november twenty-four two thousand seven - part II

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PRE-CEREMONY

CEREMONY

POST-CEREMONY

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november twenty-four two thousand seven

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PRE-CEREMONY

CEREMONY

POST-CEREMONY

DINNER & DANCING

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three (3) days!

my brains are currently in a knot, thank you very much.

first things first!

to my wedding favors team including sis. jo, nicole, my sister and my mommy, and of course, headed by miss val: you, ladies, are awesome! thank you for putting in your whole day today. i can say thank you unlimitedly, but unfortunately, words will not do justice.

kuya rene, our main photographer, has arrived tonight all the way from the philippines! marco of new jersey, who will assist kuya rene, will be arriving at 9pm tonight (since it's technically 11/21 now as it is past midnight!).

ate kathrine, our dance crash course instructor, has officially accepted (actually, i didn't even have to ask her - she generously offered! suuu-weet!) taken on a new position in our wedding team as our on-the-day wedding coordinator. uh, hello? how fabulous is that! so ladies and gents who are part of the bridal party, when you see her on friday and on the wedding day, don't be wondering, "who's this lady bossing me around?" LOL just kidding. she won't be bossing you around; she will just be helping out, so please be nice (and obedient) to her. thank you. =)

went to westin this morning and fully paid off the reception and catering, and it feels soooooo good. thank God! (literally.) rhonda, the wedding coordinator, said they will start putting the tables by today, so by friday, it will be ready for us to set up.

the flowers arrived in bud form thru fed-ex today just in time to open up for saturday. flowerbud.com is great and highly recommended!

reserved the lcd projector and screen today from rebel party rental. they will be ready to be picked up on friday.

to our handsome groomsmen: tuxes our ready to be picked up today at mens wearhouse. please don't forget! they are closed on thursday and friday due to thanksgiving holiday.

to our absolutely beautiful bridesmaids: i don't know much of the details, but i think you are planning to meet this afternoon to shop for accessories and do your bridal henna tattoos. if you are a bridesmaid and don't know much of the details of this, please contact any of your co-bridesmaids.

reminders: friday, 11/23: meeting at the westin at 9am to start setting up decors at the reception; meeting at the first presbyterian church of las vegas at 11:30am for the church rehearsal; lunch will immediately follow; return to westin to finish setting up.

weather: from the weather channel
Detailed Local Forecast
Tonight: Mainly clear skies. Low 49F. Winds NNE at 15 to 25 mph.
Tomorrow: Sunny, along with a few afternoon clouds. High 63F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph.
Tomorrow night: Partly cloudy skies early will give way to clearing overnight. Low 42F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday: Generally sunny despite a few afternoon clouds. High 63F. Winds light and variable.
Friday: Sunshine. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the upper 30s.
Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 50s and lows in the low 40s.

i was so hoping that the warmer-than-the-usual-las-vegas-fall-temperature weather would keep going, especially when it's been like awesome Low-60s-High-90s in the past six weeks... but no, apparently, just right on time for our big day, temperature suddenly goes down 15 degrees. ugh.

lastly, mike is currently sick (colds with fever), most likely due to season change. please pray for his quick healing that he will be perfectly well for our big day.

again, thank you infinitely, everyone!

seven (7) days

i think, in approximately eight days, i will completely lose my mind. fortunately, the wedding's in seven days, so it should be alright. ehh.

ten (10) days!

for a long while, when people asked me how i am feeling about the wedding, i usually say, "ehhh, 'more anxious than excited..." as of this moment, however, i have to admit, i am starting to feel an inkling of excitement. :)

i am sooooo cramming, but it's actually slowly starting to come together... well, you'd think, right?! when the wedding is next week!

i accomplished quite a handful today:

• had my second dress fitting - i have to say the dress looked quite stunning after all that alterations... oh yes, lucette did give me boobies. my cousin noemi came with me. thank you, girlie :)
• finally bought lydia's flower girl dress. lydia is my niece [noemi's daughter] who just moved back from hawaii and was not able to get a flower girl dress ordered on time. (thus, we failed to include her name in my bridal party list on our invitation.) noemi and my auntie melany had been looking everywhere for a dress that's similar to the original flower girl dress that we bought for mikayla. the closest we could find is noticeably different, but oh well, as long as the fabric's chocolate brown! our sweet lydia's worth it :)
• found and bought my bridal garter at frederick's of hollywood... and thanks to ate noemi's tip, we were able to get it for like crazzzzy cheap when the other bridal places jack up the prices to like ten times the price!
• finally found and bought my bridal jewelries (just earrings and bracelet with bare neck shoulders ;) that were picked out by mike
• mike and i went also perfume shopping courtesy of my mommy, except she doesn't know - i used my macy's credit account that she pays for monthly ;) hehehe...
• got ring pillows and flower girl baskets compliments of demetrios
• programs and order of events are getting more finalized and finalized each day
• set up the wedding rehearsal with first presbyterian church
• finally heard from james today (after he went m.i.a. on me for a good number of weeks) regarding our paper and printing needs ;)
• same thing with kuya evan regarding the reception decors

still have an overwhelming major details to take care of! i'm so stressed out, but it's a good stress... if that makes sense.

okay, this is it! no more turning back now! tuloy na tuloy na tuloy na ito!

when i almost 'lost' my aisle...

