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when dan and i booked santuario de san jose, we set out to look for reception areas nearby so that our guests wouldn't have to travel far (knowing how traffic can be terrible in ortigas on the weekends). we purposefully avoided hotels, knowing how stuffy hotel receptions can be. hotel food has always been a hit or miss with us as well. so one of the first places dan and i went to was the wack-wack golf and country club. however, wwgc only had 2 accredited caterers, which meant that we were stuck with their caterers both of whom were pricey (VS&F and the Plaza). so dan and i went around, even going to bramante (renaissance towers) which depressed us because that condo building is in a serious state of disrepair! we imagined our guests going up the flight of stairs (the elevators then were broken) and seeing the torn-off ceiling boards and water stained walls leading to the pool area, with plants that were barely alive :(. haay! i told dan that maybe we should check out crowne, it was a fairly new hotel and if it still didn't work out, we could always go to the nearby galleria to console ourselves with some cinnabon :)
when we went up to crowne, there was a reception being set-up and we saw the ballroom! it was the right size to accommodate our targeted numer of guests (220 max then, which went up to 300, then 320 on the wedding day itself!). it didn't have any dark wood, it had a foyer for cocktails, it was modern and new. dan liked it right away!
so, we went to cinnabon, did a cost-benefit analysis of renting a pavillion at wwgc and ballroom a at crowne and they both came out the same! the benefit of booking a hotel reception too is that there are a lot of inclusions like the cake, bridal car, rooms, etc. plus, annav, one of my maid of honors who used to work in the food industry assured us that the food would be wonderful. friends who attended events at crowne also told us that they really loved the food there. if there was one non-negotiable for our reception, it would be the food.we wanted our guests to enjoy the food, sayang naman ang bayad if the food would just be bland and unexciting.
crowne and our AE, sanna lopez met our expectations. but, it really really helps to have a coordinator to set things straight, especially during the day of the wedding. first, dindi found out that the tables were being set up for 10 people well in fact, we arranged it for 12. dindi got on top of it and so was able to fix this right away. second, we were supposed to have a confetti shower for our first dance as part of crowne's wedding package. it was a new inclusion and we found out about it a week before our wedding. we opted for the shower but on the day itself, susanna apparently forgot to inform the supplier. the supplier was still in wack-wack when dan and i were about to make our grand entrance (our first dance was after our grand entrance). but que cera cera, it was not part of the plan anyway. dindi made do with her large poppers na lang for our grand entrance hehe. thank god for dndc :)
we kept our program short. we hired missy ferrer-litao to emcee to keep the pace of the program. we originally thought of having friends host the program but we wanted them to enjoy our reception as guests. we had two AVPs, one by shierdan and one by mimi + karl. we didn't have other AVPs anymore. honestly, i thought that having two was already being self-indulgent :P speeches were given by our best man (with an interpretative dance), our maid of honor, my dad, dan's parents and my tito lito (representing the limbagas). we said our thank yous after mimi and karl's AVP was shown and it was party time right after :D
we left at 1 a.m. and bid our goodbyes to dan's manresa friends who were still finishing up a bottle of chivas regal :P we were really tired at the end of the day but we were in bliss. after one year of preps and worrying, we were finally married!
pics taken by the indefatigable mimi + karl in and around santuario de san jose's premises. our requisite formal pics as the new mr. and mrs. santos :D
dan and i had several non-negotiables when we were planning our wedding. one was that our church and reception be in the middle of quezon city (i live in tandang sora) and paranaque (dan lives in tahanan). the ortigas area was a pretty good compromise and i knew of several churches there that we could look into. exactly a week after dan proposed, we went to santuario de san jose in east greenhills. i knew this church as i attended masses with my family here when i was a kid. i still remember their old and kind irish parish priest who has since passed on. i love this church for its altar and its stained glass windows. it was also just the right size.
the agenda for the day was to visit this church and mary the queen. when dan saw santuario though he made the decision to book the church then and there. we paid 5k for the deposit and a church for our union was thus booked :)
on the day itself, the wedding before us took forever to finish and ate into some of our time. i actually dozed off inside the limo as i was waiting for them to finish. while waiting, i saw dennis, ayoy, jsan and philip. i saw our ninongs, family and friends who made the effort to set aside their saturday to be with me and dan.
