Supplier Rating 4: Purple Dish Catering

Dessert Buffet Station: Purple Dish Catering

Peso Power – Won through W@W Auction, good for 150 pax

Rating: 9

Purple Dish was one of the catering services that we wanted to book, but somehow missed the chance to do so! So when I saw this one up for grabs in the W@W Auction, I knew I could not let it pass. J

So let’s get down to business, shall we?

Supplier Rating 3: Queensland Catering Services

Caterer: Queensland Catering Services

Peso Power – 102, 700 for 200 guests

Rating: 8

QCS was not our top choice for caterers, but given the amount of budget that we had, they were the one we have chosen. The initial planning and discussion with them did cause us some stress due to the issue that they had with our chosen venue, which even at some point is a negative point for them. But, come wedding day, all went great! J

I’ll divide my review by 4 parts: Peso Power, Food, Styling, and Service.

Week to Look Forward To

We're down to our last week before the big day! Wohoooo! :)

I still have the below check list to be done:
- Submit all documents required by the Church
- Schedule final fitting for wedding gown
- Pick up wedding gown, and gowns for everyone
- Buy a reception dress, not for the reception, but for the simple after-party at home
- Finish the guest souvenirs - this one needs to be done real quick!
- Print other statios
- Meet with KTG for our last and final detailing
- Make full payment to our caterer, and confirm set up requested
- Make sure the florist, wedding car, and van for the family had been set
- And other things I could not remember as of now - :P

Above all these, I'm just so excited to be wed!!! :)

Feeling giddily excited,

Our Sweet Tooth: Desserts Chosen

You may all remember that we were able to win PurpleDish's dessert buffet bar from last November's W@W auction, and we are just excited to have a taste of these yummy treats come our wedding day.

Today, we are just excited because we finally have everything in writing. Yey! :) We were able to meet with Chef Velmor this afternoon at Greenbelt to have our contracts signed. He was easy to talk to and was really accommodating with all our questions considering we are only booking him for a dessert bar we won at an auction. In addition to today's excitement, we were able to choose the desserts that will be included in our buffet bar - and we chose 10 (to which I thought was limited to 8 only) desserts from his ever mouth-watering list. Going through the list, it was really hard to choose one, not because we haven't tasted any of their dishes, but because all dishes had superb reviews from other satisfied clients.

Sample desserts from one of Chef's FT. (Photo courtesy of co-W@Wie Marianne)

Alas, we trusted our instincts to which we thought would be what our guests would like, but ultimately, what we liked based on Chef's descriptions.

Below are our list of desserts for our guests' delight:

• Manila Cheesecake
• Bluer than Blueberry Cheesecake
• Strawberry Mousse Cheesecake
• Mango Almond Crepe Cake
• Pistachio Sansrival
• Devils Food Cake
• Custard Cream Puff
• Belgian Almond Puff
• Walnut Brownies
• Beco Cheesecake (a recently invented Chocolate Cheesecake)

With this booked and officially signed, we just can't wait to taste them! :)

Excited,

Place and Food: Officially Booked!

After a tiring and stressful week at work, we decided to stick with our schedules, instead of lazying around the house today. Today's schedule was supposed to be as follows:
10 AM - Queensland Catering Services - Las Pinas
12 NN - 1PM - Lunch at Hypermarket in Las Pinas or in Cash and Carry in Makati
2PM - Trial Makeup - Makati
But as always, nothing went according to plan as first, I woke up late - by 9am, and second, we both felt too tired to go to Makati. Hehe. So, we just decided to go to QCS, and hopefully to Antel in the afternoon.

By 11.30am, we were in Las Pinas already and decided to have lunch in the area. After which, we proceeded to QCS' office to have the waiver signed, discuss, and hopefully book them. Arriving in QCS, we talked with the AE in-charge for our wedding, Ms. Belen, and told her that Antel already signed the waiver we made. At first, there were hesitations on their part, and they insisted the 12% add-on. Ron was quiet, and I knew he was getting pissed off already. So, as much as I can, I tried to explain the purpose of the waiver, but the discussion was still on. Ron spoke and insisted the waiver we made, and luckily one of the other AEs butted in and commented that they could use the waiver in case Antel comes after them for payments of corkage fees, and have it mention in our contracts that any costs Antel will be seeking will be referred to us. Only by then, they accepted our waiver and agreed to a no 12% add-on. Whew!

After the heated discussion, I was just happy Ron did not ask to leave the place as I knew he wasn't very happy with what happened.. Hahaha! Anyways, we were able to discuss the needs for the wedding, chose the menu and other additional amenities. After reviewing the contract, we were both satisfied and happy with the choices, and decided to book them and pay the reservation fee required.

