How to have fun at your own wedding. Duh.
Panahon na naman ng pag-ibig, at nang pag-yanig ng mga hotels at motels nationwide! Happy Valentine’s Day to all! At dahil araw ng mga puso, nais kong ibahagi sa inyo ang aking munting kwentong nag-simula sa “I crush you” at nahanto sa kasalan.
More than 2 years ago, when people asked me about Arch, I answered, “He’s my ABCD — Ang Bagong Constant Date.” I was totally clueless that we’d leap from Exclusively Dating to Engaged! So when he popped the question last June 8, 2013, I was crying uncontrollably, and then asked him back, “TAYO NA?!”
I think he was pressured to propose when I uploaded this photo in Facebook:
Kaya ‘yun, natuloy na nga ang kasal noong February 2, 2014! Ito ang naging peg ko:
Introducing SIR CHIPS and MAYA-MAYA…
Now that I am married, I feel like an expert in wedding planning. Kaya walang kokontra… I want to share some practical tips to those who wish to get married. WISH lang naman eh —“Libre ang Mangarap.” Well, it worked for me! I didn’t just have a dream wedding, but the man of my dreams. Yiheeeeeeee!
1. For E-sessions, a.k.a. Pre-Nuptial Shoots, mas-SWEET pag-hindi CHEESY!
2. Feel free to create your own WEDDING BRANDING.
I felt the need to have a specific logo for the event, maybe because I’m in the Marketing field wherein we just love “logolizing” everything — brand, product claims, price advantage, etc. Basically, everything that is “stamp-able” and can fit in the packaging!
Our logo was inspired by our favorite show, “How I Met Your Mother”. This symbolizes how 2 distinct individuals found their way to each other:
A Mountaineer falls for an Architect, Nature meets the City, kinda churvah, blah-blah-blah:
3. Walang template ang INVITATION.
Pero sana kasama pa rin ang wedding date, time and venue.
We wanted our invitation to be somewhat re-usable. Hence (humence?!), we created ours like a Children’s book, à la Dr. Seuss, so we can eventually read it to our kids.
I won’t be surprised if I see our invitation in a Book Sale.
5. Hindi naman required na ang bride lang ang bida sa BRIDAL SHOWER.
For my Bridal Shower, I requested my friends to wear their own wedding gowns, and they all complied (kung maka-“ALL” naman, parang ang daming friends eh)!
6. Pwedeng gawing literal ang “MAID of Honor”.
I chose my Yaya as my Maid of Honor. She took care of me since I was born! Hindi na siya nakapag-asawa dahil sa pag-alaga sa aming magkakapatid. Sabi nga niya, dapat OLD MAID of Honor na raw.
7. Your suppliers may not have the same VISION as what you had in MIND.
When we briefed the Jeweller, it seemed like a perfect idea — wedding rings that “link” with the engagement ring. TA DAH!!!! Altogether, it looked like a Venus Fly Trap.
Pick up from your mistakes, and then try again. This time, be more specific with what you want.
Hindi ko matanggap na magsusuot ako ng Venus Fly Trap sa buong buhay ko. So, I went back to the Jeweller and told him that these are the designs I want:
By the power of Greyskull, nasunod naman.
8. Revolutionize and integrate.
I wanted to incorporate my wedding vows in the bridal bouquet. Introducing the very first Bridal VOW-quet (my vows are in the tiny envelope):
9. Beauty Rest is OVERRATED.
Hindi mo na kailangan ng rest, kung sagana ka na sa _ _ _ _ _ _.
(Answer: SLEEPs)
Celebrate your day from start to finish! Tapos kumuha ka nalang ng magaling na make-up artist para matakpan ang eyebags (Mine was Cherry Pacheco. Sa sobrang galing niya, hindi halatang 2:30AM na ako nakatulog, at 6:00AM gumising!)
10. Proper grooming is not just the groom’s role. Exercise and spruce up.
Bride’s Preparation #1: Stretching
Bride’s Preparation #2: Removal of Facial Hair
Groom’s Preparation: Come to think of it… NOTHING! The Best Man almost did everything for him (feeling Bruce Almighty siya!)
11. Give a gift to your groom, while you’re at it, make sure he doesn’t run away too.
12. If you can’t decide on the motif’s color combination, just choose rainbow. ROYGBIV is guaranteed to blend well.
Multi-color Glitters on Ring Finger, Clutch Bag and Shoes:
Wedding Gown (Jot Losa is the best Couturier! He was able to capture my concept — colourful but not tacky. I didn’t want to look like a BOYOYONG Clown.)
