choose flowers which are in season on the date of your wedding, ask the local sellers about it. Another option is to choose flowers that are always available whole year round and are locally grown here in the Philippines. Mums and local roses for example are common choices and are always available in the market any time of the year.

The Value-for-Money Bride “I have enough budget; I want to make sure I get the best value for my wedding flowers.” Get your floral supply from Dangwa and hire a good local Dangwa florist to do the arrangements for you. If you have enough budget but still want to get the best value and deals, you may try our local Dangwa florists. Getting one will take the hassle and stress of preparation from you with just a little additional spending from your wedding budget. When you visit Dangwa you can also try to ask for packages and quotations from the lined-up stores so that you can make comparisons. One Dangwa Florist that is making waves in the wedding flower industry is Mang Boy Mahusay of Jarielle’s Flowershop in Dos Castillas, famously known as Dangwa. A lot of brides attest to the skill and charm of this unassuming tattooed man. The first time you’ll meet him, you might feel skeptical as to whether he can really achieve the arrangements you want, but worry not because he really has the skill to make elegant arrangements, which are at par to other florists in the market at a cheaper rate. Be careful though because there are many who are pretending to be Mang Boy Mahusay. To be sure, look for the rosary tattoo found on his upper body. Here are his contact details: JARIELLE’S FLOWERSHOP Stall no. 16, Dos Castillas St., Sampaloc, Manila (Dangwa)

Tel #: 3145737 Mobile No: 0917.387.1910 (Assistant) Kuya Jon– 0916.321.1303 Look for caterer’s that includes floral arrangement in their packages, and discuss with them the style you want to achieve. Most of the caterer’s nowadays offer floral arrangement as an amenity together with their catering service. Hizon’s Catering, for instance, provides style and design which are at par with other florists because of the in-house designer and events planner who will help you in the preparation of your reception. Hizon’s Catering also provides a selection of entourage flowers through Andrea’s Flowershop by Hizon’s. You’ll have the convenience of having a centralized supplier for the different elements (food, design, planning, and flowers) of your wedding. Choose flowers that are not only in season but also has a longer ‘life span’. If you want to make the most out of your wedding flowers choose the type that can last for a long while even after your celebration ends. A good example is using carnations instead of the usual local roses. It’s a little more expensive than roses, but you can be sure that its form and appearance will last ‘til after the wedding as compared to roses. You can even take home your table centerpieces and offer it to your local church as a decoration or use it as ornament to you new house’s dining table.

The Splurge-on-the-Best Bride “I have a great deal of budget and I am willing to spend it for the most gorgeous flowers for my wedding.” Hire a good wedding stylist. If you have plenty of budget to spend on your wedding flowers then hiring the experts would be the best choice for you. All you need to do is provide them with the necessary information about your ideas, the theme of your wedding, and the color motif. If you have very specific designs that you found in magazines or online, let the wedding stylist see it and discuss with them how you can make it happen for your own wedding. It would also help a lot if you make an ‘inspiration board’ or a collage that you can present to your

stylist to give them a good grasp of what you really want to achieve on your floral design. You may seek the help of well-regarded wedding stylists Robert Blancaflor or Henry Pascual. Choose the most elegant and unique flowers. If you wish to create a great impact in terms of your wedding flowers, splurge on flowers that exude elegance. If you have the resources, you can try incorporating lots of tulips, star gazers, and Ecuadorian roses not only for your wedding bouquet but also for your table and buffet centerpieces. Accentuate your flowers with personalized accessories. Add pearls or Swarovski crystals to your wedding bouquet to make it look more exquisite. Make your flower girls’ baskets a little more exciting by placing little teddy bears together with the flowers. Give your bride’s maids a little treat by replacing the typical hand-tied bouquets with chic evening bags filled with different colors of hydrangeas.

I

Your Wedding Food

n almost every country and culture, a celebration would not be complete without food. It is a sign of abundance and prosperity. A wedding celebration for that matter always includes a feast of good food. Even the Bible has stories that tell about wedding banquets, like the story of the wedding at Cana (John 1: 1-12) wherein Jesus performed a miracle by turning water into wine. Filipinos by nature love to eat and a wedding wouldn’t be complete without a delicious, mouth-watering feast. And a Filipino feast is composed of a wide selection of foods that usually includes soup, various meats, seafood, vegetables, sweets, and of course rice. Aside from the bride and groom, food is one of the stars of the wedding reception. Almost all the guests anticipate what the couple has prepared for them.

Why it Matters If there is one element of your wedding that you would really want to think carefully and maybe spend some extra peso on, it would be on your wedding feast. You can add some little extra ornaments and candles on a simple venue and make it look stylish. But bland food is something that is hard to make-over on the day of your wedding. Surely you want to make your most important day a memorable one; but let’s hope it’s not a memory that would spell disaster. Below are some important factors that you may want to take a look on:

Things You Should Consider In Planning Your Wedding Feast 1. Budget – If you’re thinking of skimping on your wedding food budget, think again. You may have limited money on your wedding pocket, but it doesn’t mean that you would sacrifice the quality of your food. Just like with any other meals, you just have to find the best that is out there, which would work well with your budget. 2. Time of the wedding – If you’re already certain on your wedding date and have already booked a venue, then it’s important to consider the time of day in which your wedding banquet will take place. If you haven’t settled on the date and time yet, determine that first before planning your wedding menu. It is important to consider this factor in your planning so that you can offer the right kind of food. If it’s a wedding that would take place 11am in the morning, then a lunch menu is what you need. You may also include the season or climate during the month of your wedding. If it’s a December wedding in Tagaytay, you may opt for warm and hearty meals including a delicious soup. If it’s a Boracay wedding on April, then cocktail drinks and fresh fruits should be included on your menu items. 3. Menu – What type of food would you like to serve at your wedding? Planning your menu can be affected by various factors such as the theme, time of day, and your budget. In choosing your menu selection, bear in mind the different parts of your menu and consider if your choices for each part compliments one another.

“This much I knew: If you are what you eat, then I only wanna eat the good stuff.” - Ratatouille

Banquet Menu Terms  Appetizer – food that is served prior to the main course that helps stimulate the desire to eat.  Ex. Nachos w/ Salsa Dip, Crispy Spinach w/ Dip, Assorted International Cold Cuts  Soup – food that is in liquid form that is achieved through the boiling of meat, fish, or vegetables  Ex. Cream of Mushroom Soup, Cream of Asparagus Soup, Creamy Pumpkin Soup  Salad – commonly prepared as cold dish that is composed of mostly fresh vegetables & fruits, and little portions of meat, cheese, or egg. It is also served with a dressing that compliments the salad.  Ex. International Salad Bar w/ Thousand Island Dressing & Caesar’s Dressing, Macaroni Salad, Russian Salad  Pasta – usually made of dough that is sliced thinly into strands or small portions and

cooked in boiling water. It is served with sauces in various tastes and forms.  Ex. Fettuccine Italiano, Cheesy Lasagna, Baked Chicken Macaroni  Main Course – it is the principal dish of a meal. Beef, pork, chicken, and fish are basically the main ingredient of the main course  Ex. Lengua Royale, Chicken Pastel, Grilled Fish in Lemon Butter sauce  Starch – source of carbohydrates that is served as part of the main meal  Ex. Plain Rice, Herbed Rice, Mashed Potato  Dessert – food that is served after a hearty meal to balance out the savory flavors of the dishes that were previously served.  Ex. Buco Lychee, Leche Flan, Assorted Pastries  Drinks – any liquid that is consumed to quench thirst  Ex. Iced Tea, Soft drinks, Punch Royale

4. Banquet Service Style – Your Banquet service style is a big factor on how formal your reception banquet would be. It will also be a determinant of your wedding food budget. A Sit Down service is more expensive basically because of the extra service charge for the waiters that will be preparing and serving food to your guests. It is difficult to achieve this kind of style for your wedding banquet if you are planning on doing the preparation on your own and only with the help of your family and friends. It would be safer to hire people who are trained for this task to avoid problems during your wedding. Also, the choice of food on the menu will affect the cost. But what you are mainly paying for with this type of service is the convenience that your guests would feel on not having to stand-in-line to get food, and the elegance that it reflects to the totality of your event. A Buffet banquet is quite cheaper than a sit down style. You can also give your guest more freedom to choose what food they want to put on their plates. The downside of a buffet though is that it can be a hassle to your guests, especially to the elderly, if lines become long and they have to stand-in-line

for a couple of minutes to get some food. The key here is to anticipate this scenario and provide enough buffet areas where your guest can get food. For example, if you have 200 expected guests, have a two-way buffet instead of just one. It will help avoid the formation of long lines in the buffet area. Lauriat style on the other hand is like a combination of the Sit down and buffet services. With this type of service, your guests will also have the option to choose the food they would like to put on their plates and at the same time they won’t experience the hassle of standing-in-line to get the food. A possible problem that may occur with this type of service is that the food per table may not be enough for the guests if not properly monitored by the waiters. Make sure that the waiters in-charge per table will be attentive to the needs of the guests. Cocktail style is the cheapest of all the banquet services because it only serves cocktail or bite-size food items. If your event falls on a lunch or dinner, this option may not be your best bet. But if you should insist on this, make sure that you advise your guests beforehand so that they will not expect a heavy meal during your reception.

Sit Down - a more formal banquet service style where in meals are served by waiters at the guests while they are comfortably seated Appetizer Nachos with Salsa

Salad Caesar’s Salad w/ Grilled Chicken, Greek Salad w/ Candied Walnuts & Sun Dried Tomatoes & Feta Cheese First Course Cream Dory stuffed w/ Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomatoes served with Linguine Noodles Second Course Grilled French Rack of Lamb in Red Wine Sauce served with Mushroom Rice Sautéed Spinach w/ Bread & Butter Desserts Tiramisu Drinks Iced Tea, Softdrinks

Soup Cream of Chicken Soup

Buffet Menu

Plated Menu

Soup Creamy Potato & Leek Soup, Creamy Spinach Soup

Salad Bar Iceberg lettuce, Turnips, Carrots, Cucumber, Sweet Onions served with Caesars’ Dressing, Thousand Island dressing, Italian Dressing Hot Buffet Pasta Neopolitana and Fettuccine with Sea Foods Cream Beef Mushroom Calamata Roast Porkloin with Apple Raisin Sauce Hawaiian Barbeque Chicken Grilled Fish with Crispy Garlic and Lemon Butter Sauce Lumpia Bar with Peanut Sauce Steamed Rice Dessert Fruit Campote, Vanilla Mousse, Chocolate Mousse, Panacota, Almond Jelly, Leche Flan, Buco Pandan Drinks Iced Tea

Buffet - the food items are arranged and presented in long tables and guests have the option of choosing the food that they would like to put on their plate

Plated Service meal courses are served in separate plates, arranged beautifully, and are served in a sequence

Russian Service - in this type of seated service, waiters carry the platters of food and go around the tables to offer it to the guests

French Service like Russian service, food items are offered by waiters to the table per guest. The difference is in the number of waiters who serve the food. French service uses two waiters - one to hold the platter and one to serve the food.

Lauriat - a traditional Chinesestyle banquet service wherein food items are served in large platters, and placed in the center of each table. It makes use of a lazy susan so that guests can alternately get the food conveniently.

Cocktail - A more informal service style wherein food selections are passed around by waiters and are served on bite-size pieces. Drinks are also passed around in the same manner.

5. Number of Guests – The number of guests is an important factor in planning your wedding feast. Without a number in mind, you may end up short of food during your event or waste a lot because of miscalculation. An estimated number is okay for a buffet style banquet. If you’re expecting 150 guests, add an allowance of 15pax or 10% of your number of pax. In a plated banquet though, having a specific number of guests is important.

6. The theme of the wedding – The theme of your wedding can also help you in planning your menu, especially if it’s a very specific theme. For example, if you plan to have a Japanese or Zen-inspired celebration, then go for food that best describes that theme like tempura, sushi, sashimi, and some Japanese tea instead of the typical juice or soda.

If it’s a classic Filipino wedding, then focusing on Filipino cuisine is the best way to help keep the mood of your celebration.

7. Catered vs. Do-It-Yourself – Here in the Philippines, we are used to preparing delicious feasts and inviting guests to come over at our house. This is typical during fiestas and birthday celebrations. You may have experienced attending such, or maybe even practicing this at your own home. This is because of our natural Filipino trait of hospitality. At present, catering your own wedding is still practiced especially in the provinces. If you have enough resources, cooking equipment, and people to help you prepare the food then this may work for you. But if not, then it is best that you consider getting some professional help.

“Hiring someone to cater for you is a good decision. Whether it’s a catering company, or your friend’s mother who does catering services for small events, it’s all in the idea of taking away the stress of food preparation from your hands. A wedding is more stressful than a fiesta or a birthday because it will only happen once and you also need to look your best during the celebration. Your family should also be fully present during the wedding that’s why they too should not be inconvenienced by the errands that food preparation entails. When hiring a caterer, make sure that you attend one of their food tasting events or make an appointment for a private food tasting. That way, you will have the chance to taste their menu and see if it fits your criteria.”

Selecting the Right Caterer for your Reception 1. Secure your reception venue first – It would be best if you secure your wedding reception venue first before determining who your caterer would be. Most of the venues here in the Philippines, especially in NCR require a caterer’s fee to caterers that are not accredited to their venue. To avoid giving out extra cash for the caterer’s fee, it is recommended that you determine your venue first and then ask for their list of accredited caterers so that you’ll have a head start when it comes to finding your caterer.

2. Ask for referrals – Aside from venue referrals, you can also ask other wedding suppliers like your cake or flowers provider. They may give you a tip or two on the best deals when it comes to your caterer. You may also try asking your relatives or friends if they’ve already experienced hiring a caterer or have attended an event that is catered. Ask them about their experience and from there you’ll have plenty of insights on where to start and what to look for.

3. Browse through caterer’s websites – (a. research about company’s bg, b. contact them through phone or by leaving a message to their online inquiry box if there is) Use the power of technology. Well-established caterer’s have websites where you can learn more about what they offer and how to contact them. They may also have galleries of their food photos and events that they’ve catered that you can use to evaluate if it fits your criteria. But It’s recommended that you don’t just rely on the website alone, get their contact information and call them and set a schedule for a meeting.

4. Attend Food Tasting Events –When choosing your caterer, one of the most important things that you need to do is to attend at least one of their food tasting events. There’s no better way to find out if their food selection fits your taste than to have a food tasting. It can either be a grand food tasting event or a private one that is scheduled espe-

cially for you and your partner. Hizon’s Catering for instance holds regular grand food tasting events where you can try the food and talk personally with a banquet sales representative about matters concerning your wedding food requirements. All you need to do is to call the office or register online through the website.

5. Variety of Food – People have different tastes when it comes to food, and your guest would really appreciate it if you would be able to give them options. For instance, instead of just putting one option for dessert, have a dessert buffet that includes fruit salad, chocolate mousse, panacota, and coffee jelly.  Lechon, for instance, is a popular food that you will see in a Filipino wedding banquet. Lechon is either roasted pig (baboy) or calf (baka). It is typically chopped and served into bite size portions together with a lechon sauce or sarsa that uses pork liver as its main ingredient. It’s a treat for almost all guests, especially Filipinos, if you serve lechon during your wedding.  Dietary or Cultural restrictions – After making your guest list, check if your guests have any dietary or cultural restrictions so that you can make adjustments on your menu. For example if you have a group of friends who are vegetarians, then you may want to include a good vegetable dish in your menu. If you also happen to have guests that don’t eat pork or beef because of their cultural or religious orientations, then include options like chicken and fish. It is not just on how you present the food that your guests will appreciate your event; it is also on the sincerity of the planning. So take time to research on this to make your guests feel extra special.  Food safety – It is very crucial that food is guaranteed safe and clean. You wouldn’t want to be responsible for any case of upset stomach or food poisoning because of the food you serve. Think of

the welfare of your guests and be critical about this.

plement the food you will serve during your event.

If you plan on catering your own wedding, make sure that cleanliness is observed all throughout the preparation and serving process to avoid any food contamination. Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold to avoid serving spoiled food during your event. Acquiring proper tools and equipment are also necessary like food pans and food warmers.

Check out this website for a guide on wine and food pairing: http://www. winewebcentral.com/winepairing/

If you are hiring a caterer, it wouldn’t hurt to check if your caterer has the necessary permits and facilities to really perform the service for you. You may also want to request a tour of their facilities if you really want to be sure that they are properly sanitized. The good thing about well-established catering companies is that they have the right equipment, and facilities fit for production of large quantities of food. They also have the experience in proper handling of food so you don’t have to worry so much about that area.  Beverage – Your beverage should com-

Also consider the time of day and the weather. If it’s an early morning celebration, strong liquors are not so appropriate. Serving coffee on the side as an option for guests may be a good thing. If your wedding is a dinner event, make sure that you limit your alcoholic beverages. Consider the condition of your guests upon living your party. Some of them will have to drive and it is not a good idea to get them drunk. If you are catering your own event, please don’t forget to buy an ample supply of ice for your drinks. You wouldn’t want to serve warm juice or soda to your wedding attendees. If you are hiring a caterer, ask for their beverage selections, it’s better to have at least two options for your beverage to cater to your guests’ personal preference.

FILIPINA BRIDESONALITIES YOU, YOUR WEDDING BANQUET, AND YOUR BUDGET The Penny-Wise Bride “I only have a limited budget, but I hope I can still have a memorable and delicious wedding feast.” When hiring a caterer is not really feasible for your budget, catering your own wedding may just be the best choice for you. If you plan to do so, here are some helpful tips that you may want to take note of.  Manpower – You may be able to help during the planning, but it would be best to let someone else take over at least 2 days before your wedding. That way you can give yourself time to relax before your big day. You have to really find someone whom you can rely on to do all the dirty work for you. That someone shouldn’t be your parents, or anyone who’s part of your entourage. In the provinces, the culture of bayanihan is still very evident even up to now. It is a great Filipino value that we should be proud of. Gather your family & friends, and utilize their skills in cooking. If you have an aunt who makes excellent viands, ask her if she can give you her recipes. You will be amazed at just how much your loved ones can help you. They are Fairy-God-Mothers just waiting for us to make the call.

 Menu – If you plan on catering your own wedding, go for simple yet tasty dishes that almost all your guests will like. Is it easy to make? Are the ingredients reasonable? Will majority/all of our guests like it? Ask yourself these questions while choosing the menu for your wedding. It will also help if you ask the opinion of the people who will do all the cooking and preparation.

 Equipment & Utensils – Make sure you have the right equipment and utensils for cooking large quantities of food. You can borrow your relative’s kawa or large saucepans. There are caterers who also offer the rental of their service and equipments. Hizon’s catering for instance offers a service rental package that includes the use of their tables, chairs, food warmers, utensils, linens,

and manpower. A service rental package for 100pax will more or less amount to only P25,000 to P30, 000.

 Amount of Food – This can be a tricky one. If you’re not used to cooking for a large number of guests, or if you don’t have enough cooking experience at all, estimating the amount of food to prepare for your wedding can be a source of stress.  Below is a simple food ratio guide to give you an idea regarding how much food you can prepare for your wedding. This ratio is based from actual standards used by caterers. All amounts listed below are good for fifty (50) people. If you have more than 50 guests, just adjust it according to your numbers.  Meat dishes (per dish) – 4kilos (if you have 4 viands) / 4.5 kilos (if you have 3 viands)  Fish Fillet with breading (for frying)3 – 3.5 kilos  Fish (for grilling) - 4.5 kilos

 Salad / Dessert – 1 gallon  Soup – 3 gallons  Vegetable dishes – 4 kilos  Drinks (powdered) – 2 packs (500gms each pack)  Drinks (soda)– 8 bottles (1.5 liters each)

 Space – Where will you do all the cooking and preparation? You have to consider if

you have appropriate space for your food preparation. It can be on either the groom or the bride’s place or a relative’s backyard. The important thing is that it can provide a good space for the preparation of food and that it is close to the reception area as much as possible. Catering to your own big day can be an overwhelming option, you must have enough planning and preparation to make it work to your advantage. The most important thing is to enjoy the experience because it can only happen once in your lifetime.

The Value-for-Money Bride “I have enough resources and I want to make sure I will get good value for my wedding feast.” For instance, Hizon’s Catering includes tables and chairs, linens, and floral arrangements in the wedding packages. Also included are the amenities such as bridal car, hotel accommodation, event hosting, and a lot more. Choose a buffet style banquet instead of a plated or service style. A buffet style can give your guests more freedom to choose what they put in their plates, and it can also save you money because a buffet is at a cheaper rate as compare to service style.

If you have just the right budget to spend for your wedding food, then hiring a good caterer is what will give you the best value for your money. As mentioned on the earlier parts of this article, what you are basically paying for, when you hire a professional to do your wedding food preparation, is the convenience that it will give you, your family and your guests, during your entire wedding celebration. Here in the Philippines, caterers are not limited to just preparing the food for you. Aside from your menu, they also offer their event planners to help you in the preparation of your wedding reception. They also provide packages that include amenities that you need other than just the food.

Attend grand food tasting events when scouting for a good caterer. You may either call the caterer to ask for their food tasting schedules or visit their website for information. A food tasting is a great way to find out first hand if the caterer can really do the job for you. It is also the perfect time to talk to their account executives about what they can offer for your wedding. Determine the things that you need for your reception before attending a food tasting or talking to an account executive. That way, you won’t miss out on important information that you may want to clarify or ask the caterer. Also, choose food that everyone will love. If you want to get the best value for your wedding food budget, don’t serve something that you know barely a few of your guests would appreciate. Otherwise, you will just spend money on food that will only end up in the garbage bag after your celebration.

The Splurge-on-the-Best Bride “I have plenty of budget, and I want to make sure I get the best and most delectable wedding feast that my guests will truly remember.” When you have the money to spend, how do you do the spending? Here are options that can turn your wedding budget into a memory that you and your guests will surely never forget: Choose a service style banquet – A service-style or plated banquet service is something that not everyone gets to experience in a typical day. Shedding some extra cash for this kind of service is worth the costs considering the impact that it would create to your guests. It will also provide a feeling of elegance and exclusivity, making your wedding extra special. Customize your menu – Instead of settling for the usual dishes that caterer’s have, ask if they can customize dishes for you that they don’t usually serve on other weddings they have catered before. If you and your partner have specific dishes that have significance to both of you, ask if they can incorporate it to your menu selection. Customizing your menu is also a great option if you have a specific theme for your party. For example, you’re planning on European inspired wedding feast you can customize a menu that serves a variety of delectable European dishes from the soup all the way down to your dessert. Splurge on variety – You can also splurge on the variety of food you will serve your guests. Aside from the usual entrees, include other food stations

such as: dessert bar, pasta bar, cocktail drinks bar, coffee bar, and on-thespot meat carving station. You can even request that the chef be present on one of the stations to elevate the luxurious feel of your wedding banquet. Make your wedding a whole day celebration – If a grand dinner is not enough, then maybe you can consider a whole day celebration that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner. Doing so would mean a wedding food budget that is 3 times bigger than the usual. But if planned and executed properly, it will also make your wedding not just three but even a thousand times more memorable than the typical ones.

