Missing Enrique

*Sigh*

Suddenly I missed Enrique. I read his blog entries, and I miss him all the more. I couldn't help but smile and blush especially when I read his first blog entry.

I really wish November is just one more sleep away....

Talks With Suppliers

Today I had talks with our various suppliers/prospect suppliers:

Fernwoods - Joy

She is such a sweetheart! I almost cried when she told me that somebody inquired about Venue 1 for 9th December 2006. But she assured me that I'm her priority client for the date. I told her I will go to Fernwoods this Saturday and Sunday. Whew....

Photo/Video - Archie P.

I really enjoyed chatting with Archie. We made initial plans especially how to go about the AVP. We talked about a lot of stuff, and he even commented that I had a nice picture in my ym profile -- yellowish tone effect! Don't know if he was joking, but hey, compliments are always welcome!

Gown Designer - Veluz

The ever busy Veluz! I read the posts of other w@wies and these mentioned about fittings this Saturday, so I prepared myself that I won't be able to meet with her on that day. I called her, but she wasn't able to answer. Then she called me, so I told her about my concern. She said that yes, there will be a lot of fittings this Saturday. I told her that it's ok, since my wedding will be next year. But I also told her that she better make sure that the 9th December is mine! Hehehe. So we agreed to meet up next weekend, either before 10 am or after 6 pm.

*********
Oh! before I forget... last Sunday, my family went to Greenhills, and I found this really nice candle holder (which is made of candlewax I think!) and the design fit my autumn wedding theme! It was expensive though. But maybe if I order like 100+ pcs., I would be given a discount? My Mom suggested that I give away orchids as souvenirs. Hmmm... that sounds like a wonderful idea!


Anyway, that's all for now. My main concern is our reception venue. When that is finalized, I can breathe a little easier.

I do think the wedding preps thing is taking it's toll on me... I now have a pimple on my right cheek!

Weekend Joys and Heartbreaks

Last weekend I was able to do a couple of things:
1. Talk with Veluz
2. Visited Fernwood Gardens with Arlene
3. Went to the Rockwell Tent Bridal Fair
4. Got to talk to my greatest love!


Veluz Bride to be (Friday-Saturday, 24th - 25th June 2005)

Due to the zealous prompting of Con (a fellow w@wie who was the first to introduce herself to me and invited me to the very addicting daily conference chats), I finally succumbed to the idea of getting Veluz to be my gown designer of choice. I was really excited when I first sent her a text. She told me to call after one hour because she was on her way to one of her offices (I guess). But when I called, she was busy with her clients. I tried a couple of times, but with no success. I told the situation to Con, and she called up Veluz for me! Late at night, I received a text from Veluz, apologizing due to her hectic schedule and that I should call the next day.

I called her the next day, and I would really like to thank Con for shoving me to contact Veluz! I immediately sensed a connection with her! She told me that we should meet up on the first weekend of July to discuss things and make preliminary designs.

I hope she is really the designer for me. Thank you very much Con! Mwah!!!


Fernwoods Visit (Saturday, 25th June 2005)

I was so excited that I would finally see Fernwood Gardens. Even though this place is my least priority when it comes to reception venues, I got a bit curious because I wanted to see why the venue is so expensive. Arlene offered to go with me, and the trip made it doubly fun…

As soon as I looked at the gardens, something happened…. I immediately fell in love with the place, and I really felt that this was the one venue that I wanted. Visions of our future reception flashed in my head: how we would decorate it, how perfect it was for our autumn or spring wedding (in December!), where the quintet will be positioned, etc… I told myself I would sleep on it and that this feeling would just fade. Why was I resisting? Because although this can be done, I was still conscious of our budget. I didn’t want to spend much because we also wanted to buy a house that would be ready before or immediately after our wedding. But I still had hopes that this reception idea would fit into our schedule.


