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is life that complicated??nahh....

Posted by abie on 8:59 AM
life is complicated as it is...kaya nga naiinis ako when other people try to make it more complicated. bat kaya ganon noh? someone will just get mad at you because you don't want to do things their way or di mo nagawa yung gusto nilang mangyari. hayyyy....magugulat ka na lang, galit na pala sayo yung tao na yun kse di mo nagawa yung gusto nila. kainis diba?

parang they have an expectation na kse na kailangan masunod yun or else, bahala ka, you have to deal with his/her anger. basta naiinis ako, i just need an outlet where i vent out my anger.

with the stress that i'm getting from work & my pregnancy (i'm now starting to have the morning sickness that last the whole day), thinking of how to please someone just so they will not get mad at me is the last thing on my list. :-

i just need peace and quiet for now.

6

our first try as a wedding coordinator

Posted by abie on 10:33 PM
3 am na ako nakatulog last night kse mga 2 am na natapos yung get together namin ng mga h.s friends ko sa bahay namin. but i have to wake up early kse ngayon yung wedding ni jen. she's also a w@wie and she asked me and milett (also another w@wie) to help her sa wedding nya.

excited na nga kami pareho ni milett kse first time namin pareho mag coordinate ng wedding. i was in charge to text all the suppliers to remind them of their call time. i texted all of jen's suppliers wednesday afternoon. ok naman reply ng lahat ng suppliers except for one, yung church florist nya. eto yung tinext ko sa lahat ng suppliers:

"Gud pm J (let's just call her J). This is abie. I'm helping Jen & JM sa wedding nila. Remind ko lang yung call time mo for saturday sa church. Please be there by 2 pm. Please text back to confirm. Tnx"

i was shocked by her reply kse parang ang pagkakaintindi nya, i'm doubting their service kaya ko sya tinetext. kung gusto ko nga daw, pumunta ako don ng 12 pm and andon na daw mga tao nya. and sabi pa nya sa text nya "for your info, i'm the official florist of ____." madami pa syang tinext sa akin na hindi maganda ang tono. pero syempre, nag apologize na lang ako and sabi ko sorry kung na offend sya sa text ko. inisip ko na lang kse pag hindi ako nag apologize, baka pumangit ang set up nila sa church.

finorward ko nga yung text nya and yung text ko may milett and sabi ni milett, wala naman daw mali sa text ko. i also told howell what happened and sabi nga ni howell, part daw talaga yun ng role ko as coordinator kaya dapat i-ready ko daw yung sarili ko sa mga ganong incident.

i arrived sa oakwood around 12:20. magkasunod lang kami dumating ni milett. so we started checking the things that we need to bring sa reception and sa church. na meet na din namin don yung ibang entourage who will help us sa reception. we're lucky nga kse howell & jojo (milett's husband) was also there sa hotel kaya sila naging runner, driver at kargador namin. :) poor howell & jojo :)

we headed straight sa reception from the hotel kse mga 2:30 na din kami nakaalis sa hotel. we decided to go straight sa reception kse marami pa kaming i-check don. pagdating namin, halos naka set up na lahat and andon na lahat ng suppliers nila. milett gave instructions sa crew ng sound syndrome and fantasmic while i was busy checking kung tama yung lay out and numbering ng table. after that, we checked kung nagawa na lahat ng to do list ni jen for the reception.

the guest started arriving around 5:30 na and mga 6:00 pm na nag start yung program. the program went smoothly and mukha namang organize lahat. the reception ended around 8:30 na ata. we stayed pa kse nag turn over pa kami ng mga gamit sa brother ni jen.

all in all, i did enjoy it. kahit na nakakapagod. tinatanong nga kami ng mga suppliers na nandon kung gagawin na ba naming business ni milett. sabi namin pag isipan muna talaga namin kse medyo mahirap talaga sya na work. pero pareho kami nag enjoy. pati si howell and jojo, nag enjoy din (i think :) ). both milett and I are so lucky nga kse we both have supportive husbands eh.

basta, masaya ako kse i was able to help jen & jm sa wedding nila. and kahit paano, happy naman sila kse we we're able to do our duties naman (i think). i was also able to meet some w@wies na friend nila jen like maricon and milette cordero. kaya kahit pagsakay ko sa van, eh nakatulog na ako agad, sabi ko kay howell sobrang saya ko talaga that nigth and nag enjoy talaga ako.

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h.s. barkada get together at our house

Posted by abie on 9:00 PM
we had a party sa house namin with my h.s friends. when lala (one of my closest freind from h.s.) found out that i was pregnant, nag aya agad sya ng get together sa bahay namin. matagal ko na din kseng promise sa kanila na invite ko sila sa house namin pag may budget na kami pampakain sa kanila. :) so she texted all our barkada to invite them. sya naman kse talaga ang taga organize ng barkada ng mga lakad. pero mula noong naging atty na sya, sobrang busy na nya kaya minsan sa akin or kay me-ann na lang nya pinauubaya ang pag orgainze ng lakad.

sabi ko sa kanila, hindi ako makakapag luto ng food kse medyo hirap nga ako ngayon kaya sabi nila pot luck na lang, basta sagot ko daw ang alak. :)

i was really happy kse last time na nakita ko sila was noong wedding pa namin. marami ding dumating, madalas kse pag may lakad ang barkada, ang lagi lang present is ako, si lala, si jaja, si norwejan, si me-ann and si janelle. big group kse ang barkada namin kaya mahirap talaga kami makumpleto ng isang lakaran. pero noong last friday, dumating din si bernadette (yung isa naming barkada na bihira lang makasama sa amin), si thet with her bf dex, si jo-ann with her husband jai. ka text din namin that evening si carmela. nasa us kse sya ngayon eh. nandon din si jeff, yung college friend ko. kilala nya kse si lala (naging close sila noong wedding namin) kaya inaya ko din sya.

we had dinner muna, the syempre inuman. pero syempre since, preggy na ako, bawal na ako uminom kaya ako na lang taga ubos ng pulutan nila. :) most of them stayed until 2 am. si lala nga doon pa sa amin natulog eh. sabi nga nila, gagawin na nilang tambayan yung house namin. sabi ko nga ok lang, kahit every friday pa sila punta don. :)

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our supplier ratings

Posted by abie on 2:49 PM
as posted on w@w on our 2nd month anniversary...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's exactly 2 months now since our wedding. Again, I would like to thank w@w, specially John & Benz for helping us make our dream wedding come true. I was a clueless b2b before i joined w@w. But with the help of all the w@wies, we we're able to get ideas we never thougth would be feasible.

It was really a wonderful & memorable wedding. I don't know, pero the day before the wedding and noong wedding day mismo, sobrang relax ko talaga and it's not my usual self. May pagka OC din kse ako eh. Pero for some reasons, I learned to let go and let God. Sobrang relax nga ako non eh. Basta alam ko sobrang happy ko ng araw na yun.

Sabi nga ng mga freinds ko, para lang daw kaming nag lalaro ni Howell. Tawa daw kami ng tawa and we we're always smiling. May isa pa nga kaming friend na inintay daw nya talaga kung kelan kami sisimangot pero hindi daw nya talaga kami nakita nag frown.

I was also afraid na iiyak ako noong wedding ko. Everytime na a-attend kse ako ng mga wedding ng mga friends namin, lagi ako umiiyak kaya sabi ko for sure, iiyak ako sa wedding ko. Pero nagulat ako kse pareho kaming hindi umiyak ni Howell. Kahit na nag iiyakan na yung mga tao sa paligid namin, nakangiti pa din kami. We we're just so happy na hindi na talaga namin nakuhang umiyak.

Below is our Supplier Ratings. Feel free to email me at clod0327yahoo.com if you have any questions or commenst regarding our suppliers.

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1. CHURCH: MANILA CATHEDRAL
CONTACT PERSON: Mang Domeng & Ate Rhodora (Pero I heard nagresign na sila pereho)
CONTACT NUMBER: 527-7631/527-3850
RATING: 9

Intramuros is where Howell and I met. We studied in the same school within Intramuros kaya memorable talaga ang Intramuros sa amin. Kaya we really wanted to have our wedding in one of the churches sa Intramuros. Ang choices namin are MC, San Agustin and SOJ (since malapit lang din naman sya sa Intramuros). We drop SOJ from our short list kse medyo hindi sya accesible and naisip namin na baka mahirapan yung iba naming guest na wala namang sasakyan. So our choice is now between San Agustin and MC. We both love the church, the architecture and its interior. Parehong maganda sa picture. Pero we chose MC over San Agustin kse sa San Agustin 1 hr lang per wedding and sa MC 1.5 hr. So mas mahaba ang oras namin sa MC. We feel kse na baka sobra naman kami mamadali sa 1 hr.

Ok naman ang service nila. Mang Domeng and Ate Rhodora are very easy to talk too and mabait din sila pareho kaya hindi kami nahirapang makipag deal sa kanila. Ok din naman yung mga usherettes during the wedding kse hindi naman sila obstructive and approcahable naman sila.

