Our Wedding Photo Wall

Despite our small wedding budget, Raymond and I wanted our big day to be unique and memorable by incorporating wedding elements that would easily jump a recall to our guests. So instead of opting for photo booths which I've seen in almost all of my friends celebrations and not just weddings, I was drawn to the idea of having a personalized wedding photo wall!!

Photo Walls are quite common in many foreign weddings I've read about, but haven't really seen one here in the Philippines, at least at the weddings I have attended.

I was very happy that our ninong Pert Delacruz of Jopers Inc.(who gifted us our framed wedding invitations) just knows exactly how to construct an amazing photo wall. And he made it for us for free!

Ms. Lyra Paz immediately sent me two wallpaper designs to choose from. It was exactly what I have in mind, different picture frames design that matches our framed wedding invitation that Delfin (also of Jopers Inc.) have made for us. We chose the pink shade wallpaper and just requested to indicate the words A JOURNEY TO FOREVER Raymond & Mhe-anne September 21, 2013 Tagaytay, Philippines in the final lay out.

Our photo wall was a sure hit! Many guests have told me that it was such a great idea and their first time to see a photo wall on weddings!

Cupcakes and Cake Topper by Sofia's Cakes

Since our journey cake designs and adornments are all edible, we thought of having a cake topper that we can take as wonderful memento of our special day for years to come! We were thrilled to know that Sofia's Cakes, our wedding supplier for our cupcakes also does personalized wedding figurines. 

Cake Topper

We want the cake topper to be consistent with our picture - framed wedding invitations and photo wall so we choose a design where the couple are holding a picture frame. For a personalized look, the bride's dress was designed to look like my original wedding dress design and color of bouquet reflect our Philippine Flag motif colors of red, blue, yellow and white. For the groom's attire, it would have been better if it looked more formal since Raymond wore a vest with his suit. 

Cupcakes

Since we already have our journey cake from my friend Raquel Delos Santos, we thought of replacing the 3-layered fondant cake included in our wedding package with Estancia Hotel with 100 pieces of chocolate cup cakes . This way, our guests will have a taste of our wedding cake and can easily take it away as celebratory souvenirs. To be consistent with our Philippine Flag motif, we had a mixed of blue and red butter cream cupcakes with a nice white and yellow flower design in the middle, while the yellow and white butter cream cupcakes have red and blue flower design in the middle.

I like how the cupcakes look like and how they were displayed in the cup cake tower. But most importantly, I love how it taste since my niece Shanara saved me two (2) boxes of cupcakes which I ate much later after the big day.

SM Bridal Registry and our Wedding Gifts!

Our wedding paved the way for me  to learn about the concept of bridal registries, and frankly, whoever thought of this idea is brilliant!

Gift Registry conveniently let us choose the gifts we want that agree to the budget of our guests, while letting the guests still choose to give "cash" or other gifts. Having a Gift Registry ensures that no same gift items is repeated, or in case of repeated items, we can exchange them for store credits and get the ones not bought for us.

I chose SM Bridal Registry (over Ayala Mall and Rustans) because SM has many stores nationwide. I set up our registry online as Mhe-anne & Raymond Nuptial with GR Code 0009-021136, and made our gift list from Sta.Mesa, Sta. Rosa and Bacoor, Cavite SM branches. The staff of these SM Branches are very helpful, and accommodating as we chose our gifts. A staff accompany us, take a picture of the gifts we liked and upload them online within 24 hours. We were given Registry Cards that fit perfectly inside our wedding invitation.

How It Works:

When guest is in SM Branch to purchase something for us, the guests proceed to the SM Bridal Gift Registry Section and present the card we included in our wedding invitation (or simply give our names and GR Code). The SM Gift Registry staff provides them with the list of our choices / gift lists. Once the guests have made their choice (from among our list), the staff brings the gift to them and wraps it for free. Also the guests are given a 10% discount for regular items and credit the SM Advantage points both to the guests and our card. The guest could also choose to have the gift delivered to our registered address.

This is what our bestman, Franco Advincula & his wife Minnie have done. They purchased us a gift at SM Megamall and we got a text message from SM Registry staff informing us about it.