Rockwell Bridal Fair & The Loft Visit (Sunday, 26th June 2005)

I was so happy when my mom and my sister decided to accompany me to the bridal fair. This was the first time that both of them would be “involved” in our wedding preparations!

But before we went to the fair itself, we checked out the Loft, one of my prospect venues for our reception. It was spacious, neat, and I pictured it would be a lovely place for us to hold our reception. Unfortunately there was no one to assist us, so we just went inside the mall to grab a bite before going to the fair.

The bridal fair turned out to be ok, most of the exhibitors were photography and video services providers. Most of our time however, was spent on talking with Alex, the president of Juan Carlo the Caterer services. We even got to meet Juan Carlo, this really business-minded, sales person, who happens to be a kid! Anyway, we discussed about the service’s terms, who were their clients, what were his recommended venues. I felt more confident that he recommended the Loft in Makati, Fernwoods in QC, and this garden in Tagaytay of which they are the exclusive caterer. But the more we talked to him (plus the photos of the venues spread out), the more my desire to hold our reception in Fernwoods… At the end of our stay, I got a copy of Metro Weddings, and claimed my raffle prize (lovebirds!).

As soon as we arrived at our home, I got my budget planner again, and plugged in more figures. My heart literally sank when I saw the final figure… too much! A little over our budget, but still… It was too much! I was sooo sad. All I could think of was how to minimize our cost and still hold our reception in Ferwnood. I cut down my target number of guests, some luxuries, etc. It went down to our budget, but still I found the sum too high… I couldn’t think straight.


Call from Enrique

Call me a crybaby, but my first reaction when I first heard Enrique and his usual conversation starter “I love you so much my Baby,” was that I cried.

Yup, I cried. He was shocked why I was crying, and I told him about the Fernwoods visit, the Bridal fair, my visit to his mom, and how depressed and pressured I was because of the reception venue scouting. I told him I wanted Fernwood to be our reception venue, but I found it too expensive and that I was embarrassed because of it. I kept on rambling that I will just cut down on costs, and that I would just contribute and shoulder some expenses. He just stopped me and said that Fernwoods is fine, I should reserve it, as well as the chapel nearby. He added that I should not fret about the budget. I told him I was really embarrassed because I wanted these things, and all he said was that what’s his is mine. I still felt uneasy, but at least I told him all that I felt. I just changed the topic and told him what transpired during my visit to his mom. He was laughing when I told him that I saw pictures of him and his ex, and how his mom laughed at me for being silly. I also told him about my visit to one of the jewelers and saw rings that looked exactly like what we are wearing, but in platinum, and how much both rings cost.

Our talk was really short, but he promised to call me the next day and that we would talk longer about our plans.


*********
I woke up today, and I still couldn’t help but think about what happened over the weekend.

I am happy that my family is slowly becoming involved in our preparations. But at the same time, I still feel sad and uneasy about the whole Fernwoods set-up. Maybe later on, when Enrique calls, we will talk about this again, and hopefully, things will be resolved and finalized. If we are the push through with Fernwoods, then I know that there is no way that I could save that much. Our second alternative is The Loft, and though we can save some money compared to the Ferwnoods deal, I am now beginning to accept that indeed, our cost will either be equivalent to our budget, or just a tad bit lower, and not the 200k savings I was striving to achieve.

Dream Bouquet!

Wow, I was so happy when people commented that my autumn-inspired motif really looks nice.

I guess I just have to rely on my instincts... I fell in love with it the first time I saw the picture. My heart raced so fast, I knew it was the right motif for us.

I do not like pastels, but I do not like dreary-looking colors as well. Too bright colors will look too spring-y, although I really wanted a Spring-inspired wedding, since our big day was supposed to be on April 2006.

My dilemma though is... will my dream bouquet fit in to my autumn motif? I love this bouquet, although I would alter it since Lily of the Valley is soooo expensive!!! Well... just in case it won't fit in to my budget. But if it does.... hehehehe.... good!


