The Pamanhikan

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Yesterday we were able to cross out another item off our list. It's nothing else but the nerve-wrecking Pamanhikan. It is a Filipino tradition where in the groom together with his family pays a visit to the bride’s family to formally seek for the girl’s hand in marriage. In this occasion, plans for the upcoming wedding are discussed over a sumptuous meal.

With a little over a year to go before our wedding, Adrin and I already arranged for the Pamanhikan this December. It’s the best timing as most of our folks are in holiday mode (and we hope that the cheery atmosphere of Christmas would ease some awkwardness. =P). We planned out for the time, date, and food they’ll bring, but we can never seem to grasp on what will actually happen on that day.

Adrin and his family arrived at our house half past 11, and we immediately set the table with dishes they brought and the ones we prepared. Soon, the two families had lunch altogether at our yard since we wouldn’t fit inside our tiny house.

Food brought by Adrin and his family: Hamonado, Chili Prawns, Caldereta,
Amber's Pancit Malabon, and Amber's Pichi-Pichi Cheese

Food prepared by my family: Barbecue, Embutido, Chocolate Lazy Cake,
Rice, and Buko Salad (no picture of the salad)

Our lunch

With happy tummies, and dishes already stowed, all of us took our spot in the yard, engaging in casual small talk. Adrin and I were already exchanging meaningful looks by this time, with me prodding him to open the much awaited discussion. Before we can even get things started, we were interrupted by the very fickle weather, so we had to move our tables in towards the roofed area. Several minutes passed and there’s still no sign of “the program”. I knew that my family is waiting for it already so with my impatience, I discreetly messaged Adrin “Huy! Ano na?”. I know it’s not really nice to pressure him but I think it’s what he exactly needed. Haha.

Small talk after lunch

His speech went something like this, “Nagpunta po kami dito ng family ko para kunin yung blessing ng family niyo sa pagpapakasal namin ni Tine”, and it was followed by fits of laughter from my mom because Adrin was talking in such a hurry maybe because of his nervousness. Haha. My mom answered him like this, “Alam na naman ng lahat na magpapakasal kayo e. Formality na lang naman ‘to.”, to which his father seconded with “No objection”. After that his grandmother also stated “Naayos niyo na naman lahat, kaya makikikain lang naman tayo dito. Para na rin magkakila-kilala tayo”. :)

During the "program"

Adrin initiated to share the details that we’ve already ironed out like church and venue, as well as the suppliers we’ve secured. They asked about the principal sponsor line up as well as the entourage. We shared our initial list and they in turn provided some suggestions to it. After the wedding details, Adrin also brought up our planned residence. We let them know that we’ve already reserved for a house near the area and that we plan to move there right after the wedding.

Since his folks came all the way from Marikina and Makati, somebody suggested visiting the place so they can see even just the model units. And so with Adrin’s family and my mom in tow, we visited the subdivision of our eventual home. It’s like we’re going on a field trip. Hihi.

Returning to our house after being gone for an hour or two, we’re delighted to find that snacks are ready for everyone. Having an afternoon’s fill, their family prepared to leave and head home.

Whew! Finally, it’s over. We believe it hasn’t been a very awkward gathering. Adrin and I just winged it! :)

Cheers!

Makeover #1: Wedding Bible

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Last week, after office, I decided to grab some stuff for another DIY (okay, pseudo-DIY). I got these poster paints and brushes with the plan to put some color to our elegant-but-out-of-theme free bible.

My materials: Prussian Blue and Chrome Yellow

I covered the other sections with paper so they won’t be filled with paint, and just left the band, ribbon, and floret exposed.

Here’s the before and after look of our bible. So what do you think? Not bad for a makeover right?

Before and After

I even think that the after look is better. Oh yes, I’m so biased. Haha.

The final look of our bible

Watchout for more DIYs and pseudo-DIYs. :)

Cheers!

The First Step to Our Own Home

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Surreal - that's how this day is to me. Why? Because today, December 1, 2012, Adrin and I took the big leap and made a reservation for the purchase of our future house! 

It was after lunch when we met Tita Marisol, our broker contact, for a house-tripping to the village that we've been eyeing for quite some time now (I can no longer count the times I've checked out that place online). It's an on-going housing project nearby my parents' place with units we like at the budget we can afford. As soon as we reached the location, we checked the model houses and inquired about the specifications and details that come with each unit. The dressed-up units were all beautifully decorated and arranged that it makes you want to live in that exact same house already. Haha!

With our heart set out on the Sabine unit, we proceeded to the sales office to check the latest house inventory. We were hoping that there is one that would meet all our requirements:

   1. Total contract price within our budget!

   2. Turnover date before our wedding

   3. Manageable equity/down payments

   4. Linear park (nice to have borderline necessity). Hihi.

Sabine House Model

Anyway, as we were checking the list of available units, we noticed there were only very few Sabine units left compared to the other two models. Most of the remaining Sabine units do not meet a requirement or two. Luckily, there is one (yes, just one) meeting all of them. The only catch is, it is single attached unit instead of a single detached one. This is one we haven’t pondered on since we didn't know that there are always units like that in a block. We discussed this setup in detail with Tita Marisol and she mentioned that units like this are sturdier than the others since the firewall of the two houses are stuck together like a common wall. This settled our doubts somehow.

Given that specific unit as sample, payment options were laid out on the table. We explained to Tita Marisol all scenarios that we’d like to explore and she has been very patient explaining to us the pros and cons of each. She helped us compute and recompute everything just so we fully understand the financial hurt that we’ll experience once we pursue the house. She also mentioned of the terms and conditions of the developer as well as the policies implemented and duties imposed on the eventual homeowners.

After a lengthy discussion, she invited us to the actual site which is several hundred meters away from the office. There we saw that majority of the houses were already built, occupied even, while some are still undergoing construction. Being in the actual location gave us a glimpse into the community that we might possibly belong to (since we haven’t decided yet at this point).

Before returning to the sales office, we asked for some personal discussion time from Tita Marisol. Adrin and I went to the park near the model houses and that’s where we discussed things. Since we already know the amount to be paid should we get the house, we looked into our current pool of savings as well as fixed monthly income to compute whether we can actually afford it or not. Our immediate concern is the equity (down payments), and based on our computation, we’ll still be able to cover for it while simultaneously saving up for the wedding. The amortization is easier to solve since it's of lower value that the down payments, and by time we start with it, we’d be free from the monthly wedding save-up so we can just shift that budget to house payments.

With all our bases covered, we walked back to the office and finally gave our decision to reserve the house! Whew! What a big decision to make. Filling up the forms and formalizing the actual reservation was a breeze compared to the stringent discussion and thought process we've undergone before that.

I told you, it felt so surreal. It’s just so hard for me to believe that I'm already making decisions like this with my future better half. We really felt (at least I did) like grown-ups stirring our future closer to our childhood dreams. J

Cheers!