then the driver moved the limo to the front of the church. i saw the entourage lined up and saw dan milling around with all our other friends. mackie, ina, joanne, bles, anna and taps came up to me to wish me well and it was wonderful to see them! mimi went inside the limo to take some shots and we chatted about the movie, 27 dresses hehe.
then arlene from dindi's team came up to the car to tell me that "it was time". i screamed! i literally screamed AAAAAH! hahaha! it was an unbelievable feeling. i went outside the car and saw kitty, ton, karla and jeff outside. they were taking pics and were telling me not to cry! so of course on cue, hot tears started to well up in my eyes! i had to stomp my feet and tell myself "don't cry don't cry don't cry!", which actually worked! hahaha!
i went up to the door and i heard hangad's rendition of pananatili. another non-negotiable for me was to have a choir for the wedding. i grew up in katipunan and singing jesuit-penned liturgical songs were the norm for me and ej. so hangad was THE choice for me and my brother. ej gladly gifted us with them (ej! you're the best!). ironically though, i didn't hear much of hangad's pananatili when the doors opened, all i could hear was the beating of my own heart. it was sooo loud! i kept thinking to myself to not cry so i wouldn't do that ugly half-smile and half-cry that would look horrible in pictures.i was looking at everyone and i was looking for dan at the same time. then i walked up to my parents. it was surreal! dad told me "o sige dahan dahan, dahan dahan" aaargh, it was unbelievable that i didn't cry at that point. i felt i was walking on air though! i felt i was floating! it was all unbelievable! and then i saw dan...i walked up to him and he asked me, "ready?!" i said, "yep, this is it!"
It's been almost a week after the wedding but Dan and I have yet to really recover and we both still feel really tired (oist get your minds out of the gutter! haha!). I still can't believe I'm married. The reality has yet to sink in. Nakakalimutan ko pa rin isuot wedding ring ko whenever I have to go out, sa bahay kasi di naman namin suot yung rings. Dan and I have also been exhausted, having to live out of our overnight bags since Feb. 1 and shuffling between hotels, QC and Paranaque. Syempre Feb 1 asa Crowne kami, then Feb 3, I was at Tahanan, then Feb. 4-6 saw us cocooned at the Manila Pen. Mom booked us a room there as our house in QC was filled to the rafters with the crazy Arboledas (who are on a roundtrip chika tour of the Philippines as we speak). We went out on our last day of stay at the Pen to have lunch at via Mare and check out Greenbelt 5. I passed by Kiehl's to buy lotion and one of the attendants there asked me to fill out a card. As my usual practice, I wrote down, Neva Adelane L. Arboleda and then I quickly added "Santos". My whole name filled the top third of the card! hahaha! It was weird seeing my name like that. It's just so me though that this supposedly special event is connected to shopping :P
Haay Feb 2 went by so fast. I couldn't remember anything really except that Dan and I both felt really honored and really loved as we saw all our friends and family in one place celebrating our union together. But still, thank God for friends who blog and for friends with digicams. As I wait for Mimi + Karl's official pics, here's some pics from EJ, Mackie, Ben, Shei, Laurene, Mariel, Ali, Anna Asuncion and Kate (sana wala akong nalimutan hehe thanks guys for letting me grab the pics)
At the church:
At the reception:
Our pics from Fotoloco, Konsepto's Photobooth (backstory of my photobooth chenelyn is found here)
Also, Karl was experimenting with a new camera during our wedding. Grabe ang liit nung camera! I actually thought it was like a lomo camera (ano ba naman ang alam ko diba, I couldn't even operate the timer on my own digicam to save my life!) but no, it was a newfangled point and shoot cam daw that has the qualities of a basic dlsr...haaay basta, take a look at his pics na lang kasi ang galing! As I posted in their blog, it's not the equipment really but the talent behind the lens. Iba talaga sina Mimi and Karl. Dan and I really invested in our wedding pics and the returns have been nothing but wonderful!