Dream bouquet: Peonies with Lily of the Valley accents!

Motif for a December Wedding

The other day, in a surprise move, my mom asked me what motif we plan for our wedding. This was a surprise, given that my mother used to be silent whenever I bring up the wedding topic.

But anyway, it made me think… what do we really want as a motif? Some of my fellow w@wies even had themes, such as fairy, midsummer’s nights, etc. I brought up this topic to Enrique, and I told him I wanted celadon for our color motif, having a spring wedding theme. He suggested blue. That isn’t really a good combination, I think.

So I browsed thru the net, and had some interesting ideas from The Knot Website. I really wanted green and red and ivory together, but I don’t know if it would be nice, especially if this combination is a little spring-y. I had to keep in mind our wedding will be in December.

After looking at a couple of table arrangements, I am now thinking of an autumn or winter wedding motif. Here’s an example of an autumn set-up.


Autumn Motif --> I love this!

I also checked for color schemes, and I was so happy to find this site, Color Schemer Website. These are my preferred color combinations (I really want the green-ivory-red combination!).


Preferred color combinations


If it’s going be a winter theme, here are my top choices. I find these colors rather dark (but rich!) though.


Autumn-Winter color combinations

Anyway, these are just my thoughts for the day. I know, it might seem too early to think about these things, but I couldn’t help but dream about our big day, and how it will turn out to be!

Second Thoughts on Church Venue

Lately I’ve been having second thoughts on whether SSJ is the right Church for us or not. For one, I chose the church because of the Shrine of Jesus incident, where I just tried inquiring and ended up being told that my date and my alternative date are fully booked already. Next, I am really having a tough time looking for our reception venue. Going all the way to Manila & Makati might not be a good idea, since 9th December is a Saturday, not to mention a busy weekend (two weeks before Christmas!).

And based on my discussion with Enrique last Sunday, I had a feeling that he just said yes to my SSJ suggestion just to shut me up and make me feel more secure that we have a Church venue. I noticed this because he told me not to go to NSSH until he arrives. I think he is still aiming for NSSH and is still trying to come up with ways so that SSA will still be an option. I think it was hard for him to admit that the SSA time schedule is not that good, and that his second choice, NSSH, should be given priority now.

Oh well. I hope November will just be around the corner. It’s so hard to plan without Enrique especially since I think he really wants to have a say on key aspects: Church, reception, theme color, sponsors & entourage. After all, it’s his wedding too.

Oasis Manila Ocular

After much complications and planning, I finally went to Oasis Manila for their formal opening last Sunday. My friend Cat went with me, and I also met up with Arlene. It was a rather small place, much smaller than what I have expected...

Here are my observations:
1. The pavilion's size is just right for 200 people.
2. The fountain in front of the entrance is really nice!
3. The Luminaries are very beautiful.
4. The rest rooms (I only got to see the ladies' room though) was well designed and very clean.
5. Clean sorroundings.
6. Ample parking space.
7. Rather quiet, given that the place is right smack in the middle of the city (along Aurora Blvd., you can even see the flyovers and all...)

However, I feel so sad because though the place is just right since our Church venue is in Sanctuario de San Jose (Greenhills), I think we will look for another place...

THE PAVILION IS NOT AIR-CONDITIONED!

I knew this beforehand, but I thought that since the place is not air-conditioned, there probably was reason why it wasn't, e.g. the place is vast and that it is naturally breezy. My contact also told me there are a lot of fans and cooling mist sprays. But when I went there, I immediately felt uncomfortable because it was rather warm.

And I'm sure Enrique will frown about this, because he prefers that both Church and Reception venues should be air-conditioned. Except of course if we opt to hold our EVP Day in Tagaytay.

Arlene, a fellow w@wie agreed to accompany me to Fernwoods, just to check the place out and see if it will be the right place for both Enrique and my tastes...