Your Wedding Cake

 Carrot cake – Carrots are mixed with cake batter to make this soft and healthy cake. At present, carrot cakes are becoming a popular choice for couples who wish to go beyond the typical white cake.  Cheesecake – Cheesecake is made with a top layer of cream cheese and a bottom layer that is made of either: a pastry crust, a biscuit or sponge cake. It can be topped with fresh fruits or even chocolates and cookies.  Fruit Cake – This cake is made with dried or candied fruits, spice, and nuts. It is a perfect wedding cake for those who wish to have a lovely keepsake of their wedding. It is because fruitcakes can lasts for a very long time because of the alcohol content that is in the cake. A well-prepared fruitcake can be kept even years after the wedding and then served during your 10th or even 25th anniversary.  Ice cream cake – This kind of cake is either ice cream that is shaped into a cake form or cake and ice cream put together to form a delicious and unique wedding treat.

T

he appearance of cakes during weddings dates back even during the ancient times. In Rome for instance, wealthy families use a special cake during a wedding ceremony. It is a tradition during those times that the cake be broken above the bride’s head by guests as a symbol of a prosperous and happy life for the couple. The guests would then get a piece of the cake’s crumble afterwards and keep it, also to bring them good luck. In our present time, breaking a piece of cake above the bride’s head is not something you would normally see in wedding celebrations, but wedding cakes have evolved from more than a symbol of wealth and prosperity, but also a reflection of the couple’s personality and even their love story. Here in the Philippines, the wedding cake is traditionally used during the wedding reception wherein the bride and groom would slice the cake at the same time using one knife. Afterwards, they would feed each other with a piece of the cake, followed by the wine or champagne toast. Some couple’s serve their wedding cakes as part of their dessert selection, but others prefer to keep it or give it to their parents o principal sponsors.

B. Common Kinds of Icing: Things to Consider in Choosing Your Wedding Cake:

 Butter Cream Icing – Easy to spread, this is the most commonly used icing. It is made of butter and sugar and has a light and sweet taste.

Type of Cake: What type of cake would you like for your wedding? What icing would you want to use? Will you have a single tier or a multi-tiered cake?

 Fondant Icing – a popular choice of icing for “art cakes” with elaborate designs. This type of icing that’s made of sugar, water, and either cream of tartar or glucose can last longer than other icings.

Tier – It is a term used for one level of cake. Wedding cakes can vary from a single level or tier, to a grand multilayered or multi-tiered cake.

A. Common Kinds of Cake:  Foam cake – a cake that uses very little or no fatty ingredients such as butter, shortening, or oil. They are leavened by beating air into the egg whites. Chiffon cake, angel food cake, and meringue are examples of foam cakes.  Butter cake - The key ingredients of this kind of cake are sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, and of course butter. It is one of the most popular kinds of cake because of its creamy and rich taste.

 Foam Icing – It is fluffy and has a soft texture. An example of this is a meringue that’s made of egg white and sugar or syrup that’s whisked until it becomes thick and foamy.  Fudge Icing – is made of chocolate, sugar, corn syrup, and a variety of other ingredients. It has a thick and rich texture that is delectable and can easily be stored for future use.  Royal Icing - It is made of egg white, powdered sugar, and water. It is used mostly for wedding cake decorations because it hardens when dried.

2. Purpose – Will your cake be served as a dessert to all of your guests? Or will it be only for the cake cutting during the reception? Will you use it as souvenirs to give away to your principal sponsors after the wedding? Determine what the purpose of your wedding cake is so that you will know exactly how you would want it made. If you have a limited budget you may opt for a single tier wedding cake or if you still want to achieve a multi-tiered cake, you can have the option of having only one tier with edible cake and the other tiers with just Styrofoam covered with fondant icing. If you want to give your wedding cake as a souvenir or a take-home gift to your guests, you can opt for wedding cupcakes. It is a unique and convenient way of distributing your cake without the hassle of cutting it into small pieces for your guests. 3. Theme or Motif of your wedding – The typical wedding cake is made of white icing and decorations, but nowadays you can put it up a notch by incorporating your theme, your motif, or even the style of your wedding dress. 4. Wedding Cake Decorations – The typical decorations for wedding cakes are flowers made with royal icing and a miniature statue of a bride and groom on top of the cake. Other options are fresh flowers or fruits. But nowadays, wedding cake making has turned into an art similar to sculpture. Current wedding cake decorations make use of fondant icing that creates elaborate and one-of-a-kind designs. 5. Taste – Aside from the aesthetics, of course the taste of the cake is important especially if you plan to serve it during your wedding reception. Make sure that your wedding cake supplier can give you a sample of the cake during one of your meetings.

A wedding cake, just like your wedding theme, or your wedding flowers, can either be just a decorative element of your wedding or an expression of who you are as couple. The decision is really up to you and your partner. It doesn’t matter if you know much or little when it comes to the type of cakes or icings to use, the most important thing here is that you know what its purpose is and what it signifies during your wedding celebration.

A

lmost every women dreamt of being a princess when they we’re young, and even

Your Wedding Attire

Most probably you already have a picture of how everything is going to be, from your flowers to the food but nothing comes close to the importance of the wedding dress. The wedding dress is what you have been picturing yourself in for all these years and finally the time has come for you to put it in and walk down the aisle. No wonder the wedding attire is the 4th most important wedding element among Filipino brides. Looking for a wedding dress is not an easy task. You may actually find that this will be one of the most difficult things you have encountered so far. The reason for this can be because no other symbol is closely associated to both self-expression and the style of your wedding other than your gown.

CHOOSING YOUR GOWN Before making an important decision in choosing your wedding gown, you have to go over these pointers to help in your selections.

“And now the bird threw down to her a dress which was more splendid and magnificent than any she had yet had, and the slippers were golden. And when she went to the festival in the dress, no one knew how to speak for astonishment. The King’s son danced with her only, and if any one invited her to dance, he said: She is my partner.” - Cinderella by The Grimm Brothers

Body Type - You can look ravishing on your wedding day no matter what your body type is. You just have to determine what style complements your body best. Time of the Wedding – The time of the day when you are getting married reflects the formality or informality of your wedding. It is a general rule that evening affairs dictate a more formal look. So if you’re going to set your wedding on afternoon, your gown must have lighter and airier materials. After all, you wouldn’t want to carry that lavish, fully-embroidered, heavily beaded gown when the sun is scorching hot. Location – Just like the time of your wedding, where your ceremony will be plays a vital role in choosing your perfect wedding gown. For example, you are planning to have a beach wedding, heavy fabrics like velvet and silk wouldn’t really work with that kind of set-up. Outdoor weddings require lighter fabric so that you don’t have to drag your gown when you want to enjoy the breathtaking scenery your ceremony venue has to offer. Comfortability – You really want to look good on your wedding day, yes, but you also want to feel comfortable wearing it. After all, you’ll be wearing it for the whole day! Will you be able to laugh hard or dance or roam around your reception (not to mention posing for all those photographers) without tugging your dress or have you bones jutting into your ribs?

Budget - In your romantic pursuit of a perfect wedding dress, do not forget about mundane aspects like money! Once you have decided on the type of wedding dress that you want, remember to stick to your budget (otherwise, what’s the point?).

How To Find The Perfect Wedding Dress Your wedding dress might be the most important attire you purchase in your entire life. You will only wear it once, yes. But, will you ever wear another dress more anticipated and more talked about? And if by now you are still having a dilemma in purchasing until now, here are the tips I have rounded up to get you started on your way to walking down the aisle in the dress of your dreams. Plan Early – Always remember that time is of the essence that’s why you have to plan it the soonest. This can prevent you from making rush decision on what to wear on your big day. You need time. Not only do you need time to shop, but keep in mind that you will also need time to wait for your dress to arrive and time for fittings. Try to start looking for your perfect wedding dress right after you are engaged. You should aim to purchase your wedding gown at least 6 months before your wedding date, as this will ensure enough time to wait for your gown to be finished. Research - Before stepping foot into a bridal shop, try to look for the terms most commonly used in wedding dresses. There can be the terms for gown silhouette (the basic shape of the gown), neckline, bodice, sleeves, trains etc and other jargons used in the preparation. It is also best to familiarize yourself with clothes and fabric used in wedding dresses (chiffon, tulle, satin etc.). Learn the basics and try to list down which options you prefer and which ones best suit your figure. Envision - Bridal shops ask you a few questions about your wedding and your overall style that you would want on your big day. They will not just give you a brochure or bring out ready-made gowns for you to choose from. Thus, it’s best to have an idea of what you want before you shop. After you have researched on the various elements of wedding dresses, think about what wedding dress style suits you. Always dreamed of being a princess? A ball gown silhouette is probably your best bet. Dream of showing off a figure sculpted by hard work at the gym? A sheath dress may be perfect for you. Keep in mind that your dress, while suiting your personal style, should also suit your wedding venue. Know Where to Shop – Fortunately, nowadays,

there is a wide array of choices for your wedding gown so consider yourself one lucky bride! From the high end couturiers, bridal shops that do wedding gown packages, Ready To Wear gowns from department stores, to cheap wedding gowns in Divisoria and Quiapo and even Wedding Gown Rental in Marikina! So do not fret, there is a perfect gown for you somewhere out there. You can also check out our Suppliers’ Directory *link*. Know Your Budget - It’s best to have an idea of what you would like to spend before looking for your wedding gown. This will save you the hassle of going to bridal shops out of your price range or allowing them to bring you dresses you cannot afford. Have A Wedding Gown Worksheet – You can jot down notes and ideas you have in mind with the worksheet. It can also contain your vision, trends and styles, what cloth would you want for your gown and your prospect bridal shops. Having a worksheet not only serves as a reference but it will also help you in managing the budget you allot in your attire. Here is an example of a wedding gown worksheet. Supplier

Style

Fabric

Price

Comments

Contact Details

Juan Dela Cruz

A-Line

Satin

20,000

♥

925-0107

Almaceda Couture

Halter

Tulle and Satin

45,000

Pricey

925-0103

Lebumfacil Dresses

Bodycon

Satin with Chiffon

15,000

Too tight

417-6553

THE ACCESSORIES Though you look perfectly beautiful in your wedding gown, it is still necessary to add some bridal accessories. These will serve as accents in your over all look and would make you look more beautiful. Here are the basic accessories for a Filipino bride.  Headpiece – This can be a tiara, a garland of flowers, pins, headband or a jeweled comb put on top of your crowning glory. You may want to keep it simple and complementary with your gown to prevent it from overpowering your entire look. You wouldn’t want everyone to just focus on your head, eh?  Veil – Your veil is one of the most defining aspects of your bridal appearance. There are many types of veils according to their length and width. You need to consider how it will work with your dress, face shape, body shape, hairstyle and wedding location.  Jewellery – Aside from the wedding ring that you will be wearing after your ceremony, you still have to wear necklaces and earring for added accent. Choosing your necklace depends on the neckline of your gown. Meanwhile, choose a pair of earrings that do not compete with your headpiece or veil, thus, dangling earrings are no-no. Always remember that the main attraction is you and your wedding gown, not the jewellery.

 Lingerie – Lingerie is still an essential part of your wedding attire because it provides you support in the body areas where you needed it, creating a clean and smooth line under your dress. Make sure you fit your lingerie in your gown fittings!  Shoes – To complete your attire, you’d have to invest in good and comfortable shoes as you will be wearing them from the ceremony to the reception. Being a bride who needs to walk down the aisle and walk around the reception to greet guests, you have to have comfortable shoes. Choose shoes that have sturdy heels and would look great on your ensemble. You can prepare two kinds of footwear for your wedding day. One for the ceremony which is a formal and heeled shoe and one for the reception which is can be slip-on sandals that will allow you to walk comfortable during your banquet. Oh, bridal shoes can be customized too!

GROOM’s WEAR For sure, you will look stunning on the day so it is important that your groom look his best. So wedding preparation shouldn’t just be left up to you, the belle of the ball, but also to the groom. He should also make sure that he looks handsome on his big day. Mind you, looking good doesn’t mean that your groom just has to have a new haircut and a fresh shave. Just like you, there are accents in your soon-to-be husband’s attire that will make him the prince during your big day. Morning Suit –Morning Suit is very essential as this is the attire that your groom will be caught by your Photographers and Videographers as a part of their documentation. Your groom should choose an outfit that compliments what you will be wearing and one that he is comfortable with. Belt - the Grooms belt may seem a rather insignificant accessory for his wedding attire, but choose the wrong one and it could seriously compromise an otherwise fantastic wedding outfit. Shoes – A well-polished black shoes should be worn to complement your groom’s suit. They should look smart with no scuffs or marks.

The time of the wedding is a big factor in choosing your groom’s attire. Here are some ideas on what to wear during what time of the day. Time and Nature of Wedding

What to Wear

Informal Weddding

White dress shirt and tie

Semi formal Daytime

Formal suit, White dress shirt with vest four-in-hand or bow tie

Formal Daytime

Cutaway jacket, Waistcoat, Striped trousers Collared shirt, Striped tie

Formal Evening

Black dinner jacket, Matching trousers, Waistcoat White tuxedo shirt, Bow tie, Cummerbund or vest

Very Formal Daytime

Coat, Wing-collared shirt, Striped trousers, Gloves

Very Formal Evening

Black tailcoat, Matching striped trousers White wing-collared shirt, Waistcoat Patent leather shoes, Studs and gloves

The Entourage The members of your wedding entourage play very important roles in your wedding. Your entourage’s duties are mainly to assist you in all aspects related to your wedding to ensure that everything goes smoothly. Thus, your entourage is also entitled to wear gowns and suits that will complement your theme, motif, your wedding gown and of course you. Here are the basic members of the entourage in a Filipino wedding: Maid of Honor or Matron of Honor She is considered the equivalent of your groom’s best man. She is usually your sister, cousin or BFF. She joins you in making plans and arrangements, gives you moral support and accompanies you in your shopping. Best Man The best man is the chief male assistant to your groom during the wedding. He can be your brother-in-law, cousin-in-law or he is your groom’s bestfriend since childhood. Bridesmaids Your other sisters, close cousins and friends take this role. There is no limit in the number of bridesmaids you can have, as long as they are committed to make your wedding hassle-free for you. Groomsmen They are usually your groom’s barkada or close relatives. Their main purpose is to escort your bridesmaids and help in ushering the guests before the ceremony. Flower Girl A young girl not usually more than 6 years old. Her primary role is to walk ahead of you, to shower your way with fresh flower petals for you to walk on. Flowers girls can also be

more than one! Coin, Bible & Ring Bearers Boys who are not usually more than 6 years old. Their role is to carry the coin, bible and rings until it is needed during your ceremony. Primary Sponsors A typical Filipino Wedding has a long list of “ninongs” and “ninangs”, or Godparents. Ninongs and Ninangs stand as principal sponsors and witnesses in the ceremony. They are expected to provide guidance and counsel to you during their married life. Secondary Sponsors Composed of 3 pairs: the Candle Sponsors to light up the wedding candles during your ceremony; the Veil Sponsors to drape and pin the veil on the groom’s shoulder and over the bride’s head; the Cord Sponsors, and the Cord Sponsors to tie the cord around the shoulder-area of the bride and groom. All in all, the basic number for your entourage is more or less 26 people. These people are required to wear gowns or suits but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to provide for them all. You can ask them to supply their own attire or you can just simply trim down your entourage.

FILIPINA Bridesonalities The Penny-Wise Bride “I only have a limited budget, but I hope I can still find a fine wedding dress for my wedding.” When your practical side is kicking and says no to extravagant budget, here are several ideas you can do to cut down the cost when it comes to your wedding gown: Hand me down – “Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.” Does this ring a bell to you? Why not try the wedding dress of your mother, with her blessings and the sentimental value of the gown, no doubt you will feel very happy wearing it on your big day. You can just tweak some minor detail if you wish. Wedding Gown Rental – Because many Filipino soon-to-wed couples realize that they’re on a tight budget, many brides rent a suitable wedding dress of the big day. It won’t only flatter you on your wedding day, but it will save up a lot on your wedding budget. Popular Bridal Rental shops can be found in Quiapo and Marikina. Prices are from P3,000-P5,000. Let your entourage provide their own attire – It is becoming a trend for all attendants provide their own attire. You can assign a uniform style and color for the entourage to complement your motif and gown albeit they’ll be providing it on their own.

Divisoria Ready Made – Aside from the very creative couturiers in Divi, bridal shops also offer readymade gowns made of silk fabric. It usually costs from P2,500 – P8,000 and this gown is as good as the ones in magazine already. It’s like a price of a gown rental but the cool thing is, it’s already the selling price. Here are the prices for the Divisoria Wedding Attire that you can buy on the shops above. Bridal Gowns - P3,500 and up Maid of Honor

- P700 and up

Bridesmaid

- P600 to PhP1,200

Flower Girl

- P600 to PhP800

Barongs

- P600 and up

Barongs for Grooms

- P800 and up

Barongs for Fathers

– P800 and up

Mothers Gowns

- P1,300 and up

Resell after the wedding – In this way, you can recoup with your expenses for the attire. Yes you want to keep your dress and pass it on to your daughter for her own wedding, but when that time comes, your gown already went out of style. And as for sentimental sake, you can keep your veil and ring for the memory and this you can pass to your daughter.

The Value-for-Money Bride “I have enough budget, and I want to get the best value when it comes to my wedding dress” “Elegance doesn’t need to be expensive because there are ways to get your money’s worth in every cent that you spend.” Get a package from a reliable couturier. - There are designers who offer wedding gown packages that includes your groom, the parents and your entourage. The price is based from the design, fabric and motif. These packages also include wedding

accessories such as arrhae, headpiece, garters, cords, pouch bags, pillows, first veil and

second veil. This saves you the hassle of shopping for your accessories separately.

Edwin Uy Price Range: P75,000-P100,000 537 Boni Avenue Ext, Mandaluyong City [email protected] Telephone Number: 532-9369 www.ewinfuy.com Edward Teng G/F Columbian Int’l Tower 500 Santol St., Sta. Mesa, Manila [email protected] Telephone Number: 716-5710 www.edwardteng.com Mitch Desunia Haute Couture

2nd Flr., Bldg. 23, Unit 3, URSI Townhomes, Alabang-Zapote Rd., Pamplon III, Las Piñas City [email protected]; the designer@ mitchdesunia.com Telephone Number: 517-6910 www.mitchdesunia.multiply.com Trim down your wedding entourage. – Instead of getting 5 bridesmaids and groomsmen, why not trim down to 3? Roles of bridesmaids roles can be done by 2-3 persons only. Also, you can choose to have only 1 flower girl, instead of 3. After all, all she has to do is to sprinkle the aisle

as you walk to the altar.

Divisoria Couturiers – Divisoria is a haven for all your wedding needs, be it the wedding gown, props, souvenirs… name it! And the fact that it is Divisoria doesn’t really mean that it’s low class, in fact there are many local couturiers who do handmade wedding gowns. Divisoria people also receive orders from the designers themselves. They just do the design and have it tailored at Divi. Usually, the price of a Divisoria couturier ranges from P15,000 up depending on the detail and fabric to be used. They also offer packages for your whole entourage and bridal accessories.

Lomentigar Bridal Boutique & Souvenir Collections Tessie D. Lomentigar Pasilio B-17 Galvan Building, Ilaya Street, Binondo, Manila Arlaine +63 (920) 627-9326 Ronaleen Bridal & Barong Shoppe Sollie and Ramon Santos Galvan Cabrera Building Pasilio E. No. 78-81 Email ronaleen_bridal (at) yahoo.com Tel + (632) 309-3133 Paul & Lyn’s Bridal Haus Salve A. Pitalbo Stall No. 29, 35 Pasilio B-C Galvan Building, Ilaya St. Binondo, Manila Tel + (632) 710-9471 Res. + (632) 237-1327 or 254-5622

The Splurge-on-the-best Bride “I have plenty of budget and I want to spend it for my dream wedding dress.” “People will eat their heart out because you, the true belle of the ball, is about to make your presence known to all who gathered on your special day.” Hire renowned designers - If you have P200,000 for your wedding attire, you can hire a wedding couturier that will work with you to precisely fit and design the wedding gown around your body. They are pricier

because custom-made gowns are sewn and cut by hand. Designers like Rajo Laurel and Paul Cabral has a starting price of P100,000. The gown depends on the materials that will be used (crystals, pearls, beads etc.) Looking for a world class wedding gown? Try international designers like Monique Lhuillier and Vera Wang. Monique Lhuillier Price Range: $1,500 - $3,000 or above Monique Lhuillier Inc. 1201 S. Grand Ave. 3rd Floor Los Angeles, CA 90015

Phone: 877.659.9801 www.moniquelhuillier.com Vera Wang Price Range: $2,000 - $7,000 www.verawang.com Since the Philippines is a home of many talented designers and artists, it is not hard to make a very elegant gown by a famous wedding gown designer. To name a few are: Inno Sotto [email protected] Telephone Number: 521-81-95 Rajo Laurel 6013 Villena cor. Mañalac St., Poblacion Makati City PH 1210 • Email: • [email protected] Telephone Number: 895 5688 www.rajolaurel.com If you really want to have the wedding gown of your dreams then have your fairy godmother wave her needle and cotton to make the dress. If he/she is notably known then you can benefit from his or her experience on any advice given related to materials designs and styles. Just make sure to set an appointment with your couturier 6 months before your wedding date or earlier, to give you and your designer sufficient time for conceptualizing, fitting and altering your gown. Get a Trash the Dress Photoshoot After The Wedding – Trash the dress is a photography style that features a very elegant clothing with an out of place environment like garbage dumps, abandoned building, muddy lawn or in the beach. Usually Trash the Dress is done as the pre-

nuptial photoshoot but this can also be done after the wedding as a symbol of affirmation that the wedding already took place and the bride will no longer wear the dress. There are many Filipino Wedding Photographers who do superb Trash the Dress Photoshoot and the following are just a few: • Mango Red Photography Studio Address #28A General Capinpin Street San Antonio Village Pasig City, Philippines 1600 [email protected] Telephone Number: 631 3060 Mobile Number: 0921 485 0838 www.mangored.com • Smart Shots Studio by Lito Genilo 64C Cenacle Drive, Sanville Sudvision, Project 6, Quezon City Telephone Number: 9267571 www.smartshotsstudio.com • Dino Lara 9186 Balagtas St., Guadalupe, Makati City, Metro Manila [email protected] Telephone Number: 883-4408 Mobile Number: 0920-912-5069 www.dinolara.com Have a Reception Dress – Loose a little during your reception with a sophisticated dress that is shorter and is made from light materials. This will enable you to walk around the reception hall or dance all your way without worrying about getting tripped. Just remember to make your Reception Dress have a resemblance with your wedding gown.

Your Wedding Ring

BEFORE BUYING YOUR WEDDING RING Before shopping for your wedding ring, it’s good to know a few pieces of vital information about what makes for a wonderful wedding ring that is perfect for you and your partner.  Start in advance. Shop for your wedding rings at least 6 months before your wedding. This will guarantee that you have enough time if you decided to have it customized or if you want to tweak it a little bit. Some couples fail on this part thus obliging them to have alternate rings during their wedding while their actual rings are still not finished. You wouldn’t what to have the same sad scenario in your big day, would you?