Here's the link to Karl's post and some pics of the wedding:
Ben did a very gracious and very thoughtful wedding edition of his "whee of the week!". Thanks Ben talaga, it was really heartwarming (as in nakakainit ng taba na nakabalot sa aming puso! hehehe). Anna Asuncion also posted a blow-by-blow account of the big the day in her blog: http://bluelawbyanna.blogspot.com/2008/02/neva-and-dans-big-day.html
Haay maraming maraming salamat sa inyong lahat sa pagdalo at pakikisalo! Mwah!! Si Osang naman sunod! Hehehe =D
**sorry kung lyrics ng "nanghihinayang" ng jeremiah ang hanap nyo, di nyo dito mahahanap yun :P
sayang naunahan na kami sa cliquebooth :( naunahan kami ng mga kids na may prom huhu. yun lang. sayang, sayang, sayang. bagal kasi mag desisyon e huhu.
ang saya lang nya! (plus points sa makakasabi sakin sino yung mga dating tiga-Thats' ang kasama sa clip na ito! haha!)
Congrats Mimi and Karl! I had a feeling they were going to bag it. It's a great validation to the talents of these humble, hard working and patient (emphasis on the patient! ) team.
The duo in action during our engagement photo shoot.
Cecilio Abad (Couturier) Josiah's Catering Mimi Abesamis & Karl de Leon Nelwin Uy (Photographer) Jayson Arquiza (Photographer)
The top 10 are:
An Event to Remember (Coordinators) Bob Nicolas Videography Cecilio Abad (Couturier) Josiah's Catering k. by Cunanan Catering Melissa Ferrer-Litao (Host) Mimi Abesamis & Karl de Leon Nelwin Uy (Photographer) Jayson Arquiza (Photographer) Sugarbox (Cake maker) Threelogy Digital Video
Dan and I love Almost Famous and that scene at the bus when everyone sang in unison to Tiny Dancer is the best ever. If you haven't seen the movie, go watch it now!!!!! Here's the scene:
Mimi posted our engagement photos on fotogra's blog. It was great to read about the day from their perspective Nakakatawa yung look back pic namin, candid talaga yun promise! hahaha! The arms pushing me and Dan at the last pic on the blog is Karl's (kuya ni Paul, kawawang kuya haha!)
**warning: the following are me and Dan as you've never seen before. Yes, matino kami for once =P **
We finally got to see our engagement pics from fotogra! Mimi and Karl are miracle workers!! Hahaha!!! Dan and I really don't have any decent pics together as we're not a couple that takes pics of ourselves. The majority of the pics I have are us mugging for the camera, and a couple of them are us decked out in full costume pa. When we booked Fotogra, I asked for engagement photos just so we'd have decent pics of us two. Para naman may pakita kami sa aming mga anak or apo or pamangkins na yes, we were once young and I knew how to comb my hair contrary to the actual haha!
Mimi started the shoot by walking around the golf clubhouse and then she told us to stand by the wall by the washroom. The walls provided an interesting backdrop :)
A few more snaps and clicks and she asked us to go by the golf course and sit on the sidewalk along the course.
Love among the talahib...
We then went in the clubhouse where Dan and I went down the stairs to the ground floor when Mimi asked us to look up.
Lakad pa ng lakad, tigil...kiss!
By the man-made bubbly butete pond
"Dan....bukas zipper mo...wahahaha"
"sige tingan ka muna dun, tataas ko lang zipper ko"
the right sound effect for this picture would be
weehihihi!!!
nang maubos ang bungisngis...
kunwari AS steps
I'd like to thank God and our parents for our long-leggedness
When Shaider and Annie see Fuma Leyar
My special request :) Dan gave me the loveduckie one Valentine's day. It now sits on top of my TV hanging out with a small lucky chinese cat, the first duckie in my collection and four more duckies with my newest, which was given to me by my mom (libre ng huggies, binili nya yung huggies baby wash para sa libreng duckie haha! sweet lang :D)
30 August 2007 – Dan, JL and I hied off to Ayala Greenfields Laguna for a day with the indefatigable and veeery patient (as in, promise) Mimi and Karl who shot our engagement photos. Dan and I never really had any good pics together and we took the shoot as a nice way to play catch up.
