I Blog, Therefore I Am.

Montecito Nuvali was one of our best-kept wedding secrets. It took significant control over my social media self not to post a photo or too many details about it in the year we were preparing for our December 2015 wedding. Yes - this blog post is one year and six months delayed!

Warning: Super long post with lots of pictures ahead!

I've always wanted to get married in a quaint little church that is not too popular or mainstream. I was reading Town & Country on my iPad in late 2014 when I chance upon a wedding article where Montecito Nuvali was the church and reception venue of the couple. I got interested in the chapel instantly. I knew right then that this may be "the one." Unfortunately, there was very little information about it online, so it was tough for me to do my research without going all the way to Nuvali in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. This is also why I am doing a very lengthy post about it. I've been getting 2-3 e-mails and messages a week from brides and grooms about this charming place.

I fell in love with the place the minute I saw it, and it took very little to get the fiance on board. We were dead set from the very start that we would have our wedding in Montecito the first time we laid our eyes on it. We only visited two churches for our wedding, with St. Benedict Church in nearby Silang as a backup. I am just happy that everything fell into place. The church is very intimate, the outdoor lawn is perfect for our dream garden reception, the location is prime & very exclusive, and it's located in Laguna, where Witt and I reside. Having our wedding in Montecito was the best and easiest wedding decision we ever had. Our guests seemed to agree because I heard nothing but praises for it (well, some complained about the distance, but - for us - it added to the appeal and exclusivity of the place).

I am really terrible with this blogging thing! I've been busy (as always) and quite uninspired lately to write any decent post. I still owe myself a lot of blogging thoughts and reviews from our wedding. We've been married 8 months already, and I only did a couple of posts about it. 

Now on to the honeymoon! Instead of having a one-time-big-time honeymoon, Witt & I decided to have small trips and staycations throughout the year. We already had a mini-vacay last May in Hong Kong, and we are planning to go to Boracay and Japan later this year. 

One of the things I loved in our Hong Kong trip was the boutique hotel we stayed in: the Butterfly on Morrison. I now prefer modern boutique hotels or AirBNBs as opposed to big grand old hotels of the past. We were able to book the hotel via Agoda, and the transaction was quick, easy, and they even threw in some promotional discounts. 

It's my first day back at work as a new missus. I missed my wifely duties and housewife routine of the last two weeks while I was at work earlier. I am still on our wedding bubble and I want to extend for one more week our vacation BUT sadly off to work we go. Gotta save for that honeymoon trips!

One of the things that made me happy last night was our on-site photo slideshow by Nicolai Melicor. It was the same day edit of our photos that was featured in our wedding reception. We finally got our copy yesterday.

Nicolai Melicor is the best! She's one of the first suppliers we booked and met back in January 2015. There are so many good wedding photographers in the Philippines today but we chose Nicolai for her colorful and vivid style. We love the brightness and lifelike style of her photos and her team's. We are not really the dramatic, slow-shutter-low exposure, play of lights kind of couple so we opted for Nicolai and her playful saturation and natural light type of photography. More review on this soon!

For the meantime - here's our on-site wedding slideshow...

Music: Run Run by The Rival

We are very very happy how this turned-out. Nicolai and her team beautifully captured the happy, emotional, and candid moments that we had in our wedding. Wagas ang kaligayahan ko, diba? 

Also - here is the list of awesome our suppliers whose works were featured in the video. I am hoping to write a review about each of them very soon. I just really need to sit down and find time to do it.

Chapel: Our Lady of Guadalupe, Montecito Nuvali
Reception: Pasa Tiempo, Montecito Nuvali
Wedding Preps: Seda Nuvali
Gown: Gretchen Pichay
Entourage's Gown: Paolo Blanco
Entourage's Suits: Gardini
Hair & Make-up: Eds Go
Flowers: Joel Faller
Pre-nup Photography: Caliber King, Team Pat Dy
Invitation Design: Ink Scribbler
Missalette Design & Other Prints: Blissful by MarKat
Wedding Coordinator: Events By Marge

Our wedding was truly a joyous and love-filled occasion for us and our families. A big thanks and shout-out to our family, relatives, friends, and colleagues who celebrated with us!

