The one with the EB day!

ilang oras na lang and it's our Grand EB na!!! can't wait...ang boring dito sa office. nababaliw nako sa katamaran ko ngayon...hehehe. i really dont like working saturdays, parang na-deprive ako sa social life ko. ahehee...buti na lang may EB later.

last night, went out with my SILs...ang saya and ang kulit namin! katuwa! we went to Shang mall. would you believe, pare-pareho kme ng outfit..all wearing black top. hehehe. ate at Tokyo, tokyo...and had tea and desserts at the Dome. ang saya talaga nila kasama. im so blessed with my SILs.

The one with 5 days already

It's been five days already and i still receive greetings from friends, esp. from w@wies. nakakataba lang ng puso. thanks. si achie benz nag-start ng lahat ng to eh when she posted this email last aug. 20. and PMs, texts and other posts followed.

>yahoo! minor details na lang!!! :) congrats sa ating
>mga october brides!!!este, december pala!
>hahaha...super ready na ba at pwede na ikasal sa
>october?! hahaha.

Jacque,

Sigurado ka di ka papahiya sa akin ha. Pag ikaw mag pa nic sa nov o dec loko mo! :)

Happy Birthday girl! Thanks very much for all the help you gave me. You saved my ass and my sanity several times na with this BYP ; )

Hope you had fun... pssst pag tapos mo mag celebrate paki tapos na yung directory ha :)p



0 /0/[:]\ /@\ ___
// \\ / _ \____)
John & Bennette Rana
10.26.98
EDSA Shrine/Ilustrado SMPPI
KittyKite - 8-5-99
www.WeddingsAtWork.com

The one with the W@w Peer Award

Being a w@wie has always been a fun experience for me. i got to meet new friends whom i can share my wedding excitement with me, i can ask anything and for sure, i'll get a reply soon...super saya lang tlga.

and in return, i answer and help other brides who ask favors din. parang sabi ko nga before, it's one way lang of giving back to w@w what i also get from it. it's nice when people appreciate what you do for them...and with that thank you for nominating me in 4 categories....o davah?! parang speech ko na to noh?! hahaha.

last aug. 23, the votes came in and much to my surprise, napasama pako sa 4 categories. kakatawa talaga! to think na hindi na nga me masyado nagpo-post eh..and here are the categories:

Most Friendly- Charo ni Jovan;Jacque ni Simon;Milette ni Jojo
Most Helpful - Aggie ni Edil;Jacque ni Simon;Mec ni Jojo;Milette ni Jojo
EBest of them all - Jacque ni Simon;Mai ni Paul;Tin ni Archie;Wella ni Nikki
Darling of the group - Aggie ni Edil;Jacque ni Simon;Mec ni Jojo

honestly, i wont stand out much sa most helpful coz aggie, millet, esp. mec are really masipag sa replying to the w@wies. sa Ebest of all naman, di rin ako pwede dyan kc si wella and si tin babatukan ako ng mga yun if i win kc nga di ako sumipot sa EB ng south. hehe. so i guess, that leaves me to most friendly and Darling of the group! hahaha...asa pa me. oh well, being nominated alone is in fact an honor na. so i can settle for that. thanks benz and john! see you all on saturday!

The one with 4 months to go!

It's a month over a quarter na lang. For the major details, make-up na lang ang kulang. For the minor details, marami pang kulang! hahaha. pero trying to really give time to preps and work...sana makayanan ng powers namin ni simon to! God bless. excited na kme!

The one with our Save the date magnets

Gave this out to entourage, principal sponsors, families and some special guests! i asked my SIL to buy magnetic sheets for me. for 50pcs, i used 4 magnetic sheets. simple pero very multi-functional as well. they can place it on the ref and have their notes clipped on it or something. our guests love it. na-aamaze sila and cant believe that it's just paper na dinikitan ng magnet and costs P10 each. mejo pricey for me pero ok lang, unti lang naman eh.

