Monday, November 23, 2009
thank you cards...
FINALLY got the thank you prints from the photographer. i should be sending them out by the end of this week. sooooo sorry for the delay!!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Wedding Slideshow!
Here's a slideshow of about 500 pictures from the wedding. I tried to keep it short, so I picked a fourth of the pictures we got back. Enjoy!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
photos!
Just received the DVD from Harvard Photography of all our pictures. 1899 pictures to look through! I'll post my faves soon...but here's one as a little teaser!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
1st month!
one month has passed since that amazing day. but as much fun as that day was (i'm still waiting on pictures!), it pales in comparison to all the interesting things that happens when in the actual marriage. oh the little things we can pick at. little but wonderful things! although we bought a house before we got married, we didn't live together until after, so it's been an experience to finally settle in together and learn to share...space, the garage, the kitchen, the closets, and the chores. if you follow my twitter, there was much fun with yard work and baking the sun. guess that's what you get when you buy a house! :)
but it's been an experience, and both of us are learning more about each other each day. and learning to compromise. mucho importante!! we would have strangled each other already if we didn't learn that very important word.
i'll keep posting entries every once in a while. gotta keep you entertained with all our fun (mis)adventures.
but it's been an experience, and both of us are learning more about each other each day. and learning to compromise. mucho importante!! we would have strangled each other already if we didn't learn that very important word.
i'll keep posting entries every once in a while. gotta keep you entertained with all our fun (mis)adventures.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
3 days later
The day flew by so quickly as everyone said it would. But what a day it was. Steph slept over the night before to keep me company (and because she was booted out of her room at our parents' house). Her being there helped a lot. Everything started feeling surreal and I had major butterflies in my stomach. But I got to bed around midnight in anticipation for the following day...
Rise and shine! Woke up around 6:40am. My bridesmaids were coming over at 7:30am since our hair and makeup would start around 8. Took a shower and waited for the people to start coming in. We were waiting...waiting...waiting...at 8:40 I was getting a little worried as to why none of the Sexy Graffiti team had shown up. Jeannie had sent me an email that morning that she would be unable to style us as the hospital would not discharge her until the afternoon (she had her baby boy on Thursday! CONGRATS!) but the team would be there to take care of us. So Cris called her husband, and they were going against the original schedule of starting at 9:30 instead of 8:30. Eeks! We're supposed to be done by 1...I'm supposed to be done by noon. Was that enough time? So the SG team booked it and they were at the house within 20 minutes of our call. And wow, did they do an awesome job. All the girls and my momma looked FIERCE! April from Robles Video came over and started filming, as did Robert from Harvard Photography, and we were well on our way to getting this day recorded. My voluminous gown was removed from its plastic bag and draped over me. My accessories and shoes were set. Limo came at 1, and we were out of there by 1:15. On to the church!
The butterflies I felt the night before were totally gone. Me and the bridesmaids were photographed at the church for half an hour or so before Robert and his assistant moved on to the guys. No peeking allowed! So we hid ourselves in the bride's room and waited. Quite a few people passed by...I saw Kuya Joey, Ate Clarisse, Ate Viv, Armi, and Tita Gertrude as they were entering the church. My bridesmaids left me to go line up and I was left to my thoughts before it was my time to head up. Andrea (the church wedding coordinator) came to the room and instructed me to wait by the closed doors. My dad showed up behind me as he had already walked my mumsy down the aisle. I told my dad not to say anything to me...I didn't want to cry! But he told me I was beautiful and asked me if I was ready. And I was. Andrea opened the doors and we made our ways to the doors to the center aisle of the church. Thank you to Ernesto and Kelly for being our door ushers! The music was cued, the doors were opened, and me and my dad started our walk down the aisle. All I could see was Francis' huge smile at the end of the aisle. I did take a quick glance at the attendees, but my eyes immediately went back to my future hubby. At the end of the aisle, Francis and my dad shook hands and I was passed off and we made our way up the steps to the altar. Fr. Dennis gave us a nice introduction and some really nice compliments. And the ceremony began. Thanks to our readers, Tita Malou, Kuya Joey, and Ate Clarisse, and to our lovely vocalist for the Ave Maria, Ate Viv. An hour later, we were declared man and wife, and we turned to our guests and made our way down the aisle.
We waited outside in the courtyard for everyone to file out, and we were inundated with smiles and congratulations. I was AMAZED at all the people who were able to attend the ceremony! Family, friends, coworkers...almost everyone was there! I was elated! Then came picture time, and, boy, did my face start to hurt with all the smiling. But you can't help but smile on a day like that. So we did our pictures with family, sponsors, and our wedding party.
Then everyone took off for the reception, while me and Francis hung around the courtyard to take our "romantic" couple pictures. Around 6 we were done and we hopped in the limo to head to the hotel.
We got to the hotel, checked in to our room, and prepared to be bustled my sister and Christina, our wedding coordinator. With my train tucked in and makeup touched up, we headed down to the ballroom to check out the scene before the guests were allowed in. The photo booth was being set up, Donald and Donnell from Bino Entertainment Group were already playing some jams...and the room, it was beautifully set-up. The flowers, the colors, the layout. I loved it!
Christina had warned us that the dance floor might be a little slippery, so we wanted to practice our dance a bit. During one of the turns, Francis stepped on my dress and I saw my train unfurl. He broke one of my bustle ties! Thank goodness we had Christina. She managed to find the broken tie and pinned by train back into place. If my train was extended, there's no way we could do the turns in our dance...Francis would step all over me if that were the case! But we had our wonderful coord and she saved us!
Grand entrance time! First our grandmothers, then our sponsors (wonderful wonderful people!), and our parents...all set to the smooth stylings of Kenny G. Then it came time for the bridal party. Donnell bumped some jams as Donald introduced each pair as they walked into the ballroom. Finally it was our turn, coming in to my fave song of all time, "Only You (Bad Boy Remix)" by 112. Once we reached the dance floor, I handed my bouquet to my sis, Donnell turned on "The Way You Look Tonight" by Michael Buble and we danced our first dance. I think we did good. Then we went to our seats and my father-in-law welcomed our guests. Then the maid of honor and best man stood up for their toasts. Oh sisterly...what a toast. You made me cry you weirdo! She had such good things to say...I love my sissy! Ron...was funny. Enough said. Then Henry came in and did our prayer (thank you!) and dinner was served.
