Bride Blah: Please Be Seated

Let me start bombarding this blog about our DIY projects by sharing my experience of coming up with the idea of this non negotiable wedding reception staple ( I have to be redundant to emphasize its importance).

I am sure that I share this same sentiment with many people:  it is awkward to indeliberately assume a place to sit on a wedding reception or in any occasion.  Even I can't explain myself why I have this weird self-restraint and principle that I cannot just take any space in an event even if I know that there is a seat reserved for me.  Seriously, given that most wedding receptions are adult affairs then it's a must for any host to indicate which table or chair is for who.  Now comes the indispensable use of escort cards, place cards, name cards or whatever you want to call 'em.

I definitely believe that escort cards are important because it's a thoughtful way of showing a guest how gracious a host you are by not letting him have that horrible feeling of not being welcome and comfortable.  Remember, the least you can do to make your event a memorable one is not only to organize everything down to the littlest, tiniest details but also to give the people you invited a one of a kind experience.

Eid's a DIY Day!

Expect me to (over)blog about all our DIY projects in the next posts because during the last five days off that we had (Happy Eid Al Adha to our Muslim brothers and sisters) with nothing to do but to sleep and eat, my husband and I were compelled to put the final touches for our wedding reception decors so we can pack them ready for transport from Saudi Arabia to Philippines (long way huh!?)

We went to Ladies Market (as usual) because it's the only one stop shop to get all the merchandise we need for designing at a reasonable price and I can't wait until the end of November when I can go to Divisoria and buy the additional stuff needed.

We spent almost two hours at the store to find and get everything.  Luckily, the Indian vendors were kind enough to give in to our outrageous demands, haggling and what nots.  The best part is, they gave us extra for all the items we bought and a discount for the total price!

Tassle to connect the cord

Crystal chains @ 25 SAR  per meter.   Cool deal :)

Satin ribbons at 3 SAR per roll

The vendor didn't want to give half a pack of these turquoise and purple crystals at first but after a little prodding, he gave in!

Noel saw this glue gun on display too!  I told you it's a one stop shop!

Crystal and bead trimmings for the candles

Bride Friendly Blogs

The wedding preps are going smooth so far.  With only a couple of months before the big day I can't believe how much we have accomplished considering the fact that we are both abroad and Grace is the only person who is taking care of everything (the official turn over to the wedding coordinator will be a month before the event).

Through the course of our planning and organizing and preparing everything, I've been bestfriends with several wedding inspiration websites and blogs and I must say that they helped me conceptualize the best ideas I can incorporate on my own big day.  I was able to get an awful lot of tips and tricks, DIYs and projects, pegs and trends and the perfect suppliers for my wedding!

BridalBook have a directory arranged categorically which is very helpful for every supplier-hunting bride.

If you need nice pegs for pre-nups, wedding ceremony and reception details, visit brideandbreakfast.ph

DIY wedding projects are Martha Stewarts' expertise

Get the latest in wedding fashion by checking out The Knot

Bridal Guide for a thousand and more wedding options and inspiration

Getting that perfect inspiration for my wedding was a little easier with the help of these blogs and websites that I can access at anytime for free.  The challenge will be how to execute every wedding detail, how to make it stand out and be remembered in such a way that it represents the both of us as a couple.

Bride Blah: Just When I Thought...

Exactly sixty days before the wedding, here I am sitting at my desk contemplating what in the world should I do or what prayer should I utter for me to complete this guest list and table arrangement thing.  I have previously blogged about my disagreements with Noel about the number of guests.  I was wrong when I thought that our compromise was the end of this thing I want to call "the biggest dilemma of a bride".  I would say it's only the beginning.

Infront of me is this excel file which I started roughly about four months ago.  I was so eager when I started arranging table assignments for our guests but not for long.  When the stressors came like the number of people for plated service, number of guests who haven't confirmed their attendance yet, the "supposed" number of guests and everything in between I have come to abhor this task. (kidding)  I don't want to tell my husband how this very simple thing can drain the heck out of me because I want to spare him from stress which he already has a mountain of.

Well, the two main challenge here are first, the uncertainty of some invited guests if they can come or not and second, the additional guests that are added along the way.  I have already been through the process of arranging, changing, rearranging, changing and reorganizing but all these attempts and repetitions were futile.

It's definitely gut wrenching knowing that the days are passing by quickly and I might have nothing to turn over to the wedding coordinator when the time comes, or worse I might still be doing this until December.  More than the worry, its the frustration that is making me upset.  All I want to do now is to shrug this off my system before it goes viral.  It's making me nuts!

I don't know if the words I typed above even cohere with each other but I don't care, I just badly need to let it out.

:/

Halala Lucky!

At last, we have completed the thirteen coins which will be our arrhae!  This tradition was actually something that Filipinos acquired from the Spanish culture.  The word "arras" (the popular name of arrhae in the Philippines) means earnest money that represents the bridal dowry given by the groom and his family.  The thirteen coins represent Jesus and His twelve apostles.  During wedding ceremonies the exchange of coins represents the grooms ability to provide for his wife and the bride's trust in his ability to do so.