Ang nainis lang ako is hindi nasunod yung song for my bridal march. We submitted them a list of songs na kakantahin for the entire ceremony. Some will be sung by the church soloist while some songs (specially yung sa pictorial) will be sang by our friends and our wedding singer. Noong nagpunta don mom ko, pinatanong ko pa sa mommy ko kay Mang Domeng kung approve na ba yung song list namin. Approve na daw. Noon bumalik ulit doon mommy, pinatanong ko ulit kung approve na song list namin. So approve naman daw lahat. So ang pagkakaintindi ko, pag approve na dapat aralin ng organist nila yung mga songs para matugtog nya. Nagulat ako noong bridal march ko, ang kinakanta is yung para sa entourage. Dapat kse ang kakanta sa akin is yung friend ko from H.S. Hindi daw nya nakanta kse hindi daw alam nung organist yung cords ng kanta.

All in all maayos naman lahat ng dealings namin with MC and happy naman kami with how our church ceremony turned out.

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2. RECEPTION: BALUARTE DE SAN DIEGO
CONTACT PERSON: Intramuros Administration (IA)
CONTACT NUMBER: 527-3138/527-3084
RATING: 10

Since sa Intramuros nga ako nag college, tuwing may event sa mga garden doon noong nag aaral pa ako, nakikita ko lagi kung gaano kaganda and romatic ang set up ng wedding dun specially pag gabi. Kaya kahit hindi ko pa nakikilala si Howell, alam ko na i'll definetely have a garden wedding. Ang nasa short list namin is Patio Victoria, Fr. Blanco's Garden, Puerta Real and Baluarte de San Diego Garden. We drop Fr. Blanco's & Patio Victoria since we find the venue too small for our number of guests. And hindi ka din pwede magdala ng ibang caterer since may in house caterer sila and hindi namin afford yung mga packages ng in house caterer nila. So our choice is between Baluarte de San Diego & Puerta Real. We choose Baluarte De San Diego kse gusto namin yung effect ng ruins and ng gazebo. Malaki din yung venue kaya we won't have any problems kahit gaano kadami ang guests namin.

Ang isang disadvantage lang is hindi agad sila tumatangap ng booking for next year. We started planning our wedding Jan 2004 and noong tumawag ako sa IA, hindi pa daw sila open for reservations for 2005. So almost every other day tumatawag kami kse nga January pa lang nakabook na yung church namin and wala pa din kaming reception. By February, nag inquire na ulit kami sa fr. Blanco's & Patio Victoria kse nga kinakabahan na ako at baka wala kaming makuhang venue pero unfortunately may nakabook na sa wedding date namin kaya wala na kami choice kung hindi araw arawin ang tawag sa IA. Mga April na ata sila nag open ng reservations and pagka open na pagka open pinabook na anmin agad yung Baluarte.

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3. CATERER: BATIS ASUL
CONTACT PERSON: Mang Jun (Owner) / Gay / Grace
CONTACT NUMBER: 410-8568/371-8711/0920-9042352 (Gay)/ 0917-8122106 (Jun)
RATING: 10

They are one of our favorite suppliers. Super bait ni Mang Jun and ng staff nya. Madali sila kausap kaya lahat ng request namin, naprovide nila. All our guest was saying na ang sarap daw ng food namin. Isa pang plus is si Mang Jun (yung owner ng Batis), lagi syang kasama pag nag me-meeting kami kaya nasasagot agad lahat ng queries namin & nakakapag decide sya agad kung feasible ba yung request namin or hindi. Napakafriendly din ng mga staff nya. Parang naging magkakaibigan na nga din kami kse sobrang nag bibiruan na kami kaya sobrang at ease na talaga kami ni Howell sa kanila. Andon din si mang Jun and si gay noong wedding namin to personally supervise our wedding.

Sabi din ng mga guest ko sobrang courteous at magagalang daw yung mga waiters nila. And very attentive talaga sila kse na se-serban agad nila lahat ng guest namin.

Ang isa lang nagin problema is naiba yung table lay out. Ang initial plan kse is mag lalagay ng table sa outer garden. Pero since kasya naman pala lahat ng table including the presidential table sa inner garden, hindi na lang naglagay ng table sa outer garden. Since naiba yung table lay out, medyo hindi nasunod ng kaunti yung seating plan. Pero hindi naman nila kasalan yun kse dapat yung coordinator na dapat mag ayos non.

Pero all in all, talagang sobrang happy kami sa service nila.

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4. PHOTOGRAPHER/VIDEOGRAPHER: ARIEL JAVELOSA PHOTOGRAPY
CONTACT PERSON: Grace
CONTACT NUMBER: 532-6329/0919-4089009
RATING: 10
RATING FOR THE ALBUM & VIDEO: PENDING

Side kwento muna: Everytime magpupunta kami sa bridal fair, lagi naming binibisita yung booth ni Mang Ariel. Pero medyo mahal kse ng kaunti yung package nya kesa sa package ni Mang Emil kaya we initially booked Mang Emil. Mang Emil was the 3rd supplier na binook namin. We booked them mga around March. Before we booked them, talagang siniguro namin na si mang Emil ang mag cover ng wedding namin. Ilang beses namin tinanong yun sa girl na nag entertain sa amin (Marie ata name nya). So nagbayad na kami ng DP. Then mga around October, we went back sa shop nila kse titingin kami ng mga pre-nup pictures nila kse pipili na kami ng venue for our pre-nups. Then I asked them again kung si mang Emil nga mag cover. Nagulat ako kse sabi ng girl yung second team daw ang naka assign sa amin kse may nauna na magpa book sa amin.So hinanap ko yung kausap namin dati. Then noong nakausap na namin si Marie, sabi imposible daw na icommit nya sa amin si Mang Emil kse sya pa daw nag book ng nauna sa amin. So pinakita ko sa kanya yun text nya sa akin noong march, confirming to us na si Mang Emil ang mag cover ng wedding namin. Tsaka lang sya pumayag na si Mang Emil na nga ang i-assign nya sa amin. And habang kausap namin sya, iniiwan nya kami lagi and lumilipat sya lagi sa kabilang room kahit hindi pa tapos usapan namin. So nabastusan talaga kami sa kanya. Kaya we decided na kahit hindi na namin ma refund yung DP namin, kukuha na lang kami ng ibang photographer.

Leason is, we should not trust our suppliers too much. Dapat lahat ng napagusapan ilagay lahat sa contract. As much as possible try to avoid verbal agreement para malinaw lahat.

So we started looking for another photographer. We met with Richel MascariƱas & Ariel Javelosa. We chose Ariel Javelosa kse mas mura yung package na inoffer nya sa amin and mas madaming freebies. Sya pa nag suggest na sa bridal fair na kami mabook para makasama kami sa raffle. And kahit hindi namin tinanong, sya pa nag offer na pwede stagnant ang payment namin.

He assured us na si Mel (his head photographer) ang i-assign nya sa amin. He wrote it sa contract namin. We asked him kung pwede din sya sumama sa team na mag cover ng wedding namin and sabi nya sa church na lang daw sya punta, so pinalagay din namin yun sa contract namin.

Noong pre-nups namin, si Mel na ang photographer namin and ang galing nya talaga. We just love all our pre-nup pictures. Creative talaga yung mga shots nya. And hindi kami nahiya mag pose ni Howell kse napake encouraging nya.

Noong wedding namin, late sila ng nga 45 minutes. Actually, hindi naman sila talaga late. Ang original na schedule kse nila is darating sila sa hotel ng 11 am. Mga 3 days before the wedding, sabi ng daddy ko paagahan ko daw yung schedule kse sa westin pa kami manggagaling and baka daw traffic sa roxas blvd, specially saturday ang wedding namin. So I called their office para ipabago yung schedule. Wala si Grace (our contact person) that time kaya binilin ko na lang sa kausap ko that time. Hindi na relay ng kausap namin sa team nila Mel na instead of 11 Am, eh 10 Am ko na sila pinapapunta. So 11 AM na sila dumating, which is still on time based on their original schedule. And hindi din namin kami nagahol sa oras kse nakapag pictorial pa kami ng family ko pati mga entourage ko. Kahit si Howell ang dami din nilang kuha ng family nya at ng entourage nya. Hindi din naman kami na late sa church. Mga 2:50 kami dumating sa MC kaya 10 mins early pa kami para sa ceremony.

With regards sa picture, we love all our pictures din. Kaya nga hangang ngayon hindi pa din kami nakakapili para sa album namin. Ang nakalagay sa contract namin, 1000+ pictures lang ang kasama sa package namin pero nagulat kami kse 2500++ ang pictures namin. Sobrang sipag kse nila mag picture. Hindi mo mahahalata sa kanila na pagod na sila (since may pinuntahan pa silang weding noong am). Nagulat nga ako kse ang daming solo pictures ng mga pinsan at kapatid ko. Tsaka even after the reception, nag stay pa din sila to take more pictures. And talagang nacapture nila yung emotions ng mga tao (lalo na ng daddy ko) sa mga pictures na nakunan nila. They took a mixture of traditional and stolen shots which we all love.

Hindi pala nakarating si mang Ariel noong wedding namin kahit nag promise sya at nakalagay pa sa contract na he'll be there sa church ceremony. Pero, happy and confident naman kse kami sa service ni Mel kaya naka set na din sa mind namin na kahit hindi dumating si Mang Ariel, ok lang din.

Presentable din yung mga staff ni Mang Ariel kse they are all in uniform and lahat sila napaka galing mang encourage sa mga visitors na mag pose kaya ang gaganda din nga mga pictures namin with our guests.

Available na agad yung CDs and proofs 4 days after the wedding.