"If I have to buy or build hundred churches for you... I would, so I could marry you in each one of them."

my husband actually said this... like, in real life and all!

eighteen days

everyone's been giving me countdown expressing their excitement, and here i am, going, "noooo, wait, not yet!!!"

oh.
my.
gosh.

why am i getting the cold feet?

okay, sheila, hello?!?!? you have been married for, like, the past eleven months!

second dress fitting

i finally went in yesterday to get my fitting done. yay for me! fittings should be by appointment only, but i had to walk in because i already didn't show on the last three appointments that i made, so i didn't want to call another time to make an appoinment and have them recognize my name. sure enough, when i walked this afternoon with my sister and they asked me for my name, the ladies there were, like, "oh, you're Sheila... you've cancelled several times." ehhh, yikes.

my original appointment was scheduled back on 10/1, and then, i cancelled and postponed a couple of times in hopes that i could put on more weight. my lunch buddies at work have become my cheering squad. every single lunch break, it's not uncommon to hear, "just one more bite..." or "go get dessert..." from them. well, obviously, it hadn't work! so the other day, after i realized that i have less than 4 weeks, i finally just gave up on this whole weight thing and decided that i just need to get the whole fitting over with.

my seamstress lucette is so adorable. she's this little old lady who came from france - which by the way says alot about her seamstress skills coz she went to school in france, the capital of tailored fashion - so she has this really thick yet adorable french accent. she kept shaking her head from seeing how tiny i was and would blurt out quite repeatedly, "oh, you're so tiny. don't worry, dear. i'm going to give you boobies."

so as predicted, i am going to need major alterations done on my dress. lucette is basically eliminating 1/4 of the original dress. i know. i know. it's almost disgusting. you'd think i would end up paying less than the regular price of the dress, but no, i actually have to pay significantly more to make the dress smaller. i was speechless for good three minutes after lucette explained to me what needs to be done with the dress (she's pretty much re-building the whole dress fromtop to bottom) and how much it will cost. the alterations cost 1/3 of the price of my dress for cryin' out loud! i had to convince mike it's worth it. hehehe...

so yes, there's a first big wedding preps progress for me in pretty long while: i paid off my dress!

i have my third fitting on nov 14. "when i say, you have to show, you show up, okay?" lucette scoldingly reminded me. hehehe...

big thanks to my sister for going with me to the fitting. oh, and she and i definitely had fun with my veil.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

lessons learned before the wedding

• marriage takes way more than "staying" married to someone.
• just when i thought i cannot emphasize it anymore... true love is a verb.
• "for the rest of my life" is a loooooong time; even mediocrity does not make it worth it.
• hurt and pain do not necessarily have to damage me; brokenness can make me.
• bubbles do and will burst.
• everything comes to an end, which means there will always be a new beginning.
• we always have choices.
• always communicate... with respect.
• "first-hand" experience is not and does not always have to be the best teacher. i.e. do you have to murder someone first before you are able to fully grasp that murder is wrong?
• i am married to a good-looking man. (i just had to say it for mike. hehe)
• nothing and no one in this world and of this world can satisfy me, except Him.
• God is too great and awesome to be true; yet, He is more real than the air you breathe.

ATTN: MGA POGI

Hello sa mga pogi naming kaibigan,

Mike and I decided to move our group tux rental registration from AfterHours to Men’s Wearhouse.

Here is the info for our group rental:
Group’s Name: TUZON/ROMULO
Group’s Number: 1423823
Fitting Deadline: 11/10/2007
Pick-up Date: 11/21/2007
Rental Rate: $79.99 plus tax [package includes: coat, trousers, shirt, vest, long tie, cuff links, and shoes]
** There may be $20 Down Payment (towards your rental fee) at the time of your fitting.

We have already picked out the style, so all you have to do is mention the group name/number and get your measurements/fitting done.

Also, please make sure that you get your fitting done on or before 11/10, Saturday, to avoid the $20 “rush order” fee.

You may come in to any of Men’s Wearhouse locations: Maryland/Twain, Charleston/Durango, Stephanie between Sunset & Warm Springs, Lake Mead/Rainbow

Mike and I appreciate everything!

feather fascinator

modern organza & feathers

from: herecomesthebride.com

feather barette - karin's garden

from: mp.hairboutique.com

currently out of stock - darnit!!!

1920s Chic and Glam Birdcage

I wish I had taken more time to decide. Now, I just truly realized I woul have really loved this sophisticated alternative to a veil, and i think it would complement my vintage-inspired contemporay dress... except, I had already ordered and paid for my classic veil six months ago under a no-return policy, so too late. :(
















from: leah c. couture millinery @ leahc.com

paper lanterns

i am a sucker for paper lanterns.

i think it's perfect for the urban feel.

what i love about them the most is that if you really think about it, paper lanterns are so basic and simple - nothing ornate at all;

yet, they can give any space a festive yet elegant look.

and they look great in photos!

[photos by: Blue World Studios blueworldstudios.com]

edit: my version of paper lanterns...

see more here: dinner and dancing at westin casuarina

poknat

today, some time before my lunch break, i got a surprise call at work from my sweetest gurrrlfriend everrrrr!

