invites update

i went to glorietta this afternoon for the final proofing of our invitations. everything was perfect, except for the main invite which had JOSEPH AND LESLI on it. i wonder who "lesli" was... the person in charge of layouting must have had his mind drifting to outer space while he was typing it. hah!

anyways, it's all corrected now and i've signed the proofs to indicate that all information has been verified and is accurate. we are to pick up the finished product by july 12. that gives us enough time to have them addressed by calligraphy. by the time joseph comes home, everything will be set. :)

Florist Update

joseph and i have finally decided to get the services of Yolly Aguilar for our entourage bouquets. i have already informed Yolly last Thursday of our decision through text and we plan to meet anytime in the coming week to confirm our booking by paying the required 20% downpayment.

Civil Wedding Update

thanks to Joseph's friend, Atty. E., we now have a judge who will preside over our civil rites on the 26th of August. the judge has requested us though to have it before lunch instead of the planned afternoon schedule because she has a class to teach in the said afternoon. now, i must ask anne castaño if it's possible to adjust my trial make-up schedule with her to an hour earlier. i hope she'll be fine with it.

gypso... what?!

when i was canvassing for flower suppliers for our entourage's bouquets, the suppliers would sometimes mention names of flowers or fillers that they would suggest for the said arrangements. one which came up too frequently was the term GYPSOPHILIA/GYPSOPHILA. i was like, "Gypso-what? What the hell were they talking about?"

anyways, Yolly of Tita Beth's Flowers was kind enough to translate the darn thing into layman's term. Gypsophilia/gypsophila is more commonly known as Baby's Breath. yun lang pala yun!

according to flowers.org, "The botanical name means 'lover of chalk' - as this is the sort of soil the plant likes to grow in. Its popular name, baby's breath, gives an indication of its delicate airy appearance."

for more help on flowers, click HERE. very informative. :)

bridezilla

here's another comic strip to brighten up your day. i'm sure every bride-to-be can relate to this.

swiped from Favor Ideas

6 months to go!!!

wow, i cannot believe there are only six months left before we walk down the aisle. time surely flies when you're having fun doing the preps for that big day. here's a rundown of what i've accomplished today.

Invites Update

due to tita rita's unavailability and unreliable schedule, we have finally decided to have our invitations printed by QP Designs instead. at least, all we need to do is just choose from their ready-made designs and provide them with the lay-out that we wanted.

i've posted a sample invite which joseph and i have decided on. we wanted it to be just simple and elegant, nothing too fancy. after all, when the wedding's over, i don't suppose people will still keep your invites. generally, they just go into the trash bin after a few months or so. we also thought that this was one thing that we could save on. my dear friend, Girlie (Thanks kaayo ha! ü), has agreed to contribute in paying for our invites so we only need to pay for the balance. we also chose a simple design so we could order additional RSVP cards for those expected to attend.

i went to QP Glorietta this afternoon and confirmed the design that we wanted. i also paid a one-thousand-peso deposit so that they can start to layout our invitation based on the sample i gave them. i'm due to get the layout this saturday so that we can finalize it. i will also be paying the balance of the required 50% downpayment so that they can start printing na once everything is finalized. by the way, since we're ordering around 150 invitations, they gave us a two-peso discount per invite. :) it will take them around 2-3 weeks to print it so the timing is just right. by then, i will have it ready na in time for joseph's arrival in august and we'd only need to worry about the calligraphy na lang.

Gown and Motif Update

i went to see Veluz this morning, with my mom. today, she took my measurements na for my bridal gown. we discussed some color combinations for the entourage's gowns as well. for the moms (Veluz will be making them too), we agreed to have it in rust orange or a melon-y shade of orange, with touches of wine or yellow gold to make them look younger. as for the bridesmaids and secondary sponsors, it's still going to be in wine red but with touches naman of the orange and gold. as for the little flower girls, they'll be in yellow gold with splashes of orange and wine on their sashes. love it! :)

i'm attaching the swatches that Veluz gave me. i hate how my scanner has captured them because sobrang layo talaga in real life. :( anyways, there's wine red chiffon there, orange reversible satin (love the texture, by the way!) and yellow gold shantung. we might be using a maroon shade of satin for the lining of the chiffon. will definitely use chiffon for the skirts to make it real flowy! :)

now i need to submit to veluz pictures of my entourage so that she can design something appropriate for each one of them. so kind talaga of veluz, when in fact, this is not part of her package naman. we plan to have the gowns sown by her sub-con who already knows how to interpret her designs. at least, there'll be some sort of coordination na rin.

