End-October Developments

Last week was yet another busy week for us, but it was ok since we had a couple of major accomplishments!


Canonical Seminar
Oct 27 - We attended the whole-day canonical seminar conducted by Mt. Carmel, and it was an ok seminar. It focused more on family planning (the natural way), but early in the seminar the facilitator discussed about the Christian family and the duties of a husband and a wife. Enrique was very attentive when it came to what my duties should be. He was really funny! Anyway, I'm glad that one big requirement was off our back.


Fittings With Veluz
Oct 23 - I had my fitting of my gown's lining, and that night I couldn't wait to see the gown itself, using the silk dupioni I ordered from Marj. Niko also made a rough sketch of how my shoe would look like, and the inspiration of the shoe design was the shoe of Marie Antoinette. We also discussed about what the design of my bag would be, and I know that it would turn out really nice. Lstly, we finalized what color my sash would be. :D

Oct 27 - WOW! I was so in love with the fabric of my gown. When I fitted the lace bolero, Veluz just told me "wow, the design suits you perfectly." I was all the more flattered when her assistant told me that she rarely liked lacy tops but this time, she was awed that the design suited me well. I hope it really does! *Cross fingers*

Enrique's Birth Certificate
The cause of our hardships... Enrique's birth certificate had an error regarding his mom's name (missing letter). Mt. Carmel rejected the certificate and told us that we should have it corrected. *Sigh* I don't want to discuss about this further for fear of being ex-communicated, but anyway, Enrique ran to different civil registries to get the necessary documents and application forms in order to try to fix this very minor error. Tomorrow he will attend a hearing on this, and hopefully things will turn out well.

Favors! Favors!
Finally! We have finalized what our souvenirs will be: marriage quotes in a box from Papemelroti! Some months ago I happened to go to this store and saw the marriage quotes. I thought of getting them as our favors, but was hesitant to get them because it didn't really match our autumn theme.


Anyway, I brought Enrique to the store, and I knew that he might like the idea of giving them as our favors. He did! I realized that instead of highlighting our theme, maybe we should just give out favors that will highlight the main celebration, Marriage. And so we finalized our order and paid 50% downpayment. We have yet to wait for the final quotation for our gifts to our sponsors, a table top marriage prayer.


House Hunting
My favorite preps! We have been scouting for a nice simple place to stay, and we are so happy that we found a temporary home in Dansalan Gardens. It's a 1 bedroom unit, and though it is in a bare state, the lay out of the unit is just lovely and very livable. The owner is also very easy to talk to. Pricey I know, but at least we are assured that it is a safe place to live in.

Funny thing was early this year we were about to purchase a 2-bedroom unit in the new tower currently being constructed, but then we decided to just have a house built next year. Anyway, we picked a unit on the 9th floor. It was really a pleasant surprise when I learned that the unit we will be renting is on the 9th floor (of the old tower) as well. It's a sign!

We have also looked at other places, but we only considered 2 places, one in Dansalan, the other one was in Wack Wack. The unit in Wack Wack is a 1-bedroom unit, and considerably bigger than the one in Dansalan. However, the major drawback was it didn't have provision for a utility area and a space to put our oven. These two were addressed by the unit in Dansalan. And so Dansalan won our hearts. Well, it did way before. :D


Whew!

Anyway, today Enrique will meet up with the unit's owner and pay the initial payment. Tomorrow we are expecting our marriage license. I'm so excited!

Busy Weekend

I was so glad that Enrique finally arrived last Thursday, but we only had a really short time to relax and all because starting Friday we went ahead and fixed some wedding paperworks!

Whew!

Friday
- Applied for marriage license in Mandaluyong City Hall. Very easy! We will get our license on 31 Oct.
- Afternoon: Attended the city hall's family planning seminar. This was fun, hehehe.
- Went to Enrique's office for his next vessel assignment (Yipee! Feb'07!)
- Duty Free Shopping!


Saturday
- Dangwa: Good thing Mang Boy was there. We showed the pics of our entourage gowns, and we were able to finalize that colors and kinds of flowers for their bouquets. We also asked Mang Boy to be the one who will do the flower arrangement for the couple's table. We just need to buy some candle holders and a lamp.
- Dapitan: Went to look for a candle supplier. Now we have two options: 1) customized pear and apple-shaped candles 2) candle holders shaped like a bouquet or bicycle/wheelbarrow. Option 1 is cheaper, but it depends if they can confirm that they can do the pear/apple shapes.
- Furniture and appliances window shopping: This was really fun! So now we are scrambling to look for a place to stay so that we can purchase these items. *Sigh*

Sunday
I ended the weekend with a long stay in the parlor to have my hair done, and was very happy with the results. Enrique, in the meantime, had some bonding time with his mother and sister. Then he picked me up at home and had a lovely dinner.