"uy, tita mae, let's go to lunch. i'm gonna feed you! my treat!" she said in that cheerful, vibrant, world-rocking yet adorably sweet voice of hers - her trademark. (o ha, antarush!) and of course, how could i say "no" to that??? not because the offer is irresistible, but because the offer is from valerie. ;)

then, as if, she hasn't fully convinced me yet, she had to add, "c'mon, i really want to do this before i completely go back to college student poverty... just consider this as one of my ways of fulfilling my bridesmaid duties."

awwwww... when i heard these words, i could just cry... in laughter. hahaha! no, seriously, i was super touched!

so there she went... complete with picking me up at work, taking me to cheesecake factory, MAKING me go thru the whole nine yards - appetizer, main entree, and two (2) varieties of guilt-filled chocolate dessert with so much stuff left-over for to-go, and dropping me back off at work. you should have seen how we tried to multi-task to avoid any idle time since i only have an hour lunch break: talking nonstop while masticating our food. hahaha! the weirdest thing is ( it is very weird, alright?) that after all that effort to avoid wasting any time, i still ended up taking over an hour lunch break. yikes, i was actually gone on a lunch break for almost two hours. i know, right?! but trust me, every second of it was very well worth it... even though i had to stay an hour extra unpaid after work. ;)

to val: wow, sum'kaynopa espesyal panawagan epek pa 'to ha. hahaha! no, pero seryoso nga, on a serious note, (hahaha anlabo!) what can i say? it's hard for me not to be baduy right now coz like i said today, "words are not good enough..." but i am willing to strip myself bare, baduy and all, for you! charing! haha! sige na, seryoso na... i just really appreciate our times together coz i know how extremely busy you have been - like, you haven't even been able to go home earlier than 9-10pm every single day; yet, you are still willing to squeeze me in between even if it means staying up with me until five-thirty a.m. on a sunday morning just to bitch, whine, vent, and laugh our asses off together. hihihihi! Eight hours later, i still cannot stop myself from from smiling with matching kilig epek because of your gesture today... but i am even more amazed as i was reminiscing our past to where we are now. the story of our friendship - even from how we specifically met - with all the laughter and the drama and everything in between, has truly turned out to be (and i'm sure, will always be) "beautiful in His time." (o ha? nakanampoooch!) i know the roller coaster ride of our friendship has not ended, but no matter what happens in the future, i just want to make sure that i told you this at least once: we will always be... poknat and bokbok forever at the dulo ng rainbow. love kita talaga, val <333

excerpts

before i share this with you, let me give you a little background. the email excerpts i will be sharing with you shortly are email series of me and vince, my former co-worker at coldwell. for some number of months, i was assigned at the desk next to his (i guess, until my old boss found out that half of my shift would be spent chatting with him instead of working... hehe), which how we became pretty good friends even outside work. he would usually listen to me - fairly patiently, for that matter - whine endlessly and repetitively about me and mike's drama. oh, yes, the good ol' days. so anyway, when we both quit at coldwell last year, w e did pretty good in keeping in touch (usually through email at work hehe) even though we did not see each other regularly. that was until the beginning of this year; our emails slowly became more sporadically.

anyway, i'm sharing some bits and pieces of this email since it honestly describes a summary of my viewpoint of me and mike's upside-down-turning journey together within the span of a single year...

last week, after several months of no communication, vince shot me an email just to catch up. the series below start with my reply. here it goes:

_____________________________________________________________________________
Subject: RE: Haaaayyyyy!!

Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 11:13:35 -0700

From: xxx@xxxxxxxx.com

To: xxx@hotmail.com

Well, Hello, Mr. Soto.

It’s been ages!!! I mean, look, the last time we talked was before your parents’ 50th wedding anniversary! That’s a looong time! hehehe… sure, I’d love to see some pics. I never met any of your family, so it’d be nice! Believe it or not, I have not partied hard since last year so I have no interesting pics to show you. hehe…

So you work with two Filipino women? I don’t feel threatened at all. I know mike and I will always have THE spot! Haha…

I know I mentioned it to you before, but since we have not talked in a while… Mike and I will have our church wedding (the whole nine yards and all…) on nov 24, so I hope you’re not planning on going out of town since that is the Saturday of thanksgiving weekend. Email me your home address so I can mail an invite to you… once it is done… yes, 8 weeks and all, and I still have not sent out my invites. I know you have not forgotten that I am the reigning queen of procrastination.

Anyway, I’ve been good, extremely busy but good. My life has been constantly spinning and changing as you can see since I moved out of my parents house last year. Mike’s daughters (ages 13 and 6) have come back from the Philippines; they stay with us 3 days per week, so aside from learning how to be a wife – a “good” wife, for that matter – I have been playing stepmother to girls who can practically be considered my little sisters. How fun is that!!! Heh… nah, it’s been a cool but crrrazy experience.

What about you? Anything else new???

sheila

______________________________________________________________________________
From: vince soto [mailto: xxx@hotmail.com]

Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 6:12 PM

To: Romulo, Sheila Mae

Subject: RE: Haaaayyyyy!!

YOU'RE A MOM!!!!!!!!!!

You have to admit that that is kinda funny - it wasn't that long ago that you didn't even want to get married because you said you were still too young and now you're a MOM...

C'mon.....you have to admit that that IS funny....at least a little....

_________________________________________________________________

From: Romulo, Sheila Mae
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 10:21 AM
To: 'vince soto'
Subject: RE: Haaaayyyyy!!

OK, yes, it IS funny. I am not denying the irony of my life! It seems like everything that I dreaded to happen is happening… faster than a bullet.

