September to Remember!

What a busy month September is for me! I literally can't find the time to sit down and write. Well I have to admit it has been busy, busy in the office as well so I guess it made me more busier! But I'm not complaining. I love my job and I love what I'm doing . Oh!  and to top it all off, I just recently celebrated my 1st year anniversary with Tanduay. Happy anniv to us!:)

Going back...

So what have I been busy with lately? A lot actually!Here's a rundown of our September schedule. Both Wedding and non-wedding related :)

• Sept. 6: Interview with Don Bosco Parish Makati/ My bday party at the Billiard Room:)

         We already knew how tight this day would be for us but Bri insisted on having my bday celebration with family and friends at our favorite venue, the billiard room :) Ok but before that I had a very, very busy bday.

I Went off work early to:  

                 1. Bri treated me for lunch at Just Thai in the Fort. Here are a few pictures.

      

       2. Went to meet our Broker for the condo unit we are planning to buy.

       3. Went to visit my good friend at Makati Med.

       4. Went to Don Bosco Parish Church for our interview. 

A little story though. Bri and I were so tensed for our interview and we didn't have any idea on what was going to be asked from us. Turned out the interview was so quick and the questions were at the back of the form we have been holding a few minutes before handing it the priest who interviewed us. It was quite an experience. I guess we are just both a bit excited and tensed since this is our first time to get married hahaha :)

      5. My bday party at the Billiard Room.

It wasn't really a party. It was more of a get together of sorts. Both our Family, friends and colleagues were there to celebrate my annual special day. It was full of love and fun!:) here's a few pictures from that night.

 
It was the best bday ever! Thanks so much Babe! :) and of course thanks to our family and friends. My last bday as a single girl is going to be remembered forever! :)

• Sept. 9: Weddings & Beyond Event at Rustans Makati.  

      Since we are registered at Rustans, we were invited at their event which was a tie-up with Wedding Essentials Magazines. And what do you know?! Bri and I both won the raffle. Here are a few pictures of us and our prizes.

Big Thanks to Rustans & Wedding Essentials :)

• Sept. 10: Ge Navarro & Nikki Jimeno's Wedding at San Agustin Church. Reception followed at Palacio de Manila. 

         It was a lovely wedding! Mau and I cried a lot in their wedding :) I guess it's really like that esp. when you're very close to the couple. We can't get over Ge & Nikki's wedding even until now. It was like we are attending a trade event :) Good job Nikki & Ge! Very, very classy and lovely wedding. Here are a few pictures from their wedding. And oh! Bri was one of Ge's bestman too! so it's a really, really meaningful wedding to us :)

 

Will be posting official photos soon!Thanks a lot Ge & Nikki for having us in your wedding! Enjoy your European honeymoon! :)

• Sept. 11: Bri & I went to SMX for our last wedding fair. Here we booked the last things on our list. wedding invitations c/o wink and our weddings rings. Finally! we're done :)

 

• Sept. 15: Met with Bonne for the headbands of my entourage and our wedding bouquets. Yes! this is going to be really, really pretty! I'm so sure about that. 

 

• Sept. 17: Bri & I went to Shangri-la Mall EDSA to watch the band who will be playing on our wedding. Super nice! They played a lot of Jazz songs perfect for our wedding. Super excited! :)

 

• Sept 18: Went to SM Centerpoint for the opening of Izawmazing. It's the new business venture of my future brother-in-law/ Bri's brother Jan and his wife Nikita. Sarap super! so guys if you happen to pass by SM Centerpoint don't forget to drop by Izawmazing :)

 

•  Sept. 20: Dinner with our ninong-to-be Boy Pangilinan at Songkran along Aguirre Ave, BF homes. 

 

We had so much fun. For those of you who don't know yet. Bri and I met at Mediacom. Sir Boy said he already knew it's going to happen the first time he saw us. sweet! It was a fun dinner, reminiscing about those days. 

• Sept. 21: Petticoat and Corset fitting for my bridal gown. weeee!!!!  I know it's still a long way to go but it's so pretty na hahaha I can imagine wearing my gown already! lovely!!!:)

 

• Sept. 24: Dress fitting of the entourage/ Bday party of Jade, Kuya Pat's Fiancee at BF Homes.