Francis and I took a couple bites of the salad, then stood up to take pictures with each table. We got through them all! Yippee! The great thing about that is that we were able to chat, though brief, with each of our guests. Once we completed our pictures, it was time for me and my dad to do our dance. Once "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder started playing, we did our walk to the center of the floor and started to dance. My dad is so cute! He did so well too! We took our bows, and "Sway" by the Pussycat Dolls started playing, and Francis and my new mother-in-law took the floor with a cha-cha. About a minute into the song, Donald announced my father-in-law and my mother to take the stage, and soon after, me and my pops joined the two couples already dancing. After some choreographed switches of partners, my mom and dad were paired, my in-laws were paired, and me and Francis were paired in the center. Then we started our synchronized steps and finished with our "gangsta" pose. Then we moonwalked off the dance floor. Haha I hope people enjoyed that.
While people continued with dinner, the slideshow was shown. It was the first time Francis saw it, I hope he enjoyed it. I tried to pick funny but decent pictures. People were also lining up for the photo booth. I think that was a big hit with the crowd. Good job Francis!
We did the cake cutting. Francis was good...he picked a small piece for me to eat. I, on the other hand, took a humongous piece and stuffed it in his mouth. Hey, it was good cake! I don't think he was complaining. Mmmmm red velvet. Following the cake cutting, we did the bouquet and garter toss. Stacie caught the bouquet! As for the garter, it fell to the floor and Ron stepped on it. Geeps!
My dad did the thank you. My daddy is so sweet. Thanks pop! And following the thank yous, we had our money dance. That was also a good opportunity to talk to people and thank them for coming to our celebration.
Program done. Time to DANCE! I must say, Donald is an awesome emcee. He got everyone of all ages to get their behinds on the dance floor. He was amazing! Seriously, the dj/emcee can make or break your reception, and he definitely kept the party going...all the way to the end. Can anyone say "Thriller"?
We had such a wonderful time. Of course that day will always be special to me because it was our wedding day, but everyone who attended and shared that day with us made it 100x more special.
THANK YOU! WE LOVE YOU!
Rise and shine! Woke up around 6:40am. My bridesmaids were coming over at 7:30am since our hair and makeup would start around 8. Took a shower and waited for the people to start coming in. We were waiting...waiting...waiting...at 8:40 I was getting a little worried as to why none of the Sexy Graffiti team had shown up. Jeannie had sent me an email that morning that she would be unable to style us as the hospital would not discharge her until the afternoon (she had her baby boy on Thursday! CONGRATS!) but the team would be there to take care of us. So Cris called her husband, and they were going against the original schedule of starting at 9:30 instead of 8:30. Eeks! We're supposed to be done by 1...I'm supposed to be done by noon. Was that enough time? So the SG team booked it and they were at the house within 20 minutes of our call. And wow, did they do an awesome job. All the girls and my momma looked FIERCE! April from Robles Video came over and started filming, as did Robert from Harvard Photography, and we were well on our way to getting this day recorded. My voluminous gown was removed from its plastic bag and draped over me. My accessories and shoes were set. Limo came at 1, and we were out of there by 1:15. On to the church!
Then everyone took off for the reception, while me and Francis hung around the courtyard to take our "romantic" couple pictures. Around 6 we were done and we hopped in the limo to head to the hotel.
Christina had warned us that the dance floor might be a little slippery, so we wanted to practice our dance a bit. During one of the turns, Francis stepped on my dress and I saw my train unfurl. He broke one of my bustle ties! Thank goodness we had Christina. She managed to find the broken tie and pinned by train back into place. If my train was extended, there's no way we could do the turns in our dance...Francis would step all over me if that were the case! But we had our wonderful coord and she saved us!
Grand entrance time! First our grandmothers, then our sponsors (wonderful wonderful people!), and our parents...all set to the smooth stylings of Kenny G. Then it came time for the bridal party. Donnell bumped some jams as Donald introduced each pair as they walked into the ballroom. Finally it was our turn, coming in to my fave song of all time, "Only You (Bad Boy Remix)" by 112. Once we reached the dance floor, I handed my bouquet to my sis, Donnell turned on "The Way You Look Tonight" by Michael Buble and we danced our first dance. I think we did good. Then we went to our seats and my father-in-law welcomed our guests. Then the maid of honor and best man stood up for their toasts. Oh sisterly...what a toast. You made me cry you weirdo! She had such good things to say...I love my sissy! Ron...was funny. Enough said. Then Henry came in and did our prayer (thank you!) and dinner was served.
Francis and I took a couple bites of the salad, then stood up to take pictures with each table. We got through them all! Yippee! The great thing about that is that we were able to chat, though brief, with each of our guests. Once we completed our pictures, it was time for me and my dad to do our dance. Once "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder started playing, we did our walk to the center of the floor and started to dance. My dad is so cute! He did so well too! We took our bows, and "Sway" by the Pussycat Dolls started playing, and Francis and my new mother-in-law took the floor with a cha-cha. About a minute into the song, Donald announced my father-in-law and my mother to take the stage, and soon after, me and my pops joined the two couples already dancing. After some choreographed switches of partners, my mom and dad were paired, my in-laws were paired, and me and Francis were paired in the center. Then we started our synchronized steps and finished with our "gangsta" pose. Then we moonwalked off the dance floor. Haha I hope people enjoyed that.
While people continued with dinner, the slideshow was shown. It was the first time Francis saw it, I hope he enjoyed it. I tried to pick funny but decent pictures. People were also lining up for the photo booth. I think that was a big hit with the crowd. Good job Francis!
We did the cake cutting. Francis was good...he picked a small piece for me to eat. I, on the other hand, took a humongous piece and stuffed it in his mouth. Hey, it was good cake! I don't think he was complaining. Mmmmm red velvet. Following the cake cutting, we did the bouquet and garter toss. Stacie caught the bouquet! As for the garter, it fell to the floor and Ron stepped on it. Geeps!
My dad did the thank you. My daddy is so sweet. Thanks pop! And following the thank yous, we had our money dance. That was also a good opportunity to talk to people and thank them for coming to our celebration.