I scheduled another trial with Chichi Sotomil who again made me wear falsies :D I am so used to wearing fake lashes already. Yes, I’m officially a fan :p (pssst Jeanne! haha!)
with chichi and her kittens
dan, me and the kittens
me and my falsies (sa mata ha)
On our way to Laguna we all noticed heavy rain clouds over South Super Highway and I was praying for them to move away from Laguna. A few days before our photo shoot, I was constantly checking www.weatherunderground.com for rain forecasts and last Thursday, there was an 80% chance of precipitation. Oh well, I figured that at least my folding umbrella was colorful enough to use as a prop for the shoot J
Upon arriving at Greenfields, Dan, JL and I had lunch at the golf clubhouse and waited for Karl and Mimi. I have to admit that I was starstruck when I saw them. I’ve been reading their blog even before Dan proposed (courtesy of Paul) and I’ve been hooked ever since. Their pics, as their company bylines say, are all definitely real and heartfelt and their eye for detail is amazing!
one of my favorite fotogra portraits
w@wie bride jamie as the wind plays with her veil. wagi!
When we finally decided to start the shoot, Mimi and Karl went to get their gear, which are all housed in a padded backpack. When Karl took out the lenses, I let out a big “wow!” and just looked at how he assembled their cameras.As he was doing that, I asked how they got into photography (they started covering UAAP games for Peyups) and one thing led to another and now they have Fotogra. They also got a sweet gig with Jules Ledesma then, which unfortunately (or fortunately??) never pushed through. They were able to cover the congressman’s Manila wedding though.
Mimi then signaled us to go and stand along the hallways where the washrooms are. We stood against the pink walls where the first shots were fired. Dan and I felt weird, we were really uneasy :p Mimi even had to ask us to try to be sweet to each other hahaha! She even jokingly asked, “talaga bang mag-aasawa na kayo?” nyahaha! But all those questions and the directions that followed actually helped Dan and I ease into the process. We pretended to talk, then afterwards we just talked naturally but we just couldn’t stop laughing at the newness of the experience. I really felt for Dan though as he’s not the person who’s comfortable with things that call attention to him. So it was really a good thing that the estate was practically deserted and we had the whole clubhouse to ourselves. As for me, well everyone knows wala akong hiya kaya carry lang hahaha! (click here for the evidence)
JL came along and helped us out with the shoot. He borrowed my camera and had the brilliant idea of taking pics of the second part of the shoot when we were already in the village clubhouse. We had to change clothes then kasi haller jinajabar na kami ni Dan and we already looked haggard. I was up at 6 since I had to prepare my stuff for the shoot and go with Dad to Makati while Dan naman slept at 2 a.m finishing Super Paper Mario (baliiiw).
thanks jl!
Here's some of JL's pics on the second part of the shoot.
"look at each other, usap kayo, one kiss! "- mimi and karl
"ha? pano? aaah! hehe" - me and dan
dan at the hi-tech monkey bars/american gladiator contraption
(The playground has a padded floor just like the one in glorietta. Kids of today...di pwede masugatan :P)
"Ano aandar na ba ako?" - dan
"Oo sige go!" - me and mimi
"Kunwari kinukunan ko sya"- karl (thinking to himself)
The day ended at around 6:30 p.m. We all retired to the golf clubhouse and ate a hearty early dinner. We all exchanged stories and Karl told us of a wakeboarding Charlene Gonzales and Aga Muhlach (yes, totoo ang kanyang new body, first hand info na yan haha!)
Dan and I went home tired and curious as to how our pics would turn out. We booked Fotogra even before we confirmed our reception venue because we wanted to invest in our pictures --- our memories really if you think about it in the long-term.
To Karl and Mimi, thanks guys for the great day and for being patient with me and Dan, our incessant giggling and our constant asking of "Ha?" "Pano?" hahaha. We really enjoyed the shoot and we both look forward to seeing you again when the big day comes :)
Nakakatawa yung look back pic namin, candid talaga yun promise! hahaha! The arms pushing me and Dan at the last pic on the blog is Karl's (kuya ni Paul, kawawang kuya haha!)
