The one with the suppliers' ratings

Francesca Simone's First Birthday – Suppliers Ratings

Venue: Blue Wave Mall Activity Hall, Marikina City

Price: Waived – accredited caterer

Rating: 9

When we attended a party at the same venue two months before, I initially loved the swags and the space of the venue. I love the lighting and how it can accommodate as many as 200 guests. Well, we're only set to have 100 guests plus kids but it's always nice to have space. :) So when I learned that the venue rental fee can be waived if you get an accredited caterer, it excited me and we decided to book the venue.

I give them a 9 since the floor was a little dirty. Well, there was an event before us but it could have been better if the floor was cleaner. haha.

Caterer: Super Bowl

Price: Customized pricing c/o AE Daniel

Rating: 9

We love Super Bowl and when we learned that they do catering, we immediately got them. I found it weird at first since I was used to them being a restaurant and always having to wait in line just to have lunch at their megamall branch. Now we can have them cater our event. They have the usual buffet set-up. Included in the package are balloon set-up (pillars and table centerpieces), tarpaulin which i did'nt get anymore. I love their AE Daniel. He's kinda more on the feminine side and was easy to get along with. He granted all my requests and even advised me not to get drinks from them and just asked us to buy powdered iced tea pack so we'll have bottomless drinks for everyone...at no extra cost. They did'nt charge us with corkage fees for our lechon and dessert buffet. He's very accommodating and since we love their food, we know that the guests will enjoy it as well.

The only concern that I have is that not all guest tables had centerpieces. Well, I did'nt clear how many centerpieces are included in the package but i thought all the tables will have centerpieces. Had I known, I could have just ordered from Jhoanne. haha.

Venue Balloon decor: Jhoanne Paris Henson

Package: mini-arch and 6 chandelier balloons, P3,000

Rating: Perfect 10!

As always, mahal ng mga n@wies si Jhoanne and it's a good thing that i got to work with her before when i had my event sa office. anyway, nahihiya na nga lang ako kasi minimal lang budget namin for decors. My husband is the typical chinese so i don't have to explain how higpit he is and i'm the typical kuripot in every sense so i also don't have to explain. haha. i know nahirapan din sya sa amin. I did some DIYs for the decors and she was kind enough to help me with the set-up and with the program, giving away prizes, lootbags and other concerns regarding the program. She was also very considerate of my “budget” concern. haha. she adjusted with my budget but the place still ended great. parang mukhang maraming balloons sabi ng MIL ko. she even asked, “ganito ba dapat karaming balloons?” haha. and i said to myself, “if only you have seen other parties!”

She was also an instant friend, comforting me nung nagpapanic nako coz they can't start with the décors because the electricity short-circuited and some guests are arriving already. waaah! It was fun having her whole family helped us all throughout, as in her mom with the registration and guestbook signing, her brother and husband with the set-up and her little daughter who is so adorable. :)

Thanks so much Jhoanne, the party was very organized. Your presence was very much appreciated.

Cake: Sugarbox c/o Emily Uy

100 pcs. Cupcakes with disney character topper, castle topper mock-up, and 2-layer fondant crown cake for blowing of cake

Price: Undisclosed

Rating: Perfect 10

Well, she did our wedding cake and naka-kontrata na yun that she will do all special cakes in our families. haha. what can i say, super galing ng ginawa nyang cupakes. as in, i was so surprised when i entered the venue and saw that the cupcakes are placed in a very high-towering stand...and umiikot yung stand. hahaha. nagulat talaga ako and i immediately told simon, “beh, wala nito sa wedding natin ha?! hahaha”

emily is easy to work with kasi and she has become a close friend already, just like with our other wedding suppliers. i just told her that i wanted as many disney characters as possible, and i want them to be colorful. the guests love the cupcakes, super yummy daw! some got 2 cupcakes pa. hehe.

you will never go wrong with her. she's very flexible sa budget mo. hehe. :)

Photographer: Ging Lorenzo

Labor only package

Rating: 10

I really waited for her pictures before i post my ratings. All our families love her shots! I know medyo nahirapan din sya sa amin coz simone was a little cranky nga that day coz of her two new teeth and sipon but she was still able to get very nice smiling pictures of simone. katuwa! i also love her candid shots ng mga kids and the details ng party. blessing in disguise na rin that the first photographer i booked backed out. hehe.

