WeddingsAtWork W@W

If you’re Filipino and you’ve been researching suppliers for your wedding, I’m sure that you’ve come across WeddingsAtWork at some point in your preparation process. It’s a great website and clearinghouse and I’m happy that we have something like that here in the Philippines. One of my complaints in moving back home is that there’s not enough transparency in sytems, processes, the way things work (or don’t work). So it’s nice to have something like W@W for us soon-to-be weds.

W@W has different online communities. One for Chinese-Filipinos, one for newlyweds, one for soon-to-be weds (no suppliers allowed), for suppliers only. There’s even a W@W-Singapore, Dubai, Australia.. and a separate News and Events discussion group as well! It’s extensive. If you want to sign-up to be a part of any one of the aforementioned e-groups/discussion boards, then come on over here to take your pick to see in which group you and your hubby-to-be belong.

Naturally, I plugged-in the names of my suppliers to see what the group is saying/has said about each of them (which makes me wonder… hmmm… maybe I should have done this before booking the supplier!).  What is good about the e-group is that you can address each person’s comment – good or bad – and have them back it up with their own reasons, experiences, etc.  Then it’s just up to you how you move forward and make the decision with your fiancee. 

I’ve plugged in my own queries… waiting for replies… 🙂

CamSur Watersports Complex Part II

Watch the video here. It’s one of my faves, hon! If you want to read a bit more about the room rates, what the facilities have to offer, come on over here.

Bing Rivera, the Manager of CWC, said that they just had their first wedding there underneath one of the cabanas! It was for an Austrian couple (they both wakeboard). It would actually be a great place to have a destination wedding cos Mt. Isarog is your backdrop, and you have both a covered area and an outdoor area for the wedding reception (and a pool!) and little cabanas where you can set tables and stuff. I’m not sure how much it would cost to have the place to yourself for an afternoon/night, but I can’t imagine it would be more than P70,000 for 100 people. That’s just my estimate.

Get Involved

When it comes to weddings, its a common perception that the ladies are more hands-on with the whole process then men.

It’s true.

But it doesn’t mean we, as men, can’t get involved. Cathy loves details, and I always try to help her out when she comes to me for my opinion. Granted, that every decision should be a united one, I believe its in the little details that really help in the planning and ultimately in the execution of the Big Day. I’m at work everyday, so it’s hard for me to be with her when she has to meet with suppliers and our planner. But make sure to ask your fiancee how she’s doing, or what’s going on. Give her your suggestions and your opinion, regardless if she’s already got one in mind. It shows her you care about the wedding, and more importantly, that you are really invested in this life long commitment. If you feel like she’s already in control of the planning, or she’s really stubborn in her decisions and you’re just trying to avoid confrontation, then you’re already starting off on the wrong foot. Let her know you’re there to help. At least let her know you want to be involved.

Plus, I believe it’s great practice for the future. Communication is key. You don’t want to come home and find a new thousand dollar rug, and wonder where you were in that decision process. If you’re willing to take the time to give your valuable opinion and suggestion, then your partner will know to come to you for help. And that’s what it’s all about.

Sunday Morning with Tank

I wanted to gather a few images from bridal magazines this morning (all for my scrapbook, which I use to show suppliers what I mean when I want this or that) as I have been lagging in that department for the past 3 months. I haven’t gotten around to cutting out flagged pages to make any use of them. So that’s what I did this morning before meeting up with Jay.

 

Tank was with me and he was a sleepy little baby. He was kind of curious, sniffing the mag pages and trying to gnaw at the scrapbook. But for the most part he let me do my thing while he slept… er, snored. I’m meeting with the planner this Tuesday to show her the lomo wall at DPI so she has an idea on what it looks like and how it should be hung/mounted, etc. I’ve also asked 3 more friends to be part of our entourage (Dan, Alexa and Charley), and 2 of them have already accepted (yay!!!); the other one lives in Indonesia so I’ll have to see what her email reply is, if she can make it, etc. Exciting stuff! 🙂 However, 2 of my flower girls (sadly) won’t be able to make it so thank goodness we have a healthy supply of little girls here that we would be more than happy to ask. Thus far, little baby Alyssa (I think she’s 3) and little (8 y/o smartypants and cutypants) Thea are confirmed.