The one with picture-picture!

my invites

my birthday cake, a gift from emily uy of Sugarbox!

closer look

childhood friends, my bestfriends

our families

sisters: skokie, merci, achie, me, jane, and oliver(ayy!napasama!)

at the arcade after the party..parang may glass noh?! kunwari lang yan. hehe

The one with my bday suppliers' ratings

It was a party of 40 people, celebrated at Mcdonald's in Eastwood Libis. A party with families and closest friends which turned out to be a very sweet celebration. And here are my ratings:

Mcdo Eastwood Libis - 10
-when simon was thinking of giving a party na, Mcdo na yung pumasok sa mind nya. and when he asked me, it was the first thing that came to my mind din. well, my love for chickenjoy will never be replaced, pero party-wise lang, mas ok lang kme with Mcdo. I had a Disney Princess theme. wow! para feeling princess me. hehe. we made the arrangements a week before the event. super saya lang, listing the guests and inviting them to the party(actually, simon did that) they were accommodating to all my requests and very prompt naman din sila.

Cake - Emily of Sugarbox 10+++++++++++++
-i just love this girl, grabe! i asked her to do a cake for my birthday na P500 lang budget. then, she had it delivered to Mcdo kc may wedding sya on sunday. When i texted her for the account number, sabi nya gift nya daw sa ken yung cake! hahaha. super unexpected tlga. i really wanted to pay kc lam ko she just squeezed it in her time to do my cake kc may wedding nga sya. but she insisted. grabe! and i LOVE the cake. it's a 9" yellow and pink carrot-walnut cake with a topper na fairy holding a wand. there were also bling-blings! haha.

Efforts in preparations - Simon and my mom
- just the two most important persons in my life, got into a tandem to prepare a party for me. the best! ratings....immeasurable! i love simon for always making me laugh and giving me all the love he can give. i will always feel blessed knowing that God gave me a man like him. Just today, he told me that he was supposed to put in the mascot costume for me and be Birdie for 5 minutes!!! he knows that i have an irrational fear of mascots. and he wanted to be the mascot para i can overcome my fear. he asked permission from the manager kaya lang di sya pinayagan eh. tsk, tsk. pero for me, just the thought of that made my heart sank. parang ano ba ito?! kakilig tlga!

The one with the Mcdo kiddie party

Since this is my last birthday party na single ako, Simon wanted it to be something really memorable. He asked me if i want a Mcdo kiddie party. When he asked me that, super tuwa ako. he took care of inviting our friends and families syempre. tapos, i was in charge lang of ordering cake from Emily of Sugarbox.

The party started at 6:30pm na. we had four games. tawa kme ng tawa, grabe! tapos, kainan, we ate chicke, spaghetti, burger and large softdrinks. and may mascot dancing din na hindi naman marunong sumayaw. hahaha. it was such a memorable birthday party coz it was celebrated with our families and my closest friends. as in! lahat ng family ni simon andun, pati mga girlfriends and boyfriends ha. nakaka-touch lang and they made time out of their super busy schedules. we even strolled pa after the party. hehe. my childhood friends were there, my bestfriend and his son were there. kahit na preggy, punta pa rin. love you anne! my college friends were also there. and pati si concon! andun din! yipee!

nakakatawa, ang family ko akala sa kabilang mcdo ang party (the one near our place!) hahaha...sa lahat naman ng nakakalimot, family ko pa. comedy talaga yun! pero nakahabol pa rin before the party even started. funny!


I'am truly grateful and blessed for all the things God has been doing in our lives. He is really paving the way for us and it gives me such joy that He is blessing our lives tremendously. Iba si Lord, the BEST!

The one with the Brand name

so happy, was given na a brand para sa una ko ihahandle. grabe, pressure! i wont disclose muna the brand or its nature coz it's a new product. Oopppss, im not even talking about one brand...it's a whole line of brands. ang cool! Praise God! sabi pa ng boss ko, "since you're the top notcher in the group (naks!), we will give you the most challenging brand". grabe!!! and i LOVE my brand! as in. cant wait to turn over my job to the one who will replace me para makapag-start nako with my brand! yahoo!

i just thank God for all the blessings. He is really paving a way for us ni simon.

