With that, and after reading our readers` heart-felt comments, WE`ve decided that Eli and KY should be in this year`s Beautiful Weddings issue as a `chosen by the WE staff` entry.

We know we said in the guidelines page that we`ll be choosing five more of our favorites from the submisssions at the end of the promo, but we honestly don`t think anyone would file an electoral protest (we hope not!) over this decision so we`re declaring them not just winners in our hearts, but also winners in the contest.

So to Eli and KY- Congratulations! Wedding Essentials is privileged to feature your beautiful story on our pages this October. WE hope that each bride-to-be who reads your story will not only be touched and be inspired, but also be thankful of their own love story. Because though God may not always give us what we want. He surely gives us what we need.

Cheers!

P.S. Will post this weekend`s finalists tomorrow and on Saturday. Voting starts Sunday morning, and end on Monday at midnight. Good luck to our couples this week, you`ll know who you are starting tomorrow. =P www.weheart attack ba?

In the meantime, read about Mango Red`s Randall Dagooc`s account of the wedding (unedited to preserve the author`s tone and intended phrases)

WE MADE IT! WE F*CKIN’ MADE IT!
.
10 AM

* Alis kami (We left) Ortigas to go to Alabang for a wedding. Wedding ceremony is at 3pm sa (at) Fernbrook.

* Stuck sa (on) C5 for 2 hrs. U-turn then daan kami sa (we used the) Fort-Bonifacio-Mckinley-Nichols route.

* Stuck in Fort Bonifacio (Lawton Road) for another 2 hrs. 5 meters per hour ang takbo ng mga sasakyan (was the speed of vehicles).

2 PM

* Sabi ni (Said) Teena (coordinator), moved daw ang (the) ceremony to 5 p.m.

* I said “Sh*t! Choke point lang nman is yung bridge sa may (The only choke point is the bridge near) Nichols! Sabi ko lakad na lang kami (I said, let’s just walk) then brave the flood! Bahala na si Santino (The expression means, roughly, what will be, will be).”

* Got out of the car amid the massive traffic. Lakad kami (We walked) Al, Rex and me from Mckinley Hill to Nichols. Basang basa sa ulan, naka-white pointed shoes,coat or in short, naka formal attire (Drenched in rain, we were in white pointed shoes, a coat- in short, in formal attire).

* Si Rex nakabalot ng plastic (Rex wrapped himself in plastic). Ako nakapulot ng tarpaulin ( I found a tarpaulin). Si Al, naliligo sa ulan na parang street child (Al frolicked in the rain like a street child do).

* Then may nadaanan kami military surplus shop na ngbebenta ng military raincoat ( We passed a military surplus shop selling military raincoats).

* Ate! Magkano raincoat?” sabi ko. (Lady,how much is the raincoat, I said.)

* Ate: ”450 pesos isa…”(Lady :450 pesos each.)

* Ako: “ Sh*t!Basang 300 pesos lang pala dala ko! (“Me:Oh crap,all I have is 300 pesos,and the bills are wet!)

* Hanap ako ng ATM. Lakad ulit. (I looked for an ATM. Time to walk again.)

* May tumawag s’akin : ” Randall ! Randall! ” (Someone called out to me “Randall!Randall!)

* “Uy sina Wally Gonzales at sina RJ!” Bwahaha! Stuck din sa Lawton Road! (Aha, it’s Wally Gonzales and RJ! Bwahaha!. They’re also stuck on Lawton Road!)

* ” Chong, pahiram nman ng 1000 oh, pambili ng raincoat!” ([to Wally]”Friend, lend me P 1000 to buy a raincoat?”)

* Ayos nakabili. Lakad ulit for an hour. Naka-raincoat na,hehehe. (All right, I was able to buy it. Walked again for an hour.This time, in a raincoat, hehehe.)

* Nadapa si Rex sa sidewalk. (Rex tripped on the sidewalk.)

* May nagsabing batang kasalubong naming: “ Dad mga sundalo ba sila? ” (A passing child asked [upon seeing us}.” Dad are they soldiers?”

3 PM

* Text si Teena- Stuck pa rin daw sya sa EDSA. At na move ang wedding ng 8 p.m. Tuloy na tuloy daw. Kahit mag cartwheel pa daw sya para matuloy. (Teena texted that she was still stuck on EDSA and the wedding was moved to 8pm. But it was definitely pushing through,even if she had turn cartwheels to make sure it pushed through.)

* Sabi ko,”Ayos, lupet nito!” (I said, wow,this is really something!)

.

4 PM

* After an hour ng paglalakad sa ulan at baha, tawid kami sa baha sa may Nichols yung may tulay..Massive! (After an hour of walking in the rain and floods, we crossed the flooded road near Nichols, where there is a bridge. Massive [flooding]!)

* Pagkatawid, lakad sa may SLEX ng konti habang pumapara ng sasakyan na pwedeng maawa samin .Buti may taxi na nasuhulan ng 500 pesos na pumayag. (After we crossed, we walked along the Southern Luzon Expressway while we hailed vehicles in hopes they would take mercy on us. Good thing we were able to bribe a taxi driver with P500 to agree to take us to the venue.)

* Sakay kami. Sobrang luwag sa SLEX at andaming tumirik na sasakyan sa tabi. (We got on and rode the taxi. The SLEX was free of vehicles but a lot of stalled vehicles lined the road.)

.

5:30 PM

* Nasa Preps na kami. Nangutang muna ako sa bride ng 500 pesos pamasahe. (We reached Preps. I borrowed P 500 from the bride for the cab fare.)

* Tuwang tuwa si manong. (The driver was delighted.)

* Tawag ako kay Chuck (Cherry Blocks) na taga-Alabang. Sabi ko “Chong pahiram naman ng tuyong sapatos,long sleeves at mejas oh?”. (I called Chuck who was from Alabang and said,”Friend,lend me dry shoes, a long sleeved shirt and socks,please!”)

* Dumating si Chuck (Chuck arrived) and we’re all comfy and dry.

THE WEDDING

* Shoot kami (We shot [photos]) with Sir Raymund Fortun, Jok and Chuck.

* 20 relatives lang ng bride and groom yung nandun. Wala nang iba (Only twenty relatives of the bride and groom made it, no more).

* Inasikaso ni Sir Raymund yung church. Baha na kasi sa Fernbrook so wala na talagang pag-asa (Sir Raymund took care of the churh. Fernbrook was flooded so there was no hope [for proper reception].

