Tuesday, December 21, 2010

REAL WEDDING: AJ + LA


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Lorely Ann, or LA, is a bride who's very much online. Her Facebook account is constantly on hyper mode. If I am not mistaken (as I have no way of knowing), she is most likely active in the forums, too, of Weddings@Work of which she is a member. I first noticed LA because of her obsession with peonies, currently Manila's flower of choice for bridal bouquets. I often see her post links about peonies from US-based blogs and I often leave comments on her posts that often end up becoming threads (yes, it's THAT often, ha ha!). When her e-session photos came out (see it here), deep in my heart I knew I had to work with her. And what do you know? The universe really has a way of making things happen. :-)

Our first meeting was set last October 24 and detailed that she is, she emailed me a PowerPoint presentation of her ideas & her loot hours prior to the meeting. Other suppliers might find that a little overwhelming, but I am liking her already! Details, you say? Bring it on!

That bride meet lasted 6 hours: our longest to date! After a working dinner at KITCHEN, we moved to Coffee Bean after for the next set, this time just sharing stories. I think I got home at 4AM and both of us called in sick the next day, ha ha ha!

LA, I admire your steadfastness and your conviction that things can be better. I admire you for your patience with your D-I-Y's. Not many brides could possibly survive it given the amount of things that you've done. Vatel Manila is proud to have been of assistance to you in so many ways: from the details of your reception (which made me decide to open a Reception Styling Consultancy Service!), to the approval of your D-I-Ys so that they'd hew closely to the overall look that you want, to purchasing the reception flowers and the dried twigs, and to the best of them all, working on your entourage flowers. All of these will be missed, that's for sure, and more! I am excited for what you and AJ can become and the exciting things that are in store for you both. You are a very nice couple with big dreams and I pray to God that He may grant you the desires of your hearts. :-)

Again, thank you for making us part of your special day! :-)
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How did you two meet?

We met on AJ's first day of work at Accenture. We were in the same group to report on one of ACN's values - One Global Network. AJ was quite sick that day while I was my normal hyper self where I volunteered to be the one to report in front. The next day, I sat next to him in the San Carlos Room since he was the only familiar face there! Little did I know that four and a half years later, he'd be the one I'll be marrying!
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Tell us about your photographer(s).

We initially had a different photographer but decided to change when Phoeben Teocson offered the on-the-go package. Since we'd be changing videographers, we decided to change photographers, too! We had the following choices: Mimi+Karl (my 1st choice), Paul Vincent (AJ's 1st choice) & Jay Jay Lucas. Jay Jay was unavailable already while both M+K and Paul were. AJ and I picked Paul Vincent in the end. :) And you know what, we suuuuuuuuper loved Paul during our big day. He was so full of energy and knew how to motivate the couple! After seeing the slideshow he presented during the reception, we knew we made the right decision to change photographers and to pick him!
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Our favorite detail(s) of the wedding was/were:

The flowers by Dylan Gozum [of Vatel Manila] and the peacock fascinators!!!! :)
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What was the design inspiration for your wedding?

We initially wanted a Peacock + Vintage wedding because the peacock really caught my attention. It's so colorful and beautiful! But executing a Vintage-themed one was harder than we had thought, so we just made sure the peacock [motif] won't be missed out but there's still a touch of vintage here and there: the fascinators, the letterpress invitations, the wax seal, etc.
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What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding?

Definitely the budget! You never really know what weddings are really about until you are actually planning your own.
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Our favorite memory of the day was:

AJ said his was when the door opened. My favorite memory of the day was when AJ's saying his vows!
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What will you miss most in the preps?

The planning, the asking each other of "We need this supplier, these are the choices, who are we going to pick?", the calling and emailing the suppliers for updates! Haha! The stress! :)
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Tell us about your choice of church.

Our first choice was the Church of the Gesu in Ateneo since that's where AJ feels "at home" while my first choice was almost every girl's dream, the Manila Cathedral, with the looooong aisle. The Church of the Gesu doesn't do weddings and neither does our next choice, the Greenbelt Chapel. Next on our list were the Magallanes Church (St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Parish) and Don Bosco. The reason why we liked the Magallanes Church was because it was like a mini-Gesu, all white and simple but very very beautiful.

One February morning, out of the blue, we said "Let's go ask Magallanes Church if they still have a slot for December this year (2010). If not, we'll get married next year." So, we went to Magallanes Church where we first met the wonderful Ms. Cathy, and to our surprise, they had only one slot left for December: our non-negotiable date, December 9. It was like God telling us to get married this year.

After we made the reservation payment to the church, it signaled the start of our preparations.

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What are you looking forward to?

We're looking forward to our new place being turned over next year, the renovation and the planning of what stuff should we put in the kitchen, the bathroom, etc! We'd be attending those home improvement fairs now, not the bridal fairs any more. The babies, which will be coming in three years (we hope!), and our forever! :)
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Tips to brides-to-be?

Research, research, research! :) But if you have to switch suppliers, make sure you are upgrading and not downgrading. We had to change our photographer, videographer and florist and we are very glad that we did. :)

If you had to splurge on something, please splurge on the photos and videos. These are what will be left after the big day. But if you love your bridal boquet as much as I looooved mine, have it preserved! :)


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All photos by Paul Vincent Photography
83-D Aramis Street, Veterans Village, Project 7, Quezon City
Office: (+632)410.5126
Mobile: (+63)928.500.6912
Email: paulvincentphoto@gmail.com
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SUPPLIERS//

Preps: Hotel Celeste, Makati City
Wedding: St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Parish, Magallanes Village
Photographer: Paul Vincent
Videographer: Phoeben Teocson
Wedding Dress: Marc Rancy
Church Flowers: Mr. Hardinero
Reception Styling Consultancy: Vatel Manila
Entourage Flowers: Dylan Gozum for Vatel Manila

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