Why It Matters

O

f course, one of the most important parts of any engagement or marriage is the ring. This will be the symbol of your union even after the wedding and as you go on your everyday married life. A friend once shared that wedding rings are worn on the ring finger because an artery in that finger leads directly to the heart. Whether it is true or just a myth, it is a very lovely and romantic outlook. Wedding Rings symbolizes not only your eternal bond of marriage but also your commitment, your personality & lifestyle as well as your fashion sense. Since your wedding rings will be the most lasting piece from your wedding, you have to choose a jewelry that is of high quality so you have to decide wisely without breaking your wedding budget. You have to be an educated soon-to-wed consumer just so you know what to get with every peso you spend.

 Find out your partner’s taste. Get to know what design or style your partner prefer when it comes to jewelry. Since that you’re going through this decision together, determine what elements would you like to have in your wedding bands. If you already have an engagement ring, you have to mull over its design and color since you’ll be wearing it together with your wedding bands. One important thing to consider is that you and your groom will wear these rings every day, so rings that you feel comfortable with. Don’t forget to take the sizes of your hands, too.  Research. Know what to look for in a perfect wedding ring. Window shop in jewelry stores and browse through their catalogue for some ideas. Inquire if you preferred style or design can be incorporated with their present designs. Try some rings that are close to your preferences and evaluate it base on appearance and comfort.  Decide on your budget. Though it is the most frustrating part of the planning, it is always necessary to check on your budget and have a firm allotment for your wedding rings. Traditionally, weddings rings must be 2 months worth of your salary. But of course this is just a tradition and it is your option to buy what ring would you and and what ring suits your budget. Now that you have familiarized yourself with some designs and samples of wedding bands, it’s time to decide on what would you want your wedding ring to look like. Aside from the style, you have to determine what type of material you would like

your rings to be created from. Weddings rings are designed from materials such as color, cut, clarity and carat.

Things to consider in choosing your Wedding Ring Color – There are two parts of the wedding rings that color has to be considered. The metal and the gem. For the metal, this is the base or the main color of your wedding ring. The color is the deciding factor of what metal are you going to use for your bands, or vice versa. Here are the metals commonly used in wedding rings and their corresponding color. Metal Gold

Color Yellow Gold

Silver White Gold

Silver Silver

Platinum

Silver

Titanium

Silver – Grayish

The gem is like the cherry of the ice cream or star of the Christmas tree. People will have their eyes on the gem first as it is the sparkling part of your wedding ring. The usual gem used in wedding rings is the diamond. This girl’s best friend is the hardest substance known and perhaps the reason why it is place on the wedding rings is because you can pass it to younger generations and for sure, they will elicit appreciation for this during those years. The colors of the diamond are:  White  Finest Blue –White  Slightly Off-white  Yellowish-white Aside from diamonds, other gems like Ruby (Red), Emerald (Green), Topaz (Blue/Yellow) can be used in your wedding rings. You can even follow the gemstone that corresponds with your birthdays or your wedding date. This will add value to the most symbolic thing on your wedding day. Remember that gems have their hardness level it is advisable to check the resistance of your stone first. If you and your husband-to-be are people who do a lot of activities with your hands, it is advisable to limit your selection to the top 3 hardest stones.

Gem

Diamond Sapphire Ruby Emerald & Topaz Amethyst Garnet Opal

10 9.5 9 8 7 6.5 5

Hardness

Cut & Shape – It is how you want your gem to be cut and polished in order to sparkle and reflect light. Brilliant The cut is the most important aesthetic factor of the stone. The most popular cut are the Princess cut, Oval Diamond, Asscher, Emerald, Pear-shaped cut, Heart-shaped and Marquis. Carat – The carat is the weight of the jewelry and is one factor that determines its value. The higher the carat, the bigger the value of your wedding rings. The standard weight of a carat is 1/3 gram. Clarity – Most gems especially diamonds have major flaws like scratches, air bubbles and other minerals inside it. The less flaws a gem has, the more expensive it is. Here is the scale to classify a gem’s quality. F Flawless

No scratches, inclusions and air bubbles or other flaws.

IF Internally Flawless

It is clear internally, but with flaws outside the gem.

Slight flaws that are hardly seen even VVS1-VVS2 Very Very by an professional Slightly Included grader under 10x magnification. Slight flaws that are not seen with the naked eye VS1-VS2 Very Slightly but can be seen with Included slight difficulty under 10x magnification by a professional grader.

SI1-SI2 Included

Flaws that are not seen with the naked Slightly eye but can be easily seen by a professional grader under 10x magnification.

I1-I3 Included

Flaws that are obvious and can be seen with the naked eye.

Jeweler – Of course, the reputation of the jeweler still matters in choosing your wedding bands. You and your soon-to-be husband must have the trust that he’ll do the perfect ring for your wedding and the confidence that your bands will last for a long time. Engagement Ring - If your husband to be already surprised you with a stunning engagement ring, you must match it with an element of your wedding ring. Be it the tone, metal, cut, stone, shape or style. It will be much easier for you to pick the perfect rings since it is a rule that wedding and engagement rings are match.

wed couples buy the wedding ring together from their total wedding budget. So in this case, it is still the couple’s prerogative whether to follow the tradition or just be practical.

Wedding Day Most brides are confused on what to do with their engagement rings during the wedding day because traditionally, both wedding and engagement rings are placed on the left hand ring finger. You can remove you engagement ring and put it on the other hand during the ceremony and put it back on top of the wedding ring after the ceremony of during your reception. What some brides do is to keep their engagement ring on its usual place during the ceremony until it

Wedding Ring Etiquette

The tradition begins with the engagement; the man picks the engagement ring for his bride to be. Generally, an engagement ring costs one-month salary but of course each couple has their own financial priorities to date. Some engagement rings are the ones passed on from generation to generation. In this case, the man must have the ring alter to suit his bride-to-be.

One hindrance a bride must face is when she has gloves as a part of her wedding attire. On this situation, she can remove her gloves first before the exchange of rings and hand it to her maid of honor. Or better yet to avoid too much inconvenience, she can buy a custom-made glove that has a special slit for her wedding ring. The ring bearer must be a little boy age 3 – 6 years old. He is a part of the entourage and will walk in the aisle with a pillow that bears your wedding ring.

FILIPINA BRIDESONALITIES

Before The Wedding Day Because weddings are hallmarked with so many customs, it is not surprising that wedding rings have their own tradition so that the newly-weds and their families can celebrate it in a happy and meaningful way.

is time to exchange rings with his husband to be. At that time, the bride removes her engagement ring and put it back after the wedding ring is placed on her finger. But this could be a disadvantage since it can cause distractions and inconvenience of having it remove and putting it back again during the ceremony.

The Penny-Wise Bride Saving a lot of money is important nowadays, especially now, that it costs you a fortune just to get married with the one you love. Here are tips on how to trim down your wedding ring budget.  Choose a ring with lesser gold composition. The lesser the gold in the ring, the more metal composition there will be, making your ring harder and more durable. Who says a 14k gold metal doesn’t have any advantage with a 21k gold metal?  Search at antique shops and pawnshops. You can find a number of good rings at very affordable price. Just have a jeweler to polish it for a newer look.

The Value-for-Money Bride  Look at online retailers. You could find closeouts and other discounts by eliminating the middleman by purchasing online.

When the woman accepts the proposal, she can give her fiancé a ring complementary with the engagement ring as this is the woman’s chance to give her man a similar gift. The engaged couple should also start the search for their perfect wedding ring. Traditional says that wedding rings should cost two-month salary of the couple.

 Shop for synthetics or other stones. If a diamond is not in your budget, you shop for stones that are a diamond synthetic. You will be able to get a diamond look for a fraction of the cost. Or look into buying a ring that has a different precious stone and is only accented by diamonds. Is your birthstone a sapphire? Look for a beautiful sapphire ring that you will both love.

The Splurge-on-the-Best Bride Who Pays For The Wedding Rings? Traditionally, it is the groom who pays for the bride’s wedding and engagement rings while the bride pays for the groom’s wedding ring. Of course, this saying is such a passé since nowadays soon-to-

 Have your ring customized down to the littlest details. How many carats would you like? You want a titanium or platinum metal? What cut do you prefer?

Your Wedding Hair & Make-Up W

hile this element of a wedding is mostly the ladies’ concern, it is still a fact that everyone would want to look good on their most special day – men included. And when beauty rest may not be enough, maybe a wave of a make-up artist’s brushes would do the trick. Why it Matters Does the saying, “A woman without make-up is like a food without salt” ring a bell to you? Make up put emphasis on your best features and cover some flaws, like scars, pimples and eyebags. You can’t just walk down the aisle with bare face and no make up at all. With all the excitement, drama and all the camera lights during your wedding, it is important not to look haggard and wasted, after all, this is your wedding and you should be the most beautiful girl at the ball. THINGS TO CONSIDER IN CHOOSING THE RIGHT MAKE UP  Skin Tone – I must say that this is the most important factor to consider in choosing what look would you like on your very special day. Make ups like foundations are ought to hide the imperfections and texture so it is a must that its color go together with yours. Darker and deeper colors work best in brides with chocolate or dark skin tone, while the pale-skinned brides should select lighter shades of make up. Filipina brides are in between of the chocolate and pale-skinned, and usually, nude or skin tone colors works best for a Filipina bride like you.

 Skin sensitivity – Different skin kinds reacts towards the chemicals inside the cosmetics. Sometimes, if the brand works for your lips doesn’t really mean that the exact same brand works for your eyes or face.  Pores & Skin – Oily or dry skin can determine what time of make up suits you best on your wedding day. For oily skin, it is best to use matte base and finish so you won’t be shiny in your actual wedding day and pictures. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A MAKE UP ARTIST? Selecting the perfect make up artist for you is quite a hard stuff. Just like any other wedding supplier, you have to search high and low and try a few samples before you find the make up artist that will do your face during your biggest day. Here

are the few tips to help you out in picking the best make up artist for you:  Professionalism – A make up artist’s job looks like an easy task compared to the job of the caterer or your wedding coordinator. But nonetheless, the stylist is still your wedding supplier. If the stylist is not on time during your meetings and has done mistakes during your trial make-up, what more during your wedding day?  Experience – You can tell how long the make up artist has been through his expertise in the photography elements that are related in the make up like lighting, exposure and tone. A stylist must have knowledge in the art of photographic make up since you can only say that you have a perfect make up through the pictures and videos. He must know if your make up can work in a black & white, sepia or true color photo.  Brand of Make-up – Knowing what kind of make up a stylist is using is very important, especially when you have a sensitive skin. It’s also an advantage if you know what chemicals your skin is sensitive from, so you can discern if the artist is the perfect one for you.  Talent & Skills – See the make-up artist portfolio, look at the images and observe if he’s creative and innovative when it comes to bridal make-up. Imagine if he can complement the style of your wedding gown, your theme and your motif. If you want your hair and make up done by the same artist, look for a portfolio that shows his works on both areas. Remember that not all make up artists are proficient on both areas.  Compatibility – It is important that you are at ease with the person that will do your look on the most important day in your life. You can be confident and really feel beautiful if the stylist’s attitude and personality complement yours during your

make up session. KINDS OF MAKE UP  Traditional Make Up – Traditional make ups are the most commonly used make up by the stylists. This type of make up can be used in anytime and is easy to apply whether you are at home or rushing on the streets outside. You can also experiment on different ways of applying it since it is available everywhere.  Mineral Make Up – Mineral-based make up is taking its place in the market at the present time. It is made of ingredients that contains anti-inflammatory propeties and doesn’t irritate the skin. It is best used for people who gets acne and pimples easily.  Airbrush Make Up – Airbrush make up uses an small air compressor that is sprayed as a mist of color that covers the face gently. It gives an appearance of a flawless complexion because air brush make up is light and it looks more natural. It is very convenient too since it doesn’t need retouching for a long period of time. Having a hard time choosing what type of makeup you would like on your big day? Here are the pros and cons of each kind written by the expert, Fairytalehairmakeup.com: http://www. fairytalehairmakeup.com/Makeupcomparison.html DEALING WITH YOUR MAKE UP ARTIST 1. Have a portfolio or picture selection available for brides-to-be to view along with the bridal makeup used. Often, it is difficult for a bride to express into words the look she is going for. Photographs can help you communicate. 2. Set up consultation. This should be done a few weeks ahead of time. During the consultation, note the time of day the wedding will take place, flowers, dress style and color, hair color, bridal hair style, eye color, time of year, and personality. If possible, communicate with the stylist to

discuss the hair style. 3. It may also be a good idea to ask to see some of the makeup products that the bride is already using. This will give you a good insight as to what the bride is accustomed to wearing. 4. Discuss different bridal hair and makeup trends. Allow the bride to get a visual by seeing the photos. Then follow by setting up a second appointment. 5. It is at the second meeting that you can unveil your plans for makeup. Demonstrate your selection for the bride-to-be. Demonstrate more than one bridal makeup style and photograph the results. General Make Up Tips Here are some steps you need to take before you wedding and I strongly suggest that you give it time. In beauty and skin care long preparations are always better, it doesn’t matter if you were born with a pretty face or not, as said beauty is the summary of what is delightful to the eyes and pleasing features. They will only not look upon what they see aesthetically, but also, from what they hear from you. And coordination is a must. You can’t just walk there with a pretty face and floating thoughts, you need to be there, and after all it is your wedding.  plenty of beauty sleep is the secret to not only how you will look on your wedding day, but how you will feel. This is not done overnight but months before your wedding will be great.  relax - Your mind may be racing awaiting and preparing for your wedding , so keep a notepad on your nightstand so you can jot down ideas and to-dos, so it won’t keep you awake at night.  eat right, Eat healthy and choose your foods carefully in the days leading up to your wedding. Avoid any foods known to cause bloating and gas. Remember that you are what you eat.  DRINK PLENTY OF water, the most wonderful skin care treatments is easily available to everyone, has side benefits that affects not just your rosy glow but your

whole body, and is utterly painless to use, and you drink it.

BRIDAL HAIR Cherish the opportunity to look delicately spectacular in the eyes of your groom and your guests. Choosing the right make up, dress and accessories should harmonize with the hairstyle. DIFFERENT KINDS OF BRIDAL HAIR STYLES There are numerous bridal hairstyles, classic and new, that are fit for each person. Bridal hairstyles can be any style from updos to flowing down. To name a few are: 1. Long Smooth Curls - This style is very simple but attractive with extra long layers that have been curled loosely all through the hair. For beach weddings, this hairstyle should be considered. 2. Short and Sassy Wedding Cut - Short wedding styles are just as stylish and this one gives brides with shorter locks a sassy, fun alternative with a coronet for an refined finish. 3. Polished Updo - A hairstyle that proves how elegant updos can be, this one is manageable and not too bulky with a strong, swept fringe and a cute bun below the crown and allows jewelry to be displayed. 4. Loose Messy Updo - Brides do not have to have a bundled chignon and this updo styled with unrestrained tresses offers a optional selection for different personalities and really brings the face to the forefront. 5. Long Flowing Hair With Curls - This simple down do hairstyle presents a plain mid-part with curls towards the end of the hair. The tiara is the perfect way to enhance a simple style and brides with healthy shiny hair will look gorgeous. 6. Bridal Side Ponytail - For brides not wanting an updo and want something flashier than a simple down do, the side ponytail is definitely a fine choice that is both relaxed and highly elegant.

GENERAL TIPS FOR YOUR BRIDAL HAIRSTYLE 1. Select a bridal hairstyle first before selecting accessories. Remember that you are putting accessories just to accentuate your over-all look. Do not go overboard on accessories. 2. Try a hairstyle to see how it looks with all

accessories 3. Schedule hair salon sessions early and keep good care hair. 4. Wear a button shirt for your final bridal hairstyling so taking it off will not mess up your hair

Filipina Bridesonalities The Penny-Wise Bride  Have your friends do your hair and make up – Of course, all of us have kikay or gay friends who loves accessories, dressing up and putting color to their faces! Why not have them do your look for your special day?  Buy generic make up – If your skin is not sensitive, you can slash a big chunk of your budget off your hair and make up. You don’t need to buy branded cosmetics such as Mac, Shu Eumura, Maybelline or Loreal. Just stay with the local ones since you’re only going to use it once.

The Value-for-Money Bride  Get a package for your hair and make up – Filipino make up artists are very versatile and multi-talented. Rest assured that neither of the two are being compromised when you pick only 1 stylist to do your hair and make up. They also offer packages that come with hair & make up styling of you, your mothers and the bridesmaids and a free trail make up for you and your entourage too. The packages may include: Hair and Make up For the Bride Groom’s Grooming Trial Make Up Pre-nuptial Make Up Female Entourage Flower Girl Mothers of the soon-to-weds Here is a list of affordable yet talented make up artists around Metro Manila:

Faye Young Price Range: P15,000-P25,000 Tierra Pura, Tangang Sora, Quezon City www.makeupbyfayeyoung.multiply.com Keon Salon Make Up Studio 1 Conggressional Ave. Bahay Toro, Quezon City 982.0729; 441.0494; 0917.8225366; 0922.8835366 [email protected]

The Splurge-on-the-Best Bride  Have a separate artist for you hair and make up – Having a stylist for your make up and another one for your hairstyle assures you that you can have the best of the expertise of both artist. It is best to get a make up artist who are trained and an educated professional with his field, same with the hair stylist. Diana Kwong Make Up Design & Studio Location: Unit G-3 Ground Floor Westgate Plaza Condominium, 120 H.V. dela Costa St. www.dianakwong.com Make Up by Madge Madge Lejano [email protected] www.makeupbymage.com  Use Airbrush Make Up – Airbrush make up has higher cost than traditional or mineral make up since its longevity is really extraordinary. The Art of Make Up Team Joey Miguel www.theartofmakeupteam.com

Your Wedding Photo & Video Coverage P

hotos and videos are important keepsakes of your wedding day, and these are the documentation of what took place on your big day that you can share and enjoy with the people that you love. You would want to spend a lot more to make these lasting memories.

Wedding coverage, as we know it today, started in the 1970s where portable cameras and compact flash bulbs became commercially available. Photographers then would usually use black and white or colored films producing low quality photos. As you may have noticed, most wedding photographs of our grandparents are in black and white or in poor quality colored prints that are taken inside the photographer’s studio. Prior to the 1980s, wedding videography was a luxury only the rich and the famous can afford. The commercial introduction of the first consumer camcorders gave way to wedding video documentation as something for the masses. These videographers use consumer video cameras, thus producing low quality audio and video with bulky equipments which most clients would see as interference to the celebration. But as competition grew and technology moved forward, these staged wedding photos and low quality videos evolved into what we know today as the wedding coverage.

“Above all, I craved to seize the whole essence, in the confines of one single photograph, of some situation that was in the process of unrolling itself before my eyes.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson

Why it Matters

factors that can affect it.

Covering a wedding celebration is very important because these are one of the best memories that will happen in your life. As the great Henri CartierBresson puts it, “Memory is very important, the memory of each photo taken, flowing at the same speed as the event. During the work, you have to be sure that you haven’t left any holes, that you’ve captured everything, because afterwards it will be too late.”

Budget

Your wedding only happens once in a lifetime, and these decisive moments can only happen once and no other forces in the world could make it happen again. You want to capture these moments to preserve it so you can share it to families and friends, and children and grandchildren so that they may be inspired by it. These keepsakes are the memories you will have left long after the cake has been eaten and the last bottle of wine has been poured as you go on and start your life as a married man and woman. These albums and videos will take you back to that special day when you said your promises of everlasting love to the one person you chose to be with for the rest of your life… You would want it to be very special as you look back, wouldn’t you?

How to Determine Your Wedding Photographer and Videographer Scouting for the right people to cover your wedding is just like looking for the right clique to hang out with back in high school. Just as this clique will determine how you will live your high school life, these wedding photographers and videographers will also make or break a good wedding keepsake. Choosing an expensive package or hiring the most high-end photographer and videographer doesn’t guarantee you the best; neither will it guarantee that you will like what they offer so you have to choose the perfect team for you.

Factors in choosing your wedding photographer and videographer Choosing the team to cover your wedding celebration can be a hefty task and these are the

When looking for the right people to cover one of your most special days, the first thing to consider is your budget. How much are you willing to spend for a nice photo album and a nice keepsake video that you can treasure for the rest of your life? Of course, you would want the best for your special day, but getting the best service can sometimes come with a heavy price. People who can afford services of the best wedding photographers and videographers in the country often belong to the elite members of the society. Having a budget is the first thing to consider in hiring the right photographer and videographer for your wedding. With the rise of the wedding coverage industry these suppliers can be pricier with their contemporary and avant-garde styles than the classic wedding albums and videos, way back to the time our parents and grandparents were wed. But it doesn’t always have to be expensive, right? If you really do your research you can find the right photographer and videographer for you without spending too much. Wedding Location You saw the wedding photographer of your dreams offer a very affordable wedding coverage package complete with the leather albums, videos and onsite AVPs in a bridal fair and you’re dying to hire them because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime offer! You walked right up and got their service only to find out later that they charge extra if you are going to hold the wedding in the province and you will have to provide for the transportation and lodging of the three photographers and their two staffs which somehow doubles the amount you have paid for! Where would you get the extra cash? Keep in mind that all wedding suppliers have extra charges for destination weddings, or for those weddings held outside their “home base”. Most suppliers will usually charge 10-20% outof-town charges, and with photographers and videographers you would also have to provide for them a place to stay for two or three days to at least three to five crews. If you’re really dying to have a certain team of wedding photographers and videographers then you might want to consider your wedding location

because it will chunk out a large part of your budget, especially for those who are on a tight budget. Wedding Date In November 2009, renowned wedding videographer Jason Magbanua has announced that he’s already opening his booking schedule for the year 2011 because his 2010 calendar was already full! With the rise of out-of-the-box wedding coverage industry more and more soon-to-wed couples are looking into this direction, and with only a few people who’ve mastered this kind of craft, the supply isn’t enough, leading clients to disappointment especially if their preferred date is already booked. One soon-to-wed friend, who’s wanted the service of Mr. Magbanua and even saved up for it, was devastated to read of the news because their planned date is November 2010. She was a moment too late. Your wedding date is crucial in hiring the service that you want, especially if you plan to wed on the busy month of December. December weddings are events of multiple celebrations. It can be a wedding, Christmas and reunion all placed in one big fiesta. Be sure to check out your supplier’s schedule before hiring them. Their services might be to die for but your wedding date is important, too! It’s your big day, be sure to prepare longer for it if you have to, or have three to five list of preferred wedding photographer and videographer so that you will have other choices just in case No.1 isn’t available. But if you really prefer Jason Magbanua then better make sure that you’re planned wedding date isn’t blocked off in his calendar yet, or (if you’re really desperate) pray for a miracle that the couple who was scheduled in that date would back out (but that would be too dirty, right?).

