Cute Blogger Award

I'm not new to blogging, yet in writing about my wedding preps escapades and interacting with fellow blogging brides, you can consider me a newbie. And so as I was tagged by some of my blogging w@wie sisters, I do this enjoyable thingy ;)

1. Each blogger must post these rules
2. Each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about themselves
3. Bloggers that are tagged need to write ten facts about themselves. You need to choose ten people to tag and list their names.

so... here goes =) :

1. I love Capiz Shells. Yesterday I was in Manila Penn and I fell in love with their chandelier with Capiz Shells. I own several capiz earrings and necklaces. And staring at a capiz chimes or decor kind of puts me in a daze sometimes. Which is why will still incorporate this capiz in our wedding theme and gifts for our principal sponsors. Buti na lang we know of a very affordable supplier of these native materials :)

2. I like cake more than ice cream. It makes me kind of a lola in that way. I used to like ice cream more when I was a kid, but growing up I saw that ice cream, despite the array of flavors get more boring as compared to cake, which keeps on reinventing itself. Hahaha. I especially love cheesecake, lemon torte from Sugarhouse and Mango Bravo from Contis.

3. I love going to the beach. I'm a summer person kasi. I had a conversation with a friend about places in the Philippines that we often like to visit, and we concluded that we are different with our preference. She is a Baguio person (like she really goes there at least thrice a year) while I'm a Boracay/beach person. I try to go to Boracay at least once or twice a year, and hit the beach at least thrice. I love the beach. The calming yet exciting sound of the waves, the mixture of oranges and purples and blues in the horizon. The feeling of sand on my feet. The laidback bonding with my friends over drinks and walking hand in hand with my babe by the seashore. I could be there forever.

4. I am a bookworm. I prefer reading books or magazines over watching TV. Its the best way to keep me from getting bored.

5. I am a creature of habit. When I like something, I am loyal to it. In food especially. Even in restaurants that I frequent, I order the same course over and over again for years. Like for Cibo its the Venneziana pasta; in TGIFridays its Chicken Fingers, Ceasar Salad and a strawberry iced tea; for Hawaiian Barbeque its baby back ribs and sour cream baked potato. For gerry's grill its sizzling sisig, adobo shreds and crab rice. Tried and tested for years. Ask the waiters. Hahaha.

6. I have more than 20 diaries in my lifetime. I'm only 23 by the way. And I keep cute notbeooks or journals given by friends or by my dad. One of my favorites was a pasalubong by my friend Ann when she went to the States, its a two-sided journal, one cover has a illustration of a heart with flowers and stuff and the other cover has an illustration of a broken heart and flower petals scattered like it has been ruined. I still use it up to now, to write super happily in-love or totally heartbroken moments. Another one of my favorites was given by my dad from his recent US trip, it has a black and white venetian, scrolly-curly theme, I haven't used it yet and I want my wedding vows to be the first entry in that diary.

7. I like to sing, and when I sing, I internalize as if I'm on a music video.. I say that because my sister internalizes like she's have a concert or a gig coz she sings clenching her fist and putting it near her chin like a microphone. I have that 'malayo ang tingin' look when I'm singing. I have major LSS when I start singing, and when I'm using my ipod in public transportation like the shuttle, I always sing along with the song even if other people can hear.

8. I have been so affected by the Chris Brown-Rihanna controversy. Friends even text me and give me updates coz they know I appreciate it. I watched their concert here in Manila and I have always loved Rihanna as a singer. But I won't take sides coz Chris Brown seems like a sweetheart. I hope they make up soon. But both should consider counseling.

9. I am an advocate. I believe that I am a feminist, in a way that I believe that women are as capable as men in any field. And that they have every right to fight back when they are not treated right. Women should be respected and loved. Women are powerful. I'm a big supporter of anti-poverty and education for children of all ages.

10. Writing is my first love. I love to write and although I'm kind of not practicing it as much in my career, I'm thankful for the gift of blog. :)

So... for other blogger brides or just bloggers out there, join the bandwagon, you're tagged!

booked venue and date. Yahoo!

yey! finally after stressing on it for a while, I have finally made the initial reservations for the church!