* Instant lahat (everything)!
* Instant best man.
* Instant ceremony.
* Instant priest.
* Instant reception.
* Instant mami (noodles)

.
Sobrang lupet ng wedding! (That wedding was really something!) Sabi ng (Said the) groom: ” Itutuloy natin ‘to (We’ll push through with this) whatever happens. Kahit s’an pa kami ikasal (We can get married anywhere)” Astig! (Cool!) Very emotional lahat (everyone)! I admire the courage and love of Eli and KY! Grabe (Wow). Inspiring! I’ll post the other details with photos this week.. may wedding pa kasi kami (we still have another wedding) tomorrow. Tulog muna ako (I’ll go to sleep first)… hehehe

Bottom line: Weddings are all about the couple, not the guests who won’t be able to attend , not the cake, the gown, the details, the photos etc.

Anyway,salamat kay (thank you to ) RJ and Sir Wally.

Kay (To) Chuck!

Kay Atty. Raymund Fortun!

Kay Eli and KY

And sa pinakamalupet naming (and to our awesome team) team! Al, Rex, and Jap!

Sabi ko nga, kung ang mga conflict (war) photographers nakakapag shoot kahit patayan na, anu ba naman ang baha para sa mga wedding photographers? *yabang* hehehe (I said, if during wars, photographers can shoot despite the terrible conditions, what’s a flood to a wedding photographer?Am I boasting? hehehe) Salamat sa lahat (Thank you to everyone)!

Related posts:

1. Real & Beautiful Weddings: KY Yap and Eli Pablo
2. And the winners for weeks 2 & 3 are….
3. Contest! Contest!

My introduction to “weddings” happened in front of the idiot box. Princess Diana was walking down the aisle in this majestic froufrou of a gown and in a snap I turned into one of those girls who grew up fantasizing about their dream wedding long before the groom came into the picture. On January 02 2010 that dream was realized. I was married to Richard James Jardenil on a day that’s filled to the brim with the kind of stuff dreams are made of- surreal, but nice.

Richard and I got engaged in Tagaytay in 2008, hence a Tagaytay wedding felt like a suitable choice. My most vivid memory of my first visit to Caleruega’s Chapel of Transfiguration 14 years ago is that of the beautiful, serene sunset ray piercing through the stained glass of the chapel as I pray. Fourteen years later, there I was walking down its aisle with Celtic Woman’s acapella version of Over the Rainbow in the background.

Our love affair with our reception venue, Splendido Taal, also started with love at first sight. When we arrived there for an ocular trip we instantly fell in love with its charming architecture and homey ambiance. It only took us approximately one minute to decide that we found “the one”.

Although we’ve agreed from the get go that we don’t want a cookie-cutter wedding, having a themed wedding was never a part of our original wedding blueprint. It all changed when I spotted a white fur cape with wear-me-on-your-wedding written all over its label. Seeing the wedding accessory potential of a faux fur cape single-handedly gave birth to the idea of having a Vintage themed wedding. We thought it’s a good way of encouraging our guests to dress up. (As for me, it was a foolproof way to ensure that I don’t end up looking out of place in my own wedding )

Our attempt to add vintage patina to the wedding while trying to work within a budget pushed my creative button, and boy did I wish that there was also a Stop button!

We took the DIY route for most of the things we needed for the wedding- from the boutonnière and flower girls paraphernalia, to the headpieces, kissing bells, map and invitation design, bridal bag, bird-cage veil, Save-the-date telegrams, road signs, table centerpieces, and the ceremony and reception décor. To call it wedding a “DIY wedding,” one of my friends pointed out, might be an understatement as the homestretch of our preparation were spent painting, printing, cutting, gluing, and getting a few burns along the way to finish all the projects on my list.

Suffice it to say that we will go down in history as the first wedding of Splendido with its groom and family members present at the venue five hours before the wedding to ensure that everything will be in place. What were we thinking right?! Doing a lot of things ourselves is fun and crazy but seeing how everything came together so beautifully made it more meaningful for us. When darkness fell and all the guests were in at the dining area I remember telling Richard how picture-perfect everything was. That and that I’m so glad that my little knowledge on make-up restrained me from adding it on our DIY bucket.

For our reception program, we wanted it to be spontaneous, engaging and fun- a perfect reflection of who we are as couple. It started with a bang- a playful boogie number that we rehearsed the night before. We love attending themed parties so as a way of saying thank you to our guests who all looked gorgeous that night we came up with a “Best-dressed” contest and gave our favorite scents as tokens. Although I expected the “surprise” performance from Richard being a crooner that he is, his heartfelt rendition of our theme song Burnout still left me and many of our guests teary eyed. Up to this day we can’t decide on the highlight of our reception program because it was a series of one surprise after the other.

The most heart-melting moment of the night came when we invited our guests to join us at the veranda after we said our thank you’s. We were in tears as we sway and hum to the song that goes “I wish I could fall on a night like this into your loving arms and a moonlight kiss.” Even the heavenly bodies surprised us with the privilege of dancing under a full moon. To cap the night and much to our guests’ delight, the ooohhs-and-aww-inducing fireworks were set off as soon as the song hit its last note.

The word overwhelming wouldn’t event scratch the surface of all the emotions Richard and I shared on that day. Just trying to remember everything makes our heart go pitter-patter. One of our guests left us with this comment the day after: Could it be a sweet dream or a beautiful wedding? It was so romantic at some point I thought I was dreaming. True love isn’t easy to find, but as their wedding unfolds, it reminds me..dreams do come true..” Surreal, but nice.

Photos by Ariel Javelosa and Joey Boquiren

Tips for soon-to-weds:

· Get the best photographer that you can afford. When all is and done, all you have are pictures to encapsulate all the emotions of your big day.

· Do not allow the budget concerns to stop you from having your nice-to-haves. There are oodles of creative ideas and tips that you can get from wedding blogs and magazines on how you can have a personal and unique wedding. DIY doesn’t equate to “cheap” by any means.

· “Overprepare”, then go with the flow. No matter how much you fret during the preparations, there are some things that are out of your control. Make your wedding a beautiful, fun day to remember by not sweating the small stuff.

Related posts:

1. Real & Beautiful Weddings: Michelle Pineda and Romeo Pastoril
2. Real & Beautiful Weddings: Sabs Hernandez and Raul Dy Liacco
3. Real & Beautiful Weddings: Candy Villaroman and Pat Tuliao

I`ve never been to Sweden but I`ve been to Ikea stores in HK and Shanghai. And oh, how I love Ikea!