Program done. Time to DANCE! I must say, Donald is an awesome emcee. He got everyone of all ages to get their behinds on the dance floor. He was amazing! Seriously, the dj/emcee can make or break your reception, and he definitely kept the party going...all the way to the end. Can anyone say "Thriller"?
We had such a wonderful time. Of course that day will always be special to me because it was our wedding day, but everyone who attended and shared that day with us made it 100x more special.
THANK YOU! WE LOVE YOU!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
1 day 16 hours to go!
i'm sooooo sleepy. so that means i should go to bed! we had the rehearsal tonight. i was so happy...almost everyone was able to make it :-) so hopefully everything runs smoothly and we're all good to go for saturday. aaaagghhhh it's so close! it didn't hit me until everyone started lining up. i got all shaky and nervous all of a sudden. eeps! this is a HUGE event!
what am i going to do with myself after saturday? nothing to plan anymore. after 4pm on saturday, "i [won't] be a bride anymore, i [will] just be a wife". my idol...monica bing (nee: gellar). LOL!
what am i going to do with myself after saturday? nothing to plan anymore. after 4pm on saturday, "i [won't] be a bride anymore, i [will] just be a wife". my idol...monica bing (nee: gellar). LOL!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
10 days!
you guys were right. once you get in the 2-month period, time goes by super fast. we're down to 10 days! so we're having our final meetings with our vendors to ensure that they'll be there next saturday and finalizing the itinerary with our coordinator. the devil is in the details, right? with that said, i'm extremely sleep-deprived. if i had known i was going to be this exhausted, i would have taken this week off too! but i don't want to use up all my vacay days...got a 7-day cruise coming up at the end of november, and possibly a trip to the philippines early next year, so gotta save up! on a side note, my mom's sister got approved for a visa! so she'll be able to attend my wedding! my mom is super excited, since her sis would be her only blood relative to have crossed over stateside. but that also means she's moving into my old room, and i still have stuff in there. and i so don't have time to pack up that stuff before the wedding. so my mom will employ my maid-of-honor to do it for me! hahahahahaha good luck steph! love ya sis!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
two more!
2 weeks or 14 days or 336 hours or 20160 minutes or 1209600 seconds...
...until OUR WEDDING!
it's cram time! i haven't been getting more than 4 hours of sleep a night...i wonder if it's all the anxiety? ya think? :-)
...until OUR WEDDING!
it's cram time! i haven't been getting more than 4 hours of sleep a night...i wonder if it's all the anxiety? ya think? :-)
Monday, September 14, 2009
weekend...
talk about busy weekend! took a vacation day last friday to do more wedding stuff and help mom prepare for saturday's bridal shower. we also met with the photographer to select the photo for our engagement portrait.
saturday was my bridal shower. i had sooooo much fun. the party was planned by my lovely bridesmaids, who did a phenomenal job with setup and the games. when i walked into my parents' house, they were putting up the pink and white streamers, i could see the food prepared on the table (thanks mom!), and the glorious cupcakes waiting for people to start devouring them (woohoo yazzie!). the games were hilarious...haha, the "how well do you know michelle?" stumped everyone. yes, people, i am a closed book. i think my mom got two answers right out of 14 questions. GEEPIS! second game was a scavenger hunt. there were some random items in there...but thanks to the efforts of the pitogohin clan, judy walked away with the prize by having 19 out of 20 items! final game was the "dress the bride". OMG. my girls were awesome. they allowed themselves to be the guinea pigs and get all dolled up with toilet paper and makeup. yes makeup. wow. we had some interesting looks. oh, and of course there was the battle of the clothespins. it looked like cristalle would take the prize, but ate viv caught her off-guard and she dominated all competition. and have i mentioned the food? especially yazzie's cupcakes and cake? soooooo good. she totally needs to start taking catering orders. yaz, do you have business cards?
so a BIG thank you to everyone who helped plan the shower, and another BIG thank you to everyone who attended. the party wouldn't have been as fun if you all didn't attend, and i thank you for taking the time to come celebrate with me. :-)
sunday was quieter. francis and i met with our wedding coordinator and we worked out kinks in the itinerary and timeline. hopefully our vendors can accommodate this newer schedule, as we have to tack on an extra hour each for photographer and limo. but we're still in flux right now...so we'll refine it as we get confirmation from everyone.
19 days people....19! we're in the teens now!
saturday was my bridal shower. i had sooooo much fun. the party was planned by my lovely bridesmaids, who did a phenomenal job with setup and the games. when i walked into my parents' house, they were putting up the pink and white streamers, i could see the food prepared on the table (thanks mom!), and the glorious cupcakes waiting for people to start devouring them (woohoo yazzie!). the games were hilarious...haha, the "how well do you know michelle?" stumped everyone. yes, people, i am a closed book. i think my mom got two answers right out of 14 questions. GEEPIS! second game was a scavenger hunt. there were some random items in there...but thanks to the efforts of the pitogohin clan, judy walked away with the prize by having 19 out of 20 items! final game was the "dress the bride". OMG. my girls were awesome. they allowed themselves to be the guinea pigs and get all dolled up with toilet paper and makeup. yes makeup. wow. we had some interesting looks. oh, and of course there was the battle of the clothespins. it looked like cristalle would take the prize, but ate viv caught her off-guard and she dominated all competition. and have i mentioned the food? especially yazzie's cupcakes and cake? soooooo good. she totally needs to start taking catering orders. yaz, do you have business cards?
so a BIG thank you to everyone who helped plan the shower, and another BIG thank you to everyone who attended. the party wouldn't have been as fun if you all didn't attend, and i thank you for taking the time to come celebrate with me. :-)
sunday was quieter. francis and i met with our wedding coordinator and we worked out kinks in the itinerary and timeline. hopefully our vendors can accommodate this newer schedule, as we have to tack on an extra hour each for photographer and limo. but we're still in flux right now...so we'll refine it as we get confirmation from everyone.