Ate Josie, the lady in-charge was nice and really helpful. I told her about my situation, my fiancee being out of the country and she made some suggestions about submitting the requirements and getting a schedule for interview with the priest, pre-cana and other stuff.

Can't believe I just need to pay 5,000 to complete my reservation for my dream church. Haha. It includes na raw the use of the electricity, and sound system. I think I got me a pretty good deal. Plus Ate Josie was really an angel so that was like a bonus ;)

I can't believe I have finally done the reservation; I know its one of the most important things that I have to prioritize and now its like we've taken one big step closer to our wedding :) it feels so good and now I know how my fellow w@wies feel after they've put one big check to their list :)

Next: make the pegs for the dresses and for the theme, draft a guestlist and list of entourage and schedule an occular to Portofino.

HAhahahahappy preps!

movie date with my MOHs

I went to watch 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' with my bestest homegirls this afternoon, my sister Kaye and bestfriend Jai.

I was feeling a little exhausted during the day so I took a leave from work. In the afternoon I felt a little better and in the mood for a movie so I invited Kaye and later on texted Kups (that's our nickname for each other, with Jai and I) and she was happy to take a break from dinner with her new boyfriend (which we definitely approved of).

The movie was fun :) just the movie to share with your bestfriend and sister. Especially since they're the two girls who I can expect to get me out in a rut, like Suze for Rebecca in the movie. The part where Suze was getting married and Rebecca showed up and they reconciled was touching.

After that, we drove Jai to her new apartment (saw it for the first time) and then went straight home. Pretty little time to chat, but we did all we can while Kaye was driving. YEt, I had the best time with my Maids of Honor :)

Anyway, tried to make the reservations at the church today, but apparently the parish office was closed on Mondays. Hopefully I get out of the office early one day this week. Its my goal to reserve the church before February ends. :) and my babe and I decided to start drafting or guestlist so that we'll know how many to expect and how much to allot as budget for the food :) wish me luck :)

Best Valentines day gift

my babe never forgets to send me flowers on special occasions. its really thoughtful. but, for this Valentines, I got something even more special from him, when he didn't really give it to me... REad on:

Dear Tito Robert and Tita Ging,

Hello po!

First of all po, gusto kong humingi ng paumanhin sa biglaan namin desisyon ni camille sa kasal at hindi po namin nasabi sa inyo agad ang aming mumunting plano.

Thank you po kasi for all the years sa relationship namin ay pinagkatiwala niyo po sa akin si camille at pasensya na po kayo kung minsan ay di ko po nasusunod yung mga hiling niyo po na ihatid siya at pati na rin po yung di namin maiwasan na arguments (paminsan minsan lang naman po) and pati po hindi po ako nakakpagbonding sa inyo gaano kasi po medyo nahihiya pa po ako eh. Hahaha

Pero siyempre, laking pasasalaamt ko po sa inyo dahil po kung wala kayo most probably wala si camille and she is all I have ever wanted po, for me she is perfect like her parents. Sa pag-invite niyo po sa akin sa mga gatherings niyo, sa pagpapakilala niyo sa akin sa mga kamag-anak niyo and sa lahat lahat na po. Hinding hind ko po malilimutan yun for the rest of my life. J

Alam po namin na hindi po madali ang tatahakin namin landas and I know naman nandiyan lang po kayo to support us and help us about being husband and wife and building a family. And again, muli po akong nagpapasalamat sa inyo, taas po ang kamay ko sa inyo.

Ingats po parati! And God bless!

