Models for a Day: Our Prenuptials Shoot

For months, I have planned for this day - from the concept, clothes to wear, venue to use, down to yesterday's itinerary.. And now, IT'S A WRAP! :))

So where to begin our story? Hmmm.. This one's going to be very looonnggg... Mahaba-habang usapan... ;)

Okay, game.

I had made an itinerary for yesterday's shoot as mentioned, since I wanted everything to be well organized and because we do not have a stylist nor a coordinator on site, and sent this to everyone. I even had to make sure everyone to stick to this. Okay, so I'm a bit OC! :P

First thing in the morning, I woke up at 5am and right away texted Ron if they are already going to pick up Sir Cris and his team in Taguig. Next, I checked the things we needed to bring which I already prepared last night, had a small bite of bread, and hit the showers. At 6.20am, my cousin, who is my designated driver, came and we headed to my uncle's place to get his car since we are borrowing it for the day. All is well, and right on schedule! :)

Unfortunately, this is where the first hassle came as a surprise. We couldn't find their caretaker, from whom we'll get the keys, nor the keys! We ended up waking up my aunt for her to find it. It took about almost an hour or so to be given to us. :/

7.30am, we were able to drive back from his place to ours to get our things, so I had to hurry up since we were already running late. Call time was 8-8.30am for everyone, and we arrive at DLSU-D at 8.45! Boooo!!! So, instead of stressing myself up, I just "let go and let God"! (Special thanks to w@w for this life-chaging lesson.)

Good thing Ms. Jeanne, who was 10mins earlier than the call time, started with Ron's look and they were just finishing up when we arrived! :) Needless to say, we were still on schedule when we were done with mine. Wohooo!

Our first venue - Uganayang La Salle. Since we have a sporty concept, to tie up with our wedding theme, this was the place to be! The shoot was really fun and brought out our sporty side. At the end of the morning's schedule - we were in sweat! Hahaha!

Oh by the way, did I mention that our package with Ms. Jeanne includes a free prenup photoshoot as well? But due to our busy schedule, we had Sir Jing Gungon as a back up for yesterday's. And he was fun to work with! :)



BTS: Our team and us at work :)

 

BTS: Playtime while waiting, and also for video's (STD) sake. :)



We then had lunch and rested a bit, then started off again with our wardrobe change to which we realized that our outfits do not match. Mine seemed to be more formal than Ron. It was only a minor hassle since I had worn maong shorts on the way, and it looked fine with my top. So no biggie there! ;) Before driving off to the second location, we had our HMU retouch and changes as well.

Arriving at the second venue, second hassle of the day knocked me off my feet! I was about to change my footwear when I checked my shoebox and found the wrong set of sandals I have brought! I was already thinking of options, but luckily, Ate (my cousin's wife and our PA for the day.. btw, super thank you is not enough) was wearing her red sandals which was my size! FYI, she's a 7 and I'm an 8.5 - more luck cause this was her only size 8 and above sandals and she had wore them yesterday! Wohooo! With her red belt, my look was complete and matched Ron's casual look! Another wohooo! :))

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Side story: We paid for 5 venues (@ 500 pesos each) as I have mentioned in a previous blog, but we had requested for a revision to 3 venues (ULS, Botanical Garden and Centennial Hall), so we could use the Centennial Hall at night. Request was approved, unfortunately no refund was given.

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We made use of the Botanical Garden, and an unfinished building which was not part of the pre-approved venues. So that's a 500 peso take-back.. :P



Our surprising photo session :)



While resting and waiting for our snacks, our third and most nerve-wracking hassle placed us on halt! Ron asked some guard to have our final venue, the Centennial Hall, opened, as how he had requested to have the gym opened. To his surprise, he was declined! He immediately asked for our approved letter and copy of receipt, and I decided to come with him. It seemed that we have the wrong name for the place we wanted to use and requested- long story short, it is not named Centennial Hall, but rather CTHM COURTYARD! After showing the two letters we have and OR, the undeniable intent to use the place, the almost an hour of talking and waiting for their head of security, they finally let us use the place! Woohhh!

While snacking, they even turned on the fountain by the Church and told us that we might even want to take pictures there. Ron and I looked at each other and knew we had paid for it, so why not! Another 500 peso take-back! Haha!

