"MINI-MICE"

Our caketoppers from Angelkind were finally finished last week ... can't wait to see the actual clay figures (our friend will be bringing it back on August pa, sigh) ... seeing the pics made me long to see our cake as well, which led me to imagine eating sweets with reckless abandon again, even if for one day hehe (b2bs, you know what I mean) ...

PHOTO-PHOBICS' PRENUPS BY E.B.ESCUDERO

On the 1st weekend of May, we were finally able to push through with our prenups (Background: I won one of the UP prenups by EBE in the w@w auction - I bid, on the remote possibility that I could convince h2b of the merits of doing a pre-wedding photoshoot - since he's notoriously camera shy, but on the day itself, I was pleasantly surprised by his "openness") I guess it helps having an experienced and creative photographer who knows how to put an awkward couple at ease :-) (Tenkyu sir EBE!)

The day started off innocuously enough, with EBE explaining to us how a prenup works - what we should and should not be doing, with tips on pretending that somebody with a 10 megapixel camera is not chronicling your every move ...

She: Hah! You can't back out now!

He: What did I get myself into? :-(

We had a couple of shots at the UP "lagoon" - ironically, in our 5-yr stay on campus, we rarely went there together, probably due to its reputation as a "lovers' nook" and due to the risk of being unmercifully ribbed by our classmates should we be spotted there as a couple. I wanted to pose by the UP Oblation but any resulting pictures would be decidedly too risque to show to anybody ... so we just regressed for a while and immersed ourselves in the chance to fool around in the lagoon, which we never did when we were students ...

"A Walk to Remember"

Luneta? Lorien? UP lagoon! San ka pa? ;-)

She: kunwari daw may pinag-uusapan tayo ...

He: e ano pa nga ba ginagawa natin?

One of our favorite candid shots

The next phase of our prenups was shot inside the Collge of Business Administration (CBA) - (tnx Mam Glo for granting us permission!) Luckily, it was Friday afternoon (summer) and only a few students were around to witness our antics.

She: Hehe, terno kayo ng "Bastion of Apathy," parehong may spikes

He: Lagot ka sa akin mamaya pag di na sya nakatingin

Inside Starmall, oops, UP CBA pala ;-p

(we liked it so much better when the walls were still a dull, aging grey, it had more character then)

Couple of Accountants

Lambingan sa Tambayan ... ng JMA (hehe, lighting was much better here than at JPIA's)

Foolin' around (still at JMA, don't worry JMAers, we cleaned up after our shoot ;-p)

Finally at JPIA

Feeling Highschool Musical

Stairway moments - we had a lot of these back then ... :-)

It took us an hour to "warm-up" - this shot shows how relaxed we are - finally! ;-)

Shadow Kiss

Kissing didn't seem so awkward anymore (inspite of the the 10MP SLR camera pointed right at 'ya!)

3rd flr Back Lobby (again, quite memorable for us)

Our college has (gasp!) an elevator! So much has changed in the 7 years since we've studied there. Of course we couldn't resist taking advantage of the shiny new metallic frame :-)

It was nearing dusk when we emerged from the building and the last few shots are in tribute to the magnificent UP skyline and the majestic Acacia trees we so dearly miss from our collge days ...

Denouement at Dusk

(Our favorite shot of all)

All throughout the shoot, we were never entirely relaxed but towards the end, we got a bit more comfortable with being followed around by a camera. Still, I would recommend prenups for all couples, since it's their chance to experience being photographed continuously, which is great practice for the wedding and it gives them the chance to bond with their photographer, though in our case, he was sadly unavailable at that time.

A few tips for prospective "prenuppers":

1) Research the place and the shots you want to be taken (in our case, it was UP or nothing, and we kinda already knew the places where we wanted to be photographed at)
2) Psyche yourself up for the shoot (invoke memories/fantasies, whatever it takes to get you in the mood)
3) Practice posing (this will help eliminate the awkwardness)
4) Talk to your photographer (build rapport, share your ideas, don't let it be a one-man show - after all, it's your shoot)
5) Enjoy the experience! Shed your inhibitions and insecurities. Trust the photographer to find the most flattering angle for you and focus on reliving memories and having fun, no matter how uncomfortable or awkward you may feel at first :-)

ROUTES TO TAGAYTAY

Alternative routes to Tagaytay

Detailed Tagaytay Map from E-Z maps

(click on images for larger view or to download)

YOU'RE INVITED!

The story of our invites involved a long and tiring process of frustration and subsequent elimination. At first, we didn't want to go to Recto-based suppliers, due to a perception of substandard output quality. In the end, due to several mishaps with other printers, we ended up with Printlane (they have shops in Recto and Cubao), where we surprisingly found both the flexibility and quality that we wanted at a reasonable cost.

It was a challenge trying to merge the classy/simple design that he wanted versus the casual and fun summer theme that she (moi) wanted. Luckily, my sister was able to piece together our seeminly unmergeable demands :-)

envelope flap w/our favorite quote

main invite

entourage page

rsvp card

DIY map

THE SCENT OF SUMMER

It took hours of debates (one-sided monologues actually) a couple of aspirins and several drops of eye-mo before we finally settled on a theme ;-) Being two highly polarized individuals, the hours we spent "communing with our inner child" yielded only a general ambience rather than a specific theme like modern filipiniana, chocolates, travel, beach, etc.

As mentioned in an earlier post, we fell in love with the vibrant hues of coral pink, amber and apricot yellow and settled on a summer garden atmosphere. Come rain or shine, we want our reception styling to capture the light, cheerful and carefree feelings evoked by a clear summer day, and based on the sneak peak our stylist Teddy provided , I think we're almost there :-) You can almost smell the citrus fruits, apples and roses ...

HAVIN' YOUR CAKE & EATIN' IT TOO!

Having overspent (he said) on some elements of our wedding - which is actually money well-spent (she said) - I had to restrain myself from going overboard on the others just to keep the peace :-)

So the gameplan was: go for simple AND delish. However, having "simple" doesn't mean we have to settle for those pretty but barely edible fondant concoctions so popular for weddings. And since going for all-edible cakes from wickedly hedonistic pastry shops will simply bankrupt us, we opted to settle for just small portions of our tried-and-tested favorites.

In the end, we got an unassuming satellite cake from Bizu composed of 3 different flavors, which we know we'll love. Fortunately, Audrey and team Bizu were creative and flexible enough to agree to incorporate the above design in our wedding cake. Can't wait to see (and taste!) the end product :-)

OUR SPLENDID NEW VENUE

Finally conceding defeat to the unpredictable Tagaytay weather, we decided early on to start looking for a covered reception venue, for our own peace of mind, and for the convenience of our guests .... our options were sadly limited - we wanted a spacious covered venue, with ample parking and which is, at the most, only 15 minutes away from Caleruega

Fortunately, the newly-constructed Splendido Taal Country Club was already open, albeit still a few weddings shy of gaining the "experience" we wanted in terms of handling such events. Still, it had all the elements that we wanted, plus a bonus: a view of the majestic taal volcano.

The place was very homey and relaxing, fitting the casual and intimate ambiance we wanted for our wedding.

The main entrance hall

Parking lot

Cocktail area

Bell

Tower

Fountain at the courtyard

Ladera Golfer's Lounge (interior)



Veranda

View from the top

Taal view

Spectacular greens