2015 was both an amazing and challenging year for me.

But the photo below sums up the great happiness it brought!

Looking forward to a marvelous 2016!

Happy New Year    |    Feliz Ano Nuevo   |     新年快乐

We got married in Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel in Montecito Nuvali in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. It's a lovely chapel that very few heard about. It was the perfect chapel choice for us, and I am still giddy whenever I think about it. I've been getting a lot of inquiries about it via e-mail, and I promise to post about it soon.

The chapel is owned by Montecito, but the servicing is administrated by St. John Bosco Parish in Laguna Technopark. St. John Bosco will provide an officiating priest if requested. For our wedding, we asked our family friend, Rev. Fr. Renie Oliver, of St. Polycarp Parish in Cabuyao, to celebrate our nuptial mass.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel has no strict rules in the wedding mass and ceremony, BUT we still cleared everything with Fr. Renie, including the wedding missalette, hymns, and my bridal march song. He also allowed us to recite our personal vows.

May this Season leave you with precious memories: 

a Christmas filled with light, love, and joy all around! 

Happy Christmas from our home to yours!

- Witt & Abbie Dimaano

I am not really keen on having engagement or pre-nuptial photos. I am used to seeing a lot of engagement photos of couples dressed to the nines, in an island, in a forrest, in a quirky cafe, etc, etc, and I honestly don't see myself and Witt in those positions. I was thisclose to forgoing any pre-nup photo sessions but Witt cleverly came up with a nice pre-nup concept that got me onboard.

Witt wanted a photo shoot that is very casual in a 'daily grind' indoor set-up with our everyday stuff. I immediately liked the idea because it defines us and our personalities. We are homebodies who prefer indoors instead of going out for adventures. We love lounging around, social media, mobile games, our gadgets, and our mobile phones (and the stuff you can do with it).

I was already scouting for venues as early as March to complement the idea. We searched for the best condos, hotels, and staycation places in Manila. Our shortlist included Joya in Rockwell or Oakwood in Ortigas. This changed when my colleague, Jean, told me about their staycations in Airbnb flats here in the Metro. It was a eureka moment for me because Witt and I are Airbnb fans as well. We like unconventional and unique accommodations and we stayed in an Airbnb in Kuala Lumpur last year.

Airbnb is an online marketplace for people looking for listings of vacation rentals, homes, and flats for lodging. People host and rent their place for guests looking for accommodations. It's an improved version of the "couch surfing". Airbnb has over 1.5M listings in 34,000 cities and 190+ countries. 

There's A LOT of good Airbnb rentals in Manila. Top condominiums and buildings in Makati, Taguig, and Ortigas has a lot of listing targeting tourists and staycationers. We were very lucky when we chanced upon Clare's Modern Loft with Golf Course View in Bonifacio Global City's Burgos Circle. The loft is very nice and is very Instagram-worthy! It's perfect for our pre-nup session.

Here are some photos.

It's only sixty seven days before our wedding! Whew, breathe in, breathe out! I am not yet ready! There are so many things that I still need to do before I say I do. September  and October are very busy months at work and I am already panicky because I need to concentrate 24/7 on our wedding preparations. I met with our super wedding planner, Marge, late last month and looks like we are on track (I hope). I just need to finalize our Strings and we are done with the big suppliers.  

One of the things I accomplished last month is our monogram and invitation suite design. I'm NOT supposed to splurge on invites but scrimping on design and style is unacceptable for me. The monogram and our invitation elements will set the mood for the whole wedding. It will also be the pattern for all the styling for our big day.

I cannot show yet the suite design but I want to share with you our monogram. Tada...

Nice, right? The design was made by Alexis Ventura's Ink Scribbler. We had a couple of revisions on this monogram because I initially wanted modern calligraphy or watercolor for our names. They gave us several options and Witt and I fell in love with this classic calligraphy instead of our original pegs. 