Cat, Van, and Arlene --> Pic courtesy of Arlene

Enrique Says: Persia

Goodbye Europe, goodbye cold weather, goodbye walks in the park, bye shopping, bye gorgeous, lovely fashion gals. Joke joke joke. Hello! Oil rich region, yes! Persian Gulf.

I missed Europe. In my past 3 ships it’s been mostly around the continent and I began to love its 4 seasons. Playing in the snow, cold and windy day and oh, summer of course. It’s really nice, you get to see lots of people in the street wearing only their skimpy, head turner dresses. Concert at the park while having a beer on hand ooh dear, wish we’re still there.

Do you think I’m enjoying my stay here?

1. What the hell! Mercury is rising to 40-50’C and it could be worse in due time, hey it’s not even summer yet. It’s so hot that even if you just stand you’ll sweat a lot. Sand storm ooh… gee. Visibility is Zero.

2. Iran or Persia, whatever you want to call it, is bounded in the north by the Caspian sea, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east, while in the south, gulf of Oman and the whole Persian Gulf and the whole west region, the home of the world famous, former dictator facing trial on charges of murdering and torturing thousands of his own people, Saddam Hussein. Yes, Iraq! You could still see the remains of the two-decade war, shattered buildings. Oil rigs and wrecked ships on both ashore and on the sea still a float but burned and broken to pieces by missiles.

3. The worst part, NO COMMUNICATION! Mobile GSM phone is unusable. I hate it! I miss sms, I really want to start and end the day of my Vanessa with my ever sincere, honestly, truly, madly, crazy I love you. Ever since we got to know each other, even if half of the world is between us, I always find a way to say my MAHAL NA MAHAL NA MAHAL KITA. Still, I won’t break my promise that I will always do my very best to find ways to hear her lovely angelic voice which makes my day complete talagang tanggal pagod at hirap ko every time I talk to my baby. I begged for the agent and even the pilot to use their phone even if the cost of a minute call is higher than a gallon of oil in the region, I don’t care as long as I know that Vanessa’s ok. Ang pinakamamahal ko.


Isn’t it scary? Indeed, but knowing that my wife to be is waiting for me… Lahat kakayanin ko!

Question Game from Arlene

While blog-hopping, I got curious about the blog post of Arlene, a fellow w@wie, on the 5-Question Game. I immediately asked her to Interview Me (part of the mechanics), and so she gave me five questions that I needed to answer.


1. What ice cream flavor best describes your current disposition?

My favorite... Strawberry cheesecake flavor! Connotes sweetness with a little sourness to break the monotony. Plus pinkish-reddish for me is a color of love (I think!).


2. If you were to be reincarnated, who/what would you want to be and why?

I would still be a person just like myself, and I hope Enrique will be reincarnated just like himself, so we can continue our love even after this lifetime. Maybe in our past lives, we wished the same... *Sigh*


3. What are your most favorite things to do?

Spending the day and dreaming with Enrique, shopping, listening to music, appreciating nature, going to a spa…


4. Which part of your body are you most vain about?

Skin! I have bad skin, save for facial skin. I am so into facial skincare products!


5. Would you like a baby girl or a baby boy for your first child?

Tough one…. Girl perhaps? I don’t really know! A boy is fine too! A child is always a great blessing!


Here are The Official Interview Game Rules
1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying “interview me
2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person’s will be different.
3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

If you don’t have a blog, I will still ask you 5 unique questions and you can post your answers here.

Yet More Pics!

More of my favorite pics...


Sunny Day!


Looking for Van's Shades in H&M


Look at the Teletub Tummy!


Sunset...

Reminiscing: Swimming in Tagaytay!

Enrique sent me this picture, and *sigh* I remember those days when we just go to Tagaytay to take a break and relax. I wish it's November already...


Swimming in Tagaytay! (02.12.2005)

Happy Again!

