cake... check!

i finally got to talk to our tita-cake-giver! it's a relief to talk to a supplier without having to discuss deposits and costs. i've been thinking of asking Lya for the embroidery design on my gown so that i can have the same pattern on the wedding cake - it should look good on a fondant cake. i just hope tita-cake-giver has a chocolate variant, and not a fruit cake base!

pause

this year's holy week has been my first real one in 3 years. the past years in thailand meant working on good friday, without a family to enjoy the break with too. looking back, i missed out on 3 years' worth of staying at home with the family, going thru religious traditions. as this year is my transition time between manila and vancouver, i welcome the visita iglesia, palm sunday, and family easter sunday lunch with much enthusiasm.

celebrating and observing holy week in the philippines is like no other. i had an interesting conversation with a friend a few years back, and we both agree that while filipinos are religious, we tend to focus on the pagan origins of our faith. case in point: wiping statues in church til the paint chips off. i grew up in a catholic school where nuns would boldly rally in edsa, but we were never taught that wiping a statue then wiping it on whatever part of your body would heal you. i don't know, i just don't get it sometimes.

living amongst buddhists, muslims, and non-believers has taught me the value of my faith. it's funny how in the philippines, we tend to categorize people by their religion - and, unknowlingly, judge them blindly for it... and seeing it in the philippines is sad.

in thailand, young people do not bother to go to the temple weekly to pray to their gods - for the simple reason that they have too much to do, and that when they get old and bored, they'll pray. haven't we heard one too many say that about the catholic faith as well?

anyhoo, enough sentiments on religion. i hope everyone had a meaningful holy week - whether or not you spent it in mourning or with your family.

eddie bruan

i dragged myself out of the house early sunday morning to have my trial session with eddie bruan... and i'm glad it was all worth it.



eddie is a real magician - he was able to cover the dark circles under my eyes and the freckles on my cheeks. sheesh, my before and after pictures must really look weird!

plus, he really works wonders with your hair. six hours, a car ride, lunch at the mall, and a studio pic at john ong's studio later, not a single strand was out of place. plus, my hair didn't feel pin-heavy nor hairspray-weary. to top it off, it's easy to wash the spray off your hair - no need for a whole bottle of shampoo!



so i ended up making a deposit after eddie pinned a mock veil on my beehive hair. there were 2 other weddings pencil-booked on my wedding date so to spare me of HMUA worries, i settled on hiring him since even my mom was impressed with his work.

when i signed the contract, the biggest shock was that their call time was 3AM. he sure wasn't kidding when he said i'd be made-up by 6am.

note to self: drink decolgen or benadryl on sept. 9, 5pm, and wake up at 2am.

shall we dance?

Somewhere beyond the sea
somewhere waiting for me
my lover stands on golden sands
and watches the ships that go sailing

somewhere beyond the sea
she's there watching for me
and if i could fly
like birds on high
then straight to her arms
i go sailing

it's far beyond the stars
it's near beyond the moon
i know beyond the doubt
my heart will lead me there soon

we'll meet beyond the shore
we'll kiss just as before
happy we'll be beyond the sea
and never again i'll go sailing

it's far beyond the stars
it's near beyond the moon
i know, yes, i know beyond the doubt
my heart will lead me there soon

we'll meet, i know we'll meet beyond the shore
we'll kiss just as before
and happy we'll be beyond the sea
and never again i'll go sailing

and never again i'll go sailing

and never again i'll go sai-ai-ailing
yeah



how's that for a first dance?

part of the wedding wish list

i want one of these. all i need is to justify to my dear husband why an iBook falls under wedding expenses or convince him that he needs to give me a wedding gift.

an event to remember

another signed supplier on the list - An Event To Remember! met with clarice last saturday to run thru the wedding to-do list and she said we've got our bases covered already - what a relief!

she reminded me though, that the little details like invitations and misalettes can already be done to minimize cramming.

next on the suppliers-to-seal is hangad.

mission accomplished

i made a deposit on my bridal gown and additional entourage gowns with lya armovit last friday! (because work has been so stressful, i decided to play hooky for once and made a disappearing act under the pretense of a store check hehehe!) lya called me a "panicking before the bridal fair bride" because i was insistent on talking to her before this weekend's bridal fair. my excuse was - knowing how chaotic bridal fairs are, i didn't want to have to run on limited time to talk to her during the fair. so we finally agreed on a design and sealed it with a check. she got my measurements already - much to my stubborn request to delay it (as if delaying it will make me lose inches). i even told her that it might be too early to do that (nagmarunung pa!) but she said i was crazy, before i know it, it'll be september!

hay, it feels so good to have that part over and done with. finally - my post-it tape flags can now say goodbye to bridal magazines.

****

saturday was hectic.
12nn - had lunch with the high school barkada at My Little Kitchen (yummmy chicken strips salad!)
2pm - had a site inspection for work
3:30pm - met An Event To Remember
5pm - met Lily's Flower Boutique at the Wedding Expo
7pm - picked-up something from a tita's house
8pm - watched the Nyoy Volante & Mannos concert at the celebrity sports center (work ulit!)

****

met clarice and rhodora at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. finally, real faces instead of blog addresses and tagboard messages! they're as daldal and sunshiny as i imagined them to be! i've decided to get them for on-the-day coordination since i do want to enjoy my own wedding. they showed me their wedding planner and it looks so OC! i just hope things work out with us!

****

the wedding expo was way better than last january's bridal march. this time there were more interesting suppliers like Ready To Wed (syempre love your own!), adworks (i bet an advertising graphic designer owns this), spyder (nice pop-ups and non-traditional invites), chocolate confections (yummy pecan chocolate), and It's The Box That Counts.

Bridal March was my first bridal fair in manila and the amount of leaflets shoved into my arms was overwhelming... but at the wedding expo, things didn't seem kalat as it used to be. i didn't bother to stop at each and every supplier booth this time - i only went to those that have been on my list of to-see and to-email.

the biggest reason i went to the expo was to finally meet Ms. Evelyn of Lily's Flower Boutique (side kwento: i was supposed to see her last weekend but because i got so excited in Ready To Wed, i forgot i had another meeting!). she had already emailed me her quotation for my entourage flowers but since i'm also getting my reception flowers from her, i asked her to add that to the whole list too. we ended up picking specific bouquets - hand-tied roses with different combinations. she had a bridal bouquet of 10 ecuadorian roses in pale pink and when i held it, i fell in love. it's really simple but it felt very bridal.

****

it feels weird to go to a bridal fair alone. first of all, they ask you at the registration booth if your fiance is with you. i don't find it offensive or anything like that... just funny that amidst all the hand-holding couples or families milling around the expo, i went around with objectives in my head instead of rose-tinted glasses.