Yours truly,

Alexis “koko a.k.a. jericho rosales” Eusebio

Well, I secretly wanted a love letter for Valentines, and although this wasn't written for me, I was so touched when I learned that my fiancee sent my parents an email for now reason at all. It really made my day :)

Live, Laugh, Love (Cams first blog post on wedding updates)

Live, Laugh, Love

Camille and Alexis

June 18, 2010

Holy Family Parish/Portofino clubhouse??

lets tackle these things one by one:

Stop! this will be a rather long read. You can pause in between. :)

June 18, 2010

I have always wanted to get married in the summer. It was summer when he proposed to me, it was a Sunny April afternoon. Anyway, I am a summer person. And I have always envisioned my wedding to be in the summer, or May, which is the month of flowers. So, when we sat down to discuss our wedding plans, I requested that we forego the popular 10-10-10, or 9-9-9 dates that people suggest and have the wedding in May. He agreed and the initial date we set was on the 21st of May next year, exactly 2 years, 1 month and 1 day after he proposed.

But as we were starting the preparations for the wedding, we came face to face with the reality that we can't decide on everything without considering the people around us. Because as my mom grew excited and told our close relatives about the date we have set, issues started to arise, since some of my closest uncles and aunts and cousins who live abroad would want to come home and attend my wedding. But they can't in May because the kids have classes. So my mom had to ask me if it was okay to move it in June. At first I didn't want to move it to June because I really wanted to get married in May, and I'm itching to get married already so that I can be with my babe. But I know that marriage is the start of a new life as a family, and I don't want to start that life with disappointed relatives, and I really want to share this moment with them anyway. Plus I'm positive that they will love my husband-to-be. We were just starting out together when they met him. So there... after a lengthy and almost heated discussion with my babe, we finally set the new (and final!) date to June 18, 2010. It falls on a Friday (my request) and the number 18 is his lucky jersey number (babe is an amazing basketball player). Now that we have set a date, the next step is to get a reservation for the church.

Holy Family Parish

There were just two choices for the church. One was the Holy Family Parish in Las Pinas, where we live and the Shrine of St. Therese in Pasay. A brief background of each, Holy Family is the church in the subdivision where babe and I served as members of Youth For Christ. Some of our activities were held there, and its where we go to mass when he was still working here. Its near our house and that of our close friends. Somehow that church felt like home to us and so I have always imagined getting married there. It has a beautiful altar and has an antique, southern feel. The Shrine of St. Therese on the other hand, was something that we just stumbled on. Underneath it was the columbarium where the crypt of a beloved friend and family is. The place below was nice and so we were intrigued by what the church above looked. It didn't fail to amaze us when we got up. It was stunning to say the least. One of the nicest churches I've seen so far. But it was really big, quite expensive and far from where most of our guests will be coming from.

So, we were torn between a church that had our fondest memories, or one which blew us away the first time we saw it, the feeling was almost like falling in love. We're both okay with either of the two so we prayed hard to be able to make that decision. Being the event planner that I am, I decided to look at the big picture and include other elements of the event. Like the nearby venues for reception, the difference in price, the location to guests, its relevance to our budget, and so, the OC girl in me made a table comparing these two churches and presented it to my fiancee. With real and actual figures (yes, I did some research) on ink, we were able to see the relevance of choosing the church to our budget and the whole event. And so, finally, we decided to go with the Holy Family Parish as the church for the ceremony. I secretly hoped that we would end up there, because it was where babe and I went to church even when we were kids (although we didn't know each other then of course). He was an altar boy there, while my family used to live in that subdivision. And I remember clearly what I was wearing, when after a YFC activity, we went to hear mass at the Holy Family, when he looked at me and sweetly whispered to me that he feels like we're already married. So marrying him in that church, makes it all the more romantic, don't you think? :)

Portofino

I came to know of the place when we attended a family reunion. From then on, I found the place to be promising for an elegant and intimate event. Although the next happenings in our lives brought a little melancholy to the venue, and we almost crossed it out of our list. I grew a little depressed about the whole thing for quite some time, since it was the most ideal place to have our reception (considering proximity to the Holy Family church, budget and our concept). Still, at the back of my mind, I kept on praying for it. Then, when I have started looking for other options, I got a go signal to put it back in our list. I was really grateful. Yet despite of that, I needed an insider ( a lot owner, or employee) to be able to book, or even just come in for an ocular. A distant relative works for the owner of the subdivision but I didn't want to use that connection because that means inviting other distant relatives to the event (when what we really want is an intimate gathering). Luckily, Babe's brother used to do sales for the subdivision and they were granted a lifetime membership meaning they can visit the place and have someone book events at the clubhouse. I'm so excited! I'll be a little tied up for the next few weekends, but I promised we'll have our visit on the next available Sunday! I'm still praying to for this... I hope I get prayers from you too. I'll update you when we get it. :)

