11.22.09
Voulez-vous couchez avec…
He met Marmalade down in old Moulin Rouge
Struttin’ her stuff on the street
He sat in her boudoir while she freshened up
Boy drank all that Magnolia wine
On her black satin sheets suedes and dark greens.
Giuchie, Giuchie, ya ya here (here ohooh yea yeah)
Mocha Choca lata ya ya (yea)
Creole lady Marmalade
Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir
Voulez vous coucher avec moi
But when he turns off to sleep memories creep,
More-more-more
Somebody pick up my jaw from the floor. It’s still there somewhere.
I am just. in. AWE. of this couple — Zarah Cabral and Dan Ruiz — for pulling off a Moulin Rouge-themed engagement shoot. It’s probably the most dramatic — and definitely the most seductive — pictorial I’ve ever seen. Kudos to Rene Gaviola for the amazing work! What can I say, the guy is king of themed/fashion pre-nups!
Zarah and Dan have nothing but praises for their photographer, who spent five whole hours with them at Victoria Court to shoot this wildly believable interpretation of the Nicole Kidman-Ewan McGregor hit (one of my and my fiance’s faves, too!). Of course it doesn’t hurt that the dresses were (borrowed) from Gerswin Qua and the make-up was done by Kris Bacani. The headpieces were courtesy of the Lucban Hat Factory, a real find for those who need hats and fascinators. Everything just worked out perfectly.
Now if you want this kind of pre-nup photos, stay tuned because the man behind the lens here is announcing a GREAT, IMPOSSIBLE-TO-RESIST DEAL here on moonsnjunes pretty soon. For now, its okay to drool. 8 )
11.19.09
Ne m’oubliez pas
That’s French for “forget me not.”
Since I’m all for French and flowers, I thought I’d share another uncommon bouquet. I was wading through the wet market of Tiu Keng Leng in Hong Kong one Saturday, tasked to buy cheap flowers to serve as centerpieces for our tea party when I saw this perky, purple, impossible-to-miss bunch. It looked a lot like this from www.daisyandwaverly.com:
Until now, the image of that bright bold bouquet lined up with all the other cheap flowers in the market lingers in my head.
The forget-me-not is a flower associated with faithfulness and enduring love perhaps because of that legend of a knight and his lady who were walking along the side of a river. When the knight picked up some flowers on the riverside to give to his lady, he fell into the river due to the weight of his armor. As he drowned, he threw the flowers to the lady and shouted “Forget me not!” (Okay, did I just hear someone say, “How stupid is it to drown while picking up flowers?”). Anyway, that’s just one of the stories. The rest you can read on Wikipedia.
Here’s the earliest postcard of a forget-me-not:
Henry David Thoreau once wrote of the forget-me-not: “It is one of the most interesting minute flowers. It is the more beautiful for being small and unpretending; even flowers must be modest.” True, true.
Enough pontification. I really just love these cheap flowers in a cheap market. I hear they’re being sold in Dangwa, too? Hmm… I want some.
11.15.09
DIY: Centerpiece candle holder
I am not a DIY person. I have resolved that long before I became a bride. I almost always nearly failed Home Ec. I would swap sewing projects for an elegy composition assignment in high school (My classmates got good grades in their English homework and and I got a fully made skirt in return. Fair enough.)
Obviously, Ivy who is marrying Paolo is NOT like me at all. She made these lamps/candle holders as centerpieces for her wedding. All 18 pieces of them. Amazing. Although she insists it wasn’t all that hard… Oh well, you guys might want to try. If you’re not like me, then you can hack this:
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
WHAT TO DO:
1) First, decide on a design for your lamp/candle holder (In Ivy’s case, their theme is damask so she printed this design on the vellum paper that was used). Paste the ends of your vellum paper to form a cylindrical shape. The diameter should fit your candle holder.
2) Accessorize by putting ribbons to cover the white margin and other areas that lack design. You can put tassels, beads, crystal, whatever works for you.
3) Place the vellum paper on the candleholder. You can use battery-operated lights or candles. If you’re using the latter, use wires to secure your vellum paper. (Ivy says she read somewhere that a coating of shellac works but she did not try it on this one).
