Sunday Bloody Sunday

It was an unfortunate Sunday for some people yesterday.

Leo and I had a busy day yesterday. We had an appointment this morning to listen to our choir, lunch with his family to celebrate his father's birthday, and an afternoon appointment with our reception emcee.

We left Paranaque around 9 am for our 10 am appointment at Sanctuario de San Jose at Greenhills (where our choir sings). Much to our surprise, traffic was slow-moving and there was a long line at SSH snaking all the way back to Alabang and going North as far as the eye can see (which is not far). As it was a Sunday morning, only one reason that can bring about such a jam is an accident, and we were right. The accident happened hear the Skyway entrance. As of now, we don't know the exact details of the accident but there were blood and guts on the highway so it must be really bad. Probably another vehicle falling off the Skyway.

We arrived at Sanctuario with time to spare. We heard mass (with the choir singing akapella the whole time). I was sold with just their first song, or first hymn. They did not sing the entrance song, actually, they just hummed it. If a group can hum the way they can, the rest of the mass would just be easy for them. And they did not disappoint me.

After the mass, we went off to one of the meeting rooms in the church where we were treated to an impromptu concert. Well, it was mostly excerpts but I was very happy with what I heard. Cheryll and Mhon was with us so they could attest to how good the choir is. I love their rendition of "Minsan Lang Kitang Iibigin". To think when I requested the song, they were not able to practice the song yet they sang it superbly. I still need to iron out the songlist and find someone who is willing to sing the responsorial paslm but overall, they met my expectations.

After that, we went off to Magallanes where we met with Leo's family at El Comedor to celebrate his dad's 61st birthday. That birthday celebration was long overdue but yesterday was the soonest reservation that they could get. Apparently, the restaurant is very popular thus the waiting list.

At 2pm, Leo and I headed off to SM Mall of Asia to meet with our emcee, Melissa Ferrer-Litao. We initially saw her at the wedding of Leo's cousin and she did a good job of hosting the wedding reception. We did not have second thoughts of getting her.

On our way home from SM Mall of Asia, we saw another accident going South. This time, it's at the Villamor exit near Nichols toll entrance/exit. It was a Honda Jazz and it ran straight and hit the concrete divider. The motor was badly damaged and the windshield was cracked. We stopped the car and I wanted to get out of the car to help but Leo held onto me as we were in the middle of the highway and I might get run over myself. Good thing other cars stopped and helped out the driver. He managed to get out of the car and stagger off to the other side to help his passenger.

It's a very productive Sunday (accidents aside). Two suppliers down. Now only two unbooked suppliers left--Flowers and Invitations.

 

Offending Advertisement

While Leo and I were watching TV this afternoon, an advertisement was shown which really offended me.

The ad is for an anti-ageing cream. One of the scenes show a man and woman seating at each end of a sofa. When the woman started using the anti-ageing cream, the man suddenly could not get enough of her and started talking to her and touching her face. Another scene had the couple both in the car. When the car stopped, the woman just got out without the guy paying any attention to her. But when she started using the anti-ageing cream, he not only stopped the car but got out and opened the door for her.

The superficial message is that if you use the anti-ageing cream, your guy will pay more attention to you. The underlying message there is that if you're not beautiful, no one will pay attention to you. Apparently, the advertiser does not support the adage that beauty is only skin deep.

UPDATES (ayaw ko na, last na 'to)

This is my third time to try to post. I tried posting a couple of times at Multiply but I haven't learned my lesson. I did not copy my post first before pressing "Post" and apparently, Multiply encountered an error and could not post. Grrr. I'm tired of writing the same things all over again. So now, I'm composing this on notepad.

Kaya ngayon, abbreviated na yung post ko, at tagalog na kasi pagod na akong mag-english.
Tapos na measurements ko kay Cecilio Abad. Nawalan ako ng 7 inches sa waist since I started working out and dieting January 2006. Major achievement kung baga and I'm proud of it (huwag niyo tanungin kung ano ang biggest waistline ko). May design na rin yung gowns ng mga abay ko. Katuwa. Na-envision ko tuloy kung ano na ang hitsura nila pati yung mga kulay. Exciting!

Yung giveaways naman, Cupcakes by Sonja. Mas masarap pa rin yung wedding cake namin pero cute kasi nito. Packaging actually yung bumenta sa amin. Medyo may kamahalan (kung ang shop ba naman niya eh nasa Serendra sa Fort!) pero within budget pa rin naman. Nakakuha rin kami ng discount.

Yun lang. Siguro next step, schedule ng prenuptial pictorials kay John Ong (who also happens to be the photographer/videographer of Danica Sotto's wedding). Same time, magpapa-trial make-up ako kay Jesy Alto. Siguro sa Tagaytay kami. Either sa bahay nina Leo doon o sa Highlands. Kahit saan basta may pictures.

Leo and Sunshine Wedding Site

http://sangalang-david.weddingannouncer.com

The Cake Baker (and Palawan)

Last night, we met with our cake supplier, Alex Franco. He's the 2003 W@W wedding supplier of year. Imagine, out of ALL the wedding suppliers, he's THE wedding supplier! And talking with him last night made me realize why he's so popular among brides to be.

We met with him at the Palm's Library. It was Danica Sotto's wedding upstairs (where our own wedding will be held) and Alex is the cake supplier of that wedding. John Mateos Ong (our photographer/videographer) is the official photographer of Danica's wedding as well! Wow! My wedding will have suppliers who are the best in the industry! I can't hardly wait!

Alex was very warm and easy to talk to. He gave us a sample of the cake. It's a chocolate and prune cake with a chocolate-mango mousse filling and caramel topping. It was absolutely decadent! Our cake will have 5 EDIBLE (yes, EDIBLE) layers. The top layer is carrot cake, the second layer is apple-cinamon while the third, fourth and fifth (bottom) layer will be chocolate and prune. ALL of them will have the chocolate-mango mousse filling and caramel topping. The cake will be decorated with flowers in pastel shades and fruits. The icing will be done in a basketweave design. The cake table will be decorated with different fruits. Check out his site to see what I'm talking about.

Alex showed us how to cut his cake. Since a cake layer is 3.5 to 4 inches in height, we have to cut in a way that it will not fall over when we put it on the plate. Moreover, he already warned us that his cake will be difficult to cut as the filling will be ice-cream hard. Yup. He makes the cakes 1 month before the wedding and stores them in a freezer. Argh! They're so good! Don't worry, we plan to serve the cake to our guests.

The main reason why I think he's the BEST supplier is his price. He does not ask for downpayment. My mother-in-law was very wary of this as how we will ensure that he will deliver, but he already has a reputation in the industry for following through. Anyway, our cake package is VERY reasonable (ask me personally for the price). This includes the fruits, flowers, cakes (all 5 layers), a free chocolate cake (for us to take home on our wedding), 30 pcs brownies, and rental of steel frame. This is cheap as for some suppliers, for the same price, we can get a 3 layer cake with only one edible layer and that's it. Alex himself delivers the cake and decorates the cake table.

I've also started canvassing for our honeymoon destination. Leo and I have decided that we want to go to Palawan so I asked around for packages and prices. My dream resort is Amanpulo however the prices are so obnoxiously expensive that we would rather someone give it to us instead of paying it ourselves. But since no one has volunteered (hinthinthint), we're settling for something cheaper.

Claudine recommended Club Paradise at Coron Island (dun nga ba yun?). The price is reasonable and we're planning to stay 4D/3N. We're also considering El Nido and Club Noah Ysabelle. Once I get the final prices from the travel agent, we'll be booking our honeymoon. We'll be leaving on Monday, Sep. 3.