For Allan
Love
Floating on flowers
What wedding update? There is none. Hahaha. I kid, of course.
With everything thrown in the air — school, work, family — I myself am surprised that we managed to nail some key items for our wedding.
Church. Check.
Venue. Check.
Caterer. Check.
Photo-video. Check.
That’s it. Hahaha. I have organized weddings in the past, so I am well aware how far I still have to go. But with these essentials already locked down, it is already guaranteed that there’ll be a ceremony, some food, and photos to remember it by.
I do know one thing though. I want to be surrounded in baby’s breath and daisies. Something about the two just screams pretty to me. They’re small flowers, always beautiful together, and they’re the friendliest flowers, as Meg Ryan would say.
And they kind of make the whole place seem like floating.
They make the most ethereal bouquets.
When you put them together, the backdrop looks like a batch of clouds.
I’m not really a big fan of garden weddings, but having these babies lined up and down the aisle makes everything simpler and dreamier at the same time.
Because I’m getting married at the busiest time of the year, I have to admit I’m having a hard time finding an available florist. But once I do find one, I will absolutely insist on these flowers.
On my wedding day, I want to be floating.
Le happy sigh. <3
If you own one or some of the photos above, please send me your link so I can properly credit you. Photos sourced from Google Images.
FEELS FRIDAY: Holding the universe
Surviving the bridal fair
I have been planning parties, events and joined in coordinating weddings for family and friends for the longest time now. You would think that I would be used to the whole cycle at this point: fawn over engagement, hit the bridal fairs, haggle discounts, fittings/proofing/redesigning, mock set ups, the whole enchilada. But the second one still gets on my bones each time:
The bridal fair attendance.
Bridal fairs are amazing events by man. Really. I remember some older women in the family saying that before, there were no bridal fairs to go to. You had to search for your supplier one at a time; all of them are never in the same place. So you can only imagine the convenience you will gain by going to a bridal fair.
So I went to the first one I can find, just a week after Le Beau left for the US.
These fairs will only be convenient if you want it to be. Otherwise, it’s just a pool of information that will probably only be 10% useful. So here are some tips for your bridal fair trips.
1. Register. Really. Most of these things have a pre-registration period so it’s best to do that so you can avoid the long lines on the day itself. Some fairs allow unregistered guests, but most of the time, those who have signed up qualify for raffles, instant prizes and other wedding giveaways.
2. Bring a bag for the fliers. At this point, fliers are everywhere and I mean everywhere. Suppliers will hand these out to you the moment you set foot in the fair. And they are never the same size. There are leaflets, brochures, business cards, DVDs of accomplished works, one after the other. You will need a bag for those. They can be plentiful and it’s really hard to hold them. Funny though, no supplier situated by the door ever thought of immediately giving out ecobags. I definitely remembered the first supplier that gave me a bag, ALBERGUS. Love it.
3. Be polite. The entire floor is filled with suppliers of the same everything. Photographers, videographers, florists, event stylists, coordinators, makeup artists, couturiers, invitations, mobile bars, nothing is unique. And sure, it does get repetitive — flier here and there, “Free sample makeup!”, good morning mamsirs — but please do not lose your composure and become bitchy. They paid for their space there and surely it is not cheap; they’re making the most of their investment. Just smile, say “No, thanks” if uninterested, walk away politely. No need to become so rude over declining free cake tasting.
4. Plan ahead. This has to be the most important tip of all. To avoid all the nuisance, research way ahead of time for the suppliers and vendors you are interested in. Check the bridal fair’s website and see if they’re joining the fair. If you are just on the scanning and scouting phase, decide on a budget frame, so you’ll know immediately which vendors to avoid and which to approach.
Planning any event is supposed to be fun and exciting; it’s the complete behind-the-scenes look to what could be the best event of the year. Make you do not lose the fun in it. With all that effort being exerted in perfecting every detail, make the most of it and have a good time.
That’s it. Yeah. Another bridal fair this February. I managed to secure a couple of suppliers for the first one, and this fair comes right at the time when I’m supposed to be booking coordinators, florists and printers. And it has wondrous promos that question if Lady Luck is on your side. So… who’s joining me?
The story
Of course, there’s always that story of how he proposed. And it is a very good story.
I thought the proposal happened in Paris, January 7, 2014, while on board Roue de Paris. We were taking in the view of the city; I still couldn’t believe I’m with him in PARIS. Then he came close to me and simply said, “You know I am going to marry you, right? You have to know that.” And I knew.
No questions, just a declaration of fact.
So all this time, I really thought that was it. That was the proposal, just us two.
We spent a good amount of 2014 just envisioning how our wedding would pan out. Around the last quarter of the year, I started scanning for suppliers and we started talking about telling my mom about our wedding plans when he visits for the holidays.
Then came the morning of January 2, 2015.
We had to move our annual get together to a later date because of my brother’s wedding. It was Le Beau’s first get together so it really got me excited. He said he was sleepless the night before, but it was a relief that his jet lag finally kicked in.
He was antsy the whole day, not to mention irritable. Slightly jumpy too. But of course I didn’t notice that at all. I attributed all his weirdness to his lack of sleep. So the first thing I asked him to do was to take a power nap when we got to Antipolo.
He didn’t though, which made me more concerned. Our get togethers last usually till the wee hours of the morning (even though we practically see each other monthly, yeah we still act as if we haven’t seen each other for a year). So I just did my best to tend to him. Got him house clothes. Made his dinner plate. Simply tended to him.
The time for gift giving finally came. It was the kids’ favorite part of the night. I was so surprised when Bianca called my name and said I have a gift from Le Beau. I was beyond amazed; I couldn’t figure out how he found the time to get me a present. All of his things are in my room, so I knew that gift wasn’t included in his luggage.
And then…
Completely out of nowhere. Humbling. Flattering. Disarming.
All the words I would choose to describe him.
I do not know what it is that I did to deserve so much. What I do know is this: there has not been a day when I stopped being thankful for everything.
I wish Tatay was here to see it. He would have loved this the most.
So there you go, the engagement story. I hope it was good to you just as it is to me.
the salt of your skin 