19 days people....19! we're in the teens now!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
stupid fedex
FedEx "misplaced" the shawls for my bridesmaids! DUDE! I was provided with a tracking number, but the shipment never left the facility. I ordered these in JUNE, and I was supposed to get them in August, and I kept pestering the company where I purchased them with emails on status updates on the order. Thank goodness for Anthony who is being diligent in finding out what went wrong with the shipment and made the decision to reorder the shawls from Alfred Angelo just in case they don't find the original shipment. So whichever they find first will be sent to me by September 20-something. GEEZ!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Day 25
i'm so determined to be productive. francis and i worked on our timeline this past weekend. we started practicing for our first dance. it's SO difficult to keep a straight face. we're fine if we're not looking at each other, but when we're dancing and make eye contact, we start cracking up. yeah. that bad. we got our engagement photos back from harvard photography...and we couldn't stop laughing. *sigh* we can't be serious about anything apparently. we're set for the wedding rehearsal and the music for the ceremony. thanks to ms. christine do (i owe you!), additional flowers have been ordered for our cake *yum*yum*. bridal shower this saturday at mom's house. we have a parents' meeting tomorrow night to discuss stuff. oh man...that means i need to figure out how to feed them. darn my inability to cook! must think of good takeout. :-)
Thursday, September 3, 2009
one month!
One more month folks! Time is zipping by obnoxiously fast. Only one more month...to have the house all to myself. Hahahahaha.
We're wrapping things up and finalizing all the plans. I have to give a BIG thank you to Francis and my favorite ladies for letting me have my "freaking out/frustrated/I'm-so-stressed" episode last weekend. Venting sessions are awesomely good...even if they don't make much sense when you're having them.
Tonight we're meeting with the coordinator at St. Denis, as well as the music director. So we're going to get the plans for the ceremony in order, and then I can finally work on the programs. YAY!
Oh yeah, I need to work on the slideshow too. DOH!
We're wrapping things up and finalizing all the plans. I have to give a BIG thank you to Francis and my favorite ladies for letting me have my "freaking out/frustrated/I'm-so-stressed" episode last weekend. Venting sessions are awesomely good...even if they don't make much sense when you're having them.
Tonight we're meeting with the coordinator at St. Denis, as well as the music director. So we're going to get the plans for the ceremony in order, and then I can finally work on the programs. YAY!
Oh yeah, I need to work on the slideshow too. DOH!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
msg to wedding party and sponsors
Formal invites will be sent to our sponsors and entourage, but here's the information for the rehearsal:
Rehearsal for Gregorio-Oreta Wedding
Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 5:00pm
St. Denis Catholic Church
2151 S. Diamond Bar Blvd
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
Dinner following Rehearsal
Chino Buffet
2911 Chino Avenue #F1
Chino Hills, CA 91709
For the actual wedding day, we're requesting (for our primary sponsors) that the women wear beige/champagne-colored attire, while the men wear a standard suit with a maroon/burgundy tie. I think we told most of you, but we may have missed a couple (especially those we told early on).
Rehearsal for Gregorio-Oreta Wedding
Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 5:00pm
St. Denis Catholic Church
2151 S. Diamond Bar Blvd
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
Dinner following Rehearsal
Chino Buffet
2911 Chino Avenue #F1
Chino Hills, CA 91709
For the actual wedding day, we're requesting (for our primary sponsors) that the women wear beige/champagne-colored attire, while the men wear a standard suit with a maroon/burgundy tie. I think we told most of you, but we may have missed a couple (especially those we told early on).
Monday, August 24, 2009
one month and nine days...
so what else do we still need to do?
- Follow up with the people who have not sent in their RSVPs (~30 people)
- Start working on the table seating
- Work on the program
- Draft up the time line for the day
- Buy the candy for the giveaways so we can start assembly
- Call florist to request additional flowers to place on the cake
- Finalize the rehearsal time and inform the wedding party and sponsors
- ??
Sunday, August 16, 2009
i'm loving the ears!
disneyland rocks. we went with francis' aunt a week ago.
after the wedding, we're soooo gonna get some passes.
i tried to convince francis to wear the groom's version, but his head is too big. i should have known. HAHA.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
awwww
what a sweetie! when i came home yesterday, i was welcomed by a bouquet of flowers and a lovely anniversary card. it's our three-year anniversary today! with all the wedding planning and preparation, our ever-important date crept up quickly. but it was definitely a nice surprise to come home to yesterday! :-D
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
so...
apparently i stink at updating! so much for a day in the life of someone prepping for her wedding! OH WELL. it's been busy! i'm adjusting to living in our house and constantly going back and forth from home (yay "home"!) and the parentals' abode to transport my stuff. plus i was out for a conference in san diego, and then i got slammed by getting sick. weeeeee fun stuff...but i am now fully recovered.
wedding update?
all invitations have been sent out...so far, about half have rsvped. and the deadline is TOMORROW! c'mon people! get with the program! so i'll be checking my box this saturday to get the last batch, then i plan on sicking my bridesmaids on those who did not reply (which is funny, since some of my very own bridesmaids have yet to send in their replies). SLACKERS!
we bought our wedding rings, so we're just waiting for them to get sized before we pick them up. my mom and i did some mother-of-the-bride dress hunting, and we were successful PLUS i got me some jewelry for the wedding. WOOT! my w-gown is kinda intricate, so i only got simple jewelry to complement it. i don't want to be over-blinged out.
oh got the flower girl dresses...they are so CUTE! i was able to drop off jolie's, but somehow i need to get to sophie-kins and see her try on the dress. SQUEEEE!
OMG, francis reserved a photo booth for the wedding. without my approval too! tsk tsk. he did it while i was away in san diego...so he got all these weird upgrades, like a velvet rope and red carpet. what?!? nevertheless, it should be fun. people better use it!
we're about 53 days away from the big day. i'm excited, but feeling really anxious. gosh i hope everything goes smoothly...i want to be relaxed and happy, not stressed. hehe, i don't want dark circles around my eyes simply becuase i'm worrying too much!
wedding update?
all invitations have been sent out...so far, about half have rsvped. and the deadline is TOMORROW! c'mon people! get with the program! so i'll be checking my box this saturday to get the last batch, then i plan on sicking my bridesmaids on those who did not reply (which is funny, since some of my very own bridesmaids have yet to send in their replies). SLACKERS!
we bought our wedding rings, so we're just waiting for them to get sized before we pick them up. my mom and i did some mother-of-the-bride dress hunting, and we were successful PLUS i got me some jewelry for the wedding. WOOT! my w-gown is kinda intricate, so i only got simple jewelry to complement it. i don't want to be over-blinged out.
oh got the flower girl dresses...they are so CUTE! i was able to drop off jolie's, but somehow i need to get to sophie-kins and see her try on the dress. SQUEEEE!
