eto pa mga dapat naming gawin: ( i have to write this down at baka mapraning ako kakaisip :-) )

CHURCH REQUIRMENTS:
1. Pre- Cana Seminar - Jan 8
2. Submit letter of request to open the choir loft
3. Prepare and print misallete (c/o Michelle) (DIY)

RECEPTION:
1. Print Table Names (DIY)
2. AVP (c/o Ryan) (DIY)
3. Print Guest Sheets (DIY)
4. Tarpaulin (c/o Benhur)
5. Draft & print seating arrangement/table zoning plan

CATERER:
1. Final meeting with Mang Jun to discuss final menu and other details (meeting together with Event Stylist, Sound System & OTD Coordinator)

BRIDE'S GOWN & ACCESSORIES
1. Buy undergaments, hair accessories, jewelry
2. Bible
3. Matches
4. Pins
5. Pens

GROOM'S BARONG AND ACCESSORIES
1. Buy undergarments, shoes, belt, socks, camiso chino

CAKE
1. Build stand for the cake (DIY)
2. Finalize cake flavor & design

EVENT STYLIST
1. Final meeting together with Sound Syndrome, Batis Asul & OTD Coordinator

FIREWORKS
1. Meet with Hans of Dragon Firewirks to finalize package and pay DP

ang tagal ko ng hindi nakapag blog. naging busy kse kami ni howell masyado this past few weeks. na-realize ko nga mahirap pala magpakasal ng december or january. hindi kse kami gaanong nakapag asikaso ng wedding preps namin noong holiday season kse we have to do some xmas shopping din tapos ang dami pa naming xmas party na ina-attendan.

paggising ko kanina, na realize ko bigla na exactly 1 month to go na lang before our big day. bigla ako kinabahan instead na ma excite. feeling ko kse madami pa kaming kailangang gawin. pero nag promise ako sa sarili ko, 1 week before the wedding, i should learn to le go na. whatever it is na hindi namin matapos, ok na yun and i would not bother worrying about it. feeling ko kse sobrang stress out na ang itsura ko kakaisip sa wedding namin. :-)

anyway, here are our wedding updates:

DEC 11

howell, me and my cousins went to glorietta to look for my wedding shoes. halos nalibot na namin lahat ng shoe store sa sm and glorietta and i still can't find the rigth shoes for me. maraming magandang design pero puro 3 inches ang heels nya. ayoko kse ng masyadong mataas kse gusto ko yung comfortable ako and magka heigth lang kse kami ni howell, so if i'll be wearing a 3-inch na shoes, magmumuka akong matangkad sa kanya.

then we went inside otto shoes and i was really happy kse may nagustuhan ako don na white shoes and 1 inch lang sya. plus i really love the design. simple lang sya and i can still wear it after the wedding.

DEC 15 - W@W XMAS PARTY

i waited for howell dito sa office kse sunduin na lang daw nya ako and sa mandaluyong na lang daw kami magdadaan papuntang gazebo royale. sobrang traffic noong araw na yun. we left makati around 5:45 and 7:45 na, wala pa din kami sa gazebo royale. so itexted joanna ni rey and millett ni jojo para itanong kung aabot pa ba kami. sabi nila wala pa ding gaanong tao (kse nga malamang na traffic din dahil sa wake ni fpj sa sto. domingo) kaya halos ka start pa lang ng program. so sabi ko i-reserve na lang nila kami ng seats sa table nila.

we arrived at gazebo royale around 8 pm na siguro and saktong sakto kse dinner time na. niloko nga kami ni mang jun of batis. sabi nya galing daw ng timing namin. :-)

kasama namin sa table si joanna and rey, milett ni jojo, cynch, ivy & gail and the other milette. we also get to chat with abie ni rey, clarice & bernard and si jen. we even stayed a little longer after the party kse nagkwentuhan pa kami nila jen, milette and millett. nag enjoy talaga kami ni howell nung w@w xmas party.

DEC 26

finally natapos na namin ang printing ng mga invitations namin. kaya lang kailangan pa namin i-assemble yung invites kse medyo kakaiba yung invites namin. so we spend the whole day noong dec 26 para mag assemble. we had fun doing it coz the whole family is helping us. pati nga daddy ko nakisama sa pag assemble ng invites namin.

we are really happy coz na-appreciate talaga ng mga nakakita yung invitatiosn namin. ang ganda daw and it is really unique. syempre, proud na proud si howell kse sya lahat nag conceptualize, at nag design nun. kaya kahit medyo matagal gawin, happyng happy kami. sabi nga nga mga friends ko labor of love daw talaga.

we left the house around 8 pm kse nag aya ng dinner yung mga friends ni howell from high school. so tamang tama kse pinamigay na din namin mga invitations namin sa kanila para we don't have to visit them one by one to give them their invites.