Picking the Right Team for You Having someone you don’t know roam around your big day taking pictures and videos of you, your partner, your closest friends and relatives is somewhat odd as all of your guests will be really conscious with their presence. This feeling of

awkwardness can be resolved with a few tweaks here and there, and by making sure that you’ll find the right team for you. But singling a team among hundreds of others can be a big job, so here are a few easy steps to help you how. 1. Pick one that which suits your style Most soon-to-wed couples have been browsing through magazines and attending bridal fairs scouting the right suppliers for them. You would be printing materials and addresses you’ve gathered online and collecting brochures and leaflets that were handed out on fairs. Before even deciding on the right photographer and videographer for you, the first thing to do is assess yourself. In browsing photo albums (online and those leather-bound displays), which style do you prefer? Do you want the classic romantic pictures of you and your partner ogling each other like you’re the only people in the world in your pre-nuptial shots, and that portrait shot at the altar of the whole family with the groom and bride in between? Perhaps you prefer those black-and-white action and candid shots in your friend’s wedding album; with the decisive moments captured in every shot that hasn’t escaped the keen eye of your photographer and videographer’s, just like a photojournalist on an assignment. Or, maybe you want both classical and journalistic pictures harmoniously blending in your leather-bound album; a perfect keepsake of the actions and happenings of your special day. Be it classically romantic or candidly photojournalistic (or even both), you must first choose which style you prefer to easily narrow down the list of potential photographers and videographers you want wandering around your wedding day. Don’t choose the most sought-after and the most popular style. Remember, photography and videography is like fashion, it has trends and will present styles that are only good for the moment and will be engulfed by another

new style. Choose the style that you think will BEST suit you, that will make you feel nostalgic and you think you’ll never get tired of staring at fifty or sixty years from now. 2. Research, research, research! Nothing beats good old research! People may have discovered fire, gravity, and electricity accidentally but these things were improved through intensive research. You too, may stumble upon a truly good wedding photographer and videographer when you were out socializing in a benefit concert or in browsing rigorously online but this will take up a big piece of your time. You don’t have all day to spend it online and you don’t go out on concerts all night and neither will a photographer or videographer. Researching may eat up a lot of your time but this will be of value because you’ve dedicated in on reading and finding out which team are recommended by recently wed couples and wedding-based organizations. 3. Browse Locally If you’re looking for the perfect supplier, the best thing to do is to browse locally. Find wedding photographers and videographers that are in your area first before venturing out because this will save you time and money for initial meetings and eventually in briefing them when you have finally chosen the right team. If you are from Cebu, you must first collate all wedding photographers and videographers from your area before looking out for suppliers that are Manila-based. Most TV features, wedding magazines and internet directories advertise Manila-based studios so make sure that what you have in your list of possible suppliers are within your area to easily come and screen them, who knows you might rub it off better with them? Unless you really are convinced and firm in the decision that you want a specific team who is not based in your area to handle

your wedding coverage, then you better start looking for local photographers and videographers who have mastered their crafts. 4. Be Smart Good wedding pictures and cinematic wedding videos are mostly displayed on photographers and videographers’ websites and on wedding fairs and exhibits. In this industry, to be able to gain more sales you have to put your best foot forward. You have to be smart in choosing your team. Review references and view their portfolios, ask them a lot of questions on how they work. Tip to those who are doubtful: Ask a photographer or a videographer if you can see some samples of their work that are still raw and unedited and compare how much difference the two has. A good wedding photographer is going to need a little tweaking from the original photos, while a good videographer can turn a boring wedding video into a cinematic masterpiece. Do not be afraid to ask them a lot of questions, it is part of your probing. But avoid asking them in an accusatory tone, it won’t do you good and these people work on a very small world, you might gain a reputation you wouldn’t like. 5. Look for the Connection As I have mentioned earlier, looking for the right team to cover your wedding is like looking for a clique that you will hang out with throughout your high school life. Though you wouldn’t be trying one photographer and videographer to another (because that would seem silly), you have to learn to trust your instinct. How did you find your best friend in high school? She may not be the one you’ve first talked to, and she might have even become your enemy because she was so brutally honest that it irritated you. But when she became your lab partner, you learned that she is well afraid of rats and cockroaches too. You hit it off and you’ve learned that you have a lot of things is common and you became inseparable since then.

Just like how you’ve come to know your best friend, you also have to do the same with the team that will cover your wedding. You have to find that connection, the common thing that you and your chosen wedding photographer and videographer has. Be it adoration for rock music or the love to travel, having this common thing will become that catalyst that will ignite your bond with them during the briefing period, easing the feeling of awkwardness during the wedding day. 6. Talk to the right person Wedding coverage has become a lucrative career for most people because it has become a necessity (if not a requirement) that you’ll have a wedding album for everyone to see. While Manong Pedro has been the only person you’ve remember to see that covered your aunt’s wedding twenty years ago, that isn’t the case for most wedding coverage

companies today. It isn’t a one-man team anymore, even for those who are just starting in the field. Big wedding coverage companies hire different photographers to cover their bookings of more than 100 weddings per month. And if a wedding coverage company has more than 100 bookings per month but is named on a certain head photographer it will be most likely that Mr. Head Photographer won’t be covering your wedding, especially if you got the budget package. That is understandable, but be sure that during one of your meetings and briefing you are talking to the person who will cover your wedding. If his staff will say that he’s busy with other assignments, re-schedule the meeting and make sure that you’ve met and talked to him at least twice before the wedding day.

Photo-Video Package or Not? Ask your local wedding photographers and videographers and they will show you that (for your convenience) they have both wedding photo and video coverage in one package that will surely fit your budget. While this might be convenient, it could be that your chosen photographer isn’t an effective wedding videographer, or you just like the style of the other videographer you’ve seen in a wedding exhibit. Wedding photographers and videographers have different styles that may or may not suite your taste, so getting a photo and video package isn’t much of a convenience. But before you decide to drop of that photo-video package contract you’re about to sign, let us first compare each. PHOTO & VIDEO PACKAGE

SEPARATE

You conveniently get a photo and video coverage in one package

You have the change to pick out the best photographer and the videographer of your choice

You’ll be working with one team from the same company who knows each other well and are familiar with each other’s working style

These wedding photographers and wedding videographers have worked together, too. And some have been partners and friends

The price is cheaper than getting separate people to cover the wedding photographer and videographer

The price might be a bit high, but you are assured of photographers and videographers who have specialized their fields

You’ll be meeting with one team working for the same company so you’ll save time and money coordinating with them and to brief them of what you exactly want

Coordinating with photographers and videographers who are from different companies can be a little tasky and time consuming and will depend on their availability

You’ll be working with a team which will compose of 3-5 people who will cover your wedding day so you’ll only have to provide food and accommodation (for out-of-town weddings) for one team

You’ll be working with two teams, one team of photographers and one team of videographers, they will usually be 2-4 people in a team for each so you’ll have to provide food and accommodation (for out-of-town weddings) for two instead of one

Basically, it boils down to the price and how much time it will consume in meeting and coordinating with each team, especially for the budget-conscious couple. But if you really do want to hire a separate team for each then you might want to save up and allot more budget for the wedding photo and video coverage.

What are the different parts of wedding photography & videography? Twenty years ago, when they say wedding photography they are talking about a hired photographer who is taking pictures at someone’s wedding. These photographers are usually found in the church as they take a snap shot of everyone who walked the aisle from the entourage to the bride herself. Upon browsing my parent’s wedding album—an old maroon-colored photo album filled with their wedding pictures—I have noticed that most of the pictures in the album are the ones from the church, taken by photographers in their film cameras. Pictures of the wedding reception, which was held at my mother’s parent’s house, were mostly taken by a drunken uncle or an aunt who is busy talking to her kumare than take pictures of what’s going on in the reception. But in this generation, the wedding coverage industry has evolved into different forms. The wedding photography section itself has more than three forms, while wedding videography has had its time of experimentation. Listed below are categorized types of the wedding coverage industry based on what is popular and mostly seen.

Familiarizing yourself with the different types of Wedding Photography These are the types of wedding photography that are popular today among soon-to-wed couples and promoted by wedding photographers themselves: Pre-Nuptial Photo Shoot Pre-nuptial photo shoots is basically you and your partner trying to be rock stars or supermodels in a photo session with a professional photographer where you showcase yourselves as the soon-towed couple. This may have evolved from those pre-nuptial photo shoot where a couple would hire a photographer to take their photos so that these pictures can be used on invitations, souvenirs and other printed things to be used in the wedding day. From a photographer’s studio, the setting has changed outdoors to fill in the sense of reality and informality which shows a human’s emotion well. Photographers, being the business-minded that they

are, may have noticed that these pictures would just go to waste if the couple would just be given printed copies so instead, they played it up a little and decided to put it in a hardbound and customized album which greatly appeals to the couples.

popular for bride-to-be, your adventurous partner may try it, too! The purpose of Boudoir Photography is to showcase the bride’s femininity and sensuality. It is printed on a customized album given as a gift to the groom, giving him a glimpse of what he will have come the honeymoon.

Pre-nuptial photos tend to be creative and depends heavily on the couple’s personality.

Necessity-wise, a pre-nuptial photo shoot is important for soon-to-wed couples because it is where you can get ideas and prints for the invitation and save-the-date cards and the souvenirs instead of those candid shots taken at a party where you both don’t look that presentable. Price range for such service may vary from one photographer to another; while some may include a pre-nuptial photo shoot in the package, others offer this as a stand-alone service which will cost you at about P35,000 on the average, complete with the editing and the album. A pre-nuptial photo shoot gives a very wide room for creativity. From the classic studio shots and stroll-around-the-park shots, this has evolved into the more surrealistic and avant-garde approach. Photography studios who have mastered these dream-like, fantasy pre-nups are MangoRED, Mimi+Karl, Cherry Blocks, Dino Lara, and Pat Dy among others. Boudoir Photography Boudoir Photography is one of the newest concepts of the wedding photography industry. It is the answer of photographers to artistic nude paintings. This can be a pre- or a post-nuptial shoot FHM style! Clad in a sexy lingerie (for the bride-to-be) or half-naked (for the much more adventurous groomto-be), or for those bold enough to bare everything, the bride (or the groom), poses sensually, showing their sexy and wild side. While this is mostly

While it may be a unique wedding gift to your groom, boudoir photography isn’t so much necessary because you can get it even after the wedding ceremony is over. Practically speaking, this will not do any good to your budget, so you might want to wait until your first or fifth wedding anniversary after getting this service to rekindle the flame. Just be sure to take care of your body though, you don’t want to wear a lingerie with bulges hanging from left and right of your used-to-be-sexy abs, right? For a service as such, it is a bit pricey as it is unnecessary especially for couples on a limited budget. Boudoir Photography is creative and unique in its own way, but you can hardly apply other creative styles because the “traditional” outfit in a Boudoir Photography is the different styles of sexy lingerie; unless, of course, you want to dress-up and go as much as design your own photography set. Photographers who offer this service in Metro Manila are: (list names). On-the-Day Wedding Coverage Perhaps this is the most important keepsake that you will be treasuring long after the last love song has been played in your wedding reception. Your wedding album is as much important as your wedding ring, because every time you will look at it you will always remember that great day where your choose to live with the one person you love for the rest of your life. In this album, you will be seeing the happy faces of everyone who celebrated that fateful day with you. For decades we have been recording this important little event of our lives, from the one-shot-tooexpensive wedding pictures of the 1900s, to the 36-shots-per-roll instamatic film cameras of the 20th century, up to the point-and-shoot-until-youconsumed-your-memory digital cameras of our generation. It is important and a necessity because

you will be keeping this souvenir of your wedding day, and look at it with great joy and nostalgia 50 years from now. You grandchildren and their grandchildren will surely enjoy looking at them, poking fun at how “cool” Lolo and Lola was when they were young. The price range for such service will depend on who you will hire to cover your wedding. A package of the country’s tried-and-tested wedding photographers starts at P40,000 complete with raw pictures in a DVD and the customized leatherbound album. Your creativity in this section will depend on what kind of wedding photographer you will hire. Should you hire a traditional photographer who happens to be great at classically-romantic-but-maylook-scripted shots of the whole celebration, then the creativity that you crave for may not be there. If you happen to hire the journalistic photographer who happens to capture all the right moment and is great at taking candid-and-creative-but-tooinformal pictures, then you’ll be getting creatively unique pictures. Be sure to hire a team who are good at both styles if you want each style (the classic and journalistic) to be captured and included in your album. Photographers who have mastered this craft are Dino Lara, Wally Gonzales, Edwin Tuyay, and Jun Valbuena among others. Post-Nuptial Photo Shoot A Post-Nuptial Photo Shoot is just like a Pre-Nup but is reversed. While a pre-nuptial’s pictures are used to decorate the invitation and souvenirs, the post-nuptial pictures can be used in the Thank You cards that you are going to be sending out to your principal sponsors and guests. This can either be done right after the wedding ceremony before the couple goes to the reception, or can be scheduled for

another date. A post-nuptial shoot right after the wedding is part the wedding photography package, so scheduling for a post-nuptial on another date after the wedding is a little too impractical especially if you already have a pre-nup album. It is as much pricier as getting a pre-nup, so that’s another reason for it to be tagged as impractical. This can be recommended though for couples who has not had a pre-nup photo shoot, an additional to their keepsake albums. This can also be done a year after the wedding, or together with the new additional to the family so that you’ll not only have a post-nup album but a family album as well. Let your creativity run wild during the shoot, may it be after the wedding ceremony where you’ll scout for unlikely locations such as a vacant lot or an on-going construction site of a condo or building near the church, or set a date after the wedding day and sport some costumes from your favorite anime shows. Fashion photographers such as Jay Alonzo and Keith Dador are perfect for this job. Some other photographers include MangoRED and Cherry Blocks are among others. Trash-the-Dress Shoot This can be a part of the post-nuptial photo shoot where the bride and groom trashes the dress by getting it wet, dirty or even reaching the circumstance of tearing and destroying the wedding dress. This is symbolic because a wedding dress can only be worn once (except if you’ve rented or borrowed it from someone else) and by trashing the dress will symbolically mean that the wedding is over and that the dress won’t be used again, an alternative solution that the Westerners have instead of storing it away. Symbolic as it may have meant for others, I don’t see how you can afford to trash a Vera Wang wedding dress just because you’ll find no use for it after. There are other more practical alternative such as bridal gown and bouquet preservation offered by suppliers such as Precious Memories and The Bridal Conservatory among others. Other couples do get a little creative just to try out this new trend: they buy a ball gown or a cheaper alternative wedding dress to trash.

If you’re deciding to include this in your postnuptial shoot then do save up for the cost and get the best photographers that you know. This wouldn’t work out if you’ll ask a traditional wedding photographer so you would have to hire wedding photographers who specialize on contemporary and fashionably bold styles.

Wedding Videography These are the types of wedding videography that are popular today among soon-to-wed couples and promoted by wedding videographers themselves: Save-the-Date Video Save-the-date videos are the latest alternative to save-thedate cards sent to an engaged couple’s friends and relatives to announce their wedding date. This is usually followed by a formal invitation a few weeks after the save-the-date was sent. One of the latest trends in wedding videos, the Save-the-Date video is patterned like movie trailers showing couples in different video clips, or it can be a parody of the couple’s favorite movie, to announce their wedding date. A Save-the-Date video is trendy and it’s a unique way to announce the date to the people you want to invite to your big day. But doing so can be quite pricey especially if you’re going to hire the best people to do the job. This hasn’t been included in wedding video package, unlike the Same-Day Edits (SDEs), so you’ll have to ask and pay specifically for this service. A good way to save up and still do this is to make it your wedding invitation. You’ll have the option to burn it in a CD and give them away to the people in your guest list, or just post it Facebook and tag all the people you want to invite.

Couple’s Love Story A couple’s love story is a good way to tell your intrigued guests the story of how you met and fell in love in your own words. This is shown during the wedding reception to give time for your wedding entertainers (MC, wedding singers, etc.) to rest, or while everyone eats. Shot on location (at the bride/groom’s house, or their favorite place), this is in interview format and the couple tells the story of how they met, the courting period, their first date, what gifts they first gave each other, and everything about their love story. This may include a cameo of friends and parents who’ve witnessed the ups and downs of their relationship; a wedding videographer’s version of a pre-nuptial photo album. This is a fun way to entertain your guests and you can also treasure it as a part of the wedding coverage. Your kids might get interested on the story of how their parents met and they might enjoy this as much as everyone in your reception did a few years back. A Couple’s Love Story Video may be included in the package of some wedding videographers. To save up on the budget for the wedding films, you may want to get the clips in this project to create your Save-the-Date video. That’s hitting two birds in one stone! This will definitely need all your creative juices. The wedding videographer is only as good as how much material you give him to work on. Don’t be afraid to say your objections and suggestions for a fun shoot and a creative output. Same-Day Edits Same-Day Edits (SDEs) was introduced as an answer to soon-to-wed couples who are looking for fresh and out-of-the-box ideas, a new gimmick to entertain their guests on the wedding reception. Same-Day Edits are basically the wedding preparation and ceremony videos weaved into a beautiful video with the music of the couple’s choice. This usually contains footages of the preparation, the wedding entourage and the vows. Most wedding videographers vie for customized wedding vows because these promises spoken from the heart in perfect emotion is the best way to present a superb video.

This is important for the couple and the videographer himself. For the couple, it’s to show their guests how specially entertaining and memorable their wedding is; for the videographer, it shows how creatively good he is in capturing all that decisive moments and weaving it into place all in a matter of hours. As famous wedding videographer Jason Magbanua would say: “A wedding day has enough drama, humor and romance by itself”, all they have to do is capture the right moment and show the guests how in love the couple is. Same-day edits are usually part of the wedding video package so it’s not that pricey. And it’s creativity lies on the videographer himself. So, you’ll just have to get a very good wedding videographer. And wedding videographers are usually judged for their same-day edits. Wedding Video Coverage The wedding video coverage is perhaps the soul of the whole wedding video package. This is one of the most important keepsakes that you’ll be keeping for the rest of your life. Wedding video coverage has been introduced since the 80s and now is popularized in the country by wedding videographers. This is the reason why you hire a wedding videographer to cover your wedding so it is important. While it can be pricey, especially for those who specialize only on wedding videography you may also get it through packages that are offered by wedding photographers who also produce very good wedding videos. The creativity of each video lies on the videographer’s hands, on how he’ll weave each clips into a beautiful masterpiece called ‘Your Wedding.’ Be sure to ask a videographer questions and see samples of his work before hiring him to do the job, so you don’t regret in hiring one in the first place. Some of the country’s best wedding videographers include Jason Magbanua, the Mayad Studios, and Threelogy among others.

Filipina Bridesonalities: What should I get with my budget? The Penny-Wise Bride - “I want a wedding coverage but my budget isn’t enough to hire the best of the best.”

 Ask your friends for help. Ask your friends and I’m sure they know a thing or two about photography and video editing, or they might know somebody who can help you do it for free. With their help you can actually have a pre- and post-nup, a love story and save-the-date videos, and even the boudoir photo album!

A photo and video coverage is important to every wedding so you will very much be torn between getting Jason Magbanua and MangoRed or just follow your Mom’s advice and get your community’s official wedding photographer because he’s also been the one to cover your parent’s wedding.

 Be creative. Use your imagination and let your creativity run wild, especially if you’re doing DIY pre-nup albums and save-the-date videos. Get all the props you can use from your house or from your friends and have fun.

Of course you can’t get JMag or the MangoRed with the kind of budget you’re having; as my friend would joke: “if you really want them, let’s hire them… but the wedding would have to wait for another few years.”

 Find a sponsor. Yes! You can actually ask one of your principal sponsors if they can pay for your wedding coverage as gift.

There are solutions to avoid your Mom’s recommendation though, so don’t freak out much yet. The thing you’d have to do first is to sort out which of the things you’ll need. Yes

No

Pre-Nuptial Photo Shoot – This is one of the things you can do without, but if you must insist then the solution would be to get your friend who knows a thing or two about photography and have them take pictures of you and your groom on location. This can be in a park or a vacant lot, let your imagination run wild. Be sure to check out sample works of wedding photographers online to get an idea of what you can do.

X

Boudoir Photography – This is one of the unnecessary things for a wedding budget. Though it’s a good wedding gift, you can give it to your husband on your fifth year anniversary. That way you can rekindle the fire and also save up for the cost if you want to hire a professional photographer to do the job.

X

On-the-Day Wedding Coverage – This is a necessity! You can ask around and get wedding photographers to do the job for you in a cost much less than what the top wedding photographers offer.

X X

Trash-the-Dress Shoot – Though it might be symbolic in other countries, you’ll have to say pass on this one especially if you’re just renting or borrowing the wedding gown of your mother! A wedding dress is too important a keepsake that you don’t want to ruin it, right?

X

Yes

No

Save-the-Date Video – This is unique, in an expensive kind of way, so just shun off the idea of getting one. It’s really not that important, anyway.

X

Couple’s Love Story – While this is a very cool way of entertaining your guests, you don’t have to hire a videographer to do this for you. It’s too expensive!

X

Same-Day Edit – These are mostly offered by high-end videographers, but small players on the industry are giving it a try, too. Though it is unnecessary for you it wouldn’t hurt to try it if the guys you hired to cover the wedding include this in the package.

X

 Get the service only package. You can get a photographer and videographer’s Service Only package if you really are tight on the budget. Then you can ask someone to edit the raw files for you or you might want to challenge yourself into doing it. Whether it is MangoRed and Jason Magbanua or your friends experimenting on the cameras, the most important thing is that you don’t worry too much and have fun. A good wedding picture shows how much fun you, your partner and your guests had during your special day, so better show that camera your biggest smile.

The Value-for-Money Bride: “I do have a budget for a full wedding photo and video coverage but it is not enough to hire the ‘masters’.” You have the resources but it is not enough to hire the best of the best in the wedding photo and video coverage industry. That is not a problem. Most caterers and wedding coordinators can recommend a team they think you’ll like.

Post-Nuptial Photo Shoot – This is costly as much as it is unnecessary.

Wedding Videography

X

The key is, as long as it’s not necessary you don’t have to strain your budget just to get it. But there are ways you can do to be able to get them if you really want to, what you just have to do is:

Being a budget bride is really tough because you have to work around your budget and fit everything that you want to include in your wedding.

Wedding Photography

Wedding Video Coverage – This is one thing you can do without. It is not as important as a wedding album because people wouldn’t be as much interested to view it as they are to see the prints on your wedding.

Let’s face it! You don’t have enough resources to pay for the services of highend wedding photographers and wedding videographers. There are other suppliers who may not be exactly them but are as good as them. First, let us figure out the services that you’re going to need. Wedding Photography Pre-Nuptial Photo Shoot – This can be done with the help of a few friends and a lot of conceptualization. Search for online concepts, and base your shoot entirely on the wedding theme as you can use these pictures for the invitation and the love story video.

Yes X

Boudoir Photography – This is one of the unnecessary things for a wedding budget. It can wait a few more years. On-the-Day Wedding Coverage – This is a necessity! You can ask around and get wedding photographers to do the job for you in a price that is just right.

No

X X

Post-Nuptial Photo Shoot – This is costly as much as it is unnecessary. Trash-the-Dress Shoot – Though it might be symbolic in other countries, you’ll have to say pass on this one using your wedding dress! What you can do is to buy an alternate white dress in Divisoria, which will cost about P500 or less, and use it for your Trashthe-Dress shoot. Wedding Videography Save-the-Date Video – You can make this as an alternate to your wedding invitation. It doesn’t have to be the fancy wedding trailer type; you can actually do this by yourself using a hand-held camcorder just like what this couple (http://vimeo.com/8233634) did.

