April 2011 Updates

Two weekends ago was very productive for our wedding preparations.  Last April 2, Mr. J had an advance birthday celebration on a restaurant with his family (me attending was a special request of his).  Together with his siblings (5), parents, some Titas, a Tito, and two Lolas, it was future-relatives-in-law overload for me.  See, I'm not big on family gatherings, mine or otherwise.  They've always made me feel uncomfortable because I always felt that you had to act a certain way around certain people --- family dynamics, politics --- whatever it's called, all I know is that it's not something I ever look forward to.  Anyway, I'm happy to report that I survived that evening quite nicely (thank you Lord!).  Hopefully, come wedding day, I'll be doing more than just surviving.  =P

The next day, which was a Sunday, we headed to the Manila Peninsula Hotel to check out the bridal fair "Wedding at the Peninsula 2011: Celebrating 35 Years of Elegant Weddings & Traditions".

Actually, our primary purpose was to meet with Jing Tañada (who was joining her first bridal fair) and discuss the quotation that she sent me (it was higher than our budget).  With regards to the wedding exhibit, though there weren't a lot of suppliers to choose from, I'd definitely recommend this bridal fair to anyone planning an event or if you just happen to like all things pretty.  The staff of Manila Pen was very accommodating even beyond the registration booth, there wasn't a lot of people which is a nice change from all the very crowded wedding fairs we've visited in the past, there's free food tasting and cocktails (we didn't bother with this one since we already had a venue to begin with), and best of all, the exhibitors were the best of the best in their respective industries (the like of Jason Magbanua and Bob Nicolas for wedding videography, The Write Impressions for invitations, Baicapture for photobooth, etc).  The only not-so-happy experience (for a second or two) I got while we were there would be when I found out that JMag is already taken for our wedding date.  Though I was surprised that he's booked already (that's 1 year and roughly 4 months before our wedding date) for a month that's not really considered a peak date for weddings, I'm more surprised that I wasn't affected as I though I would.  Luckily for us, Bob Nicolas (who's video in the tribute event for Jason Magbanua is one of the videos or perhaps the only video Mr. J liked) was also participating in the fair.  Bob wasn't around but his wife, Lette, was and so we setup a meeting for the following Tuesday (Mr. J's actual birthday).

The next day, we went to Bizu's Greenbelt 2 branch to have our scheduled food tasting (we had to choose the selection of desserts we'll be having for the reception).  Then on Mr. J's birthday, I cooked him lunch.  This is a very big deal to me since if I had to rate my cooking skills, I'd give it an average and that's just me being generous in grading my self.  LOL!  After lunch, we went to SM Megamall to meet with Bob and his wife.  Hopefully, I won't be lazy again and will be able to blog regarding our meeting with our official florist (yes, we did book Ms. Jing already after the Manila Pen discussion), dessert tasting at Bizu (it was pure heaven!), and talking with Bob and his wife (it didn't even last more than 15 minutes).