There are still times when I wake up in the morning and feel mike next to me, and like a lightning in my head, I realize, “oh my gosh, I’m married!!!” Then, add to that: a few minutes later, the kids would come barging in our room to wake us up (to make them breakfast), and I feel as if I am floating above my self watching the whole scene and laughing at myself mockingly, like, “are you freeeeakin’ kidding me?!?!?!”


sheila

Tree Seed Box Favors

we originally planned to have our wedding favors made in the Philippines (specifically in mike's hometown, loaog city, ilocos norte... aw, he's such a province boy =) mainly because we could not find a favor here in the states that is unique and clever yet worth keeping and using and preferably with some meaning to me and mike. not necessarily "practical" but something that will not eventually turn into a junk at our guests' homes a few years later. and by "junk," i mean "something that you don't want to throw away because you feel like it's not really a trash but, at the same time, you really do not have any use for it other than cluttering your house." well, so anyway, getting the favors from the philippines was only feasible to us before because papa (mike's daddy) was planning to go visit home sometime in september or october, so we figured we do not have to worry about shipping. however, recently, we found out, he cannot make it after all. therefore, for convenience's sake, we would just have to really start digging online for the wedding favors... and errr! it's hard!

most of the ones i saw are either so cliche (candles, bells, glass figurines... seriously??? when i was between 4-12 yrs old, i was often made as a flower girl or a bride's maid, and i can still remember clearly that all of their wedding favors were either of those three mentioned... and that was 80's to 90s era. eck!); or too practical that it's almost ghetto (notepads, plastic ballpens, measuring spoons... cookie cutter???); or too corny (ruler with a label that says "love rules" or rollable tape measure with "love beyond measure" sticker on the front... all i can say is: hehehe!) i found some that i loved, but unfortunately they do not go very well with my fall contemporary theme (i.e. i saw several beach-themed favors that are pretty clever).

anyway, i got excited when i stumbled upon this wedding favors online store: http://www.plantamemory.com/ and found their tree seed box favor. i have to say i am strongly considering this.

The product description states:

Plant a Tree to help global warming.
Included in this Favor Package: seed packet with 10-15 tree seeds hermetically sealed to preserve freshness, personalized imprinted paper card in handmade paper image with thank you message, poem, growing instructions ,terra cotta pot, jiffy pellet soil, and oatmeal colored raffia ribbon. (some assembly required)

Tree Seed Choices:

Blue Spruce - Black Pine click for more information

Douglas Fir : Evergreen tree often used as a Christmas tree (10-15 seeds/packet)

Honey Locust: Shade tree ,fast growing ,heat & drought tolerant landscape tree, grows to 100' height. ( larger seed pod; 5-6 seeds/packet)Paper (canoe)

Birch: Landscape tree, moist soil, amazing fall color, winter interest grows to 90 feet. (small seeds-surface sowed- 50 seeds/packet)

pretty cool, eh? if we do decide on this, i'm thinking of choosing the douglas fir seeds, which is an Evergreen tree that is normally used as a Christmas tree. it's meaningful in a way because mike and i got [civilly] married on thanksgiving day last year. in american tradition, the thanksgiving holiday is kind of like the "official" start of christmas season: when people start buying christmas presents (thus, "black Friday," the day after thanksgiving day, was coined for one of the biggest annual retail sales nationwide.), when christmas carols are significantly more often played on the radio, when people start putting up christmas decorations in their homes, etc. then again, i can imagine douglas-firs probably not surviving here in the desert (where most of my guests are from). either way, honey locust and birch seeds are not too shabby at all.

when i proposed the idea to mike, he noted that it is not really the most "practical" favor coz what if our guests tried planting them and they died (LOL). so i persuaded him, it's ok. to be pessimistic: if they die, then the guests would just throw them in the trash; therefore, no concerns of these favors turning into a "junk" and dust collector (as explained above). i don't have a green thumb, so i can picture it happening to a good majority of those guests who attempt. besides, i'm not into plants and gardening myself, but the idea of trying to grow something out of seeds is pretty cool to me. on the other hand, to be optimistic: if the plant continually grows into a tree and lasts forever, that's monumental! and a clever way to commemorate our wedding. =)

plus, i just have to say, i love how it's packaged and wrapped. that's basically what kinda did it for me. you can actually just forget all the blurbs above. LOL

THE aisle is so mine!

white luminous mini lanterns
from myweddingfavors.com

These perfectly white practical mini lanterns are the ideal favor. They add mystery and height to your table decor, while impressing your guests with their substance and thoughtfulness. Each aluminum lantern stands 5" high with a removable lid that makes lighting the replaceable tea light easy.

Inseparable

Inseparable,
That's how we'll always be:
Inseparable.
Just you and me,
It's so wonderful to know you'll always be around me.

Incredible,
What you are to me:
Incredible.
You bring out the woman [best] in me with your style of love.
Inseparable -
Yes, we are.

Well, like a flower to a tree;
Like words to a melody of love.
There's no way we could break up.
No words that can make us blow our thing.

