Blogging backlog

hmmm. with almost a full year of preps behind me, there's still so much to write about. what would you like to read about next?

• the flowers
• the paperwork
• more about the music
• the wedding dress pegs
• the pre-nup pictorial (or lack thereof)
• the first entourage fitting
• doing most of the wedding preps alone (since marlon works abroad)
• choosing a printer
• choosing the date
• choosing a church
• why we did not have an indian wedding
  

i sure know what i'd like to read on this blog. a word from the groom! *hint hint*

after this weekend's to-dos are over, i'll probably blog about the canonical interview, the reception venue, the second entourage fitting and my first and second fittings with kate. stay tuned!

Songs for the wedding

something i thought would be really easy is starting to drive me nuts. i can't decide on the wedding repertoire!

marlon was happy to leave music-related decisions to me (except for our first dance song, which we are being indecisive about as a tandem) by virtue of my eight years of singing in a choir. twelve if you count my church choir days -- egad that's effectively half my life! anyway, that factor seems to have become a liability rather than an asset. eight years' worth of songs to choose from! and that's just for the ceremony!

i am definitely sure i want songs encompassing my choral "career" from beginning to end -- from high school in the st. andrews' church choir, to my trainee days in the glee club, to competing in europe, then to moving on to acs. i am also sure i want acs to learn new songs -- none of the generic/recycled repertoire that's default choral fare for weddings and that we can sing in our sleep (i am happy to report they agree with me 100%!). and i am also sure i want nothing that screams bongga, just songs that have beautiful lyrics and moving melodies.

so far, i've chosen two songs that are definite yeses for the ceremony. they both have beautiful words, so i thought i'd post their lyrics here.

the song: open thou mine eyes by john rutter

to be sung during: communion

the story: i first heard this song in 2000, when the glee club won an international competition in marktoberdorf, germany. we were doing a joint concert with a finnish choir called audite helsinki. (one of their guest singers at the time is still a good friend to this day.) they sang this with so much heart that i instantly fell in love.

i've always wanted to learn it, and while i can't on my wedding day, at least i can compel my friends to! i really love how it's simple and moving, like an old-fashioned hymn.

the words:

Open thou mine eyes and I shall see
Incline my heart and I shall desire
Order my steps and I shall walk
In the ways of thy commandments.

O Lord God, be thou to me a God
And beside thee let there be none else
None other, nought else with thee.

Vouchsafe to me to worship thee and serve thee
According to thy commandments
In truth of spirit, in reverence of body
In blessing of lips, in private and public.

Open thou mine eyes and I shall see
Incline my heart and I shall desire
Order my steps and I shall walk
In the ways of thy commandments.

the song: this marriage by eric whitacre

to be sung during: hmmm. i don't know yet. basta it MUST be sung!

the story: i also discovered whitacre during that competition in marktoberdorf in 2001. one of our competitors (ah, i mean, isa sa mga tinalo namin haha), the portland state university choir, sang whitacre's water night, a poem by octavio paz set to music. it was gorgeous. utterly gorgeous. i remember listening to it over and over again months later, and i still listen to it sometimes, six years later.

water night did not work so well with acs, so we took up other lovely whitacre pieces such as i thank you god for most this amazing day (words by e.e. cummings) -- which i would have liked acs to sing at my wedding. i thank you god is just too long, though, so i started googling whitacre songs that might be appropriate for a wedding. i hit on this song, and when i saw that the lyrics were by the sufi poet rumi, whose works i love... bingo!

the words:

May these vows and this marriage be blessed.
May it be sweet milk, like wine and halvah (a sweet dessert).
May this marriage offer fruit and shade like the date palm.
May this marriage be full of laughter,
Our every day a day in paradise.
May this marriage be a sign of compassion,
A seal of happiness, here and hereafter.
May this marriage have a fair face and a good name,
An omen as welcomes the moon in a clear blue sky.
I am out of words to describe how spirit mingles in this marriage.

