Tuxedos - What color?

I'm in the process of narrowing down the tuxedos for the groomsmen. In truth, mike should be the one to choose this, but here are their color options:

Truffle:

Chocolate:

Cognac:



Gold:

I'm not sure, I think the truffle may be too dark, but i've been told the gold looks too cheesy. So maybe Cognac? Or chocolate? i dont know.. what do you think?

Here's Mr. Smallville's color. Unfortunately, he gets no choice but to match my ivory dress, lol.

Engagement Photo Session in the District!

As I posted before, my good friend, Trang Dam, is an awesome photographer that does weddings and family portraits. Mr Smallville and I met up with him on Sunday for an engagement photoshoot on the National Mall in Washington, DC. She was awesome enough to feature us on her blog with a preview of the photos. Here are some pics:

I went to MAC to get my make up done right before the shoot. They gave me false lashes and a "daytime smokey eye." I was self-concious at first, afraid I looked too overdone. I dont think it looks too bad in these shots, though!

I am totally pleased and excited by the way it all turned out! I can't wait to see the rest. One of the images will be used on my Save The Date post cards, which i wish to print and send out before i leave for the Philippines April 8th.

Dessert Favors too??

So right now all I have for dessert is a cake.

This concerns me.

That and in 2008 my family and I attended a wedding in Toronto where it's a fad to provide midnight snacks to your guests-- an adopted Italian tradition that they just made standard for all weddings up there. My mother and I were intrigued.

The venue doesn't allow for us to bring in our own food to serve. It must be ordered through them... But they're pricey. And I'm a budget bride.

However, I do know they allow FAVORS.

So I am adding yet another idea to my seemingly neverending list of favors.

This time, these favors will be self-service, and you pick them up at one table. You can snack on them right there if you want. You can even bring them home.

I can individually bag treats (cellophane bags) and label them w/ our monogram and a thank you note. Options for these are:

• Brownies from Becky's Kitchen in Manila - fudgy goodness. something about chocolate desserts in manila have a very indulgent factor to them.
• Cookies from Costco - they're large and their good. Nuff said
• Peanuts and Peanut Candies from Whitley's Peanut Factory - over by Mr Smallville's house. Virginia peanuts, sometimes hand dipped in awesome chocolate.

I may do some. I may do all. who knows?

One of my many brainstorm posts.

Dolce Studio Films

The wedding video... i had a few choices.

Being a multimedia artist has its advantages... I can edit footage, mix it and splice it with some music and special effects, and then make a DVD in about a day or two (16 hours-ish), with an awesome menu, slide show, and a custom designed DVD cover. I'd done it once for a family friend. The thing is, it's A LOT of work, though i know i'd be saving LOTS of time doing it.

So what do I do? Do I:

A) hire someone who does amazing shots, and pay for the raw footage

or

B) hire someone to do it all, and eat up the costs?

well... with Dolce Studio Films, I found a nice alternative that is cost effective.

They offer a "Vintage Package" for $1400, which includes:

• 4 consecutive hours of coverage in High Def video
• 3 copies in Blue Ray DVD of a 15 minute fully edited highlight reel
• a copy of the raw unedited full length video on DVD

So a 15 minute reel isnt the whole thing, but just the highlights of the day set to slow-mo with some music in the background. I think it's a great alternative to just having the raw footage, as I'll immediately have something to watch. I know it will take me a while to get around it, but I could definitely work on editing and putting the rest of the footage into my own DVD another day! I did customize it some by adding another 2 hours to the coverage, since the ceremony's at 4, cocktail hour is at 5, and reception is 6-11. So i have scheduled coverage to go from 3:45-9:45, which i think is perfect!

They sent me a DVD with great samples of their work,and they came highly recommended by my friend Trang Dam who is a fellow Multimedia Artist and wonderful Wedding Photographer.

Here is a sample of their video from their blog post about Rainy Day weddings:

Trang Dam Photography

As I said, my close friend, Trang, does some awesome photography work.

She has the photojournalistic unobtrusive style that I love a lot, and I can't wait to work with her.

Trang doesn't only do weddings. She also does shoots for children, family, and other special occasions, like below:

I've asked her to be my photographer for my engagement session, scheduled either the 21st of this month or the 4th of April, as well as the church ceremony on August 21.

You can view the rest of her portfolio at: http://www.trangdamphotography.com/

You can also read her photography blog at: http://trangdamphotography.com/blog

I'm so excited!

Honeymoon Wishes? Am I the last to know?

I was in the car w/ my sister and friend when they mentioned honeymoonwishes.com

I must not be a trendy bride. I had no idea you can register for something like honeymoon expenses! From a website too? thats crazy!

You can enter in any location and register for things like room upgrades, activities, dining, airfare, and car rentals! I thought that was amazing!

Best believe we signed up! I registered for sport fishing (Mike loves that) Snorkeling, lots of dining, spa days, car rental, and room upgrades!

Technology today, I tell ya!

Crate & Barrel Wedding Registry Party!

i love crate and barrel.

on Feb 21, mr. smallville, my sister, and I attended their Wedding Registry event. It was from 9-11 on a sunday, open just for couples who have come to register.

I was like a kid in a candy store!

