my wedding day fashion lookbook :)

Here it is :) I made it using Polyvore, yet I'm seeing a future dilemma because when I save the sets I made in Polyvore, they end up being so small in JPEG. I hope I find an easy way to enlarge them, as I want to print them out and give them to my designer.

Oh well, here it is. I hope you like it, as this will be the farthest you will get to getting a glimpse of my wedding day fashion look. I want it to be a surprise to most :)


Cams wedding fashion lookbook by camslab featuring Fiorelli bags

Another check on the supplier wishlist! Definitely not a Reject!

Just this afternoon, I met with one of the most sought after and unexpectedly most humble of the suppliers that I ever met. Trust W@wies to give the most accurate and detailed feedback on a supplier. And in fairness, they hit it with this certain supplier so well! Everything they described about him was true! :)

Him being this small guy (not really small, he's not just that tall) who was unassuming yet very accommodating and reliable. After months of trying to set a meeting with this guy (I totally understand why he's so busy, everyone wants to get him as supplier!), we were finally able to finalize a schedule a few hours before the meeting. Hahaha. And so we had a casual and delightful discussion on the things I require from his team as this is such an important part of the wedding reception. I mean, this will really set the mood for the place.

Despite his unassuming presence, it was also obvious that he means business and he really knows what he's talking about. He's also realistic about what he can and cannot do. But so far, I think he was able to understand what we want and what's best about that, is that it's super affordable! I was expecting it to be one of the things that I would have to spend a lot of our budget on, especially since this supplier falls on the most wanted list for bride-to-bes. But I'm so amazed with his simplicity and his professionalism.

After I bombarded him with my questions which he so earnestly answered, and we discussed some more things about the lights and sounds, we agreed to a package rate that I really found so reasonable (I didn't even bother to haggle, I felt like doing so would rob him of his livelihood. I mean really, how affordable can his expertise get?) and it was off to signing a contract and giving a minimum down payment. And now I can finally breathe because we now have an esteemed and reliable lights and sounds (and LCD projector and 6ft x 6ft projector screen! Can you believe that?) supplier :))

Babe was pleased that I was able to book another good supplier at a surprisingly low cost. I mean, we really wanted moodlights for the wedding reception, and we're getting it! And its pretty affordable, really!:))

Now, do I even have to say the name of this oh-so-popular supplier? :) I'm sure you all know who I'm talking about :) Well, I can't wait to see our venue after he installed the moodlights and sounds all over the place. What puzzles me though is why he has the word Reject to his company's name when he most certainly is not. Hmmm...

And only for that today, I think I deserve a pat on the back :)

Talagang may K! - this post is not for the hungry

Hello fellow blogging brides! and the rest of the world... hahaha. It's been a while. It was a rather busy month in the office. And it still is...

A lot has happened though with the wedding preps. Well, not a lot meaning I have accomplished a lot of things, because obviously, I can't seem to get my hands on that much preparations. But I say a lot, because I have a significant accomplishment and something (almost) monumental happened that ushered us into the next phase of the wedding preps. So, as I need to catch up on my blogging, I'll try to write several short entries as I can to keep you most updated :)

First off, let me share the good news that we are soon to be in the hands of a really credible and amazing caterer! Part of W@W Top Wedding Suppliers for 2008, great raves from my fellow W@wie sisters and highly recommended by Jeff and Lisa, our most reliable and brilliant photographers :) Okay, its no surprise to say that its the ever famous K by Cunanan.
Now, given our limited budget, it took me several push from other brides and just one look at their photo gallery to actually email them. As an events person, I know what our budget is and isn't capable of. So I was just being realistic and practical. But then, after our several correspondences via email, their AE, Lace was able to draft a customized, slightly cheaper (and sulit) package for us. :) And so I got my hopes up! If it took me a lot of convincing to give them a try, it took just one look at their photo gallery for Babe to decide that theirs was the perfect choice. And whose word do I only listen to when it comes to decisions?

So there, I scheduled a foodtasting and meeting with them on a Friday and I brought along Kaye, my sister and maid of honor, and Mama and Tita Beh, our future ninang :) Since things were pretty busy in the office, they had to fetch me from Rockwell (actually kanto ng Estrella kasi super traffic everywhere!) then we went straight to the place. I think we were 45 minutes late because of the traffic. On the way to Ms. Kaye's residence, they were getting impatient because of the long ride (from Las Pinas to Ayala Heights ba naman eh?!) and then my sister and mom kept telling me that the food better be good as they had to drive more than two hours to get to the place.