OMG, francis reserved a photo booth for the wedding. without my approval too! tsk tsk. he did it while i was away in san diego...so he got all these weird upgrades, like a velvet rope and red carpet. what?!? nevertheless, it should be fun. people better use it!
we're about 53 days away from the big day. i'm excited, but feeling really anxious. gosh i hope everything goes smoothly...i want to be relaxed and happy, not stressed. hehe, i don't want dark circles around my eyes simply becuase i'm worrying too much!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
invites...
...have been sent out! well most of them. there are a handful that still need to be assembled and mailed, but the majority have been shipped off. i'll post some pictures in a future blog post.
we're making progress at the house. we've done the major cleaning (and seriously, the house was NOT dirty at all...it's amazing!), and we had the carpets professionally cleaned (thanks mickey!)...so now it's all about moving stuff in. so i started to drop off some clothes. i started with two overfilled laundry baskets of clothes that need some ironing, and then yesterday i dropped off a good portion of my track jackets and wool coats. but it looks like someone beat me to the downstairs closet, because someone's array of jackets were already hanging there! IT'S ON! the battle for closet space has begun! :-)
we're making progress at the house. we've done the major cleaning (and seriously, the house was NOT dirty at all...it's amazing!), and we had the carpets professionally cleaned (thanks mickey!)...so now it's all about moving stuff in. so i started to drop off some clothes. i started with two overfilled laundry baskets of clothes that need some ironing, and then yesterday i dropped off a good portion of my track jackets and wool coats. but it looks like someone beat me to the downstairs closet, because someone's array of jackets were already hanging there! IT'S ON! the battle for closet space has begun! :-)
Sunday, June 21, 2009
was it worth it?
HELL YA! We have a HOUSE baby! We have signed ourselves away to a gorgeous property in Chino Hills: 4-bedroom with a loft, 3-car garage (mandatory for the Mr.), granite countertops, upgraded lighting, shutters, crown molding...WOOHOO! We agonized over this house for the longest, and after all the waiting, headaches, and paperwork, the deal is done and we have a place to call our own. This is HUGE! I'm so excited! Today we started our heavy duty cleaning...we were each armed with a steam machine, and we attacked the first floor. Next weekend, the second floor gets to endure our cleaning frenzy. We changed most of the light bulbs to more energy-efficient ones (hey, now that we're footing the bill, we gotta do this right!), we changed the batteries to all the smoke detectors...and we did a thorough vacuuming of cobwebs. This is AWESOME! I've never been this enthusiastic about CLEANING before...hehe, I guess it really is different when it's YOURS. ;-)
Thursday, June 11, 2009
house
just got a call from our realtor. looks like we're good to go! funding is in place, and the everything will be recorded tomorrow morning. so me and francis will head over to the house at noon to do our final walkthrough, and brant will give us our keys! aggghhh! what a way to start our vegas weekend! brant said it was good we took the time to hand deliver the loan documents to the escrow company on tuesday...that saved a day, which helped us meet our deadline of tomorrow 5pm. man, if we didn't drive down to san juan capistrano, we would have lost the house!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
numero #1
we got our first wedding present today! i didn't open it so i don't know who it's from...but it is from our macy's registry! THANK YOU!
are we done yet?
so what's the latest on the homefront. got a call from our realtor last night saying that we absolutely need to close escrow by friday 5pm. if we don't, then the seller is cancelling the deal. now, me and francis have made every effort to get this thing closed...in fact, we were ready to close this thing by the original deadline of may 27th. but the moons were not aligned, and our loan company needed more time to process documents and get appraisals and whatnot. so it was pushed to june 8th...and now it's pushed to this friday, the 12th. WHY IS THIS SO STRESSFUL! so the notary came over last night so we could sign the big 'ole stack of loan documents. instead of wasting time by waiting for a courier to drop off the docs, we took a half day off this morning to drive all the way down to san juan capistrano to personally hand over the loan packet, as well as sign off on the final addendums from the escrow company and fork over our money for the down payment and closing costs. so me and francis are done. and our realtor is going to take the time to drive down to san juan, pick up the docs, and take it to the funding department of our mortgage company, so whoever needs to get their money gets it and we can finally call this a done deal. aaaagggggggghhhhhhh!
thank goodness wwdc sold out and i was unable to attend this year's conference. i was really bummed, but then when i think about how much more complicated it would have been to get the housing stuff closed with me in san francisco...man, God works in mysterious ways....
as far as wedding stuff, i'm finally assembling the invitations! yay me! i don't think i'll be able to mail them out by the end of this week (since i'll be in vegas from friday through monday), but hopefully i'll be sending them out next week. gotta get the ball rolling again on this!
thank goodness wwdc sold out and i was unable to attend this year's conference. i was really bummed, but then when i think about how much more complicated it would have been to get the housing stuff closed with me in san francisco...man, God works in mysterious ways....
as far as wedding stuff, i'm finally assembling the invitations! yay me! i don't think i'll be able to mail them out by the end of this week (since i'll be in vegas from friday through monday), but hopefully i'll be sending them out next week. gotta get the ball rolling again on this!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
4 months!
crossing my fingers that we close escrow this week so i can get back to thinking about the wedding that's fast approaching!