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5. BRIDE'S GOWN, FEMALE ENTOURAGE'S GOWN, B'S MOM & G'S MOM's GOWN
DESIGNER: CECILIO ABAD
CONTACT PERSON: Cecilio (Cecile) Abad
CONTACT NUMBER: 303-9672/4843407/0918-3448220
RATING: 10++++++

I love Cecile. I love my gown.

Cecile is really easy to talk too and she is really honest and sasabihin nya sayo kung ano at hindi bagay sayo. Noong una pa lang ako nag fit ng gown ko, kahit wala pa syang beadwork love na love ko na talaga yung gown ko. Kaya noong final fitting ko at nakita ko na sya na may beadwork, sobra talaga ako naging happy. Nagulat nga ako kse noong sign na akong contract sa kanya, sobrang nakipag haggle talaga kami sa kanya ni Howell sa price. Sa kanya kse namin papatahi ung sa buong female entourage ko kaya sabi ko babaan nya yung price nya. So sa sobrang kulit namin ni Howell, sabi nya ang binigay daw nya na price nya sa amin is yung last year's price pa daw nya pero minimal beadwork na lang daw ang ilagay nya. Kaya nagulat ako noong nakita ko yung gown ko at ng entourage ko. Ang ganda ng beadwork. Sobrang dainty at intiricate. Sabi ko nga kay Cecile, sabi nya minimal beadwork lang pero sabi ko hindi naman minimal yun eh. Galit na galit nga yung daddy ko sa akin kse noong last fitting ko, ayoko talaga hubarin agad yung gown. Talagang feel na feel ko sya kaya palakad lakad ako doon sa loob ng shop ni Cecile. Kaya sobrang excited talaga ako na isuot. All my guests ang commenting na ang ganda daw talaga ng gown ko. Simple and elegant daw talaga. Ang dami na nga nanghingi sa akin ng contact number ni cecile dahil sobrang gandang ganda sila sa gown ko.

We did not have any problems at all with Cecile. Kahit yung sa mga entourage ko at yung sa mom ko and mama ni Howell, tamang tama talaga yung fitting nila and lahat sila love na love din yung mga gown nila. May 3 scheduled fittings kse kami kay Cecile kaya fit na fit talaga yung mga gowns nila sa kanila. There are times na pag may scheduled fitting kami kay Cecile, minsan mag tetext sya bigla para i-move yung schedule. Pero ok lang naman din yun kse sinasabi naman nya in advance kaya na sasabihan ko pa yung ento ko na namove yung schedule and since way ahead of schedule naman kami kaya ok lang. Almost all my entourage gowns plus yung gown ng mom ko and ng mom ni Howell, na pick up namin 1-2 weeks before the wedding except sa isa kong abay na malaki talaga ang pinayat since noong last fitting nya kaya kailangan nya talagang tastasin ulit yung buong gown para mag fit.

Noong wedding day, on time dumating yung assistant nya to set up the gown plus the accessories. Maya maya dumating na din si Cecile kse kasama talaga sa contract namin na Cecile will be there sa Hotel hangang church to dress me up para if anything goes wrong, andon sya to fix it. Actually may nangyari nga sa gown ko after akong mabihisan ni Cecile. Ni retouch kse ng HMUA ko yung mu ko and acidentally na laglag sa gown ko yung brush na ginamit nya for my lipstick so nagka stain ng red yung gown ko. Cecile tried to remove it using water and tissue pero ayaw na talaga mabura. So ang ginawa nya, nag beadwork sila ng assitant nya to cover yung stain. Sabi ko nga wag na kse di naman halata, pero sya pa nag insist na mag beadwork sila kse baka daw masira araw ko dahil baka isipin ko pa daw yun.

Sobrang happy talaga ako sa service and quality ng mga gowns ni Cecile and would not hesistate recommending her sa mga friends ko na ikaksal.

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6. GROOM'S ATTIRE, G'S DAD & B'S DAD'S ATTIRE, MALE ENTO'S ATTIRE
CONTACT PERSON: Tito Elpie
CONTACT NUMBER: 0921-6678931
RATING: 10 ++++++

Ever since we we're kids, si Tito Elpie ko na talaga ang tumatahi ng barong for the family so alam na talaga namin yung quality ng gawa nya. So we did not think twice na sya ang gagawa ng barong ni Howell pati ng sa daddy ko at papa ni Howell and for the whole entourage.

Sinamahan nya kami bumili ng tela sa Divisoria kaya ang laki talaga ng natipid namin. I just gave him the pictures ng design na gusto namin for the barong and nagaya nya lahat. Tamang tama lang din ang fitting ng mga barong & pants. We we're able to get the barong and pants a week before the wedding. Ang disadvantage lang is taga Bulacan pa sya kaya we have to go to Bulacan pa to pick up the Barong pero during the fitting, pumunta naman sya sa house namin para sukatan yung mga ento.

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7.
KARWAHE (HORSE DRAWN CARRIAGE)
RATING: 10

BRIDAL CAR
BOOKED BY: Cai Legaspi (Travel Consultant)
CONTACT NUMBER: 09016-7154962 / 0922-8017446
RATING: 10

We initially booked a Studebaker (Vintage Car) from Dream Cars during the wedding expo last September. Kaya lang 2 weeks before the wedding, tumawag sa akin si Heart (yung contact person namin sa Dream cars) and nasira nga daw yung Studebaker nila. Di daw sila sure kung aabot sa wedding namin kse sa abroad pa manggagaling yung parts. They offered us a different vintage car pero we decided to rent an ordinary white car na lang that will take us from hotel to MC and then use a horse drawn carriage from Fort Santiago to MC and from MC to Baluarte. Bukod sa mas mura sya kaya malaki din natipid namin, we also love the effect ng horse drawn carriage. It is just rigth for our theme and bagay talaga sya sa Intramuros. We we're able to refund naman yung DP namin sa Dream Cars kaya wala naman kaming naging problema.

We booked the bridal car through Howell's friend na travel consultant. Wala talaga kaming naging problema since the car arrived on time.

Yung karwahe naman, we booked through June. Wala din kaming naging problema since on time din naman yung karwahe sa Fort Santiago and on time din sya noong pinick up nya kami from MC. Then umikot pa kami sa Intramuros beore we proceed sa reception para makapag picture taking.

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8. SOUND SYNDROME
CONTACT PERSON: ELFREN UY
CONTACT NUMBERS: 419-5431/961-1278/0917-2560995
RATING: 7

We booked Sound Syndrome kse well loved talaga sya dito sa w@w plus mura talaga ang packages nya and high tech naman yung mga gamit nya. Madali lang din kausap si Elfren. My event stylist needed an additional 4 par ligths para sa ruins and when I asked Elfren how much ang additional, sabi nya free na lang daw. Ganon talaga sya kadali kausap. And like what other w@wies have said before, magalang talaga sya kausap and puro po at opo maririnig mo sa kanya. Madali din sya ma contact and mabilis din ysa sumagot sa text.

He also attended our final meeting with some of my other suppliers kahit may event pa sya non sa CP. He promised us that he will be there sa wedding namin. Maglalagare na lang daw sya between my wedding and wedding ni Teenee (hi Teenee). Sabay kse kami ng wedding ni teenee and since magkalapit lang venue namin (Puerta Real & baluarte) wala daw problema don. Pero missing in action si Elfren noong wedding namin. Ok lang sana na wala sya don. Kaya lang sana nag bilin sya sa crew nya. We rented kse the screen from them and we brougth our own LCD projector. Tinawagan sya ni Howell para nga sabihin kung ok lang daw ba na ipasetup na lang namin sa crew nya yung LCD projector. So sabi nya iwan na lang daw namin sa crew nya and sila na bahala.

Pero nagulat ako kse sabi nga sa akin ni Howell (after nya akong salubungin noong bridal march ko..hehehehe) na hindi pa daw na se-setup ang laptop & LCD projector. Ayaw daw kse tangapin ng crew ni Elfren kse sounds lang daw sila in-charge. Kahit noong pagdating namin sa reception hindi pa din naka setup yung laptop & LCD dahil ayaw nga i-setup ng crew ni Elfren dahil sa sounds lang daw sila in-charge. Kung naibilin lang siguro ni Elfren yun sa crew nya, wala siguro naging problema or kung sinabi nila agad na hindi nila ma setup then we could have asked one of our freinds na mauna na sa reception para ma setup yung laptop and LCD. Or sana sinabi agad nya na hindi nila ma setup para nagawan agad namin ng paraan. Imposible naman kse na hindi nila alam i setup yun kse nag paparent din sila ng LCD eh.

Pero maganda naman yung setup nila. Well distributed ang sounds and maganda naman yung sound system nila. And affordable naman talaga yung package nila plus yung free par ligths na pinagamit nya sa amin.

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9. CAKE: COSTA BRAVA CAKES
CONACT PERSON: JUDA LIU
CONTACT NUMBER: 896-6872/896-1267/0917-8340815
RATING: 10++++

Juda Liu was recommended to me by another w@wie. I wanted to have cupcake tree kse as my wedding cake para maiba naman and noong nabasa ko nga yung post ng isang w@wie regarding sa afforable cupcake tree ni Juda, we immediately went sa house nya sa Bel-Air to check on her cupcakes. Kaya lang wala pala syang mga pictures ng mga ginagawa nyang wedding cakes and cupcake tree kse she just do it as a hobby. She gave us cupcakes so we can taste it and we ended up buying some more kse sobrang sarap and yummy ng cupcakes nya. In fact, everytime na magpupunta kami sa makati ng weekend, lagi kaming umoorder ng mga cupcakes nya.

