My Wedding's Do-It-Yourself stuff

Sabi nila sobrang stressful ang wedding preparation, but not for me. I really enjoyed every minute of it! For me, as long as you know what you want, how you want it to happen, you know your budget and where to source the materials, you will never go wrong.

Yung ibang bride kasi kaya nagiging stressful is because they're listening to everybody, and sometimes, want to please everybody. Kung anong gusto ng mother niya, ng mother-in-law niya, ng mga amigas, ng barkada... kaya at the end of the the day siya ang nahihirapan. Don't get me wrong, they're suggestions and advice are important; pero you should know what you want. This is your wedding.
And when the time comes that you'll look back during your wedding preparation and the actual ceremony, you'll think of the best memories of your life... at hindi yung pagiging bride-zilla mo.

And now, looking back, super nag-enjoy ako sa pag-gawa ng mga materials for my wedding. Todo research and shopping sa Divisoria and Wellmanson's para sa mga kailangang materials. Iba talaga yung thrill na nararamdaman ko while doing them and imagining kung anong kakalabasan. Six months before my wedding, I had enough time to finish all of my do-it-yourself materials nang hindi nangangarag, in fact making them serves as my relaxation and a chance to bond with my family. I also included the links of my inspirations. Here you go!

Wedding Theme: Modern Rustic
Color scheme: Navy blue, avocado green and light gray

My Wedding Arrhae

White candle lamp bought in Divisoria
Old heart pendant for the accent
See inspiration here...

My Wedding Chord

I bought most of the materials in Wellmanson's in Quiapo, Manila. Read more...

White metal crucifix key chain- Php30

Necklace with heart pendant- Php50
Navy blue glass beads- Php40Round metalic beads- Php20'Made with Love' metal charms- P40Lace ribbon with navy blue accent (bought in Tabora, Divisoria)- Php100

See inspiration here...

My Ring Holder

Mini wooden treasure box (bought in Tabora, Divisoria)
See inspiration here...

Wedding Candles (Unity Candle)

Candles with design bought in St. Paul's in SM Manila
I added lace ribbon with navy blue accent for my theme.

Customized hangers for my entourage

Crystal and pearl stickers bought in 168 Shopping Mall at Php60
Wooden Hangers bough in Divisoria for Php12 each

 

Bridal Shoes

I put "I Do" crystal stickers for extra drama :)

Reception Signage

An old calendar frame

Wooden stand (This was made by a carpenter, you can also use easel with stand)
I asked my sister to do the layout and she and her boyfriend printed it for us. (Thanks!)

See inspiration here...

Our Wedding Tokens

Chocolate Tablea  and marshmallows with Abaca gift bags. I bought the Tablea in Mahogany market in Tagaytay City for Php 5.50 each tablet and the Abaca fiber in Divisoria for Php80 per yard.

I did the layout for the tags.

Wedding Photo booth Props

See inspiration here...

Honeymoon Fund Bottle

I found this cute idea in Pinterest!

See inspiration here...

Spy Poster

I saw this in Pinterest site. This is an awesome way to engage your family and friends throughout the event. You will be surprised to see cute and dramatic photos tagged in your facebook or instagram account!
See inspiration here...

Our Wedding Reception Seat Plan

To avoid disastrous wedding reception, it is good to have a seat plan for your guests.

Marriage Ingredients Bottles

For my modern rustic theme, I thought of adding the 12 marriage ingredients bottles as accent for the entrance table.

Sample bottle label

Reception Comfort Room Sign

I put this on top of the sink beside the mirror for our guests. The basket has powder, sanitizer, alcohol, safety pins, nail files, and wet wipes.
See inspiration here...

Token for my Bride's Maids

Small token for my bride's maids, Infinity charm bracelets for endless love.

DIY #1: Wedding Cord

Yes. Wedding accessories can be bought in any boutique and can even be included in the wedding gown package. But, I really want to do some of the "small" things by myself and add my own touch to the overall look and feel. Medyo matagal din akong naka-leave from work so I have a lot of time to do some of my do-it-yourself wedding items.