Monday, May 4, 2009
busy weekend
aren't weekends made for sleeping in? not for me! the good news is that all the house stuff is coming together. we locked in our interest rate. we're turning in all the necessary financial documentation. the appraiser is set to see the house on wednesday, and the inspector is coming in on thursday. most of the work is out of our hands...it's really the other pieces having to come together to get this escrow closed.
the parentals are back from alaska. they had fun, despite getting sick while cruising. but all's well, they're on antibiotics and recovering quite nicely. it was really weird not having them around at home for so long. just me and coco for the most part, with frequent visits from francis. this is what life post-wedding is going to be! well with more francis, but geez, it's going to be very different! kinda exciting, but kinda scary too!
oh yeah, we told our parents about the house! we sprung the news on the oretas at their town fiesta on sunday. and then we surprised my parents with the news during my belated dinner at wood ranch that same evening. mmmmm tri-tip chopped salad...so delicious! so they're all happy for us. but of course, we need to CLOSE first. i want those keys in my hand!
what else did we do this weekend? we watched x-men origins. pretty cool for a comic book movie. but i'm really really excited to watch star trek. i totally want to imax it too! anyone interested? OH and j.crew is opening at ontario mills! yippie!! now it's complete...got my bcbg, banana republic, and j.crew. arg the only ones lacking are puma and lucky brand (both used to be stores there, but now they are gone). other notable happenings? the celtics beat the bulls (BOO!), and pacquiao pummeled hatton to the ground (WOOHOO!)
the parentals are back from alaska. they had fun, despite getting sick while cruising. but all's well, they're on antibiotics and recovering quite nicely. it was really weird not having them around at home for so long. just me and coco for the most part, with frequent visits from francis. this is what life post-wedding is going to be! well with more francis, but geez, it's going to be very different! kinda exciting, but kinda scary too!
oh yeah, we told our parents about the house! we sprung the news on the oretas at their town fiesta on sunday. and then we surprised my parents with the news during my belated dinner at wood ranch that same evening. mmmmm tri-tip chopped salad...so delicious! so they're all happy for us. but of course, we need to CLOSE first. i want those keys in my hand!
what else did we do this weekend? we watched x-men origins. pretty cool for a comic book movie. but i'm really really excited to watch star trek. i totally want to imax it too! anyone interested? OH and j.crew is opening at ontario mills! yippie!! now it's complete...got my bcbg, banana republic, and j.crew. arg the only ones lacking are puma and lucky brand (both used to be stores there, but now they are gone). other notable happenings? the celtics beat the bulls (BOO!), and pacquiao pummeled hatton to the ground (WOOHOO!)
Thursday, April 30, 2009
one more thing...
oh yeah, i forgot to mention: we're in escrow!
the house isn't ours yet, but this is going in the right direction! eeeeeek!!
the house isn't ours yet, but this is going in the right direction! eeeeeek!!
getting closer!
i haven't blogged in a while. 156 days and counting! GEEPIS! it's already the end of april...time is passing by extremely fast. so what's new?
1. my dress came in! i had my first fitting a little more than a week ago. i am definitely better adjusted now than i was when i started shopping for a wedding gown. i was excited this time around instead of being freaked out! so i tried on my gown with my jimmy choos and walked back and forth across the salon floor with my mom looking on with the camera. cheese! my second fitting will be next monday. i may need to add sleeves. got word back from the church that my shoulders need to be covered up. BOO.
2. house hunting. what a process. getting your first house is an exciting time, but it's so not a fun thing to do. it's stressful and emotionally draining. sure it's easy looking at properties online and then telling your realtor you want to do a walkthrough. but the bidding process? ugh. sure, the houses that we couldn't afford two years ago are now within our price range, but we're not the only ones shopping. we were about to bid on one house in a newer development in chino hills, but i drove through with my parents and realized the chino prison was jogging distance away. NO WAY! so we scrapped that idea. then we bid on one house the day it was listed on the market, but someone was quicker and higher, and the seller took the other bidder's offer. moving on. we bid on a short sale in march, and all we know now is that "it's in process". short sales are never a guarantee, so we continue to look for properties. found a really nice house in our "ideal" area of chino hills. placed a bid. the listing agent wanted us to make a counteroffer, but we declined because it was a house we really "liked", not "loved". another offer won out. so we keep looking...and looking...and looking. did i mention we had three realtors at the same time? but we picked our fave and have been really happy with him since.
3. my 27th birthday was last sunday. my parents weren't around. they left for an alaskan cruise the day before! ABANDONMENT! but francis and my sister spent the weekend with me. i wasn't feeling up to do anything anyway, i was pretty exhausted the entire weekend. the house stuff made me sick! but we did manage to have a nice dinner at tony roma's. my favorite!! yum yum :-)
4. we booked the dj/emcee for the wedding. he's from bino's entertainment. after sitting and talking to him for a bit, you could immediately tell that he's a cool guy who's going to make the event fun. so that makes me even more excited! i think the only thing left is the limo, but francis has already selected the company for that.
so that's it in a nutshell. keep checking back for updates!
1. my dress came in! i had my first fitting a little more than a week ago. i am definitely better adjusted now than i was when i started shopping for a wedding gown. i was excited this time around instead of being freaked out! so i tried on my gown with my jimmy choos and walked back and forth across the salon floor with my mom looking on with the camera. cheese! my second fitting will be next monday. i may need to add sleeves. got word back from the church that my shoulders need to be covered up. BOO.
2. house hunting. what a process. getting your first house is an exciting time, but it's so not a fun thing to do. it's stressful and emotionally draining. sure it's easy looking at properties online and then telling your realtor you want to do a walkthrough. but the bidding process? ugh. sure, the houses that we couldn't afford two years ago are now within our price range, but we're not the only ones shopping. we were about to bid on one house in a newer development in chino hills, but i drove through with my parents and realized the chino prison was jogging distance away. NO WAY! so we scrapped that idea. then we bid on one house the day it was listed on the market, but someone was quicker and higher, and the seller took the other bidder's offer. moving on. we bid on a short sale in march, and all we know now is that "it's in process". short sales are never a guarantee, so we continue to look for properties. found a really nice house in our "ideal" area of chino hills. placed a bid. the listing agent wanted us to make a counteroffer, but we declined because it was a house we really "liked", not "loved". another offer won out. so we keep looking...and looking...and looking. did i mention we had three realtors at the same time? but we picked our fave and have been really happy with him since.
3. my 27th birthday was last sunday. my parents weren't around. they left for an alaskan cruise the day before! ABANDONMENT! but francis and my sister spent the weekend with me. i wasn't feeling up to do anything anyway, i was pretty exhausted the entire weekend. the house stuff made me sick! but we did manage to have a nice dinner at tony roma's. my favorite!! yum yum :-)
4. we booked the dj/emcee for the wedding. he's from bino's entertainment. after sitting and talking to him for a bit, you could immediately tell that he's a cool guy who's going to make the event fun. so that makes me even more excited! i think the only thing left is the limo, but francis has already selected the company for that.
so that's it in a nutshell. keep checking back for updates!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
6 months!
the clock is ticking folks. in LESS than 6 months, i'll be walking down the aisle at St. Denis! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!
i have to remember to call the bridal salon tomorrow. where's my dress?!?
i have to remember to call the bridal salon tomorrow. where's my dress?!?