The past few days I've been rather depressed because I miss my Enrique so much. I hardly had sleep, worrying too much about the fact that Enrik is somewhere in iran and there is no way to contact him save for old school way of communication: waiting for someone to sign-on/off. again

But now I'm happy again, because I received, read, and uploaded the blog entries and recent pictures of Enrique. I read his letters and blog entries over and over again, and I can't believe he is such a sentimental and romantic teddy bear! Well, better than a cold-hearted aloof husband-to-be right?

Every now and then I couldn't help but look at the mirror, and check myself out... I love the lapiz lazuli necklace he gave me! I have always wanted to have one, but I couldn't afford it. So I was really surprised and excited when Enrique told me he bought one for me...

Now I miss him all the more when I look at his pictures. Here are some of my favorites:


Atop the highest part of the ship!


One Big Bite!


Serious Daw!


Time out from work...

Mr. & Mrs. Pineda

I watched Mr. & Mrs. Smith with my friend last Saturday... it was fun! The story was about a couple having secret lives, and though they were madly in love with each other, there clearly were trust issues. The lesson was very timeless: trust, honesty, openness, and respect are key ingredients to a blissful(!) marriage.

As we stepped out of the moviehouse, I couldn't help but wonder if and when Enrique and I have major fights, would we be like Angelina and Brad, complete with kickboxing and all, plus a major kiss and make-up session after? My friend told me that we wouldn't be that aggressive towards one another, laughing as I mentioned to her my initial thoughts.

But going back to the lessons learned...

First, sometimes couples do tend to take for granted the love they have, to the point that they feel that working on the romance is no longer a requisite, thus donning the "too-corny-since-we're-married-anyway attitude." But I believe that this mad, passionate romance should be ever-present between the couple. In fact a have heard of the saying, plus a forwarded email explaining it, that goes: "Anything less than mad love is a waste of time."

Second, regarding trust, honesty, openness, respect. I had a major argument about this with Enrik, and although we have resolved it after I lost my voice, we agreed to uphold two sayings:

1. If one doesn't want to know, don't tell. But if one wants to know, DO tell. (Of course, the person asking should be prepared once they choose to know).

2. If one can keep small secrets from the other, then that person can keep bigger secrets...


So, shall we become Mr. & Mrs. Pineda, ala Mr. & Mrs. Smith post courtship, pre-counselling help? We hope not, and we pray to God to give us the grace to remember the values for a wonderful marriage/relationship/whatever you call it.

Can't Keep a Secret! (PART II)

I thought it was only Enrique who can't keep a secret whenever he plans to surprise me... I can't as well!

While looking around at Changi Airport, I came across this travel pouch that contained men's skincare products, and though his birthday is two months away, I immediately thought of buying one (and other products) for Enrique.

When he called me, I just blurted it out! Oh well... At least he said he was thinking of asking me to buy for him those stuff because of the "harsh" weather in Iran...



Will Enrik look like this after?

More Trials Ahead

I almost cried in Changi Airport when I learned that Enrique's trade route will solely be in Iran, and that Globe (Prepaid) doesn't have network coverage there. A local sim cost about US$ 1,200 and calls are US$ 5 / minute. This means it is likely that we will not be able to communicate until November, save for the old school method of sending letters whenever a crew signs on/off.

He was only able to contact me when he begged his agents to lend him a phone, and agreed that he will pay the pricey phone call.

I don't know if I can handle this, but I surely will try. There are times when I think that maybe this is not the kind of (married) life I would want to be in, but in the end all I can think of is I LOVE ENRIQUE. I can still feel the shockwaves, but I know that Enrique will find all means in order for us to keep in touch, even for just a short while.

Song for our 11th Monthsary

Here's a song a fellow w@wie (Mark) posted.

This is exactly how I feel right now, given that tomorrow is our 11th monthsary and our 1st anniversary is drawing near...