DEC 27

sa bahay na natulog si howell kse 3 am na kami nakauwi from their get together. nagulat ako kse late na ako nagising and paglabas ko ng room ko, gising na si howell ang nag a-assemble na naman sila ng daddy ko ng mga invitations namin...hehehehe...we spend the whole day ulit para sa pag assemble ng invites and syempre kasali ulit buong pamilya ko pati mga pinsan ko.

then umalis ulit kami noong gabi kse xmas party naman ng mga high school friend ko. so we took the opportunity ulit para mamnigay ng mga invitations. sobarng na appreciate talaga nila yung invitations namin. ang ganda ganda daw kaya kahit pagod na pagod kami ni howell sa pag gawa ng invitations namin, nawala talaga lahat ng pagod namin after hearing all their praises about our invitations.

DEC 28

maaga ako nagising kse pupunta ako sa MC to submit all our requirements. then i also asked for a copy of the misallette. meron daw silang soft copy pero i have to pay 50 pesos. it is in MS Word and Adobe Pagemaker format. So ok na din kse hindi ko na kailangang mag type. We just have to insert our names na lang.

i also got a call from dream cars, yung pag rentan ng bridal car namin. sabi ni heart, nasira daw yung studebaker na i-rent namin noong ginamit noong dec 22 wedding nila. and since ini-import pa nila yung parts noon abroad, di daw sila sure kung aabot sa jan 29 wedding namin so they are offering us yung stretched limo nila. i talked to howell about it and sabi ni howell i-refund na lang daw namin yung 50% DP namin. taps mag rent na lang kami ng ordinary white car & yung horse drawn carriage. eto kse yung original plan namin bago namin nakita yung promo ng dream cars noong bridal fair sa WTC. so sabi ko tatawagan ko na lang yung dream cars to ask them kung ma refund pa yung DP namin.

then noong hapon, pumunta kami sa mananahi ng gown ng mga flower girl para makita kung ano na progress nila. and medyo nagulat kami kse isa pa lang natatahi nila. pero sinabi namin na 2nd week of january kasal ko (inadjust namin ng kaunti yung date para hindi kami magahol sa oras) and sabi nila, kaya naman daw nila tapusin yun.

we also went to anding's to buy confetti poppers. we bougth 6 and happy ako kse may 20% discount pala tita ko sa anding's kaya medyo malaki din natipid namin.

me and my cousin went to WTC to meet with our event stylist to give him our DP. may bazaar kse sa WTC and isa sya sa exhibitor kaya doon na lang kami nag meet para mas malapit for us and para makapag shopping na din sa bazaar :-). Howell was still in the office doing the design of the inserts for our invites (which i hope ay matapos na nya soon so we can start printing it & distributing it) kaya sabi nya susunod na lang daw sya sa amin don.

last sunday kse we drop by his shop to give his assistant the lay out of baluarte, the suggested table lay out by our caterer, the list of entourage and the swatches. so we had a short meeting about the lay outs and the list that we gave him. we will meet pa ulit to finalize the flowers that he will be using for the entourage and sa overall setup ng reception namin. excited na nga ako on how our reception will look like kse talagang gustong gusto namin ni howell yung mga designs nya and we really love all his ideas for our reception.

this is how our gazebo will look like pala (tatangalin lang yung mga fabric sa gilid para daw kita pa din daw namin yung mga guest namin):

noong una kse kami nag meet, hindi namin napag usapan yung tungkol sa gazebo. eto kse yung naka setup sa WTC and he ask us kung gusto daw namin yun for our gazebo. howell and i both love it & bagay pa sa theme namin na LOTR. :-)

i went to rustan's with my 2 friends from the office para makapili na kami and ma-list ko na yung mga serial number ng mga items na gusto ko for our bridal registry before our appointment with them on the 17th of dec. 1 hr lang daw kse ang naka-allot for each client kaya they suggested that we should visit rustan's before our appointment para may idea na kami what we want para ma maximize namin yung 1 hr na appointment namin with them.howell was not able to go with us coz he has to finish something sa office and mag gym pa daw sya. (besides, ako din naman ang papipiliin non kung ano gusto ko kaya sabi ko mag gym na lang sya and ako na lang bahala mamili for our registry :-)).

before going to rustan's i reviewed the bridal magazine that i have na may article about bridal registry...may list kse sa article ng mga essential items na dapat isama sa registry....i took note of that para yun yung mga items na hahanapin ko sa rustan's

grabe, ang laki pala ng bridal registry area sa rustan's...ang daming choices na pagpipilian....we arrived there around 5:00 pm and nag start kami sa kitchen appliances....naaliw ako kakalista ng mga items na gusto and di ko na realize na i have to take note of the prices also...di ko na kse tinignan yung prices and basta nagustuhan ko how it looks, sulat lang ako ng sulat....hindi ko ngayon alam baka sobrang mahal nung mga napili ko....:-)

natapos kami mga 7:00 pm and we we're really tired kakaikot sa rustan's...

pagdating ko sa bahay, i checked my list with the list na nasa article sa magazine and i covered more than half of it....i plan to go back sa rustan's on wednesday para mahanap ko pa yung mga ibang items na hindi ko pa nalist yung serial numbers....

