DIY # 9: Guest Souvenirs

Peso Power = 8, 483.30 for the M&M’s Personalized Candies (2lb and 5lb bulk bags)

                   2, 000 for the glass bottles

                      400 for the ribbons and sticker paper

We ordered the M&M’s via their website, and had them delivered to my cousin’s place in the US who was coming home just in time for the wedding – this saved a lot on the shipping fees. :)

The site was very friendly and easy to use – you just have to choose the colors, choose the design or upload the photos, then choose the packaging for your personalized M&M’s. It’s that easy – no fuss at all! Also, they make sure that your M&M's stay fresh, and place ice bags in their packaging upon delivery. When we got ours, a few weeks already since they delivered it to my cousin's, M&M's were still in very good condition, and they were not at all moist or lost its designs. :)

31 Days and Counting...

Hello! Helloooo!

We are at our 1 - month mark before our Big Day! :))

And to make sure everyone knows, we started distributing our invites, so if you're invited you just might receive them till net week! :)

I was super happy the way people reacted to our invites - they were all excited and the first words they'll utter are: "Oh this is so cute!". And that my friends, is a good pat in the back for yours truly! My work with Kat did not fail us. Haha!

Please RSVP,

(Semi) DIY # 7: You Are Cordially Invited

Our invites started off to be a DIY project after I successfully made our monogram. I was able to put together the things I wanted - like how it would be folded, what are the essential things that I wanted to incorporate. Unfortunately, as time went by, I have kept it aside thinking I'll always have time to do it - to which I was wrong. :( My work became crazier than usual, and so making DIY stuff for the wedding at night was next to impossible.

That's when I started to look for layout services from co-w@wies. I actually found previous w@wies, and I wanted to book them, the only catch is, they do not offer caricatures which was something I was looking for as well.

To my surprise, my brother mentioned one of his classmate's sister who happens to work for an advertising firm. He was telling me at how amazed he was at his classmate's booth back when they had a bazaar because it was completely packaged as a fully set-up business would be, even including custom tumblers, flyers and a mascot. Back story - my brother is an entrepreneurial student, and they small businesses set up as part of their curriculum. So I quickly asked for their numbers, and as soon as I had them, I sent them a message right away.

That's when I met Kat - Katrina Ben. She was very easy to talk to, and her prices are quite reasonable. So, of course, I asked for her portfolio to which she sent the same day. While browsing, I noticed that her portfolio only contains corporate ones, and no wedding nor birthday invites/statios that I could look at. I was almost worried, but this changed the moment I saw her illustration rates - which included a few of her illustrations. You may think why, right? This is because I finally found the caricature that I wanted, and that she could draw one for us! Boom! That was it! The search is over! :))

I immediately told Ron, and like always, he would say yes. Haha! So Kat and us met, first Sunday of March to discuss the stationeries. The meeting went very well - I loved how Kat was so detailed asking us the type of paper we would be using, what kind of printer, what we expect, and of course what elements we wanted in our invites.

The first email I got by the way, was the illustrations of our Chibis - 3 sketches to choose from. And when we picked our choice, she sent us our final Chibis in full color! :)

Our options for our Chibis

Our final Chibis... can you spot the special accessories?

Then days after this meeting, we exchanged numerous emails as she had sent us her options, and we carefully looked at each design she had. This is the stage in our wedding preparations where I finally admitted and realized how OC I was! After sending Kat an email, I realized how detailed it was - from the size of the papers to its margins, borders and its colors, even the fonts! Well, if that wasn't enough to make me realize I don't know what will. Haha!

Anyways, after weeks of designing ang layouts, we finally received the final statio set, and met with Kat to pick up the CD. Of course, the papers were ready and so the printing begin. I did not expect that it would take me that long to print all those 100 set of invites - took me almost 2 weeks (only time we had was during night after work, and even night time on weekends after running errands).

DIY printing: Notice the "book guide"?

And the pain of DIY did not stop in the printing part. There came the assembly of invites, from cutting, to folding, to placing on envelopes, even printing names on the envelopes to make it more personal.

