on post-wedding jitters

It's just barely 4 months to go before our Big day! But there are still tons of things to cross off from my checklist but I am just procrastinating each day during my free time. Tomorrow, I'll be part of the labor force again after several months of soul-searching. (yeah, right!) Let's face the fact, weddings are expensive! No matter how simple you want your wedding to be, it's still expensive nowadays! I got a few DIY projects in mind just to save some big bucks but I just can't manage to start them or even think on how to start them. So I'm just browsing my wedding files and accomplishing nothing. And even if I want to just do some rakets so I own my time instead of doing an 8-hour office job, I prefer to do the latter coz I don't want to waste time of not earning enough to help spend for our wedding. So starting tomorrow, it's lesser time for me to plan the wedding.

One thing more, John and I have been searching for a new place which will be our First Home after the wedding and that's where my biggest jitter comes from! I think I'm more excited for the post-wedding events than the wedding day itself. Is that bad? Shall I panic now? That's the major factor that affects my lack of "interest" in planning our wedding. There's a part of me that just wants to get over and through with it. Seriously.

Here are some thoughts that are occupying my head when I'm not thinking about the wedding:

• furniture for our own place. I already have a folder in my laptop featuring all the nice-to-have furniture. And that includes the crystal chandelier.
• to honeymoon or not. There have been a lot of offers from coupon-selling and group-buying websites offering tempting hotel packages where we want to have our honeymoon. but since a lot of our loved ones are flying in just for the wedding, especially John's mom, of course we also want to spend time with them while they're here so maybe we would postpone the honeymoon until we really have free time.
• the Dragon Baby. YES, with God's grace, we claim that the Dragon Baby shall be given to us at His perfect time. may s/he be a honeymoon baby or not, we are already excited for him/her. and that's one more factor that's keeping us from having an extensive honeymoon getaway at the end of the year or the beginning of next year, coz we might be 3 when we ought to be honeymooning...
• Phoebe or Tex. no, that's not in relation with the bullet above... Phoebe or Tex is our future micro-mini pinscher. must be black. we had a previous heart-breaking experience when we almost had Phoebe but the seller (John's so-called friend) didn't meet us up. Everything was set, her collar, her leash, her food bowl, her toys, her treats and dog food but most especially, her place in our heart. but we promised that one day, we'll have her.
• not just our new condo unit but more especially our New Home. John and I hate the time of the day/night when he needs to take me home or we have to go on separate ways. We really really hate that part. So we are so much looking forward to the day when we no longer need to part ways coz we know that we are just beside each other anywhere we go.

so there, I guess those things I mentioned above give justice on why I am having post-wedding jitters. As I read on FB a few months back, it goes "Wedding is just a day, look forward to marriage coz it lasts a lifetime." (it goes something like that, I forgot the words in verbatim).

But ok, i'm taking back what I said earlier that I just want to get over and through with it (wedding). Of course, there's no bride in this world who's not having wedding jitters. I do too. And I'm very much excited to be united with the man whom I'm happiest with - non-other than my bestfriend. :)

Post-Wedding Home: Check! :)

Today, I just came back from paying the reservation fee for the Studio Condo Unit that John and I have been searching for the last couple of months.

Actually, this may not be The One, or I must say, we just settled for what's available and what's within our budget. We lost The One a few days ago.

Here's the story of The One.

A few months back, sometime late February, my friend told me that a unit at their condo building is being leased out. So I asked for the contact number, and I was able to talk to the owner. We were scheduled for an ocular visit that weekend and we liked the place immediately. You know, there's a "this is it!" feel to it. But since John's contract with his current apartment in QC is not expiring til 2nd week of May, we didn't do any payments yet. We just told the owner to just be in touch with us in case someone shows interest with the unit, then maybe we can do something about the payment when the need arises.

So I did a follow-up with him weeks after. And he said the unit is still available but someone's inquiring but haven't done any ocular yet. A week after that, I had a chat with my friend and she mentioned that the "for rent" sign is no longer posted at the door. Then I told her, no, it can't be, coz the owner agreed to contact us in case someone's really interested with the unit so we can settle the payment. And I contacted the owner to confirm about the condition of the unit, and he was very apologetic and told me that he forgot about us! I was really really really pissed that day. Make that super pissed that I was fuming at John - but was sorry afterward coz it was not his fault anyway. Oh well, there's no one to blame. The unit is all gone. We got nothing to do but to look for another one.

Days passed by from searching the net, contacting numbers and emails here and there, doing ocular visits until we found the 2nd best. Oh actually, that was the 3rd best yet.