Live, Laugh, Love

I've dreamed of a beach wedding from the time I started dreaming of marrying my boyfriend, now my fiancee. I love going to the beach, and so does he. Every time he comes to visit (he works abroad) we make it a point to schedule a trip to the beach. I loved the movie Mamma Mia for its unpretentious, laidback summer theme. Months after he proposed, I already looked at catalogues of summer dresses and even downloaded a reggae-inspired version of the Canon in D. So there was just one ultimate theme in mind for our wedding: summer, beach, flowers.

And then the change of date.

Practically and theoretically, I can't have a summer wedding in June. Although I believe in the power of offering eggs to St. Claire, and the trend to push through with the theme despite the season seems to be accepted by most, my being an event manager tells me to do otherwise. I just can't risk it. It's just one day and there will be no ulitan if the rain messes it up. Knowing that June is rainy season, I can insist on having my summer wedding. So...while daydreaming about my pre-nup photo with my babe, I pictured us just laughing and horsing around, and making a fool of ourselves and I can't help but realize that we are not the usual touchy feely couple, instead we are the playful couple who always joke around and laugh, chase and mimmick each other, doing all sorts of fun stuff together yet loves passionately. So, even though the live, love, laugh phrase is getting popular and I see it everywhere, I thought it describes us best as a couple.So I proposed this concept to my babe and he liked it, even more when I started getting all the aspects of the theme out of my head like the design of the venue, the program, etc. I promised to give him pegs/a presentation of how I visualize it in my head coz its hard to describe over the phone and email (and men are visual beings). I'll have to do that bit by bit every night (since I have a full schedule on the next few weekends. Do you know of wedding or bridal related websites that I can get inspiration from?:) Anyway, my babe was pretty much convinced, so we're going with the live,laugh,love theme :) Still, we're using the Pachelbel on the beach music for the processional, I already paid for it and it still applies with our personality as a couple :) (who wants the music? I'll try to load it here so you can here it)

I'm so excited as I begin the wedding preps :) Honestly, I didn't think it was gonna be this easy and this fun, but well, what can I say? I have the best groom and husband-to-be in the universe, a wonderful support-group and peers at W@w, supportive family and friends, and a lot of guts to do events since the previous weddings that I organized.

I'll be attending weddings expos and bridal fairs for the next few weekends, but hopefully I get a lot of things done before the week ends.

Happy preps to all the brides out there!

A Glimpse of the Mushy Bride-to-be ( before I turn into Bridezilla!)

I can't think of any other way to officially start this blog other than saying:

I have never been so sure in my entire life.

So, its a YES. Definitely, no second thoughts about it.

Its just that from the time we told our parents that we have selected a date and a year to get married, I have been bombarded with the question of whether I'm sure of what I'm getting into. And without a hint of doubt, I tell them, I am.

Maybe in this generation, women getting married (without the baby bump) at the age of 24 may seem totally insane and really impulsive, but I have no hesitations. They say I have my whole life ahead of me, and I agree - all the more reason not to prolong the waiting and spend the rest of it with the man who has shown me the deeper meaning of life.

Some say that I might meet another person in the future, but I believe that love isn't just a feeling, but a commitment. To be with the other person for good times and bad, to love and stay in love, and work on being in love for the rest of your lives. If we work on friendship, why the heck can't we work on love? Needless to say, I have no doubts. Besides, I'm marrying one of my very best friends, the one person in the universe who can make me laugh and smile even at the most difficult times.

So I don't understand why some people think its suffocating to get married. Of course there are certain things that you can only do when you're single, but I don't think its the end of freedom. I'm just looking forward to spend the days and nights laughing and having a good time with my babe.