Concern ko lang which is fault ko rin is i forgot to tell her that we wanted family pictures, my family and simon's. wala kami pics ng famiy namin except for the table hopping but it was still good, fault ko naman coz i forgot to tell her. :)

the "sit properly" command. cuteness!

Party Host: Wacky thru Jhoanne

Price: 6,500.00

Rating: 10

Everyone loved Wacky! Adults and kids, they adored him. and totoo nga, he's very fluent in english kaya okay. (and so i thought the kids won't follow his english, iwas found wrong) haha. guests, even days after the party are still texting me how much fun they had kasi ang galing daw ng host. the magic is the kiddie type pero masaya pa rin. i love his games. simple lang pero ewan ko, ang galing nya magpa-game. parang lahat all eyes on him pag nagpapa-game and it's as if everyone wanted to join. :) yun nga lang, magugulat ka after the party, punk pala sya. haha. as in parang si Mr. T. hehe, ok sa comparison e. thanks jhoanne for the reco. :)

they are so happy with wacky! everyone wanted the bunny! hehe

Lootbags and prizes: Diviland

Rating: 10

I alloted one day for this and mahirap man buhatin at pagkasyahin lahat, i had fun shopping for disney items. it's not hard at all since maraming nagkalat na disney sa divisoria. i thought the variety of the disney characters would make it look “magulo”, hindi naman pala. cute tingnan na may pooh, mickey and princesses. :) and ang mura lang talaga ha...grabe! and ang saya pala when kids line up and we will hand over their lootbag after they greet simone. hehehe. ang cute! tuwa naman yung kids sa bags and yung natira, hiningi pa ng mga adult guests namin. haha.

Dessert buffet: courtesy of my SIL Jane Tan

Cream Puffs, Eclair, Food for the gods, brownies (about 250 pcs. ata)

Rating: Perfect 10

Promise, super enjoy mga guests with the dessert buffet/bar. I don't know how to call it pero madami talaga sya. she filled one big round table with desserts. ang ganda ng set-up nya, simple pero appetizing! some guests even had their pictures taken beside the desert bar. haha.

so if you want to order, you can PM me also. hehehe.

Party costume: courtesy of Mom in law

Snow White costume, shoes and headband from SM

Rating: Perfect 10

Super proud ako sa costume ni simone. as in! hats off to my mom in law. super galing at gayang-gaya nya yung costume na pinahiram sa akin ni velvet (btw, thanks sis, super!) she sew the costume overnight and I just added the flowers sa gown for kakikayan effect. haha. and super comfortable ng costume that simone wore it th whole time. as in from start til matapos ang party ng gabi na. we just changed her para lang magamit yung isang dress. haha. malambot kasi ang lining and cotton pa so hindi sya nahirapan (simone) and pati yung cape ang cute tingnan. snow white talaga! hahaha.

"syempre ang pamangkin ko ang escort, sya daw si aladdin! cuteness!"

i found the shoes sa SM lang, pero ang cute tingnan kasi gold. panalo! again, thanks to velvet for lending us the costumes para gayahan. :)

Guestbook layout: Jacq ni Bong and Mec ni Jojo

Rating: Perfect 10!

Guestbook printing: DPI

Rating: 10

Super love the guestbook layout na ginawa ni jacq ni bong. sis, i owe you big time! thanks again! as in ang ganda ng pagka-layout by month. i know na-pressure sya sa ken pero she was still able to make great layouts! love the colors na ginamit nya! thanks again sis.

and of course, mec ni jojo for making the two last layouts despite the rush. haha.sorry at na-harass ko ata si mec pero she made the two other layouts ng wala pang 3 hours ata. hehe. di ko na kasi hinarass si jacq coz super kahiya na. hahaha. thanks again mec, muah!