Since sya talaga pinaka affordable sa mga nacanvass namin na cake maker, we decided to booked her na and paid a deposit. We visted her again mga a week before the wedding na to finalize the flavor of the cupcakes. We told her na nag increase yung number ng guests namin. Sabi nya baka daw magmukhang maliit and di na mapansin yung cupcake tree namin kse malaki daw pala yung venue namin and madami nga ang guest namin. So she suggested that we just get her 3 layer cake with 7 pcs of 8" round cake (all edible) para mas elegant daw ang dating and we just have to add 1500 pesos. Pero ayaw i-give up ni Howell yung cupcake tree kse may gagawin syang cake stand for the cupcakes that suits our theme. So sabi ni Juda we have until wednesday to confirm if we will be getting the cupcake tree or the 3-layer wedding cake since she has to buy the materials & the ingredients. So since decided talaga si Howell to do the stand, kinonfirm ko na kay Juda na we will be getting the cupcake tree. Pero since gahol na sa oras, hindi natapos ni Howell yung stand. So I tried to call Juda para itanong kung pwede pa namin palitan yung cake namin. Sobrang dali talaga nya kausap and pumayag agad sya.

We really love our wedding cake. Simple yet elegant. Sabi nga ni Mang Jun of Batis, si Juda pa daw mismo ang nag deliver at nag set up ng cake. Sayang nga kse hindi na serve sa guest yung cake. Nakalimutan kse ng coordinator ko na ipa serve yung cake. Kaya ang dami tuloy namin nauwi sa bahay and naubos din naman agad sa amin dahil ang sobrang yummy talaga nya.

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10. FLORIST & EVENT STYLIST: GARDEN DESIGNS BY PIDO
CONTACT PERSON: PIDO
CONTACT NUMBER: 0922-4039002/726-4619/726-4002
RATING: 10+++++

Pido is one of our favorite supplier. Tuwing may mga occasion sa family namin, sya talaga ang in charge lagi sa flowers. Kahit noong wedding ng sister nya, siya din ang nag ayos. Kaya pinuntahan namin sya sa office nya para nga sabihin na hihingi kami ng tulong sa kanya for our wedding. And doon lang namin nalaman na he's an event stylist na pala. Pinakita nya sa amin yung mga pictures ng mga set-up nya and nagustuhan talaga namin ni Howell dahil bagay na bagay sa theme namin.

We had 2 ocular inspection ng reception namin. And everytime mag ocular kami, laging ang tagal tagal namin sa Baluarte kse talagang sobrang dami nyang ideas and talagang meticulous sya sa details. Pati yung mga puno at yung bato, ni note nya talaga sa lay out ng baluarte.

We just love how he transformed our reception. Sabi nga ng mga crew ng IA, noong wedding lang daw namin nila nakita na ganon kaganda ang ayos ng Baluarte. Yung mga ideas na hindi namin akalain possible for a garden reception, he was able to execute well. And sobrang unique talaga ng mga ideas nya. Sya din nag direct ng ligthing and ang ganda talaga ng kinalabasan. Sabi nya kse he wants to highligth yung ruins, since yun yung character ng Baluarte and talagang ang ganda ng effect ng lighting sa ruins. We just love the overall set up ng venue namin. Pati yung gazebo namin ni Howell, it is really unique and ang ganda talaga sa pictures.

He is also in charge sa centerpiece per table. We did not get the package of Balay Kandila kaya we asked him kung kaya pa sa budget namin isama yung mga centerpiece. And we also love yung mga centerpiece na ginawa nya. Iba iba pa ngang centerpiece ang ginawa nya per table and we just love the effect ng candles na naka surround sa flowers. Siya din ang may idea na all long table ang gamitin namin instead na round table para mas formal ang dating. Sabi nga ni Mang Jun of Batis, baka daw masikip tignan. Pero buti na lang we push through with his plan, kse tingin namin mas maganda nga sya kesa kung all round table ang ginamit namin.

When he asked me kung anong flowers ang gusto ko for my bouquet, sabi ko sya na bahala kse wala talaga akong alam sa flowers and sobrang happy ko talaga sa bouquet ko kse it is really unique, simple and very elegant. Pati yung sa entourage ko and sa mom ko and mom ni Howell, they are all very nice.

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11. COORDINATOR: MAGICAL EVENTS
CONTACT PERSON: MAY-ANN ALANO
CONTACT NUMBER: 927-8008/0916-5629614
RATING: 7

Si May-Ann ang head coordinator namin. Noong mga meeting namin before the wedding, ok naman kausap si May-Ann. Ang isang disadvantage na nakita ko is mas prefer nya lagi mag meet sa QC area. I work in Makati and si Howell naman sa Manila area kaya medyo malayo sa amin ang QC. Pero since Day coordination lang naman ang kinuha namin sa kanila (3 meetings before the wedding lang ang kasama sa day coordination package), mga twice lang naman namin kailangang pumunta sa QC to meet with her.

Pero I was really impressed by her professionalism kse noong nag final meeting kami with our suppliers, birthday ni May-Ann non and since wala ng ibang date na available and lahat ng suppliers ko available on that date, except her, pumayag sya na makipag meet sa amin kahit bday nya.

Pag nag me-meeting kami hindi sya nag te-take down ng notes. Noong una natakot ako kse nga baka nakakalimutan naman nya lahat ng pinag usapan namin. Pero pag nag usap naman kami ulit, natatandaan naman nya lahat.

Madali lang din sya kontakin. Madalas kse tru text ko lang sya kinokontak and pag may inquiries ako, sinasagot naman nya either tru text or tatawagan nya ako sa landline ko.

On the day of the wedding, late si may-ann. Dapat kse 12:00 pm andun na sya sa hotel pero mga 1:00 pm na sya dumating. Pero ok din naman kse pagdating nya, naasikaso naman nya lahat ng dapat asikasuhin nya sa hotel. Pagdating namin sa church andun na din sya and inaasikaso na nya yung mga entourage.

Sa reception naman, medyo naguluhan ako sa kanila. Ang sabi kse sa akin ni may-ann, may isang coordinator na lagi nakadikit sa amin ni Howell para kung may kailangan kami madali namin masasabi sa kanila. Pero wala namang coordinator na nakatabi sa amin lagi kaya kung may kailangan kami, yung mga friends pa namin na malapit sa table namin ang tinatawag namin. Hindi din tuloy na serve yung cake namin, kse wala ngang coordinator na malapit sa amin na sasabihan na i-serve yung cake for dessert. Although, sinabi ko na din kay May-Ann and sa caterer namin noong nag meeting kami na ipa-paserve namin yung cake namin sa guests. Hindi ko alam bakitt hindi nila sinerve kaya nasayang tuloy yung cake.

Noong dinnner time na, dapat may avp pa kaming i-present pero hindi pa pala naka set up yung LCD & lap top. I'm not sure whose fault it is pero sabi kse ng cousin ni Howell na nag turn over ng Lap top & projector sa Sound Syndrome ayaw daw i-set up ng Sound Syndrome yun kse sa sounds lang sila in-charge. Pero diba dapat, chineck nila to pagdating nila sa reception since alam naman nila na may avp kami. Kse ang sabi din nya may isang coordinator na mauuna sa reception. Kaya hindi agad nasimulan yung avp noong dinner time kse we have to ask one of our friends para i-set up yung lcd & lap top.

We have a portion sa program na mag present kami ng gifts sa PS. Bumili kse kami ng Unity Coins, and ang ginawa namin we will give each coin reprsenting one tenents of marriage sa bawat PS namin tapos may message kami why we gave that tenent/coin to them. So nag start na yung emcee magbasa ng message namin so isa isa ng nagpunta sa table namin yung PS pero wala pa sa amin yung mga gifts. So sinenyasan ko pa si May-Ann na wala pa sa amin yung gifts tsaka lang nila inabot sa amin. I think hindi gaano na brief ni May-Ann yung ibang coordinators na kasama nya pati yung emcee (since si may-ann lang lagi ka meeting namin) kaya medyo nag kakagulo sila.

And ang nakikita ko lang na on the move na coordinator is si may-ann and si may. Yung 2 parang lagi lang nasa gift table. Naiinis pa nga ako sa isang coordinator na kasama nila kse noong entrance ng entourage sa reception, sabi ng MOH ko paki palitan yung flower na dala ng rose bearer namin kse medyo hindi na maganda yung rose na dala nya kse pingalaruan na ng bata. May rose ceremony kse kaami kaya gusto namin medyo maganda yung dalang rose ng bearer kse may special part nga sya sa program. Pero inutos lang nung coordinator na yun yung request namin sa isang kasama nya na hindi naman din sinunod ng inutusan nya.

Naiba din yung seating plan namin. Ok lang sana kung naiba kaso yung isang table ng relatives namin, napunta sa dulong dulo, sa other side pa ng garden so medyo nakakahiya sa relatives namin. Dapat naisip nila na since sa original lay out, nasa first rows of tables yung table na yun (table 9), dapat noong naiba yung lay out they made sure na nasa first rows of tables pa din nila pinaupo yung originally nasa table 9. Pero I'm not sure kung fault ba nila to or ng caterer namin.

Yung mga feedbacks na na recieve ko sa mga guests ko after the wedding is medyo masungit nga daw yung coordinators ko. Mula sa pagmimigay nya ng misalette, hangang sa pag organize nila sa entourage, pati sa pamimigay ng guest sheets. Ang sungit daw and parang disrespectful ang dating. Although di ko lang sure kung totoo to kse hindi ko naman na experience first hand yung pag susungit nila. Pero I got this feedback from different people and hindi lang sa isang tao/grupo.

Ang naisip ko lang baka pagod na sila noong wedding namin kaya medyo masungit at dis organize na sila. May wedding pa kse sila noong umaga (afternoon ang wedding namin) kaya mukhang low bat na sila noong wedding namin.

Pero in fairness naman with them, hindi naman nahalata ng mga guest namin na magulo sila. In fact almost all of my guest commented na ang organize daw talaga ng wedding namin. Parang ang nakakaalam lang na magulo sila is ako, si Howell at ang MOH ko kse kami talaga nakakaalam ng flow ng program.

Magaling din yung emcee nila, si maloree. Wala talagang dead air kse napaka spontaneous nya. And noong nakita nga nya na hindi pa naka set up yung laptop & projector para sa avp, nag adlib na naman sya and pinakanta nya muna yung mga friends ko na kakanta habang nag iintay na ma setup yung projector & laptop. Even my guests commented na magaling nga daw yung emcee namin.

Plus they gave us big discount din. 15,000 kse talaga ang rate nila pero sinabi nga namin na hanggang 10,000 lang kaya namin. So binigay nila sa amin ng 10,000 yung day coordination package nila (with emcee pa pero noong nag increase nga kami ng guest nag add pa kami ng 1 pang coordinator for 1,000 pesos.)

This are just my experience with them. Maybe this is just an isolated case kse the reason why i hired them is nakita ko na kse how they work noong wedding ng friend ko and satisfied naman kami sa service nila. Actually happy naman kami kay may-ann, may & maloree. Yung iba lang nyang kasama na coordinator ako hindi happy. If I am to ask if I will still hire them as my coordinator, I would still hire them kung kami lang ang wedding na kukunin nila noong araw na yun para full of energy pa din yung iba nyang kasamang coordinator and I will make sure na ma brief talaga ng mabuti ng head coordinator ko yung mga kasama nya.

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12. HAIR & MAKE UP: DANI LIM OF JESI MENDEZ
CONTACT NUMBER: 0918-6791408
RATING: 8

Dani has been my HMUA ever since kaya comfortable na talaga ako sa kanya. Kaya hindi na talaga ako nag hanap pa ng ibang MUA since I don't want to spend on TMU pa.

Noong pre-nup namin, sa kanya na din ako nag pa make up and ok naman yung make up nya. Hindi kse bagay talaga sa akin ang naka make up kaya tuwang tuwa ako kse maganda naman ang effect ng make up nya sa kin.

Noong wedding namin, sobrang on time si Dani sa hotel. Nauna pa nga sila dumating sa amin sa Westin. Although hindi ko gaano gusto yung make up nya sa akin noong wedding ko (mas gusto ko kse yung make up nya sa akin noong pre-nups namin), pero sabi naman nila maganda daw yung make up ko and glowing daw talaga ako. Pumayat kse talaga ako ng sobra sa stress kaya hindi ko masyado type yung shape ng face ko. Well I guess totoo ata talaga na the bride is always beautiful and glowing on her wedding day.

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13. SOUVENIR: COMMEMORATIVE COINS
CONTACT PERSON: JUNE
CONTACT NUMBER: 0919-8074075 / 233-0423
RATING: 10

We wanted our souvenir to be unique kaya we really had a hard time deciding kung ano ang souvenir namin. It was Howell's idea to give commemorative coins as our souvenir. May coin collection kse sya and noong minsang nasa Libis kami, pinakita nya sa akin yung souvenir coin nya ng US Embassy and bigla nya naisip na yun na lang daw ang souvenir namin.

Noong una di ko talaga ma appreciate yung coin as our souvenir. Sabi ko kse baka itapon lang yun ng mga guests namin. I even emailed some of my w@wie friends to ask for their opinion and after reading their replies, na convince na nga ako to have the coin as our souvenir.

Bago nila i-reproduce ng marami yung coins, nagpakita muna sila ng sample. Nasa US kami ni Howell noong time na yun kaya pinaubaya ko na lang sa pinsan ko yung pag check ng sample and sabi ko ipa go na nya yung production kung sa tingin nya ok na sya. Unfortunately, na overlook ng cousin ko and hindi nya napansin na may isa palang letter na mali sa back ng coins namin. Syempre noong una, medyo nalungkot ako. Pero since hindi naman namin pwede ipaulit yun since nagpakita naman sila sa amin ng sample and kung papaulit namin, may additional charge na dahil hindi naman nila fault yun and sabi ng supplier parang gagawa daw sila ulit ng bagong coins nun (tutunawin yung coins, i-mold then tsaka pinturahan) para lang ma correct yung isang letter na mali, i let go na lang. Na realize ko hindi naman na halata yun kse isang letter lang naman ang mali. And ang ganda naman ng pagkakagawa nila ng coins kaya hindi na yun manotice ng tao. And I was rigth. I think nobody notice yung isang letter na mali sa back ng coin. Wala kseng nakakalam kahit sa relatives namin na may mali and wala namang nakapansin noong pinakita namin sa kanila yung souvenir namin.

Ang ganda ng pagkakagawa ng souvenir coins namin. Kuhang kuha yung image ng Manila Cathedral and yung ruins ng Baluarte de San Diego. All our guest love our souvenir kse it is really something unique daw talaga. 200 coins yung pinagawa namin and naubos talaga sya.

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14. SOUVENIR BOXES
CONTACT PERSON: RENEE
CONTACT NUMBER: 0917-2425124
RATING: 10

It is a gift to us by my friend. Hobby nya kse gumawa ng mga boxes and gumagawa lang sya ng maramihan pag may order sa kanya. Nakita ko lang kse yung treasure chest na box sa table nya and hiniram ko nga para ipakita kay Howell kse nga maganda syang lalagyan para sa souvenir coin namin. And nagustuhan din sya ni Howell. So I told my friend na o-order nga kami sa kanya and I was really happy noong sinabi nya na yun na lang ang gift nya sa amin. Syempre noong una, medyo pakipot ako pero syempre less din yun sa expenses namin kaya pumayag na din ako.

Gumawa sya agad ng samples of different colors and designs kaya marami kami pinagpilian ni Howell. We got the first 100 boxes 3 weeks before the wedding and the remaining 100 boxes 2 weeks before the wedding.

Ang ginawa ng mom ko sa loob ng box is nilagyan nya ng foam and she covered the foam with felt paper. Then nilagyan nya ng butas sa gitna where we can insert ng coins. Since maaga nga nabigay sa amin yung boxes, may enough time pa yun mom ko para ayusin yung coins sa loob ng boxes.

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15. UNITY COINS
CONTACT PERSON: Benz & John Rana (Weddings at Works)
RATING: 10++++

When I saw the Unity Coins, I immediately showed it to Howell. Syempre inexplain ko muna sa kanya kung paraan saan yun and yung symbolism ng coins and he immediately agreed na we'll have it instead of the usual arrahae. Ang ganda talaga ng unity coins. Hirap nga kami mamili between gold and silver kse pareho talagang maganda but we end up ordering silver kse tingin namin mas bagay sa motiff namin.

It is definitley something that we can pass along sa mga relatives namin na ikakasal.

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16. GOWNS OF RELATIVES
CONTACT PERSON: FARLEY DE CASTRO
CONTACT NUMBER: 285-1087
RATING: 10

Our initial plan is to have Cecile do the gowns of my tita, my lola and yung kapatid ni Howell and ng iba pang ninang na gusto magpatahi ng gown nila. Pero noong kinausap ko si cecile sabi nya hindi na daw nya kayang i-accomodate mga gown ng tita ko kse madami daw talaga syang weddings and ayaw naman nyang isacrifice yung quality kaya he just suggested that we look for another couturier.

So nag post ako sa w@w kung may ma recommend silang affordable designer and ang nagather ko is si Farley and si Tet Hagape. Medyo malayo sa amin si tet and mas malapit sa house namin ang shop ni Farley kaya we decided na si Farley muna ang una naming puntahan. Madali kausap si Farley. Sobrang galing and linis ng work. Super baba nya maningil without any compromise on the quality. Lahat ng mga nagpatahi sa kanya, happyng happy sa gown nila.

Kahit 1 month before the wedding na lang kami nakapunta at nakapag pasukat sa kanya, hindi naman kami nag ka problema. Nakapag fit pa mga tita ko kaya tamang tama talaga ang fitting sa kanila. We we're able to get their gowns 1 week before the wedding kaya wala talagang hassle & problema.

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17. HOTEL ACCOMODATION: WESTIN PHILIPPINE PLAZA HOTEL
BOOKED BY: Cai Legaspi (Travel Consultant)
CONTACT NUMBER: 09016-7154962 / 0922-8017446
RATING (WESTIN): 7

Noong namimili kami which hotel to book for the hotel preps sa wedding day, we are choosing between Manila Hotel & Westin Philippine Plaza. We choose Westin over Manila Hotel kse parang nadidiliman ako sa Manila Hotel and mas maraming maganda spot sa Westin where we can take nice pictures like the stairs, the hotel lobby, the pool side, the japanese restaurant, the breakwater, the garden.

We booked them through Howell's friend na travel consultant. Madami kse akong nababasang feedback dito sa w@w na di gaanong maganda ang service nila and magulo sila kausap kaya sabi ko sa friend ni Howell siya na bahala. My coordinator suggested that we check in the nigth before para daw sure na may makukuha kaming room on the 29th kse nag ka problema daw yung isa nyang bride na nag early check in lang daw. Wala daw kseng maibigay na room ang Westin kahit na nag advise sila na mag early check in sila. Since medyo expensive yung room and wala na kaming budget for extra nigth, sinabi namin kay Cai (yung friend ni Howell na Travel Consultant) na kailangan mag early check in kami and siguradong may mabibigay silang room sa amin sa 29. So inassure na ako ni Cai na nakausap na nya yung contact nya sa Westin and naka block na daw yung 2 rooms for us and naka advise na din for early check in kaya ok na daw yun.

Sabi ni Cai we can check in as early as 7:00 AM and he asked us to proceed sa VIP Office nila instead sa reception area. When we arrived, ang available pa lang is yung De Luxe Room ni Howell and unfortunately, kahit naka blcok na daw yung suite na pina reserve namin for early check-in, hindi pa daw nag check out yung previous guest kaya di pa nila maibigay sa amin yung room. Since nasa lobby na yung HMUA ko, we decided na i-occupy na muna namin yung de luxe room ni Howell para masimulan ng ma make upan yung iba kong ento & yung mom ko. Pagpasok namin sa room hindi pa pala sya nalilinis kaya inintay pa ulit namin yung house keeping para mag clean up ng room.

Mga around 9:30 AM na naging available yung suite room kaya medyo hassle ng kaunti kse we have to transfer again all our things sa kabilang room. Pero maganda naman yung suite nila. Malaki talaga sya and we have a beautiful view. We also love all the pictures that was taken sa Hotel. Maganda talaga ang Westin for pictorial.

Pero totoo nga talaga yung feedback na nakuha ko sa w@w na magulo talaga sila kausap at di gaanong maganda ang service ng Westin. May mga na charge pa nga sa room namin na mga nabawas daw sa bar. Hindi ko na gaanong inisnpect pero alam ko hindi naman kami bumawas sa bar except sa mineral water and yung toothpaste. Per hinayaan na lang namin kse nga medyo magulo nga sila kausap.

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18. RINGS: MIL JEWELRY SHOP
CONTACT PERSON: MRS. TAPANG
CONTACT NUMBER: 251-4849
RATING: 10+++++

Nag start kaming maghanap ng ring sa Ongpin and Binondo. We already have a design in mind kaya alam na namin kung ano hahanapin namin sa Ongpin. Pero after naming malibot lahat ng store sa Ongpin, wala kaming nagustuhan ni Howell. May nakita kami na kagaya ng design na gusto namin pero parang namamahalan kami masyado.

So we decided to check yung jewelry shop ng friend ng mom ko. We showed her the design that we got from the internet and she gave us a quote kung magkano yung ring na gusto namin. I posted here sa w@w kung reasonable na ba yung price na nakuha namin and maraming nagsabi that it was a steal. Kaya we decided na doon na kami papagawa ng ring namin.

Yung ring namin is 14K na two-tone (white gold sa gitna then yellow gold on both side). Yung ring ko may .20 pts na princess cut na diamond. May nabasa ko sa w@w na pag white gold daw, after some time babalik daw sa pag ka yellow gold. May isang w@wie pa nga na nagsabi na after 1 wek daw, bumalik na daw sa yellow gold yung ring nila. So sinabi ko yun kay Mrs. Tapang and ang explanation nya (atleast yung naintindihina sa explanation nya) is kaya daw bumabalik sa yellow gold yun kse yellow gold na hinaluan lang daw ng white gold ang ginamit don and hindi talaga pure white gold. Basa something like that ang explanation nya. Ang true enough, hangang ngayon white gold pa din sya and di pa din kumukupas.

We love our ring. It's really beautiful. Ang ganda talaga ng pagkakagawa. And solid na solid talaga sya. Hindi kagaya ng nakita namin sa Ongpin na hallow yung loob. And bago pa nga nya ikabit yung diamond, tumawag pa sya sa amin para sabihan kami na tignan muna namin yung diamond bago nya ikabit para makita namin yung quality.

Mabilis lang din sila gumawa kahit customized pa yung design. Yung sa amin 1 week lang tapos na yung ring namin and nasunod naman talaga yung design na pinagaya namin sa kanila.

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19. FLOWER GIRL'S GOWN
CONTACT PERSON: NANCY
CONTACT NUMBER: 0916-6671008
RATING: 4

Medyo namahalan kami sa rate na binigay sa amin ni cecile for Flower Girl's gown kaya we decided hahanap na lang kami ng ibang mananahi for the flower girls para makamura. My tita suggested na doon na lang kami patahi sa supplier nila ng uniform sa office. May pwesto kse yun sa divisoria ng mga tela and mga wedding gowns. So we went sa store nila sa Divisoria to check their gowns and ok naman pagkakatahi. Hindi ko pa non na me-meet si Farley since we decided to get Farley 1 month before the wedding na, kaya since ok naman mga sample ng gowns nila and mura lang yung rate nila, nag decide kami na doon na lang magpatahi ng gown ng flower girls.

Ang usapan namin ng may ari (Nancy), pupuntahan kami ng mag susukat sa bahay namin para we don't have to bring the chikitings sa divisoria. Pero noong schedule na namin to take the measurements, tumawag kami sa shop nila and ayaw pumayag ng asst ni Nancy kahit i-meet na lang nya kami sa tutuban para hindi gano mahirapan yung mga bata. BER month na kse yun kaya sobrang dami ng tao sa Divisoria. Pero ayaw talaga pumayag ng asst ni Nancy kse daw wala daw tatao sa tindahan. So no choice kami kse kasama na namin yung mga bata kaya kahit madaming tao, dinala namin yung mga bata sa sa shop nila sa ilaya, divisoria para makuhaan na sila ng measurements. Yung mga hindi nakasama noong unang schedule kami na lang ang kumuha ng mesurements kse nga mahirap pa kung dadalhin pa namin sila sa Divisoria.

2 weeks before the wedding nakuha na namin yung mga gown (sinabi namin na 22 ang wedding and hindi 29 para advance ng 1 week para if ever may problem, may time pa) and nagulat kami kse noong pina fit na namin sa mga kids yung gown sobrang luwag talaga nya. As in, mga 5x ata ang luwag. And ang maluwag pa is yung sinukatan ng staff ni Nancy. So sobrang hassle talaga kse after distributing gowns para ma fit ng mga flower girls, we have to get it again para ipa-repare. Buti na lang yung tita ko sya na nag volunteer na magpabalik balik sa divisoria kaya medyo nabawasan ang stress ko. Pero kawawa naman yung tita ko kse ilang beses sya nga pabalik balik don to think na sobrang busy na noon sa Divisoria kse Decemeber and January na yun. After naming ipa repare yung mga gown sa kanila, pagbalik sa amin mga 2 days before the wedding, sobrang gusot gusto ng gown. Kaya pina press pa namin isa isa yung gown bago ulit namin nadistribute sa mga flower girls. Tapos yung ribbon na parang belt, hindi nakatahi. Binigay sa amin ng nakahiwalay sa gown so isa isa pa ulit tinahi yun ng mom ko.

Pati yung beadwor nya, sbrang hindi maganda. Yung iba ngang beads, medyo maluwag na and kita na yung thread na ginamit. Kung na meet lang talaga namin agad si farley, never kami magpapatahi sa kanya.

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20. FIREWORKS: DRAGON FIREWORKS
CONTACT PERSON: HANS ONG
CONTACT NUMBER: 0917-5363409
RATING: 10+++++

After canvassing from several fireworks suppliers, Dragon Fireworks has the most affrodable package talaga. Plus may promo pa sila noon sa w@wies na 10% discount until November. Since paalis kami noon ni Howell papunta US, sinabi ko kay Hans na wala na kami time para i-meet sya before November para makahabol pa kami sa promo so nakiusap ako na kung pwede pagbalik na lang namin kami mag bigay na DP para ma avail namin yung 10% discount nya. Super dali nya kausap and pumayag agad sya. Madali lang din sya mag reply sa text and kahit sa email nag re-rely sya agad.

Noong wedding namin, everybody love the fireworks. It's one of the major highligths talaga ng wedding namin.

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21. PARTY POPPERS: ANDING'S TUTUBAN
RATING: 9

We bougth our party poppers sa Anding's sa Tutuban. Ok naman sya although may isang hindi nag pop.

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22. GIFTS FOR PRINCIPAL SPONSORS
CONTACT PERSON: Benz Rana (Weddings at Works)
RATING: 10++++++

Since na commemorative coin ang souvenir namin for our guests, naisip namin na we will have the Unity coins as gifts sa PS namin. Pero syempre hindi namin afford na isang set per PS ang ibigay namin so what we did, we bougth 2 sets (1 set for the Female PS and the other set for the Male PS) of Gold Unity Coins. We have 12 PS. Since each coin represents one of thirteen universal tenets of marriage, we will give one coin per PS (together with our commemorative coins souvenir) representing one tenets of mariage to the PS which we think possess that tenets. Then may part kami sa program namin na presentation ng gifts for PS. The emcee will call one pair of the PS and we will give them our gift while the emcee is reading why we are giving that coin to them and why we think they possess that tenets.