X

X

Yes

No

X

Couple’s Love Story – This is too expensive if done by a professional. What you can do is to upload all the pictures that you and your partner have from the beginning of your friendship to the time you’re both planning for the wedding. Compile each picture and make a video out of it, be sure to add text to tell the story. There are a lot of sites online that allows you to compile these such as One True Media and Stupeflix. For the more patient ones you can download or acquire a copy of video editing softwares, or use your Windows Movie Maker to make the video. There are a lot of tutorials online that can teach you how to operate these complex video editing softwares; you’ll not only have a DIY love story video, you also gain knowledge that you can use for future celebrations.

X

Same-Day Edit – Most wedding photo and video coverage teams include this in the package, some may offer an early-recorded AVP instead.

X

Wedding Video Coverage – This is the essence of hiring a videographer in the first place. Do get someone who can provide you a video of good quality.

X

Here are some ways you can do to get the services that you want:  Research! This is the best way to go, especially of you and your friends decided to DIY the prenup photo shoot. There are tons of references online. You can get ideas from the different wedding photographers, you can even get superb quality images using your point and shoot camera.  Be practical, don’t strain your budget. So what if you can’t afford the best? You can still hire people who are as good as those who have already established themselves in the industry. Look up those photographers who are just starting yet are promising, or get to know other photographers through their credentials.  Choose the package. This is the best way to get the complete photo and video coverage without spending too much. Most wedding photographers do offer this package, making it economical and practical.  Raise Funds. If you really want a particular team to cover your wedding but they are way above your budget, don’t fret! There is a way, and what better way it is than to raise the fund yourself? Though this might be a little tricky and will need a lot of work you can ask your friends for help. You can start by collecting the things that you don’t use anymore and do a garage sale. You can even ask your friends to donate some of their stuffs for the fund-raising, I’m sure they’ll be glad to help in any little way they can.

The Splurge-on-the-Best Bride: “I want the best of the best to cover my wedding and I want good results.” Your wedding is fast approaching and you are choosing between which photographers and videographers to choose to cover your once-in-a-lifetime wedding. Choosing the perfect team to cover your wedding is crucial because this will determine how good the album and videos you’ll show your kids and grandkids be. After you’ve determined which team you’ll get, it’s now time to see which service you will have to get and how to make them work for you: Wedding Photography

Yes

Pre-Nuptial Photo Shoot – A pre-nuptial photo album is a good remembrance and keepsake aside from the wedding album. You can do this by going all the way as designing your photo shoot to coincide with your wedding theme, whether be it Victorian, or based on your favorite children’s book, or a sketchy scene right out from your dreams, you can make it with the right team and a lot of imagination.

X

Boudoir Photography – This is a good gift to give your husband on your wedding day. It’s the best way to show your sexy and playful side, so why not try it out? Anyway, it would exclusively be just for him, right?

X

On-the-Day Wedding Coverage – This is the most crucial thing. Be sure to hire who you think is the best team/teams to cover your wedding. The best thing to do is to hire both traditional- and photojournalistic-styled wedding photographers so everything will be covered—from the formal portraiture of you and your husband to the candid shots of your best friends had too much to drink.

X

Post-Nuptial Photo Shoot – You can do without this, especially if you are planning on getting the Trash-the-Dress Shoot. Trash-the-Dress Shoot – This is something new and fun, but you don’t have to trash that Vera Wang dress. The secret is to get a local designer make the same dress for you and use that for the trash the dress, or buy a whole new wedding dress for the shoot itself. Wedding Videography

No

X

X Yes

Save-the-Date Video – This is a cool way to announce to everyone on your guest list the good news before the invitation is done so they can block off the date to attend your wedding. Some couples do save the dates in their own way while some get really creative and make a trailer for their wedding film.

X

Couple’s Love Story – A couple’s love story is a romantic way to show your guests well… your love story. It can be in a form of an interview with the people that have witnessed your relationship through the years, or in the form of a short film just like this one by Jason Magbanua (http://jasonmagbanua.com/blog/2010/01/26/a-horny-storyhan-gaisano-and-oliver-gans-short-film/).

X

Same-Day Edit – This is the way to WOW your audience. A good wedding videographer is known for his short, but fun with the right kind of romance, music video straight from the coverage of the preparation and ceremony.

X

No

Wedding Video Coverage – A wedding video coverage has been ringing a buzz since the development of technology, providing the public with high-end camcorders to record those sweet moments. The latest trend in wedding video coverage is creating the Wedding Film, which is as good as a wedding album. Be sure to hire the one you think can give you a good wedding film you and your grandkids will enjoy several years from now.

X

You don’t really have to get everything just because it’s good. You just have to get what you think is necessary for you and what you think you will treasure for the rest of your married life. Here are some tips to remember:

Your Wedding Invitation & Stationeries

 Get the best. It’s your wedding day and you should have the best of the best.  Book ahead. Booking ahead the photographers and videographers that you want for your wedding is the right thing to do unless of course you want to move your own wedding date just to wait for your chosen supplier because someone already got them just a few weeks earlier than you did. Keep in mind that these photographers and videographers have hectic schedules, too.  Find the connection. Just what I’ve said earlier, you have to find the connection. A good videographer and photographer can only give you good videos and photographs if you connect with them. Here’s another question that haunts or will haunt you: “How many photographers should I get?” The best thing to do is to get two teams of photographers to cover your entire wedding; one team who specializes on candid photos and one who specializes on the formal portrait-type pictures. You would want the entire thing covered but you don’t want it to be a circus, so just limit the team to two, or three including the videographer.

A

fter settling on your guest list, and the date and venue for your wedding, are you now ready to formally invite your guests?

A proper announcement together with an invitation card has been a tradition practiced not only here in the Philippines but in other countries as well. Almost all celebrations, not just weddings, make use of invitation cards to have a more formal and courteous way of inviting the guests. But in a wedding, there are more wedding stationeries than just the invitation. This will include the Savethe-Date cards, the program copy, and thank you cards to hand out to guests who have graced your occasion with their presence. If you thought that the only printed material a wedding will need is the invitation, think again. Read on and find out more.

Why It Matters

Budget

Through time, people have been communicating through speech and writing, especially in inviting them to special occasions. A written letter for an invitation will give more formality and importance than that of a spoken invitation which seemed to be informal and will much likely be the cause of gatecrashers to just walk right in. Wedding invitations and stationeries are important in a wedding.

The budget is the biggest factor that has to do with all the things related to your wedding. For most soon-to-wed couples the budget for the invitation and other wedding stationeries is around 3-5% of the entire wedding cost. But that doesn’t mean that you’ll have to sacrifice this category.

Stationeries that are given before the wedding day, like Save-the-Date cards and an invitation, plays an important role of not just letting people know when and where you are getting married. Potential guests who have RSVP on your invitation will consist of the final headcount and will give you an idea of who will be coming to your wedding. Other stationeries given on the day of the wedding, such as misallettes, program copy, menu cards, and escort cards among others, will guide your guests on the flow of the entire wedding, the list of food that they will be eating, and their assigned seats. This will help ease the organization of your guests, and will give your wedding a much more placid flow. A Thank You note given after the wedding will let your guests know that you are delighted by their presence.

How to Determine Your Wedding Invitation and Stationeries Wedding invitation and stationeries are the little helpers of your wedding organizers. They help manage the details of your wedding, such as a guide of the wedding flow through the misallettes and program copies, and the total number of guests. This will also help you know who each guest are, where they will be seating, and it will be your guests guides on what they will be eating and what they have to do.

You have to keep in mind that by giving your potential guests Save-the-Date cards and a copy of your wedding invitation you are letting them see a glimpse of what your entire wedding is going to be because this will clearly show your color motif and the theme of your wedding. You wouldn’t want to show them a second-rate invitation and make them think that the entire thing will be as mediocre as the invitation is, would you? Every wedding has the right to look lavish, and being lavish doesn’t have to mean that you’ll be spending too much for everything. With a little research you’ll be surprised to know that having an elegant invitation or a thank you card isn’t as expensive as you think. Wedding Date Determining the wedding date is one of the first things that you’re going to have to do after he’s asked you to marry him. And when you did decide on the date, that’s when you start to tell people that you want to invite. In giving out Save-the-Date cards, you’ll have to know the wedding date. This way people will know ahead how much time they have left in deciding to go to your wedding or not, and which gift to bring on that day that they think you would appreciate most. The wedding date is one of the most important information that guests would want to know about your wedding day as this will be prominent on all questions they’re going to ask and almost all wedding stationeries. So you better make sure to decide on that date as soon as you can. Wedding Location

Factors that Affect your Wedding Invitation and Stationeries Here are the factors that may affect you in choosing your wedding invitation and stationeries:

Scouting for a favorable wedding location, be it the church or the venue, is on the priority list you’ll do for your wedding. Drafting an invitation for your potential guests is also going to need information such as the wedding date and the location.

Wedding stationeries, particularly the wedding invitation, is going to need the information regarding your wedding location because this is how your guests will know where and when they will go to attend your wedding. Whether be it a destination wedding, or just within Metro Manila, you will have to put the exact address and even give them a sketch and direction on how to get to the church and the reception venue for their convenience. Number of Guests Your guests are the reason why you’ll need an invitation and the rest of the wedding stationeries because they will be the one who will be receiving and will be making use of these. You will provide the stationeries as their guide to the details of your wedding, from the date, location, and even their assigned seats and type of souvenirs they are going to get. The number of guests is a great factor because this will determine how many invitations and stationeries you’re going to produce for them. But it’s not necessary to provide each and every guest an invitation especially if you’re going to invite the whole family. That would be wasting your money. Through Mail vs. Personally Handed In the country, most invitations are handed personally by the bride, the groom, or their parents to the guests, but there are some cases that these invitations would have to be mailed to the invitees especially if your preferred guests are coming from out of town, or are living out of the country. In other countries though, they have been accustomed to sending their invitations through courier mail. Let us compare the pros and cons of personally handed invitations than through mail and determine which one is better: Through Mail

Personally Handed

Your invitations are easily mailed, and it is convenient because you’ll have the post office or your local courier branch take care of everything for you.

You have to deliver the invitation personally, going from one place to another to hand out the invitations to your guests.

It’s expensive to send each mail through the courier.

It’s cheaper to do this especially if your preferred guests live near your house.

It is convenient and won’t take up most of the time, which you can use in going through the other details of the wedding.

It’s time consuming.

You’ll lose the personal touch.

You’ll be able to chat with your preferred guests and they would greatly appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Be it personally handed or through a courier, invitations are given to special people that you want to celebrate the wedding with you. Choose whatever is convenient with you. For couples who are both working, it might be best to send the invitation through mail, if most of your invitees are from out of town or out of the country. For those who have all the spare time, you can personally hand your invitations. Professionally Made vs. DIY Wedding stationeries are usually the last things on the budget list because it’s either cheap or can be done by the bride and groom themselves. These have been often neglected and sometimes the ones produced are the invitation, the rest of the DIY projects forgotten because of the lack of time. Some couples rely on the suppliers and coordinators to do these things for them. But which is really better, the professionally made ones or the ones that you did yourself? DIY Stationeries

It has your personal touch.

Professionally-Made Stationeries Most printing companies have machines to do the job for them. Calligraphers do give your stationeries their personal touch.

It would require much of your time.

You are assured that each invitation met your standards. You, your family and friends can bond as they help you make these stationeries.

It would only require a little of your time; you’d only have to give the printer your specifications and wait for the final checking. Not most printers adhere to your standards and some may not meet your expectation. You can give your friends and family more time to prepare for your wedding.

While some brides do rely on their suppliers, other more patient brides take it upon themselves into doing the invitation themselves and with the help of some friends, adding their own personal touch. If you do have time to make your own invitations and thank you cards, and you’re ready to let the creative juices flowing, then do make it. Just make sure that you’ll allot time for it.

friends and family the news, this is the way to go. A Save the Date Card contains the most important detail about your wedding: the wedding date! This card simply asks the receiver to save the date (hence the name) that is written in the card so that he/ she can attend your special day. This gives possible guests a sneak peak on the upcoming wedding. A save-the-date card is not much necessary especially if you will be having a short engagement and wedding planning time. With five months or less left for the wedding planning and preparation you’ll just have to give your guests invitations, or you can even send them emails and text messages to let them know, if the invitation is still unavailable. You might need it if you’re planning for a wedding that will fall on the busy months (summer and December), a holiday wedding, or a destination wedding to give your guests time to prepare and reserve hotels and flights to get to your wedding. This may also contain information such as a list of hotels and inns that you’ve reserved for them. Invitation

Save the Date Save the Date Cards are usually given out one year to six months before the wedding. With the details still unclear but a very excited bride eager to tell her

Missalettes are copies of the wedding mass celebration handed out to the attendees and used as a guide for the entire thing. While these can be provided by your local parish church, it has been a trend to also customize your missalette to complement with the theme of your wedding. Providing a customized missalette is not really necessary especially if your wedding church is willing to provide them for you. And if most of your guests are Catholic then, most likely, they would know what to say and how to respond on a mass, and they would be busy looking at you and your groom, anyway. It is a guide, and if you are planning to customize the songs or if most of your guests are foreign to a traditional Filipino wedding ceremony then you might want to provide them a missalette.

The wedding program is another guide that gives guests an idea of the flow of the program in the reception. This booklet may contain the list of principal sponsors, the entourage and the special guests who will be a part of your program. You can include your favorite poem or a copy of your wedding vows, and this will also be a good chance to thank your guests through writing them a message in the first or last pages of the program booklet. This may be a booklet type adorned with your pictures from your pre-nuptial photo shoot making it more personalized.

There is a lot more to it that just the wedding invitation. Other wedding stationeries are often neglected as the allotted budget for it is merely 3-5% of the entire thing.

Not most Filipinos understand the use of all the wedding stationeries that are available. So listed below are the types of wedding stationeries and what they do to make your wedding organized.

Missalettes

Program

What are the different types of wedding stationeries?

In the country, not many people know that the wedding stationeries are not only the invitation. Most may have heard of Thank You cards but these are usually forgotten or not considered at all because they would think that’s what a souvenir is for. These little helpers are often neglected and taken for granted because no one bothers to even appreciate them and what they can do.

time and place of the wedding written at the back. Do include an RSVP and, since we Filipinos don’t really do RSVP, keep track of the people you’ve given the invitation to by calling or texting them to follow up on their response.

The invitation is where you put the details of your wedding that is not included in the Save the Date, details such as the church, reception venue, and time. This is also sent out to invitees to collect RSVPs and confirm the final guest list of your wedding. It is usually given two months before the wedding. You need an invitation even if you’re just having an intimate wedding for 50 people, even if it’s just a postcard-type, one-side printed invitation or a simple photo of you and your partner with the date,

For us Filipinos, a wedding program copy is included in the invitation and handed out among guests a month or two before the wedding. A copy of the program is unnecessary especially if you’re going to have an intimate wedding celebration for family and close friends of 50 to 80 guests, or if you’re going to have a civil wedding and a salo-salo reception at home that doesn’t have a program at all. It would be a little too costly if you’ll push through it, right?

You’re having a lavish wedding with up to 700 guests, a program copy is a good way to welcome all of them at once from the message you’ve written in it for them. This will also guide them on the flow of your wedding and would explain customs and traditions that you’re going to do in the wedding and the reception so they would be appreciating everything instead of gawking at you and wondering what you’re about to do. Menu Cards Menu cards are usually placed on top of each guest’s plates which contain the list of entrées and dishes that will be served during the course of the wedding reception. If you’re having a buffet, which most of the weddings in the country do, then you won’t need the menu cards. You can simply ask your caterer to display a customized menu tags on each buffet. Menu cards are best displayed for a multicourse plated dinner so that guests won’t be wondering what they’re going to chow down. If you’re having a lavish wedding of more than 400 guests then it would be impractical to provide each and every guest a copy of the menu especially if you’re going to customize it. The best way to solve this problem is to provide one menu card for each table. Display this card inside a picture frame that matches your wedding theme in the middle of the table, thus enhancing the design of your centerpiece. Escort/Seating Cards Escort cards are popularly used on western weddings. This serves as a seating arrangement guide for your guests that enables him to find his own seat even if the coordinator is not available. A seating/escort card is a good helper in organizing your wedding, this way you can avoid gatecrashers and tending to the guests with only a few minutes before the program starts will go smoothly. Not many people may realize but these seating cards are like Santa’s Happy Elves making the organization

of your wedding reception a breeze even if it is a celebration for as little as 50 people.

especially if you’re not as particular on the design and just choose the available ones from a printing company’s portfolio.

Table Names/Numbers

Not many may notice that wedding stationeries are as important as everything else in your wedding because these are the little helpers who organize, collect, and thank your guests for celebrating with you. These pieces of papers also give your guests little clues and sneak peeks of the entire wedding celebration.

Table names or table numbers are labels of each guest tables in the reception. Like the seating cards, they act like the little red pointer in the Google Maps, telling your guests which tables they are assigned. If you’re going to have a small wedding celebration with 50 guests or less a table name/number isn’t that necessary because you’re only going to have five ten-seater tables. A table number is useful if you are having a big wedding celebration so that it will be easier for guests to find their tables. This comes along with the escort/seating card. If you are going to use table names be sure to arrange them in alphabetical order or make sure that they are readable enough so that guests won’t have a hard time finding them. Thank You Cards A Thank You Card is given to a guest a week or two after the wedding day. It contains a message thanking all of your guests who’ve made it to your special day. Show your guests your gratitude when they celebrated with you on your wedding day by sending them a personally written Thank You card. Do this during the wedding planning stage. Start with the ones who’ve given you pre-wedding gifts during the bridal shower or the bachelor’s party. This is a good bonding activity with your husbandto-be; a good escape from the stress of planning the wedding. This is particularly helpful for those who have a large wedding and you didn’t get to talk to everyone much. It’s your chance to thank them now in your own words.

Tips in Making Your Wedding Stationeries Deciding on which stationeries to get and what design would fit your wedding theme is a task that most might not consider putting a great effort to,

Here are some tips you have to consider in making your wedding stationeries:  Save the Dates are sent out to announce your wedding, do send them out as soon as you determine the date of your wedding, ideally a year to six months ahead, so that your preferred guests will have the time to prepare.  Save the Dates doesn’t necessarily have to be printed in a stationery, it can be as simple as a text message, an email, or a home video posted on social networking sites to let your friends know.  Order the invitation at least three months before the wedding day so that you’ll have enough time for some changes and proofing.  Send out the formal invitation at least a month before the wedding, and at least two months before the wedding day for guests who will be coming from abroad.  If you only have at least a month left for the wedding and you haven’t sent the formal invitations yet, don’t include the program copy. Just send out a one-page invitation stating the details of your wedding and the contact number where they could RSVP. You can give away the program copy on the day of the wedding itself.  Filipinos don’t usually fill up reply cards or do an RSVP so you have to check on them every once in a while to confirm their attendance.  Since most Filipinos today use the popular networking site Facebook, you can use it, too! Fill out the Events form with the details of your wedding and send them out to friends you’ve sent the formal invitation to. This is a faster way of getting their confirmation.

 If you decided to DIY your wedding stationeries then you have to allot a certain time for it and start doing it when you’ve completed your materials. DIYs are perfect for brides who have about a year before the wedding day.  Buy materials to be used for DIY stationeries in bulk, this way you can save and won’t be making short stops to the accessories shop for just a piece of string every now and then. It’s hard to look for the same type or color of beads and buttons especially if you’ve only bought them in a sidewalk vendor in

Divisoria.  Caterers can provide specialized table names and menu cards or food tags, just ask your planner or the one who handles the details of your wedding and they’ll gladly make it for you.  Do send a Thank You card to all the guests who have made it on your wedding day. Though these can be printed out on cards, it is better to write them down yourself to better express your gratitude and make it look more personalized.

Filipina Bridesonalities: What Should I Get? Determining what you should get from the entire list of wedding stationeries depends on your budget and how you plan to make them: DIY or printed by your invitation supplier.

For the Penny-Wise Brides: “I don’t have enough budget, but I still want to make my invitations special.” Even if you can’t afford to get every Wedding Stationery on print you can still have them by doing it yourself. But let us first determine which of the stationeries is essential:

Wedding Stationeries

Yes

Save the Date Card – You can have your Save the Dates even if you don’t do it on print. You can send your Save the Date through email, text, or Facebook. Invitation – This is the most essential one among the wedding stationery because you’ll be handing this one to your guests and principal sponsors. If you don’t have enough budget for the bulky invitation you can DIY it or print it in a photo paper and put it in an envelope and send them out.

No X

X

Missalettes – This is unnecessary. You can ask the church where you’ll get married if they have copies and they will most likely give you some for free. Besides, your guests won’t even be reading them since they’d be busy looking at you and your groom on your wedding day.

X

Program – This is also unnecessary, especially if you’re going to have an intimate wedding without a program at all. Most of the copies would even be forgotten and easily discarded, anyway.

X

Menu Card – This won’t be needed if you’ll be serving common home-cooked dishes, and most caterers will provide food tags.

X

Escort/Seating Card – For a wedding with as little as 100 guests with no wedding coordinator but your sister and mom, you can help them organize the guests in as little as 20 minutes with the help of seating cards. Simply print as much copy that you can squeeze in a bond paper, print them out and they can be handed to guests so they’ll know which table they should sit.

X

Table Name/Number – It is unnecessary to provide for table numbers. Your caterer will provide them for you. Thank You Card – Even if it’s a cardboard paper you folded and wrote a thank you message to guests, a thank you card is also essential. Show your gratitude by personally writing down the messages and DIY the cards.

Table Name/Number – This will be provided by your caterer. Just ask them to personalize the design to harmonize with your wedding theme, or specify the design and they’ll gladly do it for you. Thank You Card – You can buy a box of ready-made cards on bookstores and write or print on them your Thank You messages. X

X

Research and make a draft of the design that you want making it a master copy that your little helpers can copy. Choose materials, like beads and buttons for the design that are of the same color but different shapes or are distorted. You’ll be surprised at how unique these imperfections will turn out to be.

Provide a copy of the invitation only for the principal invitees, like the parents of your family friends or your barkada in one invitation, this way you can have 50 invitations for 200 people.

The Splurge-on-the Best Bride: “I want the best and the most unique wedding invitation that will perfectly harmonize with my wedding motif and theme.”

Don’t be afraid that it won’t turn out as beautiful as those that were professionally made. What you will create is a simple and personalized stationery that will truly reflect you and your groom’s personality.

You are as excited to announce to the world that you are getting married the day he popped the question. Be sure to announce it with a blast that exudes your excitement in the preparation, planning, the wedding day, and the start of your married life. This can be reflected on the wedding stationeries that you’ll be handing out to your guests before and after the wedding.

The Value for Money Bride: “I want my wedding stationeries to work well with the theme of our wedding, but I hope it still falls right for the budget we’ve allocated for it.”

Let’s find out which one you should get and how you’ll let your excitement engraved in the stationeries.

