Supplier Update: HMUA

Guess who my HMUA is in this picture!

Yes, it's Xeng! :)

Unlike other brides who have countless trial sessions before they decide on their HMUA, I booked Xeng without having one. Her experience in the fashion industry and her amazing portfolio and clientele are enough for me to get her without hesitation. :)

Supplier Update: On-the-Day Coordinator

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Like most brides, I want to be stress-free on THE day. I don't want to worry about the glitches that may happen or the booboos that may be accidentally committed. I want them taken cared of... as much as possible, without my knowledge. lol. And for us to have our peace of mind and to enjoy our wedding day to the fullest, we need a coordinator who we can fully trust. 

After doing some research and some email inquiry blast, Chi Abarquez of Once a Bride was the one who stood out. She was professional and she replies promptly. Her packages were also detailed and she also included some freebies. I even asked her which among her packages I should get (i was torn between otd and semi-coordination), and she told me to just get the otd because I seem to be a "hands-on" bride. She gave me a copy of the Service Agreement and she told me to think it over. After discussing it with Dennis, we immediately paid the deposit to book her! :)

Happy! :) I do hope that her team will deliver and will be able to handle everything come our wedding day. :)

Supplier Update: Photographer and Videographer

Dennis is an extremely busy person and he always gives me the hand in choosing our suppliers. He actually makes it harder for me because I can really be fickle-minded and easily swayed. With so many really good photographers and videographers around, it was definitely a challenge picking one for our wedding.

So to make him help me in deciding, I made an excel file for him of the possible photographers and videographers with their corresponding rates and packages. Once he saw the excel file, he simply told me that they're all within the budget and that I should pick the one I really like. I wanted to cry because I like them all! 


Finally, after days of research and sleepless nights, I've narrowed down our options to 2 each: 

Photographers: Oly Ruiz of Metrophoto OR Francis Perez of Pat Dy
Videographers: Mayad Studios OR Jason Magbanua

I thought that choosing will be a breeze and much easier! But I was so wrong! I keep going back and forth with my choices. The more I see their works, the more I keep on changing my mind! So I decided to just stop looking at their websites. And I just forced myself to choose. I know that whoever I pick, we'll be in good hands and that either way I can't go wrong.

After almost 3 weeks, we were finally able to say "I Do" to our choices. Hooray for Metrophoto and Jason Magbanua! :)

metrophoto website

jason magbanua's website

Supplier Update: Church and the Reception Venue

Madre De Dios Chapel was one of my kinda non-negotiable supplier. I knew I wanted a destination wedding and Tagaytay was definitely on the top of our list! I told Dennis I wanted to have an intimate ceremony and I'd rather do away with the long walk to the aisle and enjoy the intimacy and simplicity of being married in a Chapel. I've considered Calaruega and Chapel on the Hill too but just seeing Madre De Dios gives me goosebumps and that "this-is-it" feeling.

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We initially inquired for a December 2012 Sunday wedding, but was told that the only available slot was in the morning at 10am and the available reception venue was in China Palace, which was on the other side of Tagaytay Highlands. It made me re-think of our options because as much as possible, I didn't want to have a morning wedding since I don't want our guests to go through all the hassle of waking up early in the morning and driving all the way to Tagaytay just to attend our wedding. I also noted that there aren't many salons that are open just in case our guests wanted to have their hair and make-up done professionally! lol.  So our options were either to find another Chapel that's still available for our date or change the date depending on Madre De Dios and Midlands Veranda's availability.

We tried option 1 first. Calaruega and Chapel on the Hill were already booked (as expected). San Antonio De Padua also had the same 10am slot. We also considered holding it in Manila but we were informed that the Archbishop's Palace and EDSA Shrine were not open for a Sunday wedding. Paco Park's St. Pancreatus Chapel only has the 1pm slot available. 

So instead of stressing over it, we chose option 2. We decided to let go of our December 2012 wedding and inquired about other possible dates in the first quarter of 2013. Our AE was kind enough to give us a list of available dates for Madre De Dios and Midlands Veranda. We also made the decision that since we're having an afternoon-dinner destination wedding, it might be best to choose a Saturday date instead of a Sunday so that our guests can enjoy more and not worry too much about getting home to prepare for work early the next day. 

In the end, we chose February 9, 2013 because it also happens to be my birthday and the last day of the Year of the Dragon (Chinese New Year's Eve). February 2013 also marks our 88th month together. :)