We're just inseparable.
That's how it is:
Inseparable
For the rest of our years
It's so wonderful to know you'll always be around.

just anotherrr monday

well, actually, not so much.

because of the labor day holiday, mike had this brilliant fun idea of going up to mt. charleston today to have a bbq/picnic with the whole family. so we did. we crammed all of ourselves - 10 adults and 1 child and trays of food for our baon - in my mommy's expedition, turning a fairly huge suv truck into what seemed like a sardine can, in a 45 minute-1 hour long drive (and that's just one-way) only to find out that it was pouring hard rain up there, so hard as if all the rainfall that vegas did not get during the scorching summer were saved up and collected to pour down up there today. and of course, because of the rain, it was also 40 degrees colder than the average summer temperature. anyway, we ended up going back down and looking for a spot near the highway us95 where we could park and get our grub on since at that time, after two hours of being crammed like sardines in the car, we had not eaten our lunch yet. (we were going to have our lunch at the planned picnic.) grrr... good one, husband. ehh, it's not so bad, i guess, coz it's rare nowadays that all of us (my family and mike's family) could get together like that even though our picnic turned out to be a super long butt-numbing "joyride" because all of us have different work and/or school schedules. we're now at our house and decided to continue our bbq thing here for dinner instead.

so i heard from mike's aunties this weekend. auntie joy had been in touch with us since last weekend as she was trying to book their (auntie joy, auntie faith, and manang jenny - mike's cousin) trip here for the wedding! then, auntie faith (she and i claim to be the great beauties of the fam... muhahaha) was also telling me how they are already talking about what they are going to wear for the event. exciting, but at the same time, mike and i were like, "whoa! this is it. people are actually planning for the wedding now. no turning back now. we have to have the wedding." weird, i know. we're getting cold feet as if we have not been married for the past 9 months!

james also came over yesterday to show me his samples that he created for the wedding invite. the concept was pretty impressive! [yiheeeee... awesome job, james!] although there are still some room for enhancement, aylaveeet! we are going to be busy with that in the next two weeks. we are shooting to mail out by week of 9/17. (i know... urrrgh, a little last minute, but virtually all of the guest list have already been informed about the event anyway. it's just a matter of putting it in writing.)

so yes, this is it! it's crunch time!!!

Dream Aisle, Here I Come

LED LumaLyte TeaLight
NON-FLICKERING
Battery Candle Lights in Pack of 12
$15.95

• Glowing Non-Flickering TeaLight Battery Candle Lights are safe indoor and outdoor Luminaria lights
• Ideal for wedding centerpieces, staircases, church isle, and window sills for Holiday and New Years Eve Parties, Halloween, Weddings or event dinners
• Size: 1-1/2" dia. X 1-1/4"
• Battery is included in each candle
• Can be turned on and off for 25 hours of light!
• The light casts a golden glow
• Water resistant
• Replacement batteries available
• Only $1.34 per Light

[from: lumabase.com]

special note: the church does not allow wax candles other than the unity candles. thus, this is a great discovery for me.

just... perfect

oh.

my.

gosh.

this would be sooooo me. [look, tita val o!]

ol' bare dark wooden aisle without the cliché tulle drapes and flower cones or bows on the pews and flowers or petals on the aisle runner…

just illuminaries.

just... perfect!

urrrghhh, vegas needs more of these darn churches!!!

[photo by kristin spencer]

autumn and espresso

so orange

SO... i just realized that westin's exterior color is orange. oooh, coincidence? or not?

psh! hehehe...

reception at westin

one thing that you will definitely notice about us: mike and i are super blessed with friends who have talents and gift in different areas of interest. we have a friend who is an exquisite baker and cake decorator; at least a couple of friends who are creative and fresh graphic artists; a friend who is an eloquent witty writer (and she's a biochemist in profession); a friend who mixes and deejays both for high-profile filipino artists' concerts and family parties who, by the way, happens to have a remarkably suave singing voice as well; lotsa friends who are oozing with genuine musical talents (vocal and instrumental); and last but not the least, a (highly-eligible bachelor) friend who is a trendy and superb interior designer (he is currently working as part of wynn development team with his major project on wynn's sister property, the under-construction Encore), who has generously and willingly offered his assistance and expertise for our wedding ;) =)

kuya evan and i were emailing each other back and forth at work today (i know, bad!!!) about the wedding's setup and decors, especially at the reception site, and i promised him i would give him more details about where exactly i'm at in my concept and planning.

so i am, and here it goes...

okay, the reception. i'm sure i have previously mentioned about westin several times. see, i've noticed that majority of the wedding banquet facilities here in town are in a golf country club. (and i'm not talking about the cheesy vegas-style weddings on las vegas blvd little chapels) the only thing though is i've noticed that the highlight of holding a wedding event in country club is holding the ceremony outdoors. like i said in my previous post, i'm not exactly the garden-wedding type of bride - nope, not the castle-wedding type neither. i believe "urban modern chic" is my kind of thang, so my if-i-had-all-the-money-in-the-world type of dream wedding would be either at a sugary-white sand beach paradise or at a loft-style penthouse with towering ceilings. however, since i would have to be filthy rich to have those types of wedding especially here in las vegas, i opted for a venue where the chic-ness can still be reflected in its modern decor. mandalay bay would be my first pick here in town, but since i can't afford to pay $200 per person, the more humble yet still classy comtempo westin casuarina is just the perfect fit for me. (right, and mike.)


anyway, so far, i do not feel any regrets with picking westin even as i see or discover other venues here in town. i love how it's in the midst of bustles of the strip (it's on flamingo road but only like a hundred yards away from las vegas blvd) and yet, the environment inside the property gives you a "near yet so far" feeling from the typical boisterous vegas ambiance. well, mainly because, westin's clientele are primarily business travelers. and of course, i love the clean contemporary decor. as their website head-on described, "In a city known for glitz and glamour, our 826 guest rooms and suites offer understated style and the utmost elegance. Muted tones, soft lighting, and simple contemporary decor create an environment where you can't help but feel at ease." on top of these, their price tag, although not inexpensive, is fair and reasonable; everything needed to hold an event is pretty much included; no stupid "add-on" fees for things that you'd think are standard. plus, their event/catering sales manager is very accomodating and flexible - sweet lady, too.