AAAAAAARGGGGGH

less than three full months to go! and still so much to do!

marlon's flying in for the weekend. gone (for now) are the days of our lazy mall-hopping, canoodling and snacking. here's what our weekend is looking like.

friday

• download music options for avps
• choose music for avps
• choose prayers and readings
• finish laying out misalette (in preparation for our meeting with fr. nebres on tuesday)
• second fitting of gown lining at kate's
• withdraw money for wedding rings
• get marlon's ring size
• get wedding rings at glorietta
• finalize departure time with kaye (for ocular inspection of balay on saturday)
• get marlon's approval on invitations mock-up
• pay deposit to printer for invitations

saturday

• canonical interview with monsignor alberto buongaling at canyon woods (good luck!)
• get marriage banns from the bishop
• ocular inspection of balay indang with kaye
• figure out where to put directional tarps leading to balay
• figure out floor plan
• relax... or catch up with all the things we didn't do the day before

sunday

• head back to manila
• have lunch at tita pearlie and tito carlos's house in merville (if time)
• pick up therese for entourage fitting
• entourage fitting at tria's
• get ID pictures taken
• check that all requirements are complete for our marriage license application on monday

monday

• apply for marriage license at qc city hall in the morning
• find some place nearby to have lunch while waiting
• attend family planning seminar at city hall in the afternoon
• inspect marlon's custom-woven barong fabric at angelo's barong on kamuning
• (hopefully, crossing fingers big-time here) finalize names for the invitations

i had a mini-meltdown two weeks ago when i updated our wedding plans on excel (a brilliant template courtesy of super-oc tria). actually, to marlon, it probably was anything but mini. but he got the magnitude of my overwhelmed-ness a few days later when i sent him the excel sheet. (i also think he was overwhelmed by the fact that i actually put all so much information together on excel, considering how allergic i am to it.)

then he said, "i'm glad all this is in your able hands, sweetie."

half-jokingly, of course.

i think.

The K chronicles

considering that she is the supplier i am the most deliriously happy about (kate and tria a very close second), i am surprised i haven't blogged about my caterer, kaye cunanan, yet. an atenean who's just a couple of batches above mine, kaye runs k by cunanan, a hip-ified update of her family's decades-old catering business.

then i figured it out. i've written so many blissful rhapsodies about kaye on the weddings@work yahoogroup that i don't feel the need to write about her here! so i went and dug up all my kaye-related letters to various w@w brides and am reposting bits and pieces here. you'll get to see what a great start we got off to, just what it is i love about her, and sneak peeks of our menu.

(marlon? more than convinced. he keeps bugging me to ask kaye for a second taste test!)

--

Hey Celina!

Side kwento lang, how I discovered Kaye was when my fiance and I checked out Balay for the first time. Sila yung caterer sa wedding that was ongoing at that time. Marge of Balay said, o yan kunin n'yo, I've been observing them, ok yung setup nila at maayos silang magtrabaho. So I googled Kaye after and now I'm so glad I did.

Deepa

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Hey Trina,

I'm a K bride and would definitely recommend her. In terms of freebies, it's hard to say really, until you sit down with Kaye and tell her what you really want. During our first meeting, I literally threw my wish list at her, haha. At in fairness ang dami kong gusto na binigay niya for free. 3-layer cake by Judy Uson (although I'm considering an upgrade now), cocktails (hot choco and coffee with cookies), setups for both dinner and cocktail areas, wish cards and jar, luminaries etc.

For me mas naging sulit siya kasi ang dami kong kalandian na gusto sa place cards, wish cards and table numbers -- she just said sure, give me your desired fonts/layout and I'll print and assemble those for you.

Your budget of P700/head is definitely workable. Dami mo nang makukuha niya. Ako nga, my budget was P700/head. Laking gulat ko na lang nung final quotation sa akin ni Kaye, with all the requests we made, was just P530/head.

The key with Kaye is to tell her your wants and budget right off the bat. And prepare to be amazed :-)

Deepa

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Hi guys!

Omigosh I am so happy with K by Cunanan too! My fiance and I had our food tasting with Kaye just the other day (without having chosen a menu yet), and we were pleasantly surprised. Not just surprised actually, floored is more like it. Meeting Kaye just made me so much more excited about how our wedding day will turn out. Share ko lang my experience with her.

First of all, the food was great and beautifully presented. I'm not a fan of red meat, but she served this tenderloin pepper-crusted steak that even I had to say should be a must-have on our menu. (My carnivorous fiance was only too happy to agree.)

Second, I love how she asked for our budget and listened to our ideas first instead of just handing me a prepared package or menu. That will really help us stick to the budget. Given the budget and our inputs, saka siya gagawa ng customized menu. Can't wait to see that :-)

Third, and most important for me, ang gaganda ng kanyang mga setups. Kakaiba yung level of customization. When she showed me photos, they all looked so different from each other, full of personality talaga.

