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.