the reception is going to be a sit-down plated dinner. i am so against having your guests in a "formal" once-in-a-lifetime event needing to get up from their seats to form buffet lines. i don't like the picture in my head of guests getting up and down from their seats, walking back and forth, loitering around unless, of course, they are heading to the dance floor to get their groove on. it's almost, for lack of a better word, ghetto.

acacia C & D ballroom is over 5000 sq. ft. westin's standard linens are these:

i know! isn't it great how they don't have the ever-common white/ivory linens that are usually the standard in other venues? theirs are low-toned gold with patterns in a high-quality fabric, so i am not even thinking twice about not upgrading the linens coz i won't. the matching chair covers are going to be provided as well. (99% of the venues i looked into charge $5-7 per chair for these things! like, seriously!) they even have complimentary centerpieces i.e. similar to the ones in the picture or little/simpler versions of the centerpieces i have in mind, but i'd really hate to be that stingy on decors, so we are creating our own. they are also providing a 30x30 wooden dance floor, which is, again, usually an "add-on" at other venues. chinas and flatware are going to be provided, as well as votive candles. tables can be set for 8 to 10 persons per. my current best estimate is, there will be more or less 110 guests: minimum 100/maximum 130. westin can set up a long "presidential" table (for the sponsors) and/or an elevated sweethearts table (for the bride-and-groom obviously), depending on our preference, and i honestly have not really thought about it yet.

**kuya evan, i will e-mail you two sample diagrams of the reception set-up sent to me by westin. sorry, i blabbed on and on in the beginning of this post. hehehe...

hey, guys, any input is totally welcome and appreciated!

EDIT: our actual reception at westin...

three (3) months countdown

we finally found a church... THE church! super yay for us! i almost thought that day would never come! on thursday, 8.23 ( exactly three months away from our wedding anniversary), pastora fegie (our church wedding officiant=) and i met with the senior pastor of first presbyterian church of las vegas. of course, it is very important for me and mike to have a fully Christ-centered, purely yet as non-denominational as possible Christian wedding ceremony, but at the same time, i'd still really love a traditional church setting with the "wedding march" aisle and everything. (i don't know. i was never really into the whole outdoor wedding venues, unless it is a beach setting which is my dream wedding.) however, especially here in town, there isn't any non-denominational churches with the kind of church building that fit our - well, my requirements. so we had to resort to denominational Christian churches (mainly Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist). mike and i even took a whole day off from work just to visit at least 7 churches all over las vegas and henderson. however, either they are not booking any weddings on that date (due to thanksgiving/start of Christmas season events), or they are very strict about allowing our own pastor to officiate the wedding, and i don't know: pastora fegie is just way too cool to not officiate our wedding. we were on the verge of giving up that mike and i already had a plan B: set up the ceremony site at westin as well.

i know, right?! it's fascinating how our "church wedding" did not have a church venue within three months from the wedding day while we managed to book everything else well enough in advance (i.e. photographer LOL). well, not anymore co'z pastor jim of first presby church said, "we believe that our church facility was merely entrusted to us by God, so it is our obligation to share it to the community, especially for sacred life-long events, even if they are not members of our church." wow, i especially loved the "obligation" part of that sentence. on 8/23, we were officially pencilled in their church calendar for november 24, 2007. =)

although there are still countless details to implement, mike and i feel soooo relieved to have the following major details booked or, at least, in the process:

• church venue: first presbyterian church of las vegas
• reception venue: the westin casuarina las vegas hotel, casino, & spa
• bridal dress: demetrios bridal [my actual dress came in! 'had my first fitting last thursday, but still need major alterations to be done because i'm ridiculously tiny. urgh. seamstress appointment on 9/24, which will give me another month to put on healthier weight. *fingers crossed*)
• groom's tux: after hours formalwear [ordered and paid]
• bride's maids dresses: david's bridal [for the girls who have yet to order their dresses, you know who you are =)]
• groom's men tuxes: after hours formalwear [gentlemen, please go to any of their store locations before september ends; mention the wedding date and the groom's name. 50% deposit is required at the time of the order.]
• flower girl's dress: demetrios bridal [ordered and paid]
• senior photograper and associate photographer: rene gaviola and marco ingco [plane tickets booked and paid]
• floral and decor supplies: flowerbud.com, save-on-crafts.com, efavormart.com
• music/dj: jans sounds courtesy of mr. jon regala and cong lito nuqui ;)
• photo/video montage: ezra and cyrus - the H2O siblings =)
• save-the-date/wedding invites/stationery: james m.
• wedding cake: the pabulous tarush miss valerie castaneda <333

whew, there are still so much to be crammed in the next three months. still on the look for a videographer. we are not planning to allocate so much on this (photography is our priority!=), so it's tricky for us. errr...

approximately twelve weekends away. shucks! to our friends, who have offered and assured their availability to be of assistance to me and mike if and whenever needed, words are not enough for me to express my appreciation just for your thoughts alone. you know who you are! <3

