Seeing RED

I am desperately looking for a red dress to use for my wedding pictorials. Haay couldn't seem to find a decent, affordable one here in Singapore. Where oh where could it be hiding?

BIG or small?

Early on in the preps, I was dead-set on having 150+ guests. During our draft guest list, when we reached over 180, I even had a tiff with my dad because I felt we were inviting far too many people...some whom I felt I don't even know.


Predictably, I lost that battle and was resigned to hosting a party for 300.


Now two months before our big day, our grand total has reached over 230....and I happily declared to my friend Loraine, "wow konti lng ng guests namin...232 LANG".


whoah! what a difference 8 months make...or maybe it is just the panic settling in...

confessions of a bride-to-be

Perhaps it's because I'm missing him for his almost two-week absence, or perhaps because I was filing away pictures for our AVPs last weekend that I suddenly got this sudden shot of sentimiento.  So with less than 75 days until we formally say forever to each other, I found myself daydreaming about that night almost a year ago, on top of Singapore when Paui went down on one knee (oo, on bended knee tlaga like in the movies!) and asked me if I would be his wife.

Now as much as I was feeling kilig during that moment when he was doing his whole mushy and sweet speech to me, I cannot lie and say I was totally suprised.  Why? Eto mga total give-aways....

1 - overconfidence. Around two months before the actual proposal, we were watching a love story where the ending has the guy propose to the girl. I looked at him in a joking, offhand manner as I usually do (joking way tlaga pramiz) and elbowed him. Instead of trying to be deadma which is his usual reaction, he pats my hand and confidently replied, "ma surprise ka nlng". 

2 - sudden cravings. December 6-7 was our monthsary weekend. So I was busy making plans where to go (even prebooked Rassa Sentosa for a relaxing weekend). But near the end of November, he had me cancel the booking and instead insisted we go out for a nice dinner somewhere shala. I told him we can go instead to Sentosa and have a simple dinner  instead of spending a lot for food. But he was insistent...and he never goes for expensive food unless it is Valentine's day or our birthdays (or he did something wrong. haha).

 3 - wardrobe malfunctions. I was all dressed up and ready to go in a simple, casual chic white outfit. He took one look at me and told me to go change into something more formal. He was already dressed in his James Bond dashing outfit. Hello...sinu pa ba di magdududa di ba that something was up when we NEVER NEVER dress up this much when going out for dinner, even when we went to Vertigo Banyan Tree in Bangkok.

3 - Parental interference. I was talking to my dad on the phone about Hazel's Maldives application the day before the proposal, and had just informed him that her job would start on December 29. Suddenly, he became agitated when he talked to me and he was all worried about what if an "important event would come up" and Haze wouldn't be present. I asked him which event he was referring to. Then he became vague and said in case I got married in 2009 or Hazel or Bea would get married. And Bea is still in college ha. hehehe. Kasama sa palusot nya.

4 - Text Disturbances. During dinner at Indochine, my sis Hazel kept texting me if what happened during dinner...if Paui did or gave anything special. By this time, I was already on kilig alert mode.  Our poor food..I wasn't able to give it much attention dahil my stomach was full of butterflies because I was feeling so kilig and excited already (assuming kaayu ko noh).

5 - Champagne Flight. By the time we reached the Singapore Flyer (Paui kept mum the whole time about where our next destination after dinner was) , and I found out that we were booked on a champagne flight (meaning just the two of us in the capsule) I already had an assuming, gut feeling that this was it...the biggest step we would take in our life together was just a few minutes away. haha. I even went to the restroom to freshen up before we set foot in the capsule.

And when our capsule was at its peak, Paui suddenly motioned me to come to one side to appreciate the view. I was all smiles (minsan mahirap ipigil ang kilig eh). He took both my hands, looked me straight in the eye and proceeded to pour out the words that until now are saved in his cellphone. (I had to re-read his ready made speech again because to be honest during that time I was such in the moment that I can only look at him, and smile like the happiest idiot in the world).

I wasn't teary eyed (which would come as a shock knowing how iyakin I am). And I was painfully conscious of saying the all too cliche "Yes I do" words to him ( I should have thought of something more unique). But really during that time, the only thought in my head was that I was sure (more than sure) that he was my soulmate, my best friend, and the only person who knew me inside and out (ok not know me totally yet but we have a whole lifetime ahead of us, so no rush).  I love him, he makes me happy and as trite as it sounds, I really do want to spend the rest of my days making him as happy and complete as he makes me.

And during the times in wedding preps when life throws a curveball into our carefully laid plans, it's important to keep that in mind :P

Our Triple Celebration

Last Friday, we had a lot of things to be happy about --- celebrate Paui's departure for his first Canada business trip, our monthsary celebration (yes we still celebrate this!) and my permanency in my company .


There is this quaint small Italian place in Serangoon Gardens that we spotted one lazy weekend. We had been meaning to try it out but somehow our Japanese sushi cravings always got the better of us. hehehe. But finally that Friday, we decided to check out this restaurant with a romantic ambiance for our triple celebration.


The restaurant is named Ristorante de Parma and apparently family owned. It was a busy Friday but thankfully we were able to grab a table even without reservations. Paui and I ordered pizza (waaa....I forgot the name) which the waiter recommended to us and cheese ravioli. We wanted to order wine to complete our shala feeling (hahaha) but we were too chicken to do so. Next time :P

And the verdict? ang sarap ng food! The pizza was thin crust and just the right kind of crisp. But my favorite was the ravioli. I almost forgot my diet (ok so I totally forgot I had a wedding dress to fit into. haha). We also got really good service and one of the staff (or perhaps it was the owner?) even offered her apologies to us for serving the food late (though we hardly noticed).


We spent around 50 SGD for our dinner (we didn't order any drinks though) and they don''t charge GST.  We had a really pleasant dining experience, which we owe to the yummy italian food and friendly staff. And syempre, the titillating company (=paui).


Thanks baby for the sumptuous meal and great company. I can't wait for you to get back from Canada.


in case you want to try this resto: http://www.ristorantedeparma.com/

where oh where do we honeymoon?

Less than a 100 days to our wedding and Paui and I are long overdue in planning our honeymoon. Initially, we just wanted to spend it in Cebu by staying in a posh and relaxing resort  like Shangri-la. But soon, we realized (and with a bit of help from this blog) that a honeymoon doesn't have to be expensive but :


1 - better happen soon after the wedding, preferably immediate to bask in that after-wedding glow and just be with your new hubby
2 - better be the two of you ONLY  (meaning far away from family and friends and relatives)
3 - and I realized that the amount we will be spending in Shangri-la Cebu is large enough to cover staying in a different country which is more exciting (hehe)


So now we are scrambling to get up a list of places :


1. New Zealand -- unfortunately the 12 weeks it requires to get a visa for someone with a Philippine passport is not enough time :( 
2. Ria suggested this Santorini-like place in the Philippines...
http://bellaroccaresorts.com/?file=kop1.php

3. My sis Hazel works in Maldives. She can get us some really good prices to stay here:
https://www.atollparadise.com/index.php?cid=39&kw=atoll%20paradise&gclid=COSll4yzoZ0CFQQupAodYjIp3A

4. We both wanted to go to Japan and Korea, but it is wintertime, and we both hate the cold. So we nixed that idea.

5. Macau and Hongkong
http://www.venetianmacao.com/
6. Palawan? hmm...not so sure because this might just be similar to a Krabi vacation we already took before.

Any other options? Suggestions? Votes? haha. 


Crunchtime na. waaaa..