Recently, Ikea and interior stylist Lo Bjurulf had another interesting collaboration inspired by the upcoming wedding of the Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. Read on…

Via www.sweetoccassions.com
It was love at first sight when I caught a glimpse of this gorgeous handcrafted origami tablescape, a collaboration between stylist Lo Bjurulf and Ikea in celebration of the upcoming wedding of the Swedish crown princess.

From the neutral color palette to the handmade origami paper flowers and cranes simply arranged in inexpensive white Ikea vases, all of the details are modern and sophisticated.

The long clean lines and the pairing of simple Scandinavian and Asian design details makes this design truly sing, and the cluster of white globes hanging above the table is the crown jewel.

Looking for affordable and chic inspiration for your wedding or your next party? Look no further.

Like? =)

On the Web I also found photos of wedding styling by the same interior stylist and was immediately struck by the shabby chic feel of the concept. Sans a sense of artifice, it nonetheless attracts the eye with the simple, just-tossed-there-and-it-settled-just-so-nicely feel don`t you think?

Shabby chic, by its nature, is the use of furniture and accents chosen for their vintage provenance and is comfortably feminine and romantic without alienating men as there is little, if any, gloss, and everything has an everyday use to it. Applied here, it promises a new dimension to intimate weddings; it is like entertaining, or being entertained, in the couple`s cozy den.

Love the color combinations!

Simple but not plain. Super like! =)

Cheers to great design!

Photos via Ikea Sweden

1. Single color/type of blooms
2. Details WE love: Patrick & Candy Tuliao`s wedding Part 1
3. A wedding made of paper (and then some)

“Love… is planned in heaven. Long before you were born, God has destined for the two of you to be together in this lifetime.” our celebrant, Fr. Ernie Cruz SDB, shares during his homily.

Counting 5 years ago who would’ve thought that an obsessive compulsive manager will ever get along with a carefree hotstreet race car driver? She wants things planned and organized while he prefers to be spontaneous and fast. It was like East meets West. But even with their opposite personalities and backgrounds, love resisted, detoured and still found its way.

So goes, Year 1 – friendship, Year 2 – dating, and Year 3 – engagement. Our relationship ran like laps to a racetrack that all our friends were surprised to learn how we even managed to start one.

Despite the differences, we shared one thing in common. Both Ian and I enjoy road trips – his passion for long drives and my love for nature and beautiful landscapes. Our favorite getaway –Tagaytay. So when he proposed, we knew in a heartbeat where we were getting married. Luckily, we nailed the perfect venue exactly a week after his proposal – Madre de Dios in Tagaytay Highlands.

Being the first to wed for both families, we simply wanted our wedding to reflect what has brought us together and for the mood to be fresh, glowing and festive.

We wanted our guests to have a feel of what we both love “an early morning drive to a lovely getaway” and let the travel experience and venue speak for that. The winding roads heading to the chapel overlooking Taal lake defined Ian’s obsession for driving while the reception veranda offering a 360° view of the rolling hills, pine trees and grassland was representative of Cha who adores the countryside. It was a sight to behold for our loved-ones traveling from different cities and abroad.

To capture the glowing feel, we used as much champagne and gold details as we possibly can. Starting from our ceremony and reception venues which were already painted with beautiful gold highlights, we applied the same tone on our female entourage’s organdy gowns that I personally designed and beaded, our pre-wedding favors consisting of ties and embroidered shawls for close friends, Big Day itinerary door tags for our overnighters, aromatherapy candles for our principal sponsors, organza trimmings, and even the ink that we used on our handmade thank you cards.

With my love for nature, we brought the colors of spring into play on our flowers, fruit baskets, table centerpieces, butterscotch bars and pashmina giveaways which created the festive look that we wanted to achieve.

Ian also gave me free rein to add more elements of “Ian and Cha”. Aside from having our cake designed with a car topper over dragonflies and lilies-of-the-valley, and dressing our mini-entourage up in champagne racing suits and spring flower ballerinas, we came up with our Insignia “I ? C” (Ian loves Cha) which also symbolized our prayer “In Christ, we love forever.” We placed the same trademark on our invites, cards and personally handcrafted them on our wedding paraphernalia.

My bridal gown was the tough part. Ondoy came and an accident happened on my first cream dress. With only 2 and half months left before the wedding, I decided to design my gown. My mom insisted that I should stand out in a classic bridal look so a friend and I made a sweetheart Mikado ball gown and 7-meter veil in pristine white.

Like my female entourage, mine was also adorned with hand-cut roses and butterfly appliqué but teeming with Swarovski crystals and clear Japanese rainbow beads. It embodied the fresh, glowing, “spring” appeal of our wedding – just the way I wanted.

Finally on January 10, 2010 as my family and I were wrapping up our HMU-PV session with Cathy Cantada and Erron Ocampo, I felt a sudden rush of cold breeze sweep all over me. That was when it finally hit me – You’re on your way to your next trip baby– your wedding! Woohoo!

Before the ceremony, my one last request for family and friends was “Please do not cry. We are here to celebrate and be merry!”

11:00 AM, as the chapel doors opened for my entrance, The Prayer by Anima intro-ed, and butterflies released, I spotted my groom by the altar, and boy, his eyes were …red. Ian was the first one to cry!

Our guests say that the most memorable part of our wedding was the entire ceremony itself. It was celebrated by our dear Fr. Ernie, daddy’s high school classmate and has known me since I was 10 years old.

With my groom leading the pack, everyone cried happy tears during my bridal walk all the way to our endorsement when Ian and I embraced our parents and gave my bayad as respect to my elder siblings.

The mood was solemn yet light. Our loved ones cried again as I shared what Fr. Ernie calls my “7-page vow” and laughed as Ian pulled out his 7-liner cue card from the back pocket of his pants to profess his “love and commitment”!

Then everyone cracked up in excitement as Fr. Ernie prompted Ian when it was time to gently kiss the bride. With Longer Than by Dan Fogelberg sang in the background and the warm applause of our loved-ones, we sealed our ceremony with a passionate kiss. It was a moment of unparalleled bliss when love was overflowing between us and from everyone around us!

As for me, the most touching and vivid moment that day was when my Ian (as non-planner as he is) prepared a surprise during our grand toast. He serenaded me with Beautiful In My Eyes with my kuya and Serene8 as his back-up. I knew he gathered a lot of strength (and sipped a mouthful of rum) because he wasn’t the singing type but when he did, it felt like the 12-months worth of hard work and sacrifices poured in for our big day had finally been paid off – all with just one song.