15. Hiring an expensive bridal car is unnecessary. There’s no harm in using your own.
It would even be better if you can drive it. Of course, as long as your gown is not too bulky that it blocks the brakes. There’s major harm in that.
16. Sweat the small stuff but stay chillaxed (para walang actual sweat).
Little details about the wedding made me smile before, during, and after the wedding. Fine, I was smiling all throughout! Bakit ba!
CEREMONY
Pearl, my 27-year-old Cabbage Patch doll, as a pseudo-Flower Girl:
Zach and Zach as Coin and Ring Securities (groom’s nephew and bride’s nephew respectively):
Offertory Candles (which I bought 2 days before the wedding):
Lighters for Candle Secondary Sponsors (to symbolize that we’re a PERFECT MATCH):
Pen for Marriage Contract-Signing (it was too cute when the Principal Sponsors used this pen):
RECEPTION
Uo2 Architects’ Blueprints folded into birds for the ceiling (c/o Origami Philippines):
17. Savor every minute of your wedding day.
Time is the only thing you can savor on your wedding day; you’ll be too busy to eat.
Enjoy your grand entrance! Mine was à la “How I Met Your Mother” with the legendary yellow umbrella. Pero siyempre hindi ko pinasok sa Simbahan:
As I walked down the aisle, I took a video of the experience. Halata ba yung iPhone?!
18. The couple’s wedding speech is not the only way to thank and honor the parents / family.
Cufflinks for my Dad:
Church Aisle Decor (Different generations’ wedding photos of both families):
“Growing-up” Video of the parents and not the Newly Weds:
19. Connive with your dad for an unforgettable Father-Daughter dance routine.
Actually, my dad even chose the songs, specifically, Ryzza Mae’s “Cha-Cha”, Beenie Man’s “Gimme Gimme” and Vice Ganda’s “Whoops Kirri”. Sa “Gimme Gimme”, para siyang nag-seizure. Kinabahan ako.
20. Surprise your in-laws by showing them how special they are to you.
I’m not Chinese, but my wedding speech was in Fookien. I had several tutorials, and had to memorize my spiel like a gazillion times! It was all worth it, my TAH KHUAH and TAH KHAY really appreciated the effort. In fact, I’ll continue to learn the language. I’m also already internalizing being Chinese. To start with, I already removed the numbers, 4 and 14 in this list. Pati 13 inalis ko na rin para siguradong hindi malas. It’s the perfect excuse to make it appear like I have 20 tips! Hehehe.
Kung hindi ka pa sawa sa pagmumukha ko, you may want to check-out our On-Site Wedding Video too:
Siyempre, bilang Dyanah d’ Dyologs, dapat may celebrities din…
For the celebrity greetings, click here:
For questions and more details, please e-mail me at bb_di@yahoo.com. Nax, pwede na bang Blogger talaga?!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesoshalnetwork
Twitter: @dsoshalnetwork
Instagram: @thesoshalnetwork
again, ANG GALING! congratulations DiArch! 🙂
SUPER CUTE and UNIQUE ng ideas nyo and of course I like the way you wrote the details and your story here…hehehe nice one…:)))
Ito ang pinakamagandang wedding ng isang Dyologs.
Luv it! Best wishes 🙂
I love reading every details of it!!!!!
brief, vivid, and interesting! LAHAAAAT!!!
Best wishes to you, Diana! And Congratulations to your handsome groom! Love your entry, and your wedding. It was so cool and fun! You have lots of creative ideas, keep it up! 🙂
My Jologness level just increased 2 units up after reading this entry. hehe.
What a fun read, Diana. May you an Arch have an awesome marriage. God bless you both.
I love your wedding! especially the invitation, super cute idea and environment friendly pa since you can literally keep it in your bookshelf as display.
sniff sniff.
infernez ‘teh!
Love it! Parang sarap ikasal ulit after reading this. Same tayo ng make-up artist. 🙂
Super duper LOVE IT! 😀
ANG GANDAAAAAA
Tawa ako nang tawa sa entry na ito. Kung wala ka pang blog, dapat regular contributor ka na sa TSN. Hehe!
superlike! super ganda!!!
I enjoyed this entry! keep it going Dyanah! 😛