The one with "Thank God"

This has been one heck of a week! grabe, so full of emotions...there's anxiety, excitement, happiness, sadness, fear, at kung ano-ano pa. to think na it's not even about my wedding. hehe. it's a really tiring week but something really worth all the puyat and efforts. I've been working on my Marketing Plan for one week and i've been squeezing my brains almost everyday since i don't have a marketing background. I need to prove that though i don't have the educational background they're looking for (im a psych grad, what can you expect?!) eh im still qualified and credible to do what a Brandman can do. I spent my weekend preparing for it...walang gimik, walang pasyal...as in work lang. pero in fairness, kahit mahirap sya, nag-eenjoy ako while doing it. pero super interesado ako sa ginagawa ko and di ko napapansin ang time. after a lot of asking from my officemates about my brand and of course, from the technical group, i finally finished my Mktg. Plan.

Tuesday came, i volunteered to be the first one to present. yabang ba?! hehe. but seriously, may psychological effect yan eh. pag ikaw ang una, ikaw ang magiging point of comparison nila, so less questions ka. and i've proven that a lot of times. the night before my presentation, mega iyak pako coz something happened sa office and na-discourage talaga me mag-present. but i said to myself, ill do my best and whatever decision ang lumabas, i'll respect it, basta i know for myself that i did my best.

The panel consisted of our DVP, GM, Mktg. Director, and Brand Managers. pag pasok ko, wala na yung kaba. pinag-pray ko tanggalin yung fear in me and to focus on my pres. after my 35 min. pres, the panel clapped. and one of the bosses na pinaka-ma critic told me "before any questions is asked, let me just tell you that you did a very good job!" yun pa lang, solve nako! haha. and everyhting else followed. there were questions, yes, pero na-answer ko naman.

I just thank God for the wisdom and strength that He gave me. ibang klase si Lord, the best!

The one with the W@W Tag

Benz made my day yesterday. mababaw as it seems, pero her timing was just perfect lang siguro. i was really tired yesterday (to think that its a Friday ha) and i happened to check some mails lang from w@w. apparently, got a PM from her telling me and other co-w@wies that we will be given FREE w@w tags and t-shirts as their token of appreciation for the help we gave them. parang ako.... "awwwww, touched ako" haha, no really. i smiled and parang for a while, nawala isip ko from work at bumalik lang sa wedding. haha. it's good to know that people appreciate what you do for them and vice versa. yun lang. so excited to see them sa grand EB!

~o~

grabe na ang anxiety level ko for my presentation on tuesday. been working my brains out since 2pm today. It's a saturday and i can't even go out. feeling ko tuloy finals ko or defense. but so far, it's taking shape na. i can actually picture myseld presenting in front of the big bosses and tell them my plan for my brand. i really pray for God's will...yun naman lagi dapat ang prayer natin eh. :-) kahit mukahng maraming hindarances, lam ko andyan si Lord. amen!

i miss preparing for our wedding though :( di bale, babawi me next week after ako i-date ni simon on tuesday. haha. prize nya daw sa ken yun after ng presentation ko, date kme! yahoo!

The one where everyone's getting married!

Aside from a bunch of my w@wie friends, im so happy that my childhood friends are settling down! Congrats to Ejay and Ai, Jill and Jhon, and a couple close to my heart(secret pa eh). We love you and we will pray for you always. God is really doing something great for all of you guys. At last, i have someone to share my excitement on weddings. :)

The one with the first counseling

It was last sunday, at one of the Sunday School rooms in our church. Well, the set-up may be unusual, but we had fun "chatting" with our pastor. Pastor Mar volunteered to give us a six-session pre-marital counseling so we can fully prepare ourselves for a new life ahead of us. The first session went well. We just reminisced and told our love story to our pastor. It's a good thing that he knows us already and that we are close to him from the start. He knows us individually and as a couple. It made us more excited knowing that he will marry us. Now, our pastor dilemma has been instantly resolved. Just yesterday, simon asked me if i want to get Pastor Bong (the other pastor) and his wife as our ninong and ninang? I did'nt think of that! all along, niisip ko lang how we can explain to pastor bong that he cannot marry us anymore since pastor mar will marry us na. buti na lang, pwede namin sila ninong ang ninang. super happy me!