I thought of making my own version of wedding cord. And for the materials? Saan pa ba? The favorite spot of artists and fashionistas in the metro, Wellmanson shop in Quiapo, Manila.

 I bought the following materials to complete my cord:

White metal crucifix key chain- P30
Necklace with heart pendant- P50
Navy blue glass beads- P40
Round metalic beads- P20
'Made with Love' metal charms- P30-P40
Lace ribbon with navy blue accent (bought in Tabora, Divisoria)- P100

My color motif is navy blue, lime green and gray so I decided to use navy blue for my cord. I use the lace ribbon as the cord itself and sew the heart chimes as accents. Ang cute lang nung chimes kasi may 'Made With Love' na naka engrave! 

Naghanap ako ng magiging center ng cord na magdidikit sa lahat. I thought of letters and a metal ring buti na lang nakita ko yung isang fashion necklace with a heart pendant may 'love' design pa. Perfect!
At ang ganda din ng crucifix key chain! this comes with different colors pero I chose white para wedding na wedding ang dating. (yun ang unang napansin ni Ken, at nagandahan din siya.)

The heart pendant will be the center of the cord which separates two holes for the couple. I connected the ribbon with the heart pendant through small rings, yung ginagamit sa mga key chains. Then I made a tassel with the blue glass beads and round metal beads and put the metal cross at the end of the tassel.
The heart pendant connects the lace ribbons and the tassel.

 Jaraaan! My finish product! :)

Our Wedding Reception Venue

Ok. So we are getting married in Tagaytay, the wedding capital of the Philippines daw. At dahil diyan, we expect na mahal ang mga reception venues dito. Based from my research, the budget of weddings held in Tagaytay starts from 300k and up.
At heto kame magpaplano ng isang budget wedding. We accepted the challenge sa isang budget-friendly Tagaytay wedding. Woooh! Kaya yan... :D

Pangalawa sa kumakain ng budget ng kasal ay ang reception venue. At kung sa Tagaytay ka, there are a lot of choices from hotels, gardens, over looking rest house, restaurants, bed and breakfast and clubhouse.
Venues pa lang mahal na, wala pang food.

Simple hotel wedding packages ranges from 200k and can shoot up to millions depending on the number of the guests. Restaurant packages ranges from 100k-200k. Gardens and rest house rental fees ranges from 40k-80k. Venue pa lang.

Pero hindi namin personality ni Ken ang super sosyalan at kagarbohan. Nakakakilabot.
From the very beginning we are consistent that we want a small and simple wedding. That's it.

We're losing hope but God helped us again and pointed us to a different direction.

We visited Pacific Grove, an exclusive subdivision in Tagaytay. At first we were hesitant to look for a clubhouse; nasa isip ko kasi yung itsura ng clubhouse sa subdivision namin. Karima-rimarim. :)
But I was so wrong. I didn't expect to see a beautiful clubhouse. It has a big gazebo, small pool complete with suites! The atmosphere is amazing, pagpasok mo pa lang sa subdivision iba ang ambiance. Ang ganda ng mga bahay, pine trees, tahimik dahil medyo malayo siya sa main road. Nakakatuwa. This is it. Simple yet elegant. and the price? malayo sa kanilang lahat. 

We we're able to book the place for just 18k with discounted price for one room! Nagdagdag lang kame for an additional room for Ken's family. Yey!


Photos lifted from different sites: 

Pagpasok ng main gate, ito ang bubungad sayo. This is quite a short road, mukha lang malayo sa photo nag HH-WW nga lang kame ni Ken hanggang clubhouse. At the end of the street is their clubhouse.

  
But we won't use the pool side during the reception, mas maganda kasi kung lahat nasa gazebo lang. :)

Ang bait pa ni Ms. Aileen, siya ang coordinator ng venue. She's very approachable and she quickly replies to our queries. 

