First major DP

The first downpayment we made was with the church. It was just a couple of thousand pesos. Minor.

On Saturday, together with our friend Daday, we let go of a big chunk of our savings to pay Gazebo Royale. Major.

Masakit sa bulsa. But we had to do it. Otherwise, the venue we want may be offered for another function.

Contract signing with Ms. Evelyn of Gazebo Royale

Choosing the venue was also a major factor in our preps. Now that the date has been blocked, we can think of others things already. With ten months to go, I really realy really need to start talking to our prospective suppliers. Must. Breathe. Still. Hayyyy...Or maybe I should wait until the Wedding Expo in NBC Tent on 3-4 September?

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Mom and I were talking about hiring a coordinator (even just an On-the-day coord or OTD [ayan Mitch, nilagay ko na din ibig sabihin...]) before the Pamanhikan. After that weekend however, Mom started to sing another tune, which made sense, I think. In the salon, I have one supervisor and 6 staff members while in the resto, I also have enough manpower. Why not utilize them instead, ask for their help, and assign responsibilities on the day of the wedding with Ms. C, the supervisor, on the top of everything? Oh well, I'm still thinking about it, maybe I'll decide much later on.

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It was posted in w@w last week that there will be a grand food tasting hosted by Hizon's sometime in October. I got interested, since Hizon's is an accredited caterer in Gazebo and told Ane about it. Hizon's is actually at the top of our caterer shortlist together with Tamayo's and Manila Catering. I inquired in one of the numbers posted, and immediately received a call from Ms. Marian. That was fast. Ane and I were a bit apprehensive about waiting for October (even for the Wedding Expo) before we decide on our caterer because we heard that Hizon's will increase prices by September. Much to my delight, we need not wait for the grand food tasting nor the expo before we could decide because Ms. Marian texted me yesterday saying that we could try their food this coming Saturday. Yey! Ane and I are still undecided but there's a big possibility that we will go. Even if we haven't chosen the package we might get, Ms. Marian said it is okay. Excited, yiheee!

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Also this Saturday, the W@W Grand EB is happening. Sadly we are not attending because we are also needed at the Baddicts! Weekly EB. It would have been nice to finally meet fellow-w@wies. Maybe next time. I'm sure there will be a next time. :)

Pamamanhikan

It happened on August 14, 2005. The time was set for lunch because FIL2B usually returns to Batangas (for work) after lunch on Sundays. That day was an exception, though, because he was scheduled to go on a business trip the next day. So we practically had the whole afternoon.

I asked Ane if we should also prepare some food because my parents invited my elders (grandparents from both sides and the second sibs with spouses of both my parents). He said, maybe we should because MIL2B prepared only some food (she also included my ever favorite buco salad!)...which later turned out to be enough. :)

My dad joked that he made an appointment at 11am and that he would miss the pamanhikan altogether. He knew I'd get pissed and that I wouldn't believe him anyway. By 11 we were all preparing and I changed into the newly purchased skirt and a blouse I bought a couple of weeks back. I even put on some make-up. Yup, I exerted effort just to be a bit girly. I thought Ane would appreciate it. Oh well, I think he did appreciate it. Dad said I was being OA, with the skirt, make-up and all, but I was quite sure he was just bugging me. :) The thing with dad's talaga.

When I went down, Tatay T and Tita E (mom's parents) already arrived. A little later Tatay T and Nanay L came. Nanay L was a bit teary-eyed when she held my hand saying, "Ano lalagay ka na ba talaga sa magulo?" I was touched of course. But I didn't know what to answer. Ane with his parents arrived shortly. I helped bring in the food they brought, introduced my parents to their balae-to-be, and settled them in the reception room. My elders were silent as FIL2B joked, "Kami ho ay kaunti lang, tatlo't kalahati lang kami, yung kalahati yung aso, naiwan sa bahay," referring to the fact that they were a bit outnumbered. That broke the ice. Tito B (dad's 2nd sib) with Tita V joined us and Mommy E (mom's 2nd sib) with Daddy M apologized for being late when they arrived.

The discussion started with my Mom and FIL2B leading the brainstorming. The date was set as well as the budget. Both sets of parents pledged to help out in the expenses. Other details were left upon us to decide, which is good. :)

Lunch was bountiful. And yummy too! But I ate a little. I dunno why.

After lunch, Ane's parents visited my salon and spa which is just next door and stayed there. All the men (except for Ane and my two brothers) from the Pamanhikan decided to start the drinking session. While the women (except Tita E and I), with nothing else to do, had treatments done. Mom had her pedicure, MIL2B and Mommy E chose hair spa, and Nanay L & Tita V had their hair colored! Mga kikay talaga!

After two 1-liter hard drinks, the men were obviously drunk while the women were relaxed. The women were waiting for the men and it was I who had to stop the men from drinking. Hangkukulet na eh!

After thirty minutes of goodbyes and kulitan, the party finally ended at 6pm. It was a blast. And i'm glad it happened. :)

Oooooppppsss... before I forget, pictures here!

Wedding Preps Update 2

Oh well, after the sudden rush of initial excitement with equivalent angst that went with it...after the preparations were put on hold...whew...

I can now freely talk about the wedding. It's quite obvious with the new layout, eh? Hihihihi...

The Pamamanhikan happened as scheduled on August 14, lunchtime. More on that later.

It was agreed upon that the wedding be postponed to a later date. It was initially set to happen on 25 March 2006. But since my side wished that my sister and her family be here on the wedding day, we tentatively scheduled it on 01 or 08 July 2006. We didn't want a later date because it could be the height of the rainy season by then.

On Monday, I made a couple of calls and was told that both the church and the reception venue we wanted are available on 01 July 2006. Of course I was ecstatic! The second choice, 08, is a good number but 01 is our monthsary. Ane and I naturally chose the first of July.

I went first to Gazebo Royale. They told me that our pencil booking was cancelled because we did not return to pay the downpayment. That meant forfeiting the money we paid (which will be my burden since I was the one who insisted on paying the blocking fee, huhu). I had no choice but to pay another blocking fee and then return before August 22 to pay the downpayment.

Next stop was the church, Our Lady of Consolation Parish. I sighed with relief when the manang lady moved our date at no extra cost. If she asked me to pay again, then that would be another cost for ME. Hehehe.

So what's next? I created a to-do list on the side bar. And definitely there are still a few cross-outs! It's just the beginning, and I don't know what to feel. Let me know if I missed out on anything, however complete the list seem to be (at least for me).

'Til next!