 

• Sept. 25: Marriage Preparation Seminar at Don Bosco Parish Church Makati. 

 

Whew! define hectic hahaha! :) 

But again we are not complaining. It has really been an exciting months, weeks and days for us. Thanks to the help of our family and good friends. 

I guess October is going to be yet another busy month. Exciting! :)

Well now that I'm back in writing again, I will be posting more about our wedding details so stay tune guys! :)

Mwah!

Forever Love made in Lobo, Batangas

How time flies so fast, right? It's exactly...hours, from today 'til the wedding of our good friends Gerard Navarro and Nikki Jimeno.

a backgrounder...

Ge and Nikki were classmates of Bri during their elementary and high school days at Manresa in Parañaque. Nikki is also Bri's neighbor in Paranaque since way way back.
While Ge is a bandmate of Bri in Manresa. 

Yes! you got it right. Bri was in a band before and he was the lead singer :) Their gigs were mostly done at school affairs and other related events.

Anyway, going back to the story...So since Bri and I became a couple, I became instant friends with them. As if they don't have a choice hahahha! Well as friends, we would always go out on food trips, road trips, movie trips and so many other trips!

Road trips which include Nikki's lovely family resort house in Lobo, Batangas. I think I have been there twice already hehehehe :) The first time Bri and I were there was so fun! My good friends  Steph and Paulette were there too plus Jolibs & Merl, Gian & Karen and Ge. Nikki wasn't able to join us though since it was the week of her board exam :) Oh yes! It's Atty. Nikki Jimeno :)

The next time we were there we brought my baby pup Charlie along :) Oh my! how she enjoyed the beach. She literally did a "langgoy aso" hahahaha :) 

Now I'm starting to miss Lobo hahaha... 

So going back again to the couple, the said place is very meaningful to the both of them that they decided to do their pre-nup pictorial there. Awww! Sweet!

Here's Nikki and their pre-nup story:

Here are some of my favorite prenup pics. :) The locations are: our beach house in Lobo, Batangas; the Malabrigo Lighthouse; Punta Verde Resort in Punas, Batangas; and some farms and scenery along the way. 

The beach house is extra special because that's where Gerard did his soul searching sometime in 2009, and where he (supposedly) realized that he loved me and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. And that is where he also proposed at 11:30pm on November 11, 2010. :) 

We both can't pose even if our lives depended on it, so we just tried to be ourselves. Most of the good shots are those that are candid, and when we were caught just laughing at each other. I think medyo na-frustrate yung photographers samin when they tried to take "serious" couture pictures, kasi Ge and I were just so bad at it. Haha!

The shoot took place on August 15-16, 2011. Since it was overnight, we told the photographers to bring their wives and families, para vacation na rin nila, sort of. My best friend and matron of honor, Danielle Miller, also came along, fat baby Layla in tow. :) On day 1, we shot from 3pm until 10pm (with merienda and dinner breaks, of course) and the following day we shot at 7am until 11am. 

Nikki and Ge would like to thank photographers Ramon Mangila and Chito Vecina. Stylist Rochelle Romero and HMU John of Jesi Mendez.

Wedding Invites: Culture Inspired

And so the obsession about the perfect wedding invitation continues hahaha! :)

A little introduction...

This beautiful wedding invitation was given personally to us by the bride Nikki and groom Gerard 2 weeks ago during Bri's birthday celebration. They are to wed this coming 9-10-11 just like Marc and Mica who I featured in my previous blogs.

Upon seeing their invitation, you immediately get an idea of their theme, "Filipiniana". 

What can I say? It's so beautiful or shall I say "Ang Ganda!"

• Classy
• Sophisticated
• Formal
• Very Filipiniana

...were other words that popped in my head that I know best describe Nikki and Ge's invitation.

When asked about how this love invitation came to life, the bride Nikki said:

The design was a combined effort between me and Noky Gatmaitan of PRINTSONALITIES. Basta I told her na Filipiniana yung theme, and that my colors were Cream, Green and Gold. And I specified na gusto ko may lace.

When I first went to their office, she showed me several styles of invitations. I fell in love with the Couture Style right away (yung matigas na fabric envelope). Pero she warned me that it's a bit pricey.

I tried in vain to consider other styles, pero I really wanted that kaya I thought, "cost be damned, I will follow my heart" haha! Kasi kung ayan na gusto ko, why should I settle for anything less diba? So we decided on a cream fabric, and she said to bring the cost down, ako na mag-provide ng lace.

The fabric envelopes are hand made each, kaya matagal gawin. For the card inserts naman, within two weeks Noky sent me about 6 invite studies and when I picked one, she tweaked it until finally masaya ako.

When I got the invitations, nakakabit na yung tags per invite. Wow so ang kinabit na lang namin were the ones na may blank labels. Super, Super convenient.

Pahabol...I got the lace from Divisoria. Buti na lang my dad's secretary lives in Tondo at malapit dun. Pinapunta ko sha sa Divisoria and nagpakuha ako ng ibat-ibang lace samples na 4 inches wide. When she brought them to the office, I picked one at bumili sha ng isang roll for only Php 40 per yard. Winner! :)

Before I show you their Beautiful wedding invitation, here's their save-the-date! :)

That's simply just a taste of things to come. 


Voila! their wedding invitation:

 

Lahat ng binigyan namin ng invitations sobrang gandang ganda, ngayon lang daw sila nakakita ng ganun. Needless to say, I was more than satisfied with the outcome, and I don't regret a single decision we made on that. 

I love Printsonalities! :)

                                  The bride Nikki with a dedication cake for Printsonalities

                                                      photo c/o the bride, Nikki.

LOVE unexpected

LOVE or shall I say MARRIAGE is indeed in the air. Looks like everyone is getting married especially with the SEBIALS. 

May of last year, it was Jan Andrew, the youngest of the SEBIAL brothers who got married to Nikita Paola Ribas at St. Jerome Church in Alabang, reception followed at Fernbrook Gardens also in Alabang. This year it's going to be us, Brian Sebial and Cheska Generoso yey! hehehehe and next year it will be Kuya Pat Sebial, Bri and Jan's 2nd eldest brother to Jade Aoanan.

Their wedding is going to be on May 12, 2012 at the Hoyohoy Highland Stone Chapel Hotel in Tangub City, Misamis Occidental. 

Destination wedding is LOVE! hehehehe

  

So of course, Kuya Pat and Jade has no excuse not to be in this blog hahaha! and so...

here's their wedding proposal (As told by the Bride, Jade):

Last March 11, 2011, Friday night. I was getting ready for work and Patrick was in such a hurry to go down to the car ahead of me. When I got inside the car, as he was getting ready to drive, I opened the glove compartment to get the Alcogel and Pat suddenly froze, like he was just watching my every move. As soon as I was done, I shut the compartment, and he went back to driving. Something was really suspicious, I thought. Was there something in there? Should I open and take a look? Or if there was really something, do I really want to ruin the surprise? Later that night, he kept sending me mushy text messages, leaning towards marriage and spending the rest of our lives with together.

The next day, March 12, 2011, since it was his birthday, we planned for a special dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Cyma. And since I work at night, he made sure I slept through out  the day so I had enough strength, plus the good mood, to go out that night. 

At one point during the day, I woke up and saw him working on his laptop. When he noticed I was awake, he tried to cover his laptop screen with his hand so I won’t see what he was doing. Initially I thought he was doing something suspicious, that if we had internet in the house, I’d think he was chatting with another girl. 

As I was in the shower getting ready for dinner, I was thinking of the events over the last twenty-four hours, how he has been acting suspicious. Will he be proposing tonight? And if he will, will I cry from happiness? Will I act genuinely surprised?

By the time we left the house, it was already late, we were hungry, and traffic was really bad along Makati Ave. that night. Plus we chose to go to Cyma in Eastwood since we regularly go to Greenbelt, the birthday boy wanted this night to be special. 

Pat insisted on bringing his laptop to dinner because he said he was going to check an email from work, and was hoping there’s wifi so he could access the internet. Since it was his birthday, I did not argue anymore. On our way to Cyma, I got annoyed with the mall crowd, and when we got there and found out we had to wait for our table, my mood turned sour. While waiting for our table, I was already yakking while he was so uneasy, which made me yak some more.