I did a lot of research for our invitation suite and I am very happy that I hit the jackpot with Ink Scribbler. It took me almost 6 months of inquiry and hours of Pinterest and Internet surfing before I stumbled upon Ink Scribbler. I was very happy when I saw their portfolio and I even enrolled in an afternoon calligraphy class with Alexis last July. I highly recommend them! They are very creative and they do their revisions very fast (a must for 'impatient telco clients' like me). Check their portfolio through their site or Instagram account. Shout out to Abbey Sy for recommending them to me.

No updates since May! I've been a very bad blogger. Been really busy with work but I TRY to put a little wedding planning and prep every now and then. Anyway - here's a long wedding update and review on K. By Cunanan.

One of our most important wedding suppliers is our caterer - K. By Cunanan. I am very happy with our choice of caterer and its also the very first supplier that we booked back it December. They are my ultimate non-negotiable. 

I was not really keen on getting them in the beginning. I was actually preparing a series of food tasting and meetings with prospective caterers (Albergus, Bizu, Mesclun, Passion Cooks, etc.). BUT our friend, Patty Laurel-Filart, suggested and recommended her wedding caterer to me. I checked them out, found very good food reviews from past wedding couples, and fell in love with their superb styling. Food is very important in any event. People will probably forget my wedding dress but they will never forget the banquet experience; so the guys who will cater for the wedding is very important to us.

Trivia: We switched wedding dates from December 12 to December 18 because K. By Cunanan was already fully booked on the 12th. Yeah - I chose a Friday instead of a very good Saturday December date all because of food and styling! 

We booked and paid the required Php 10,000 last December but we officially reserved last January at the Getting Married Bridal Fair. Booking them on fairs will give additional FREE desserts or appetizers in the menu. The Account Manager that was assigned to us in the fair was Rann Dela Fuente.  

There are two food tastings at K. By Cunanan. The first taste test is where you will meet your Account Manager, discuss wedding details, and try out K's popular dishes. The second food tasting is usually 2-3 months before the wedding. You'll be able to taste your selected menu from the first taste test or request for more dishes which were not included in the first one. The final styling and detailing will also be discussed in the meeting.

Our initial food tasting was last May 12. Witt and I were very excited (of course food!). The food tasting is at the K. By Cunanan Commissary in Green Meadows. 

Here are the reviews and the fooooood...




We started with the Raspberry Iced Tea. They have other Iced Tea blends like Vanilla and Home Made Iced Tea but I think we will go with the Raspberry. It has a somewhat similar taste with Red Iced Teas.



K. By Cunanan offers Hors d' oeuvres for the guests. Our wedding will have a 1.5 hours gap from church to reception and we will be serving cocktails during that time. K offers a variety of hors d' oeuvres: fresh, soup, wrap/taco, fried, and on toast. We were served Bacon Wrapped Dates, Onion Soup with French Toast, and Chicken Tortilla with Arugula, and Carmelized Onion. The Bacon Wrapped Dates is a winner and we  will definitely include it in our menu. You can never go wrong with bacon! The Onion Soup is so-so and it was served in shot glasses which might be a hassle to some. The Chicken Tortila is okay but we will ask for other options.

I went to the Brides & Beyond Wedding Fair at the Rockwell Tent last February 21. The fair is a bit different from all the other bridal fairs I've been since it mostly featured high-end and non-mainstream suppliers. It was also not crowded compared to the others. 

I'm now picky when it comes to wedding fairs. I've been to five (5) fairs already and I'm already an expert on what to do, what to expect, and what I should spend my time on. I pretty much covered all our big suppliers so I am no longer "actively hunting" during fairs. However - I did find a couple of new wedding ideas and suppliers that are worth considering for the big day. Read on!


Calligraffi
Calligraffi designs and engraves on wood, glass, and acrylics. Their most popular items are the personalized wine glasses and champagne flutes with engraving. This is a nice personal touch for the bride & groom toast at the reception; and a good wedding day token for the new home.

This is part 2 of my review for the search for the ultimate wedding hair and make-up artist. Here's the link of Part 1 which is consist of reviews for Malou Hibaler, Michael Celestino, and Jasmine Mendiola. 