Wardrobe changed, makeup was done, and it was almost sun down, so we proceeded first to the Church and had some memorable photos there. **kilig**



Kilig lang.. bow! :))



After the Church, we proceeded to the CTHM Courtyard. It is reaalllyyy pretty there! Oh and they allow the place to be rented for events and functions, just in case some will be interested. ;)

We had some of what I call "teleserye" photos here, and some of our continuing romantic shots. **kilig again**

More kilig moments... :))



At 6pm, we had finished our prenup shoot! Very tired, to say the least... But more than happy and excited for the copies as well! At the end of the day, I can say that I definitely would not change a bit of yesterday, including all of its hassles! :)

Disclaimer: All photos in this blog are courtesy of Erllen Leona (my cousin's wife).

And that's a wrap!

Tips: Prepping for Prenup

This Sunday, Dec 16th is our scheduled Pre-Nuptials Photo Shoot to be held in Dasmariñas, Cavite. All is set as planned. But, back when I was starting to prep for our wedding, I did not realize the time and effort needed for this one particular pre-wedding day.

It took me weeks before I was able to schedule the photographer and the venue. It was sort of a game of volleyball at times cause one party keeps throwing off the date. Until finally, I was able to find one common date - to which I instantly grabbed! :)

After which, the search for the hair and make up artist was needed to be done. And this did not come easily as well. Most of the artists I have asked had blocked off this date since December is the peak season for weddings, thus they entertain weddings more than prenups. Thankfully, after months of searching, I was able to book the HMUA that fits everything perfectly. :)

You might think it all ends there right? No, not at all!

We needed to look for clothes that will tie up the venue and the ideas we had. So we had to have a custom made pair of uniforms to bring our vision to life. And of course some styling was badly needed as well, thus the trip we had to Divisoria. ;)

All in all.. There are a few tips I could suggest future couples:

(1) Make sure to know, or at least have an idea of, when you would want to have your prenup, and what you want for it. This will be helpful in booking suppliers, as you could have the date blocked off at the same time that you are blocking off your wedding date. To top this, knowing what you want will help you set aside the needed budget for this particular day.

(2) Have a concrete vision.. Planning is easier when you know what you want to achieve in the end. Plus, this will help your suppliers to be prepared for your shoot, and be able to provide the services you need or more.

(3) Stick to your plan. It's nice to have Plan B, just be sure that this is not too far from your Plan A unless you have all the liberty in the world to change everything. Otherwise, changes could lead to additional costs, and of course stress for you and your fiance.

(4) Communicate. This is not just limited to you and your fiance. Have an open communication with your suppliers, especially your photographers, on how you envision your shoot. Throw ideas back and forth to know their limitations, and their capabilities, as well as yours. This will help both parties to have a better working relationship.

Lastly...

(5) Enjoy! This is hard to do when you are stressed - I know! But please do so. This will definitely help the way you perceive your prenup, and all the preparations you have done. And of course, stress makes us ugly - so who wants to be ugly on photos, right? So... No matter how stressful it gets, SMILE! :)

Just thinking,

Our Whereabouts

After getting engaged just a couple of weeks ago and having decided on when the wedding will be, we immediately jumped into looking for venues and possible Church.

The Church was an easy pick - Holy Cross Parish Church in our home town of Tanza. Historical on its own, this is the Church where Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, Philippines' first President took his oath of office. It also houses the famous and miraculous St. Augustine - Patron Saint of Tanza.

I also had my personal reasons for my picking this Church: This is located beside the school I went to, and so all my personal milestones were witnessed here - graduations, first communion, and others. But you know the major reason behind this pick? It is the same Church where my parents were married 26 years ago. ;) And next year, this is where we will vow, to love each other and be each other's partner, before God and our families and friends.

Holy Cross Parish Church

Next on our list is the venue. We only had one venue in mind - Island Cove Hotel & Leisure Park. This was a strategic choice for us. I used to work there for about 3 years, and I know the people and the services they offer. Thus, supplier relationship is a lot easier to build. The only thing that worries us is the time it takes to get from the Church to here. Since our wedding will be on a Saturday morning, and hoping that there will be no traffic, we estimated it to be at around a 20-30minute drive. We know it might take longer if there'll be traffic, but we're very much optimistic about it since we're not aware of other venues closer to the Church.

Island Cove Hotel and Leisure Park

So there, the next thing to do is contact them to inquire and hopefully reserve our dates. :)

Fingers crossed,