Maximize the budget for your wedding stationeries by getting a package of invitations with Thank You Cards or Save the Date Cards. But before you ask your supplier if they offer these packages, let us first determine what you really need in the list of wedding stationeries. Yes

Save the Date Card – Save on the cost by making a home video that you can post on YouTube or Facebook and tag your friends, or send your friends and family text messages to announce the good news. Invitation – There are beautiful sets of affordable invitations you can choose from in Recto; you can choose a design on the internet and ask them to copy it for you and they gladly will for a cheaper price. Other printing companies also offer discounted prices on Bridal Fairs and Exhibits, and during off peak seasons. Missalettes – 95% of Filipinos are Christians and most Christian wedding ceremonies will most likely be the same. Besides, let your guests’ attention draw to you because it is your wedding day! Program – Most wedding invitation packages may include the program, which will include the list of your entourage and the flow of the wedding ceremony and reception. Menu Card – This will be provided by your caterer for your VIP guests, as well as the food tags for all the other guests. Escort/Seating Card – There are computer software that help you design seating cards. Print them on a white board paper with the design or simply put a border around the details written in the card and print it on a board paper with a design, cut it and hand them away to help your coordinators arrange your guests.

No X

X

X X X

X

X

Hunting for the right supplier in Recto or a printing shop near you is part of the game. Be sure that before you book them they can offer you what you really need and want and that they can give you your money’s worth.

DIY Wedding Stationeries is a project that you and your partner, and friends will enjoy. Be sure to have enough time for it or assign a specific time to make them with the help of your family and friends.

Wedding Stationeries

X

Wedding Stationeries

Yes

Save the Date Card – Make your upcoming wedding the talk of the town by providing them a Save the Date card that encloses a trailer of your wedding film. You can hire a professional wedding videographer to film the trailer, burn it on a DVD, personalize the DVD by designing it with a “movie poster” from your PreNuptial photo shoot and send it to friends and relatives. Be sure to burn it on a DVD so that your friends and family can enjoy the teaser trailer in HD.

X

Invitation – Personalize your wedding invitation by following the theme of your wedding. If you’re planning to have a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party theme inspired by Alice in Wonderland, you can send out your invitations with hats of different shapes, sizes and designs that your guests will wear on your wedding day. By doing so you are assured that your guests will surely follow the dress code as they will choose a dress that will compliment their hat. And they can use and keep these hats as a keepsake.

X

Missalettes – Following the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party theme, you can customize your missalettes and hand them out for your guests to follow the ceremony. This is extremely helpful to foreign guests who’re not accustomed to the replies and flow of the ceremony.

X

Program – This can be included in your wedding invitation.

X

Menu Card – Menu Cards, especially for plated dinners, can be printed on a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party decorated theme placed in each plates. You can put cakes with an “Eat Me” design on top of the Menu Card.

X

No

Escort/Seating Card – Escort/Seating Cards handed out to guests upon arriving to the reception area can be decorated with a key necktie pin for the gentlemen and key pendant for the ladies following the wedding theme. Just like how Alice went to Wonderland, by using the seating card with the key, your guests can enter your Wonderland and find their place/seat.

X

Table Name/Number – Table tags can be decorated with an Alice in Wonderland theme and each tables can be named according to the characters in the story. VIP guests can sit on the Mad Hatter’s table, while other guests can sit on tables named Cheshire Cat, Tweedledee, and Tweedledum.

X

Thank You Card – These are sent a week to a month after the wedding and should still follow the wedding theme. You can burn on a DVD the copy of your onsite MTV with a message of thanks at the end of the video and send them with a red wine placed on potion bottles labeled “Drink Me”, a final toast to the end of your single life.

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Indulge in your childhood and let your imagination run wild in thinking of ways to create better and much more unique ideas that you can incorporate in your wedding. Don’t just go for the traditional prints-on-paper stationeries. Give your guests treats by providing useful items together with your wedding stationeries like hats, and pendants, and this way you can share with them the fun and excitement you feel for your special day.

Your Wedding Favors A

ttending your wedding are the most important people in your life. Now that they have graced your celebration, it’s your time to return the favour by giving them something that will remind them of your special day. Wedding favors, or souvenirs as we call it, are keepsakes that newlyweds give to our guests as a sign of gratitude for attending their wedding. This can be in a form of a trinket, a small figurine, or something to eat that is given out before you leave the reception party. Why It Matters? This is important and should be given enough attention because through this simple gesture you’re sure to let your guests know how special they are to you. If you don’t have the time to send a Thank You card because of your busy schedule then providing a souvenir/wedding favor is more important. Factors that Determine Your Wedding Favor Here are some of the essential factors you may want to consider in choosing which wedding favor is right for you: Budget The budget is the first thing to consider in determining what kind of souvenir you are going to give your guests. Because a wedding souvenir is sometimes the last one in your wedding priority list you will have to work around your remaining budget. Number of Guests If you are going for the small and intimate wedding, you most likely can provide your guests with a wedding favor that is nonspecific. For example, you may give your family a CD copy of your wedding photos, a good quality pen with engraved names for your principal sponsors, and some little charms and trinkets for your closest friends. If you are to have a big wedding, where you may actually not be familiar with some of your guest because they are relatives you will be meeting for the first time, or your parent’s friends, then you may opt for nonspecific favors that may suit anyone. Theme of your wedding If you have a specific wedding theme, your wedding favors should also compliment that theme. If you are planning a traditional Filipino-themed wedding, you may give your guests abanicos or bayong stuffed with Filipino goodies.

There are really no exact rules to follow when choosing your wedding favors. You just have to be resourceful and creative especially if you are on a tight budget. And always keep in mind that expressing your gratitude need not always be extravagant. It only has to reflect your sincerity.

FILIPINA BRIDESONALITIES: YOU, YOUR WEDDING FAVORS, AND YOUR BUDGET The Penny-Wise Bride – “I only have a limited budget; I want to keep my wedding favors simple and easy-on- the- pocket.” Tight budget? It’s okay! Who says wedding favors need to be extravagant. You just have to think of the resources you have and make use of it. If you are an artsy person, or if you have a sister or brother who can do art wonders, you can go for DIY souvenirs. http://www.do-it-yourself-weddings.com/ homemade-wedding-favors.html http://www.beau-coup.com/do-it-yourselfwedding-favors-to-save-money.htm

The Value-for-Money Bride – “I have enough budget; I want to make sure I get the best value for my wedding favors.” If you are looking for value and quality in your wedding favors, then you could go for goodies or treats that you are sure everyone would love. Opt for a good quality red wine for your principal sponsors and a box of dainty chocolates or biscuits for the other guests. It is also popular nowadays to rent a wedding photo booth where your guests can have their pictures taken with a personalized border designed for your wedding. They can take their pictures home as souvenir of your wedding day.

The Splurge-on-the-Best Bride – “I have a great deal of budget and I am willing to spend it for the best wedding favors.” If you want to splurge a little more on your wedding favors go for something that is beyond the usual souvenirs. You can give gift certificates for a massage or spa to your friends and family, or miniature versions of wedding cake that they can take home after the party.

“To hire or not to hire?” would be the big question. A lot of Filipino soon-to-wed couples encounter this dilemma.

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Your Wedding Coordinator & Manpower

Filipino wedding is traditionally family-oriented in nature and majority of the preparation and planning involves the opinions, suggestions, and the aid of the family members and other relatives. So when talking about the subject of Filipino wedding manpower, a typical soon-to-wed couple would most likely resort to their families for help. You may have thought of doing the same, but you somehow also feel that some things are beyond your capabilities. Well, it would be best to explore your options first.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A WEDDING COORDINATOR 1. Composed and Calm - An ideal wedding coordinator always acts on a cool and calm manner. The success of your wedding and reception mainly lies on how well it is coordinated. If something goes out of the way, your wedding coordinator should be able to act quickly on it with a ready alternative plan on hand while staying composed along the way. 2. Effective – A wedding coordinator should not just be good in giving out ideas but also in making these ideas happen. 3. Experienced – Expertise and experience is very important especially in an industry that is not usually encountered on a day-to-day basis. Having someone experienced in the industry to help you out gives good advantage especially in scouting for best deals and discounts from suppliers. Your wedding coordinator should be able to give you a good grasp of what you will eventually spend and what works well with your budget. 4. Organized – One function of a wedding coordinator is to safe keep important documents, contracts, receipts, contact information, and even payments, for you. So it is necessary that they’d be organized. 5. Knowlegeable - A great wedding planner must be geared up with useful information that may be of great use to your wedding, like themes and colors, music, fashion, current trends or even fads, traditional and modern wedding etiquette and even great deals for honeymoon destinations. 6. Resourceful – Even when everything is well-planned, sudden mishaps may still arise. When things just couldn’t or wouldn’t go as planned, a wedding coordinator should be able to look or prepare for alternatives. VARIOUS TYPES OF WEDDING COORDINATION SERVICES  Full Wedding COORDINATION – If you and your partner are too busy, out-of-the-country, or are too overwhelmed by the things you need to prepare for your wedding, a full wedding coordination may be your best bet. A full wedding coordination guarantees assistance to every step of the preparation down to the organization and coordination of the wedding day itself. Just make sure you have sufficient budget to afford this type of service.  SEMI-FULL WEDDING COORDINATION - This service is ideal for you if you have made initial bookings with some suppliers already but need help in continuing the preparations and finalizing the wedding details. The inclusions are the same as Full Wedding coordination service except that the timetable covers only 3-6 months of preparations, and the consultation starts 6 months before the wedding day.

 ON-THE-DAY COORDINATION – A coordinator can be hired for the wedding day alone. If you have done all supplier bookings and wedding preparations tasks already, all you need is an on-the-day coordinator who will make a Wedding Day Schedule for you which states what time you should wake up, the time your supplier arrives, start of make-up and who goes first, time and sequence of pictorial at the hotel room, call time for your family and entourage members for pictorial, time you leave the hotel, arrive church, start reception and so on. They will also coordinate with your suppliers to ensure that they comply with the requirements on time.  Consultation only - This is like a mini wedding planning course, best taken at the beginning of your planning. The coordinator won’t be at your wedding but will teach you the skills to planning your own day. Some will charge by the hour, others by the meeting. You can book one meeting only or go back as many times as you like.

WEDDING COORDINATOR’S CONTRACT If ever you decide to see a wedding coordinator for your wedding, then you must secure the contract immediately. It is impossible to have all details on a coordinator’s contract, for the simple fact that they are dealing with all aspects of your wedding day and have many duties. The contract should at least have the following:  The coordinator charges. Some packages for the wedding coordination exclude transportation, communication and out of town charges/  How many meetings will there be for you and all of your wedding suppliers.  A service description and the inclusions or freebies (if there’s any) of your package.  The total cost of their services including other fees.  The wedding coordinator’s contact information.  The amount you deposited as down payment and the amount you still owe.  Cancellation policy if ever the wedding is cancelled and no show policy if ever the consultant failed to meet you in your planning. OTHER WEDDING MANPOWER Some coordinators offer packages that include sound system and wedding host. Aside from the coordinators, the manpower plays a very important role in your wedding. Host/ Master of Ceremony – The Master of Ceremony will basically hold control in the entire program of your reception. She or she will be responsible with the flow and the continuity of your program. Not to mention keeping your guests entertained. Sound System & Lights - They are to provide quality sound and mood effects all throughout your wedding. They will provide enough microphones, speakers, equalizer, cd or dvd player and lights. Some wedding venues here in the Metro has their own installed sound system, so be sure to check it first before you are double-charged.

FILIPINA BRIDESONALITIES: YOU, YOUR WEDDING MANPOWER, AND YOUR BUDGET The Penny-Wise Bride – “I have a limited budget but I want to make sure that I’ll have my dream wedding and won’t worry too much about anything on my wedding day.” Ask people closest to you to do your coordination – Be it in a form of cousins, BFFs or sisters, request them to do the coordination with you. It’ll be memorable to do your wedding preparation with the people you most love. And since they will be doing it for free, you know that they’ll do it because they love you and they want you to have that dream wedding you ever wanted. Hire on the day coordination – As much as you like your closest friends to do the littlest things on your wedding, put into consideration that they are still your guests and you would want them to enjoy your wedding as much as you and your other guests do. Appoint an on the day coordinator to do the jobs on your actual wedding ceremony and reception, just so you are sure that you’ve enjoyed preparing for your wedding with your friends but still, you didn’t worry too much on your big day. On the day coordination usually ranges from P5,000 – P 10,000. What a bargain!

The Value-for-Money Bride – “I have enough budget ; I want to make sure that I get the best value in hiring a coordinator.” Go for the semi-full wedding coordination – Wedding planning is really a hard task, but it is there for you to experience and enjoy at the same time. Semi-full wedding coordination will be your guide for a handson wedding preparation. Your coordinators will be working with you if you need advise regarding any element of your wedding.

Here is a list of the wedding coordinators that you may want to try: Ms. Bleu Events Management Geraldine Linchangco-Marabut www.msbleu.multiply.com

weddings here in the Philippines. Take for example the weddings of Ruffa Guttierez, Rica Peralejo and Judy Ann Santos. Almost everything seems to be perfect and properly coordinated, I’m sure you would want your wedding to be like that. Here are the two of the celebrity wedding coordinators in town:

Eventus Wedding Planners & Coordinators Mr. Noel and Edith Reyes 0906-2926873 [email protected] www.eventus.multiply.com

Teena Barretto Hitched Weddings & Events 0920-9284609 http://www.hitchedweddings.com [email protected]

The Splurge-on-the-best Bride – “I have enough budget and I want to make sure that I won’t stress myself during the preparation and my wedding day.” Hire well-known wedding coordinators. Famous wedding coordinators are sure to know how to give you your perfect dream wedding because they have seen the grandest, superb and most costly

Rita Neri Rita Neri Event Planners [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 0920-920-9615

Why It Matters? While it is essential for a couple to have a bridal car (be it a lavish stretched hummer or a white sedan borrowed from one of the principal sponsors), you should also provide a transportation for the guests if you’re having an out-of-town wedding. Of course, you wouldn’t want your guests to have a hard time finding the church and the reception, would you?

“The Fairy Godmother touched the pumpkin with her golden wand. There was a puff of smoke and suddenly, the pumpkin turned into a fabulous coach gilded all over with gold.” –Cinderella

Your Wedding Transportation Perhaps, like Cinderella, it is every little girl’s dream to be married to her Prince Charming, and ride off with the white horses and carriage, and live happily ever after. Because of story books, little girls have fantasized to become a princess in a beautiful blue dress, wearing a pair of glass slippers, and wishing to find her Prince Charming before it’s too late. And almost all of these fairy tales ends with the couple riding away into their happy endings. Of course, we would also want our happy endings especially when we’ve found our Prince Charming, the one who’s bound himself to be with you for the rest of your life. We may not be like those fairy tale princesses who’s rode away with the carriage towards the setting sun, but we dreamed of the beginning of our happily ever after to be as romantic as that. Horse drawn carriages became the ultimate wedding vehicle for the bride especially when Prince Charles was married to Princess Diana. But since horse drawn carriages are hard to find these days, it evolved into limousines, vintage cars, and white sedans. But wedding transportation doesn’t just cover the bride and groom’s ride, especially for out-of-town weddings. You may want to hire a bus or a jeepney to provide your guests a ride so that you don’t have to worry about them making it to your venue.

Also, you can also do a favor for your guests when you provide a ride for them. It is not just for their convenience but for your peace of mind as well. You are assured that they will be attending your wedding ceremony and the reception without being late, especially your bridal entourage. Who would want a wedding without the maid of honor? They don’t need to worry about transportation because it will be awkward for the bridesmaid donned in her gown with complete make-up and accessories to ride a tricycle in order to get to your venue.

How to determine your Wedding Transportation When we talk about wedding transportation, it doesn’t only mean the bridal car. While it is not essential, providing transportation for your wedding guests should also be considered to avoid delays and possible reasons for them not to attend your wedding.

Factors in Choosing Wedding Transportation Now that you realized that your guests may need transportation for your out-of-town wedding, hold your horses because we need to consider some factors before you start scouting for possible rental companies. Budget The first thing you have to ask yourself before even thinking of renting a van for your guests is, “Do I have the money for it?” Of course you want everything to be as convenient as possible for you and your guests, but you have to check your budget first. If you don’t have the money to rent a vehicle then don’t push it. You can have other alternatives for this one like carpooling,

asking someone to sponsor it, or maybe some of your friends and relatives can lend you their passenger jeepney enough to fill in 20 people. Make sure that you’ll arrange everything before the wedding starts, especially if you have decided on carpooling. Wedding Location You have already prepared everything for the wedding of your dreams somewhere in Tagaytay -- the ceremony at the beautiful Caleruega Church and the reception at the Tagaytay Highlands. The ceremony went well and you’re elated because at that moment you are now one with your partner. You rode together in the 1952 R Type Bentley to the reception. Upon arriving, you heard your guests talking about how they had a hard time getting to the reception from the church, and how your best friend almost got lost on the way because she wasn’t familiar with the place. The wedding location is an essential factor in deciding to either get transportation for most of your guests or not, because having a reception that’s unfamiliar to them and are not accessible through public transportation can create problems because you’ll be thinking about how your guests can reach the place without getting lost.

Picking the Right Bridal Car for You Picking the right transportation for your wedding is like choosing which flight to book for an important business trip. You have to think of options which will answer questions like, “ Would it get me there on time?”, “Wouldn’t I be late for the event if I choose this flight?” And, “Would I feel comfortable?” You have to ensure comfort and convenience not just for you but also for everyone. Here are a few steps to help you decide which bridal car is right for you. 1. Choose one that suits your style As a bride-to-be you have this instinct that tells you that everything should be ‘perfect’ for you on your wedding day -- from the caterer down of your choice to the last details. Use this for picking out the bridal car that you want, be it a luxury coach, a vintage Rolls Royce or your dad’s old white car.

If you’re the bride who’s always loved fairy tales and fairy godmothers then you may want to ride a carriage. If you’re the traditional bride who loves classic styles, then a 1952 R Type Bentley might be the car for you. Modern brides may prefer luxury vehicles and sports cars, and for the unconventional bride who loves to be unique and one-of-a-kind then you might want to try out the Vespa scooter or a pair of rollerblades. Choose one that really suits you and your partner’s personality, especially if you have the option to do so. 2. Do your research Research is one of the most powerful tools in finding something, and a resourceful and noble bride does her research to ensure that she’d be getting the best for her special day even if she didn’t spend that much money for it. And researching doesn’t just mean sitting down on a couch with your laptop and rigorously browsing online all day, looking for the right bridal car. It includes personally asking your friends if they can recommend a good company that lends bridal cars. Who knows? One of your friends might actually have that vintage-looking Beetle Stretch sitting at his garage that you fell in love with a few years back. 3. Be smart Choosing a bridal car, or planning to borrow one, isn’t as critical as choosing the right style of wedding dress. You don’t have to stress yourself over it. Be practical about it. Ask yourself, “Do I really need that vintage R-Type Bentley that I’m willing to spend much more than I allotted for my bridal car budget? Or would my father’s sad excuse of a vehicle enough because it’s white and it can still run?” You don’t have to be overly practical about things. Be smart enough to notice that even the car’s engine is loudly protesting about your decision, even your father wouldn’t like the idea of your stinginess. It doesn’t

mean that you would go for the vintage Bentley even if the distance from your house to the church and reception is just a few steps away! Try walking from your house to the church for a more adventurous and dramatic bridal march. 4. Let your groom handle it When we talk about bridal cars, your girl friends might have something to say about it, but do they really know what you’re talking about or are they just blabbering about their dream weddings? Perhaps your partner has some suggestions? Why not let him handle this thing? Besides, he knows more about makes and models than you do about make ups. Give him something to do, and he might really enjoy discussing this with the rental companies. Arranging the Guests’ Transportation Your guests also deserve the convenience you have with regards to their transportation especially if you’re having an out-of-town wedding that’s not easily accessible through public transportation. Here are some things you can do to ease their worry on how to get to and fro your wedding. 1. Give them a good direction You may include a customized map and a detailed direction in your invitation so that you wouldn’t have to worry about special guests having a hard time to find your wedding reception venue. Giving them a good direction is like doing them a favor, because you’re showing them that you truly care by going out of your way and giving them a detailed direction even if they knew that you easily get lost even in your own neighborhood.

2. Rent a vehicle for them When one of my best friends got married in Batangas last January, she eagerly urged us to go to the wedding and went as far as threatening us that she’d never speak to anyone who won’t come. She was accommodating and even asked her little brother to pick us up at the bus station, while already provided with detailed direction on how to reach their place. Plus she had constantly monitored our trip by texting us every hour just to check on us. Come wedding day, she was so elated that everyone came, and we were happy too except when the whole thing was over and most of the guests (who were from their province) left for the second celebration at their house. We almost got left behind because she failed to arrange a ride for us. We were cramped up in her uncle’s Fierra together with the equipments they brought to the reception. You wouldn’t want this to happen, would you? If you are not sure that most of your guests

will not have a ride to get to your wedding, then why not arrange one for them? Do this if the place is inaccessible to taxis and other public vehicles. 3. Carpooling If you don’t have the money to rent a ride for them then you can organize the carpool. Ask your friends who among them who will bring a car and if they can squeeze in a couple more in going to the venue. Your friends can talk about this all on their own, but show them that you want everything to work out and personally organize the carpool. It’s your chance at redeeming yourself for failing to arrange a vehicle for them. 4. Make arrangement with a taxi company If you’re planning to marry in a secluded area in the metro that is inaccessible to public vehicles, you can call a taxi company and ask for their service. Ask them if they can assign a few units in the area at the time of your wedding so that your guests won’t be worrying how to get one in such area.

Arranging the Guests’ Transportation Your guests also deserve the convenience you have with regards to their transportation especially if you’re having an out-of-town wedding that’s not easily accessible through public transportation. Here are some things you can do to ease their worry on how to get to and fro your wedding. 1. Give them a good direction You may include a customized map and a detailed direction in your invitation so that you wouldn’t have to worry about special guests having a hard time to find your wedding reception venue. Giving them a good direction is like doing them a favor, because you’re showing them that you truly care by going out of your way and giving them a detailed direction even if they knew that you easily get lost even in your own neighborhood. 2. Rent a vehicle for them When one of my best friends got married in Batangas last January, she eagerly urged us to go to the wedding and went as far as threatening us that she’d never speak to anyone who won’t come. She was accommodating and even asked her little brother to pick us up at the bus station, while already provided with detailed direction on how to reach their place. Plus she had constantly monitored our trip by texting us every hour just to check on us. Come wedding day, she was so elated that everyone came, and we were happy too except when the whole thing was over and most of the guests (who were from their province) left for the second celebration at their house. We almost got left behind because she failed to arrange a ride for us. We were cramped up in her uncle’s Fierra together with the equipments they brought to the reception.

FILIPINA BRIDESONALITIES

You wouldn’t want this to happen, would you? If you are not sure that most of your guests will not have a ride to get to your wedding, then why not arrange one for them? Do this if the place is inaccessible to taxis and other public vehicles. 3. Carpooling If you don’t have the money to rent a ride for them then you can organize the carpool. Ask your friends who among them who will bring a car and if they can squeeze in a couple more in going to the venue. Your friends can talk about this all on their own, but show them that you want everything to work out and personally organize the carpool. It’s your chance at redeeming yourself for failing to arrange a vehicle for them. 4. Make arrangement with a taxi company If you’re planning to marry in a secluded area in the metro that is inaccessible to public vehicles, you can call a taxi company and ask for their service. Ask them if they can assign a few units in the area at the time of your wedding so that your guests won’t be worrying how to get one in such area.