Ron - the cutting machine! ;)

So after almost a month of doing them, here are our semi-DIY invites.

Our super cute and affordable invites! :)

I must say, all the hard work and dedication (and paper cuts) paid off! :))

Ready to mail them,

Love Letters are Here

The LOVE letters are here... No, they're not the handwritten one, but rather the wooden block letters I have ordered from Papemelroti. :)

Special thanks to W@wies for pointing me to this direction, we now have our own set of block letters - to which I hope to someday use as a decor for our home. :)

So let me include my reviews on Papemleroti. I give them an 8/10 rating for the whole service and product, and below are some pros and cons:
Pros:
- The website is very useful in browsing your needed crafts.
- The person in charge of the carventry is also very easy to talk to, and even advised me of the sizes just in case I was confused.
- Email response is also fast.
- The wooden letters are of good quality and finished to edges.

Cons:
- The ordering portion of the site is a bit off as it did not send any notification of my order being received or sent to their database. Instead, I had to call their office to which I learned that I should email them about my orders.
- The payment system has options, which includes Paypal. Unfortunately, there is an added cost of a certain percentage when you use this payment method. Mine cost me around 100+ pesos additional fees for using Paypal.
- The receptionist (or whomever received my phone call) when I was checking if the items were delivered to my chosen store to pick-up could not even assist me in any way. So to let go of my frustration, I just asked for the store's phone number, and made the checking there.

All in all, I still recommend Papemelroti to those looking for crafty stuff. :)

LOVEd,

120 Day Countdown Begins

At last, we begin our 120 day countdown. :)

I must say, I actually thought I'll be all calm and collected having booked most of our suppliers ahead, even having done with our prenup... yet I actually feel pressured! Haha!

As a control freak that I am, you may understand how this countdown set me in a panic mode. We still need to book the following:

(a) Lights and sounds - to which we already spoke to and pencil booked. Just need to pay the DP and sign the contract.

(b) Entourage gown maker - though we decided not to pay for the entourage gowns, we still need to find one for them for uniformity. This is already pre-set to be my mom's friend, but we still haven't booked her cause I want my mom to tag along so we coudk avail of "friendly" rates. ;)

(c) Wedding Rings - Okay, so we bought a voucher already months ago. However, we decided no to go with it anymore. My Tita has a jeweller friend and we could have ours custom made by them at a much reasonable cost. So we decided to go ahead with this and completely set aside the voucher. Plus, my mom will be paying for these so we are, again, waiting for her to tag along.

(d) Florist - This is pre-set to another friend of my mom, who happened to be the same florist during my debutant's ball. So going with her is also a walk in the park choice. However, since he is a mom's friend, we need her to tag along with us.

(e) Invite drafts and printouts - So we're done with the STD, however I have not yet started anything - not even a dot for our DIY invitations. :| This is the major pressure I have as of now since work had been hectic and demanding of my time even on weekends.

(f) Musicians - We are still yet to find one! We liked SJT Strings, however they are a bit over our budget. So we need to look for others, and book them soon. I wouldn't want you to hear me sing on my own wedding - you might all go home! Haha!

(g) Ron's confirmation - We are needing to have this settled SOON! The thing was, Ron sort of remember that he received the Sacrament of Confirmation, however, he could not remember when or where! So to avoid anymore hassles, we just decided for him to go through it again - to which in my opinion, he needs a "re-confirmation". Hahaha!

So there... I do hope we do get to settle all of these this month of February till March. I just want a detailing schedule by April! Fingers crossed! :)

120 days and counting,

DIY # 4: Save Our Date!

Finally, I had a spare day today and I was able to edit a few of the raw photos from our official photographer. While doing so, I had the itch to pause and do our pending Save The Date.

I did not want a formal looking announcement, as we are not those type of folks. ;) Alas, below are my three options:

Option 1 - Peg is an upcoming match to showcase the "competitive personalities" of the couple (ehem... That's Us!).

Option 2 - It's a simple straight to the point announcement using fonts to suggest a "game" feel.