There are different kinds of arrhae commercially distributed by wedding suppliers, that's what I have discovered during the preps.  In our case, I wanted it to be something personal for the both of us so I asked Noel if he agrees with my suggestion of using halala, the name of the coin in Saudi Arabia.  Since this country's desert sands and scorching sun witnessed how our love for each other began, I thought that incorporating little things that spells (but not screams) Saudi-ish might be a good idea.  He liked the idea (halleluja!) so we collected new halalas and asked from friends and bakalas to give us if they have one.  Now the coins are complete and ready to be a part of the 12222012 event!

Chachaang!!

The Bridal Ear Bling

I trace back my fascination over earrings when I was in high school.  For a long time (and I mean yeaaarss) I only have one ear pierce.  I was so afraid to get the other one holed because of my aversion to needles.  Until one day just weeks before my junior prom I decided to cross the line and be the one to do the ear poking thing myself.  Since then, a pair of earrings never left my lobules.

With that being said, choosing the perfect pair of earrings that I'll wear for my wedding day is very important especially because I decided that I'll only use a single jewelry.  Noel actually suggested for me to get a purple or colored crystal but I thought that I'll leave the rainbow brights to the bridesmaids.  After several months of hunting for that perfect bling, I finally picked a monochromatic pear shaped crystal drop earrings which I think would elegantly go well with my wedding gown.

I fell in LOVE with these at first sight!

The Bride Over Flowers

I want almost every aspect and detail of the wedding to be a representation of what I and my husband believe into.  Add that to the fact that I am also a sucker for weddings and the traditions that go with it.  To make it short and sweet, I want a well-thought-of wedding.

And when I think about something that is "well-thought-of", a bridal bouquet is one of the many things that comes to mind.  If I am a person who only goes for aesthetics, then it's so easy to choose among a wide array of flowers that can catch anyone's eye but I want to carry something that has meaning and symbolism.

I decided to have peonies for my bridal bouquet because I fell in love with its lush, full, rounded blooms - the reason why it is called the flower of riches and honor.  As beautiful as it looks, the flower also symbolizes romance and prosperity and a sign of good fortune and happy marriage hence it's an emerging favorite among brides like me for their bridal bouquet.

Who would't love them?

What are They Wearing?

One of the gazillion reasons why I trust Grace so much is the fact that we are always on the same page and have the same taste to almost everything so I let her choose the gown designs for the entourage.  She gave me pegs for gowns early this year but the final decision has only been made a couple of months ago when the production of the attire kicked off.  I must say that all the dresses are equally stunning and I am confident that the "abays" will look gorge in them!

The MOH's dress will be inspired by this teal Jenny Packham dress that the Duchess of Cambridge wore during one of her many engagements.  Flowy skirt, cinched waist and lace sleeves and back make this design perfect for Grace.

The bridesmaids will be wearing a plum version of this flowy backless gown. The waist and shoulder details will be showstoppers for sure!

A floor length plum gown with a cinched beribboned waist will be worn by the cord sponsor (Kaye)

Angie (veil sponsor) will be on a one shoulder column gown with a simple but sophisticated bodice.

An A-line skirt and a sweetheart neckline with sheer venus cut detail for the candle sponsor

Lara (one of the junior bridesmaids will be wearing this dress. She specifically asked us to find a nice decent dress and I think that this is thoughtfully designed for girls with a plus size frame like her.

I so loved the design of the bridemaids dresses for Blair's wedding (Gossip Girl) that I want my junior bridesmaids to be clad in a cocktail dress that is inspired by a  Vera Wang creation  (from her White by Vera Wang Collection) that has an organza flange skirt and a belt to accentuate the waist.

The little ones will be on a cute dress like this except that the skirt will be full length.

Bride Blah: Spin Offs and Sweet Sentiments

When we started to plan for the wedding I thought a year is more than enough to accomplish everything before the big day but as I write this, we have more or less than eighty days to finalize and prepare everything which I think is still a waaaaaaaay to go.  It's twice as hard for us who unfortunately can't get our hands on (like what I have mentioned a million times) the preps.  Thank goodness, Grace assumed the job of being the official representative/wedding planner/wedding coordinator/treasurer while we are having that gut-wrenching feeling because we are here on the other side of the world.

So there I said my sentiments, enough of that for today.

With this roller coaster ride, I learned that a bride should possess that great amount of patience and perseverance because things won't go according to what has been planned sometimes.  There will be bumps along the way and some changes with what has already been agreed upon.  

Like in my (our) case, with roughly three months away from our big day, changes happen in a daily basis.  Just a week ago, Grace informed me that she decided to drop the wedding coordinator we hired because she doubts that she can deliver.  Now we are signed with an event planner which I hope can meet our expectations.  She also withdrew the booking at Luxor and asked me about my thoughts if we get a room at Sofitel or Diamond Hotel instead.  We were left hanging with that until this afternoon when she said she finally booked two suites at the Century Park Hotel.  I was also surprised that from the documents I received from her I learned that we changed our florist because Mang Boy Mahusay can't provide the flowers I want for my bridal bouquet.  

Things like this make my head wanna explode sometimes but at the end of the day, I still am thankful that God blessed us with someone whom we can put our 100% trust on.  We might not experience the typical scenario that most grooms and brides go through but I am happy that we get to anticipate and be excited for something that we will share for a lifetime.