On the same condo building, we went straight to the broker and they got a few more units available. We went to the first one, a one-bedroom unit - semi-furnished. The size was very promising! We were already talking about the payment arrangements when John had to check his phone and use the calculator application to compute our payables and lo and behold: NO SIGNAL! as in nada! nothing! waley! ZERO! we checked the nearby corners of the unit (which by the way is just a few steps away), but there was still: NOTHING! and the agent finally butted in (maybe after being awa to us during our raising-our-arms-up-high-holding-our-phone moment in search for the most-sought for SIGNAL), "ay wala talagang signal dito kasi inner unit". Oh okay. I wish she just mentioned earlier so as not to fill our hearts with hope that this will be our new home. So we asked her if we could see the other units. And so she went back to their office to get the keys and we headed back to the elevator and went to the 7th floor. We viewed 2 studio units. One is fully furnished (which I didn't really like because of the too-big bed that occupied the entire room! - im exaggerating, but yeah, it was too big! It looks like this:

 

and at the foot of the bed is a 29-inch old school tv. (exactly looks like this)

so I told John that it's too furnished that we won't be able to move freely anymore. So we asked her to see the other studio unit. She said instantly, "ay, inner unit din yun. Walang signal dun." I appreciate her honesty but since she brought the key with her anyway, then why don't we just give it a try. So we walked a few more steps and we were already at the other unit.

It was all blue. The room looked small because of the dark color and there was an adjacent condo building next to our window. So we took out our phones and to our surprise, we had signal! Yey! :) There was a bed, but a smaller one. There was a slot for the A/C so we need not sell John's A/C. It comes with a few appliances like electric fan, rice cooker, electric stove for a much cheaper price than the fully-furnished studio unit.

So we said, this is it! This is finally IT! We made it The One even it was originally not. 

I'm still in the process of letting go and moving on from not the getting the original The One but with John with me, filling our future home with love, affection, peace and joy - the 3rd best will eventually be Our First Home and we will love it as if it was our first find.

PS. I just want to mention that they allow small dogs in the condo building! :) and that makes us soooo happy! :)

Florist: Check! (and what a small world it is!)

This week was a love-filled week... I attended 3 weddings of an officemate, a college friend and a family member. Also this week, I found out that two among the closest people in my life are having a baby! :) so to tally, we have 4 expectant moms towards the end of the year. :)

This afternoon, my mom and I dropped by Megamall (after attending a wedding in Mandaluyong) to check out the book and buy rates of Eastwood Richmonde Hotel, but it didn't work out. Our wedding date wasn't included in their promo rate. So we just looked around and I showed my mom some of our booked suppliers such as the wines, P/V and photobooth. We also passed by a florist who I asked a quote from yesterday.

And this is why I mentioned "what a small world it is" coz my mom knew the owner of the flower shop. Ms. Evelyn of Flowers of May used to be a lector in our parish in Marikina several years ago. My mom is also active in church and serves as the mother butler in our chapel. So they made chickahan about our parish, the past priests and so on and so forth... I also found out that she was my classmate in cosmetology class sponsored by our barangay loooong time ago. So we joked, "So ano, may parlor ka na?"

I've always been curious about inquiring at Flowers of May since I used to live in Teacher's Village during my thesis year in UP and now the fiance is living there too for almost a year now, so the flower shop is a noticeable landmark to us, to me in particular. But it's just surprising that the owner is someone very familiar to us and also served our Parish.

But just a few minutes ago, I read some negative reviews about them. But I guess my research was a couple of hours late coz we already booked them. I'm just trusting my instincts (and my mom's too) and our very comfortable and easy transaction earlier. And also lifting our preparations to God for a smooth and hassle-free wedding day. :)

the search for the photobooth...

Today, me and the fiance went to Megamall for the Princess and Brides Wedding Fair... actually, this wasn't really planned... I just saw the pass that I printed out and since we were in the area (Robinson's Galleria), we proceeded to Megamall after my friend's birthday lunch....

What we really wanted to look for is a photobooth... luckily, the first booth that we inquired with and tried was the one we really liked and booked right there and then! :)

We just needed a couple of hours of photobooth service since we already booked the Photoman. We just needed a photobooth so that our guests can pass time while waiting for us to arrive at the reception venue (since our Reception Venue, is just in front of the Church). Me and the fiance will still need to retouch and have some post-ceremony photoshoot around the church...

So there... John and I planned to have a photobooth at the foyer and registration area for 2 hours (and 30mins bonus from booking at the fair) then have the Photoman onwards. Stop time for Photoman during dinner, then continue again during program until the after-party. Hope that scenario works!

By the way, we booked the Photobooth of the first picture. :) and for those who booked from Deal Grocer, theirs is the 3rd from the last pic. Their photo quality is good! :)

FYI!

• To those who are still in search for (affordable) HMUA, the wedding fair that's happening now until Sunday showcase a lot of HMUA... almost all of them are offering on-the-spot makeup trial... even though I wanted to avail of their free makeup trial, I already booked Mama Val as my HMUA. 
• Also a lot of (affordable) photobooths are there for you to try out... their rates start  from P6,500 for 2 hours and some freebies... we got ours for only P4,800 for 2 hours plus 30mins. that is Party Treasures. you might wanna try their booth. 
• For those who want to have a wine tasting session with Rachebelli, they have a booth there! :)

My DIY photo holder

After days and days of rummaging craft stores and online stores, finally, I got the courage and patience to create a photo holder, myself.