Here’s my experiment with my new 50mm lens (view album here). Thank you for being a cooperative subject, baby Tank.

p.s. We had a really good Saturday as well… we spent the entire day together with Jay’s fam, lazed around for a bit after Earth Day at Alexandra. Then I went to a sat sang with my friend, Dan, which made me really happy cos it was something different and cos I was out with Dan. And then she and I were picked up by Jay, who took us to the Lomo Wall exhibit at DPI in Astoria Plaza, Ortigas; Jay and I have a few pics up and the whole thing turned out quite well. Dan was actually the one who introduced me to lomography with her lc-a in Bali! And then we ended the night with a few Jakarta-Manila friends at Bug’s house. Overall, a great weekend 🙂 Btw, the above 2 links are from Bug’s multiply site, A Bug’s Life 🙂

Viaje del Sol

 

A lot of people have been asking us about Viaje del Sol – what it is, where to find the map, if you have to do the whole thing in a day, who to call, etc.  So if you’re curious and seeking ideas for a roadtrip then read this to get more info on the different places that we’ve actually checked out and highly recommend from Viaje del Sol.  Each is different from the other so keep an open mind and don’t expect the Four Seasons hotel.  These places are the real deal – genuine inns and bed&breakfasts, with straight-up Pinoy cooking that will definitely keep you coming back for more; nothing pretentious, just good ole hospitality that you can enjoy at your own pace.

Enjoy watching this video and this other one to get a sense of the people and places that make up Viaje del Sol.  You can also download the map here and read about the different locales (there are 18) here. 🙂

Oh, for pretty pictures you can VIEW THE PICTURE GALLERY HERE.  ENJOY your journey! 🙂

Save the Dates are ready!

I picked up our Save the Date cards from Printsonalities yesterday. I came with a library bookbag to stuff them in but Printsonalities was nice enough to put them all in a brown shopping bag so that if you come empty handed, it won’t be such a hassle to find something to carry them in.

Our Save the Dates came with the ff:

1) plastic slip (so you can put the Save the Date inside and it doesn’t get dirty or wet – something you have to take into consideration if you live in the Phils as it can rain whenever);
2) envelope (because some Save the Dates have to be airmailed);
3) and like I said above, in a nifty brown shopping bag.

I have 3 different colors for our wedding: Coral Red, a Taupe/Tan, and Blush, with the main color being the coral red. My main concern with the Save the Date was getting the coral red hue just right cos it basically tells our guests what the color scheme will be for the wedding, and many people think of ‘coral’ as the pink coral, not the red coral (I swear when I go scuba diving, the coral I see is red, not pink…) so I was very happy that it worked out 🙂

Here are the main (practical) reasons why we got Save the Dates (because it’s not a very popular thing to do here in the Phils, although Printed Matter at The Oasis next to Michi Calica’s salon has a whole bunch of samples, from magnets to coasters to calendars to cards):

1) DETAILS. Save the Dates give out-of-town guests a visual reminder (in our case a 6″ x 4.5″ card) of our wedding and the important related details, like WHEN (the date), WHERE (the city/country), and of course the WHO (some people only know one half of the couple);

2) COLORS. Guests want to plan ahead and get the swatch for the color scheme (to buy or to consult a designer about their dresses/gowns), so your Save the Date usually contains the color scheme and the motif for your wedding. Ours has a blend of bubbles/circles on one side and then simple text on the other, which mixes the playful/whimsical undertone with romance, which will be a running theme (whimsy & romance) in the wedding. Also, since I’m color inept, I can just whip a card out each time a guest asks me ‘what’s your motif?’ or ‘what’s your color scheme?’ 🙂

3) HOLIDAY WEEKEND. Our wedding falls on Thanksgiving Weekend in the states, which is the biggest travel holiday weekend there. As such, we want to give our guests plenty of time to block off that weekend, make travel arrangements, give notice at work, etc. More than half of our entourage and sponsors are coming from abroad so we’re hoping that the cards will be a classy reminder for them.

Are they absolutely necessary? No. You can definitely cut costs by doing an electronic version, or posting the date on your wedding website, or you can go the good ole fashioned route of telling people. But for someone who is into stationery, paper, and tactile things, and for the above 3 practical reasons, Save the Dates were an absolute must for us.