When we got there, we were amazed at the quaint beautiful house that stood before us. A waiter in uniform escorted us inside the house, and then there was young-looking Lace (who I kept calling Ms.Lace, but she looks younger than my sister!) who greeted us and ushered us to the table that was all set. After a while, another young and savvy-looking lady went out and introduced herself. She was the famous Ms. Kaye :)
Won't it be too taxing if I write about every great detail that happened in the food tasting? So I'll just let some of the pictures do the talking. What you need to know though is that we had the best time. I was always excited for my turn on the foodtasting, but I was always worried that I wouldn't like the food too much and we'd be disappointed. But for this one, my first (and last I believe), it was surely memorable. Ms. Kaye was a pleasure to meet with! She's so young yet she has extensive experience and well-respected in her field. My sister and I idolize her. Tita Beh found the connection with them because her late husband was high school friends with Ms. Kaye's dad. I even found my mom (who's very authoritative when it comes to food) agreeing to everything she says. I was hesitant to tell her the agreed package rate at first because she might just walk out the door, but at the end of the day, Mama was the one who convinced me to go for K by Cunanan, as they were really everything that I could ask for: hands on, creative, gives attention to details and very accommodating. Did I mention they serve really really great-tasting food? It was superb! Every dish they served passed our taste buds with flying colors! Well, needless to say, my mother knows me well.
K by Cunanan was a worthy addition to our dream team. If I was the type of bride who collected notable suppliers like they were trophies, K and her team would probably make it to top shelf. It makes me confident to know that she's on board with our (Babe and me, of course) concept for the wedding. I showed her the look I wanted for our reception which consisted of high-end flowers. And she willingly gave her version of the look we were going for. It was uber elegant and she didn't even mention about the price! I didn't even need to upgrade! Some caterers would have stressed on the kind of flowers that we were limited to have because of our budget. But not her. She just asked me what flowers do I not want to include. I talked to her about other ideas we thought of for the reception and she guided us with her wise words to make the idea work. Although, she was not like other caterers or AEs who seemed too authoritative and overpowering. She was simply elegant and talented.

The phrases "answered prayer," and "supplier-client perfect match" enter my head when I think about K by Cunanan. They were really, everything that we could ever wish for in a caterer.

With all this, I am just so blessed that Babe is the nicest groom-to-be in the world! I would say that getting K by Cunanan altered our budget in a major way, and it was the first time in this whole wedding preps that I felt Babe really grew worried about our budget. We almost became disheartened on the whole wedding preps. But we didn't fight. We dealt with it and chose to face the reality. I asked him several times if he was sure he was okay with getting K despite its effect on our budget. And he said he is. Maybe because he saw they were really good, or because he knew I secretly wanted K so bad. I love him for that. It's like long before the wedding, he's already fulfilling his promise to put me first before anything. I am, without any contest, the luckiest and most blessed bride in the whole wide world!

So on my part, I now have to be extra particular on the budget. I guess for the earlier part, I indulged in getting the suppliers that we felt were really great. Although their services are priced a bit more than we hoped to pay, I think it was still a good choice since they would really make our wedding memories special. And I honestly thought we were going to settle with the cheaper caterers and we'll have so much budget left for the others. Choosing K had a big blow on our budget, but it is one that we willingly take. We consider it part of that first phase in the preps were we indulged in those details of the wedding that are really important, and now, as I said, we are dealing with it. I'm more careful with our budget and more determined than ever to haggle to get the lowest possible prices for the other wedding details. Besides, if we have K as our caterer for our reception, I think the whole of our wedding will be able to pull of that understated elegant look :))

Okay, so I ended up writing more than I actually thought I would, but without further ado, here are the photos. Again, this post is not for the hungry. Enjoy:

words...

a new artwork i made through polyvore. Just making the most out of my sickly time to do what i love...

words by camslab on Polyvore.com

testing lang :)

Sharing my recent set from polyvore.com, this is kinda similar to my pre-nup photo look, that I will embed here, soon maybe :)

simple life2 by camslab featuring Diane von Furstenberg

A little less than a year to go - updates

Oh well, how's the rest of the world doing?