I used wire (alambre), long nose, wire cutter, black spray paint and a lot of hand strength. (twas not easy bending and (re)bending those thick wires)! I also used some containers, specifically solid ones and used them as molding. I think I used a vitamin bottle, and jar of cheese spread to have variety in size.

So there, I just bent the wire around the container and takes its natural circular form and I just readjusted it to make a spiral pattern. While on the top part, I just did it free-hand. The harder part was to cut the wires so my dad helped with it. 

After I tried and fit the picture, (the photobooth pic is just a sample by the way)... I spray-painted it black. And presto! I have my DIY photo holder! :) 

Flower Girl Dress

Yesterday, we went to MOA together with my cousins, aunt and niece. We went to the SM Dept. Store and I saw this white dress at the kids' section. I first saw this last January and it was just fresh on display. But this time, it was on 50% discount!

Good thing my sole flower girl was with us so she was able to fit the dress. She wanted a pink one but we did not really like it that much, and I like this white one better. We had to trick her just so she will fit it. We told her that it was just like Mutya's dress. I took a bigger dress since my wedding is not until 4 months from now and we know how kids grow too fast. So there, I can cross this one from my list! And I made big savings too! :)

happiness - OVERLOAD!

What a great way to cap off the night and begin the day with good news! :)

Last night, when I was about to sleep, I had a brief chat with my former FA and kumare, and she told me about our friend's pregnancy... So I went to our friend's FB page, and there it was! Baby news all over! :) So I said a short thank you prayer for her. And changed my FB status as: "Thank you Lord for the gift of life. I am in awe of your powers and grace. Thank you for another baby in the barkada. :)"

And just a second or two before I started this post, my college friend (and thesismate), just changed her status from in a relationship to engaged! :) And I'm super happy for them! (the girl and the boy are my college buddies and they've been together since forever!) and she replied to my comment with this: thank you. looks like sunud-sunod tayo gragraduate ah. :D like old days. 

*deep sigh* life is indeed full of surprises - happy surprises, that is! this year and the next will be filled with love, warm friendships, and happiness! :) Congratulations to the future Mom and Dad, as well as to the future Mr. & Mrs. :)

one thing is for sure though, with all these wedding bells all around me - BABY BOOM on 2012! and God willing, including our Dragon Baby... :)

5 more months...

On this day, it's officially 5 months away from our Big Day... :)

So just for some updates: we haven't done anything yet in relation to the paperworks... but should i panic? i don't think so... :)

John doesn't have a copy of his baptismal certificate. But his mom knows the town in Bacolod where he got baptized. So with the help of a very good friend who's based in Bacolod City, he went to the only big Church in that town and requested for John's records. And just at the end of March, we heard from the church, finally, and John's records were there! yey! Thank God! and thank you Archie for all the hassle you went through, and for saving us the plane fares in going to Bacolod ourselves. :) This FB shoutout was for you: "True friends are actually angels in disguise... they are blessings sent from above... :)" we are just waiting for the papers sent through the courier and we can finally get back in action!

We can then proceed to John's confirmation and finally file our requirements for the church. I don't even have copies yet of my baptismal certificates stamped with "for marriage purposes" as well as my confirmation certificates... oh, and we can still procrastinate with the filing for our marriage license since it will just be valid for 120 days prior to the wedding date... so for that, maybe we can do that on June... :)

As for the other details, I think we got most of the major stuff covered. We have church and reception venue reservations, my wedding gown and John's suit are already making some progress. My female entourage have already finalized their dress designs, they are scheduled for measurement-taking on one weekend this month, we will be having our prenup photoshoot next month, and the rest of the minor suppliers are already booked. So I think, we are good to go! :)

I am planning on going back to work to help save up for our new-found place! I'm more excited now in shopping for our own home... :) lately we've been searching for sofa-beds for our tiny but very cozy unit... :) but after watching the late news last night, i have a heavy heart in leaving my parents (especially my mom) alone here in our own house... all I've seen in the news were about crimes! robbery, kidnapping -- aaaargh! very horrible indeed! but I trust in God's mercy, He will keep my family and loved-ones safe and healthy at all times.

Indeed I am sooo much looking forward to MARRIAGE -- not just the wedding. :)

Vesta + John + Tala

Again, the bestfriend and I are chatting this lazy afternoon about W. weddings! and i just realized, just this second that both of us are marrying John! yep! yep! I'll be marrying Khister John while she's marrying John Paolo... :) nice thought... :) cheers to the John's of our lives! and here's the John who I'll be marrying in exactly 5 months and a day from now: