Supplier spotlight: Cupcakes by Sonja

Four.

I have inquired with four different bakers to find the one who'd not only be able to create the wedding cake I want but also at a price that wasn't too unrealistic.  I also kept shifting wedding cake ideas from cupcake towers to tiered cakes to a cake buffet.  Price, design, and taste all played a role on how difficult it was for us to find the one (final wedding cake design as well as the wedding cake supplier).

Of all the suppliers on our list, only Cupcakes by Sonja met our requirements.  Though it certainly didn't hurt that I was a fan of her cupcakes from way back to 2008 (so taste-wise, we already know what we're getting).  Her dessert creations is so much part of our relationship that I could remember two instances (on top of countless dates that ended with a cupcake or began with a cupcake) wherein Mr. J bought me (our favorite) Pistachio Berries n Cream just to make me happy: one time was after we had a semi-big fight; another time was when I was so pissed off because I had to work on a weekend (at around midnight, at that).  It was only natural that Cupcakes by Sonja would be a part of our wedding, too.

Some of the cupcake flavors that would be present at our wedding (from the Cupcakes by Sonja website):

Pistachio Berries n Cream

Vanilla Sunshine

Red Velvet

Chocolate Surprise

Chocolate Overload

Corresponding with the company was easy and Mitch (who was the one coordinating with me) would often answer my queries within a day or two.  Mr. J and I also met with Ms. Sonja Ocampo (the owner) and am delighted to report that she's so down to earth and easy to transact with.  In the end, we not only decided to have them do our wedding cake (we got such a good price for a 5-tiered vintage fairy tale inspired cake) but also got individual cupcakes (with customized design) as wedding favors as well as mini-cupcakes that would be added to our dessert buffet (note to self: need to ask Bizu to provide extra plating for this).

Wedding cake: check!  We're definitely more than half-way to finding wedding suppliers for July 14, 2012.  So excited!

Supplier spotlight: Bizu

I could let go of having Bizu do the whole reception dinner.  BUT.  I will not pass up the opportunity to have a valid excuse to have a Bizu dessert spread. 

Ever since I had a taste of their macarons, I was hooked.  Then I had a taste of their French cakes, I was beyond hooked.  We would sometimes go to Greenbelt (upon my insistence, of course) just so I could satisfy my Bizu craving.  We spent numerous dates at their restaurant in Greenbelt 2, I would sometimes prepare snacks for Mr. J using the ciabatta or focaccia bread I'd buy from their Glorietta 4 branch (on my way home), and on countless times, we would order for take-out either a cake (oh Nirvana!) or a macaron (pistachio!) or both!  Given this, it is only fitting that we have Bizu desserts for our wedding reception dinner.

Source: Bizu Patisserie

It was easy dealing with Kaye, our AE from Bizu.  I made the reservation last March on a wedding expo Mr. J and I attended.  We didn't really need a food tasting anymore but I was pleasantly surprised that it's part of the package to help us choose the pastries for the buffet spread (you can select 8-10 types from cakes to truffles).  Seriously, who can resist free dessert especially when it's this many:

My camera phone and limited photography skills does not do justice how cute (not to mention, delish!) these little desserts were.  

The amount per head depends on the number of guests you'll have.  As usual, the more guests you want to feed, the lesser the price (of the per head) will be.  A few more inclusions of our package:

- Set-up of buffet table complete with food labels
- Floral centerpieces
- Buffet attendant
- Professional chefs for plating and design of desserts
- Refrigerated delivery

A few more tidbits:

We paid Php5,000 to reserve our date and also got a 10% discount for making the booking at a bridal fair.  After the food tasting, we paid 50% since we had finalized the dessert selection already.  The remaining balance would be paid upon delivery.

Happy Mondays #3

I'm still on the hunt for our wedding cake (or cupcake tower!).  Not helping my indecisiveness is when you have the option to have something like this: a too-gorgeous-to-eat cupcake.  AJRFCZQC37NA

 Source: The Cupcake Studio

Supplier spotlight: K. by Cunanan

I previously blogged about enjoying the food tasting we had with K. by Cunanan catering company.  And true to what I said, we just waited for a bridal fair (it was last February as well) to make a reservation (TIP: you get a freebie if you book them during bridal fairs).

So why did we choose them as our caterer?

1)  Food was yummy.

 

Source: Fried Spinach Ravioli (love this!) from Bridal Book

Source: Honey Nut Prawns (i.super.love.this) from i.heart.vanilla.bean

Honestly, we were only choosing between K. by Cunanan and Bizu.  The other catering companies I know had mixed reviews about them (food and service) and we were willing to spend more cash if it means that we would get delicious food and great service.  Anyhoo,  I've always enjoyed the food served at Bizu but Mr. J wanted another option.  I told him of the raves I've been hearing about KbyC and he agreed for me to set a food tasting with them.  I found it cute that after the food tasting, he was already telling me to make sure of certain dishes to be included in the menu.  That was my sign that we have indeed found our caterer.

2)  So far, service has been great.  Our AE, Kar, responds to queries well and fast (sometimes just within a day, at times a week or two, which I don't mind at all).

3)  They got style.

Source: Bridal Fair setup from KbyCunanan

I have not seen a wedding that they decorated that I did not like (which is saying something since most of the time I don't really go for the minimalist look).  However, the package we're getting doesn't include flowers since we wanted them to be able to focus on the food preparations.  But, we're still using some decorations from them and Kar has been generous in providing for decor ideas as well.  Besides, this way, it feels like we're getting two stylists (K. by Cunanan and Jing Tanada) instead of just one.  I sure don't mind getting all the help I can get for our dream wedding.

4)  Price is just right.  We're getting a cocktail hour (with proper cocktail food rather than some-variety-of-nuts being served), almost complete dinner menu (appetizer, salad, soup, 4 dishes + lechon minus desserts) and unlimited iced tea (and no, it's not your typical Lipton iced tea flavor) all for a per head cost that's perfect for our budget.  Had we gone with Bizu, we probably would have spent a little more.  Had we gone for the more commercialized catering groups, we probably would have saved money but then again, we probably would be serving nuts only during cocktails.  Now that, I cannot let happen.

5)  I also like that they're quite flexible to requests.  For example, we're getting a ratatouille dip for the bread platter.  Now, if you're familiar with their menu, you'd know that this sauce is not included for the bread selection dips (it's for another dish served during cocktail).  However, because Mr. J and I are fond of tomato-based dips even for bread, Kar, was the one who suggested this.  We initially wanted for the marinara sauce but she suggested for the ratatouille instead to avoid redundancy since we're already serving the marinara for the fried spinach ravioli during the cocktail hour.

I love eating and K. by Cunanan is one of the many reasons why I can't wait for our wedding day.  Marrying Mr. J tops that list. =)

Food tasting with K. by Cunanan

Mr. J and I (along with a friend) went to a food tasting last Tuesday.  It was my first and probably last food tasting I'll ever attend.  No, it's not because I did not enjoy the experience;  on the contrary, the food and attention the AE (Kar Reyes) gave us was so superb that we are only waiting for an upcoming bridal fair so that we can pay the reservation fee and officially check the caterer off our wedding checklist.

The caterer we inquired (and had food tasting) with is K. by Cunanan.  Their rates aren't cheap but still very reasonable.  Besides, they're still not as expensive as the original caterer I had in mind (Bizu).  Most importantly, the food was just beyond yummy.  And I know it sounds like I'm exaggerating but trust me, I'm not.  See, I'm no fish eater and yet they managed to get me to eat a fish dish (one that we'll be serving as part of our reception menu as well).  Mr. J is no veggie eater and yet, surprisingly, he finished the squash soup that was served (as in, all of it).  Now, that's such a statement of how the great the soup must've been.  After all, he has very little want to eat vegetables (in solid or liquid form) that if we were to order spring rolls, he'd diligently slice it open and take out the vegetables that he doesn't eat.

Weee!  I'm so happy that little by little, we're managing to book the suppliers that we want.  Next stop: Videographer... or florist.  I haven't decided on this yet.

PS.  Here's the list of dishes that was served to us (I, unfortunately, was too lazy and hungry to take pictures):

1) Spinach and feta fried ravioli with marinara sauce - Love, love, love it!  As early as now, Mr. J is already telling me to make sure that come our wedding day, we'd have this for take-out.
2) Hoisin chicken wraps - Love it!
3) BBQ chicken salad - Love it!
4) Squash soup - A dish that I had qualms about but turned out to be something I'd enjoy too.
5) Honey nut prawns - In the words of Rachel Ray "Yum-o!"  I swear, I was tempted to ask if we could have the remaining two shrimps for take-out. =P
6) Grilled snapper with mango salsa and coconut cream - It's fish and I enjoyed it.  'Nuff said.
7) Pepper-seared steak with mashed potatoes - Yummy!  Will definitely make it part of our wedding menu.
8) Carrot rice - Good but not as mind-blowing good as I thought it would be considering the raves I've read.
9) Apple crumble with vanilla ice cream -Enjoyed it but I think I'd like to try some of the other desserts just to check if there's something better.
10) Mango panna cotta - Enjoyed it but not as much that I'd want it served in our wedding.
11) Raspberry iced tea - Not too sweet and very refreshing.

THE dinner

July 17, 2010 - Saturday.

 

To say that I was nervous about this day would be a gross understatement.  After Mr. J and I got engaged exactly one week before July 17, we already discussed that we need to have THE dinner with both set of parents - pronto.  For all the 9 years (and counting) that we have been together, our parents have never met each other thus the need for this dinner.  In Filipino tradition, we call THE dinner by another name.. pamamanhikan. 

 

Had we stuck with tradition, this dinner would be done on our house with Mr. J’s family coming over with them bringing a gift (usually, food).  Had we stuck with tradition, the number of guests could easily have matched that of a family reunion because sometimes both families would like to have the whole family join the pamamanhikan.  When I say whole family that would mean to include the relatives as well.  Had we stuck with tradition, I probably would have been sent to the emergency room due to stress-induced gastritis attach (haha).  Thankfully, Mr. J and I have the same mindset when it comes to our wedding: we will make our own rules.

 

Rule #1 –  Create our own tradition. (highly recommended to do as this is very liberating)

 

And so on the night we got engaged, we already agreed that the next weekend (July 17) would be THE dinner.  For a few days, we looked for a restaurant where the ambience would be laid-back and the food would be impeccable.  In the posh Greenbelt 5 mall, we found our answer: Zuni.  We chose a restaurant since we wanted a neutral ground to hold the “event” and also because we only wanted to have the dinner with parents only.  Mr. J has 5 other siblings and I have 3 and I wasn’t too comfortable with the idea of that many people socializing all at once when I was already nervous (stressed enough) with the idea of our parents’ meeting.  My parents are very different from his parents and I was stressed (with many very imaginative scenarios playing in my mind of how this meeting will be) at how this might be awkward or <insert worst case scenario>. 

 

Thankfully, it was anticlimactic.  There were a lot of long conversations (but some awkward silence in between, but hey, at least they were talking).  They didn’t really bother Mr. J and me with any wedding detail since they said we were old enough to decide on our own and we’d be the ones paying anyway.  I got to eat really yummy food (roasted tenderloin and coffee crunch soufflé) and got to see the Louis Vuitton’s Trunks & Toys Exhibition (at Greenbelt 5, Manila from July 15 - August 5, 2010).  All in all, I’d say it was a pretty good day.

 

Phew!  Thank God it’s over.  Now, I can start stressing about the actual wedding.  *grins*