Our Supplier Ratings

For the most part, I don't have any complaints against our wedding suppliers. I was pretty happy with the way things turned out, and if there were some tiny mishaps, most probably it was our fault (not theirs).

I've placed the value I got their services for, but since I got them early 2009 and applied a lot of charm and smiles (mostly courtesy of Aunti Chary),  the prices you might get them for could be higher (or lower).

church: Sacred Heart Parish Church

pros: since they were strict with the ceremony, I have to admit that we were able to preserve the solemnity of the entire wedding mass. :) They even had a cordon around the altar area to prevent photographers from just crossing. haha. So all our church pics look lovely, pristine and clean.
cons: strict on time and not allow personal vows, confetti throwing and the like on church grounds. super baaaddd acoustics. I didn't believe Dr. Blanco when they told me about this before. But now I understand. sigh.
peso power: 8500 including flower arrangements on the aisle and the car.

reception venue: Chateau de Busay

pros: beautiful and elegant garden set up. They were very professional too because they were setting up the back up room just in case it rains. During food tasting, we made mention of some items that needed improvement and voila, they seemed to note it down because the food was absolutely delish.
cons: a bit far from the city center. Took us around 30 minutes to 45 minutes to make the ascent.  but we managed to get around this problem by hiring a bus (yes a bus! di man lng coaster noh? hehe) to ferry guests to Chateau then back to the city.
peso power: 420 per head including gazebo, basic flower decor, and wine for toasting. We had over 250 guests. :)

photographer and video: Jim Ubalde Photography

pros:  Beautiful pictures, wonderful and fun to work with (as in no air despite all his success). And to be honest, I wasn't expecting much regarding the onsite video, but I was so so so happy with the result. See it here.  And my bridesmaids/cousins were hankering after him to take their pictures!
cons: Just had one tiny tiny complaint though...there was this portion of time that Pau and I were doing nothing while waiting for reception to start. I just wish he had made time for us to have picture-taking around Chateau de Busay as the place was so beautiful. 

hmu: Ramil Solis

pros: He made me beautiful on my wedding day (and my moms and sisters too!). He really works magic with his hands. And to think I didn't get a retouch sa reception na but my usually Tzone oily face was still radiant. And I like the hair -- how it was done. It fit my bill of the traditional looking bridal hair but still not too traditional. Everyone was complimenting my make up and how pretty I look (grrr parang surprised sila lahat kasi siguro mukha akong alila on normal days. haha)
cons: During the make up session, I got the feeling that he was mad at me or something. Or that I did something wrong that didn't please him. Or maybe it was just me because he was actually friendly , just not as flamboyantly friendly as Jim I guess. His assistants (the one doing the hair) were nice and funny too keeping the mood light.
peso power: 8000 for 8 people, including the bride .


Bridal Gown andEntourage Gowns: Cres Abines

cons: he kept moving the dates of the fittings as he couldn't produce on the time line that I requested of him, despite me having booked him almost 8 months in advance.  The fit of my dress at my chest area was not correct which made me uncomfortable.  He promised that the trail of my gown would be pinned to my back during reception. But on the eve of my wedding day, suddenly he tells me "no it cannot be done".  He promised me a pink garter as per our discussion. On wedding day, he chastises me that "garters are supposed to be blue".  He promised me (and I even have it on contract) a simple white dress for dress up. But he suddenly reneges on it, claiming nalulugi na daw sya koz of so many bridesmaids. But I didn't push it anymore as it wasn't worth all the drama.
pros: the output, I have to admit, was very good. Nothing fell apart at the seams and the colors were magnificent. Cres really has an eye for details and design. And I guess I just had too much stress during the preps but during the day itself, he was on hand to assist me into my gown, fix my gown and overall, make me, my ento and my mom look good. So basically I would still recommend him to friends, although he really has to work on being more organized. And on time.
peso power: 20k for bridal gown, 5 BM, 1 MOH and bridal accessories. Paid additional 3500 for mother of the bride gown.