Option 3 - This was just for fun using an iPhone application turning photos into comic-like pages.

After a few votes from my chosen panel, you guys know who you are, we decided to go with our Option 2.

BUT WAIT...

Ron gave his opinion and wanted Option 1 because you could see our faces here, plus it has that "cinematic match" feel. However, he disapproves of the font choices.

So tweeking the layout a bit... And voila... Our DIY Save The Date!

Please Save The Date! :D

Cheers,

DIY # 3: Bead Works

Finally it's done! :)

It's been weeks since we bought these beads from Quiapo, and after a few nights of doing them one segment at a time, it was only last night did I get the chance to finally finish. :)

Here are a few steps into making them:

(1) Lay out the beads and bead caps according to the design you have in mind.

Arrange your beads and bead caps

(2) Place each bead and bead caps into an eye pin according to your design.

Start placing your first set of beads

(3) Place another eye pin for the next set of beads.

Be ready for the next set

(4) Create a loop to close the pin and secure the beads in place. If the pin is too long to create a loop, carefully cut it to create just the right length.

Close them tight!

(5) Holding your second eye pin, place the next set of beads same as process (2), and repeat the same process (3) and (4).

After a few hours, or nights like me, you will have your own wedding cord done! :)

So, here are our wedding pillow charms (to be sewn into each pillows) and our wedding cord.

Wedding pillow charms

Our Yin-and-Yang Inspired Rosary Wedding Cord

Note: Pillow charms are still missing a few dangling charms, and wedding cord is still missing our initials. But nonetheless, I am happy to have finished them - partially! :)

Easy process, right?! :) Note to first timers, like myself: Your hands and fingers will hurt and that's normal! It's part of the whole experience. No pain, no gain, right?! Haha! :)

Proud to accomplish,

Uniformed to Match

We finally got our custom made uniforms for this Sunday's prenup! Yey! :))

Adding to my excitement was the surprising feeling when I saw our wedding seal embroidered to our uniforms.. Nakaka-kilig and definitely a pat on the back since the logo was DIY and it turned out to look really good. #Proud

Our embroidered seal

Matching Uniforms... Oh and did you get our message? :))

Fingers crossed, we could bring to life our visions and all our efforts will be rewarded by memorable photos. ;))

Wish us luck,

Looking Back - DIY # 2: Photobook Album

Back in August, I decided to purchase 3 vouchers from an online store, Ensogo, to redeem Photobook albums that I intend to use for the wedding. Initially, I thought to use this for the following photos to be compiled into an album:

(1) Our Love Story - something that I figured could be my gift to my future husband. And since I used to make scrap books of sorts, I figured this could show him another side of myself.

(2) Our Prenuptial Photo Shoot - Since the prenup album will serve as our Guestbook, I figured this could be a way to have a prenup album without the writings of other people - just a clean photo album.

(3) Our Wedding Album - Since the wedding album that we'll be having will only contain the photos from our official photographer, I figured this to be a way to capture and collect our favorite photos that would be coming from unexpected people and guests. 'Cause let's face it, not all unforgettable moment will be captured by our official ones, and maybe a simple funny photo from a friend will capture the essence of one moment in our wedding.

Unfortunately, like all promos and offers, the vouchers have expiration period and it will end prior to our wedding. So before I purchased the other 2 vouchers, I knew change of plan was necessary. To my surprise, I thought of the most wonderful way to make use of the other 2 vouchers I plan to buy. Before I changed my mind, I hit the "Buy" button, and smiled to my excitement.

Now, to what purpose will I use the other two, right? It will be our "honoring gifts" to my parents and to Ron's sister and her husband. I figured that since they are the people that matters to us most, I would love for them to feel the same amount of love as we feel for each other during our wedding day. I hope that when they receive these albums of their own "Love Stories", that they will have their own feeling of being loved and lucky to have found someone - the same way we do. :)

Now... Having all these planned out, I started to do the first project lined up - Our Love Story. And due to our busy work schedules, and the demand of the upcoming wedding, I only get to do this during my spare time, or my me-time. :) Needless to say, it's been months already since I started doing this, and only now have I actually finished ours. And I promise to make no more revisions to this. Haha!