Last week Howell mentioned that they are organizing a gift giving in one of the orphanage in Mandaluyong. Sabi ko gusto ko sumama. Last time kse na nagpunta ako sa orphanage was 4 years ago pa ata noong 18th birthday celebration ng cousin ko.

We left the house around 11 am kse sabi ko kay Howell mga toys na lang ang i-contribute namin. So before heading to our meeting place, we went first to Tutuban to buy some toys for the kids. Hindi na nag park si Howell kse ang daming tao sa Tutuban that time, so kami na lang ng cousin ko ang pumunta sa Andings (yung toy store sa tutuban). We went around and we we're able to buy toys for 60 kids.

We arrived at Nayon ng Kabataan around 2 pm, and pagdating namin nag start na sila agad sa program. They started with a doxology, then short message from the administrator ng nayon ng kabataan thanking us for visiting them then a short message from our group's representatives. After ng mga message namin, nag salita yung emcee and i was really touched and moved by her message that it made me cry. this is what she said (as far as I can remember):

"Napakaganda ng araw na ito kse hindi ito kagaya ng mga ibang araw natin. Ngayon, napaka swerte natin at kahit nag hihirap na ang bansa natin, may mga tao pa ding nakakaalala sa atin. Kaya nagpapasalamat po kami ng marami sa inyong lahat"

Then all the kinds started shouting thank you. It was just a short message but it really moved me coz the kids are really very happy. You can really see the joy in their faces.

After that may mga nag perform na mga kids then after their performance, we served the food. Unfortunately, before we can serve the food it started to rain. Sa open field lang kse kami nag party kaya noong umulan, nagsiksikan na yung mga bata sa maliit na tent. But they are still excited kse nga se-serve na namin yung food. Kaya kahit siksikan sila sa maliit na tent, they waited patiently for their food to be served.

After nilang kumain, pinamigay na din namin yung mga toys and slippers na na gather nila Howell plus yung dala namin na toys. And they are really really happy and excited sa mga toys na nakuha nila.

Noong pauwi na kami, lahat sila habol ng habol sa amin. Thank you sila ng thank you and nag sorry pa nga sa akin yung 2 bata kse daw makulit sila noong namimigay kami ng food. We also brougth our digital camera and lahat talaga sila pose ng pose sa camera. Sabi ko kay Howell padevelop na lang namin tapos dalhin na lang namin ulit don yung copies nila. Below are some of our pictures.

Nga pala, may isang bata don and sabi nila kamukha daw ni Howell. She's a cute little girl and her name is Mariane. below is our picture with her:

Noong pauwi na kami, sabi namin ni Howell we will try to do this every year. Hopefully, magawa naman namin yun. Coz ang sarap talaga ng feeling na kahit in our own little way we were able to make these kids's xmas a little special.

We we're supposed to meet Hans of Dragon Fireworks in the morning sa Pasig before proceeding to Tet Hagape's shop pero may OT pala si Howell from 8-12. Good thing sa Westin Philppines Plaza lang yung wedding na sine-setupan nila Hans kaya I told him na don na lang namin sya i-meet para mas malapit. Since we don't need to go to Tet's shop kse nalalayuan din yung tita ko kung sa Pasig pa daw sila papatahi ng gown.

Around 10 am, Howell called me from his cellphone and requested that I cook something for him. Hindi kse ako marunong magluto and I promised him every weekend, papaturo ako magluto sa lola ko. So kahit inaantok pa ako and tinatamad, I got up na para makapag paturo ako sa lola ko magluto. Kaya lang, madami palang natirang adobo noong Friday nigth kse all of us are out kaya walang gaanong kumain ng dinner sa bahay. So sabi ng lola ko initin ko na lang daw yung adoba and i-prito ko na lang yung tapa. This is my second time to cook tapa kse last last week, I asked my lola to teach me how to cook tapa kse yun yung gusto kainin ni Howell. So i was able to cook something for him again that weekend, kahit tapa lang ulit ang naluto ko. :-) And he was happy naman kahit mukhang nag sasawa na sya sa tapa. :-)

After lunch, we left to meet with Hans sa Westin. Ok naman yung meeting namin coz he is still giving us the 10% discount na inoffer nya sa mga w@wies noong Nov. My coordinator suggested that we also order the magic wand kse gagamitin daw namin sa entrance namin sa reception. And sabi ni Hans, he will also give us 10% discount sa mga iba pa naming o-orderin. Next week, we will drop by his shop sa QC, to get sample videos ng mga fireworks display nila so we will get an idea what effects are included sa kukunin naming package. Hindi pa din sya nanghingi ng DP. 3 weeks before the wedding na lang daw kami magbigay ng 30% DP.