What are your options in wedding transportation? As I’ve stated earlier, wedding transportation doesn’t just include the bridal car. If you choose to provide vehicles for your wedding guests, there are options, depending on your budget and the location. The following are your different options for wedding transportation. For the Couple 1. Horse Drawn Carriage Horse drawn carriages are the ultimate romance vehicles popularized by fairytales, such as Cinderella, and the wedding of Princess Diana to Prince Charles in the early 80s. Though it is associated with royalty, these horse-drawn carriages won’t be necessary if your ceremony and wedding reception venue are kilometers apart. I’m afraid that carriages aren’t allowed to run around Metro Manila except for places like Binondo and Intramuros. It’s perfect for a Victorian-themed wedding, and if you really want a themed wedding through and through, these carriages are lavishly decorated turning your childhood fairytale princess fantasies into reality. This is perfect if you’re planning your wedding ceremony and reception in close proximity (within one special events venue), or if your wedding will be held in Intramuros. Two venues in the Metro offer a horse drawn carriage as an alternative to the bridal car—these are Fernbrook Gardens in Alabang, and Fernwood Gardens in Quezon City. 2. Vintage Cars Vintage cars were made in the early 20th century for the wealthy, as an alternative to the horse drawn carriage which paved way to modern society. These cars are unnecessarily expensive and are hard to find especially in Metro Manila. It wouldn’t be ideal for long travels and the rainy months because these cars are old and just restored. They may not stand those circumstances.

Vintage cars exude sophistication and glamour. It is well-liked because of their class and elegance, perfect for the classic bride. And because classic is always in, vintage cars will make your event timeless and it looks good on photos, too. 3. Town Cars The Town Car that we know today isn’t the historic vehicle that has a unique body design (front seats were top down, while the back seat is covered). The Lincoln Town Car, which was designed by Ford’s upscale brand, is a luxury car build for the elite members of the society. It has a stretched body, much like a limousine but shorter, and has all the comfort and luxury inside. The Lincoln Town Car famously became the Bridal Car for Filipinos because of our fondness of traditions and the classic style. This is evident in most Bridal Car companies, because most of their available units are town cars. These are famous because they’re comfortable and chic without stashing too much out of your budget, and it is even included in bridal packages offered by your caterer. 4. Limousine Limousines have been branded as the ultimate posh vehicle as it is often used for red carpet events and transporting celebrities in style on the best events in town. Perfect for the posh-loving bride --be in style and celebrity-like, alighting from a Limo to the church. Most models do have audio players and some have stocked bars and mini refrigerators stocked with wine or a bubbly champagne.

To save up on the cost, you can let your best girl friends ride with you going to the church and enjoy a pre-wedding toast to get rid of pre-wedding jitters. 5. Sporting Cars Sporting cars are famous for their sleek style and modern features and are considered as favorite rides of Hollywood celebrities. These include supercars from BMW, Mercedes Benz, Ferrari, Lamborghini and the like. This is fast becoming the modern woman’s choice for a unique bridal car. This will make you classy and elegant in a non-toogirly kind of way. It is expensive and hard to find in the country. While some cars are loanable, if you’re looking for a specific sporting car then you might want to give a little extra time in finding this, unless you’ll buy it for your wedding. 6. Bridal SUV Sports Utility Vehicles, commonly known as SUVs, are light trucks geared for on- and off-road terrains. Some of the common SUVs in the country are models such as Nissan Patrol, Toyota’s Land Cruiser, Ford’s Everest, the Pajero, a Jeep Wrangler, the Range Rover, and the Hummer. These SUVs are recently introduced as an alternative to the Town Car as a bridal car for couples who want to be unique. These cars are perfect for couples who want an alternative to the common sedans and limousines. While the Nissan, Toyota, Ford and Mitsubishi brand SUVs are common and not that expensive, luxury SUVs such as the Hummer, Jeep Wrangler and Range Rover would cost you a little more than the usual rental fee. 7. Borrowed Vehicles White cars are the traditional vehicle used as a bridal car. In provinces and couples who have a lot lesser budget, a white car

borrowed from a relative or one of the principal sponsors is the way to go, be it a sedan or an SUV. You would want to borrow a car from a relative or friend if you want to save up on rental costs, and this way you can have the car without having to worry if you’re way over the rental hours. This is usually convenient because you also won’t have to worry about how the car will get to your house without getting lost on the way, especially if it’s hard to find, and it’s easier to contact the owner in case of an emergency. 8. Other Options To be unique, soon-to-wed couples are looking out to other options such as using a Vespa scooter, mountain bikes, a skateboard, and even a gondola! Well, wanting to go for a Vespa scooter or a mountain bike instead of a town car is a lot extraordinary especially if it has a big significance in your relationship, like, you rode his Vespa scooter the first time you went out on a date, or you’re both mountain bikers. This is very convenient because you don’t have to worry about the booking and the cost of the rental because these ordinary, everyday vehicles are readily available anytime. But these are restricted by the distance of the venue and the church or other circumstances. For example, a gondola is restricted to waterways so it is impossible that you’ll do your ceremony and reception in dry land. For the Guests 1. Carpool Carpooling is one way to save up on the cost in transporting your guests from the ceremony to the reception. In this manner, your guests who didn’t bring a car can hitch a ride with other guests who have brought theirs, and you can save up on the rental fee.

While guests can arrange for carpools on their own, it is best that you organize this on or before your wedding. Talk to your friends who have a van, an SUV or a jeepney who can possibly bring these vehicles on your wedding day. Ask them personally if they could help you transport your guests on that day and assign the people who could ride with them. Call up your guests and ask them if they’re bringing a car or not, and list the names of the people who won’t bringing a car. This way you’ll easily find out how many guests will need transportation and how many vehicles you’ll need to transport them all. Organize the names and assign them on a vehicle until you’ve made sure that all names are assigned a vehicle. Be sure to inform your guests about this beforehand to avoid confusion and disorganization on the day of the wedding. 2. Vehicle Rentals If you’re having a wedding in a secluded place or isn’t accessible by public vehicles, one easy way to transport your guests from the ceremony to the reception is by renting a vehicle for them, if most of your guests will be coming from out-of-the-country or from provinces. Vehicles such as jeepneys, vans, minibus, buses are some of the vehicles you can choose from. In choosing which vehicle to use, you must consider the location and comfort of your guests. A jeepney is the cheapest of the vehicles stated above. This is also effective for weddings with a Filipiniana theme. But in renting such be sure that your guests will be comfortable enough, and ready to face smoke, dust, and the metro’s polluted roads. This is recommended for Filipino-themed weddings held in Tagaytay, Laguna or Bulacan where the air is much cleaner than in Metro Manila.

A van is another cheaper alternative that can comfortably sit 18 people. It is airconditioned and runs smoothly, perfect for transporting guests around the Metro. This is recommended for couples who are planning to transport their immediate family from the ceremony to the reception. A minibus, popularly known in the country as a coaster, is a small bus that can seat up to 30 people. The Toyota Coaster is one of the more popular minibuses available in the country. This is an air-conditioned mini-bus that can comfortably sit up to 30 guests of your wedding. It is also less intimidating, as it is not as big as the typical bus, and can easily maneuver in small streets and alleys common in Metro Manila. A bus is a good way to transport all of your guests. Though it is a bit costly, it has a capacity of up to 60 people so you’ll need lesser buses than that of the other options available.

What Should I Get? Determining which option you should consider for your bridal car and your guests’ transportation depends on your budget and how much comfort you want for yourself and your guests.

The Penny-Wise Bride: “I want to be as comfortable as possible, and make sure my guests do feel the same as well, without worrying too much about the cost.”

The Value-for-Money Bride: “I want to have a beautiful bridal car that’s right for the whole wedding and that will not strain the budget.”

Deciding on which bridal car to get and what vehicle to hire for the guests’ transportation is one of the things a practical bride wouldn’t give much thought to, especially if budget permits them to choose one. But being resourceful is one of the qualities a practical bride is required to have, letting her make something out of the things she has.

Bridal cars are usually offered on wedding packages by most caterers, this way it is both convenient and affordable because you wouldn’t have to strain yourself to look for a bridal car supplier and it’s inclusive of the package!

The Practical Bride would usually prefer a borrowed vehicle for their bridal car and the guests’ transportation. Here are some tips on how you to choose and how you can personalize these vehicles even if they’re initially borrowed.  Ask around. Ask your friends and relatives if they have a car that you could borrow as a bridal car and as transport vehicles for guests. They will most likely extend their help as a favor to the soon-to-wed couples as we Filipinos are generally known to be accommodating and easy to ask a favor to.  Choose the right vehicle. Even if you’re just going to borrow a car, you must choose the one that will better represent you or make you look more elegant. If you’ve been eyeing your Uncle’s classic Aston Martin Vantage, then now is the time to ask him to lend it to you. Chances are he’ll be glad to allow you and would even drive the car himself. Besides, what could possibly go wrong if he’ll lend it to you for a few hours?  It’s okay even if it’s not white. White is the traditionally required color for bridal cars, but nowadays it doesn’t have to be white to be considered as a bridal car. The first color to have “broken” the barrier is the elegance that black delivers in most stretched cars such as limousines and Hummers. Other colors like silver, green, and dark blue, may be used as a bridal car. The secret is to choose a dark color (black, blue, green), or something that is close to white (gold, cream, silver). While you can go for a pink car, it would be too bold and wouldn’t exactly match your bridal gown or the wedding’s theme.  Omit if unnecessary. You don’t have to provide for a bridal car or transportation for the guests if there’s really no need

for it. How will you possibly know this? Assess your situation. If the ceremony and reception venue is near your house then you don’t have to provide one them. If the church you choose is just around the corner of your house, and the reception is at home then consider walking the distance from your doorstep to the church. This will make a more dramatic and memorable bridal entourage.  Organize. Do exert an effort to organize your carpool plans for your benefit and your guests. Talk to the people who have volunteered to lend their vehicles and assign who gets to ride with who. This will avoid confusion in their part and will save you from stress and headaches.  Be bold. Who says you have to have a car for the bridal car? If you’d have no other choice, then you can use the scooter you’ve used on your first date. It is very unique, and you’ll be part of a very memorable ride, plus it will look good on the pictures! If you and your friends have scooters as means of transportation then why not consider the whole entourage riding in them as you go to the church and the reception. This will make for a unique parade of scooters that will surely catch everyone’s attention, and it will make for good photos, too!

However, if you are not a fan of the town car, which most bridal car companies can offer, there are other options that you can choose from. Luxury cars and buses are mostly rented, although you can ask your best friend if she can lend you their family’s Jaguar to do the job and be your dream bridal car. You can make any car your bridal car, provided that it will serve its purpose --to give you comfort and that the service is right for the price that you paid for. Let’s see if these cars will fit you right. Here are tips to determine if they’re a value for your money.

 Research. Research is the foundation of finding things, be it as simple as finding the right bridal car for your special wedding day. By researching you can also find ways on how you can save up on the rental costs and where to get the best deals for bridal car and guests transportation rentals.  Maximize your deals. If you’ve always wanted to have a limousine for a bridal

car then maximize its use by letting some of your friends ride with you from the hotel to the ceremony. This will shred off pre-wedding jitters. And when deciding what to rent for your guests, choose one that has a maximum capacity so that guests will be much comfortable.  Opt for something bigger. For the guests’ transportation, choose the bigger one. If you have more than 40 people who don’t have a ride, the bus is better than a van. This way, your guests will be much comfortable and you’ll have to just rent one vehicle instead of renting three which will basically amount to the same cost. Be sure to have extra legroom of two to four vacant seats to avoid being too cramped in a tiny space.  Organize your carpool. Be sure to follow up on carpool plans and organize them as early as possible. Call up guests and let them know about your plan. Ask your coordinator to give them guides on which cars they will be riding in.  Be smart. When negotiating with your supplier make sure that you’ll be getting the best deals. Don’t just say yes to everything they say. You can also visit bridal fairs where these suppliers will give rental discounts and better packages.

The Splurge on the Best Bride: “I want to be as comfortable as possible in my bridal car, and I want my guests to feel the same as well.” Choosing the right car to be in harmony with your wedding theme is an easy task, but finding these cars will take up a lot of time especially if you’re looking for a specific kind of car. Most vehicles available in the country are either dysfunctional or replicas, which is the next best thing. Wanting a specific make and model will require more time and effort to find. You can easily decide what is available but would you really risk it? One option is to find a car that will easily fit almost all wedding theme. Cars

like limousines and town cars are widely available for rent all over the metro. But for those who are looking for more specific types then here’s what you can do.  Ask around. Your friends might know

of someone who can help you look for that red Enzo Ferrari you’ve wanted, or one of them might even have one and would be more than willing to lend you.  Choose one that’s right for you. Choose something that harmonizes with your wedding theme. If you’re having a Filipiniana wedding go for the horse drawn carriage, a cream 1953 R Type Bentley for that authentic 50s wedding look, or a Ferrari 430 Spider for the modern couple.  Don’t sacrifice comfort for style. Sure a Hummer may look very cool and stylish on the pictures, but think about the wedding dress. Do you really think you can maneuver in and out of a Hummer easily with that elaborate dress? Sure you don’t have to rush into getting in and out of the car but will it really make you comfortable? Perhaps you can save the Hummer for your post nuptial photo shoot, and save yourself the stress and get a more comfortable car.  Be different. Don’t be afraid to go way off course. If you’re bored of the usual town

cars and limousines, go out of your way and find a car that you think would fit you and your partner’s personality. If your first car, an old Mini Cooper that was handed down by your brother played a significant role in your relationship then use it as a bridal car. If your partner is an avid motorcycle fan, then a sleek Harley will do the trick. Why don’t you try a Beetle parade? Rent out different styles and models of Volkswagen’s cute bug and let your whole entourage ride in it to the ceremony and the reception venue. It will look pretty good on the wedding coverage and you’ll definitely be in style. Of course you can do it with any other vehicles, too. Try a Vespa Scooter, a sports car, or go way overboard in a skateboard for skateboard enthusiasts. It’s your day, you can do whatever you want and enjoy every bit of it.

Your Wedding Program “When the bride comes in and she makes her giant grand entrance, I like to glance back at the poor bastard getting married. Cause even though I think he’s an idiot for willingly entering into the last legal form of slavery, he always looks really, really happy.” – Kevin (from the movie ’27 Dresses’)

Why It Matters

V

enue, wedding attire, flowers, cake, accessories, motif, theme, design, food, transportation - all these elements, when put together, gives you the “body” of your wedding. But when it comes to the “soul” of your celebration, the wedding program comes in.

Wedding program is made up of series of events that takes place during your entire wedding, from the ceremony all the way to your reception. WEDDING CEREMONY It covers the first part of your wedding where most of the wedding rituals are performed. A wedding ceremony is the solemn and intimate part of a wedding wherein the couple exchanges their vows. The parts and order of the ceremony varies from different religions and cultures. Below is a summary of the different parts of a wedding ceremony based from some of the various types of wedding that you can observe in the Philippine setting.

Christian wedding ceremony  In a Christian wedding, vows are usually written by the couple themselves  There is no definite standard as to what and what should not be included in the ceremony but it is of great importance that your wedding ceremony be a solemn reflection of your commitment to live a Christian life together as man & wife 1. Processional - (entrance of the entourage) 2. Opening Remarks - (the call to worship) 3. Opening Prayer 4. Giving Away of the Bride - (the parents or the closest authority gives the bride away to the groom) 5. Worship Song 6. The Charge to the Bride & Groom - (it is the time when the minister or pastor gives advise to the couple about their roles and responsibilities as husband and wife) 7. The Pledge – (the couple’s declaration to their witnesses of their own free will to be married to one another) 8. Wedding Vows – (the couple makes their own promise of love & devotion to each other, before their witnesses and God) 9. Exchanging of the rings – (in this part of the ceremony the couple exchange rings as a symbol of their eternal commitment to each other from that point forward) 10. Lighting of the unity candle 11. Pronouncement – (the minister or pastor declares that the Bride & Groom are officially Husband & Wife) 12. Closing Prayer 13. The Kiss – (the first kiss shared by the couple as Husband & Wife) 14. Presentation of the Couple – (the minister or pastor introduces the newlywed to all the witnesses) 15. Recessional – (the newlywed, wedding entourage and guests exit the ceremony venue, and the wedding ceremony ends ) Iglesia Ni Cristo Wedding Ceremony  Traditional Music is played during the entire wedding ceremony  Wedding symbols such as wedding candle, wedding cord, and wedding arrhae are not used for their ceremony 1. Processional – (entrance of the entourage) 2. Opening Prayer

3. Homily – (includes the bible readings and exchanging of vows by the couple) 4. Ring Ceremony – (the couple exchanges rings as a symbol their commitment to each other) 5. Prayer 6. Doxology – (hymn of praises) 7. Benediction – (prayer asking for guidance and blessing done at the end of the worship service) 8. Signing of Marriage Contract – (in this part of the ceremony, the couple signs the marriage contract) 9. Recessional – (the couple and the entourage exit the ceremony venue) Islam wedding ceremony  Wali - The immediate male relative of the bride, he will represent her in the fulfillment of the contract. Ideally the father of the bride becomes the wali, but in his absence, the closest male relative will take the part. A prominent leader of the Muslim community can also take the place of a wali if there is no male relative. A woman relative cannot act as a wali for the bride. The role of a wali is important in a Muslim wedding ceremony because a marriage contract will not be valid without a wali.  The Bride should agree to be represented by her wali and to all other conditions before the marriage  There must be atleast 2 male Muslim witnesses or 1 male and 2 female witnesses. The witnesses should have reached puberty and posesses good moral character.  Sadaq or dower in the form of money must be given by the groom to his bride during the fulfillment of the marriage contract. It is a symbol of the man’s commitment to take good care of his wife and their future family. Parts of the wedding ceremony: 1. The witnesses and guests take their seats. 2. The wali of the bride and the groom sit facing each other. 3. Short ceremonial speech by a learned man is delivered 4. The wali of the bride addresses the

groom - (In this part of the ceremony, the wali sends off the bride in accordance with the Islamic laws. Afterwards, the groom will answer and accept his bride before all the witnesses and Allah) 5. The witnesses and guests congratulate the newlywed by saying “May Allah make it a blessing for you and a blessing to you together with all that is good.” Protestant Wedding Ceremony  The wedding ceremony of the Protestants varies depending on their specific denominations, but what is evident is their principle that the relationship between husband and wife is similar to the relationship of Christ to the church. Basic parts of the ceremony: 1. The Processional – (entrance of the entourage) 2. The Proclamation of the church’s teachings regarding Holy Matrimony 3. The Declaration of Consent – (during this part of the ceremony, the celebrant asks the bride and groom if they will accept the other and make a promise of commitment. The celebrant will also ask the consent of all the guests present, and the guests will then give their consent saying “we will” in unison) 4. The Ministry of the Word – (at this part one or more passages from the Holy Scripture is read.) 5. The Marriage – (the vows and exchange of rings take place at this part of the ceremony) 6. The Blessing of the Marriage – (this part includes the blessing of the couple by the celebrant, and after which the recessional will take place) Roman Catholic Wedding Ceremony  The parish priest or officiating priest presides the ceremony  Wedding ceremony traditions such as the giving or arrhae, and the placement of veil and cord to the couple are practiced 1. Processional or Entrance Rite – (en-

trance of the wedding entourage) 2. Opening Prayer by the Officiating Priest 3. First Reading 4. Responsorial Psalm 5. Second Reading 6. Gospel Reading 7. Homily 8. Exchanging of Vows – (wedding vows are usually in traditional or standard form) 9. Blessing and Exchanging of Rings and arrhae 10. Lighting of the Unity Candle 11. Placing of the Veil 12. Placing of the cord 13. Prayers of the Faithful 14. Sign of Peace – (the couples, priest, and all the guests wish each other peace as they say ‘peace be with you’) 15. Communion – 16. Removal of the veil and cord 17. Final Blessing and declaration 18. Signing of the Marriage Contract 19. Recessional Civil Wedding Ceremony  A civil wedding ceremony is presided by a judge, a municipal authority (e.g. Mayor), or other civil authorities.  Usually, a civil wedding takes place in the town’s city hall, or the judge’s office, but you can also choose to have a civil wedding in your own reception venue. 1. Guests are seated 2. Welcoming the family and guests by the Officiant 3. Exchanging of vows 4. Exchanging of rings 5. Pronouncement - (the officiant declares the bride & groom as official husband & wife) 6. First Kiss as Husband & Wife 7. Signing of wedding contract

Ramil Apa-ap and Weng Raquiño

Date: Saturday, 13 September 2008 Venue: Oasis, Manila Time: 5:00pm A Couple’s “Expression of Love” (Christian Rites) RAMIL: Weng, this is it – the end of my search! I have been openly telling you that you filled a big space in my heart. I can hardly explain how this is so but I know that you complete me. We have had been through ups and downs as a couple. But through it all my love for you prevailed especially. I love you because you loved me when I’m at my worst. And this simply showed me that your love will raise me up no matter what happens. Our engagement period is just an appetizer of my love for you. And I promise you that the love I have for you will get even stronger and it will never falter as time goes by. WENG: I feel that I am the most beautiful & most important woman alive today! Mahal, you are perfectly aware that I prayed for you to be my husband. And I just can’t thank God enough for you truly are an answered prayer! Our friends can attest to that. This very day made me believe even more that we were created for each other. I pray that your weakness will be my strength so we would complement each other. I pray that our relationship will always be blest as we keep God at the center of it. I promise to be here for you; to be a good wife, one who would treat you (very) significantly at all times. I promise to support you through everything, most especially in goals you want to achieve yet. And I’d like to vouch on the same promise you just made – the promise of a stronger and unwavering love each passing day – whatever it takes. I love you so much!

WRITING YOUR OWN WEDDING VOWS One of the most important parts of a wedding ceremony is the exchange of vows by the bride and groom. It can be considered not only the very heart of your wedding ceremony but of the whole wedding itself. Your vows to each other are what the wedding is all about in the first place. A lot of couple’s get caught up on the external aspects of their wedding that they fail to concentrate on what’s more important – their promise of commitment to each other. There are no standard formulas and rules for wedding vows. Although there are some factors that may affect the structure and manner of your vows like your religion, customs, and culture; the main thing that you should remember is that it is YOUR OWN VOW to THE ONLY ONE YOU LOVE. Forget about how the words rhyme, or how your guests may react to it. Just think of your partner and what your heart wants to truly say. Easier said than done right? Well, if you are having some difficulty on writing or deciding on your own vows, here is an example of a couple’s wedding vows shared by one of our gracious clients during their wedding rites. May it inspire you and give you a head start as you make yours.