I still smile and cry every time I remember our special moments. Call it labor of love. It was all worth it!

So it is true. Love is definitely planned in heaven. Even in roadblocks on differences, detours in relationships and long roads traveled we’re happy that the Lord has led us to our destination at the right time. Now we’re set for another road trip in life, this time as husband and wife. Ü

3 Tips for soon-to-weds

1. Just like in any ordinary day, start your BIG Day with a prayer. Thank the Lord that your day has finally arrived and ask Him to bless your families, guests and suppliers so that everything will run smoothly. Then sit back, relax and let God take the wheel! ü

2. If God is your driver, your Wedding Coordinator is your key. Do your own research from previous clients to be sure that you are hiring the right coordinator team who blends with your personality and can execute your plans efficiently and without delay. (Previous working experience with your suppliers, especially your photographer is a plus.)

3. If you’ve put in the budget for your destination wedding, don’t hold back. Like if you plan to put a bottle of wine or a box of chocolates per table then do it. Don’t try to save a few bucks in exchange for a little joy and comfort for your travelling guests. They went the extra mile to be with you on your wedding. It would be gracious to return the favor through these simple gestures and it will definitely go a long way! ü

Photos by Erron Ocampo

Related posts:

1. Real & Beautiful Weddings: KY Yap and Eli Pablo
2. Real & Beautiful Weddings: Jeni Hernandez and Edward Cruz
3. Real & Beautiful Weddings: Carol Anne Marquez & Rey Anthony Delen

Voltaire Zalamea (Wedding Coordinator): “What’s your song for the first dance Michelle?”

I said, “Four Seasons of Loneliness by Boyz II Men”

Badang Rueda (Event Stylist): “Why? Its not a happy love song.”

I smiled and said, “It basically explains our love story, our love story that weathered all four seasons. Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. It wasn’t always blissful for the past 12 years. We had our trials but these trials made our relationship stronger and help us achieved whatever the success that we have now.

As the song goes.

“When I get the courage up to love somebody new,
It always falls apart ’cause they just can’t compare to you… Reminiscing our love as I watch four seasons change.”

Planning our wedding came very easy for us. We know what we wanted and we made it happen.

I have seen hundreds of weddings since I am a wedding photographer since 2002, after I graduated from DLSU, Manila.

These are the things that guided us in our preparation, our top priority- make all our guests enjoy and have the best time of their lives because the wedding is not just for us, its not about showcasing expensive details, but a reunion of all our relatives and friends closest and dearest to our hearts. It is our way of saying thank you to them for being part of our love story for the past 12 years.

To achieve this, we planned a destination wedding. We decided to look for the perfect venue in Pampanga since I am based there.

With Voltaire Zalamea of Events and Concepts as our wedding coordinator, nothing can go wrong because he simply is the best. Can you believe it, we only finalized everything while I was having my make up done, how cool was that?

My Romeo wore a 4 piece- silver suit by Jerome Lorico to match the color of my Versace material silver gown fully beaded with Swarovski crystals to cover my upper body. It’s a masterpiece of my aunt Izza Jaye Dungca who is a designer based in New York. To complete my look, Francois Roxas did my hair, provided me with his snowflakes inspired hair accessory and executed flawless airbrush make up. The final touch was my all white bridal bouquet made by our Ninang Jannette Garbes of Flower Garden, which I truly loved.

For Romeo and his entourage, Jerome provided a custom made boutonniere made of galvanized iron sheet shaped like a flower.

Craftmaster executed our simple invites. To make it unique we personalized it with our own words.

12 beautiful years of our lives will soon culminate on a fateful date with destiny.

ROMEO & MICHELLE 12.28.09

St. Joseph the Worker, Chapel 2, Clark Freeport Zone

Lewis Grand Hotel

Monday, Dec 28, 2009 Time Schedule:

4:00 P.M. Come and join us on the most meaningful occasion of our lives as we exchange our vows in Holy Matrimony as we stand in tribute and awe at the kind of love that will bless us for all seasons of our existence.

St. Joseph the Worker, Chapel 2 Clark Freeport Zone.

7:00 P.M. Chill with us in your most glam evening wear and black suit as we seal our oath in the glory of a winter’s promise, a love encased in ice, frozen and steadfast, from here on until eternity.

Estrellita Ballroom of Lewis Grand Hotel. Ladies, no silver please.

9:00 Onwards. After our exchange of vows, help us raise the temperature up till daybreak, as we switch to our most pimped out beach attires for our after-party luau in anticipation of the dawn that heralds the start of our new lives together.

Poolside & Garden of Lewis Grand Hotel. Please be in your most comfortable beachwear.

For the church, St. Joseph the Worker, Chapel 2 in Clark was the best choice. My only request to our friend and event stylist, Badang Rueda, was to cast his magic wand and give me a new design that I have not seen in our past weddings. And he didn’t fail me. It was just breathtaking.

I fell in love with Lewis Grand Hotel in Angeles City as soon as I entered. It’s all white, perfect for our theme. The hotel can accommodate our guests who want to stay overnight, we can have our indoor formal reception at the grand ballroom and the after-wedding party at the poolside. Just perfect!

We had two of the four seasons as our theme, Winter and Summer.

For the formal reception, it’s a winter wedding with a touch of modern and contemporary details that’s why Badang opted to have an all white design and flowers combined with crystals. The magnificent drapings and lighting of Juancho Fondevilla of Sensitivity transformed the grand ballroom into a whimsical bluish feel that I truly adore.

Josiah`s Catering served sumptuous meals with dessert and sushi station, and before we ended the formal reception, while dancing a 90’s hiphop song entitled Be Faithful (Remix) by Faith Evans, they served our very well thought of signature blue drink called “Jr and Michel” to segway the start of our Rockin Poolside Party.

While the guests are changing into their beach attires for the poolside party, Baicapture Photobooth, sponsored by John Bailon, provided the guests their souvenirs.

Our rockin’ summer outdoor poolside party garnered the most praises from our guests that ended at 4am. It was full of highlights. Again Juancho provided the incredible lighting and staging. Over flowing of drinks from Cable Car Bar in Pasay Road, Makati in which Jr and his brother Jandrew partly owned. NATF Band with lead singer Nino Alejandro, opened the rockeoke which our relatives and friends from Colegio San Agustin, DLSU and Megaworld Corporation wildly participated. Another surprise band played for our “young at heart” guests that made them danced the night away. Our extraordinary onsite video crafted by Ian Cruz, received a remarkable applause because of the intro footage. I think no other crazy couple would agree to jump in the pool in the middle of the reception while the guests are having dinner and enter the ballroom for the finale hiphop dance number dripping with water.