Conserve Eleven Twenty Four 2007

designed and created by redchapz
(r.g. on save-the-date)

special note: due to the observance of thanksgiving day and for the greater convenience of the guests, we have decided, as you can see, to move our wedding date from november 23, 2007, friday - our exact 1st wedding anniversary - to november 24, 2007, saturday.

our two thousand one hundred ninety-first day

about three weeks ago, in honor of our two thousand one hundred ninety-first day together, mike took me out for a fancy dinner date at craftsteak in the mgm grand. craftsteak was fabulous, especially the restaurant's decor. food was delicious; i could not stop eating their delectable corn kernels, and that was only their side dish. i gotta admit, however, that my experience at fleur de lys remains number one; their customer service made you feel like you're in a movie. 'then again, i have only been to three (3) fine dining restaurants my whole life, so who am i to say? good thing, mike promised me that from now on, he'll take me out to a fancy restaurant in town at least once a year. hehe... it's quite a humble promise, so i'm pretty confident about him keeping it =)

first course

main coursedesert

nope, this isn't part of the desert anymore.

on top of the fancy dinner, my husband wrote me a love letter inserted in a hallmark musical card (the tune was "truly"). it's ridiculously corny that it is SO cute! as a matter of fact, even without the fancy dinner, the love letter alone was well over enough to make the day. <3

mike had already asked me where i'd like to go next time. it's too early to tell, but i think it's pretty safe to say i'm leaning towards this one. =)

less than four months countdown

that's right. less than four months away. yet, i feel like i have not done any major progress in my wedding preps. i feel horrible! i feel like everything is currently a mess. this is probably why i have not even bothered to take the time to do some blogging. what else am i going to blog about other than whining about how i have not done any major progress in my wedding preps? and how many times do i have to repeat that i have not done any major progress in wedding preps within the same paragraph? grrrr!!!

not trying to make excuses, but really... unfortunately, my world does not solely revolve around the wedding preparations. there's always one thing after the other that keeps me from focusing on the wedding... i mean, there's work, church, family, and my ongoing marriage itself - all simultaneously! cuhrayzay!

i am starting to really panic. i am such a worrywart, and mike claims i have ADD, which is why it is hard for me to focus on one thing at a time, so i never finish anything. i used to deny it, but i am starting to believe it now. anyway, this whole wedding thing is starting to eat me up alive. i keep having this imaginations of our wedding day turning into a wedding fiasco. at work today, i couldn't even get myself to focus because the wedding would always be in the back of my brain. my gahrs!

... which reminds me, special thanks to sheryll for the words of encouragement in the midst of my panic attacks.

save-the-date cards

first of all, i don't think i have ever mentioned this on here before, so i will take this opportunity now to officially announce that my beri cool, creative, contempo-inspired graphic artist friend james is designing and creating my invites. yay!

there, james. since it was "officially" announced, there's no backing out now. hehe!

anyhoo, so, james and i finally met up this afternoon to specifically talk about the wedding invites. he showed me some "samples," including those that he did for kuya evan's portfolio/exhibit that he did for school before his graduation. (kuya evan is another friend of ours who finished a degree in interior design/architecture less than a year ago and now works for the wynn.) i must say i was so impressed with what they created... the business cards, the resume printed in like an invite format, and other "homemade" promotional materials like the kitkat bars wrapped in wrappers with kuya evan's contact info (like what you'd see in a business card) that they just made themselves. everything was just sooo cool and clever, and james kept saying, they were even cramming when they did all of those. minadali pa yun sa lagay na yun ha?! well, let's just say, with kuya evan's portfolio and self-promo materials, no wonder kuya evan got an interview and hired by the wynn. ;)

aside from michaels, we also went to barnes and noble, so james could show me some books about graphic arts for brochures and invites just for additional "inspiration." that helped out alot coz we saw some neat ideas that we are definitely planning to incorporate somehow. it's pretty exciting!

what's really cool with james is we both have the same taste (minimalistic, contemporary, sharp and clean, non-traditional yet sophisticated), so it's not hard at all for me to explain to him what i want coz he actually gets it. even if i probably don't even explain to him anything, he could still create something that i would absolutely love. that's how much i trust this guy's creative instinct! (nakanangtipaklong! hehe)

since we are planning to invite some guest from the philippines and from out-of-state, i made a special request that we create some save-the-date cards since our timeline to get the actual invites done won't be until end of august - early september-ish. so we are! james's estimate is we will get this done by next weekend (the 14th). i will let you guys know if we will need help to put them together, althoughi don't exactly know how coz james warned me he has his oc attacks, especially when it comes to cutting. hehe...

anyway, that's it for now since i'm exhausted! mike and i helped out at our church's fireworks booth, and it was like hell out there today!!! man, frrreakin' vegas weather for you! then, we also did our own mini-fireworks show at home with the kids and arleen. =)

and oh yeah, happy fourth of july, everyone!

p.s. doesn't it suck that fourth of july this year was just right smack in the middle of the week? back to work tomorrow.

!!important reminder: bride's maids dresses!!

girls, please don't forget to drop by at david's bridal to finalize and order your dresses. deadline is this weekend since it may take up to 20 weeks to make the dresses and have them shipped back.

please refer to a previous post to see the variation of dress styles to choose from. also, the sales consultant will normally ask you for the name of the bride, so that they can pull up the file to make sure you are ordering the right style, color, etc., but just in case you don't get asked, bring it to their attention.

if you have any questions, please let me know either though this blog or by phone.

Thank you all so very much! <333

oh, and girls, we have passed the five-month mark. frrreakin' crap!

