SUPPLIERS RATINGS - for w@wies

Church - Manila Cathedral
Tel 5271796/5273093

as i said mc was not my first choice, but it was neal's. my sweetie really wanted to marry me in the grandest church =) we had no problems at all when we reserved it in may 04. thru waw we were able to find out all the
requirements para pagpunta namin dun complete na, bayad nalang kami. after reservation next appearance na namin sa mc was april 05. hehehe akala siguro nila nakalimutan na namin. bago na ang staff nila, imagine sabay nag-resign ang old staff in march. hmmm mukhang may problema ang mc...

when we were talking with the old staff before, mang domeng, he told us that if we wanted to bring in our own priest ang requirement lang was the license number of the priest. and then the week before the wedding, mc
calls both our houses making kulit that they needed the priest's certificate. and then 4 days before our wedding we went to mc to submit our last requirements. i even joked gia na sigurado ka bang wala na kaming kulang kasi di na kami makakabalik. sabi nya wala daw. of course she calls the next day to both our houses na we need daw to pay P500 for the guest priest! so i called gia and asked her kung hindi na ba kami ikakasal if we dont pay. sympre nagtataray na ako. and i had no intention of going back there no. at hindi pa natapos dun. the day before the wedding gia was asking for the phone number of my priest imagine! she was gona ask daw when ang expiry ng license. eh i gave na that detail to the other staff. talagang nakakaloka

on the day of the wedding, neal was supposed to pay before the wedding starts. sympre ang galing ng groom ko walang dalang pera =p we just paid them 2 wks after the wedding when we got our certificate.

i would still recommend this church kasi ang ganda naman talga. in my opinion we had the best pics here sa mc. the aircon was ok. sympre not that cold like ssa or st james kasi super laki ng church, but i didnt see anyone sweating kahit summer na summer ang wedding namin. neal and i also had our own electric fans sa altar kaya we were very comfy. the downside is very strict ang church at sunod sunod talga ang weddings. but we thought that was nothing compared to the beauty of the church.

Preps and Reception Venue - The Peninsula Manila
Tel 8872888

i was the one to decide where our reception venue will be, sympre ako ang bride =) i wanted an indoor reception talga cos i didnt wana think of the weather pa. at allergic sa init ang mom ko. medyo nag-react nga sya na summer ang wedding ko, pero i promised her na aircon ang church and reception ko.

my first choice was shang makati. ive had a lot of events sa shang before and i like their service and food. pero they have this 6 month policy before you book a portion of the ballroom. well i couldnt wait for that so i had to look somewhere else. next i had this idea of using le pavillon. neal works for federal land so baka may discount. pero when i computed the cost, halos ganun din lalabas cos mas expensive na ang styling. at naisip ko din na over sa laki ang place =p so pen was really our third choice. i wasnt at first looking at the place cos wala akong kakilala there and ive had a lot of friends who held their weddings there. sympre i wanted to be different. after comparing a lot of hotels, pen came out cheaper pa. their taxes are reasonable ++ lang and not +++ , and i was able to book the whole ballroom for only 200 pax guarantee. we really couldnt ask for more. added bonus pa was the beautiful lobby for photo ops.

our ae was lea alfonso and she did a good job naman. the food was very good at the food tasting. portions were huge so talgang busog kami ni neal. but i thought the main course at our wedding was not as good. yes, i tasted every bite sa wedding namin hehe. ubos ko nga ang appetizer at soup e. main course konti lang kasi nga di masarap. the dessert naman 1/4 lang ata cos we were doing na the program and the ice cream melted na.

sa service, medyo nakita ko mababagal ang waiters at may mga palpak. sa wine toasting namin, a waiter broke one of our wine glasses, at sa cake cutting naman nahulog ung cake na ilalagay sana sa plate. well ok lang naman sakin di naman masyado nakita... i really didnt make a big deal sa lahat ng nangyari sa wedding ko. the wedding cake and all the gifts were sent to our suite agad, we had no problems there. the rooms were beautiful and the suite was huge, medyo uminit lang when we were preparing. ang dami na kasing tao at sympre na blow dry kami. mahina ang aircon nila, max na daw yun. i also didnt like the pillows or the bed ba yun. basta there was something wrong i wasnt that comfy sa bed nila. mas maganda ang bed sa makati shang =)

highly recommended pa din!

Event Styling, Lights and Sounds - 1816 Flowers
Tel 09178971816

robert was our first supplier. at wala syang ka idea idea na ginagawa ko syang wedding consultant hahaha! halos everything i text him kung ok. from our cake supplier and design, gifts to sponsors and color scheme. kahit alam kong expensive sya but he is the best and alam ko love nya ako ... at love nga nya ako =) he gave us a very good price. basta all in na yun kasama draping, linens, and flowers everywhere. the pen did not provide kahit 1 stem sa reception.

when i gave him the swatches of the gowns natuwa sya. ang ganda daw ng color scheme ko. i told him i only wanted reds and pinks, violet pwede. lahat nasunod and we were so happy with the flowers. ento flowers palang pagdating sa hotel we were so impressed already. ang ganda talga ng violet tulips ni robert. my ento flowers couldve passed for bridal bouquets, ganun sya kadami at kaganda =) sympre pinakamaganda pa din ang bouquet ko. i really wanted a simple bouquet. gusto ko nga 1 kind of flower lang para malinis tingnan, and i wanted it white. pero since pinagpilitan na robert na lagyan ng lily of the valley ang bouquet ko naging pink hehe. i loved it anyway, it still looked so simple and so fragrant because of the lilies.

we loved our reception setup. hindi nga lang napuno ng draping ang ceiling as we wanted. may wedding kasi sa rigodon until 4pm that day. and they didnt make payag na mai-setup na ng 1816 ang drapings... but it still looked good at ang ganda ng lighting sa ceiling. the centerpieces were also very nice. lahat sila pink as requested. naubos lahat ng flowers after the reception, especially the tulips sympre mothers day kaya mabenta.

i also thought we had an ideal set-up. ok pala ung hindi kayo hiwalay sa guests. we were seated at the kabisera of the presidential table. so hindi halata na super involved kami sa reception. i would get neal pa nga to look for our emcee at super game naman si neal. o diba hindi halata na minsan wala akong katabi =) this was robert's idea as well as not having additional tables. ayun tamang tama nga ang tables. ang daming hindi nakapunta... ganun talga sa kasal. i think we invited over 300 (at a certain point i stopped counting already) and only 225 came. tamang tama sa 200 guarantee namin. better to add on than to pay for leftovers diba =)

pati lights and sounds walang problema. ang daming ilaw nagulat ako. at lahat ng pinag-usapan nasunod. may mga wireless mics, the bubble machine had a lot of bubbles and ganda ng sound system.

highly recommended! robert is very professional and creative. do you know that we never had a mock set up? we didnt even talk personally lahat over the phone. this guy is so busy 2 wks before my wedding nasa el nido tapos cebu naman. hindi mag-meet ang skeds namin. when neal said na ok lang na di na mag meeting natuwa ako na he trusted robert as much as i do. robert did offer to bring the mock set up to my house but i refused na. i was doing so many things and i trust him completely. ayun di ako nabigo until now my friends are saying how nice our flowers were.

Bridal and Entourage Gowns & Neal's Barong - Enan Almando
Tel 8977867/09178214183
San Antonio Village, Makati

like robert, there was no question that my cousin will be doing my gown and the whole ento. from our first meeting nakuha nya agad ang monochromatic color scheme ko. i was really nervous about my gown kasi naman hindi ako sexy pero he really assured me na maganda ang magiging outcome. i wasnt really a fan of beadwork and i wanted a champagne colored gown to match neal's pina barong and he loved the idea. nakakasawa na daw ang white bridal gown. i gave him my full trust sa gown ko besides he's the professional. ang ganda ng design nya ng gown ko. he used duchess satin at konting beadwork lang pero ang galing ng train. ito daw ang trademark nya. 2 columns ang train and the beadwork connects it. ang ganda ng outcome everyone was commenting how nice my gown was. neal's barong was a perfect fit. we decided on the traditional design since my gown's beadwork had flowers and vines. the entourage gowns were beautiful as well. i just told him na i wanted the gowns to look like formal dresses and not the traditional pang-abay. ang gaganda ng designs ni enan. although magkakaiba ng colors ang ento gowns, lahat sila may brooch. i wanted sana na no beadwork pero nilagyan pa din ni enan. hehe lumusot naman sya.

ung package nya is complete. kasama na ang bags for all the abays, pillows, veil, cord, matches, garter (na hindi ko ginamit), arrhae (na di ko din ginamit) and my beautiful hairpiece which he handmade.

super asikaso din sya on the day itself. from the hotel room, to the church hanggang sa reception he was always there to fix my gown. at nakita nyo ba ang outfit nya? kamuntik na ata ako ma-outstage hahaha! talgang designer
talga sya =)

highly recommended!

Photographer - Chito Cleofas
Tel 09193106751

although we looked at a lot of photographers works from fairs and websites, kay chito pa din kami bumalik. highly recommended by my friends at pati na dito sa waw, lalo namin sya nagustuhan when we met him kasi sobrang humble at bait. our package included 2 photogs only. pero on the day 5 silang pumasok sa room ko. 3 photogs and 2 assts. grabe na-touch ako =) walang kapagod pagod si chito and his staff to take pics. and they took great shots! for the price i really couldnt ask for more. we also decided to get our lcd from chito. i dont know what kind sya pero it was really clear. ang bilis din ng pag upload ng pics kaya kahit ang tagal namin sa reception, may napapanod ang guests.

from the cds we got, highly recommended! we're still choosing pics for the album at the moment

Videographer - Threelogy
Tel 09184422882 (Bong)

mia mangahas-galang was the one who introduced me to 3logy. at buti nalang sinama nya ako sa meeting nya at nakuha namin ang old rate nila. ang babait at patawa silang 3. kapag mas serious ka lalong magloloko sila. pero very professional sila. you dont have to tell them twice sa details. ganda ng avp namin. nagawan nila ng paraan kahit we gave them very few pics. like chito wala ding kapagod pagod.

matagal pa ang ratings dito wala pa ang final output. but from the service we got so far, highly recommended!

Hair and Make Up - Angie Cruz
Tel 09163868307

again ayaw ko magbayad ng mahal. 5k lang talga ang budget ko so when enan recommended me her friend i agreed on a trial when we had our prenups. ang galing nya and he uses the best brands. at the wedding 2 lang sila ni ogie, the hairstylist. 8 kaming girls na inayusan at natapos naman on time. they work fast and they really know their craft.

ogie did such an amazing job sa hair ko. gusto ko sana simple bun lang pero he told me na nakakatanda daw yun. so hinayaan ko nalang sya at ang ganda talga ng result. the style also set off enan's hairpiece nicely ang galing =)

super dry ang skin ko nung wedding day... grabe na talga ang stress ko. im just thankful at least hindi ako nagkasakit. angie had the right make up in hand for me. he spread a gel on my face first then liquid foundation which he appplied using a brush. basta ang galing my face was not cakey and the color of the foundation was just right. at ang favorite ko kay angie is the blush! blushing bride talga ako =) meron pa din konting peeling pero di masyado naman halata. galing ng magic ni angie.

highly recommended!

Wedding Rings - Jenny's
Tel 09176217425 (Jenny Ayala)
Beauty Central Greenhills

jenny is the sister of my sister's bf. sya din ang gumawa ng engagement ring ko. we love our rings. pulido at ang linis, makapal at mabigat. and she gave us a discount =)

highly recommended!

Invites and Misalette Covers - Unifair
Tel 2449515 (Shirley)
Binondo

was looking for an affordable supplier (as always) who can finish the invites fast. also considered qp pero expensive ang misalette covers nila. then i found out about unifair dito sa waw. maayos kausap and mabilis ang
trabaho. got the invites in 2 wks. at ang bait pa. talgang hinintay pa nila ang misalette content ko para daw sila ang mag-staple cos alam nila wala akong gamit.

highly recommended!

Cake - The Cake Station
Tel 7251419/09182851272 (Myla)
Greenhills Carpark

booked this supplier nung march lang sa nbc fair. sino pa ba ang tatanggi sa offer nila? 8k for a 4-layer fondant carrot cake. no design at all except for the satin ribbons (na ka-color ng gown ko) cos i wanted it really simple naman. walang ka problem problem sa details at delivery.

highly recommended!

Quartet - SJT Strings
Tel 09195919434 (Thess)

my sister knows both sjt strings and sentimental groove. since ayaw ni neal ng band, dun kami sa sjt. like robert, all the details were done over the phone. perfect sila sa church. sa reception everything was ok din. pero medyo may palpak dun sa song ng wedding singer ko. they werent able to rehearse kasi. she was going to sing love moves and when i fall in love. may maling note ung pianist sa love moves. sa chorus part pa kaya i heard the bad note mga 4 times ata. buti nalang bumawi sya sa second song which was done perfectly.

still highly recommended!

Bridal Car - Nissan Rent a Car
Tel 8548331

eto naman ang non-negotiable ni neal. hindi sya nagandahan sa mga benz limos so punta kami ng nissan. buti nalang we inquired early. 18k na daw sila ngayon. ganda ng service. on time ang car, ang galing ng driver and
ang ganda ganda talga ng car.

highly recommended.
neal's happiness: priceless =)

Shoes - Mang Ben Santos
Tel 09192203393

i was gona have my shoes made in solea na sana pero thanks to marge hizon from waw na-discover ko si mang ben. just texted him and we agreed to meet in megamall. brought tela from my gown fabric, sample shoes and some pics para makita nya what i wanted. 800 daw talga ang price nya but since talo sya sa gas he gave a rate of 1k. no problem, still much cheaper than solea. after a week ok na daw. so we met again in megamall and i didnt like the shoes. it wasnt as pointy as i wanted it to be. so binalik ko and the week after perfect na ang shoes. it was so comfy i hardly felt them. at nagandahan si enan pulido daw. hiningi nya pa sakin ang number ni mang ben =)

highly recommended!

Souvenirs to Principal Sponsors - Excel Frames and Decors

paid sonny at the march nbc fair. on time ang delivery at ang ganda talga ng frames. truly world class

highly recommended!

Souvenirs - cds
materials, layout and stickers - maybelle's sis and bf
burning - neal
packaging - maybelle

ganda ng layout ng bf ng sis ko. my sis bought the materials at cdr king. the cds were 8 each and cases were 5 each. super cheap at super ganda =)

priceless!

Arrhae - My Parents'

i was looking for old coins na para sa arrhae namin (tipid na naman) and then i find out that my mom was gona give us pala theirs. ang ganda nya =) theyre 1944/45 one peso coins in pure silver.

priceless!

Emcee - Cheryl Arnold

cheryl is neal's officemate. dapat co-host nya ang bf nya pero he was busy, sayang professional host pa naman. but she did a great job anyway. sympre sanay na sanay na sya, she's in pr and she used to work at the diamond
hotel. pro na pro =)

priceless!

Wedding Singer - Katrina Santos

katrina is the daughter of my good friend. ang ganda nya at ang galing pa. kahit na nagkamali ung pianist she was still in tune.

priceless!

Coordinators
Church - Sisters and some friends
Reception - Kay, Mia, Helen and Trina

i really did not want to pay for a coordinator. i used to organize corporate events so i have experience with hotels. i wanted to do things myself... selfish ako aminado ako. i had this idea of asking my friends to help me out pero i was having second thoughts cos i wanted them to enjoy and relax at my wedding. then i had this idea to ask wawies who i already met to help me out. kay said yes agad. then sina mia and helen. i told them na i only needed help sa reception. ang layo kasi ng church ko e besides may mga coordinators naman ang mc. we talked about our wedding 3 days before the day. i know so near na pero i didnt have a seatplan pa nung time na yun. they all had a lot of ideas. grabe i have the right people blessed talga kami. i told them just to handle the registration of guests pero sympre i was wrong. start palang ng program nagkamali ang emcee ko. picture taking na daw e wala pang prayer. tapos out of nowhere si kay katabi ko. ask nya pa ako kung prayer muna. so sabi ko yes. ayun na-correct ng emcee at nag prayer muna. tapos after kumanta si katrina nawala ung quartet. so andyan na naman si kay sa tabi ko at tinanong nya if we should play our cd. akala nga ni neal taga pen sya eh, he was really impressed with kay =) they did a lot more pa na di ko naman nasabi. ung guest book, the gift registration, god knows what else. we are forever grateful to you =)

priceless!