After the spectacular fireworks display from Platinum Fireworks, Romeo surprised me with a song number Meet me Halfway of Black Eyed Peas with Lovie Poe and bestfriend Val Petines.

Then after all the bands, Miko Syquia pumped up the scene by spinning our favorite party songs and our friends Nina and Roy fired up the stage with their poi dancing.

And of course, my ever reliable crew of Split image Digital provided our priceless photos during the wedding and my friend Pam Viguera did our engagement pictorial in our most favorite place, Boracay.

Basing it on all the smiles and tears that were shed, on the time the party ended and the number of people who got wasted. It was indeed our dream wedding. Happy, Crazy and Fun! Love! Love! Love!

Tips for soon-to-weds:
1. Enjoy every single minute and second of THE Day. No time to stress yourself with small details.

2. Your suppliers are the people who can make or break your dream wedding, choose carefully and treat them as your friends because if you treat them nicely, they will make extra efforts and give all out support for FREE.

3. Always stick with the budget, do not try to impress your guests with expensive details. After the wedding, they won’t remember it, what they will remember is how they had a great time in your wedding and how wasted they got.

Like this wedding? Vote for it to be Wedding of the Week starting this Saturday, May 22, here at www.weheartweddings.com

Related posts:

1. Real & Beautiful Weddings: Sabs Hernandez and Raul Dy Liacco
2. Real & Beautiful Weddings: Cristina Guzman and Joed Natividad
3. Real & Beautiful Weddings: KY Yap and Eli Pablo

The only designer that came to mind for my multi-colored
gown concept was non-other than Kate Torralba. We met 6 months before the wedding and I told her I wanted a gown that had a skirt that looked like rose petals, and that she did.

Kate designed for me the perfect gown, exactly what I had in mind. Layers of chiffon in colors blush, champagne, mocha, and cream, a beaded bodice using pearls. As soon as I saw her sketch, our wedding theme came to mind…

“Mid-Summer Night’s Dream”. The entourage’s gowns were all different
colors as well. No color was repeated and Kate used candy beads
instead of the usual Swarovski. She provided all the gowns for my 3
bridesmaids, 3 secondary sponsors, and 3 flower girls. All in different summer bright colors.

Executing the theme was my territory, so the husband let me plan this
on my own. I envisioned an all-white event, accented with lots of
colorful butterflies, fresh summer flowers, lots of lanterns and great
mystical lighting.

I thought the caterer’s flowers were enough but they weren’t, so my friend Rocelyn Aguado who owns Real Essence Flower Shop styled our event and provided our bouquets.

She filled the ceiling with lanterns, crystals, swags, and lots of butterflies! We asked our guests to come in all-white dresses for the ladies, and barong Tagalog for the men. To make our concept come to life, we had to host the reception outdoors but a garden setting would be too hot and humid for the guests, so we opted to have our party at The North Forbes Pavilion. A semi-garden setting to host our small wedding of 180 guests.

We had a butterfly release, 150 butterflies that were distributed to our guests that were released in perfect timing with our friend/DJ, Dr. Gerard Henson’s chillout music during cocktails.

Our lovely butterflies were provided by our friend Judith Manipol who also owns the business.

We served 60 bottles of red and white wine during our cocktails, and
mingled with our guests who felt comfortable with such an atmosphere.

We chose Hizon’s to cater to our event. We just fell in love with their service, food and with our banquet coordinator. After booking our major suppliers, I was at a loss and didn’t know what to do next! So booking one of the industry’s most sought-after coordinators, Chinkie Uy-Agregado- was the right thing to do. She made our lives so much easier, and I didn’t feel any stress at all during our wedding day! She smoothed out all problems that arose that day and didn’t bother us anymore about it. She was our superwoman. She booked
our generator, band, lights and sounds, and took care of everything
else to make our wedding extra special and look more expensive
than it actually was!

Our bridal car was provided by Vintage and Luxury Cars- we chose a vintage 1932 Cadillac which was surprisingly comfortable and had good air-conditioning.

As a makeup artist, makeup and hair were the least of my worries and because I knew Jigs Mayuga, friend and fellow makeup artist, would beautify me. He made me look so beautiful on our wedding day and I glowed and the look lasted all night!

My tandem hairstylist when I do weddings, Tony Dusich, did my hair which I absolutely loved as well. Simple, yet classic.

And to photograph and record our event on video, to capture all memorable moments was non other than Nice Print Photo.

3 tips for brides-to-be:

1. Over decorating your wedding reception might look more tacky than elegant. So by keeping it simple is actually better, the less suppliers you have, the less stress.

2. Wear a gown that YOU want and would be comfortable in, you
will be wearing your dress the entire night, and it’s really no joke!

3. On your wedding day, forget about everything. Let your
coordinator worry about it and just have fun!

Related posts:

1. Real & Beautiful Weddings: Christine Caspe and Jim Lam
2. Real & Beautiful Weddings: Michelle Pineda and Romeo Pastoril
3. Real & Beautiful Weddings: Jeni Hernandez and Edward Cruz

Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez looked breathtaking at the “American Woman: Fashioning A National Identity Costume Institute Gala” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art recently wearing a gown by Zuhair Murad.

The Fashionista personally selected a couture grey tulle strapless ball gown embellished with silver sequin leaf print from Zuhair Murad’s Haute Couture spring 2010 Collection- via http://www.iloubnan.info

We say J. Lo wore it better.

About Zuhair Murad
London, England (CNN) — When Hollywood’s A-list need to strut the red carpet in style they call Zuhair Murad.

Superstars like Beyonce and Eva Longoria Parker regularly make it on to best dressed lists rocking the Lebanese designer’s extravagant creations at glitzy showbiz events.

With an eye for opulent fabrics, classically cut and often intricately patterned with jewels, Murad has become the go-to-guy for celebrities craving old Hollywood glamour with a modern twist.

Read the rest of the article here

1. Oscars 2010 Wedding Gown Inspiration
2. Rica Peralejo`s wedding gown
3. Reem Acra Spring 2011 Collection

Chance encounter
Joed and I walked the hallways of the same law school. He is also a close friend of one of my dearest cousins back in Ateneo. But surprise of all surprises, we never met in school nor through my cousin. We met through a common law school friend. We instantly hit it off as friends having art films and movies as common ground. Plus, the fact that we’re both from the province although at extremely far ends of the map. I’m from way up North in Tuguegarao City and he’s from way down south in General Santos City. At the time we met, Joed was reviewing for the Bar Exam and we would hang out in coffee shops studying. But it wasn’t until we decided to go on a date that we realized we were meant to be more than friends. Incidentally, on our very first date we watched the movie “Click”.