"leap of faith"

rene gaviola's newly-updated portfolio

kuya rene's fine suprise for us

flying to hawaii

... the husband, that is.

we dropped off mike at the airport two hours ago. i believe his plane took off about half an hour ago and will be landing in honolulu, hawaii, at 8 in the morning for a half-hour stop-over, and he's off to the island of kauai.

ok, so i know he will be gone for only six days, which is why i am hesitant to admit this (i got a rep' to protect, you know), but this being away from each other thing is kind of a big deal for me. (yeah, yeah... "awww...") this is going to be the first time since we got married that we will be away from each other for that long. not to be mushy, but after seven months of being married (ok, so seven months is not very long, psh!), i still really do love waking up with him every morning (uh, yes, even after a big unresolved fight from the night before) and falling asleep in his arms every night... so yes, i will miss my husband so very much. there!

no, he's not going to hawaii for a vacation and to have fun without me... well, uhm, at least, i think not. hmm... but he's going to hawaii to visit his ill uncle eddie (papa nathan's brother), and i really hope this will be a great experience for both of them since they haven't seen each other in ages. mike really wanted to take me with him since uncle eddie and i have yet to meet, and it would be both our first time to go to hawaii, but aside from bad timing at work (my boss is leaving in three weeks, so lots of pending stuff that need to get done before she transfers the department to the new boss), a plane ticket to hawaii is currently soaring up in the sky since it's the summer season.

oh, well. it's kinda nice, i guess. mike and i both realized that this will be good for us, being away from each other for a few days. it's a nice break for us to just miss each other and appreciate each other's presence. in these past weeks - actually, make that months, not only have we been frequently getting on each other's nerves, we have also been working through some pretty major issues in our relationship... i know, right?! only seven months of marriage, and the reality of marriage has already started to mess with us. some friends have said, "shouldn't you still be in the 'honeymoon stage'?" well, apparently, not.

i'm not shocked, though. first of all, it's not like we haven't been through worse before we got married. we have so many witnesses to our "worse," too! second, the moment we agreed to get married, i never expected our marriage to be a pure bliss. i was never oblivious to our differences. well, mike and i are too different, even exact opposites in many aspects of our characters and our lives; i think it would be quite hard to be oblivious to begin with. nonetheless, it was not our differences that became the basis of our desicion to vow to spend the rest of our lives with each other. rather, it was our "time-proven" constant devotion and commitment to work through those countless differences on top of the hardships that our imperfect lives regularly throw our way. i guess, one of the best things that i am proud of about our relationship is we actually do talk. err, fine, sometimes, i do most of the talking, but that's only because i have to keep repeating what i say coz he's not very good at listening! but i digress... like i said, we do talk. even when we are fighting... we may shrug it off our shoulders the first couple of times something comes up because we're about to catch the sunrise and have to be at work in a couple of hours, but we normally never stop discussing until we get to the bottom of it all, even if it takes days or months (or even years). oh, those sleepless-nights, ceaseless fights. but hey, don't those phd experts say healthy relationships have regular conflicts and fights? you know why? i know why. the kiss-and-make-up part.

... if you know what i mean. *wink*

hey! don't assume you know what i mean.

Pre-Wedding Bridal Party Photo Session - Part 3

photographer: rene gaviola
location: the forum shops at caesars palace & the venetian grand canal shoppes
date: 06062007

{click on the image to view full album; all images in the album can be enlarged by clicking "full size"}

blossoms & branches

from confetticakes.com

cute and simple, yes? except make the blossoms orange.

[expect a nitpicking, scrutinizing comment from valerie. totally. haha! :]

just for val's reference =)

val, this is what i was kinda referring to: it has the "native" feel but still contemporary enough... although it doesn't really matter now ;)

[product shown is of pacific industries.]

a feather thing

the cheapest decent-looking feather bridal hair clip i could find online: $30.00

from rushcreations.com

wot'cha think?

if you, girls, can find something better at a better value, please let me know. thank you!

flowerssssss

i just discovered this online flower market, flowerbud.com, and they have these awesome packages for specially for weddings. they also look very reliable and dependable. it's just hard to order from a random online bulk flower stores and risk getting crappy flowers and/or not getting them on time because of late shipments.

this "grand box" of tulips cost $169.00 and contains 120 stems. that is approximately $1.41 per stem. not bad, huh?

they also offer mini calla lilies and grand calla lilies, although they are a bit pricey. a single stem of grand calla lily can go as much as $4. yikes.

however, i also discovered that white irises - with gold - can be incorporated in my flower theme since it's so simple and minimalist but can give that touch of delicateness and intricacy. now, i'm thinking for my bouquet: orange tulips with white irises. i know i wanted a full white bouquet before, but i read once in an article that full white bouquet does not do very good in photos. plus, i love orange. we'll see though.

and of course, cymbidium orchids... oh my gah, they just look so divine and elegant. but of course, the price tag is also elegant: $17 per stem. if i can't fill all the tables with orchids, i want them, at least, in me and mike's table. although, i haven't fully decided on the seating arrangements yet: whether i want the two of us isolated in a "sweetheart table" or in a "presidential table" with our parents and other very special people, for example.

Pre-Wedding Photo Session - Part 2

photographer: rene gaviola
location: red rock canyon, las vegas, nv
date: 06022007

{click on the image to view full album; all images in the album can be enlarged by clicking "full size"}