As one of my friends aptly put it, we shouldn't scrimp on our photographer as our photos would be the only tangible reminders of our wedding. I believed her but it took Dodie a long and hard time to accept this.
And so for the past few months, I've scoured the net and asked referrals from friends, sometimes forgetting work and just making my deadlines in the nick of time. In doing so, I also came to accept the sad truth that some photographers were just out of our reach. They were just too expensive.
Like the venue for our reception, our photographers came from the strong recommendation of one my greatest friends. A self-proclaimed sweet brat, Kristel is a perfectionist when it comes to photography and videography. Maybe it has something to do with her being a television reporter. I was equally persuaded by the fact that Kristel was also getting the same guys for her wedding in 2009. And so I asked her - Who? And the answer - Cinematic Concepts.
Cinematic Concepts is a group of four friends who decided to make their passion for photography and videography their day jobs. At first, I was hesitant to meet them because their published rate was still way off our budget. But a quick email and a short meeting proved otherwise - they were willing to give us a discount with still a lot of inclusions. In short, madali silang kausap. More importantly, we would be able to see them in action during Kristel's wedding :)
Dodie and I didn't want to rush things so we discussed the matter a couple of times before we made our decision. A few days ago, we made our downpayment.
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The Quest for the Photographer Ends
Merry Christmas!
Taking a break from the wedding preps to greet you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!
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The Glass Garden
The Glass Garden wasn't actually on our short list of venues for Metro Manila. For one, I thought it was too far from UP. Secondly, its street name didn't particularly appeal to me (It wasn't located in a particularly posh area). And third and most importantly, it was WAY OVER our budget. And when I say way off, I mean it wasn't just a few thousands off, it was double or even almost triple than what was our budget.
So on the day we went on our ocular, I particularly omitted The Glass Garden from our itinerary. After all, I decided that I shouldn't look at places that I knew we couldn't afford anyway. I would just be disappointed. And after that initial stinging rejection at the UP Parish of the Holy Sacrifice, I knew it wouldn't be such a good idea.
Problem was, our ocular also left us severely disappointed. Places which looked so good on photos turned out to be just so-so. And many of them turned out to be too small, even for only 150 guests. It also didn't help that it was raining the day we went on our ocular. Which just totally ruined any grand effect the garden venues would have had on us.
It was a good thing my friend Lex and I met up so I could borrow her clearbook of suppliers (OC-ness runs in her veins, too :) ) Lex is set to wed her boyfriend of forever on 5 September 2009 at the San Agustin Church. So over mud pie and a blueberry muffin, she gushed over this place that was too far away from the San Agustin Church. Now, there are very few people whose opinions I think very highly of when it comes to things like this, and Lex was one of them. So when she showed me the brochure of the Glass Garden, I sat up and listened.
Dodie and I checked out The Glass Garden soon after and we were, in a word, impressed. For a few thousands more than the cost of the other garden venues we looked at, we would be able to have an air-conditioned one which, at that point, was one of Dodie's requirements. It also had a LOT of parking space, which was one of my major concerns with the other venues we looked at. And although the price was still steep, we decided that this was the only venue that actually fit our requirements. So a few weeks later, Dodie and I made the reservation.
In the words of my friend, "Totoo na talaga 'to."
Photo of The Glass Garden courtesy of The Glass Garden.
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At The Beginning
Flashback to two years ago. It was a rainy Sunday morning when I woke up panicking because I was late for my weekly breakfast with my parents. My dorm became my home during the gruelling months before the bar exams so my parents figured that if I couldn't come home, they would come to me. So every Sunday for that particular period, I would wake up for the 7am mass at the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice with my parents then we'd have breakfast. On this particular Sunday, however, I overslept and was only able to have breakfast with my parents. No more mass together.
I heard mass right after my parents dropped me off. I was a bit late so I hurriedly sat on one of the pews at the back. I usually keep to myself in church and barely glance at the people around me. Only during the time we give peace to other people do I actually turn my head and greet my seatmates. I gave peace exactly like I did for the countless times I've heard mass at the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice - first to the priest, then to my seatmates, then to whoever would give peace to me. The guy in front of me decided to turn his head and give peace to me. It was Dodie.