For me, mas ok 'to than hotels, gardens and big rest houses, unang una kasi exclusive kaya tahimik and secured plus mura pa. Well, it all depends on the couple's personality talaga and the number of your guests syempre. Hindi pwede kasi dito ang big weddings.

We booked the place for our July wedding. :)

Church - check
Reception Venue - check
Next... caterer!

Finding the Right Church

JANICE + KENDRICK

After 10 years of relationship and with God's interventions and guidance we finally decided to tie the knot. Sa wakas! Ito na 'to!

With 6 months wedding preparation, ang tanong ng halos lahat ng bride to be: Kailan? Saan? Magkano? Paano? at Paano? at Paano?...

We're both from Dasmariñas, Cavite so our choices of church are limited to those that are within the area. Pero syempre dapat: tahimik at maayos na Katolikong simbahan. 

Immaculate Concepcion Parish is newly renovated, and I can say the new facade is better.At mapapadali procedures and requirements since malapit sa amin and may contacts kame dun.
But we decided to scratch it from our list because of the environment. Dahil nasa sentro siya ng bayan, sentro din siya ng ingay ng samu't saring sasakyan, vendors, and plain curious individuals. I also witnessed one wedding there years ago, open na open talaga yung church and kahit sino pwedeng pumasok.
And the church is too big for the wedding that we want. I want a small intimate church with short isle.

 

                      Immaculate Concepcion Parish, Dasmariñas, Cavite photo from: www.skyscrapercity.com

Our second choice is the National Shrine of Our lady of La Sallete in Silang Cavite. This church is close to our hearts as it witnessed our young love grow. We went here every sunday mass when we were still in high school. At naalala ko pa nga nagdasal ako noon dito "Kung sino man ang lalakeng madadala ko dito, san siya na ang makatuluyan ko." And God is good and hears my prayers all the time. 
The environment is perfect. Very intimate, solemn, the church and the park is so beautiful. 
Unfortunately, when we inquired hindi daw sila nagkakasal. :(

                     National Shrine of Our lady of La Sallete, Silang Cavite photo from: www.inangpag-asa.com

At ito na nga, e saan na? our next choice is Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Church in Tagaytay City. We usually 
pass by this church when we go to some restaurants in the area. I researched the place through 
internet and the photos look good plus the location is very easy to find. So we visited the church.
I didn't expect that the church has very nice interior and on the day we visited there was an on-going
wedding. Sumilip ako, and I was like "Wow!" This is perfect. And we're in Tagaytay! :)
The wedding capital of the Philippines. Yes!

And we booked it right away for April 13th but then we moved it to July 13th for my Dad's arrival.
We have a church. The adventure of finding suppliers now begins!

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Church in Tagaytay City

 Photo by: pinoychurches.blogspot.com

    Photo by: www.flickriver.com

CHURCH FEE: 15,000
Inclusive of:
1. Use of Church for 1 hour for the ceremony and 30 minutes for picture taking.
2. Availability of ushers and church staff
3. Six lighted chandelier and red carpet
4. Sound system (9 microphones and CD player)
5. Five pairs of flower stands if needed.

OUR LADY OF LOURDES PARISH CHURCH REQUIREMENTS FOR MARRIAGE:

1. Birth Certificate (NSO Copy)

2. Certificate of No Record of Marriage CENOMAR (NSO Copy)

3. Baptismal Certificate

4. Confirmation Certificate

5. 5 pcs. 1x1 and 1 pc. 2x2 colored ID pictures

6. Interview- to be scheduled by the parish secretary one month before the wedding.

7. Pre-Cana Seminar (Couple is allowed to attend seminar in other parish just provide certificate of attendance)

8. Marriage Banns

9. Marriage License

8. List of Entourage

9. Review of Marriage Contract

10. Confessions

*ALL DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED MUST BE ORIGINAL.