New Year, New life. A couple of months from now, we’ll be married and all of this will just be a great memory. But, looking back, as we continue with our wedding preparations we were proud that we have accomplished a few major suppliers that we can now tick off from our list. We learned that once you get to book the major suppliers, the rest will just follow. This post is a follow-up from Our Wedding Preps Timeline 2015 that you can find HERE. 🙂

Updated post with our May 2016 adventure 😊

JANUARY 2016
(11 months before the BIG day)

After coming back from my vacation to personally do the ocular for the Church, Reception, Hotel, appointment with my Couturier etc, we’re back on track in ticking off the suppliers that we just booked last year and those that needed our attention. And yes, this will be quite a hefty list since the minor details seemed to need the utmost attention for now.

Since fiancé and I are both music lovers, it is a must for us to have live entertainment on our big day! So checking out all the known and reputable wedding bands and strings based in Manila, fiancé took the task of choosing his favorite among them. We shortlisted a couple of bands and strings who’ll be rendering my bridal march during the ceremony and entertain the guests at the reception, etc. And of course while searching for our band and strings, we also considered our Lights and Sounds supplier. It is actually a rule of thumb that the two need to have a great, or even an outstanding connection! To start with, we made sure that our chosen live musicians already have a great working relationship with our chosen Lights and Sounds supplier.

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As per recommendation by our coordinator, who happens to play a major part in our wedding supplier’s shortlisting process, we were able to finally reserve our slot with MADZ & DZHEI FULL BAND with their partner lights and sounds supplier REJECTKREW after watching tons of their past video performances. Also, these two suppliers have great feed back from the w@w community and past couples, so fiance and I felt confident that our reception will be filled with awesome music.  Hopefully, they’d exceed our expectation on the wedding day itself. *fingerscrossed*

**Tip** When you hire a Coordinator, always consider their recommended suppliers since they should’ve worked already with a number of vendors who can be categorized as efficient and reputable. Again when you hired them, you should TRUST them! Also, when getting a full band/strings for your wedding reception, be sure that they work closely or have previously worked closely with your chosen Host and Lights & Sounds supplier since job description is connected with each other. 

While fiancé was busy choosing our live entertainment for our reception, I, on the other hand was searching for an affordable florist who can make my dream bridal bouquet and the rest of the entourage’s boutonniere, corsage, mini-bouquets and flower crowns. I had been thinking of making a DIY boutonniere but shrugged off the idea when we decided on our theme, thinking that it’s best to be handled by a pro. So last December, I was also able to go around Dangwa Flower Market in Sampaloc to check each and every florist that I could find whilst comparing their package rates. I was actually almost convinced to book one florist because their package rate was unbelievably affordable with tons of freebies but after finding out a lot of negative feedback about them – even one coming from my coordinator – it was a relief that I didn’t push through with the transaction. But thankfully though, fiancé and I found a more reputable florist – FULL BLOOMS FLOWERSHOP by Inah Anupol, a GT and w@w find, who also happens to be highly recommended by our coordinator. Whew. Good to know that Full Blooms was also featured at Bride and Breakfast a few times (you better check out this online resource since they’re really good at what they’re doing), a known wedding online site in PH, which is a great news for us adding the fact that they’re serious with their craft. Hopefully though she will give her best during our wedding. Yes, I’m now excited to search for elegant bouquet pegs.

**TIP** When inquiring for your Florist, be sure to let them know how many people will be part of the entourage, the type of flowers that you’d prefer (local, imported or mixed), sample pegs of your bridal bouquet if you’re picky like me and your wedding’s color motif so they can make a good quotation. The more detailed peg, the better price quotation you’ll deinitely get! Also, take note that prices of flowers usually increase a lot depending on occasions especially during peak wedding seasons like December, Valentines Day, Mother’s Day etc.

FEBRUARY 2016
(10 months before the BIG day)

Need or Want? That’s how we would always label our wedding vendors. Plus add the fact that we needed to allot a certain amount to each supplier in order for us to always be on track with our budget dream wedding.