Since 13 yung unity coins and 12 lan yung PS, yung coin na LOVE yun yung binigay namin sa parents namin.

They we're really touched with our gift. It's something simple, affordable pero meaningful.

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23. GIFTS FOR MALE ENTOURAGE
RATING: 10

We gave our Male Ento, Parker Sign Pen. Nag sale kse dito sa RCBC last December yung distributor ng Parker so i was able to buy the sign pen at a much cheaper price. Sabi ko nga ok pala magpakasal ng January kse madaming sale after Christmas.

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24. GIFTS FOR FEMALE ENTOURAGE
RATING: 10

We gave our female entourage bracelets with different kinds of stones. We bougth it sa bazaar sa World Trade Center. Nag meet kse kami noon ng Event Stylist ko sa WTC para magbigay ng DP. Isa kse sya sa exhibitors kse he also sells plants and he was the one who decorated the reception area ata of the bazaar. So since andun na din kami, and since shopaholic kami ng cousin ko, nag ikot na din kami sa bazaar and swerte naman coz I was able to find something nice and affordable as gifts for my female entourage.

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25. TARPAULIN
CONTACT PERSON: BENHUR / MAI SISON
CONTACT NUMBER: 0916-3235204 / 0917-3259456
RATING: 10++++

Yung isang friend ni Howell from HS, may printing business and they do tarpualin. May tarpaulin kse sila noong wedding nila and noong nakita amin, nag inquire kami sa kanila and sinabi nga nila na yun na lang and gift nila sa wedding namin.

The tarpaulin was nice. Buhay na buhay yung picture namin and maganda talaga yung resolution ng picture which only shows na high quality printer talaga ang ginamit.

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26 CARICATURE: JUNE
CONTACT NUMBER: 0919-8074075
RATING: 10++++

I got the idea of guest sheets dito sa w@w. Ang dapat naming ilalagay is yung mga pictures din namin noong pre-nup namin. Pero since yung invites nga anmin is puro picture na din namin, sabi ng cousin ko baka ma over na daw yung guest namin sa picture namin so we decided to have a caricature na lang para maiba naman.

Since medyo madami kaming guest, yung original caricature pinagawa namin sa illustration board and yun ang pina frame namin. Yun ngayon yung naging signature frame namin for the PS. Then we scan the original caricature and yung scanned image ang ginamit namin for the guest sheets.

Ang ganda ng pagkakagawa ng caricature. Base sya sa theme namin and kamukhang kamukha namin talaga yung caricature. It is something unique talaga kaya na appreciate sya ng mga guest namin.

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27. WEDDING SINGER: JOMI MOJICA
CONTACT PERSON: JUNE
CONTACT NUMBER: 0919-8074075
RATING: 10++++

Jomi Mojica is one of the acoustic singer sa WOW Philippines sa Intramuros. Sulit talaga ang binayad namin sa kanya kse from church ceremony up to the reception andun sya. Madami din syang alam na kanta kaya he was able to entertain the guest while they are waiting for us after the church ceremony kse nag pictorial pa kami before we proceed sa reception.

He's really talented and maganda talaga yung boses nya and we did not regret getting him as our wedding singer and perfromer sa reception.

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28. HONEYMOON: PANGLAO ISLAND NATURE RESORT
BOOKED BY: MR TRAVEL (63-2-5215119 / 526-5465 / 524-6504 / 525-3340 / 525-3372 / 521-5120 )
TEL (PANGLAO): (63-38)411-2599
EMAIL (PANGALO): metroctr@mozcom.com
RATING: 10

Side kwento muna: We booked our honeymoon through MR Travel. Hindi na kami umabot sa PALakbayan promo since dapat daw 7 days before departure, naka book na kami to avail of the promo. Medyo na late kse kami ng pagpapabook coz last minute we changed our honeymoon plans. We initially wanted to go to either Beijing, China or Singapore & KL. I found a great deal for Singapore & KL package kaya pinabook na namin sya sa Boris Travel naman. Kaya lang 1 week before the wedding may nag open na house for rent na malapit lang sa house ng parents ko. Bagong tayo syang bahay kaya kami pa lang ang first occupant nya plus malapit lang sya sa house ng parents namin which is what we really wanted. Up and down sya and it is spacious. Noong nakita nga ni Howell, gusto na nya agad mag magbigay ng DP kaya di na kami nag aksaya ng time and nagbayad na kami agad ng 2 months deposit kaya nabawasan ang honeymoon budget namin.

Pero syempre we still want to go on a honeymoon kaya I immediately look for a cheap domestic package. Sinabi ko sa contact person ko sa Borisa Travel na nag change na kami ng plans about our honeymoon kaya pa-pacancel na namin ang booking namin and instead mag hanap nalang kami ng honeymoon package sa bohol. Parang nagalit ata sya kse sabi nya sa akin di na nya kami maasikaso kse madami daw sya clients. So I immediately searched the Internet for travel Agencies and found MR Travel. Sa mga agency na nakausap ko, sya lang ang nakapag book sa amin agad. Yung iba kse ang tagal mag reply kse na hihirapan sila makakuha ng booking since peak season nga dahil may on going promo ang PAL.

We decided to go to Panglao Island Nature Resort kse yung package nila may breakfast & dinner ng kasama. Sabi kse ng friend ko na taga Bohol, either Panglao Island kami or Bohol Beach Bohol. We really enjoyed our stay sa Pangalo Island. Secluded sya kse sa part na yun ng island, sya lang ang resort. For honeymooners talaga sya. Ang disadvantage nga lang, walang nigth life na kagaya ng Boracay. Maganda din mga facilities nila and super ganda ng service nila. Mababait at magalang ang staff and super friendly sila lahat at helpful.

We also did the day tour before checking in sa resort. Nag rent lang kami ng car. Marami namang nag papa-rent don pag dating nyo sa tagbilaran airport. Pero eto yung contact number ng tour guide namin:

Tata Dompor
Toyota Corolla / L-300 Van
Mobile: 0926-5359101 / 0926 - 5359100

Dinala nya kami sa mga tourist spot sa bohol. nag enjoy talaga ako specially yung trip namin sa chocolate hills.

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29. INVITES: DIY
RATING: 100++++++ (Syempre bias ako kse si hubby ko may gawa nyan)

Si Howell lahat ang nag design at nag conceptualize ng invitation namin. Ilang beses syang nag papalit palit ng design. He really wanted it to be unique daw kse and special kaya he really put a lot of time and effort in conceptualizing the design.

He got the design noong minsang nasa mall kami, may nakita syang promo material ng Canon printer and yun yung ginaya nya. Syempre sobrang gandang ganda mga guests namin sa invitation namin. Talagang unique daw talaga and sobrang labor of love daw. My whole family helped sa paggawa ng invitations. Kse sobrang mabusisi sya talaga. Nakakapagod talaga sya gawin pero noong nagdistribute na kami ng invitations namin and sobrang na puri at na appreciate nila yung invitatios namin, nawala talaga lahat ng pagod namin. Noon lang daw sila nakakita ng ganong invitations. Kahit yung mga suppliers namin, bilib na bilib sa invitations. Kami daw kukunin nilang gagawa ng invitationsnila pag sila na ikakasal (o diba may clients na kami kahit di pa kami supplier...heheheh)

Kaya syempre proud na proud si Howell kse idea nya talaga lahat yun. Pina print lang namin sya sa isa naming friend using inkjet printer and si Howell lahat nag laminate isa isa noong back part at si Howell lahat nag cut isa isa non. Sobrang pagod talaga si Howell sa invitations namin kaya kulang pa talaga ang 100++++ na rating na binigay ko.

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30. AVP: DIY
RATING: 10+++++++++

Howell with the help of his friend, Nelson, ang gumawa ng AVP namin. Syempre bias na naman ako dahil hubby ko ang may gawa. Sobrang hands on groom din kse si Howell kaya hangang kaya nya gusto nya sya ang gagawa. I love our AVP. Hindi sya boring and maganda din yung animation na ginamit nila. Hindi lang kse sya slideshow ng mga pictures namin. It tells the story of us and he presented it na parang ang nag kwe-kwento is si Samwise Gamgee since ang theme nga namin is LOTR kaya ang cute talaga nya.

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31. MISALETTE: DIY
RATING: 10+++++++++

Regalo din sa amin to ng isa pa naming friend. I love our misalette. The cover has our picture and it was beautifully edited. Ang ganda din ng lay out nya and pati yung mga pages ang ganda din ng pagkakadesign.

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32. GUEST SHEETS: DIY
RATING: 10+++++++++

Eto mas bias ako kse ako gumawa nito. :)). I just scanned the original caricature and yung scanned image ang ginawa kong picture for the guest sheets. I just used MS Word to lay out the pictures and the questions. I got the questions, syempre from suggestions ng ibang w@wies.

Ang ganda daw ng guest sheets namin sabi ng mga guests namin and it is something unique na naman daw. Syempre galing sa w@w yang idea na yan.

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33. PERFORMERS: HS FRIENDS, COLLEGE FRIENDS, RELATIVES
RATING: 10++++++++

Si Howell ang nag organized ng acoustic band na mag perform sa wedding namin. The band members consist of Howell's sister (vocalist), Howell's nephew (guitarist), my sister (guitarist), my cousin (vocalist), 2 of my H.S. friends (vocalist), 2 of our college friends (guitarist).

