Supplier Rating: Angel, Tropical Blooms

5 Stars for Angel.

Angel had to deal with a lot… my mom wanted high table settings, I wanted the low ones. He told me that it might be hard to get pink peonies and that I may have to settle for white, and I basically said IwantpinkpeoniesandI’mgonnagetpinkpeonies!  In so many (nice) words :).
I think Angel had a Tagaytay wedding that he had to go to on the same day as mine, but believe it or not, he prepared for both. He requested to have access to the Rigodon Ballroom at exactly 12:01 AM on November 24, and started setting up bright and early so that come reception time, things were lookin’ money.

The ento flowers looked fresh. My peonies looked good enough to eat. They were plump and the most perfect blush hue – I just stared at them for like 10 mintues straight before I put them down to have something to eat (for lunch).

 I kept them days after and I ended up giving them to my Tita who works at the Peninsula Hotel to thank her for all of her help.  Unfortunately, the flowers were left at her office when they had to flee because of the coup attempt.  Argh!

As for the styling, Angel captured the little drawings and cut-outs I had in my wedding scrapbook to a T.

Entourage on the dance floor after their dancing entrance… waiting for Jay and I to enter (notice the lanterns and the slim drapings.. didn’t want it to be too heavy with the drapes, and actually, we only covered 2 of the chandeliers as we wanted to have them out cos sayang if you cover them, they’re really gorgeous).

Notice that you can see our faces and expressions!  That’s cos we had low table settings and you didn’t have to strain your necks to catch a glimpse.  

My advice to other brides out there is to book Angel because he’s so talented, easy to work with, and he executes on the day of. The only con for me was that he hardly ever checked his e-mail, and if he did, he wouldn’t reply over e-mail (but text or call me directly), but again, as the bride, you have to get used to people not communicating with you in your preferred medium. Some people like e-mail, some don’t – so we compromise and everyone’s happy.  Tropical Blooms’ website leaves much to be desired, but show him your pegs and he’ll execute it – just remember to manage your expectations.  You can’t achieve the settings of your dreams with a teeny budget – but add a bit more and use local flowers and you then make room for Angel and his team to work their magic.

Supplier Rating: Jill Lejano, Photographer

Hello, wedding preppers and web purveyors.

Before I launch into our supplier rating for Jill, first let us tell you why it’s been hard to blog. There are plenty of reasons: no dsl at home (so difficult for my techie husband) yet because we just moved into our place and have not yet been graced by a phone line; busy at work; busy fixing up our place on the weekends; and we’re still recovering from the jetlag and hangover from our 2-week vacay *that needs another vacay after it*.

We went to Bogota, Colombia, for my Kuya Fred’s (and his now wife, Natalia’s) wedding. We did lots of eating – as in eating MEAT, which they have a lot of (well, cows) in Bogota, lots of drinking, and lots of dancing. The eating, drinking and dancing combo – despite the drugs/crime/third-world status of Colombia – has a lot to do with why Colombians are so happy, I think. There’s nothing that a shot of arguadiente or an hour of salsa with friends can’t cure.

Kuya and Nat at Andres Carne de Res, dancing – what else?

Their wedding was held at Hacienda Santibella, and it was g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s.

Bogota itself was so interesting… it was like Los Angeles, Miami, Manila, and parts of New York balled up in one place.

Their wedding was intimate (120 people) and quaint, but still so romantic and fun to be at, and it was so worth the journey to get there. So congrats to my new sis-in-law, Nat, and to my brudda, Kuya Fred!

On to the supplier rating for a certain Ms. Jill Lejano.

Jill’s an artist and a cool cat. She’s also a professional, she’s damn good at what she does, and she’s a lot of fun to be around. If you’re looking for a traditional portaiture for your pre-nups, or for the old stuff that you see in your Tita or Lola’s wedding albums, then Jill’s not the person to call. But if you want fun, tongue-and-cheek, and candid – the kind of stuff that should be blown-up, framed and displayed – then Jill’s your girl.

I guess, yes, she was our “second” photographer, but that’s just cos we hired her after we hired Terry. But to us, they’re both professionals and extremely good at what they do, and we’re grateful that they shared our big day with us.

A few shots of our pre-nups in Laguna (Casa San Pablo, to be exact) and Alabang:

A few shots from the wedding:

Although Jill took amazing digital shots (all included in our wedding album, along with Terry’s), what we really loved were her lomo/film shots.

Supplier Rating for Photographer, Jill Lejano: 5 stars.

To learn more about Jill and what she does, click here. To inquire about her wedding rates and package, please contact Jill at suplada80@gmail.com.

Don’t worry, party people. She’s not in the least bit suplada so don’t be scared by the e-mail addy! She’s game for what you and your significant other have planned for your shoots.

Jay and I with Jill, on the dance floor 🙂