Since nasa Westin na din kami, nag inquire na din kami sa rate ng rooms nila and if we can have an ocular ng bridal suite nila.Na i-book na kami ng coordinator namin ng room sa Westin pero mas mahal na room yung pinabook nya and when we checked with the staff na kausap namin, wala pa daw sa system nila yung reservations namin kse wala pa nga daw sila rate for January. They have an on going promo for their 1 BR suite for $150 but they are still not sure if this rate will still be the same for January of next year. So they just asked me to call their reservations office on Monday na lang. We we're also not able to have an ocular inspection of the rooms kse fully booked sila that day. They suggest if we really want to check the rooms, we have to go there ng weekdays kse fully booked sila lagi pag weekend.

On our way pala sa westin, i received a text message from Gay, our caterer. They have a wedding daw sa Baluarte and they're inviting us to check their setup. So tamang tama coz we will also be going there to update the lay out ng baluarte. So naging double purpose pa ang pagpunta namin don coz we had a little chat with Mang Jun (the owner of Batis Asul) on how our table layout would be. He gave us suggestions on how we will do our table lay out. Also, we were able to witness how they work on the actual wedding day. And we're happy coz we are satisfied with how they work and we are confident that they can deliver well on our wedding.

After going to Baluarte, we decided to go home na. And since malapit lang sa amin nakatira yung pagpapagawaan namin ng ring, we decided to check if their shop is still open.

(A little background: I think it was 2 weeks ago when we went to Ongpin to look for our wedding ring and nalibot na namin lahat ng shop pero wala talaga kaming nagustuhan ni Howell. So my mom suggested that we go check out her friend's jewelry shop. So after showing her the design that we want, she gave us a quote on how much our ring would be. I asked around sa w@w if the price that she gave us is reasonable and marami nagsabi na the price that she gave us is a steal. So Howell & I decided na don na kami papagawa ng wedding ring namin.)

We arrived at their shop around 7 pm and good thing they are still open. So we showed her the new design that we want. It looks something like this:

Although, ours is a little different. Shiny yung white gold in the middle then may yellow gold yung both sides. Noon una, we just want one round 10 pts na diamond in the middle. Pero ayaw talaga ni Howell ng may diamond yung sa kanya. Noong una nga ayoko na magkaiba kami ng ring pero sabi naman ng iba kong nakausap and payo din sa akin ni Emin ni Gelo (Hi Emin), ok lang naman daw kung walang diamond yung kay Howell, kaya pumayag na ako sa gusto nya. And since Howell knows na I really wanted the princess cut diamond, he suggested that I change the round diamond to princess cut. Kaya I was really happy coz we both got what we wanted. :-)

Christmas party nila Howell last friday and i was really excited coz he asked me to come with him. Last year kse i was not able to go coz it's the same date as our company's xmas party.

When we arrived, may registration booth sila and they asked us to fold our own raffle coupon (which are just cut papers with our names printed on it). I know most of Howell's officemates but they only know me by name and they don't know my surname. So ang nilagay nila na name sa raffle stub ko is Joy Laguerta. Natawa nga ako pero na realize ko na ang sarap para ng feeling na in less than 2 months I will offcially be Mrs. Laguerta.

I met Howell's bosses and some of his officemates na hindi ko pa na-meet. I was really all smiles coz Howell's introducing me as his wife although most of them know na next year pa ang wedding namin. We were even asked to join the game for couples. Kaya lang medyo mahiyain ako and bigla ako nawala noong alam kong tatawagin na yung name ko...heheheh...

exactly 59 days to go before our big day....

so we have to catch up this weekend with our wedding preps

saturday, dec 4

AM - meet with Hans of Dragon Fireworks to inquire about their wedding package. after the meeting with Hans, we will go to Tet Hagape's shop para magpasukat yung 2 aunt ko na Principal Sponsors and yung sister and sister in-law in Howell (this is still tentative coz we have not yet decided if kay tet kami papatahi ng gown nila or not)

PM - Go to Baluarte de San Diego to update the Blue Print

sunday, dec 5

AM - meet with Pido to give 50% DP and blue print of baluarte de san diego

PM - US Embassy Gift Giving Project. After the gift giving, we will go to San Carlos Seminary for Padi's birthday