About DPI naman, i forgot our n@wie sister who recommended this, big thank you talaga! i love the result. super ganda ng print and the prices naman are reasonable. nakakailang lang when i went there coz talagang mga professional photogs ang pumupunta dun while im just a mere mortal having a trouble choosing between glossy and matte paper. haha. super recommended po for your printing needs. they made the cover na syntra board para makapal ng konti tapos the rest silk paper na. ganda. :)

Pinatas: gift c/o SIL mercy

we had three pinatas, pooh, minnie and ariel. and di ko napansin na ang dami pala naming candies kasi hindi makalabas when we pulled it. pero mas naging fun and spontaneous when wacky stood in the middle, standing on a chair and literally tinataktak yung pinatas para makalabas yung candies. and even the adults, nakikipag unahan samga candies. haha.

Lechon: c/o Dad in law

Kwento ko lang tong mini blessing namin, they ordered for a small lechon pero nagkamali ng deliver and ang laki ng lechon na dumating pero di na pinabayad sa amin yung difference na 1k. haha. galing! dami pa natira kasi malaki nga and we had paksiw ata for like a week. grabe!

Invitation: Printed Matter

Price: 25 pesos for square invite plus 1k for layout fee

Rating:4 super disappointed

Hay, they did our wedding invites and to our dismay, nalungkot talaga ako sa stress na inabot ko sa party invites nya. i asked them to make a new design for simone's invites and na-execute naman nila ng maganda. ang kainis lang is that i paid for additional amount for the rush process and sabi nila i can pick it up on friday so i can distribute the invites that weekend. when i went there, nagulat pa yung artist dun who i deal with and ang bungad pa sa ken e bat daw hindi muna ako tumawag. sabi ko “why would i call to confirm. i left my number with you to text or inform me if i won't be able to get the invites”. i even emailed to approve the layout nila para lang mapa-go na yung production tapos sasabihin sa ken that i have to sign it pa daw. e para que pa na nag email sya ng layout ang i approved it kung pipirma pa rin pala ako at pupunta sa ofc nila. was really disappointed kasi di naman biro pumunta ng manila from taytay and that time sinadya ko talaga yun with no other appointments that day just so i can distrbute the invites that weekend. when i asked when ko makukuha yung invites, sabi bigla tuesday pa daw, that's a week after ko magpagawa sa kanila. sabi ko, i paid for additional para sa rush production, hindi na rush ang tuesday. nagtimpi lang talaga ako and then bigla sabi “cge, bukas pwede mo na kunin” so kung hindi pa pala ako magagalit, hindi nila mamadaliin?

i'm sorry pero i loved them when we were dealing with kerwin and phoebe personally nung wedding preps namin pero now that their business has grown so much, parang nawala yung customer intimacy. I never heard a single “pasensya na” or “sorry” from that artist although im sure she has her own reasons. naisip ko rin lang na hindi naman porque bday invites lang ang pinagawa ko e i'll be put last, wag naman sana ganun.

that night, i sent a YM to kerwin and we chat for about 30 minutes about it. ok na naman nung nasabi ko na sa kanya. oh well, ganun talaga. di ko lang inexpect that sila pa ang magbibigay sa ken ng stress. hehe.

i give them a 4 naman kasi maganda naman yung kinalabasan ng invites. :)

DIY Projects: Simone's chair, table cards, photo confettis, Simoneland letters

Rating: perfect 10! lol

Of course, may DIY! hehehe. can't live without these. the chair was never sat on that day, haha. kasi simone was clingy so ayaw pababa, unusual huh? the table numbers correspond to simone's month age. so if table 1, may nakalagay sa other side ng table card na milestones nya nung one month sya which i recorded religiously. hehe. then, the photo confettis which were just print outs are grouped according to the month age nya and nakakalat sa table. hehehe, wedding?!

yung Simoneland letters naman, styro lang and glitters. di ko alam what to do with it so i just asked jhoanne to put it up somewhere. hehe. yun nga lang when i saw her the first time, puros red glitters face nya. sorry sis! although naisip ko ngayon lang, sana pala nag woodworks ako. hehe.

I think that's about it. Super thank you for those who read until this part. hehe. in general, preparing for your child's birthday is not as taxing as preparing for your wedding, but it sure is as exciting. And truly, God is so good that He provided for all of these, we could’nt ask for more. :)

For more pictures, click here: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562768955mLFNQj

Jacque & Simon

Dec. 22, 2005

Francesca Simone

Feb. 21, 2007