also, after church we went to look for some houses again. this time mejo high-end so mejo far from reality as of the moment. but it's good to have an idea of the prices ng high-end houses and lots. :) everyone's getting excited, natutuwa ako that my parents and simon's sisters are also helping us look for a place that we can move into after the wedding.

we also checked out the gown designer. infamous but maayos naman daw tumahi. well, still thinking between that and tet hagape. will go there next week na siguro, after my presentation sa ofc. yikes!

The one with Kapuso

Yesterday, Simon is an official Kapuso na. hindi sa artist center ng GMA ha. hehe. He was offered a job by GMA in New Media dept. very apt for him, as in! katuwa nga eh. well, he's not looking for a job talaga kc ayaw nya nga ng 8-5 job. he always works alone. he does his projects with his clients sa house nila and money transfer na lang. pero syempre, if there's an opportunity, grab it. super excited sya coz parang hindi daw work yung gagawin nya. plus there's also shifting in work hours, meaning he can still make projects for his other clients, na di naman bawal sa GMA. La lang, galing lang talaga ni Lord to give to us what He thinks is best for us...and God's plans are always for the best.

The one with the souvenir boxes

after shopping in Divi for boxes for our souvenirs, syempre, kinareer na naman namin ni simon ang paggawa ng design. i so love him when he volunteers to help out on my DIYs (kahit minsan tatawanan na lang ako nun dahil naghahanap daw ako ng sakit sa katawan) hahaha. but it's true, i don't know why i love to do things by myself. it gives me a thrill when i get to finish a beautiful piece of anything. haha.

so anyway, here are some of my finished products. naks naman! almost done na nga eh coz ang bilis lang gumawa.
if you're wondering about the shimmering thingy sa cover, those are micro-beads or sugar beads. when i brought a sample to phoebe para lam nya what i was talking about, gusto rin nya magpagawa for her wedding. hala! eh november na kaya un. wish ko lang i can find the time to make her boxes also.


o diba? you dont need souvenir tags na kc naka-paste na sa cover ung label namin.


plus, its multi-functional coz you can use it as a jewelry box as well


at least, one more item to cross out nako sa preps!

The one with the final design

syempre pa, it's always fun to meet with our cake designer Emily of Sugarbox. we may have exceeded with our cake budget but i know it's all worth it. ang saya! she made a sketch na of the design, although pencil lang eh so baka di masyado ma-appreciate ung details. but when she explained it to me kanina, as in "oh my gas!" ang ganda! aliw ako. exactly how i wanted it. puros beads, pearls, may castles, may topper na hinaharanahan ako ni h2b, furs, airbrush, at lahat na ng effects. she even asked for our pic at nabigyan ko na rin sya, para kamukha namin ung toppers. sabi ko, "dapat sexy ako dyan ha." sabi nya, "di naman cake tong ginagawa ko eh, museum project!" hahaha...katawa talaga un.


all the dots that you see are beads and pearls. that's the 18" na edible cake namin, may door pa na nakabukas. all the castles are gumpaste


these are the other two layers of our cake na pinahiwalay ko to make a little village. connecting the two cakes is a bridge na may naka-hang na mga gold beads and pearls...tapos ung bridge, puno din ng beads. haha. ang OA namin noh, puro beads, wala ng cake. simon is holding a guitar, hinaharanahan me. ako naman, flowers lang. behind us are castles also na gumpaste. these we can keep after the wedding. galing noh! nakatabi sya dun sa biggest cake namin, pero naka-lift ung pinaka-cake namin para sya ang highlight.


mini-cakes will be something like that. may castle din for the 12 pcs and dun sa other 12 pcs, roses naman. castles for ninongs, roses for ninangs.


eto naman, i asked for a quotation para ibigay sa mga guests while waiting. sana lang hindi mahal. pero kung mahal, i can ask my SIL to make something like this. kayang kaya nya to! cute noh? parang ayaw ko na nga galawin eh.

