At exactly 23 months, I’ll be a happily married woman. But before that happens, me and future hubby needed to go through this once-in-a-lifetime-adventure called wedding planning. We could actually hire a full wedding planner/coordinator to help us out do everything especially since we are currently based overseas, but for now we intend to make our own research about the latest updates in the Philippine wedding scene specifically within Metro Manila area or Zamboanga City (two options are better) so we could plan everything well — more so the financial part. Unfortunately, we’re not from a rich clan but simply just two normal, employed, average-salaried individuals who like many others, dreams to have that special moment but all within our means. I know its difficult but I guess we can do it. Just proper research, network and sticking to our budgeted wedding checklist and we know that everything would turn out well.

So for a start, here’s our initial wedding checklist. This is in a random order.

WEDDING CHECKLIST PART 1

1. Wedding Date and Church. Before making reservations, the rule of thumb would be to secure the wedding date first and look for a potential Church for the ceremony, because everything else will follow. Since we’re both Catholics, it is a must for us to secure the availability of our chosen Catholic Church first before making reservations with the rest of our intended suppliers. Choosing a place to hold our special wedding rites is non-negotiable on our list. We have the option to hold it in an open venue or any hall, but there’s something magical and serene to have it the traditional Filipino Catholic way. Wedding Churches in Manila Suppliers List

2. Wedding Theme. We found out that there’s a ton of themes to choose from now that ranges from Classical to Quirky to Rustic to Vintage. Trends vary from one theme to another and highly depends on the couple’s preference. Some even go to the extent of having their wedding themes patterned from movies like Star Wars, Harry Potter etc and stories such as Midsummer Night’s dream.

3. Wedding Color Motif. Colors are everywhere and since they’re so many, we need to come up with our own minimalist palette or else it would consume our time to think of how it’ll look good on our wedding theme, reception, entourage attire etc.

4. Reception Venue and Caterer. One thing weddings should be great at is the food. It shouldn’t be the best chef in the world or the best catering service in the town, but from a respectable catering service that would provide a world-class and budget-friendly service. Wedding Caterer Suppliers List and Wedding Venue Suppliers List

5. Flowers and Decorations. Event styling is in. Like OMG I’m so in love with Gideon Hermosa’s event decorations! I just hope his rate isn’t as pricey as how fabulous his decorations were. Wedding Florist and Event Styling Suppliers List

6. The Bridal Dress and Groom’s Attire. Of course, I already have my dream wedding gown designers in mind with the likes of Veluz, Veejay Floresca, Jazel Sy or Mel Orlina. They’re like my top 4 Filipino local designers that make all brides look glamorous on their wedding day. Personally, I’m a huge follower of their Instagram accounts and I always find myself drooling at their fab gowns! But looking at their rates now, everything seemed too expensive and out of our budget already. Though I do hope we could get to find a way to avail of their services with the full entourage at a budget-friendly rate. Bridal Gown Designer Suppliers List

7. Entourage and Guest List. Since we’re both traditionally big families, we need to trim down our entourage list to the very most important people in our lives which would include our super close friends and colleagues. Yes, those people who helped shape who we are now and has witnessed our love story.

8. Invitations. Laser-cut print out invitations is the best thing I’ve seen for invitations since I had my debut 10 years ago! We’re eyeing at Print Divas, but with the rates, again… it’s something we have to reconsider big time. Or maybe we just need to find new suppliers that can offer the same quality but on a budget-friendly level. (Please Google point me to them!) Wedding Invitations Suppliers List

9. Photographer. One of the most important events in our lives should be covered by the best photographer in town! That’s my motto since I’m a newbie photography enthusiast myself. (I do cover Prenup as well for free for my friends, but how on earth am I able to find one to do mine when it’s my turn?!) Blacktie Project, Nice Print Photography, Bencro Creative Studios, Mango Red Studios, Pat Dy Photography and Metrophoto were the best that we’ve seen so far. But when it comes to rates, everything changes drastically. Whew. But we’re not losing hope because we know budget-friendly packages will come. Wedding Photographer Suppliers List

10. Videographer. Because we want to have everything covered as well in live-action-motion. Does that even make sense? With the SDE (same-day-edit) coming as well as AVPs during the actual wedding, and of course, the full coverage of the wedding itself, coupled with the new aerial shots who wouldn’t want to put half of their wedding budget in these two categories — photography included? Wedding Videographer Suppliers List

That’s were starting for now..we’ll see which to add, edit or whatever. But the most important thing would be — to STICK ON OUR BUDGET! God help us! 🙂

Unfortunately, the needs don’t stop here! You can check our WEDDING CHECKLIST Part 2 for more info.