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
one of the best days!
so yesterday had to be one of the best days EVER. me and my sis got to see hikaru utada...in person! AAAGGHHHHHH! she's promoting her second english album, "this is the one", and sephora is hosting album listening parties in california, new york, and florida. considering she's one of our FAVE singers of all time, we jumped at the chance to see her in hollywood. so here's my recap of the day's events...
my sis picked me up from work, and we headed over to the hollywood & highland complex. got there at 4:30, an hour-and-a-half before she's supposed to show. turns out that since this is a sephora promotional event, the suits are handing out wristbands to people who had rsvp-ed the event. RSVP?!? i didn't know there was chance to rsvp for this event! well we weren't the only ones, and so while the "cool" people got wristbands, we were shooed away by security. we were told if there were any wristbands left over at 5:30, they would be distributed on a first-come-first-serve basis. ok, we can deal with that. so we fell in the super long line that wrapped around the complex.
tick tock tick tock, time goes on. it's 5:30, and the word is that all the wristbands have been given out. apparently they weren't expecting this many people to show. HELLO! it's HIKARU UTADA for goodness sakes. she has the top-selling album of all time in japan, 12 #1 hits, she's #24 on the top 100 japanese pop artists of all time, and she's #10 on the top 30 japanese singers of all time. people have to win a raffle to be able to buy a ticket for her concerts! so the suits are telling the people in line that "if you do not have a wristband, you are NOT getting in. you are wasting your time". they kept repeating themselves over and over again, and a few people did get out of line to cry in the corner (figuratively).
we stayed put. unless someone literally picks me up and takes me out of line, i'm not budging until 8pm. even if we don't get in, this is probably the closest we'll ever get to her. after another 20 minutes or so, the "standby" line starts moving. that's promising! the suits are accommodating a few standby people...they are partitioning the looooong line into sections, and as space permits, letting people into the store. a suit then puts a divider in front of me while letting the people in front of me go ahead. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! i start pleading with him: "please. there are only two of us. we've been here for so long. we're from the inland empire..." i think he didn't want to listen anymore because i could have went on and on, but he let me and steph through. HAH!!!
so we got in. we got to see her. it was an album listening party, so she didn't sing, but she did talk about her songs. she also had a little q&a session with the fans. that was cute...especially her story of too much alcohol and weirdly chewing a towel through the night. :-)
when she left the store, there was an announcement that there would be a limited number of signed posters and giveaway bags at the door. it was a stampede. people were rushing out of the store looking for the giveaways. since it was so chaotic, after about 40-50 people left the store, the suits shut the doors. i happened to be one who got out. then i noticed that they hadn't started giving away anything. what! i needed to get back inside. so i went up to one of the security guys, in my most panicked voice, "please. i got separated from my baby sister. i think she's still in there. i can't find her anywhere!" yeah, he let me back in. SCORE! hey, don't judge! she was still inside the store. granted, she is 20 years old, so she's not really a "baby", but she will always be my "baby" sister. hehe. since i couldn't get through the crowd, i ended up being right at the front, where they were giving away the bags (sadly, the posters were already gone). so i scored a bag! i met with my sister outside when all the chaos was over and done.
so yeah, what a rockin' day. i saw hikaru utada!!!
my sis picked me up from work, and we headed over to the hollywood & highland complex. got there at 4:30, an hour-and-a-half before she's supposed to show. turns out that since this is a sephora promotional event, the suits are handing out wristbands to people who had rsvp-ed the event. RSVP?!? i didn't know there was chance to rsvp for this event! well we weren't the only ones, and so while the "cool" people got wristbands, we were shooed away by security. we were told if there were any wristbands left over at 5:30, they would be distributed on a first-come-first-serve basis. ok, we can deal with that. so we fell in the super long line that wrapped around the complex.
tick tock tick tock, time goes on. it's 5:30, and the word is that all the wristbands have been given out. apparently they weren't expecting this many people to show. HELLO! it's HIKARU UTADA for goodness sakes. she has the top-selling album of all time in japan, 12 #1 hits, she's #24 on the top 100 japanese pop artists of all time, and she's #10 on the top 30 japanese singers of all time. people have to win a raffle to be able to buy a ticket for her concerts! so the suits are telling the people in line that "if you do not have a wristband, you are NOT getting in. you are wasting your time". they kept repeating themselves over and over again, and a few people did get out of line to cry in the corner (figuratively).
we stayed put. unless someone literally picks me up and takes me out of line, i'm not budging until 8pm. even if we don't get in, this is probably the closest we'll ever get to her. after another 20 minutes or so, the "standby" line starts moving. that's promising! the suits are accommodating a few standby people...they are partitioning the looooong line into sections, and as space permits, letting people into the store. a suit then puts a divider in front of me while letting the people in front of me go ahead. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! i start pleading with him: "please. there are only two of us. we've been here for so long. we're from the inland empire..." i think he didn't want to listen anymore because i could have went on and on, but he let me and steph through. HAH!!!
so we got in. we got to see her. it was an album listening party, so she didn't sing, but she did talk about her songs. she also had a little q&a session with the fans. that was cute...especially her story of too much alcohol and weirdly chewing a towel through the night. :-)
when she left the store, there was an announcement that there would be a limited number of signed posters and giveaway bags at the door. it was a stampede. people were rushing out of the store looking for the giveaways. since it was so chaotic, after about 40-50 people left the store, the suits shut the doors. i happened to be one who got out. then i noticed that they hadn't started giving away anything. what! i needed to get back inside. so i went up to one of the security guys, in my most panicked voice, "please. i got separated from my baby sister. i think she's still in there. i can't find her anywhere!" yeah, he let me back in. SCORE! hey, don't judge! she was still inside the store. granted, she is 20 years old, so she's not really a "baby", but she will always be my "baby" sister. hehe. since i couldn't get through the crowd, i ended up being right at the front, where they were giving away the bags (sadly, the posters were already gone). so i scored a bag! i met with my sister outside when all the chaos was over and done.
so yeah, what a rockin' day. i saw hikaru utada!!!