The proposal
I was not expecting anything because Joed and I talked about getting married in 2011. Plus, my BFF swore that he wasn’t going to propose anytime soon (only to find out later that she was in cahoots with him).

Joed proposed at my graduation dinner a year ago (April 4, 2009) at the Tower Club in Makati. I was graduating from law school and had been busy preparing for my graduation dinner. Joed helped me with the venue, the food and in inviting my family and friends. Little did I know that he had something elaborate planned up his sleeves.

On the day of my graduation, while my mom and I were at the salon to get our hair and make up done, Joed went to see my dad in our house and as my dad would put it, “He gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse!” My dad was mum the whole time, but told my mom during the graduation ceremony. I knew that an AVP was to be shown at the party but was surprised when I read that the graduation wasn’t the reason for the AVP. My heart skipped a beat and then the words “10 Reasons Why You Should Marry Me” flashed on the screen. I was in tears watching the video that I didn’t notice the tarpaulin that had my graduation photo was flipped backwards. It had 3 of our happiest photos and the words “Will you Marry Me?”. And on que, Joed walked into the room, took the microphone and said, `Ïn this journey of life, there’s no other person I would want to share it with but you.” And, on one knee he asked, “Cristina Amelia “Precious” Roa Guzman, will you marry me?” He flashed the most beautiful engagement ring. I just couldn’t say no!

Wedding theme
Joed and I share many things in common. But sometimes, we are complete opposites. Surprisingly, we shared equally in the wedding planning. We wanted a grand yet intimate wedding with all our families and closest friends witnessing our blessed union. Ours was a classic theme with modern touches and a mix of Victorian, Baroque and Moroccan themes. We also decided on the colors of the sunset as motif.

Eve of the wedding
It did not help at all that the Bar Exam results would be released the night before our wedding. Talk about anxiety attack.

But true to Hitched Events team`s commitment, everything miraculously fell into place. Teena Barretto was with me the eve of the wedding, making sure that each detail in the checklist had been done. She shared my uneasiness and stress of waiting for the bar exam results as we did a run through of the event. And, by God’s grace and after much anticipation, I learned that I passed the Bar at 10pm that night.

The gown

Long gown in layers of illusion tulle, Japanese organdy, shantung and gina lining. Bullion embroidered bodice with beadwork of cut beads, pearls, flat sequins and Swarovskis accentuating the embroidery. Trumpet shaped skirt extending to a chapel length train.

The event styling and bouquets

On the morning of my wedding, I was awakened by the most exquisite mix of purple tulips, snapdragon, mathiola and carnation held by no less than Badang Rueda. He singlehandedly and, without sleep managed to execute our classic yet modern Victorian, Baroque, Moroccan inspired theme with touch of colors of the sunset. He said that everything was perfect,just as I wanted it. And with that, I smiled.

The first dance

“Never Thought” by Dan Hill was played at the couple’s first dance. The song was a personal choice symbolizing how we felt about finding each other. Joed was 33 and I was 30. We met at a time we both stopped looking.

Incidentally, March 27 was designated as Earth Day. Wanting to participate in the global awareness campaign, we created what we called Earth Minute. And thus, a very romantic first dance with votive candles glowing from the guest tables and just the spotlight on us and acapella by Manila Philharmonic singers.

Family and friends were stirred most especially by the father-daughter dance. As most of our guests know, my dad had stage 4 cancer since 2006 but has been cancer-free for over a year. I always prayed and hoped that he’d still be strong to see me graduate, get engaged, pass the bar and walk me down the aisle. He was strong and healthy on all four occasions and I can not thank God enough for all His blessings.

Some unique details…

The Venue. Many couples nowadays choose Tagaytay Highlands as wedding venue because of the view of Taal, the view of the greens, the quaintness of the chapel and among other reasons. We chose it to be ours because it holds a special place in our hearts. Highlands had been a regular getaway for Joed and I. We would lazily spend weekends with family and sometimes with our friends in our house. On Sundays we hear mass at the church near the Sports Center and wouldn`t leave without having merienda at Midlands Veranda. So when he proposed to me the venue was never a question. We shared beautiful memories in Highlands. It was going to be like being wed at home.

The Color Motif. Joed and I both love sunsets. We’ve watched a gazillion of sunsets together. The colors are just breathtaking. When we celebrated our 1st year together as boyfriend and girlfriend in Tagaytay, we saw the most wonderful sunset and promised each other that we’d watch sunsets together for the rest of our lives. And in case we were in separate places, we’d make it a point to watch the sunset and know that the other is watching it too.

Movie Lines. Apart from Law, we have movies as a common ground. He has always been envious of my wide collection of art films. And I am always amazed with his knowledge of movie classics. So, for the wedding, we chose the best love lines from movies we like and printed them out gold paper in business card size for every guest. Our event stylist, Badang Rueda, placed them on oranges on the tables.

Butterfly release/Fireworks. The Butterfly release was a personal favorite. I love butterflies! I have photographed them several times. I have always been intrigued by the butterfly and its metamorphosis. Guests say that it symbolized me and how I grew up to be.

The Fireworks was a gift from my brother. Joed has spent every new year with my family since we got together. And each new year wouldn’t be complete without the annual fireworks display in our home in the province. Each time, Joed and I would watch and hope that we’d watch fireworks for the rest of our lives.

The Souvenirs. Bag Tags/ Passport Holders. As Joed and i fly back and forth from Manila to Tuguegarao or Manila to Gensan for work OR from Manila to anywhere here and abroad for pleasure, we thought of giving away passport holders and bag tags to our guests in our color motif. We placed a note thanking them for joining us in OUR JOURNEY…

Joed and I initially planned a simple wedding but had a grand one. Although we both agreed that we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. So, what makes a beautiful wedding? It is all these and more. And on a more personal thought, it is family and close friends that come together and celebrate love and genuine friendships that make it all worthwhile.

Photography by Exige

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On December 25 of 2008, moments after I said “yes” to THE question, fantasies of flowers and gowns went swirling in my head that the moment I stared at our Christmas tree’s decorations, I knew what our wedding motif was going to be like.