Labis na naiinip, nayayamot sa bawat saglit
Kapag naalala ka, wala naman akong magawa

Umuwi ka na baby
Di na ako sanay nang wala ka
Mahirap ang mag-isa
At sa gabi hinahanap-hanap kita

Hanggang kailan ako
Maghihintay na makasama kang
Muli sa buhay kong
Puno ng paghihirap
At tanging ikaw lang ang pumapawi sa mga luha
At naglalagay ng ngiti sa mga labi

‘Di mapigilang mag-isip
Na baka sa tagal mahulog ang loob mo sa iba
Nakakabalisa
Naku Lord wag naman sana

Umuwi ka na baby
Di na ako sanay ng wala ka
Mahirap ang mag-isa
At sa gabi hinahanap-hanap kita

Hanggang kailan ako
Maghihintay na makasama ka
Muli sa buhay kong
Puno ng paghihirap
At tanging ikaw lang
ang pumapawi sa mga luha
At naglalagay ng ngiti sa mga labi

Umuwi ka na baby

Recent Splurges

I feel so guilty about my most recent splurges.

I know I promised Enrique that I will save and all, but I just couldn’t help but purchase items that I really fancy. Last night I bought a new pair of shoes, the one that I have reserved for the longest time and finally arrived in the store. I felt guilty because I told Enrique that I just wanted to buy some beauty products and budgeted 2k only. I ended up spending double the agreed price! And I still intend to buy the DuWop Lip Venom and Inner Glow by Skin (or Nars Orgasm blush).

Plus over the weekend I bought this perfume I’ve been dying to buy years ago but never did. And that bottle cost me a lot as well.

Of course I have to tell Enrique about my purchases. Most likely he will laugh and say “just enjoy yourself.” But of course, I still feel guilty because while he saves so much for our future, I get a little selfish and buy things.

Oh well. Maybe I can just justify my purchases as:

A. Pre-wedding Preparations
1. Shoes – to be used when meeting suppliers and doing errands
2. Beauty Stuff – to look the part of a bride to be!

B. Wedding essentials
1. Annick Goutal Au d’ Hadrien – will be used during wedding itself (I really intend this!)


My perfume!


Are my justifications valid? I hope so!

Enriques's Thoughts: A Letter

I love you so very much. Hope u like my surprise. I bravely looked hard for it and kahit super init, para lang sa’yo. Mahal na mahal kita Vanessa.

Take care always my Wife.

We are arriving at Fujairah early tomorrow morning. I'm doing this while I am on duty, hehehe. I put the vessel on auto pilot and set an alarm to warn me pag may ship. I'm putting all the pictures and all sa cd so I can give this along with my gift to the off-signer.

Tomorrow it's our one year since I first contacted you and sent an sms. Dapat ganito yun eh... "Hi! I want you to know that you look gorgeous and lovely during the seminar. You really got my full attention and I wanna kiss kilikili na talap talap." Hehehehe!

The day I first saw you, I saw heaven in your eyes. I knew then that we both need each other kaya I told my self na I’ll do everything for you, coz I don’t wanna see you sad anymore. Not today, Not tomorrow… Not ever. I love you so very much...

Your Husband,

ENRIQUE

Enrique's Thoughts (Songs for Our Wedding Day)

Ikaw
Ngayon at Kailanman
Kailangan Kita
So It's You
You
I Will Be Here
All My Life
For All of My Life
Minsan Lang Kitang Iibigin
From This Moment On
You’ll Be Safe Here
Valentine
The Promise
Ikaw Ang lahat Sa Akin
This I Promise You
Everyday I Love You
The Gift
Forevermore
You’re My Everything
You Are My Song


There's so much more, but it will be nice kung mag kasama tayo pili ng songs natin. For now yan pa lang. Ikaw din isip ka na ng mga songs. Chocolate kaya? Hahaha. I love you so very much.

Enrique's Thoughts (A Poem for Vanessa)

You are such a blessing in my life
It’s good to have you by my side,
When the world turns its back on me.