well, that's it for now. by the end of the week, we might also be confirming our supplier for the entourage's flowers. things are finally starting to gain momentum already. i am so excited na! :)

a peek at hunter valley

Peppers Convent @ Hunter Valley

joseph and i might be visiting Hunter Valley when i'm all settled na in Oz. joseph's friend, J, may be sponsoring our trip there. my dear hubby-to-be has been talking to me about this romantic get-away place and has even showed me pictures of it. i admit it is lovely and very ideal for a quiet weekend to unwind and relax. sana matuloy kami! if so, we plan to go in March to celebrate our birthdays (we were both born in the same month).


the bedroom @ Peppers Convent (ganda!)

my life expectancy

i was bloghopping a while ago and landed on Balay ni Bambit. there, i was taken to a site which calculated your life expectancy based on your sex, weight, race, gender and lifestyle. it is somewhat similar to the Death Clock, but more detailed. and so here are my results...

YOUR LIFECLOCK RESULTS

You were born on: 02-03-1976

Given your current habits, you are likely to die on: 11/3/2063

That is in:
58 Years
701 Months
21323 Days
511729 Hours
30703700 Minutes
1842221950 Seconds

You will be 87 Years Old.

wow, i get to live to a real good old age pala. i hope i'm alive but NOT bedridden naman by then.

To find out about your life clock, click here.

bonita's world

since i'm a bit afraid of the water too (not of taking a bath ha!), i thought i'd post this cartoon from Mik's friend, Sheila. very funny! enjoy! :)

some tips from mimi

since we're having our prenups soon (in August na. can you actually believe june is almost over?!), mimi was so thoughtful and kind enough to give me some tips on some do's and don'ts on the day of our pictorials. here are just a few:

On Clothes
It is recommended that:

both your outfits match --- either they're of the same color, or in different shades of the same color, or same tonal range (of different colors but both light colored or dark colored -- a light pink would go well with a light blue but not with navy blue).

you go for solid tops; in case you want to wear clothes with designs/patterns, they should not be too distracting so as not to take the attention away from your faces.

your shoes and accessories go well with your clothes.

you wear light clothes as most of the pictorial will be outdoors, under the sun.

you bring at least 2 sets of clothes for variety.

On Make-up
Your make-up depends on the outfit or theme you have for the engagement portrait. If you're to be photographed in your formal clothes, then it is a must that your hair and face is made up. However, if you're to be in your casual outfits, a light everyday make-up (light powder, blush, lipstick) is recommended for the bride-to-be and a some powder for the groom-to-be (to help eliminate the shiny spots). Aside from a compact powder for touch-ups, oil control film is also a must bring.

i guess i'll have to reschedule my trial make-up with Clamar then. my appointment with them is not yet final pa naman as they serve clients on a first-come-first-served basis. i'd have to check with them a few days before the scheduled trial if they are still open on the 22nd of December. if not, then i'd have to cancel the appointment na lang. if they're still available, then i'd have to request for a rescheduling of our trial MU, probably after the civil wedding na.

it's sad that mimi's album supplier still hasn't responded to her inquiries. we're still hoping though that the 13x13 album is still available.