4) Turn it on or light it up and voila! Here you go…
11.08.09
A bride who shoots
I know this blog is supposed to be about real, gorgeous PHILIPPINE weddings. But hey, there are ALWAYS exceptions to the rule, right? Besides, this is real and gorgeous, and well, the bride is a Filipina who will be getting married in the Philippines July next year. So I guess that counts no? Anyway, whatever, I’m breaking the rule. This time only… I think. 8 )
Josephine Sicad is a Cebuana who has been living in Singapore for over a year now and has been tinkering with her Nikon for only nine months (though you’d never guess!). I first saw her work on Rock ‘n Roll Bride and thought the name sounded Pinoy. Well what do you know, she is a rocking Pinay.
Here’s her DIY engagement shoot with husband Radney Brian Minerva, taken last June in random parks and places in Singapore. Who would ever think these were thanks-to-the-tripod-and-timer kind of photos?
And yeah, they got civilly married on July 28 in Singapore…
Josephine has also shot other couples… yes, still in the Lion City. Like this Lovers’ Day Out shoot with Yvon and Moyo, a retelling of a regular day in the lives of regular people:
And this sweet, sweet post-nup with Jeandy and Nino two years into their marriage:
If you still haven’t gotten enough of this talented lady, here’s her Flickr site. Josephine just might save some fellow Pinay brides in Singapore huge bucks for having to fly in Filipino photographers to shoot their engagements and weddings. Guys, you got one in your own backyard. Just holler! (I did, and I’m from Hong Kong! Wink, wink!)
11.04.09
Just a pretty filler
And the baby’s breath steps up… The usual bridal bouquets must be sooo jealous.
Who would’ve thought?
11.02.09
Banquet rates
A w@wie shared this link to a fellow bride who was looking for a clubhouse for her reception. And now I’m posting it here for (a more) public consumption.
The Banquet Specialty Shoppe Inc. has a list of places that offer a complete reception package. Those who are canvassing for a venue in Quezon City, click here. Those who are interested in the Pasig/ San Juan/Mandaluyong area, check this. If you want to check any of the Makati hotels, here is the link. Manila/Pasay also a lot of venues and packages to choose from. For the south-bound couple, here’s your list.
The site’s Alabang/TagaytayBatangas list is actually too short considering the area is a big hit for weddings. But well, it’s a start. At the very least, the site gives a general idea of the going rates for reception venues all over Metro Manila so you won’t have to e-mail every hotel and restaurant in the region.
Hope this helps those who are still out searching for a place to greet their guests and Mr. and Mrs. 8 ) I know how tough that part of the prep is, so good luck!
10.28.09
Arnel and Jessy: Come hell or high water
This is one wedding that’s truly worth recalling to your kids and grandkids and great grandkids. I don’t think I’ve met any couple that’s this determined to become one on the date they set to exchange vows.
Arnel Perez and Jeselyn Morales got married on Sept. 26, 2009, just as Typhoon Ondoy — the worst to hit Metro Manila in 40 years — was angrily lashing at the capital, submerging 80 percent of the metropolis in floodwater.
Any other day, it would have been an ordinary wedding.
But thanks to the weather, it was anything but ordinary.
Jesselyn, all dolled up by HMUA Victoria Gonzalez, left the Joya Condotel in Rockwell just as the staff cleared the lobby of floodwater that had entered the building.
The flooded streets of Makati, however, were something that nobody could clear for the couple. The groom made it to their church, the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart, on a pedicab, standing on the seat so that he could be above the water. The bride relates:
Muntik na bumaligtad yung sinasakyan nila… Buti nalang dami tumulong sa kanila itinulak yung pedicab tapos sigaw daw ng isang lalaki dun, “Tulungan natin ito, IKAKASAL ITO!!!”
Meanwhile, Jesselyn, who was with her parents and a coordinator from Bride’s Diary in the bridal car, ended up at the Makati Fire Station, looking for another ride and almost ready to take a pedicab:
Nagpalit na ako ng damit, pinahiram na sa akin ng coordinator ko yung pambahay niya para mag-pedicab din kami. Nakapambahay na ako, ready na talaga akong sumulong sa baha.
But the heavens sent an angel, a DJ from RX 93 whose name the bride forgot in the madness of the scenario. The DJ was asking for directions at the Fire Station so he could pick up his girlfriend somewhere near the church. He took in the bride and her delegation and delivered them safely on a 4×4 pick-up.
Here’s the bride in her pambahay with her (cute) unnamed rescuer. She changed into her gown inside the church.