The Part 2 is for my trial make-ups with Bea Almeda and Eds Go.

Bea Almeda Make-up Artistry

Bea is another another Getting Married Bridal Fair find. I was able to get her flyer at the fair and I find her bridal looks beautiful. I scheduled a real trial make-up with her a week after the fair at her Serendra studio. Bea is the Chief Make-up Artist of Canmake and graduated from Makeup Designory. She is also an expert on avant garde make-ups aside from weddings and fashion editorial. 

• Bea is nice and very easy to talk with. We tell each other stories while she was putting on my make-up. One of her studios is just in Serendra and it's near my place. She is a great person to work with. 

One of the best and most difficult wedding suppliers to find is the hair and make-up artist. I never thought that I would totally obsess over finding "the one" who will make me look good and fresh come wedding day. As most of you know - I am not the girly girl. I don't wear make-up on a daily basis save for some powder and dash of lipstick.

Thanks to bridal fairs, the GirlTalk Forum, W@W and Instagram for providing the best resource for anything bridal make-up related. I prefer nudes, earthy and browns on a daily basis but would like to achieve something sweet and nice for my bridal look without overdosing on pinks and peaches.

I had five (5) trial make-ups so far from various make-up artists. I took advantage of the bridal fair free trials but invested on a couple of artists on my shortlist. I made reviews and listed on this post the looks they created for me to help fellow brides in their quest for "the one". I am not really after big names and I am willing to get a not-so popular stylist as long as she/he makes me look good. My wedding look 'brief' to the make-up artists is to just notch up a bit my features without transforming me. The last thing I want is an overwhelmed-who-are-you reaction from Witt when he sees me at the altar.

Oh - a warning - this post is filled with my face in various states for obvious reasons. :)


Colorplay Hair and  Make Up by Malou Hibaler

Malou Hibaler is one of the make up artists who participated at the Weddings & Beyond Bridal Fair last January 11 at the PICC Forum.  A quick Google search said that Malou is an accountant-turned-make-up artist who used to work for the best and biggest telecommunications company in the Philippines (small world - but I am not privy to this when I met her).  Malou took a make-up & hair styling course at the Center for Aesthetic Studies after her Smart gig. I got fascinated with her portfolio on display so I asked for a trial at the fair. It was also my first time to have airbrush make-up.

• Malou used make-up brands like Mac, Urban Decay Naked, and Make-up Forever.

• She is very nice and she asked me what kind of look I want for my wedding. She put on what I liked and even accommodated my anti-pink/peach lipstick request. She even told me that I had an edgy feel when it comes to make-up.

• The whole make-up feels light. Malou made me up for less than 40 minutes but it feels very complete (with false eyelashes to boot). She also contoured my face very well. 

• The look she gave me was very soft and it blended well with my skin hours after. There were no hair styling offered but the look will be very suited for a half-ponytail. 

• She suggested that I get highlights for my hair so that it would look better in photos (I super agree). 

My super wedding planner told me in our first meeting that I should check first the fabric availability of my wedding "theme" before I get excited with it. I was also told by three designers that my taste for my bridal gown and entourage ensemble is more 'western' compared to most Filipino brides so fabric sourcing as early as now is a must. 

We technically don't have a wedding theme but we intend to play our weddings with fresh light colors. I specifically want a combination of very light Spring colors that will be contrasted with bright Spring colors of flowers.

Here's my ultimate color guide and peg:
I came across the combination in Pinterest way before Witt proposed. I can't even remember when I pinned it. I struggled a lot with the 3rd color from the left. I can't exactly pinpoint the right color term for it. Some call it Light Mauve and some said that it is Light Old Rose. I'm planning to have my Matron of Honor and Godmothers in Light Grey, Bridesmaids in Light Mauve, Secondary Sponsors in Light Blush, and Junior Bridesmaids, Flower Girls and Moms in Creme.