Sobrang touched nga kami sa kanila kse 2 gabi sila nag puyat for the band rehearsals. Actually, nag enjoy din naman sila. Pinauuwi na nga namin sila dahil gabi na, ayaw pa din nila mag siuwian. Ok nga yung nangyari, since they are all members of our entourage, naging close na sila during practice kaya sobrang at ease na sila sa isa't isa noong wedding kaya hindi na sila nagkakahiyaan during the pictorial.

Syempre, ang masasabi ko lang ang galing galing talaga nila. Pwede ko silang i-refer sa mga nag hahanap ng acoustic band for their wedding..hehehehe...

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34. SHOES: OTTO SHOES
RATING: 10

It was already late when I decided to have my shoes customized. One month pala ang lead time pag ganon kaya I decided to just shop around SM and Glorietta for my wedding shoes.

We started looking sa SM but I did not find anything there that I like. What I want kse is something simple, comfortable ako and mga 1 inch lang ang heels para hindi naman ako mahirapan dahil medyo matagal ko din sya isusuot. Then nag punta naman kami sa Glorietta. Nalibot na namin halos lahat ng store pero wala akong makita na magandang wedding shoes na 1 inch lang ang takong nya. Puro mataas yung shoes na nakikita ko. Yung Otto shoes yung last store na nakita namin and luckily I was able to find my wedding shoes sa Otto. It's just a simple white shoes and match talaga sya sa mga specifications na hinahanap ko.

It was really comfortable and hindi talaga sumakit paa ko kahit maghapon ko na syang suot. And the good thing about it din is pwede ko din sya ipamasok sa office, so hindi sya sayang.


0

my everdearest tita vicky

Posted by abie on 9:42 AM
i linked my cousins blog spot sa blog ko and as i was reading yung mga posts nya, nabasa ko yung post nya about her nanay.

as i was reading it, tears started falling down my eyes. i missed my tita vicky. she died a year ago from cancer. it was the most devastating moment sa family namin. never did i imagined that something like this will happen to us. but my tita vicky was a strong person. instead of us preparing her for her death, it was she who prepared all of us and to help us accept that this is bound to happen and that she is happy.

she loves all of us so much and she has taugth us a lot of things that really make us into a better person. she's our inspiration. and we know, she will always be there to watch over us.

miss ka na namin tita. we love you.

0

Paalam, Pope John Paul II

Posted by abie on 9:21 AM
on ny way sa office, i saw a lot of banner with the following text:

PAALAM
POPE JOHN PAUL II
SALAMAT SA IYONG PAMANA....
KULTURA NG BUHAY


Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Pope John Paul II will always have a special place in my heart. I can still remember during the 10th World Youth Day that was held here in Manila from Jan 10-15, 1995. I was one of the lucky participants who were able to see the Pope real close. My group waited somewhere along Pedro Gil (I think) for the Pope's parade. We we're so lucky that we found a good spot and the vehicle carrying the Pope passed rigth in front of us so we we're able to see The Pope up close & personal.


I can still remember during his last day in Manila, noong nasa airport na sya. He was on top of the stairs ng airplane and he was waving goodbye to the crowd. And he was in tears when he said that "I don't know how, but I promise I will be back."


Thank you Pope John Paul II. We love you and we will really miss you.

0

i love weddings

Posted by abie on 8:02 AM
i love weddings & i love being part of it...

i received another great news last night....on our way home, i received a text message from jen villegas (hi jen!!)..jen is one of my batch mate sa w@w... and sabi nya she heard from milett daw that i want to coordinate a wedding and so she's asking me if i want to help sa wedding nya on april 16. i immediately said yes without even thinking kung may appointment ba ako sa 16. :)

after kse ng wedding namin, nagkakwentuhan kami ni milett and na share ko nga sa kanya na na-enjoy ko talaga yung wedding preps kaya i'm thinking of being a wedding coordinator...pero sabi ko di pa nga ako ganon ka sure coz i'm really not sure if i can really handle all the wedding stress....i'm really a hands on bride pero noong wedding namin kse, i got a lot of help from my MOH (my ever dearest cousin), my ever supportive hubby, my whole family and yung OTD coordinator that we hired. so sabi ko kay milett i will try to help my friends muna with their wedding so i can see for myself if i can really handle all the stress. and since i'm 2 months pregnant na, i still have a year to think and contemplate if i really want to be a wedding coordinator or not.

pero i really got excited sa offer ni jen. i immediately told howell about it and syempre ever supportive sya and sabi nya hahatid at susunduin na lang daw nya ako sa 16. then tinext ko agad si milett para ibalita na i will help them sa wedding ni jen. pareho kami ni milett na sobrang excited and happy. sabi nga nya "jen really made our day.

unfortunately, i won't be able to join them sa first meeting nila tomorrow sa podium. it's my mom's bday kse and we will have our family outing tomorrow. but milett promised me na she will just update me kung ano mapag usapan nila. i promised them that i will attend their next meeting. which reminds me, april 16 is next week na kaya we only have a week to prepare.

about jen. i got to talk to jen kse nag post sya ng message sa w@w and humihingi sya ng recommendations for a florist. i recommend her to my florist pido. then nag kita kami noong bridal fair sa nbc tent last september. since then, we had constant communication sa text or email. nagkita ulit kami noong w@w xmas party and we are one of the last person who left the party. kahit tapos na kse yung party, we stayed a bit longer para makapag chikahan at makapag kwentuhan. sya din yung CCX buddy ko and i send her 3 red roses and a xmas card. so mas lalo kami naging close.

i really consider jen as one of the closest friend sa w@w kaya i'm really glad that she asked me to help sa wedding nya. biro mo, i get to attend their wedding and witness one of the most important milestone in their life, while helping them make their dream wedding come true. i just hope and pray that i will be an effective wedding coordinator sa wedding ni jen. i promise that i will really give my best and i will really treat jen & jm's wedding like our own wedding.

1

happy....

Posted by abie on 4:24 PM
i just received a call from bpi informing us that our housing loan was approved. i'm so happy. now we can buy the house & lot in bulacan. nagulat nga ako kse ang laki ng appraised value ng house & lot, sobrang mura lang pala binebenta ng may ari yung lupa. ang may ari kse is yung lola ko and kailangang kailangan nila ng pera kaya mabilisan benta nila. si howell lang talaga ng desidido na bilin yun noong una kse natatakot nga ako mag loan. pero sabi ng parents ko, good buy na daw talaga yun and magandang investment naman daw ang lupa, kaya medyo na convince na din ako. pero actually di kami doon titira. ang plan ni howell is tayuan sya ng piggery (since may existing ng kulungan ng baboy don) and palaisdaan para may extra kita kami. hirap kse pag sa sahod lang ang source of income namin eh.

basta i'm just so happy that everything is really falling into place. i just hope na maging successful yung first business venture namin ni howell.

0

my 2nd visit to my OB & my ultra sound pictures

Posted by abie on 1:47 PM
last saturday, we visted again my OB. i gave my OB all the results of my laboratory exam. she asked me kse to take several lab exams (urinalysis, FBS, CBC, TVS, etc). sabi ko nga ang hirap pala mag buntis kse sobrang daming kailangang i-check. ok naman lahat ng results ko. mababa lang ang sugar level ko. yung kse yung worry ng OB kse. kse sabi ko mahilig ako kumain ng matatamis (as in, isang upuan kaya kong umubos ng isang chocolate bar). lalo na noong buntis na ako kse gusto ko lagi kumakain ng sweets para hindi ako parang naduduwal. so ok yung FBS ko. pero sabi ng OB ko may UTI daw ako. she gave me antibiotics which i have to take for 7 days, then i have to repeat yung urinalysis ko para ma check kung nag clear na yung infections.

pina ulit din nya sa akin yung TVS ko. yung last na TVS ko daw kse, 5 weeks pa lang kaya wala pang nakitang fetal pole. medyo natakot nga ako kse medyo painful yung TVS eh. pero sobrang happy namin kami after ng TVS kse nakita namin yung baby namin. tinuro sa amin ng doctor na nag ultra sound sa akin kung asan yung baby namin and pinarinig din nya sa amin yung heartbeat nya. noong una ako lang yung nasa loob ng room and noong tinuturo na nga nya sa akin yung baby ko, naisip ko bigla si howell (nag iintay lang kse sya sa akin sa labas). sabi ko sa doctor, baka pwede papasukin si howell. eh makulit at kalog yung doctor, sabi nya pwede. hindi lang daw ako nag tatanong. tuwang tuwa si howell noong nakita nya yung baby namin at narinig yung heartbeat ng bata. nagtanong pa nga sya bakit sobrang bilis daw ng heartbeat. sabi ng doctor, normal daw yun. ok nga yung doctor kse ang daming angle ang kinunan nya sa ultra sound para daw madami kaming souvenir. sabi nga nya swerte kami kse walang tao kaya nakapag laro pa kami at iba ibang angle ang kinunan nya.

below are some pictures of my ultra sound:

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yung maliit na may arrow, yun yung baby namin. and yung black part surrounding it, yun daw yung swimming pool ng baby namin...:)

here's another picture with the graph of the heart beat of the baby:

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so noong april 2, 7 weeks and 3 days old na yung baby namin. ang expected date of delivery ko is nov 16 pero according to my OB, pwede pa daw magbago yun.

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