Fourth Supplier Booked: Quuensland Catering Services

We left QCS, and decided to go to Antel to reserve the place. And so we did. Before booking the venue and paying the reservation fees, we handed them the waiver and made sure, once more, that they won't be seeking payments from QCS. As proved by the waiver, they assured us and we were just relieved. So there, with the caterer booked, and the waiver signed - we booked Antel Grand Village Clubhouse's Ballroom for our June 8, 2013 wedding. :)

Photo from Antel's webiste... No photos from us as they were having a grand open house, and the ballroom was packed!

With a place to be and food to eat, we sighed and smiled in relief! :))

Mission accomplished,

We Have Our Cake... And We'll Eat It Too

Yesterday was the opening of the two-day Wedding Expo in SMX. We were not able to attend due to a friend's wedding. So today, despite having a bad stomach, we braved the day and proceeded with the expo.

I made an itinerary for today's activities, what to do before going to the expo and what we'll be focusing while inside the expo.

First on our list is our attempt to have Antel's signature on the waiver we made. Since you all might have read our "situation", this is the only remedy we were able to come up with for us not to not pay the additional 12%. Fortunately, Antel signed the waiver, and we advised them that as soon as we get Queensland's signature we will be able to make the deposit to secure the venue for our event.

With smiles, we left Antel and headed off to SMX.

Upon arriving, and getting our name tags, we immediately proceeded to our scheduled FT with VS&F Catering. Two reasons why I made the reservation: (1) Since we are still looking for alternative caterers, I figured it is the best time to grab a free FT, and discuss their services; and (2) it's free lunch - doesn't anyone want that? Haha!

Our name tags and goodies from Themes & Motiff

During the FT, the food was good and tasty. Also, Joan - the AE in-charge of us, was very accommodating and open. It was very tempting to book them right then and there, but the amount they offer is way beyond our budget. So we told her, that we needed some time to review the packages, and we'll give her a call.

Sorry, no pictures during the FT.

After the gourmet lunch that we had, we proceeded with the second item on my list. The CAKES!

Initially, we wanted to have a grand cake, but after a delightful news from one of my co-W@Wies, we then

decided to have a simple cake and would not spend as much with something the guests might not enjoy and would only be for "display purposes" after the cutting of the cake ceremony. After all, we'll have the topper that we want and it'll be our personal keepsake.

So that limited our choices to two suppliers - Sweet Solutions and Hearts and Bells.

We talked first with Sweet Solutions, and asked for quotations for the cake we had in mind. Their offer was only a 10% discount and waiver of delivery fees. Unfortunately after computations, it was still above the budget we had - and this is the one I wanted to stick with the budget. So we moved on to our next choice.

Hearts and Bells' designs were something I loved from the start. So getting to their booth, we immediately picked one of their flyers and noticed the their cake + mini cakes + cupcakes was still on-going. This again will fall into our "strategic move" category. We discussed to whom the mini cakes and cupcakes will be for since we already have a little souvenir in mind. Plus, we asked about the delivery fees which will not be waived during the expo. After computations (I know we're both accountants, so bear with us), Hearts and Bells will still exceed our cake budget, but with the added cakes in the package, we'll be able to replace a few other details and hopefully save on these replacements. So we talked again with Ruth (who was very nice to talk to by the way), and asked a few more questions.

After another little discussion with Ron, we decided to book Hearts and Bells, since according to Ron "Wala ka naman ibang gustong supplier for the cake. So ano pa hinihintay mo?" - He knew me well! Hahaha! We instantly booked them and paid the initial deposit.

Third Supplier Booked: Hearts and Bells

After booking them, and remembering that one of my Sissies at W@W will be making our topper, I felt really really as in uber excited about our cake. :D

Still excited,

A Little Bit of Everything: FT and Venue #3

Last week, during the long weekend of Aug 18th to 21st, we were able to set a meeting with Lancaster and Queensland Catering Services (QCS). All went well, now we just needed the Lancaster to be blocked off for our date by the developers, and then we could pay the down payment. That was until this morning.

You see, our schedule for the day was simple - go to Lancaster for a 10am meeting to finally reserve the Leighton Hall lobby, and then go to QCS for the food tasting later in the afternoon. But, as always, nothing seems to follow the plans.

When we got to Lancaster, we were able to talk to another person aside from the lady that assisted us last week. Talking to him, he was able to show us and give us a clearer picture of how much of the lobby we could use since the wedding will be on a Saturday noon. He motioned that there will be some allowance of 1 meter here and there. By the time he was finished, I just wanted to walk away from there. There's nothing left for us to occupy but the middle part! Uhmm, hello??? WE HAVE 200 GUESTS!!! I looked at Ron in dismay of what just happened, and his reaction wasn't far from mine. Politely, we just said that we'll wait for their confirmation of our date - since this wasn't confirmed yet with the developers, then we left.