I also confirmed with Niko that I can have my back to back fittings this Tuesday and Wednesday. Now that's exciting as well.

*Sigh*

Life is really wonderful when you are with your loved one....

First Fitting of Ento Gowns w/ Tet

My entourage had their first fitting of their gowns yesterday in Tet’s shop, and I was really happy that all the gowns looked nice. In fact, the gowns turned out to be really good! I was a bit worried that the color selection I chose might not work well, but when I saw the gowns being fitted one by one, they blended really well together.

First to fit was my mom, and there were some alterations needed to be done, such as the flowing chiffon in the middle part of her gown, and also the neckline and the sides of the dress. But everything else was ok. The fitting was good as well.

Next was my maid of honor. Her gown’s red hue was really rich, and the gown was close to perfection, except that the bust part had to be loosened by a tiny bit. The back portion has a train: shantung silk and chiffon (coming from the chiffon part at the upper part).




Third were my secondary sponsors. I totally love the colors of their gowns. Again, only minor alterations were done.



Up next were my bridesmaids. When I was choosing their colors, I was a bit worried that they might look too orangey, but the outcome was really good. I especially loved the back portion of the skirt area – their trains were really formed well. They looked sexy, I must say!




Then it was the turn of Enrique’s mom. I questioned Tet first as to why the color is much different because I was expecting a brighter green (almost the same as my mom’s). But when the mom fit her gown, the color suited her well. My major concern was the sleeves, and I couldn’t help but be distracted by it. It was too butterfly-ey, I had to tell Tet to tape it a bit so that I can focus on the gown well and tell her my comments.

Last were the flower girls. Tet was really good, nothing was needed to be altered. The fitting was so exact , my cousin can actually bring it home. But of course, she might grow a bit and it might be tight on her. Well, Tet told me there’s an allowance anyway so it shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, the sash was still not finished, hehehe.




I’m really pleased with the outcome of the fittings. I’m also happy that Tet followed all our plans, and she just made some adjustments that made the gowns look even nicer. It probably helps that the gowns are really simple. The major enhancements though are needed for the mothers’ gowns. I hope things will turn out even better in the next fitting!

2 Months and What Have I Done?

Only two more months till our big day... Wow! Time flies so fast!

What have we accomplished so far?
1. Compiling of certificates needed for submission to Mt. Carmel
2. Paid the remaining balance to Fernwood
3. Paid for the gown fabric to Marj
4. Submitted the draft and specs of our invites

Our To Do's are still quite a lot, but the most immediate ones are:
1. 2nd fitting with Veluz (11 Oct)
2. Finalize draft, print invites, send them out!
3. 1st Fitting of our Entourage
4. Submit certificates to Mt. Carmel
5. Attend seminar and apply for marriage license
6. Finalize favors
7. Barong of Enrique

Speaking of favors, the honey idea is out. So I'm down to two options based on my original plans:
1. Pear candles to be custom-made
2. Strawberry wine

I have found a third option, which is the customized coasters. Oh a fourth one too! Con gave me her aunt's contact info should we opt to give out magnets as our favors. Hmmm...

*Think think think*

I really really hope that this time, Enrique's planned arrival date is final. In 9 days' time, I'm gonna be happy as a clam. :-D

Certificates and Required Validities

I am now in the process of compiling all the documents necessary to start the paperwork aspect of the wedding preps, and I couldn't quite get some requirements.

For example, I know validity dates are important, especially the Certificate of No Marriage. For the Baptismal and Confirmation Certificates, I don't really understand why, but perhaps just to make sure that on the year of your wedding, you are a Catholic.

What I don't understand is the validity requirement of birth certificate copies. I called up the Parish just to make sure I understand the document requirements, and then I learned that though they didn't state it in the guidelines, the certified true copy has to be issued on the year of the wedding.

HELLO! I'm quite sure that I have been born once, and that the certified true copy I have right now was issued in the age of technological advancement so as to ensure its accuracy and adherence to their database. I even have the real copies of all my certificates, including my original birth certificate, in all its browned paper glory. Why do they need a new one???

*Sigh*

Of course I have no choice but to get a new certificate, and it would take around a week to secure it. It's just that I'm wondering why getting married has to have these kinds of complicated and tedious procedures and documentation.

Oh well.