What we got from the SM Gift Registry:

We got a handful of gifts from our wishlist and those are what we really like and were thrilled to see them when we opened the gifts! We love the Tornado Mop (from Richard & Ionie Baquiran), Kyowa Electric Convection Oven (from Mayor Tony and Cindy Carolino), Kyowa Induction Cooker (from Atty. Bogs & Bubbles Caingat), Turbo Swirl White Westinghouse Ceiling Fan (from Cong. Lawrence & Therese Fortun), King Size 4-piece Canadian Linen bed sheet (from Atty. Doug & Janice McAllister),  Kyowa Blender (from Grace & Alex Capitulo), Hosh 10-piece dinner set (from my bridesmaid Tes Calingacion), and Hosh 20-piece dinner set (from my good friend Grace Gannaban). Super thank you everyone for your thoughtful gifts!

For the cash gifts that we received, we will be using them to buy those gifts in our wishlist that were not bought for us! Another convenience brought about by having a Gift Registry!

Our Journey Cake by Raquel Delos Santos

photo by Alain Atienza Tagpuno

The wedding cake has always been the star of every wedding since it is believed to be a fertility symbol. It became a tradition to pile up several small cakes, one on top of the other, as high as they could, and the bride and groom would kiss over the tower and try not to knock it down. If they were successful, it meant a lifetime of prosperity.

While I do not want to be traditional, I really like our wedding cake to be a star and reflect our story. I thought of a Cake  that will showcase our two decades journey as a couple. 

Photo by Mc Joseph Casimiro

So Our Journey Cake was born! It was a love gift from my baker friend Raquel Delos Santos. I have always love Ate Raquel's cakes (and she even taught me how to bake), so I was thrilled that she is gifting us our wedding cake! 

The idea is to have a four - layered white fondant cake, with a road to symbolize our journey. In each layer is a vehicle in our color motifs - Philippine Flag of red, blue, yellow and white. On the first layer is a blue jeepney since Raymond and I met on June 12, 1991 inside the University of the Philippines Diliman campus and the UP Ikot jeepney there was blue. After two decades of separation, we met again on June 29, 2012 and Raymond visited me at home with his white motorcycle. Since then we have been together aboard our red SUVs and our goal is to buy a yellow Genesis coupe as Managers of Forever Living!

Thank you ate Raquel for this thoughtful and meaningful gift!

Supplier's Review: Estancia Hotel Resort Tagaytay

In front of the Hotel Lobby.

Estancia Hotel Resort Tagaytay is the venue for both our last-minute wedding ceremony (instead of just a ring ceremony) and our wedding reception. We couldn't be happier with our choice as it lives up to being the perfect venue as we thought it would be when we stumbled upon it in July 2013!

Wedding Ceremony

As a hands-on couple, we decided not to hire a wedding coordinator before or during the wedding. We wouldn't be able to pull it off though without the huge help of Tracy, the Estancia Hotel coordinator. She was our contact from the very start and she is such a darling. 

Reception Venue Design

My Wedding Day Looks by The Ellis Effect!

photo taken by Alain Atienza Tagpuno at our
Executive Room in Estancia Hotel Resort

Getting sick a few days before our big day added a ton to my already overwhelming wedding related anxieties.  My eyes have dark circles and are puffy due to a week-long sickness. Worst, I am not fond of make ups and have not worn any mascara or false eyelashes before so I was all teary - eyed when I had my make up trial run with Xairene a week before my wedding. Unfortunately, the trial make - up duo did not set in well as it was quite heavy according to my friends.

I became more worried. My eyes are worst than they were during the trial run, so I'm not sure how Xairene would be able to hide the bulges. She gave me another trial so she could work around my heavy eye bags. One of the looks was already acceptable to friends if I remove my false eyelashes.

photo courtesy of Tyrene Ellis Orais

Two (2) days before the event, Xairene got a job offer that made her unavailable on our wedding day and she was constrained to back out. Luckily though, my hubby-to-be Raymond, came across with his former office mate at Convergys, and she now happens to be an accomplished make - up artist.

Tyrene Ellis Orais is a freelance make up artist behind The Ellis Effect.She lives and works in Cavite & Manila, and has worked with top models, celebrities and clients for their bridal look. I only met her on the actual wedding day at Estancia Hotel Resort but the connection was instant! She is very pleasant and pretty. I had a first taste of an airbrush make - up, and her colleague Mary Praisen Obrique did my hair. 

picture taken by our official photographer Alain Atienza Tagpuno

I feel really beautiful and confident with my looks. Tired eyes are gone and I truly feel like I am a star of my wedding!