Sneak Peek of our Love Story Photobook

Next will be the other two "projects" that I'll be needing to finish before my vouchers expire... Crunch time - I know! Let's just hope that I could work on this secretly, without the two couples knowing. Hehehe!

Cheers!

Tuesday Shopping: Quiapo and Divisoria in One Day

Despite our busy work schedules, I was able to convince Ron to take a leave today and go to Quiapo for a quick shopping for materials for our wedding cord. As you may have read, we now decided to have this DIY-ed instead to capture the idea I had in mind and to save a few pesos.

Another item adding to the list of things we needed to buy is our souvenir material since this is a semi-DIY - but for this one, we knew we needed to go to Divisoria instead.

Now, itinerary for the day: Morning in Quiapo and after lunch in Divisoria. Fingers crossed, we hoped it wouldn't rain as there was an incoming typhoon.

Getting to Quiapo, we were able to catch the 10.00 mass then headed to Jollibee for a quick snack. After which, we headed straight to Wellmanson and wasted no time looking for the materials we needed. I spent an hour or so inside the store as I carefully looked through each materials, and I think Ron was getting impatient as it took me more than 10 minutes to choose a bead cap. Well, I had to choose carefully! Hihihi.

All the beads I bought... I can do this! Aja! :)

Right after Wellmanson, we went straight to Divisoria as it started to drizzle - I was so worried that it'll rain more towards the afternoon.

Arriving at Divisoria, we scoured the entire street and had no luck finding the one we needed for the souvenirs. Feeling hopeless and starting to get wet due to the rain, we decided to have a late lunch. We did not realize that it already took us a couple of hours roaming around Divisoria, and it was only after eating we felt really tired and feet aching. After a bit of rest, it was time to go home - but we'll be sure to go back, hopefully during a better weather. :)

At the end of today, I'm just happy that my mood was not dampened by the weather, nor the fact that we did not find any materials for our souvenirs, as I am really excited to start with our DIY wedding cord, and others. :)

As always, I'll keep you posted on its progress.

Cheers,

Bridal Accessories Quest

It's been weeks since the end of the W@W auction, and just recently found out that we will have to pay an additional amount for a complete set of bridal accessories from my wedding gown designer. The amount is not really minimal since the included items will only be the two pillows, second veil, cord, pouch, garter and head piece.

Unfortunately, I did not bid for an item in the auction with the same amount since I initially assumed these to be included in the wedding gown package. I could have gone these at a cheaper rate. However, I did not. So advise to future W@Wies, please check all items you'll need prior to auction time, and be able grab such opportunity. ;)

Thus, the past weeks we've been searching the net and all other resources for suppliers to have these provided, complete with candles and Bible to match that, within our budget. We were able to narrow these to two suppliers. And of course emails are now being exchanged to have a feel as well of how they entertain our inquiries.

Also, I have toyed with the idea as well of doing things ourselves, but keeps setting this idea aside as I'm not sure I have the time to do these. Hehe.

As of today, we are still undecided, except for one item - wedding cord. So maybe, this one we could do and the rest we'll order, but we'll need to confirm first with the designer if we could bargain the bridal accessories. Hihi.

Our First Wedding Present

Today we received our first ever wedding present, and it came from one of my closest friends - Tine. She is a bride-to-be herself, and was actually engaged ahead of me to her long time boyfriend - loverboy as we fondly refer to him (Peace, Adrin! :P). However, due to my fiance being older than us, you may have guessed already that I will be walking down the aisle before her.

Nonetheless, she had already started on their wedding preps, and that includes her DIYs. Her first, if not mistaken, is their wedding cord. After finishing this, she excitedly showed this to me, and I loved how beautifully crafted it was. Then to my surprise, she offered to do ours. Unfortunately I wasn't sure if our families would allow this and so I suggested a pair of rosaries instead. :)

And now, I present to you our pair of lovingly crafted rosaries... :)

Tine's Wedding Present: Wedding Rosaries

Very grateful,