** the bags and headbands courtesy of Ria Sordan. Thanks to her impeccable taste, it matched our gowns perfectly! ***


choir and strings for reception: Millenium Choir (Dr Blanco)

pros: Very good choir and they even practiced on the song Lucky that Paui and I especially requested for our first dance. Dr Blanco is familiar with playing in different Cebu churches so he can easily give suggestions for what songs to sing during the mass. And during reception, they even played after the program was done to entertain the guests. And one more thing, they were so honest that when we by mistake gave them envelope meant for another supplier, he called up to return it to us.
cons: hmm....la ako maisip pa.
peso power: 12k for having them at church and reception. and they have their own transportation too


emcee: Kaye Alfafara

pros: she was on time and very lively. She spoke in both English and Bisaya which gave a relaxed feel to the wedding. And I liked how she made the games fun.
cons: she allowed a tita to sing TWO songs...which were definitely not part of the program. Muntik na magkaraoke night dun. And she cut short our AVP by Pau's sister Emily which made the ending anti climactic tuloy. But minor things I guess as the guests all thought her a very good emcee.
peso power: 6k





 

on the day coordinator: Wedding Solutions by Elnie Samoramos

pros: came very prepared and organized. He knew what I wanted (schedules, checklists, the MinyoNami sign on the car , etc) and he willingly obliged. His team seemed to know what to do especially during the preps and church part and early on in the reception. I forgot a lot of stuff, like the pens for the guestbook. Good thing he was so ready. He really helped set me and my family at ease.
cons: I just noticed though that by the middle of the reception, his team was not functioning anymore and it was just Elni doing all the coordinating. 
peso power: 15k for 6 coordinators


projector and sound system: DSL


peso power: 8k for the screen, projector and sound system --> really thanks to aunti chary
pros: very open to negotiation. And they were on time too!


prep place: Waterfront Hotel


pros: we got the family room so it was a big, big area
cons: the room apparently did not have any friggin windows. Thank God for Jim's team who brought this super mega light that lit up the whole room.
peso power: 10k


florist: Alex Monteclar

pros: gave us super pretty bouquets and buttonaires and wrist corsages. Although the buttonaires did not work well with the barongs. The best though was the beautiful and simple and elegant floral pieces that he did for the reception near the stage. It was subtle and totally devoid of ferns that I absolutely abhor. 
cons: no cons as he was on time and totally professional about it.
peso power: 10k for the reception arrangement and entourage flowers/corsages


cake: Chedz Cakes

pros: We forgot to pay the full amount before the wedding (and we only remembered on the eve itself) but they were still professional and delivered this beautiful wedding cake that was beautiful to see on the outside and delicious inside. ;) And Cecil was easy to talk to and she immediately understood what we wanted.
cons: nothing...
peso power: my sis was paying. hehehe. it cost 13500 for 3 tiered cake plus 300 cupcakes. yum!


Back up HMU (for the entourage and my other titas) --> Vincent Bermejo

pros:  very nice and sweet guy. Fast and efficient in doing makeup and had done surprisingly natural make up too.
cons: I should have put them in another suite as all the people lining up to have their make up done sort of made the room more chaotic.
peso power: 5000 for 10 faces 


Other suppliers:


Bus --> Uncle Noel's friend. Extremely reliable. Cost us only 5500 for waterfront pickup then to church then to chateau de Busay then back to Waterfront. Totally not bad as it had no time limit.
Bridal Car --> gift from Tita Nimfa (ninang) and it was a white Camry.  :)

Rings --> from Aspial . Amount will remain undisclosed. haha.

ps: di ko na include the little things like shoes, back up shoes, etc ha.


All in all, Paui and I were totally satisfied with the suppliers we picked. During the course of the recession year, we always had our budget in mind (thus no photobooth and fireworks, though we did get the latter for free. haha). But even with budget constraints, we also wanted our wedding to not look cheap and instead retain elegance in its simplicity, and thus chose the best people who can help us achieve that. And I would like to think that we chose the right people. ;) 


What do you think?