Dodie and I were classmates in law school, but we never acknowledged each other's presence. In fact, it's safe to say that we ignored each other. Dodie's version is that I looked mataray (which was true anyway). I happen to know that he'd look the other way whenever he would see me coming. That way, he wouldn't have to say hi to me. But we had no choice that day. We greeted each other and went on hearing the mass. I thought that was the end. But Dodie, being the friendly person that he is, decided to wait for me and walked with me back to the dorm - which incidentally was the same dorm he was staying in.
The casual greeting in church led to a long and interesting conversation. A great friendship. And a lifetime together.
Now, if only I could get that person from the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice to accept our reservation...
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Of churches and reservations
On the same day that we got back from Tagaytay, Dodie and I went straight to the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice to make our reservation. Virtually everything else depended on the church - the reception venue, the caterer, the flowers, among others. That's why we decided to get it out of the way as soon as possible.
So with money in hand, Dodie and I went to the parish office and talked to the person in charge. Guess what? We weren't allowed to make the reservation. The person in charge told us that: 1) it was too early for us to make a reservation; 2) she had no logbook to record the reservation in and; 3) we should reserve 4 MONTHS before the date we wanted. She refused to hear our pleas that someone else might reserve the date ahead of us and patronizingly said that wouldn't be the case.
To say that I was frustrated would be the biggest understatement of the year. All the while, people kept telling me to reserve the church soon because slots go fast. In fact, the people in the churches in Tagaytay kept prodding us to reserve on the spot. But there we were, with money and all, rejected by the person in charge of weddings in the only church I wanted to get married in.
On the way home, I couldn't even talk to Dodie. He knew me enough not to talk to me about what had just happened. I knew that we would encounter problems along the way, I just didn't expect the first one to come from the church.
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Decisions after Tagaytay
Tagaytay has always held a special place in my heart. Not only did Dodie and I go there for our first out-of-town trip as a couple, we also celebrated our first year anniversary there. That's why I really had my heart set on getting married in Tagaytay - at the start.
You see, in choosing the church where we would get married, I wanted a place that had significance in our life as a couple. I didn't want a church that looked great in pictures but had absolutedly no meaning to us. I wanted a church that, when I walk down the aisle, I could fondly remember memories that Dodie and I created along the way. A church that could make me smile inwardly as though we were sharing a secret together. And because Tagaytay was special to both Dodie and me, I figured it fit my criteria very nicely.
And so armed with our short list of venues, Dodie and I made the rounds in Tagaytay. I was proud of Dodie because he was really patient along the way. Although I knew he had reservations about holding our wedding in Tagaytay (his family will come all the way from Bulacan), he gamely checked out each and every venue on our list. And he never complained.
As we trudged back to our hotel room, tired and overwhelmed by everything we've seen, Dodie suggested that we make a comparative chart of the costs that would be incurred if we held our wedding in one of the venues on our further shortened list. Being the OC person that I am, I made one in Excel, complete with not only costs for the venue and church, but those of incidental costs as well.
And that's when we decided. Good bye, Tagaytay (for our wedding at least) and hello to the only other church that I wanted to get married in - The Parish of the Holy Sacrifice a.k.a. UP Chapel.
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Hello, Blogging World!
Ever since Dodie and I started our wedding preps, I've toyed with the idea of starting a blog - mainly to air out my raves and rants along the way. And mind you, in the brief amount of time that we've been doing our wedding preps, there have been quite a number already!
Writing has always helped me clear my head. I think by the mere act of arranging my thoughts on paper, and later on typing them on the keyboard, I see things in a much better light. I started blogging 3 years ago but gave it up when law school took me away from the real world. With all that behind me now, I'm hoping I could do better at my second shot at blogging.
And with that, I say, "Hello, blogging world! It's great to be back :"
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