Yours truly is doing great. Kind of slow-mo in the wedding preps, but after an almost fight with Babe, I decided to take things in stride and avoid being impulsive in doing things. I'm like the tasmanian devil of Looney Tunes when I'm excited. I can get a lot of things done when I'm on a roll, but some of them turns out unfinished and messy and I wish I never laid my hands on it. And some times, with the many things I try to accomplish, I tend to forget about them in the long run, and they are left hanging. So again, I'm trying to practice grace. Every decision needs to be well thought out, not hasty. And to pay attention to details. It's not a race, so I have to do it slowly but surely.

Its pretty hard, especially for me, a sucker for weddings. I know I can get it done in a jiffy, its not rocket science and most of the time, I trust my intuition that I know what I'm doing. But given my track record for some of the plans that were hastily executed, I really should start being more careful in making decisions. As it is, Babe is already being affected of the stupid mistakes I made (only because of several impulsive moves that I forget). In the future, my decisions will not just affect the two of us, but our kids. Our family. So I have to get it right, get it together as soon as possible. I don't want to screw up when it really matters.

Although, I realized I have to meet with the caterer and the lights and sound supplier soon, to get the best deals possible. Its great though that one of our close friends is really taking care of the drapings. We would just have to pay for the materials and the labor of their staff.

I guess, I really have to start putting together a "Wedding Folder" and make a timetable just to make sure I don't miss out on anything. And work on those lookbooks for the suppliers. Hmmm... but I'm also thinking, I'll have a lot of time to do that in September, when my contract from work expires. But, I shouldn't be procrastinating, so if I could start on something as early as now, might as well do it already (I always contradict myself, if you haven't already noticed).

In other news, I'm super proud of Babe! :) he has already saved up and even exceeded his share of our wedding budget :) I'm so happy. Not just because we already have the moolah to pay for everything that we need for the wedding, but because he really made sure he gets to have this certain amount at the earliest possible time even when his priority is money for the lot (house to follow). Between us two, I'm the one who's more excited for the wedding, but he managed to have this amount ready, so that I can go full force with the wedding preps. And it only means he's already excited to be married to me. What can I say? This man really loves me. (Super heartfelt smile :)) )

And then, there's my new dilemna. I thought I was dead set on my color motiff - aqua, fuschia and freesia (darker, mustardy shade of yellow), but the preppy dainty side of me is starting to come out more and more after I finished the moodboard for my wedding dress (see my previous blog entry for the picture). Now I'm thinking if I would switch to a more dainty, pastel motiff, which is light-bubblegum pink and aqua. But then, I don't want to seem too "weddingy" and when it comes to our personality as a couple, I'd say we're really more of the loud and proud side, not those shy perfect pastels. Aarrgh! I really can't decide! My sister slash Maid of Honor says I should just stick to the original motiff, yet the pink and aqua combo is just so pretty to pass on... Babe says he's okay with whatever. What do you think?

Kinda off-topic now, does anybody watch the new teleserye "The Wedding"? I'm super hooked! Not just because its about weddings, which I love next to Babe and writing, and especially, contrary to what others think, not because my biggest local celeb crush Zanjoe is playing lead opposite Anne Curtis. I'm not even that smitten with the plot, I mean, it needs improvement at some points, but I don't know. Might be the script, might be the acting, might be the characters they portray. I especially liked ZM as Marlon. His role there reminds me of a certain guy I call my fiancee. Hardworking, funny, brave, a little proud and undeniably in love with his girl. What-A-Catch. I was never into the rich guys who can get anything they want without working for it. The simple, determined, kind of naive guys seem to attract me more, and I'm just so lucky to have one who's also head over heels in love with me :) My favorite line from the show is "Sinong batas?" (by Zanjoe to Anne). Simple but so damn real. I love it that my Babe knows how to assert himself with me because admittedly, I'm kind of a brat and is used to having things my way. "Medyo sanay ka na utos ng utos... ayokong madala mo yun pag mag-asawa na tayo." Babe keeps me grounded. I'm not that much of a diva anymore because of him. And so, my weeknight schedule includes watching The Wedding before I go to bed.

Okay, enough blogging (or blabbing) for now :) hopefully, I'll write more wedding preps updates next time :)

my wedding dress mood board :)

thanks to Polyvore and Adobe Photoshop, its finally here! :)