Immediately, we talked about our last option (at the moment), Antel's Clubhouse. We considered this before Lancaster, but the price range was a bit far from what we could spend. But this time, we both knew we need to adjust at some point. So we went to Antel and inquired about their ballroom. The rates were fixed, whether we knew a lot owner or not, so we agreed to choose the venue above other needs. We then pencil blocked the venue, and the lady assisting us gave us the list of their accredited suppliers. We noted that QCS is one of their accredited caterers, and we were relieved knowing we will not be paying any corkage fees. With smile, and a lot of hope, we left the place.

By lunch time, we were waiting for my parents since they agreed to attend the food tasting offered by QCS. While waiting, Ron and I discussed how we will revise the budget we had. Feeling stressed, we took our minds off from the wedding by shopping! Haha! By the way, Ron shopped more than I did! :P

Before 4 in the afternoon, we arrived at Ysabel's Garden in Las Pinas where QCS held their weekly food tasting. Before the food were served, Ms. Belen (AE) approached us, and having talked to her last week, we mentioned the change in venue.

Upon the mention of Antel, she immediately brought up that they will be charging additional costs for the venue. Surprised, we asked how much and what for. Apparently, it is for the corkage fees that they will be paying Antel. So, needless to say, we ended up having to discuss and debate over as to why we need to pay them an additional of 12% - yes that's right... 12%. Frustrated, we almost wanted to leave the place, but realized that we were there to judge their food. And somehow, we could still be able to talk to Antel before booking any one of them.

The heat of the discussion simmered down as the food came. All four of us, enjoyed all the food laid out for us. As the title suggests, we had a little bit of everything. My mom even jokingly asked how come there was no rice served, it could have been dinner already. The only disappointment we had was that there were no desserts available for the food tasting. My mom took notes of the food we liked, and the ones we could choose as back up. We then scan through the packages' menu and was delighted to know that most of the food we liked are part of the choices. So my mom did the honors of choosing the menu. Good thing we brought her with us, her and my dad are both too picky when it comes to food. So by having them choose the menu for the wedding, we'll be able to avoid certain criticisms that could make the day a bit stressful. Haha! :D

Sorry, we took pictures too late :P

After the food tasting, we told Ms. Belen that we'll need to talk with Antel first before we could book them for the wedding, and she advised us to do the same as well.

Leaving Ysabel's Garden, we were satisfied with the food and the price, even with the styling that comes with the package. All in all, we were smiling as we knew we found our caterer! Good food, affordable prices, and elegant styling. :)

Stomach full,

First Supplier Meeting: Island Cove

Weeks ago, I called Island Cove to ask for their wedding packages. During the same day, they were able to send us the wedding packages. We scanned the packages and realized that their rates are beyond our allotted budget for the reception. So earlier today, I called their Sales Office let them know that we will be coming and will be inquiring about the wedding. Also, I was able to talk to Mami Sharon on the phone, and I immediately told her of our concern. She then sent me a revised wedding package good for 100 persons - which is for Food and Venue alone. Again, we scanned the package quotation, computed it at 200 guests, and still it would exceed our budget, but only on a small margin.

Right after work hours, Ron and I immediately went to Kawit to talk with Mami Sharon. We got there just in time before they closed the Sales Office. Immediately, she entertained us and we told her again of the same concern we had. Being close to her (I used to work at Island Cove), she asked us about our budget, to which I showed her the excel file I made (Geeky!). She raised her concerns about the budget we had, as we will be having 200 guests at the minimum - yes, ,that's right... it's the minimum.

So, she went inside their office again, and recomputed the package for us, now set at a minimum of 200 guests. The price seemed reasonable, but the food inclusions in the package were very ordinary. She knew it was my concern (maybe I do not have a poker face after all), and told me that we could still be able to fix the menu as the wedding will still be a year from now. "That's just an estimate. Don't worry too much. We could talk about this next year, or end of this year for a more accurate rate." - this is her reassuring statement.

Island Cove's revised package for minimum of 200 guests

In addition to this, she pencil booked us for the Tejeros Grand Ballroom, and told us to take as much as time as we need. They will let us know if someone will try to book the venue, and only by then do we need to decide. I knew Mami Sharon will take good care of our wedding, and I believe that with all my heart. But I had my own worries about the food, and at the rate they gave us I knew we could find a good caterer. The only problem would be is the venue.

Suddenly feeling undecided about Island Cove, we left the place and decided to look for alternatives.

With hope and faith,