And as we go through the other wedding details, fiance really had this fancy idea of having a nice looking bridal car. Our caterer actually already has this as part of our package but in the end we both decided that we want to splurge on this. For some it may be a want, but for us, we wanted to have it since it’s part of our themed-wedding. Good thing DON ROBERTS BRIDAL CAR have the model that we wanted. It’s definitely something to look forward to!

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Moreover, among our long list of wedding vendors-to-book, thank God we were able to tick off the other supplier needs that we have to book like entourage gowns that we got from ROMMEL ESPERA BRIDAL who happens to be a familiar sight for Teleserye lovers (Amor Powers wedding). Hopefully though we won’t have any issues with them since it’s really difficult to plan a wedding event overseas.

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Nonetheless, we got our invitation suite from NEONOVELTIES, with whom we accidentally saw one of their works from a previous couple that our Photo team has covered; our souvenirs from CHOCOLATE CONFECTIONS and alcoholic beverage service from GQ MOBILE BAR who happens to be accredited in our venue.

** Tip!** If you plan to get alcoholic/mobile bar services, be sure to get one that is already accredited by either your chosen venue and/or caterer to waive the corkage  and/or electrical fees. These fees can add to the unexpected chunk in your wedding budget. 

But what really highlighted this month Among the suppliers that we have booked so far was when we both decided to finally avail an event styling services from GARY DACANAY (MINDWORKS PRODUCTIONS). Event styling as we know it needs a huge chunk from the wedding budget and this is no joke especially that we are on a very tight budget. Like, seriously. But after comparing all the pros and cons for a couple of months (yes that’s how long it took us to decide), we both agreed that we just can’t let this opportunity pass. I remember fiance telling me, We’ll only get married once so let’s do it. I don’t want our wedding venue to look sad and bland Haha. Whether this is a want for some, this was in fact one of the most crucial decisions that we have done and we’re just proud of what we decided since we know our dream wedding style would really come true. No regrets! *fingerscrossed*

**Tip!** In order to get a good quotation for Event Styling be sure that you’d include  detailed pegs of the following: number of guests = number of tables to be decorated, size of the venue, complexity of decors to be done, specific possible materials needed, ceiling fabrications and/or installations for some and flowers to be used (local/imported/mixed). Also bear in mind the possibility of paying  corkage fees (if the event stylist is not accredited in the venue), electrical fees, minimum of 10 pax for crew meals (depends on the event stylists’s team) and OOT fee (if not based in Manila).

MARCH 2016
(9 months before the BIG day)

During this month we actually only focused on finding suitable souvenirs for our  principal sponsors. Luckily, we were able to find quality items that we won’t be shy to give to them as gifts. We went from one boutique/mall to another to find the perfect match for our souvenir items and thankfully we got them unexpectedly on that one night when fiance was craving for Chowking’s Halo-halo. Thank you Halo-halo! 😀

APRIL 2016
(8 months before the BIG day)

Breath of fresh air. Yes, we needed this again. 🙂

MAY 2016
(7 months before the BIG day)

Due to busy work schedule and other extra-curricular activies with the different organizations that we have here, we only managed to do a few things. Thankfully though there are a few sale options from great shops due to the change of the season (here you literally expect sale almost every month) so we were able to get good bargain for our entourage attires and some gifts for the guests. We also managed to finally complete payments for some suppliers (those that needed to be paid in full – few months before the wedding like venue, caterer etc) so we won’t be thinking about it anymore. The feeling of actually paying something in full gives a huge sigh of relief. 😂 A tick off from our long list of wedding suppliers just like what fiance is always saying!

**TIP!** We’re not Accountants, but on a monthly basis we would always make it a point to audit our budget by updating our booked suppliers and money that we have for the wedding. With this at least we were able to identify where our money had gone to, which supplier is already paid, which supplier needs to be booked etc. Try to make this using Word, Excel or any app about wedding budget because this will definitely enlighten you if you’re still on track! If you have a coordinator, ask them for a sample copy of a wedding budget or if not you can simply google them online. Just personalize it according to your needs.

** More updates to come later. Happy preps! **

CONTINUATION HERE –> Our Wedding Preps Timeline Part 2 – 2016