Other people scare us by saying that being boyfriend-girlfriend is so far from being husband and wife. But some happily married people I trust tell me that sometimes they don't feel the difference and they wake up still head over heels with the person they fell in love with years ago. I prefer to believe the latter. I'm not going to believe that every marriage is doomed when I am just getting there. I think I know my fiancee pretty well and he knows me, but if we're going to find out something about each when we become husband and wife, then that makes it all the more exciting don't you think?

Another issue being thrown at me is being un-domesticated. "Sure ka na ba? Walang maid, kaya mo? Maglaba, mag-alaga ng bata? Magluto, maglinis ng bahay, kaya mo?" Eh hindi naman ako nag-aapply bilang katulong ah! Haha just kidding. Well, I'm not the most industrious person at home, and I admit to have grown up with maids, but, I've dabbled on doing the laundry, washing dishes, cleaning and cooking at one point (I am even a decent baker I believe, I can whip up a mean blueberry cheesecake!), so I don't think my future family is doomed. Besides, I am determined to be the best for them, and you can't go wrong with passion and determination.

Recently, while looking for means to increase our savings and budget for the wedding, I have discovered that I have a flair for business, something I never thought I had. So, who knows? There are facets of me that are yet to be tapped. I might be the good homemaker that you never imagined. I love kids and I seem to have more patience for them than other girls I know so that could be a start. I look up to my mom a lot. She empowers a lot of women even when she is "just a housewife" (was, now she's an entrepreneur). I know that being a homemaker is no easy feat. You know, I wasn't trained to be the most hospitable girl in suburbia, but this I know for sure: I love the man who will be my husband. He is really good to me, and I will do my best to make him feel loved and taken cared of. He deserves the best and that's exactly how hard I'll try. Anyway, he's a boy scout, he can cook his own food naman if I ruin dinner. Hahaha joke lang babe :)

On a lighter note, despite these somewhat party-pooper questions, I know that they (family and friends) mean well. That's how loved we both are. And I'm sooo not discouraged. I have never been this sure. I just listen to their comments to avoing being rude, but no one will ever make me change my mind. The plans on where we'll settle down and how we'll battle the long distance haven't been laid out yet, but I know that I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him. In fact, I just want all these questions, the preparations to go by so that I can already be with him, forever.

We have just finalized the date and the church where the ceremony will take place. It's where I have always dreamed of marrying him. From one theme in mind, we decided to go with another which suits the season when we'll get married. It's so us, in every sense of the word, or words.

You may ask how he's doing with all the preparations. He's dealing with it like a perfect gentleman. Offering inputs and letting his bride let her creativity out. Being generous and patient with her over-anxious and OC fiancee. He is every bride's dream groom. Hahaha. I love him with all my heart. He makes me even more excited to hear that line, "I now pronounce you, husband and wife." I may be a little scatterbrained, and my vision of the dream wedding changes from time to time, but only one factor remains constant. Him, waiting for me at the altar, in his sincere reassuring debonaire smile that makes me want to rush to his arms in a heartbeat.

Now, that's where all the mush went :) kiliiiig... :))

This song I'm feeling right now:
Breathe - Faith Hill
I can feel the magic floating in the air
Being with you gets me that way
I watch the sunlight dance across your face and
I'veNever been this swept away

All my thoughts just seem to settle on the breeze
When I'm lying wrapped up in your arms
The whole world just fades away
The only thing I hear
Is the beating of your heart

'Cause I can feel you breathe
It's washing over me
Suddenly I'm melting into you
There's nothing left to prove
Baby all we need is just to be
Caught up in the touch
The slow and steady rush
Baby, isn't that the way that love's supposed to be
I can feel you breathe
Just breathe

**so on less-busy days i will be writing about my experiences in preparing for my wedding, posting pictures or links of inspiration, and maybe sometimes venting when stress seeps in. Watchout, I might become bridezilla! hahaha i hope not... Right now I just want to enjoy and take in all the excitement and mush that I am feeling...

Again, welcome :)

Welcome!

Wow, i just started another blog! I'm so excited! This will be my wedding preps blog where I will post photos of inspiration, happenings, etc.