Finally, we got a table, the best spot – it was a corner table overlooking the nightscape in Eastwood. While waiting for our order, Pat got out his laptop and said he had something to show me, something he worked on earlier that day. He made a video presentation of our pictures, with texts and our favorite music in the background. I didn’t notice my tears were already falling while reading his messages, it was the sweetest thing. 

On the last segment of the video, he wrote “there’s only one thing I want to ask you on my birthday, boo boo churn (as we fondly call each other), will you marry me?” I looked at him and he was already holding this heart-shaped box with my ring on it, and said, “boo, ito yung singsing mo, tingnan mo if kasya sayo”. To my excitement, I took the ring from the heart-shaped box and slid it on my left ring finger. To which he said, “boo, ako dapat magsusuot nyan sayo”. And then I said, “sabe mo kasi tingnan ko kung kasya sakin kaya sinuot ko na.” Then he said, “hindi mo pa sinagot yung tanong ko, will you marry me?” and I said, “sumagot nako, I said yes po boo boo churn”

Kuya Pat & Jade have been together for a year and 6 months now. The relationship might be young and new but who cares right? When it's LOVE, it's LOVE :-)

I would like to end this article with what the Bride, Jade said:

"A lot of people would say a year and a month of dating is too soon to be engaged. It is, but we’re not getting any younger. We got into this relationship because we knew we want... to spend the rest of our lives with each other. "

So it's really not how long you've been together but how you want to spend your life together as as couple. :-)

Congratulations Kuya Pat & Jade! :-)We Love you both!

Mwah!

Wedding Invites: Flash Cards

Whew! this has been the most hectic month so far! Thank God it's almost over! hahaha although  saying goodbye to August means saying Hello to September which means 3 months to go 'til our wedding day! Excited? Yes! and a bit tense too hahahaha :-)

Ok so what have I been busy lately with?! WEDDING INVITATIONS! Yes! It's almost 3 months to THE WEDDING but we still don't have a final invitation design. It was I who suggested to Bri that we do it ourselves or have a friend design it for us and just look for a supplier to print our invitation. But boy is it hard hahaha :) Me and my big mouth hahahaha!

So while browsing the wedding blogsites and FB pages, I saw Mica's wedding invitation. And what can I say! It's so pretty and so creative just like her pre-nup and I'm sure her wedding ceremony itself. I also chatted with her and it was so nice of her to refer the designer of her invitation. Thank God for friends hahaha! 

Here's Mica and Marc's Wedding Flash Card Invitation:

 

INVITE CREDITS

 Copy by Mica Tuaño

Art Direction by Raizel Go

Designed by Raizel Go and Fozzy Castro-Dayrit

Printed by Creative Two

Mica would also like to thank Marc's sister Faye and brother-in-law Mike for sponsoring their invite printing cost. 

So what do you think guys? Do you have a creative wedding invitation to share too? :-)

Real Life Office Romance - The Wedding Story

I have to admit that among all the wedding entries I've had so far, I had a hard time with this one. It was a bit of a challenge in choosing the photos I mean. All of their captured moments are just simply so lovely! I want to include all of them! You'll see later on why...

Gosh! This is indeed a lovely wedding and they are truly a lovely couple. Thanks so much Sher and Maui for being part of my happiness, thanks for being part and sharing with all of us here in theroadtoidos, all these amazing memories.

It all happened on 02.05.2011

Shoes by: Melissa by Vivienne Westwood

Bride's dress & Veil by: Rosalyn Lagdameo

Hair & Make-up by: Nelson Buenaventura

Groom's attire & accessories by: Hugo Boss suit & Zara shoes

"There was no one unifying theme for our wedding except the color motif, which was BURNT SUNSET. We both love the beach a lot, which was probably why we chose the color."

Ceremony: St. Alphonsus de Ligouri Church in Magallanes 

Photography by JayJay Lucas of Imagine Nation. 
Wedding Videos by Wang Videography.

Reception followed at Le Pavillon

Caterer is by K Cunanan

Caramel Cake by Estrel's