Our tree’s modern theme though was not the sole basis for our silver and blue motif. Sergs and I met in an online discussion board in 2007. He was based in California and I, in Manila. Though aware of the risks of getting into a long distance relationship made more difficult by the fact that such started online, we still saw things differently: that cyberspace is a modern avenue for romance. So it really didn’t hurt that silver represented modernism and that it blended well with blue, our favorite color.

We chose January 24, 2010 as our wedding date. It was the date of our 2nd anniversary as a couple. Plus, since Sergs and I were both hopeless romantics, it definitely couldn’t have been more perfect as its numerical sum was equivalent to 8 (1-24-10: 1+2+4+1+0=8), a number popular to couples as the symbol of “forever”.

With our wedding date set, we reserved the Christ the King Parish in Greenmeadows for the ceremony and its parish hall for the reception.

Because Sergs was rarely in the Philippines and I was extremely busy at work, we knew we had to get a full time wedding coordinator. It was through my co-workers that we learned about Events Manila. Their full coordination services worth P198,000 was easy to upgrade and customize. It already included catering for 150 pax c/o Josiah’s Catering, a bridal car, photo and video, flowers, souvenirs, invitations and on the day coordination, among others.

It was at the Power Weddings Bridal Fair in Rockwell that I met Mimi Lazaro (nee Ferrera) of Sasha International Clothing Co. We instantly hit it off upon learning that she was getting married on the eve of our wedding day. But what got me enthralled to book them on the spot was their attention to detail when I explained my needs. Her company partner, Nikki Manlangit, then explained to me that they had gown packages ranging from P70,000 to P100,000. Each package had 10 gowns with a bonus preparation dress.

Even if our wedding seemed all set with “complete” packages in place, Sergs and I didn’t let these, along with our tight schedule at work dictate an instant wedding ala-instant noodles for us.

My couturiers and I worked hard at finding the deepest shade of blue that would go well with silver on our chosen fabric of stretched charmeuse. Because I did not want to be the conventional bride with bridesmaids in conventional gowns, designed were dresses of different styles that could still be worn after the wedding.

In the meantime, I made clear to Events Manila that modern romance with a whimsical twist was going to be our theme. Because Sergs and I were both born in the year of the rat, we wanted Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse to join our party. It was at first hard to imagine how Minnie and Mickey designs could be incorporated without the wedding looking like a children’s party but with the help of some friends, this vision was realized.

With our Mickey and Minnie cake topper, wine glasses and tissue holder, in place, all that was left was how our Mickey and Minnie stuffed toys were going to be placed on our bridal car. But Events Manila didn’t disappoint. Minutes before I stepped out of the bridal car on our wedding day, I saw some churchgoers staring at our adorable stuffed toys, with some even having their pictures taken before the car without knowing that I was inside, giggling at the idea!

It was true what they say about letting go of the worrying as our wedding day, needless to say, went smoothly. My make-up and gown looked amazing. My bridal entourage all looked elegant. My groom looked dashing. The food was delicious. The coordinators were organized. There was laughter and so much love.

In the end, I think the soon-to-wed need to realize that a wedding can be truly beautiful if they are to be WED: W – wise to heed advice and assistance even if they think they have all the time and stamina in the world to prepare for their wedding on their own; E – encouraging enough to support themselves and their partners through all the thick and thin of wedding preparations (after all, it’s the real start of “for better or worse”) and; D – delightful/dreamy enough to believe that fairy tales can still have a happy ever after in spite of the hustle and bustle of modern life.

Congratulations Precious and Sergs!

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JASON AND I HAVE BEEN shuttlecock smashers, running mates, boxing partners, kitchen experimenters and mosh pit survivors, but most of all, we have been best friends.

With our parents, Lope and Dolly Yuvienco and Jess and Gigi Gallegos, we invited friends and family to join us at the starting line of the greatest endurance event of our lives as we became husband and wife on Jan. 10, 2010 at the St. Pancratius Chapel, Paco Park, Manila.
The ceremony was officiated by Fr. Dennis Paez, SDB, a friend of the family.

When Jason and I first started going out, he once told me, “I must have done something really good to have you in my life.” As incredibly sweet as his declaration of newfound love was, I couldn’t help but thoughtfully counter, “I think it’s because we are blessed to have each other in our lives that’s why we have to do good.”

And so began our plans for a green wedding. As challenging as it was to orchestrate, we are mighty pleased with the outcome We began by posting a welcome page on our wedding website, courtesy of The Knot (theknot.com).

The site enabled us to reduce the amount of paper needed to share important information with each of our guests. We wanted to make our wedding sustainable, so we introduced our eco-chic theme. We’re not hardcore environmental activists; we just want to make a difference by making the right choices. After all, marriage is about confirming our commitment to a long-term future together.

Green Choices We’ve Made

• Rings & Symbols – Our green wedding started with the engagement ring: a beautiful family heirloom from Jason’s grandfather. Reusing what you already have is not only kinder to the earth but also makes for more meaningful and personal symbols. We also reused the ringbearer and coinbearer pillows, cord, veil and arrhae from Jason’s sister’s previous wedding. We didn’t buy new shoes and made do with what we had.

• Location – We chose an historical landmark like Paco Park over a formal, energy-sucking reception hall. The rental fee we paid will help maintain the building and grounds and boost exposure to this national treasure. The reception was also held right outside the church to minimize the amount of driving our guests will need to do and to enjoy the beautiful garden with its natural outdoor decor. Earth-friendly, DEET-free and biodegradable insect repellent by Messy Bessy (messybessy.com) was on standby at the registration tables for guests who may be prone to getting bitten Even with the setting up of tents in case of rain (thank God it didn’t!), it was a more cost-effective choice overall.

• Wedding Wear – Jason used a barong tagalog he already had. My dress was made of existing material given by Jason’s uncle, and executed according to my own design by Serge Jimenez (sergejimenez.multiply.com). The females in our entourage wore infinity dresses by Isab Punzalan-Ridon (0917-5512254). Although the material isn’t exactly natural, they can re-style the dresses several ways and wear them again. We encouraged the rest of our entourage to use something they already had or have clothes made from banana, hemp, bamboo, organic cotton or silk.

• Catering – We feasted on delicious organic/local food by Audrey Tanco of Bizu (http://bizupatisserie.com), who gave the most thoughtful menus in consideration of our organic dining needs. Of all caterers and hotels we spoke to, Bizu understood our concept the most, perhaps because of their already green practices in their own farm. Their added edge is their inherent good taste in decor and attentive service, completing a truly eco-chic dining experience.