The one with the Leave

i took a leave from work to attend to my wedding preps. well, i want to balance lang my life. after the exams and the interview i just had, i felt that it was time for me to prepare naman for the wedding. paid na the 50% for JJS and 50% for roj amado yesterday.

today, i went to Divi with Skokie. before dun, we dropped by muna at phoebe's to get the stickers and save-the-date cards. happy me, simple pero rock sya. then, i showed her the cover of the box i was talking about. natuwa, at gusto rin magpagawa for her wedding. haha. i hope i can find the time. she wanted to print out na the labels that will serve as my souvenir "tag". bumili muna kme ng boxes sa tabora. dapat brown boxes until i saw these capiz-like na heart-shaped boxes. cute sya, as in! white nga lang. i bought it kahit mas ganda ung paper box kc mas tipid un since i don't have to paint it anymore. plus, it's smaller so unti beads lang lagay ko. i'am so excited to start on it. hopefully, matapos ko sya before tuesday.

then, pag uwi ko super sakit ulo ko. pero we went out for dinner pa rin kc monthsary namin and i want to spend time pa rin with simon. grabe ung kain ko sa Kenny Rogers, gutom na gutom daw me. haha. Happy monthsary beh! 5 months na lang and we're married na! praise God! yahoo!

The one with Abstract Reasoning

Saturday, i had an interview as part of my assessment. it was a casual iterview, more like a backgrounder. it went well. was able to answer all her questions. then, ms. belen explained to me the results of my exam. all other dimensions were the best in remarks. My ratings range from Above Average, High Average, and Superior(even for my supervisory skills) EXCEPT for ONE. i cannot believe what i saw, i got a BELOW average for my Abstract reasoning. when you assess it, that's the IQ of one's person. oh my gas! i was dumbfounded and really could'nt believe it. when i was in college kc it was always a high average for me. well, ms. belen explained that once a person starts working, bumababa daw talaga ang IQ, plus it's not the quotient used nowadays, may EQ na. sila nga daw na teachers, below average rin. i still did'nt want to accept it. hehe. naging ignoramus na ba ako coz of work o sadyang pre-occupied na lang ako sa preps?! well, i'm not really bothered that it will affect my assessment coz i know all the other dimensions will compensate for it, di ko lang matanggap...sana kahit man lang Average..huhuhu

The one with the Recipes

EB with concon, tin and of course, our coordinator-friend, clarice. we call ourselves clarice brides! haha. had fun chatting with them, sharing experiences with suppliers, at pine-pressure na rin nila me sa MUA ko. ano ba?! ako naman, di nape-pressure. haha. pero im still on the hunt. buti na lang humabol si tin sa EB namin. tuwa nga ako eh, from Sucat punta pa talaga sya Eastwood. grabe noh?! ganun nya kme ka-love. naks! love you sis. pics to follow...

The one with the Wedding Essentials, 2nd edition

i just can't help but be impressed with the latest Wedding Essentials Magazine. i luckily found a copy in NBS and bought it at 270 instead of 250 bucks. ok lang, so worth it. why? la lang, i just feel that i can relate to their stories more than those mags that feature celebrity brides. well, no offense to them, i just find WE a very informative mag for me. plus, got to see my friends and suppliers there like clarice, abie, millet, phoebe of printed matter, mimi abesamis, etc.

in my excitement, i emailed the editor, marbee go (such a sweet gurl) and was surprised to get a reply the following day. since then, she has been a regular correspondent already. she's in california right now and is homesick. i hope she gets back agad, but a least her stay naman there is for a good cause, to study and learn more about her field. hope to keep in touch with her pa rin, despite of their super busy schedules. i just love it when i meet new friends, kahit sa w@w natutuwa ako pag may mga bago me nakaka-chat or email.