My wedding planner advised me to visit Fabric Warehouse to see if my planned colors and fabrics actually exists. Lo and behold...it does! It truly gave me great joy to see that my planned wedding swatches can actually see the light of day here in the Philippines.

Ta-da...

The closest matches are numbers 37, 52, 65 and 24. The photo above is saturated a bit but it's lighter in person. These are silky chiffon fabrics but  a couple of designers already told me that I have to consider Power Mesh/Tool fabric if I want a flowy effect for my girls' gowns. I've been obsessing over this for quite a while. Next step is to find THE ultimate designer who will execute my vision!

My preference changed over the years. If you read the archives of this blog, I probably mentioned in the past on wanting to marry in a big church with a long majestic aisle (think Manila Cathedral or my parents' San Agustin Church in Intramuros). 

For our real and actual wedding next year - my simple demand wish is to get married in a small and 'unknown' chapel surrounded by greens outside the city. Caleruega and Chapel on The Hill in Nasugbu, San Antonio de Padua in Silang, and Madre de Dios Midlands Chapel in Tagaytay Highlands were good choices but countless friends and cousins already got married in those churches so it's not exactly 'unknown' in my book. I want a church where even Waze will get confused. Plus, I heard that Caleruega is now extremely popular and you have to book it 2-3 years in advance.

If there's one thing I did in the 4 months of non-wedding prep (post-engagement) is to research for possible churches for our wedding. An aunt suggested this small church near Ayala Westgrove. So one Sunday afternoon - my family and I checked St. Benedict Church in Silang, Cavite.

St. Benedict Church in Silang, Cavite

The church is very very nice. I fell in love with it immediately. I actually have a 'this is it' feeling the moment I entered it. But the fiance attributed that feeling to the nice air-conditioning and the nice set-up of the church in preparation for a wedding that afternoon.

We are (unfortunately) not getting hitched at St. Benedict Church in Silang since we stumbled upon another church/chapel to our liking at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Montecito, Nuvali. Plus - the only weekend afternoon dates available are November 14 and December 6, 2015, when we inquired. The next available Saturday is already for February 2016. It was quite surprising because we inquired a year and two weeks before our target date. It's now fast becoming a popular wedding church that follows a 2-wedding-only per day rule with an afternoon slot that strictly starts at 2:30 pm.

Here are the pros/cons of St. Benedict Church in Silang based on my observations:

The Good:

• It's a nice little solemn church tucked away in the greens of Silang, Cavite. 
• Awesome church aisle which can give the grand entrance that the bride wants. 
• The church's secretary is very nice and accommodating. 
• They can pencil-book the date/s for you for a week. You can confirm after a week with P5,000 to reserve the date that you want. 
• There's a provision for air-con and non-air-con weddings. 
• There are many reception options if you choose this church. Angelfields in Tagaytay is less than 15 minutes away. There are also a lot of villages near the church with nice clubhouses.

Here are more details of St. Benedict Church for those who are considering this as their church:

Wedding Package/Rates 2015:

Php 28,000 - With Air-Conditioning
Php 23,000 - Without Air-Conditioning
Additional Php 2,000 if Sunday or Holy Day of Obligation

Terms - Php 5,000 non-refundable downpayment to book the date, another Php 5,000 right after the Canonical Interview, remaining balance to be paid 30 days before the wedding.

The package includes the following:

• Officiating Resident Priest
• Two (2) hours of church use including pictorials
• Church's lighting and audio and video systems
• Wedding chairs and kneelers for the couple
• Marriage certificate
• Use of red carpet
• Two (2) wedding candles at the altar

St. Benedict Church in Silang
Diocese of Imus
Resident Priest - Fr. Isagani Avinante
Secretary - Ms. Myra L. Romabiles
(046) 511-1005
(0915) 414-3785
E-mail - st.benedictchurchawh@yahoo.com 

I have many reasons to blog again...

Hoping that I would be able to sustain it this time (even if I've been saying this since 2013). 

There are so many not-so-good things that happened to me in 2014. But, if there's one good amazing thing that happened to me this year then it's my engagement to the most awesome and responsible guy I've ever met!