Ryan & I managed to fly to Manila for three weeks to work on the wedding.  And what’s good about the trip is that my MOH Beth flew with us to help carry out all the necessary arrangements for the upcoming wedding.  It felt reassuring that she came with us because at least we have an extra hand with the work, plus I have someone to consult and seek advise, especially when I have to make girly stuff decisions that men could never understand…hehehe!!

We packed a few days before travelling, and I, as my usual OC self, tried to be as armed as I can before heading home and do work on the nitty gritty stuff of the wedding preps.  I even had a checklist of things to do that I carried and double checked before stepping on board Emirates’ flight 334. 

Arriving in Manila on a rainy Friday evening made me dread the next days to come.  It meant that all my trips in the heart of the metropolis would be very challenging because of the weather.  I reckoned that traffic will be very bad, not to mention getting a parking slot will be difficult, too.  But God was good to us.  He even gave us a couple of sunny days during our sprees to Divisoria and Binondo for our supplies and invites.

During the 3-week trip, we managed to do the following:

• Meet with the couturier and have my measurements taken for the wedding gown

   

• Find a trusted and reasonably priced couturier for my entourage – had my attendants & flower girls measured, too!

   

• Finalize the invites, have them printed & the envelopes calligraphy-ed in less than two weeks time  

   

• Had a HMUT session with Eddie Bruan & booked him for the wedding  

   

• Book an events stylist, Flower Stories

   

• Purchase Unity Coins and found a simple case for them to be used during the ceremony

   

• Inspect the booked rooms at the Manila Diamond Hotel (and meet the ever wonderful Trina who extended us corporate rates!)

   

• Book our bridal car (a Studebaker, c/o Manila Diamond Hotel)

   

• Submit required documents and fully pay San Agustin (we only need to submit “Freedom to Marry” certificate of Ryan!)

   

• Fully pay the catering services for 180 pax – and the fun part, of course: FOOD TASTING!!

   

• Fully pay the cake (design to be decided & sent to Hearts & Bells)

   

• Obtain a CD of Velvet Mood (Gary Silangcruz’s group) and confirm booking through our wedding coordinator

   

• Buy my bridal shoes from Janeo (this has a separate story that I will share soon)

   

• Purchase Chamdor Wine from Louis MacLean

   

• Purchase wedding ceremony accessories such as pillows for the rings & arrhae, cord and secondary veil, which I opted not to be included in the package with the couturier

   

• Pay for the photo & video supplier and submit our pics for the AVP.  Also managed to get copies of our studio pre-nup pics taken a day before we got civilly married.

   

• Booked Paul Vincent for the pre-nup pictorial slated weeks before the big day

   

• Buy and finish decorating the 100 sandalwood fans to be used at the church (a DIY-project with hubby & MOH)

   

• Discuss the required printed materials with Ryan Aldaba (missalette cover, place cards, table names, escort cards, souvenir tags) 

   

I guess we did a good job after all since we completed everything in my list.  Every day was a busy day, but we dealt with what we had to do, and that was what’s important.  I feel much better now, and I am just currently busy dispatching the wedding invites. 

Thanks heavens for a fruitful trip!  It was worth every penny spent on it.