You are the sweetest moment in my life
You’re the dream that comes alive
Everyday you make me so happy.

You are such an angel in my life
You’re my heaven day and night

In my life you are the melody
Thoughts of you, make me hear a symphony

In my life you are my song
With you around I’ll always be strong
You give meaning to my life
You keep bringing love, hope, and happiness
In my life.



Livorno, Italy.

Can't Keep a Secret!

Sometimes I really find Enrique too cute to be true. He can hardly keep it a secret whenever he plans to give or buys something for me!

Yesterday I sent him a text message asking him if I'm the only one he loves (duh, as if I didn't know the answer!) and that he doesn't think of so-and-so anymore. Then his reply was: "Of course you're the only one I love. Imagine you're the only one I bought etc...." I had a feeling that his gifts were supposedly a surprise for me. Then I got a second text from him and it read: "There, I told you already, it was supposed to be a secret! Now you know..."

Hahaha! I knew it! I noticed this about him the first time he attempted to surprise me. It was during Valentine's day and we agreed to meet up in the mall. I didn't know that he went there a couple of minutes earlier to buy me a simple present. He placed it in the passenger's seat so that when I open the door, that would be the first thing I would see.

30 minutes after we met, he just blurted that he has something for me and told me everything! He was shaking his head, regretting that he told me that soon and said sorry but he was excited as well!

*Sigh* That's my Enrique!

Downpayment to SSJ and Reception updates

Last Thursday, I took a day off, and together with my sister, went to Sanctuario de San Jose to pay our downpayment, as well as to check out the Church itself. It was quite a lovely Church. A little formal, but at least not too cluttery and there were few statues.

The aisle is pretty long, so I think there should be considerable time allotted for the march and all. Aircons are in place, and over-all I like this Church.

Anyway, we went to the office, and Ella, the person who explained to me further details, was really nice and patient with my questions. She even gave me a few sample missalettes to help me make ours.

The memorable and meaningful part however was when I was filling up the reservation form. I felt really nervous filling it up, especially Enrique's details. I had to ask him some of the entries, and it made me realize that there was really so much more about him that I should know. All went well anyway, and so I updated Enrique about the whole affair. He just said that he's embarassed because I was the one preparing and doing the work, when it fact it should've been him. I just told him that it's ok and that both of us should do our part.


"Pineda-Santiago" gave me goosebumps... This dream is becoming a reality!

Regarding other venues for our wedding rites, we decided to exclude Sanctuario de San Antonio from our list of options, since we found the schedule too early. It's too bad because that was our number 1 choice, but I guess, like what other w@wies told me, I shouldn't fret because the church for us will be unfolded as time comes.

As for the reception, we are opening our doors to hotels. Initially we wanted either function halls or gardens, but then we now think that to hold our reception in a hotel should be an option. The reason why I didn't suggest hotels is because it is more expensive than receptions in gardens or function halls. Now we're thinking either Intercon, Manila Peninsula, or Edsa Shangri-La as possible venues.

Anyway, that's all for now. There is so much time to do other preparations, but at least we can breathe a little easier since we already have a Church where we will be wed...

Enrique's Thoughts (Part II)

They say that LOVE blossoms in the most unlikely of places and time. Indeed it does.

Some say that destiny decides who you meet in life, but for me, it's only your heart that can decide who gets to stay in your life. And now that I have my Vanessa, I won’t ever let her go! I am very much in love and when you are in love and you know it, you should go for it. Once you find your true love, you should do whatever to be with that person forever.


We are so much in love! That when we are together we are unable to curb our affection, talagang walang pakialam. Yes, we have bits of arguments - everybody does anyway - but we see to it that before the day ends, everything will be ok. Mahal na mahal na mahal ko si Vanessa.

Just thinking of our wedding day makes my heart beat faster. No one knows what will happen on that day but for sure it’s gonna be full of emotions, a simple but glamorous and meaningful one. You bet on it!

Arabian Sea. 03/06