We considered vegetarian selections and cruelty-free (free range) poultry; wild instead of farmed fish, and organic local coffee, tea and chocolate. This meant not only a potentially healthier menu, but also less fuel consumption and less air pollution. While organic menus tend to be more expensive, we are committed to the cause and cut back in other less crucial areas. We hope that upon tasting the green menu our guests will be convinced to eat healthier:

Dinner Buffet:

Freshly Baked Multigrain Ciabatta
Whole Wheat Rosemary Garlic Focaccia
Garlic Parsleyed Butter
Spinach and Feta Cheese Dip

Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Ricotta Cheese

Organic Waldorf Salad with Fresh Mangoes, Orange, Chico, Cashew, Celery and Grilled Free Range Chicken in Honey Orange Kefir Dressing with Alfalfa

Three Cheese Spinach and Mushroom Ravioli
Brown Rice Pilaf with Chickpeas, Sweetpeas and Asparagus
Rosemary Garlic Baby Potatoes, Zucchinni, Aubergines, Capsicums Tossed in Pesto

Free Range Chicken with Bleu Cheese and Organic Tarragon Cream
Seared Mahi-Mahi with Capsicum Cream

Crème Brulee in Egg Shell (using free range eggs)
Mango Chiboust
Chocolate Samba Cake
Seasonal Fresh Fruits in Skewers

Dalandan Juice
Barako coffee
Fresh Mint Tea

Photography – I was impressed with the striking red-and-black website of Guj Tungpalan of Red Sheep Photography (http://redsheepphotography.com/), which stood out from the sea of frilly wedding photo sites. He is responsive to correspondence and generous, gifting us with a pre-nup shoot and a short teaser vid to add to his value-for-money photo package. Even if his wife just gave birth a few days ago, the first time father did not let us down by being there with the rest of his team and keeping his focus on us. Guj helped save on paper and toxic chemicals by using digital cameras and producing digital proofs, which we opted to print later on as required. We requested friends with digi-cams to share their photos with all the guests online in our wedding photo site at theweddinglens.com/

• Coordination – Events coordinator Marex Gaba (0920-9517467) provided the day-of coordination services for our wedding. We chose him not only because he was Jason’s former volleyball varsity teammate in highschool and the most geographically desirable (he also lived in the south as we do!) but also because he showed the most genuine enthusiasm for our concept and was most willing to execute our vision. Also, his dance background enabled him to choreograph our newlyweds’ dance, a segment of which Jason choreographed himself.

• Printed material – We used opportunities to reduce paper use, like doing away with multi-enveloped/inserted invites, sending save-the-date invitations via email and using a wedding blog to keep people updated. For those un-wired, we sent tree-free, recycled paper invites locally made by Airees Rondain (http://handcraftedexpressions.com/). She was wonderful to coordinate with online; responsive, helpful and a true advocate of the environment. Her creations are proof that choosing to go green can be both affordable and beautiful. She even gifted us with thank-you cards to match our invites and the misalettes which she also made, using Ecofont (ecofont.eu), a typeface that uses 20% less ink. Download it for free!

We did away with a physical guestbook and had our guests send us their love online via our wedding website. For our registration notebook, we used a beautiful vintage notebook made of recycled paper that I got as a gift in highschool. I’ve always found it too pretty to use and kept it all this time. I finally found a great reason to use it, yellowing pages and all

• Music – We opted to have a friend sing our wedding march live, with the rest of our music piped in instead of hiring a band to save on added carbon emissions that go with band setups. The result was a deeply personal selection of songs close to our hearts (*by popular demand, playlist to follow shortly! We chose not to give away CDs so as not to contribute to e-waste).

• Flowers – We used as many potted plants/organic/local growers as possible. Except for what the church insisted to provide, there were no cut flowers since they are mostly imported and are heavy pesticide users (fake flowers are not an option; the process to create them is more environmentally-damaging). Besides, the flowers were already bloom in our garden setting

Practical hand-made clutches made of old newspapers and twine by UpCycled (http://www.upcycled.multiply.com) replaced bouquets for the maid of honor, bridesmaids and female secondary sponsors. Instead of flower girls, cute n’ sweet girls handed out candy from their upcycled mini totes to all the guests instead of littering petals on the floor.

Lighting, Gifts & Decor – We chose to give gifts of soy-based candles by Alice Blue Candles (http://www.alicebluecandle.com/) over those made with paraffin, a petroleum byproduct. They may be a lot pricier than regular petroleum-made candles, but their soy candles do not pollute, are not made from harmful materials, and last longer. Vencer of Alice Blue was also v. kind in our email exchanges. We also gave away organic lip balms by Human Heart Nature for our Christmas gifts and prizes for the games.

Our lighting supplier also used LED lights which emit less heat and use even less power than the already eco-friendly CFL bulbs. Bizu’s stylist Vanni cleverly created unique centerpieces made of fruits and potted plants which the guests happily brought home.

The wedding cake and the cookie giveaways that Jason and I lovingly hand-made using pro-organic eggs were all edible to reduce landfill waste. To make each table more personal, we used photos of ourselves at the respective ages for table numbers (e.g. Table 1 = photos of our one year old selves).

• Honeymoon – We chose to go local (we’d spend a lot of time in that hotel room anyway)! On our way to and from Boracay, we chose to offset our carbon emissions caused by our plane travel . Cebu Pacific has partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines) through the “Bright Skies” program (http://www.cebupacificair.com/wwfbrightskies/) to fight global warming and climate change. In our bid to do our share in environmental conservation, we have donated a minimal amount during our online booking process, which will be used to support WWF-Philippines’ community-based climate adaptation project in Sablayan, Mindoro.

And, as shown in the topmost pic, I rode in a hybrid Civic courtesy of Honda (no frou frou flowers, too!). I originally wanted to do away with a car entirely and just walk from a nearby friend’s apartment, but my pop insisted on treating me and my sis to a stress-free night at a hotel before the big day.

Taking little green steps is better than turning a blind eye because each thoughtful act helps. We wanted to celebrate our wedding ethically because it’s a satisfying way to begin our new life of commitment together and a good way to guide the industry to do even more ecologically-correct practices.

Doing something about climate change is our generation’s mission, just like securing our country’s freedom or fighting for equal rights was the goal of previous generations. Making the right choices will not always be economical, but we consider it as a tax we voluntarily pay for using the Earth. We want you to experience that we can have a great wedding even while being more aware.

Every green choice makes a difference – no matter how small!

Congratulations Jemps and Jason! Thank you for sharing your beautiful and meaningful wedding celebration with us.

Just a reminder: Voting for Wedding of Week starts tomorrow!

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