Face Paint # 2: HMUA Booked

Early in the week, I have scheduled a trial makeup session with Mhec Gado, my leading HMUA in my shortlist. I am really excited and looked forward to this as she was the choice I had from the time I was able to inquire and see her works. But, unfortunately she had to cancel today's session late last night. She was in the hospital yesterday - I won't mention why, so I felt really bad and agreed to reschedule. So last night, Ron and I agreed to a change in our plans for tomorrow. Since our 10 o'clock was already cancelled, we planned to leave a bit late and go straight to the Bridal Fair in PICC after lunch, then proceed to Ron's dream date in the evening.

So, come today we headed to PICC after lunch. Upon arriving at the venue, I was surprised to know that I forgot to register Ron for the fair. I kept going over it in my mind, and couldn't believe my shortcoming. We ended up having to pay for the registration fee for him. Haha! :)

Going around the place, we only had HMUA in mind. We are looking for one to have for our prenup as Mhec is already booked during our prenup date. So the budget, wasn't that much and it seems that we will go over budget yet again. After some time, Ron and I decided to go out for a while to talk and look at our options. We consulted our budget, and the needs that we have. We looked at all the flyers in our hands and we were able to trim down our choices of the day to 3 HMUAs: Mic Alava, CJ Jimenez, and Jeanne Lu. We chose these 3 simply because, aside from me liking their portfolios, they were the ones I felt comfortable talking to. :)

Back inside, I was so undecided on whom to choose and have my trial makeup as all 3 were offering free TMs during the fair. CJ and Mic were both a close call, as CJ is a Cavitena and offered to waive the OOT fees for the wedding, but unfortunately the prenup will only be done once in the morning in her studio in QC. As for Mic, she was open that she won't be staying as well for the prenup and will only be there for about an hour or so. Having an HMUA during the prenup was something I personally prefer, simply because I have no idea how to retouch myself if needed, and I have an oily skin to top that.

At Jeanne's booth, the discussion we had showed that she was flexible with our arrangements, and that the rates are affordable and will not be affected by our "special arrangements". So, setting aside my growing bias for Mhec, I decided to reconsider her wedding package, and had my trial makeup.

Surprisingly, I loved the look I had after the trial. It was very natural, just the way I want it. Simple, and not overly done. Adding to my new found favorite HMUA - bonus point was that the prenup makeup will be given as free if I booked her then! :)

Taking one look at Ron, I knew he already knew what was going through my mind - as I kept looking in the mirror feeling really pretty! So vain - I know! Hahaha! He agreed to my decision, and we booked her and paid the reservation fee. We had our prenup and wedding dates blocked, so as to avoid anymore conflict. :)

Sixth Supplier Booked: Hair and Makeup by Jeanne Lu

After the Trial Makeup on the way to MOA Arena

Ron's dream date! <3

Go PETRON! :))

PS: Hours after the TM we had, my makeup was still looking good and I only needed to powder my nose ONCE, to think that Jeanne only used traditional makeup! I think I was so excited with the PBA game we were watching that night (Ron's dream date, by the way) that my face started to oil. But, to my surprise yet again, it didn't smudge or fade until I got home! :)

Still feeling pretty,

DIY #1: Our Official Logo

For many months now, I've been making monograms for our big day. I decided to make them since this is the only DIY I could think of for the wedding, as well as the stationeries. I thought it was going to be easy because it's just a monogram. Little did I know, that I'd be meticulous making one. I've tried several designs, and came up with the following choices.

The first one I did, I was really satisfied, until my mom disapproved it. Since my family is a bit of a traditionalist, she doesn't like it for its edges and says it's not lucky for a wedding. Thus, I moved on to the next designs.

Finally, we settled for the last one.. the R & A surrounded by aqua squares and navy blue rackets, with our names and the date of our wedding. I loved this one since it incorporated our love for badminton, which by the way meant something special for us.... ;) So from then, I've used this monogram for our stationery drafts, and backdrops.

But just recently, you all may know that we started using this blog site to document everything. Along this, came my intent to create a signature for the two of us which will showcase our individual personalities. And the results are these two signatures:

Feeling uber satisfied and excited with these two signatures, I immediately wanted to use this for our monogram. ;)

At first, I just edited our monogram.... and it looked like this:

Somehow, I wasn't feeling satisfied with this one, and I kept on thinking of a new look for our monogram. Then I remembered a friend's suggestion when we are to choose cake designs - to have round cakes instead of squares for luck and eternity. So, with a bit of patience, and a lot of passion - I could now unveil to you our official monogram!

Ron and I felt really excited about this one, and it definitely showed our individual personalities. You see, Ron loves basketball and has an undying passion for it, and I, on the other hand, love playing volleyball. We both love playing badminton, and if you were able to read the story of how we started out, this sport definitely had a big contribution. To add to this, I think you may have guessed by now what our chosen theme is - a Sports - Themed Wedding. :)

After making this lovely monogram and still being all hyped-up, I couldn't help but make a draft for our back drop for the photo booth that we'll be having.

With all of these accomplished, I can't wait to start with our stationeries... Wish us luck! :D

Still hyped-up,

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,

Face Paint # 1

For months now, I've been searching for HMUAs that are within Cavite and creates a natural look for the brides. I have found various choices, but was able to trim it down to 2, and 1 of which is Makati-based, but offers low OOT fees. Going through their portfolios, I wanted the Cavite-based MUA, but her arrangements are not flexible enough for us. While the Makati-based MUA could accommodate Ron and I even if we were prepping in different locations. But before booking anyone, I knew I wanted to do trial makeups first so as to back up my decision and to have a feel of the MUA's personality. Ron's sister advised the same, so I knew I was on the right track. As time went on, and as a bride-to-be, I wanted more options since (1) I wanted to know if there would be others that could service us within the same price range, and (2) I wanted to book the one that I think could make me more beautiful for our big day! ;)

Having this persistence to find another option, I asked one of my photographer friends if he has an official HMUA. Fortunately, he does have one, Karl Balao. My friend was able to give me Karl's number and make a referral as well. So with the new excitement that I had, I immediately texted him. He was quick to answer, and was able to provide me with his rates. Surprisingly, his rates are way below our budget, and I knew that we could save more if we book him. So the next question was, how does his works look like? I browsed through his facebook page, and was impressed to see his portfolio. So as soon as I saw this, I immediately texted him again to schedule a trial make-up.

Earlier today was scheduled trial makeup. The trial makeup was not free, and will not be deductible if we decide to book him, but we did not mind since we were attending an event in the afternoon. Karl came in time - he was not late, and that was a good sign. :) We immediately started, and of course the chit chat came as soon as he entered the door. Apparently, we studied in the same school - me being ahead of him by 4 years. During the entire trial makeup, we talked mainly of people we bought knew and he shared as well how he started as an HMUA. Ron would check up on us every now and then, and he would smile very weirdly and so my nerves were not at ease (there were no mirrors for me to see myself - I wanted to be surprised!).

By the end of the session, this is how I look:

HMUA: Karl Balao

HMUA: Karl Balao

HMUA: Karl Balao

Sorry, no before shots... :P

At the end of the session, I liked his work, but I still want to keep my options. Mainly because he does not offer Airbrush, yet (he said he plans to have it by end of the year) and because I wanted to see other HMUAs' works. Though, I have him short-listed in my HMUAs for our prenup. :)

Still blushing,