Nung tinanong ko, "So are those setups upgrades or kasama na yan sa basic catering service mo?" and she answered, "Ah that's included sa basic, no added fee yun" muntik na akong maluha sa tuwa, haha. I am officially crossing off "event stylist" from my supplier shortlist (and budget!) kasi sa ganda ng setups ni Kaye, I can see na hindi na kailangan. (Yay tipid!)

She took notes on all my ideas for the reception setup, asked for my pegs and set schedules na for the ocular, floor plan presentation, and table setting mockup. The control freak in me was fainting from happiness. OC brides will love her. Marami ring personal touches sa setups niya that kikay brides will love.

Deepa

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Hi Charisse,

I booked Kaye without having a taste test first. We basically just showed up and let her serve stuff that she wanted to serve. We actually didn't end up getting any of the stuff she served us, but we were suitably impressed by the quality of the food.

Before she proposed anything to us, we told her we had a lot of Indian and vegetarian guests; we wanted hot chocolate and kapeng barako; and that we generally like Mediterranean food and lemon- and chocolate-based desserts. The dishes she came up with for our menu were just that. Ayan tuloy ang saya-saya namin sa menu.

Deepa

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Ey Rhona,

Kaye quoted me P530/head for the following: cocktails of spanish hot chocolate, batangas kapeng barako, assorted cookies; dinner of assorted bread, 1 soup, 1 salad, 4 main dishes (we chose beef, chicken, fish and pasta), steamed rice and carrot rice, dinner rolls, raspberry or vanilla iced tea, brewed coffee and tarragon tea, and 3 desserts.

Deepa

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all photos from kaye's pbase account.

Work in progress

my seatmate cecil is designing the wedding invitations right this very minute! i can't help but roll my chair over to her mac and watch her at work every now and then. the design is turning out beautifully, and much more personalized than we originally intended.

from this peg...

to this...

it's actually beginning to look more like this...

and uses images of some of our most memorable places, like this (paris, engagement 2006):

this (mumbai, anniversary 2007)

and this! (hong kong, anniversary 2005)

can't wait to see the finished invites!

Have a seat

more for our travel-themed wedding: luggage tag place cards! so glad kaye agreed to print these for me for free! sulit talaga siya.

photos from style me pretty (thanks for the link, z!) and martha stewart weddings (i think).

A piece of cake?

one of the very first things marlon and i decided on almost a year ago, way back when we started planning, was to have a travel-themed wedding.

and one of the cutest travel-themed wedding details that i saw while scouring for ideas was this wedding cake by cake artist judy uson – a stack of suitcases (and a very rounded bride and groom) made out of fondant icing. marlon liked the idea too.

it’s perfect! i crowed to myself as i picked up the phone and dialed judy. like all too many wedding thingamajigs, the cake was perfect but the price definitely not so. for at least 15 g’s, these sugar suitcases might as well have been wheelie bags – they rolled way, way out of our budget immediately... forever.

or so i thought.

fast forward to june, when we sat down to meet our heaven-sent caterer, kaye cunanan (who deserves a separate post). as we discussed the cake, which kaye would throw in for free, she mentioned that her cake supplier was none other than judy uson! pretty soon, kaye was penciling in “luggage cake” into her neat leather binder as visions of our beautiful luggage cake – for free! – swirled in my head.

over the months, i fantasized more about a wedding cake than can possibly be considered healthy.

what would we put on top? an artist’s palette or a pair of glasses for marlon? sheets of music or a pair of high heels for me?

kaye’s email in september brought an unexpected dilemma. and i quote: “judy uson’s luggage cake is rrrrrealllly expensive.” for a single-layer, all-edible, 14x14x5.5-inch cake, we’d have to add P6,800 to the total catering cost! sweetheart that kaye is, she offered to transport the cake for us so that we wouldn’t have to pay judy’s P3,500 out of town charge.

kaye also sent me the cake designs that judy could provide for free. they’re fine, i guess, but nothing that really knocks my socks off – or does anything for the travel theme.

so the question is: do we splurge on the suitcase, or go with one of the freebies?

i don’t quite know where i am on it. i mean, it’s six grand we didn’t intend to spend. for something that’s going to be cut into pieces and eaten within hours of its delivery. (i was this way about flowers, too.) on the other hand, other couples have easily dropped twice, even thrice as much dough (pardon the pun) on taller, fancier cakes that are actually four parts styrofoam to one part cake!

sigh. and it’s luggage! perfect for our theme!

if deciding could only be a piece of cake. :-P

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all photos from judy uson's website.