i’m alive! (an update of the last two weeks in one loooong kwento)

it’s been more than two weeks since i last posted.... been so busy with the coordination business.... i’m really enjoying this. i know it’s not-save-the-world kind of job but it gives me an opportunity to do something which i know i’m good at (hahaha! ang yabang!)

we’ve been in business for two weeks (our business officially started when i unsubscribed from w@w and announced) and we have quite a lot of inquiries. ang babaw pero ako natutuwa na when people, especially w@wies, inquire kasi i think that means they trust us up to some level. a few have also booked us and i am as excited with their weddings as i am with the wedding of really close friends. as much as possible, i really try to develop a personal relationship with them since i don’t to be just another supplier and i don’t want them be to just another client to us. :)

so far, even if, in effect, i am preparing for five weddings (in our team, each wedding is assigned a lead coordinator and as a lead coordinator, you are really the one on top of all the preps), i am really happy. it is a hard job, keeping up with all things-to-do’s and stuff but it is fun. at the same time, i also realized, just the other day, after a client meeting, that i am really taking this seriously, as in hindi lang siya another fun thing to do na pwedeng pagkakitaan while i’m not doing anything meaningful right now. ang galing!

...

i went to obando last monday to interview for my thesis. i was able to interview four mothers. my thesis, for those who don’t know, is about parenting beliefs of mothers on childrearing, and as such, my questions focused mostly on what they believe to be the right way to bring up a child. i was so surprised when during the course of the interviews, i have realized (and of course, i will include this in my discussion) that although low-income parents believe the same things middle-income parents believe, they do that for a whole different reason. for example, middle-income parents believe that education is important. when asked why, they would reason that education would enable the child to be self-sufficient and would equip him or her with the right skills for the future. low-income parents, on the other hand, while also believing that education is important, reason that if their kids are not educated, people would talk about their kids and this would reflect badly on them (the parents themselves); “tatanungin ng mga tao kung sino ang mga magulang niyang batang yan at syempre nakakahiya”. nakakagulat. i am excited na nga other differences pa. i hope i get to find high-SES parents na so i can complete the analysis.

...

my obando trip made me realize again how hard life is for some. although all of them live in concrete houses (so hindi naman barong-barong), their houses are only twice the size of our area rug here at home. the mothers talked of financial difficulty, of their husbands not having jobs, of selling the catch from the fishponds early in the morning so their kids can have baon for school, etc. no, i do not blame god in this instance (siguro kasi since hindi bata yung kausap ko, mag hindi naantig ang damdamin ko), but i blame the government for their plight. naniniwala ako na hindi dapat pinapayagan ng gobyerno na mabuhay sa ganung sitwasyon ang mga mamamayan. pero naiintindihan ko rin na mahirap kasi talaga ang buhay at hindi rin naman maaayos ng mga kahit na matitinong pulitiko ang sitwasyon natin sa loob ng isang linggo. haaay! ang hirap talaga.

...

on a happier note, it’s my honey’s birthday on sunday. he’s turning 28! and for his birthday gift, i am throwing him a surprise party tomorrow night at my parents' place! sobra na akong excited for this! kaya rin naman sobra akong busy kasi inaayos ko nga ito. things are basically set na. just need to buy the ingredients later and to order some stuff like the chairs and kung anbu-ano pa (i ordered a keg of beer from san miguel. nakakatuwa kasi sobrang hassle free talaga.) i was supposed to have an international menu: puttanesca, garden salad, chicken lollipop, and yung other things na babagay pa dun. but then i decided to have shabu-shabu. actually my mom decided that we'll have that kasi masarap. my mom's really into this surprise din. hehe! (thanks, ma! love you!) so nung una okay pa, sabi ko carry na yun kahit hindi partner yung shabu-shabu sa ibang dish. but when i talked naman to jojie's dad, sabi naman niya magdadala raw siya ng lechon. nye! eh di talagang ang layo na, so when i consulted my mom, we decided to have pinoy foods na lang. so our new menu is the shabu-shabu (for the gulay and the soup), menudo , inihaw na bangus, pininyahang manok, lechon, pandan rice, and pandan lychee for desert. i wanted to make oreo cheesecake kaya lang wala akong springform pan. okay lang sana kung kami lang ang kakain, kahit na ordinaryong baking pan lang but because ise-serve, kelangan talaga springform pan. oh well! so bili na lang ako. mas madali pa, mas mura pa. hehe!

i'm really excited. i can't believe i lasted this long without accidentally telling him. i started planning for this august but then because of the gastos of my thesis, akala ko hindi kakayanin ng budget ko pero kinaya ko (well, partly because my mom offered to help me out... bait ng mommy ko!). so now, we're going to have a dinner for jojie's closest family and friends tomorrow night. mga 30 people yung invited. really excited! kakatuwa pa kasi sobrang game family and friends ni jojie. as in super cooperative. galing-galing!

will update you how the surprise bday party turns out.

on being a w@wie and signing off

posted this in w@w before i signed out. :)

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we booked our church and reception in november / december 2003, more than one year before our target wedding date. although naka-book na kami, mejo surreal pa for me the whole thing. parang hindi pa totoo na ikakasal na kami! hahaha! isa pa, we were also waiting for the babang luksa (first death aniversary) of bernard's mom kaya parang hindi rin kami maka-plan talaga (talagang pinilit ko lang si bernard na magpa-book na ng church at reception. sabi ko sa kanya pag hindi ko nakuha yung date na gusto ko, hindi na kami papakasal! hehe!).

nakakatuwa yung thought na ikakasal na pero nakaka-frustrate pala wala kang kasama na nagpla-plan. i was the first one to get married among all my friends. ako rin ang unang ikakasal sa pamilya. although all my friends were happy for me, busy sila sa mga buhay nila at alam kong kahit na natutuwa pa sila para sa akin, weno ngayon naman sa kanila na ikakasal na ako no?

then i chanced upon the Bridal Pages and the Wedding Primer at National Bookstore. although hindi pa rin february nun, i bought the books. at least, sabi ko sa sarili ko, pangkasal yun dito sa pilipinas, unlike the millions of bridal magazines na for sale na imported naman at hindi naman applicable sa atin.

may mga ads ang w@w dun sa mga books (syempre, duh!). sabi "we're more than a website, we're a community." nung una sobra pa akong cynical. i thought to myself "achuuu! totoo kaya ito?" then seeing the pictures of the w@wies and the quotes from those who already got married, i was enticed to join. hinanap ko talaga ang w@w sa yahoogroups and i "enrolled". a coupel of days after, i was a certified w@wie!

nakaka-overwhelm ang mga emails! sobrang dami! tapos hindi mo pa kakilala yung mga tao syempre. pero nakakatuwa talaga. at last! there was this group of people who seemed to relate to how i felt and who understood why i wanted to tear my hair out over mundane wed preps stuff!

nung una, hesitant pa ako mag-post. kaka-intimidate kasi!!! but after my first query (i asked for quotations on beaches) at ang daming sumagot, okay na ako. wow! helpful pala talaga yung community (hehe! naki-feeling part of the community na rin!)

and that started my life as a w@wie. since i only had a part-time job, talagang kinareer ko yung w@w at ang wedding planning. pinagtatawanan ako ng dad ko kasi everyday pagkagising ko, i'll check and read na my emails. yun na lang ang gagawin ko buong araw. hahaha!

i volunteered for the w@w5ive para makakuha ng maraming-maraming prenups. syempre pagkatapos nun, volunteer pa uli to segregate naman the pictures. sabi ng tatay ko, hindi na raw ako nagsawa sa kakatingin ng mga litrato ng mga ikakasal. at pati ba naman raw kasal ng may kasal, pinakikialaman ko! hahaha!

bernard was also cynical, at first. but when i explained the concept of w@w and i made him read supplier ratings, na-appreciate niya talaga yung pwede tulong ng w@w sa couples.

our wedding preps went fairly smoothly. there was a time i was contemplating na to go back to fulltime work but bernard and i agreed na sa dami ng DIY namin, hindi namin kakayanin ang pareho kaming may 8 to 5 job on top of the wedding preps (haha! halata bang wedding preps ang priority?).

not being a believer of online romances, i was pleasantly surprised to realize that friendships can really spring online (so na-realize ko rin na totoo rin yung romances). ang dami kong naging friends from w@w. since wala akong friends na makwentuhan about my wedding, buti na lang anjan yung w@wie friends ko na 24/7 ready to listen to my wedpreps concerns.

an advantage of having w@wie friends is that you have people who will back you up on your kabaliwan na ideas which your fiance will never approve of under normal circumstances. hahaha! naalala ko before pag meron akong gustong gawin sa wedding namin na mejo out of the ordinary at sasabihin ko kay bernard, ang tagal na usapan nun. pero once na sinabi ko na "eh, hon, --- is also doing it" or "but, honey, --- thinks it's a great idea." then okay na sa kanya, pwede ko nang gawin. pag may binanggit na akong w@wie friend, mare-realize niya nang pang-normal na tao naman pala yung idea ko at hindi lang pang-baliw na tulad ko! hahaha!

in the end, even bernard was proud of calling ourselves w@wies. i make him kwento about the juicy stuff here in w@w and if you mention a suppplier na sikat, he can make comments na. hehe!!

come wedding day, although there were glitches, our wedding was perfect for us. we were able to achieve the wedding of our dreams. lalo na ako, nakuha ko talaga yung gusto kong wedding (well, expcept for the palpak na projector supplier, that is). ang galing!

and we know that our wedding would not have been the way that it was if it were not for w@w. and for this, we are eternally grateful to you guys. really, thank you very, very, very much. *hugs*

and since every good thing must come to an end, i need to sign off now. around april, i told benz that i was enjoying planning my wedding so much that i wanted to be an events coordinator. she told me that i should wait until after my wedding to see if i'd still like it by then and to see what coordinating really entails. those were wise words so i heeded them. after my wedding, i helped coordinate a couple of friends' weddings to see what coordinating does entail. and being a really OC person, i really find planning and all that delving into the little details very enjoyable (hahaha! nerd ang dating ko!).

galing sa kaibuturan ng aming mga puso, maraming salamat sa lahat-lahat.

:)

clarice and bernard avinante :)

Kwento Ratings

these are the the libre suppliers that i got kasi either hindi sila professional suppliers or friends ko sila. hehe!

Makeup: Kat Manalo - Very highly recommended

i think i posted about kat several times na. she's been my friend since grade school and after college, she worked as a writer. nagulat when she told me one day that she quit her job to be a MUA. wooh! who quits a good paying job to be a makeup artist? but syempre full support ako kahit na hindi pa ako aware before na gusto niya pala talaga mag-makeup. at ang galing kasi she's really good at what she does now. she does makeup for fashion shows, for celebrity shoots, etc. she's presently the beauty and fashion editor of good housekeeping. she also appears regularly (weekely ata) in unang hirit dun sa segment nila about fashion. she's been interviewed a couple of times by MTV asia.

when i had my trial makeup with her, nung una, takot pa ako kasi hindi niya pa naman ako name-make-up-an ever. but after our session, natuwa talaga ako kasi ang ganda nung makeup ko. kahit na yung prenup photgrapher ko that time (carlo villongco) praised my makeup. tapos ang ganda lumabas nung prenup pictures ko.

come wedding day, i just told her na basta bridal look (hindi bridal look yung trial ko sa kanya. pang-pictorial shoot). ang gandang lumabas at ang ganda ko sa pictures! hahaha! sobra talaga akong happy. :)


Singers: Denden Atanacio (92 AD soloist) - Very highly recommended

Denden was my classmate in a couple of classes. I also worked with him before in a couple of cases in the clinic where we both used to work.Magaling siya talagang kumanta. as in. as part of 92 AD (which is this really good singing group), he is asked to sing for ABS CBN palagi.

when i first invited him to my wedding (ang alam ko pa aalis siya papuntang states ng december so malabo na makapunta sya), tinanong nya ako kung kakanta raw siya. sobra talaga akong natuwa. nahihiya kasi ako na pakantahin siya tas siya pa ang nag-offer!

a few months before my wedding, we talked again about schedules. sobra daming singing engagements ng 92 AD for dec 18. alam ko mahihirapan siya sa sched pero sabi ko siya lang ang makakanta ng bridal march ko. tinanong niya ako kung ano yun. and when i said "The Prayer ung march ko sana", natawa lang siya. sabi niya, siya nga lang! hahaha!

on the day of our wedding, denden came to just sing. pagkatapos niiyang kumanta, alis na siya agad para humabol sa group nila. ang ganda-ganda-ganda raw ng pagkanta niya. hindi napansin ng mga tao na live yung pagkanta at hindi CD. sobrang natuwa talaga si bernard (see wedding kwento). since i unconsciously blocked the music in my mind, i went to our photographer to watch the raw video and hear him sing. ang galing talaga! kahit nung pinapanood ko, nag-isip pa ako kung siya nga yun or CD.


Singer: Abie Co - Very highly recommended

Naku! hindi na ako magkukuwento. basta ang galing ni abie (hehe! magkukuwento rin pala!) first heard abie sing during the w@w5ive. sobrang nakakatawa yun kasi among the volunteers, kami lang ni abie ang walang kasamang h2bs kaya sabi namin magsamama na lang muna kaming dalawa (hapon pa darating ang mga mga partners, just in time for the photo shoot). sabi ni benz yung mga volunteers raw na walang gagawin muna, baka gustong mag-attend ng mass. syempre dun kami ni abie. nagtanong si benz kung sino raw catholic. sabay na naman kami ni abie nagtaas ng kamay. in short, kami po ang naging readers. and as readers, we got to sit in the altar na naka-electric fan at kasama ang pari! hehe!

pag part ng songs, napansin ko, aba! eh mas magaling pang kumanta si abie kaysa sa singer ng sentimental groove (ay! hehe! no offense meant to the sentimental groove singer ha!).

as months passed, naging close na kami ni abie at syempre, as good friends are expected to do, siya pa nag-offer na kumanta sa kasal ko. syempre tuwang-tuwa ako! :)

ang galing ni abie kumanta. palpak lang yung organist nung church kasi ayaw sa kanyang pakantahin yung ibang songs. pero ang galing-galing pa rin. :)


Coordinators: Rhodora, Teenee, and Diosa

pinanindigan ko yung hindi ako kukuha ng coordinator. since sobrang hands-on bride naman ako, parang hindi ko naman kelangan, sabi ko. but as the day drew nearer, na-realize ko na sa sobrang OC ko, baka hindi ko kayanin at baka mag-coordinate ako sa mismong wedding ko! hahaha! ang hirap kasi since ang dami naming DIY stuff at kung anu-anong arte and of course, i wanted to make sure na magde-deliver yung suppliers ko so i needed people na magmo-monitor sa kanila at sisiguraduhin na okay talaga yung flow ng wedding. i have responsible, dependable friends pero since hindi naman sila into weddings, hindi pa rin pwede. buti na lang at nag-offer tumulong ang aming w@wie friends na sobrang hulog talaga ng langit. at least sa kanila pwede kong ipagkatiwala yung kasal ko kasi alam ko they are as meticulous and as detail oriented as i am. (pag coordinator dapat sobrang detail oriented talaga eh.)

nauna sila sa lahat ng suppliers ko. they coordinated with my emcees and my ento. ang galing kasi sobra talaga nilang naka-jive yung mga kaibigan ko kaya enjoy yung wedding preps.

ang ayos ng ceremony namin because of them. maayos yung march. naka-setup yung gallery. nasunod yung mga little details na ibinilin ko sa kanila. ang ganda pa ng recessional namin. ang ayos ayos. talagang nakaka-excite lumabas ng simabahan kasi kita namin lahat ng friends namin na nakapila.

our reception went smoothly. kahit na bigla nag-iba yung layout ng tables, nagawan nila ng paraan and they were able to make good, logical decisions regarding the changes. they even went to my parents' home after para i-deliver yung gifts.

basta, sobra talaga akong thankful sa kanila. thanks, mga sis!


Emcees: Kat Guarin and Eric Asuncion

sobrang funny sila! friends ko sila from assumption. grabe yung patawa nila kasi sobrang spontaneous. what they did was, instead of making fun of us or of the audience, they made fun of themselves na sobrang okay talaga yung dating. hahaha!

kahit si edu cortez of little dreams complimented my emcees. ang galing raw nila!



as you can see, our wedding would not have been possible without the help and support of our friends. sobra talagang laki ng utang na loob namin sa mga kaibigan namin. without them, baka hindi naman kinaya. :)