And finally, finally, the wedding — two hours delayed — started with only the couple, their parents and a pair of sponsors. Their photographers from Parkershot (who took all these photos) were there, along with the wedding coordinators and a vocalist from the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra (I’m making it a point to name their suppliers so you guys know the REALLY reliable ones. If these people can brave Ondoy, they can brave anything for your wedding).
Pagkanta ng wedding march ko natuluyan yung pag-iyak ko kasi pinipigilan ko lang bago mgsimula… Hindi ko na talaga napigilan. Buti na lang si groom ang laki ng smile hanggang tenga.
Triumphant!
Check out the ultra gloomy sights from the window of the The Loft@Manansala in Rockwell (past the cake!), where Arnel and Jeselyn had their reception.
Ever in good spirits, the couple wowed their guests with their first dance — to Korean pop group Wonder Girls’ Nobody.
Naloka sila sa dance number namin, akala nila traditional lang pero NOBODY talaga…. NOBODY can stop us talaga.
This is one of my favorite wedding stories ever. I wish Arnel and Jeselyn a marriage less stressful –but just as exciting — as their wedding day. For more anecdotes and pictures, head over here.
10.22.09
Ton and Faye: In between typhoons
Even under the threat of a typhoon…
… the show, er, wedding, must go on. So it did 8 )
This is the story of Gerard Anthony Naval and Ma. Vanessa Faye Tobias, two Manila-based reporters, whose wedding fell on Oct. 3, just as the disastrous Typhoon Ondoy exited Metro Manila and the equally devastating Typhoon Pepeng prepared to make a grand entrance.
Faye had wanted to postpone the wedding, freaked out by weather reports from media friends, but her mother and groom convinced her to walk down the aisle of St. Peter Parish, Quezon City as scheduled.
A day before the wedding, the couple decided to move their reception from La Mesa Ecopark to the Filinvest 1 Clubhouse in anticipation of heavy rain, although there was only a drizzle on their actual wedding day.
From Faye:
We didn’t get the dream garden wedding, but it was just as good… The hardest part was calling the suppliers for the change of venue… Imagine nasa kotse ako frantically calling my caterer…etc, etc sa cellphone na breaking ang signal imbes na nasa hotel at nagre-relax… I was really really really tensed! Nakakaloka!
On the way to the church, Faye received a call from one of her bridesmaids saying her cake was “naliligaw” and was on its way to Ecopark instead of the clubhouse. The bride, all dolled up, had to call the supplier, hollering instructions.
At that point, naging bridezilla ako. Well, nadala naman sa venue on time. hehehe..and they said sorry naman.
And that was not all. Instead of having some spectacular flowers as planned, the bride ended up with white roses for her bouquet because the rains had ruined Metro Manila’s s flowers.
Looking at these photos of a playful bride, you’d never guess she was capable of being a bridezilla. LOL. Then again, a bride’s gotta do what a bride’s gotta do.
As always, a calm groom…
These photos, by the way, are all courtesy of Beyond Digital, a spanking new hudband-and-wife team of Wally and Ge-Ann Magno, who, after years of love affair with their DSLR have ventured into the real thing.
And what did they get from this whole experience? Faye says simply:
Our wedding made me think, kahit anong bagyo ang dumating sa amin, kayang-kaya namin!! Oh, did i mention? Binagyo ni Pepeng ang honeymoon namin sa Baguio!
Looking at their photos, I bet they’d be riding out all other storms.
10.16.09
For your foreheads
I’m trying to ignore the fact that I’ve been remiss in blogging for exactly 14 days before doing Rochelle and Denis’ anniversary post — but I can’t. I’d like to excuse my online absence by regaling you with stories of how I got busy with my actual (paying) job and at the same time remembered I had my own wedding to plan — but I won’t. So just forgive me. If I were a grade schooler, I would punish myself by writing, 100 times: I will never neglect blogging again. I will never neglect blogging again…
But hey, my grade school days are a galaxy away in time and space is precious. So I’ll just pick up where I left off with my headband addiction phase and show you these cool forehead bands — named because, yes, they can be worn on the forehead — for your consideration.
The Royalty Shop has some of the cutest, most affordable forehead bands I’ve come across — with a celebrity guide on the many ways to wear it:
Check these out from TRS:
Take a close look at this knotted forehead band from Glambands. For your bridesmaids maybe?
And from Alohandmade, aptly called knot-all-the-way. For a more casual, bohemian affair:
