Prenup Supplier Rating #1: Styling by Aira Franco with Fritz Mortel

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Okay, this is my first time to rate a supplier so I'll try to give as much info as I can remember, and as accurate as my memory serves me. I'll use a scale of 10 for more leeway on minor items impacting the ratings. 

Rating Scale: 1 - 10 (10 being the highest)

Service: Prenup Styling with HMUA

Peso Power: Php 7,000 (but became Php 1,400)

Rating: 9

We booked Aira as our prenup stylist last March. Shortly after the booking, we had our pre-production meeting to discuss the concept. It was a short meeting since Adrin and I do not have a specific theme in mind. Our only requirement is to have formal and fun sets. She asked for our venue and photographer and then started showing us pegs. Right then and there we were able to agree on the overall feel of our shoot. 

Exactly a month before our pictorial, Aira sent to us our lookboard. We requested for one month lead time so Adrin and I have enough time to shop and gather our wardrobe. Fast forward to 3 days before the shoot, I received an urgent call from Aira. I was told that there seems to be a double booking for our shoot date and she's saying that it started when her phone (and calendar) crashed. It so happened that the other couple booked her in January so they are the priority. She was very apologetic as we talked and gave us three options:

• Proceed with the shoot BUT only her styling assistant and HMUA will come with us; Remaining balance to be waived.
• Reschedule the shoot so she can be with us; Remaining balance to be waived.
• Cancel the agreement with full refund of payment made.

With those options, I told her that I'll just get back to her within the day for our decision. The next hours were full of panic on my part especially that I was only able to talk to Adrin after lunch.We decided to try rescheduling the shoot with all other suppliers, and luckily they all agreed to move our schedule. In that same day, Adrin was able to fix the glitch and set a new schedule, while I was in back to back meetings. Haha.

Fast forward to the day of the shoot, we were late for our call time with Aira and Fritz. I was expecting that they'd be a bit irate but I didn't sense any of that. Aira agreed that we'll do the HMU at her place before we do our studio shoot, then we'll just meet her and Fritz at Jardin de Miramar for the outdoor part later that day. I've split my comments into 3 sections and are outlined below:

Hair & Make-up (Fritz Mortel)

• Fritz really did a great job on all of my 4 looks - both hairstyling and make-up
• She was able to hide well my pimple marks, eyebags, and blemishes 
• Make-up is fresh looking and not overly done. A lot of people who saw our pictures liked my make-up that day.
• Hygienic: sponges, powder puff and brushes used on me were all clean and/or new. She doesn't even let her hands touch my face. It's always with a sponge, brush, puff or cotton tips.
• She works fast on styling my hair
• She's also nice to talk to, although a bit shy at first
• Fritz patiently retouched my make-up and styled my hair as I eat or as I chat. I know she had a hard time doing that but I kept on forgetting that she's tinkering with my face. Hahaha. 

On-the-day Styling and Assistance

• Aira and Fritz doesn't have any qualms being our personal assistants for the day
• Our clothes were meticulously sorted out and paired together
• Once it's on us, Aira checked for loose or ill-fitting areas and she'll put binder clips to make the clothes fit better.
• Aira even folded Adrin's shorts and assisted me when I changed into the gown.
• While shooting, they frequently fixed my hair (almost after every pose) and kept our faces dry from perspiration (lots of tissue on hand)
• Since it was raining, they dutifully carried the umbrellas for us and ensured that we stay dry and clean
• Dutifully wiping out our face and arms of water droplets from trees
• They bugged us to eat snacks in between shoots
• They carried drinks into the shoot area for us and for the photographers as well
• Aira reminded me constantly to walk carefully ang slowly because I might trip on the muddy garden or slip due to the puddles of water. She'll even grab me when I'm walking ahead of her just to support me as I walked.
• Aira coordinated with Jardin when she learned that the venue offered their picnic props and native hammock for our use.
• For added detail for the picnic setup, Aira plucked out flowers from Jardin de Miramar's garden. Hahaha.
• Since we're already 1 hour overtime at Jardin de Miramar, while shooting the last layout, Fritz packed away all of our things so we'd just quickly change and leave the premises immediately after the last layout.
• Aira was true to her word of waiving our remaining balance for their services. We were intending to still pay, and actually offered it before leaving Jardin the Miramar, but she just wouldn't take it.

Gaps

• Of course the panic and stress we got after learning of the double booking issue. I believe she already addressed the concern of mixed bookings by getting someone to fix her calendar for her.
• I forgot my belt for my shorts and was banking on Aira that she has belts with her as part of the accessories. No belt. I had to un-tuck my blouse and just tie it in front.
• My bra straps were always peeking from my dress but it wasn't fixed while we were shooting. It's such an eyesore in the photos.  

 All in all, it was still a good experience working with Aira and Fritz. They did their job beautifully on the day of our shoot and were attentive to our needs. However, a miss is still a miss hence I can't award her a perfect 10. But the good thing about her is the humility to accept her booboo and willingness to rectify her miss by providing us all possible options that we can get. In Adrin's words "at least she's not like our local airlines who do not give anything to the passengers whenever they inconvenience them". =)

Hope this helps!


Styling by Aira Franco
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Makeup by Fritz Mortel
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Cheers!

Morning Surprise from Boudoir Le Blanc

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Today I woke up to another good news. As soon  as I opened my eyes and turned off my alarm, my attention was caught by a message from Heather of Boudoir Le Blanc. She was telling me how she and Tooney ran across our blog posts (mine's, Aiza's, Nat's and Cris') about our boudoir soiree with them a couple of months back. They were so touched with our good words for their team and were overwhelmed also with the influx of w@wies wanting to go under their lenses for another fun fun fun group boudoir. Because of that, they decided to give all four of us a 30% discount on ANY of the boudoir sessions that we will have in the future (no expiry!) -- we can use it for any of the following: solo boudoir, couples boudoir, and maternity boudoir! Wow! Just wow!

It was over the weekend when I finally mustered the courage to share to the W@W community my boudoir soiree experience with w@wie friends. A lot of the ladies in the forum really liked the teaser photo I shared and took interest in Boudoir Le Blanc. Realizing that they don't have to undergo boudoir shoots on their own, they were really happy that ours was a group shoot and that they too can avail of it. Not long after I started the thread when a w@wie started rallying other interested girls to do another w@wies boudoir sesh! Haha. They must have inquired with BLB the past days and shared that they learned about the soiree package through us. 

Honestly I wasn't expecting for anything like this from BLB. I just really wanted to share the experience in the community as my way of giving back to them and inspiring them to pursue an experience such as that. Just as I have been inspired and convinced by fellow w@wies who've done it before me. I didn't know that such good intentions would warrant me and my friends a prized reward. =)

Kudos also to the lovely ladies of Boudoir Le Blanc -- Heather, Tooney, and Tina -- for their kind gesture of appreciation towards us. We were really grateful for your offer and we'd love to work with all of you again in the future! 

To end this post, I'm sharing with you some of my favorite photos from my boudoir session. :)

Grateful!

The Hotel Choices

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For me, preparation venue is just as important as the reception venue. As early as last year, I was already on the lookout for the best hotel that will suit our needs. It was only recently though that I turned the research into an active and serious hunt.

Our ceremony will be at Intramuros so naturally my shortlist comprises of the hotels nearby (Intramuros and Roxas Boulevard area). I checked their rooms and published rates online for initial comparison and even went as far as placing a dummy booking online (I'd cancel before the payment part) to get more accurate figures. Some would clearly standout from the rest in terms of aesthetics, but they were equally matched with skyrocketing rates.

Not one for a compulsive booking, I then consulted our coordinator for some feedback. I also turned to the ever reliable W@W to read on reviews. Here's what my list looked like after.

So you see, booking Sofitel will not only make a huge dent on our budget, it will also be more difficult for us to bring in lunch for the family and suppliers. Lest we resort to sneaky tactics, which are not fool-proof by the way, we run the risk of getting hungry and surly even before the ceremony. Handing out supplier allowance is not a good option since we don't want the suppliers to still think of how to get their food when they should be focused on doing their best for our big day. And of course another major minus point is for the outrageous fee you have to pay just to be allowed for some snapshots around the hotel! No way will I shell out that amount just for that. Thus, even if I like Sofitel best, I had to let it go.

Manila Hotel is a good contender except for the same concern of bringing food up the hotel rooms. Plus, I'm not really into its Filipiniana aesthetics. Its interior looks too old fashioned for my liking so it's scrapped off the list. Pan Pacific Manila got average feedback so I took it out also knowing the Diamond and Hyatt Hotels have a better standing.

Seriously considering Hyatt and Diamond, I had an extensive inquiry with their respective reservations specialists. I inquired about room sizes, late check-out policy, maximum guests allowed inside the room, and the like. I learned that Hyatt only has 1 or 2 renovated rooms for each room type. I asked if they can give it to me, but I was told that they can't commit on that and they'll just learn of room assignments days leading up to the actual reserved dates. That is a blow to my scoreboard so I decided not to do an ocular with them anymore. 

For Diamond Hotel on the other hand, I explored the Diamond Indulgence membership and looked into the possibility of getting that to save up some bucks for our stay. I was sent the list of privileges and when I computed, it really resulted to some savings for us. Interesting right? After learning that I asked if we can visit the hotel and do an ocular of the rooms. I was told that I can inquire a day before my prospected visit to check if the rooms we'd like to see are available. Now, this we have to squeeze in our schedule real soon. Can't wait!

Cheers!

DIYs for W@W Grand EB

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Okay, let me start by saying that W@W is not limited within the confines our desktop, laptops, tablets or mobile phones. It is an actual community! And a testament to that would be the occasional gathering of its members or what is usually called an EB (stands for "eyeball" - a colloquial term used when friends or acquaintances from the cyberspace meet in person). In my 1.5yrs of stay in the group, I have never attended these so called EBs due to several reasons. This year, aside from the "summer lakwacha" they had in Quezon, a Grand EB is poised to happen at Le Parc on July 7.

I'm sure an EB of this scale has already happened before, but not in past 18 months. The event will be delivered by w@wies or its so called members with the help of suppliers who were generous enough to sponsor the event. There's an appointed w@wie lead coordinator, and there are several committees under her. Each committee also has an identified lead. 

During the registration, we were asked which committee we'd like to be part of. Not one to eagerly pick out a designation, I just chose "Any". After several days, I learned that I was assigned to the Decor Committee. Our group was tasked to decorate 4 photo corners and 1 message board. Initial brainstorming of the members led to the high level design of each photo corner. Since we do not have readily available design pieces, the idea they came up with is to DIY our way to decorating those little stations.

When the DIY items were already identified, I signed up for items. The circular pinwheels and the windmill pinwheels. Last Saturday I met up with the leads of these decors to talk about our assigned tasks. We bought the materials and had snacks together while talking about each other's wedding preparations.  

As soon as I got home, I started with my loot. Here's what I have accomplished so far. Aren't they the cutest? Imagine if it's an entire wall of those lovely paper wheels. Oh I can't wait to see the fruits of our labor!

Circular Pinwheel Tutorial: Here

Will share to you our dressed up photo corners after the EB. =)

Cheers!

Freenup from Chasing Tales Photography

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Been feeling under the weather since yesterday. I surmise it’s because of our rainy shoot last Friday. Decided to take a day off from work today so I can rest. As soon as I woke up though, I saw a message from a friend sharing that they won a Free Engagement Shoot from Chasing Tales Photography.

Chasing Tales Photography, a relatively new photography outfit, released a promo some weeks ago. Me being always on the lookout for a chance to get additional shoot for free, expectedly joined this contest.

So when I read the message from my friend, I immediately checked Chasing Tales Facebook page to look for the announcement of winners—didn’t see anything though. I assumed then that they contacted the winners via email or personal message. Since there wasn’t any Facebook PM from them, I hoped that they chose to notify the winners via email instead.

Quickly switched from Facebook to my email, there I saw an email from Chasing Tales!!! Upon opening the message, I found the good news. We were also one of the 5 lucky couples who won a free shoot from them. Coming out from one shoot last week, pictorials is still in my psyche and I am so thrilled to know that we have another chance to be models for a day.

Adrin was equally thrilled as I am when he learned of our good fate. Time to prepare again. Woohoo! Oh what a good Monday sickness (pun intended) buster! =)

Cheers! 

The Gown: First Fitting

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Yesterday was my first gown fitting with Hana. As usual, Adrin accompanied me to Hana's shop. As soon as we got there, we're down to business right away. Usually, first fitting is for the test garment only. I did not  know that it includes the petticoat as well. 

Hana and her assistant reached for the packed petticoat bearing my name. After which, they also retrieved the test garment which I will wear. I was then led to changing room so I can get into that flimsy test garment and bulky petticoat. I must say, even if it's just a test garment, it fits me snugly. I then wore the heels I brought and they started checking me and the garment all over. Armed with their pins, loose areas were neatly tucked as a mark for adjustments. Hana was even making pencil marks on the test lining.

After doing their thing, they asked me to check the length of the train and I was happy with it. I don't like a very long train which I'll painfully drag as I walk down that carpeted aisle. Hana asked me to check the back next and I told her that I'm giving her a free hand as to how low it should be. I just said that I want the back to be fully maximized for the lace tattoo I'm dreaming of. She asked me to face the mirror and informed me that the cut of the bustier will be lower that usual since my dress design is a V-neck. Gently, she explained to me that cutting it high will be awkward looking and asked if I'm okay with her plan. Not one to be so overly conscious, I told her that I'm okay with it as long as it's still decent looking. 

Lastly, we discussed on which part of my mid-section I'd like the "waist" cut to be. There's the natural waist option, the first hip option, and the dropped waist style which actually sits on the 2nd hip. My preference is to have the cut on the first hip. That way, there's an illusion of me having a longer torso. Hihi. That was the last item we discussed before I changed back to my clothes. Before leaving, we fixed the schedule of the next fitting. In 3 weeks time, I'll already try on the actual dress foundation! Exciting! =)

Cheers!

Celebrities For A Day: The Engagement Shoot

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Last Friday, despite the erratic and unpredictable weather, we were able to finally complete our engagement pictorial. Two months of preparation all culminated in a single day. Somehow it’s a glimpse of how our wedding day will pass by in a span of 24 hours after years of preparing for it. Haha.

We started preparing for our shoot around March 2013. Back then, I was already pulling together our suppliers. We already have a venue (Jardin de Miramar), and photographer (Ariel Javelosa) but I was also able to convince Adrin that we hire Aira Franco for a styling and HMUA package. The date was set with all of them for May 27.

Weeks leading to our date, we worked hard to complete our wardrobe so we’ll not cram for it. I also created our itinerary and shared it to all our suppliers to ensure that we are all on the same page. And with a sudden twist, the plan was changed. 3 days before our original schedule I received an urgent message from Aira which led us to rescheduling our shoot (more details on my supplier rating).

New date was set for June 14 and we’re prepared 2 weeks before that. I tweaked our itinerary a bit and sent it again to everyone.

Our Prenup Itinerary

The days leading to our schedule were all gloomy and wet, due to a low pressure area. I was even worried that we might need to reschedule again because of the bad weather so I asked for Aira’s inputs. She told me not to worry as she trusts that the clouds will all clear up on our shoot. With that, we proceeded as planned.

Since Adrin took a day off last Thursday, he took charge of our food for Antipolo. Not wanting our suppliers to get hungry, thirsty, and grumpy, we agreed to bring the following:

• Red Ribbon Ensaymada (10pcs.) and Mamon (10pcs.) 
• 1 pack Lemon Square Cupcakes
• 1 pack Nagaraya Peanuts
• 2 jars of Stik-O
• 1 pack of Mentos
• 1 pack of another candy brand
• 6 bottles of water
• 6 bottles of Gatorade
• 12 can of assorted soda
• 3 bottles of Cobra energy drink (yes, energy drink! Haha!)
• Small ice box and tube ice to cool our bottled drinks :P

Our June 14 started really early. We went straight to Aira’s place for my hair and make-up. Fritz started working on me as soon as we got there. After an hour or so on me and a few minutes on Adrin, we’re set all set for our studio shoot.

We got lucky that our drive to Ariel Javelosa’s studio was quite fast so we’re able to catch up a bit on our planned schedule. Sir Mel’s team, our requested photographer, arrived shortly after we finished dressing up. We found out that 3 folks were shooting us that day – 2 photographers and 1 videographer. They started the work immediately and took some portraits of me first. Next were Adrin’s solo shots, and after that came our pictures together. At first it was awkward doing the poses we’re directed to do, but soon got the hang of it and became more comfortable in front of their lenses. Time was unnoticeable already, we just realized that we were shooting for quite some time when Sir Mel said that we can already proceed to our outdoor location. 

Quick lunch with our P/V was spent at Yangchow Dimsum and Tea Place along Marcos Hi-way, then we went straight to the venue. Aira decided that we don't have to return to her place and we'll just meet at the venue. They were still parking when we got there so we're all right on time. I went to Jardin de Miramar's office so they can prepare the lounge for us. As soon as the lounge was ready, Aira, Fritz, Adrin and I immediately settled in while our photographers surveyed the location.

Our first wardrobe were pastels as decided by Aira. Fritz retouched my make-up and styled my hair. During this set, we were informed by Sir Mel that our venue offered some props. Aira clarified it in the office and not long after, a picnic set up with matching guitar was already laid out under a big tree. The props were not something we expected, nonetheless the gesture was much appreciated.

Outtake by Aira Franco

It started to drizzle and that prompted us to change into our 2nd layout. By the time we were safely in the lounge, the drizzle turned into a heavy downpour. We kept our hopes up that it would abate soon and true enough, it was just a passing  heavy cloud. Our 2nd layout started off with Adrin and I sharing an umbrella. Next we moved to Galera area where a huge wooden ship was the main attraction. Jardin also setup a native hammock for our use. Silhouette shots were taken in a nearby restroom -- It was so creative for our photographer to make the best use of a restroom. Haha.

Outtake by Aira Franco

Since we're already running late of our target schedule, we quickly changed to our 3rd layout and braved the outdoors again so we can still get a lot of pics for our formal set. Despite the light showers and rapid approach of dusk, our P/V did not give up. We were even the ones who called it a day since all of us were getting wet already. We also went past our allowed time frame at Jardin already and we might incur additional charges already. Haha.

Outtake by Aira Franco

We were surprised to find out things neatly packed already when we got back to the lounge. Fritz did all the packing and tidying so we just have to change to our normal clothes and load our stuff in the car.

All in all, Adrin and I had fun working with our suppliers and executing a light and fun shoot. It was very us! The downpour did not hinder us from continuing on and we're even thankful that we were given windows to shoot outdoors. Never mention the hassles of walking on wet grass and the sprinkles of water we had to take. We actually did not mind that it was gloomy as we cannot imagine shooting for hours under the scorching sun. :) 

Weeee! Another achievement unlocked for us in this game called wedding preps. =D


Cheers!

DIY Invites Update #4: The Pocketfolds

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Now that we have materials for our invitations, it’s time to start the work on our pocketfolds. Saturday last week, we worked on our blue cardstock and figured out the most efficient way to cut it.

Pocketfold Invitation size: 5.5 x 8 inches

Blue cardstock size per invite: 9 x 17 inches

Below is an illustration of our pocketfold template.

Each sheet of blue cardstock measures 39.75 x 28.5 inches and it should give us six pocketfolds. 

As we do the work, I was tasked to do the scoring, while Adrin mastered manual cutting of boards using a hand cutter. After the hand cutter steps were completed, he switched to our cool Fiskars paper trimmer. Hours into the work and one quarter pounder down our gut, I requested to switch tasks since my fingers were already hurting due to the pressure of pushing the scoring blade down the tucks of the board.

Adrin doing the scoring

Me doing the trimming

Our invites cover still without pockets

After working for seven (7) hours, we were able to cut all 15 extra-large boards and reduced them to 90 invite covers. Two were actually scrapped due to our mistakes so we're left with 88 good ones. No need to worry since we only need around 70 pieces. 

The yet to be completed pocketfolds

Exhausted and sleepy, we decided to call it a night (or a dawn--haha) and stowed away our invite materials into paper bags. We've yet to cut the tiny flaps needed and actually stick them onto the bigger panel to make make the pockets before we get done with our blue cardstock. Nonetheless, we're happy with what we've accomplished so far. =D

Cheers!

"Will You Be" E-cards, Released!

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Over the past couple of days, Adrin and I have sent out our Will You Be's to our shortlisted entourage. Though some have been asked and informed before hand, we still decided to send those cute electronic notes to everyone to formally ask. 

I created the e-cards many months ago so I just did some minor polishing before we released them out one by one. How did we send it? Facebook! Oh yes, we just decided to send the e-cards via Facebook message. It's not only cost-efficient, but eco-friendly too!

After sending them out, I was on the constant lookout for their responses. It was such a thrill seeing my phone lit up for a Facebook message notification. Best part of all is reading their "yes" to our requests. :)

But things are not as rosy as we expected. A friend and a relative might not make it to our wedding due to work concerns. We understand their reasons and we still hope for circumstances to change for the best and enable them to be part our big day.

Here are some of our Will You Be e-cards.

Cheers!