Few hours before I do

 

17th November 2012.. Morning of our wedding day.. whew!

 

I woke up not being able to hear anything but the drumbeat of my heart. I was nervous!! Whoa! Now I know how a bride feels on her wedding day. :)

 

Noel and I agreed on not seeing each other until the wedding ceremony. So after dinner the previous night, we both went to our separate family suites and anticipated the moment we'll see each other at the aisle.

 

But this agreement didn't kept me from being able to roam around the venue and see how things are going.. At 6:00 am my whole family is already up and started setting up for the wedding. Noel's family was in-charge of preparing for our food prior wedding as well as the supplier's meal. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to take photos of them as I don't want to take chances of Noel seeing me prior the ceremony.

 

By the way, I kept all my bridal details from Noel so it'll be a surprise for him. :) I refused to let him see my wedding gown, my hairstyle or my make-up so he won't have any idea at all on how I will look on our wedding day.



 

setting up the ceremony area

I was only able to take a few photos as everyone was telling me to go back to my suite and relax.. But believe me.. relaxing was not a very easy task to do on this kind of day. I'd rather be there and help in setting up. But sorry for me, I'm only one against all. Hehehe! ;)

haystack chairs covered with linen

hanging water bottle flowers in action!

 

prior set up

For about less than an hour or two, I have nothing to do but to pace around the bridal suite and try to eat at the same time. Hahaha! My father kept on coming back to me asking me to eat. Well, I did my best to do so but my stomach seems to refuse to have anything. So instead I just sat there and volunteered to baby sit my niece while everyone is busy preparing.

You must be wondering why I haven't started to prepare yet right?

Well, my hair & make up artist is not due to arrive until 10:00 am (and I woke up at 6:00am!) and I was instructed to make sure that my hair is really really wet when they arrive. So that means I have to go to shower only prior their arrival :)

Anyway, I didn't wait too long since Ann and Jacky arrived earlier than agreed. I'll tell you more about the details and my suppliers on my next posts. ;)

same decorating team busy arranging the ceremony area :)



-Ces (^_^)

The day before forever..

After the hustles and bustles of one year wedding preparation, we are finally only a day before our big day.

We booked rooms at the The Cliff Royale the night before our wedding as we scheduled this day for us to set up the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) elements we prepared for the wedding. All the DIY projects were made because we do not want to spend on hiring an event stylist for our wedding since we are on a strict budget. But the strict budget did not stop us on making our wedding day personalized, unique and creative.

 

So, early morning prior our wedding day all the haystack chairs and the 'stuffs' were brought to the resort. Both families were supposed to be at the resort that afternoon in order for us to be able to have a quick bonding-time together while setting up all the DIY's. However, for some reason Noel's family did not arrive until 10:00pm..

 

Meanwhile, my man-of-honor McNeil with his girlfriend Abby surprised us by arriving that afternoon as well. And so.. we had fun chatting and decorating :) We had so much fun that we didn't realize until it's already 8:00 pm that we don't have anything to eat for dinner yet! :)

 

                                                 

 

My father, my man-of-honor and my groom busy hanging the water bottle flowers



my two big brother's decorating the big windows

The ceiling 'swags' was installed by The Cliff Resorts staff. We bought the fabric in Divisoria at Php 12.00 per yard. Later on, we were still able to use it to decorate another event in Kuya Jay's place.





kuya Jay cutting the copies of our printed vows



The ceremony set up was also a DIY. On my previous post, I shared how we made our own haystack chairs. The altar as well as the aisle decoration were all handmade from the backdrop to the decorations.

 

The flowers were ordered and brought at a local flower shop 3 days prior. We chose only regular flowers as I really don't like anything too fancy. My kuya Jay's friend Zyke volunteered to arrange the flowers. And I was astounded on how he arranged it! It was more than what I expected. I actually thought of not having flower decorations for the ceremony because the place is already full of trees! But still, having seen the arrangement Zyke made for our wedding was more than I could have wished for. Plus! The cost was very minimal ;)

 

Zyke preparing the stand for the aisle flowers



all tired yet smiling :) it's already 11am!!

And so, everyone was telling me that I might not be able to get to sleep the night before the wedding. But guess what?? After that busy tiring day, I slept like a baby for 6 hours straight. And I was happy :) [even if I didn't get to have 8 hours] The next day will be the beginning of a new chapter of our lives.
 

 

-Ces (^_^)

"My Before and After " - Our prenup adventure

Too bad I don't have behind the scene pictures of this great adventure of ours.. But I must say our prenuptial session is one of my most favorite part of the wedding planning. (^_^)

This is also one of the most stress-free part of our preparation as we were able to book great suppliers.

We had our prenup at Capones Island in San Antonio, Zambales. The weather was really great that day. But boohoo! the waves were great so we ended up having our shoot in one island only. :( Nevertheless, it was an awesome experience!

Here's our Prenup AVP by BlackTie Project. Hope you enjoy it :)

 

As a member of the Yahoo Groups Community - Weddings At Work, it's been a custom for the members to share our wedding preparation experiences as well as our 'ratings' for our suppliers in order to help other members in choosing their suppliers. Hence, I'm sharing here a part of my ratings for our prenup suppliers.
 

our prenup was blogged by Aira Franco.

 

here's the link:

 

http://airadeefranco.wordpress.com/2012/11/03/outtakes-celeste-noel/

  

supposedly we will have our prenup sa Camara and Capones Island. but then the

current is too strong na no chance kami dumaong sa Camara Island. pero in spite

of that, we had an awesome prenup sa Capones Island in Zambales. katulad nga ng

kwento ni Aira.. walang tao sa island so perfect talaga magshoot kahit saan :)

 

First time namin na-meet ang Blacktie team and Aira on that day but immediately

napalagay ang loob namin sa kanila since they are so cool and ang babait.

 

Prenup Ratings

 

Black Tie Photographers: Excellent

 

the team that joined us on that day is RC, Apa and Walen. call time was 6am in

the morning since we will pick them up from Manila. they were on time and we

were late kc naligaw kami papunta sa kanila. hehehe :) one thing Noel & I loved

so much about them is napa-cowboy nila.. walang arte, walang drama.. our car was

small and no drama was heard from them kahit na mas malaki ang car ni RC samin.

hehe! and yun nga, akyat ng akyat kung saan-saan. buwis buhay makakuha lang ng

magandang shot. super excited na nga kaming ma-pick up yung cd. we were told sa

Nov 7 daw. post ako agad as soon as we receive it.

 

Aira Franco Prenup Stylist: Very Good

 

she was so cool and so fashionable. i so love all her clothes and accessories.

first nga is yung basic package lang binook namin sakanya na hindi niya provided

ang clothes ko. but then due to a series of unfortunate events di namin

nakumpleto yung required clothes. I gave Aira heads up 3days before the prenup

day pero she was still able to deliver :) I gave her very good rating lang kasi

I didn't feel her much nung shoot time na. siguro dahil she was having

dysmenorreah or matarik lang talaga yung mga inaakyatan namin.. We understand

that pero I was hoping kasi she would be there to check on my attire and help us

pose. meron kasing shot dun na litaw na yung top part ng bra ko.. and nahihiya

pa ang guys na nagsabi sakin na itaas yung tube ko. but anyhow, whole service is

great :)

 

Fritz Mortel as HMUA : Excellent

 

this lady is so dear.. ang gaan gaan ng kamay niya and di man lang ako nasaktan

sa paglalagay niya ng maraming pins sa hair ko. at kahit ang daming spray net

feeling ko light na light parin ang hair ko. and ang feeling ko talaga ang ganda

ganda ko nung day na yun :) totally recommended.

 

Dupz Villamor as Back Up Photographer: Very Good

 

he's our coordinator's fiance. he was actually only accompanying our coord that

day but then since freelance photographer din siya he asked permission if he can

take shots din. and since BlackTie is so cool he was able to capture great shots

din. We were surprised ng nakita namin ang shots niya kasi ang gaganda talaga.

here's the link:

 

https://www.facebook.com/celeste.pagunsan/photos

 

Nemalyn Pastor of Timeline Events Management: Excellent

 

I actually gave her a heads up that I want her to be there sa prenup namin the

night before ng actual prenup day. and to think na kasama namin siya all day

prior to prenup day, we were expecting she will decline. but alas, with 5:30 am

call time they still arrived earlier. and she was so ever supportive all through

out the day. kahit pagod na pagod na kami todo encourage at asikaso siya. baby

na baby kami kasi maya't maya lumalapit nagaabot ng tubig or makakain. and khit

na gulogulo ang gamit namin she was able to organize everything and ensure na

wala kaming naiwan sa island. kudos talaga! hopefully we'll receive the same

service sa wedding day :)  

-Ces (^_^)

Hanging flowers.. let’s use bottles!

As most marrying couples know, flowers & decorations would be among the top expenses of a wedding. Well, I am actually not the type who'd be willing to spend much on that :)
 
And just as timely as it is, I was trying to figure out what to do with the water bottles stuck in our house because I refused to throw them out. The 'Save The Earth' part of me keeps on nagging and so this brilliant idea came to mind!

Here's how we did it: (simplified)

1.) We removed the labels, then we cut out the top part and the bottom part of the bottle (left picture). The bottom part will be used as a votive for the battery operated candles that we will hang by the cocktail area. (I'll post pictures of these later). Then the top part will serve as the flower. As you can notice, the bottle itself already has a unique pattern that would make it easier to cut. Unfortunately, the middle part would be thrown out as we didn't had much time creating more DIY's.

 

2.) With a cutter, we sliced through the pattern of the bottle then opened the petals out to make it look like a flower.

 

3.) We then bought spray paint for the color. We used pink and silver gray colors to incorporate with our wedding colors. Then tied at least 4 to 5 pieces together with a nylon string rope, keeping spaces in between. And then voila! We have our very own hanging flower decoration :)

 

 

 

 



 -Ces (^_^)

For your tea..

Since our wedding theme is about wine and tea elements, we decided to have tea as our wedding souvenirs. I’ve posted previously about our DIY tea bags for our guests but we weren’t satisfied of just giving tea all by itself. So when we arrived in the Philippines, we searched high and low for shops where we can buy mix and match English tea cups and saucers. Thank God for my w@w (Weddings at Work) sissies advice and to my ever supportive coordinator Mai who checked out the shops for us, we went to Uniwide Coastal Mall and praise God we found what we’re looking for. I must say that this is a very tedious and time consuming task so you have to have at least half of your day allotted for this. Tedious because you have to choose carefully from the pile of stock they have and make sure you will not pick up damaged goods.

 

Tip: Ensure to bring tissues and alcohol when you come to any Uniwide shops as most of the items are very dusty. Make sure to also wear comfortable clothes as the shop/factory are only ventilated by ceiling fans.

 

After completing the number of pairs we need, we brought it home at Noel’s place to wash, wipe and wrap for the wedding day.

 

saucers being washed

one of the very cute teacups

 

These were placed at the tables with the tea bags on top for the guests to either enjoy during the wedding reception or to simply bring home.

 

(left) tea cup and tea bags in action our wedding day (right) cork table numbers
Photo by BlackTie Project

 

-Ces (^_^)

Celebratory Flags

I hope I will not be sued for not citing the source of these templates I used on our wedding day (*_*)

This is another DIY project we made for the wedding.

 

I printed these lovely celebratory flags on our spare cardstocks and stuck these on barbeque sticks that we bought as well on the local flea market. This definitely looked good on our wedding day! (^_^)

 

 

 

-Ces (^_^) 

 

 

 

 

 

For your tears of happiness..

As much as a wedding is a celebration, we can’t help but to shed tears because of the overwhelming feeling of the event. Hence, we made personalized tissue packs for our guests. Tissue packs were actually acquired from boxes of gifts given by one of Noel’s friends in Dubai, then plastic bags were bought from the flea market in Masinloc which didn’t cost much either.

 

Again.. I’m really sorry for not being able to mention the site where I downloaded this form as I just printed it our straight away as well when I saw it. Again, thanks for the one who uploaded it!

 

 

 

my father helping out with the cut outs

The colors of this template was perfect for our wedding theme as our colors peach, blush pink and gray. So I was really happy to find these online which we cut out and inserted with pieces of tissues inside the stapled plastic bags.

 

 

finished product

 

 

-Ces (^_^)

Haystack chairs?

In an effort to stay on our wedding budget yet still have a unique wedding ceremony, I had this idea of having haystack (dayami) to be our wedding ceremony seats. This seems to be a tedious task.. and yes it was! But thank God to my ever supporting groom-to-be then with the help of our family and friends that this idea became a reality.

Just in time for the harvesting season, hays were all around Zambales when we arrived weeks before our wedding date. Noel with his youngest brother, uncle and brother-in-law drove through the roads of Candelaria and collected at least 3 truckloads of hay! Wow! And these are all for free! Yippee!!

 

haystacks

 

 Hays were tied by straws into small long rolls then stacked up and tied together into a file, creating a rectangular chair.

unfinished haystack chair

 

 We.. I mean they.. they because Noel did not allow me to join the DIY party since he said the hay would probably trigger my allergies, which of course we don’t want to happen weeks before the wedding. So as I was saying, they made at least 15 stacks of 3-seater haystack chairs. This number should be enough aswe would also have a number of wooden chairs borrowed from the resort.

 

 I know you’re probably thinking this would be itchy to sit on. And so, we bought thin layers of foam and white cloth from Divisoria. There’s plenty of options to choose from and the cost was very minimal as well. The foam and the cloth was only attached to the haystack in the morning of our big day to keep the linen from dirt or stain.

I’ll post pictures of these haystack chairs in action for on our wedding day very soon!

 

-Ces (^_^)

Drink Up!

 

And again.. after months of being hiatus I’m back for the rest of our wedding planning details.

Since our wedding was planned to be an outdoor event, we decided to have bottled waters for our guest to enjoy while waiting prior, during or after the wedding ceremony. This is one of the easiest and simplest To Do task we had on our list as water refilling stations are everywhere in the Philippines. However, while checking out for suppliers we realized that having our wedding water customized would be somewhat pricey. Hence, in an effort to cut costs we decided to have this a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) project. So we went out to buy bottled water over the counter, and what a blessing! When we went to SM Supermarket to buy our groceries we saw this cute ‘dextrose’ type water that normally costs Php5.00 per piece but it was on a promotional sale that day so we got it on a much lesser price! (^_^)

 

 

 

Then I found these cute wedding water labels online.. and oh, I’m so bad that I forgot which site I downloaded this! Apologies if credit to the good website will not be mentioned here as I just immediately printed it on sticker papers and cut it out. But, thank you, thank you, thank you to whoever uploaded this!

 

 

Then we sticked it around the bottle and voila! We have our colorful wedding water that our guest definitely had fun sipping during our very hot afternoon wedding.
 

  

 

 

Ces (^_^)