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Florist Update

i met up with Yolly Aguilar last wednesday and i was happy with our meeting. she really knew flowers! hehehe!!! i'm a real idiot when it came to fillers and other not-heard-of blooms so i felt so confused with all the terms she was mentioning. serves me right for not doing enough research. :P

i showed them pictures of bouquets that i gathered from the internet and some appealed also to her. we seemed to have the same ideas and the suggestions she gave really made a whole lot of sense to me. she was also open to my suggestions as well. her final quotation was definitely reasonable and affordable, not to mention that they really deliver the flowers to the hotel pa and they have other freebies as well (throw-away bouquet, loose petals, flowers for the offertory). oh, and did i mention that they really make the bridal bouquet in the hotel na to ensure it's freshness and that they only endorse it to the bride when the she needs it na for the pictorials?

i think these are what are important between a client and a supplier -- the rapport, that both are somewhat in unison in ideas adn of course, you get value for your money. it's so hard if your supplier has different tastes and styles from yours. that would definitely spell disaster.

i pencil-booked yolly na for the 22nd of December. i am just awaiting joseph's decision on this as he feels that he still has to compare the price of Yolly's flowers with other possible suppliers.

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remember that mommy (of my patient) who's still in denial? well, she told me yesterday that they will "temporarily" stop muna their kid's therapy because they're really having a tough time daw. besides, they've enrolled him in some playgroup somewhere near their home. their kid seems to be enjoying naman daw.

i was actually relieved to hear this, as if some weight has been lifted off my shoulders. i also felt that it was divine intervention in a way, and God took care of it for me. i was meaning to have a heart-to-heart talk with the mom so that they can better accept the situation of their kid. now, i don't have to do that anymore. they have really justified their denial by pulling out their kid from therapy. that's just sad. but i'm so fine with it because at least i won't be stressing out anymore on the child's management which the parents, i believe, don't actually believe in. the management is, in fact, ineffective already so there is no point in continuing the said treatment.

our secretary was also happy for me. she said that little by little my patients have been discharged and that everything seems to be working toward my stress-free resignation in august. less patients to be endorsed, less reports to make. ain't that the life? :)

yan ang pinay

i was bloghopping a while ago and stumbled into data's site. she was promoting a new cause in upholding the Filipinas' reputation across the world wide web.

you too can join in this crusade. i did because i felt it my duty as a Filipino and i also wanted to change the way people from other countries look at us Pinays.

for more information on how to help in this campaign, click here. make a difference!!!

my OC groom

and i thought i was the only one who got anxious when things don't go the way they're supposed to. joseph, being the systems analyst that he is, has been trying to think of ways to make our reception registration go as smoothly as possible. it has once been a cause of argument for us because i was content already in just printing out the table assignments and let the coordinators do the job of ushering the guests for us. he simply wanted more, mentioning so many what-ifs.

anyway, that issue is now resolved because he created (imagine that!) a program using MS Access to help us out with the guest list, the guests' attendance (whether confirmed, declined or for invitation only), clusters and table assignments. he claimed that he was so "obsessed" last saturday in finishing it that he wasn't able to do anything else at home. now, how's that for an OC groom?

the program is working fine now, save for a few minor bugs which he has vowed to correct. i was able to put in my share of the wedding guests and will be sending it back to him for consolidation. it's a very big convenience if you ask me because the computer will do all the sorting and reporting for us na. even my mom was awed when she took a glimpse at the screen as i was working on it. wala daw syang masabi sa "asawa" ko. naks! ;)

i didn't realize how much tedious the task was of entering all your guests' names, not to mention that my mom was also insisting to invite a few people that i wasn't so close to. i guess this is a common problem among soon-to-wed Filipino couples. families do play a BIG role in the guest list. i don't want to be going over our target number of guests anymore because as it is we are way over budget na. so mama promised that if the number of guests from our side exceeded my limit, she will be the one to pay for their meals. this is just being fair because my original guest list has not even reached 70 yet.

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Florist Update

Grace, a fellow w@wie, referred me to Yolly Aguilar of Tita Beth's Flowers. i texted her last saturday to inquire about her rates. i am happy to say that we found her rates affordable and well within our budget -- not too cheap, not too expensive either. she has even given me 50% discount on items exceeding her 14-item mark, because nga i was referred by Grace. :) i plan to see her on wednesday to discuss flower options and final costing of our floral requirement. i'm keeping my fingers crossed again on this.