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