I’ll put up an image of our Save the Dates when all of our guests have received them already 🙂

 COSTS:

We received 2 quotes from the printer, one was for P8,000 (for 100 cards) and one for P12,000 (for 100 cards); we opted for the latter, which is basically how much a tri-colored pack of 100 cards costs.  If you want to have Save the Dates but want to save, then opt for a monochromatic one, perhaps even one that is half the size of ours (so a 3.5″ x 2″); it can still have the necessary details but you can save roughly P4,000-5,000. 

CamSur + CWC + Aguirangan Island

We’re back home from a recent trip to Camarines Sur. After being invited by the government to do a feature for ClickTheCity, we jumped on the chance immediately. We were asked to feature the CamSur Watersports Complex, a high-end facility conceived by Governor LRay Villafuerte, and a haven for wakeboarders and extreme sports athletes from all over the world. The vision and hard work Gov. Villafuerte has invested in building this one-of-a-kind complex is nothing short of extraordinary.  The 700 meter long cable lake dominates the park, but surrounding it are other facilities to cater to just about any outdoors junky- a skate park, bike dunes, beach volleyball, swimming pool, spa pavillions, a clubhouse and pro shop. Surrounding the sports complex are the lodging facilities. There are cabanas, the Mansion Suites hotel, trailer homes, and Balinese-inspired villas. Take your pick. A visit to CamSur wouldn’t be complete without visiting the CWC. Check out ClickTheCity’s Clipcast section within the week to check out the video feature.

We were also psyched to check out the other sites around CamSur. Although we were pressed with time, we were fortunate to visit Aguirangan Island. A tiny island off the port of San Jose, which is about an hour drive from CWC. It reminded us of one of our first trips together to Putipot Island off of Zambales. One island managed to elude us during our trip in CamSur, but we’re definitely coming back for that. Stay tuned.

It was quite a trip, and as soon as we reached our home back in Manila, I was quickly reminded how lucky I am. How lucky I am to have Cathy by my side during these trips. How lucky I am to be with someone who has the propensity to take these little adventures. And how lucky I am to have a long future of more adventures with her.  Although most of these trips are all work related, it helps strengthen the bond between Cathy and I. I find that backpacking with a loved one is definitely a must for couples. Engaged or not. You will both share the pleasure of leisure and discovery, as well as learn from each other under moments of stress and discomfort. So jump on the first opportunity to start packing your things and discover something new. You won’t regret it.

CamSur Watersports Complex.

Mt. Isarog (View from CWC).

More photos from Cathy’s Picasa Album.

Growing Blogs

We were #17 out of 100 on the WordPress list of Growing Blogs. Pretty neat for this little engine that could, right?

Wow, this past Holy Week was indeed providential. We spent a lot of quality time together, many times contemplating just how lucky we are to have found each other the second time around. We also got a chance to talk with our spiritual advisor/counselor and friend, Fr. Francis Gustilo, after his recollection lecture at St. James, where he will wed us this coming November 🙂 We mentioned to Fr. Francis how we were lacking in service work in our lives and he pointed us to Fr. Rocky’s (also from Don Bosco) Tuloy Foundation, which we will have to check out one of these days. We’re considering a few more things on our plate and we’re realizing that sometimes Life doesn’t necessarily give you everything in a neat, chronological and expected order. So we roll with the punches and turn inwards, lean on each other and seek the guidance and strength of God.

On Holy Saturday, we got a text from a provincial gov’s office so we are on the way to Camarines Sur this weekend for work… Gov. LRay Villafuerte invited us to check out CamSur’s main tourist attraction, the CamSur Watersports Complex, so we’re going to see what the fuss is all about. It looks totally different from any other sports complex in the country… and we’re amped to check out the beaches of the Bicol Region :).  Another welcome chance to get away from Manila’s mayhem.

You can view our Easter Weekend album here, taken with Cathy’s newly purchased DLSR (Nikon D40), bought over at Acel, Hidalgo Street, Quiapo (yes, it’s totally safe so if you’re considering a DSLR purchase you can actually get a pretty good body w/ kit at around P31,000).