WEDDING RECEPTION In a reception, a wedding program script is like a checklist that will help you and your MC (Master of the

Ceremony) keep the reception in order, avoiding any unwanted gaps or chaos during the event. Do not fall into the wrong thought that it’s your MC’s job to arrange and prepare the program for you. Keep in mind that it is your own wedding and who knows what should and what-shouldnot-be included in your program but you. Would it be a formal event? Or do you want a laid-back and relaxed program proper? Have a meeting or two with your MC to discuss how you want your program to be executed. Here is a sample order of events during a wedding reception:

1. Arrival of guests at the wedding reception venue 2. Serving of beverage & cocktail food (optional) 3. Welcoming of guests by the Master of the ceremony 4. Entrance of the Entourage (optional) 5. Entrance of the newlywed Couple 6. Prayer of thanksgiving before meals 7. Food Serving Time 8. Intermission Numbers (photo opportunity) 9. Wedding Traditions (cake cutting, wine toast, releasing of doves) 10. Messages of the couple’s parents 11. Bouquet Toss 12. Garter Toss 13. Father & daughter dance 14. Couple’s first dance 15. Couple’s Message 16. Opening of presents (optional)

UNIQUE IDEAS FOR YOUR WEDDING RECEPTION PROGRAM: Last Couple Standing – This activity will make your principal sponsors and older guests have participation during your wedding reception. The

MC will call the attention of all the married couples present and have them stand on the dance floor. Waltz or slow music will be played and one-by-one the MC will eliminate a couple based on the years of their marriage. The couple who has the longest years of marriage wins. The winner couple may be asked to give an inspirational message to the newly wed on how to make their marriage last.

they walk down the aisle.

2) Teach your guests how to waltz – Another way to make your event memorable, especially if your venue has a big dance floor, is to hire a dance instructor and teach all your guests how to waltz, before you know it all your guests are dancing and enjoying your wedding party.

Principal Sponsors – In the Philippines, the principal sponsors are also called “ninongs” and “ninangs. Filipinos have this tradition of having as many principal sponsors as possible but the decision as to how many you will have is still up to you and your partner. Keep in mind that these principal sponsors will play as second parents to you and your partner and will give you support and guidance as you enter the married life. Choose carefully and wisely.

3) Look under your chairs – One way of thanking your guests and having a little twist to your celebration is to place notes under some of the chairs on your reception venue and have your guests look under their chairs. Those who will find notes will get a gift or token from the bride and groom.

IMPORTANT ELEMENTS TO CONSIDER IN CHOOSING YOUR WEDDING PROGRAM Wedding Entourage – The wedding entourage consists of the couple’s family members, relatives, and friends, who usually have close relationship with the bride or the groom. In selecting your wedding entourage bear in mind that these people will be the one to help you before, during, and even after your wedding so choose carefully. Do not be distracted by outside suggestions from family and friends – you wouldn’t want to end up with an entourage that is composed of strangers.

Ring Bearer – Like with the flower girl, this role is given to a young boy not more than eight years old. He will be the one to carry the satin pillow where the wedding rings are placed. Coin Bearer – After the ring bearer is the coin bearer, a young boy who carries the satin pillow where the arrhae of coins is placed.

Bridesmaid – A bridesmaid acts as the aide of the bride in the wedding errands that need to be accomplished before and during the wedding like making sure that the wedding guestbook will be signed by the guests and the souvenirs be distributed during the reception. There is usually more than one bridesmaid and often coming from the couple’s relatives of close friends.

Best Man – This role is usually given to the closest friend or relative of the groom (ex. Brother or best friend). The role of the best man is to assist the groom as he prepare before the wedding, and make sure that the groom gets to the wedding venue on time. He may also take charge in organizing the stag party for the groom & give a wedding speech.

Groomsman – The groomsman is the bridesmaid’s counterpart and is responsible for helping the groom with any errands before and during the wedding. He will also serve as the bridesmaid’s escort during the wedding ceremony processional.

Flower Girl – This is a role given to young girls who are usually not more than eight years old. Traditionally, they carry small baskets that contain flower petals which they will scatter as

Secondary Sponsors – In tradition, secondary sponsors are composed of 3 pairs

for the following roles: Candle sponsors who are responsible for lighting the unity candle, veil sponsors who will place the veil on the couple during the wedding ceremony, and cord sponsor who will then place the cord on top of the veil. Maid of Honor or Matron of Honor – A very crucial role in the wedding ceremony is given to the maid of honor. She is often the bride’s sister or best friend, and is responsible for organizing the bridal shower, and in assisting the bride making sure that the bride looks good and the bridal dress is always in place. During the exchanging of rings, the maid of honor also holds the bridal bouquet for the bride. A Matron of Honor is similar to a maid of honor. The only difference is that a maid of honor is single while the matron of honor is already married. So if you’ve decided to make your married sister or best friend play this part, a more fitting term to use for her is matron of honor instead of maid of honor.

M

usic is an integral part of both your wedding ceremony and reception. As how music brings color and life to a movie, a stage play, or a TV commercial, the same goes with your wedding. The music that you will select will define the mood and the personality of your event. Wedding music options: 1) Live Band – It can be the most costly of all the three options, but it can certainly give life to your celebration. There are various kinds of bands depending on the genre, so it’s important that you consider the kind of mood that you want for your celebration. If you plan to party all night you can hire a show band; if you want a relaxing atmosphere for your wedding a jazz or classical band is what you need. Just remember that a live band will take up more space in your venue so you should consider that in choosing a venue. 2) DJ – This is the most common option for wedding music and is also more convenient. You don’t have to do much work and preparation except to determine your song playlist for your wedding. This option will also give you more variety in terms of song choices; perfect for those who would like to get as much value from their money. 3) Do-it-yourself – If you want to cut down on cost you can make a do-it-yourself DJ in the form of a CD or MP3 player. All you need is a good speaker that you can attach to your player and a good playlist of the songs that you and you partner want. Lighting – Just like with music, lighting is very important in keeping the ambience of your celebration. It helps create just the right mood and it also helps make your pictures look more beautiful. Master of the Ceremony/Program – Either it’s a professional MC or your closest friend, the master of the ceremony will serve as the “director” of your own movie, which is your wedding celebration. Choose an MC with a personality that suites the mood of your event. It is also very important that you have a rapport with your chosen MC so that everything will go smoothly during the preparation and the wedding day itself. Wedding Script / Flow of Events – It is not enough to just hire or assign someone to take care of your wedding program. Take time to arrange and organize the flow of events for your wedding and put it into writing. Having a printed wedding programme will help you, your MC, and your guests become aware of how the celebration will transpire. Traditions – Religious and cultural traditions is also one element of your wedding program that needs to be considered. Familiarize yourself with the different traditions and determine whether or not you will include those traditions in your own wedding.

“I opened my eyes and found his open, too, staring at my face. It made no sense when he looked at me that way - like I was the prize rather than the outrageously lucky winner.” – Bella, “Breaking Dawn”

If we look back in history, the oldest and earliest account that talks about honeymoon, which we can refer to, is the Bible. In Deuteronomy 24:5 it states that “If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.” The tradition has been passed on from generation to generation and from one culture to another. There may be varying practices and beliefs about why or how to celebrate the honeymoon, but in its simplest essence, the reason for doing this is for the couple to relax and enjoy their being together as man and wife, and make beautiful and romantic memories that they will carry as inspiration as they enter a new chapter in their lives. So, if you haven’t decided on having a honeymoon yet, or if you are still looking for the perfect place to go to that would fit your budget, here are some tips that will help you plan the romantic trip that is just right for you and your partner: 1) Plan Early – Just like with your wedding preparations, it is also better to plan your honeymoon early on to get a head start in scouting for the perfect location. It would also help you save a lot of money because you have plenty of time to look for discounts and promos that travel agencies or accommodations offer.

Your Honeymoon A

fter months of preparation and a whole day of celebration with your family and friends, happily ever after comes next.

Here in the Philippines, not all couples give much importance to planning their honeymoon. Filipinos are, by nature, practical people and most would prefer to spend their budget on building their own house, or to save it for future expenses that a married life entails. But before settling for forever after, it’s actually important to spend a honeymoon with your partner. It need not be an extravagant vacation; in fact, your honeymoon is not about money or luxury.

2) Communicate with your spouse – You may have envisioned your own perfect honeymoon getaway even before you met the love of your life, but remember that you and your partner may have different preferences. Take time to talk about it, so that you’ll both enjoy the trip.

trips won’t be feasible for you, don’t lose hope. Look around your town or area. There may be beautiful resorts, or hotel accommodations that offer packages fit for your honeymoon needs. If you have the budget but don’t want to splurge much, you may opt for out-of-town trips where you don’t need to shell out too much for the transportation. Travel packages and airfare promos are also available nowadays for those couple who would really wish to spend a day or two far away from their hometowns. If money is not a problem at all, you may try highend resorts or hotels that really offer the best service and facilities. A honeymoon cruise is a romantic way of celebrating your first days and weeks as a couple. 4) Consider the season – If you have a tight budget, don’t schedule your honeymoon on peak season weeks or months as much as possible. Or if you really cannot avoid the peak season months of December – January, and March – May, then it’s best that you book your accommodation and transportation means early on. 5) Make a checklist – A checklist is a must-have because it keeps you organized in your planning and preparation. Here is a sample checklist of things that you may need to prepare for your honeymoon:

HONEYMOON PREPARATION CHECKLIST

Try this exercise: Get two pieces of paper (one for you and one for your partner), and write down what your dream honeymoon would be like. After writing it all down, look at each other’s notes and see how you can compromise and incorporate what you have written. It will be a good guide or basis for your planning.

 Date / Schedule

3) Determine your target budget – Would you rather save or splurge on your honeymoon?

 Wardrobe requirements

If you don’t have as much resources to spend, there are still a lot of ways and means to enjoy a honeymoon. If out-of-town or out-of-the-country

 Accommodation  Transportations  Itinerary  Meals

 Important Documents

HONEYMOON DESTINATIONS FOR EVERY FILIPINA BRIDESONALITY:

Aside from random tips and advices on how you can have a memorable honeymoon that works well with your budget, I’ve also compiled here a random list of honeymoon destinations (5 for each bridesonality). Each couple has unique personalities and likings, and it is now up to you to determine how you can make it memorable. Remember that beautiful and unforgettable memories are priceless and are worth the effort.

The Penny-Wise Bride – “I only have a limited budget but I hope I could still find a great honeymoon destination for me and my partner.” 1) Tagaytay  Stay for a night or two at one of their famous Bed & Breakfast places  Enjoy the cool breeze as you tour their famous spots like Palace in the Sky and the famous Taal Volcano  Have a picnic-for-two at Tagaytay’s Picnic Grove while waiting for the sunset  Coffee lovers can enjoy a caffeine indulgence at Bag of Beans store  Experience the romantic adventure at Tagaytay Ridge zipline and cable car Links: www.tagaytay.com www.tagaytayzipline.com http://www.pinoytravelblog.com/ roadtrip/22/overnight-options-tagaytay 2) Baguio  Stroll all around Baguio and visit their various parks  Take a romantic boat ride at Burnham park  Enjoy picking strawberries at La Trinidad Strawberry farm  Experience a lovely dinner for two at a cozy restaurant along Session Road  Make a wish a you climb the 252 steps of Lourdes grotto Links: www.baguio.gov.ph www.gobaguio.com http://www.baguiodirectory.com 3) Batangas  Go to their wide array of beaches and enjoy a breath taking sunset while holding hands along the sea shore  Visit historical sites like the shrine of General Miguel Malvar in Sto. Tomas Batangas, and Jose P. Laurel memorial library in Tanauan City  For those adventurous couple, take a hiking

trip at Mt. Makulot and enjoy the breathtaking view of the surrounding towns  Take a glimpse of the South China Sea through the Punta de Santiago Lighthouse in Calatagan Batangas Links: http://www.batangas-philippines.com/ things-to-do.html www.batangascity.gov.ph 4) Subic  Be one with nature when you go trekking down the Pamulaklakin forest trail and learn jungle survival 101 from the local settlers called aetas  Experience the thrill and excitement of being in close contact with tigers at zoobic safari  Go to Ocean Adventure theme park and observe the marine life as you watch the dolphin and sea lion shows, and maybe even get to swim with their dolphins  Indulge yourself with imported goods when you visit their Duty Free center Links: www.subic.com http://www.visitsubic.com 5) Laguna  Relax and rejuvenate with your partner at Pansol Laguna’s famous hot spring resorts  Go on a road trip and scout for the local food specialties such as: Buko Pie from Los Banos, and Monay bread from Bay Laguna  Visit the house of our national hero Jose Rizal at Calamba Laguna  Spoil the kid in you by spending a day at Enchanted Kingdom Theme Park in Sta. Rosa Laguna Links: http://www.lagunatourism.com.ph http://tourism-philippines.com/laguna www.laguna-hotspring.com

Baguio City at twilight

The Value-for-Money Bride – “I have enough budget and I want to get the best value for our honeymoon.” 1) Boracay’s White Sand Beaches  Create a replica of your dream house, or better yet castle, with Boracay’s white sand  Go swimming and snorkeling in their crystal clear water  Shed off some extra pounds as you play Frisbee or beach volleyball  Have a romantic underwater walk with the sea creatures as you go reef walking  Relax those tired muscles with a massage or spa service while watching the sunset Links: http://www.boracayisland.org/ http://www.myboracayguide.com http://www.boracayph.com 2) Bohol’s Chocolate Hills  Witness the majestic view of the infamous chocolate hills  Get up close and personal with the charming tarsiers  Have lunch at a floating boat while traversing the Loboc River  Visit the Baclayon church and take a glimpse of the Hispanic-Christian era  Frolic under the sun with their selection of beach resorts Links: www.bohol.ph www.bohol.gov.ph 3) Ilocos Norte  Travel back in time with Vigan’s array of antique Spanish architecture  Visit one of the most beautiful churches in the Philippines, the Paoay Church  Go to Batac and take a look at the Marcos Mansion and Mausoleum where lies the glass- encased, embalmed body of one of the most controversial presidents in Philippine History, Ferdinand Marcos  Take lots of pictures along the stretch

Bangui Windmills, Bangui, Ilocos Norte

of Bangui Bay where you will see the gigantic wind turbines of the first wind farm in South East Asia  Enjoy swimming at the little lagoons of Currimao where you will also see their famous rock formations Links: http://tourism-philippines.com/ilocosnorte http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/ Asia/Philippines/Province_of_Ilocos_ Norte/Things_To_Do-Province_of_Ilocos_Norte-BR-1.html 4) Palawan  Go snorkeling at Honda bay, which prides itself of its rich marine life  If you’re up for adventure, go kayaking with your spouse and enjoy a day under the sun and sea breeze  Go island hopping to Palawan’s beautiful islands and have a taste of paradise  Visit the crocodile farm and Mitra’s ranch as you tour around the city of Puerto Princesa Links: http://www.palawan.com http://www.palawantrips.com 5) Sagada  Experience riding on top of a jeepney on your way to Sagada  Have a healthy date and try out their fresh yoghurt at yoghurt house  Go trekking to Bomod-ok falls and pass through the beautiful rice terraces  Familiarize yourself with pottery craftsmanship at their Pottery workshop  Enjoy the laid-back atmosphere that will surely give you the tranquility to calm your senses Links: http://www.travel-philippines.com/ locations/central-luzon/4-sagada.htm www.visitsagada.com

The Splurge-on-the-best Bride - “I have plenty of budget to work with and I want to have the best and most memorable honeymoon one can have.” Reminder: If you are planning to take an out-of-the-country honeymoon don’t forget to secure and arrange all the necessary documents like passport & visa to avoid any hassle 1) Amanpulo  Enjoy the powder white beaches with the promise of exclusivity  Learn windsurfing with their top-of –the-line equipment and gentle beach waves perfect for an outdoor adventure  Go bottom fishing for snappers and groupers at Amanpulo’s fishing spots  Pamper yourself with a luxurious spa in the privacy of your own casita  Explore the beauty of Pamalican island in a romantic moonlight cruise Links: http://www.amanresorts.com/amanpulo/home.aspx 2) Bella Roca  Experience a Mediterranean ambience at the heart of the Philippines with their greek-inspired architectural design  Reserve a private dinner at the tea room while waiting for the sun to set  An early morning breakfast treat at the terrace area is also a good way to start a romantic date with your spouse  Go kayaking around the island of Bellarocca and take as much picture with the island’s spectacular view on the background Links: http://www.bellaroccaresorts. com/?file=kop1.php 3) Hongkong  Shop in hongkong-style as you scout for the best finds for you and your spouse with their three interconnected malls in Kowloon  Go to the largest entertainment complex and themepark in Hongkong

- the Ocean Park where you will experience riding a cable car on the way there and see the world’s largest aquarium reef  Opt for an evening stroll in the romantic Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade in Kowloon  Visit the Lantau island to see the giant Buddha on the mountain and experience a picturesque cable car ride Links: www.discoverhongkong.com http://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/hong-kong 4) Disney European Cruise  Take a tour of Europe the Disney way  Reminisce your childhood days while watching high caliber Disney liveshows in their Walt Disney theater, while on-board  Visit the different Disney locations and enjoy the fun and thrilling rides  Enjoy shopping at their various shops while sailing with Disney cruise line Links: http://disneycruise.disney.go.com 5) Asian Cruise  Explore the beauty of Asia as you get on-board for an Asian cruise  Participate in their evening dance classes and learn a step or two  Enjoy the theme night parties that the cruise staff prepares for everyone onboard  Satisfy your gastronomic cravings with their various top-of-the-line cuisines Links: http://www.starcruises.com

Updating Legal Documents After Your Wedding N

ow that the jitters and the party mode has toned down, your happily ever after starts. Here is the list of things that you may have to consider. All the hard work in the planning and preparation for your special day may have ended on that perfect day, but after the last bottle of wine has been drunk, the honeymoon trip made, and the Thank You cards sent to your guests there are still a few things you have to do: Organize Legal Matters This is the most important thing that should be first on your checklist. Organizing legal matters after the wedding will include: Getting a copy of the marriage license You’re going to need this especially if you’re going to update all other important documents for the name change. Usually, a duplicate copy is given to the couple after the ceremony but you can also go to the NSO to obtain a copy. There are four ways to get a copy from the National Statistics Office: 1. In Person. Go to your nearest Census Serbilis Centers. In Metro Manila there are six of these which are found in NSO East Ave. in Quezon City, Makati City, Pasay City, Caloocan City, Muntinlupa City, and Pasig City. 2. By Postal Service System. You can request a copy of your marriage license through couriers like LBC, or ask your local travel agency if they can get the copy for you, though this may be a little more expensive. 3. Through Teleserv. In partnership with Pilipinas Teleserv, Inc., a call center based service designed to provide convenience to customers built by the government, you may now ask for a copy of various documents such as birth, marriage and death certificates, and passports through this hotline by contacting (02) 737-1111 for NSO Documents Delivery, and (02) 7371000 for the DFA Passport Appointment System. 4. Through the web. Recent developments have

made it possible for us to obtain copies of legal documents through the internet in NSO’s E-Census website (http://www.ecensus.com.ph). In getting a copy you have to provide the following: - Complete name of your husband - Complete name of your wife - Date of marriage - Place of marriage - Complete name and address of the requesting party - Number of copies needed - Purpose for the certification You can also check the NSO website (http://www. census.gov.ph) for payment details and other concerns. Update your SSS To update your SSS status you may need to go to your nearest SSS office. Changes in the member’s record should immediately be reported by accomplishing the SSS Form E-4 or the Member’s Data Amendment. You’ll need to provide a certified true copy of your marriage certificate for the change of civil status. From the SSS Website: In the absence of the above-mentioned documents, submit a Certificate of Loss or Non-availability of the documents from the Local Civil Registrar of the place where the member was baptized and any two (2) of the following secondary documents, one of which with recent photo and date of birth, are acceptable: • Record of Employment • GSIS member’s Record • Certificate from the National Archives

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) Birth Certificate of Children Certificate of Naturalization issued by the Bureau of Immigration Marriage Contract Driver’s License issued by LTO School records Voter’s ID Card or Affidavit duly authenticated by COMELEC TIN card Life Insurance Policy NBI Clearance Pag-ibig Member’s Data Form PHIC Member’s Record Permit to carry firearms issued by the Fire & Explosives Unit, Camp Crame Certification from the Office of the Cultural Minorities (Aetas, Negritoes, Mangyans, Manobos, Etc.)

For Muslim members, a certificate form the Sharia Court should always be attached to the supporting documents for the following member’s data change requests: 1. marriage certificate for change of civil status; 2. certificate of divorce for divorce 3. certificate of conversion for conversion The original or certified true copies of the documents should be represented to the SSS for authentication purposes. Update your Driver’s License Your Driver’s License is one of the documents that needed to be changed. To report the change in your marital status, proceed to the Customer Service Counter of a Land Transportation Office (LTO) branch near you and secure a Driver’s License Application Form. Upon accomplishing the form you will need to present your: - Current/Expired Driver’s License - Copy of your Marriage Contract - TIN (Tax Identification Number) The Driver’s License Application Form maybe downloaded online at the LTO website (http:// www.lto.gov.ph), as well as payment details and other concerns. Update your BIR Records Updating your BIR Records is another important

thing that you need to do after the wedding. To do this you may need to fill up a BIR Form 2305 which can be downloaded online or acquired from an RDO (Regional District Office) near you. This form may also be available in your office, ask your HRD for the details. After filling out the form, attach a copy of your Marriage Contract and pass it on the RDO. Changes will be made accordingly. Update your NBI Clearance An NBI Clearance is needed for your passport renewal. NBI Clearance renewal is easily done by going to your nearest NBI Clearance Satellite Branch. You may need to bring a Valid ID and payment of 165Php for Change of Name. Update your Company Documents Ask your HRD and the Accounting department regarding the details that you have to change and update for their records. Update your Passport Your current passport, which bears your maiden name, can still be used until it expires. In updating your passport (changing your name and marital status) set an appointment with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) through phone or in their website for passport renewal. You may need your Marriage Certificate (on NSO security paper) among the other IDs and documents needed. Log on to: http://www.telephoneexpresspassport. com/ for details and other concerns. Bank Accounts and Credit Cards Go to your branch and inquire about the requirements, details and process in updating your accounts. This is crucial especially if you constantly make bank transactions. Do this soon after the wedding. Your Signature This may not be too much important, but if you wish to include your new last name in your signature you should also do this upon updating your records. Changing your signature isn’t really required because this isn’t really required by the law. Your signature is your personal thumb mark and you may or may not change it according to your will.

Acknowledgements • Jamie Lihan of Imagine Nation • Imagine Nation Photography (www.imaginenationphoto.com) • Jun Valbuena Photography ([email protected]) • Raymond Vince Cruz Photography (http://www.rvcphotography.net/) • Ariel Javelosa Photography (for Vina Mobeuis’ wedding pics) (http:// www.arieljavelosa.ph) • George Putong • Karen Kate Pico • Rose Jade Asmolo • Ms. April and Karen Yu (April and Karen Yu Flowers) • Mr. &Mrs. Ramil and Weng Apa-ap • Mr. & Mrs. Andre and Vina Mobeuis • Mr. & Mrs. Vincent and Venelyn San Pedro • Mr. & Mrs. Jerico and Khristina Ramirez