Monday, March 16, 2009
house hunting...
JEEPIS! Looking for a house can be a pain in the behind. Buyer's market? HAH! Not really. There really isn't a lot of selection out there. There are plenty of short sales and foreclosures, and that means you battle with a bank. So regular sales are really hard to come by. But we're definitely jumping in the market. So hopefully we'll find something...
Monday, February 23, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Opinion...
So the bridesmaids dresses are in. Yay! They are GORGEOUS! Wine was definitely a good choice...it's not too red, not too purple...plus I like to drink it ;-)
Now the question is...shoes and jewelry. I want my bridesmaids to have the same shoes. Now do I want to spend the money on buying dyeables so we can get the exact same color? Or should I just go with a generic color (which also saves some moolah)? I could have their shoes be champagne-hued (champagne is our accent color)...I think that would be easier to find. But does that look weird? Wine dress, beige shoes?
Now the question is...shoes and jewelry. I want my bridesmaids to have the same shoes. Now do I want to spend the money on buying dyeables so we can get the exact same color? Or should I just go with a generic color (which also saves some moolah)? I could have their shoes be champagne-hued (champagne is our accent color)...I think that would be easier to find. But does that look weird? Wine dress, beige shoes?
Sunday, January 25, 2009
thumbs up to privacy
omg they're DONE. tomorrow will be the first day that our house will be closed to outsiders. no painters, no interior decorators...no one but the people who actually live here. joyous days! this was a long time coming. sure, we have all our stuff in boxes in the garage, and furniture still needs to be moved around or taken out, but, wow, i'm so excited to have our privacy back. you don't realize how much you value something until it's gone (even it is by choice).
so any wedding updates to report? we've decided on invitations and will be working on them at some point when we figure out what needs to go on them. and we're on the warpath to ask people to be our ninongs and ninangs. we want to tell them face-to-face if possible, and so far, we've told about half. so we're getting there. we're also figuring out wedding favors, and we have a really good idea of what we're going with and will probably order them in the next couple of weeks.
i'm still wrestling with the idea of a wedding coordinator. the cheapest that i've found who had our date still available is $1400. good grief! i could get an awesome handbag and a wallet for that...or a couple more lenses for my camera. GEEZ. maybe i can beg someone i know to be my coordinator for the day. you'll totally get an awesome present from me after the wedding! LOL.
so any wedding updates to report? we've decided on invitations and will be working on them at some point when we figure out what needs to go on them. and we're on the warpath to ask people to be our ninongs and ninangs. we want to tell them face-to-face if possible, and so far, we've told about half. so we're getting there. we're also figuring out wedding favors, and we have a really good idea of what we're going with and will probably order them in the next couple of weeks.
i'm still wrestling with the idea of a wedding coordinator. the cheapest that i've found who had our date still available is $1400. good grief! i could get an awesome handbag and a wallet for that...or a couple more lenses for my camera. GEEZ. maybe i can beg someone i know to be my coordinator for the day. you'll totally get an awesome present from me after the wedding! LOL.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Thank you Miss Manners...
It's funny that I should stumble upon this entry, considering that Francis and I have discussed this as we plan out our event. Come time for the invitations to be sent out, the guest list will be very "trim" so we can accommodate the people we really want to be there.
Dear Miss Manners,
I have noticed lately, that amongst women of the same age group as myself who are engaged and planning large, expensive weddings, that my single friends are invited to said weddings without "and guest" added to their invitations.
It is almost as if the engaged women, in an attempt to keep cost down, have decided that the single women, whether they are dating someone or not, do not get the option to bring someone along to the wedding and reception.
Is this rude? I feel that just because these women are not married or engaged, they still should have the opportunity to bring a date to the wedding and that by assuming their dates just aren't as important if not legally bound by law, the engaged woman is being presumptuous and rude. What are your thoughts?
Gentle Reader,
That the invitation is to a wedding, not to an evening out on the town, and it is not rude not to be married in front of strangers who mean nothing to them and not much to you. If you must scour up a date, Miss Manners suggests looking over the single gentlemen at the wedding, who would not have been asked to bring along "and guest" either.
Dear Miss Manners,
I have noticed lately, that amongst women of the same age group as myself who are engaged and planning large, expensive weddings, that my single friends are invited to said weddings without "and guest" added to their invitations.
It is almost as if the engaged women, in an attempt to keep cost down, have decided that the single women, whether they are dating someone or not, do not get the option to bring someone along to the wedding and reception.
Is this rude? I feel that just because these women are not married or engaged, they still should have the opportunity to bring a date to the wedding and that by assuming their dates just aren't as important if not legally bound by law, the engaged woman is being presumptuous and rude. What are your thoughts?
Gentle Reader,
That the invitation is to a wedding, not to an evening out on the town, and it is not rude not to be married in front of strangers who mean nothing to them and not much to you. If you must scour up a date, Miss Manners suggests looking over the single gentlemen at the wedding, who would not have been asked to bring along "and guest" either.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Happy New Year!
It's 2009...and we got 8 months 19 days to go 'til it's "walking down the aisle" time. It's been a crazy start to the year. My parents started a house renovation project right before the holidays, so the house is a MESS. Stacks of boxes in the garage and in the living room...insanity! So the holidays flew by (no Christmas decorations of course...there's no place for them!), and here we are in 2009 and the renovations have continued. Francis and I took a mini-vacation to Vegas the weekend after New Year's, and thank goodness we did, because when we came back, my room was wrapped in plastic! I didn't have access to any of my stuff...clothes, shoes, hair straightener, anything! So it's good I had my essentials due to our trip, so I've been living out of my suitcase for a good week now. Almost everything in the house is blocked off...the kitchen, the bathrooms (with the exception of the master bathroom), the bedrooms...ARG! So I got frustrated with not being able to get to anything, so I packed up my doggie and hightailed it to the Residence Inn this past weekend. Oh sweet Internet and fitness room...I missed you so. :-) But I'm back home now...my room and the office have been completed, so "woo-hoo" to accessing my stuff again. And the Internet is back up so I give that a double "woo-hoo"! The kitchen should be unwrapped by the time I get home today, and, hopefully, the treadmill can be unwrapped again...but since I have access to gym clothes I can head over to 24.
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