They demo'd a lot of things like their fondue pots, waffle makers, and GreenPan which is a line of green cookware, and let you run around w/ your scanner to figure out what you want.

I was shocked to see Mr. Smallville get into the groove of things. I totally expected him to say "Why that? we dont need that?" but he apparently found things he wanted/needed!

They also provided mini lunch plates on teh 3rd floor (furnishings) of cobb salad and lemon pie from WildFire.

Very Nice!

Honeymooning in Cabo!

We're cashing in on the timeshare.

We had a few options...

A: We could do a cruise, which would have been expensive, and in the fall we had 2 options (because of hurricane season): Hawaiian Islands, or the Mediterranean.

B: We pick a stationary location and do a standard timeshare.

Well, Option A, which would have been a DREAM costs about $1400-1600 more than Option B.

Since I'm spending so much on this wedding, and Mr. Smallville is looking at purchasing our dream home, we figured we'd save the cruise for another year. We decided on B.

And what did we pick as our honeymoon was Los Cabos.

Of the resorts that were available, we did some online research for reviews and etc on the best place.

We came up with:

La Casa Dorada Los Cabos Resort and Spa

Its a brand new resort right on Medano beach, walking distance to the city, the mall, and the famous restaurant, "The Office."

We're going October 2nd to 9th!

I can't wait!

The Chiavari Chair

They upgrade any event space, turning the most unconventional into a glamorous, elegant setting.

My venue has some very comfortable, bluish grey and gold chairs:

while they are not completely an eyesore, they don't exactly go with my colors of Burnt Orange, Chocolate, Gold, and Ivory. I could've rented chair covers and sashes as well, but i actually don't like the look as much as the Chiavari Chairs.

The drawback: Usually, rental for Chiavari Chairs are somewhere between $7-15 per chair! Yikes!

It was totally out of the question...

until...

I ran into this one blog where the bride was talking about how she rented chiavari chairs for $5/chair for a nearby venue. Turns out her vendor was the same vendor the venue uses, only you didn't have to pay the surcharge for it!

So I'm renting with Leslee Addison of Special Occasions for gold chairs with ivory cushions for $5/chair, and chocolate colored napkins for $0.40/napkin. (My venue only carries, black, white, ivory, pink, and red, and rental for other colors is $2.50 per napkin).

What a find!

Make-up and Hair, Kater2You

Upon a recent recommendation, I have appointed Kate Ricasa of Kater2you Make-Up artistry to do my wedding party's make-up, as well as my make-up, hair, and lashes. I have a few pics of her work above, and this is her below:

She did a friend's wedding last september 19th. My friend told me she will actually do the makeup the way you want.

The Bridesmaid's Gown

Several different scenarios played for bridesmaids gowns.

I originally wanted to save everyone some money and have them made in Manila, however now I don't think it's happening.

Why?

Well I have super-fashionista bridesmaids, whose concern is cut and fit of the dress. We visited a few stores to get a feel for some dresses. They even had me try on some stuff at our local David's one night.

My criteria for the gown:

Burnt Orange

Floor Length

Otherwise, I was confident that they'd find an amazing dress.

They have searched far and wide and made their decision on a dress.

It's by Jim Hjelm

It will be ordered in Sienna satin, which is a burnt orange, that matches the pantone ink i will use on my invitation perfectly.

here's the color, Sienna:

it's gonna be gorgeous!

Great job guys!

A Visit to Manila

Going to Manila in April from the 8th to the 22nd.

I haven't been there since 2006, for my grandmother's funeral.

Happy to go back for a more joyful occasion.

Things I plan to do there:

Favors:

Ceramic Filigree Lace Candle holders, like i mentioned in a previous post. I plan on giving away about 90, but we're ordering 120-130 of them incase some break during our flight back.

Attire:

Labor and Fabric are cheap in the Philippines, so I am going there to get a bunch of gowns made for the wedding party and a few choice outfits for myself. Below are the things we're getting done

• Gown for Mother of The Bride
• Gown For Mother of the Groom
• Dresses For Flower Girls
• My Dress for the Catholic Ceremony (which will double for my rehearsal dinner dress)
• My Bridal Shower Dress

And last, but most important,

• MY WEDDING GOWN!

Decorations:

Colored Table Runners, because I dont feel like paying $12-20 per orange table clothes to rent them, when we can get them made for half of that price, and I'd OWN them, lol.

Invites?:

Well, I probably wont get them printed there, but i was contemplating getting my Folio Pockets done there with our Monogram embossed on the inner pocket. Maybe. I don't know.

And most important, I get to see my family. I have a slew of extended family in Manila, of all which I treasure dearly, and can't wait to see again!

Flowers, by My mother

My mother does wedding flowers on the side. It's been her dream to work on her daughters' weddings. I'm her one and only shot, since my sister will most likely have a destination wedding.

So...

I'm letting her go all out on the wedding, her way.

However, I will call out the colors of my flowers, as well as the type.

Here are the flowers I love:

Orange Calla Lilies and Hypericum Berries

Orange Cymbidium Orchids

Yellow and Red English roses

Colors: The full analogous colorscheme of orange, from yellow orange to red orange, and some touches of green.

Pretty, huh? Those are just a few flowers. They're actually the flowers i want for my bouquet. There are some more flower ideas for things such as centerpieces and all, but i'll leave that for another post.