I just wanted to say thank you to several people who have gone out of their way to make me feel so blessed and thankful.

Ms Mhel of ICC. Always so accomodating and reassuring. Except for some lapses that weren’t really big deals. We completed the church requirements today and all engines are go! She has always been so patient with all the questions, clarifications and requirements that dealing with the Cathedral has always been headache-free! (Unlike with someone from the other church who has caused me and other people around me so much grief.)

Ms Baby, Ms Mercy and Ms Lucy from Jorge. Another hassle-free vendor! All the transactions are always quick, to the point and goes along smoothly! Again no headaches and I’m always assured that the requirements will be delivered as discussed.

Sir Danny, Ms Guy and Nestor from Swan Catering. A lot of gratitude from us for being so patient and helpful! I trust that you’ll be able to make into reality our vision that started small but you’ve expanded into something grand.

Tita Didi of Midi Bridals and Formals. All the pieces are so beautiful! So much more than I have imagined. My thanks to you for your vision and craftsmanship.

Our other suppliers have also been very helpful but I just needed to say my advanced thanks to the people above for making our preparations a little less stressful.

These are the things ticked off from the checklist:

• Photo/Video – downpayments made, prenup to be completed
• Catering – reservation paid, starting installment payments
• Church – reservation paid, seminars a month before the date
• Reception – downpayment paid
• Couture – measurements ongoing
• Music – reservation paid
• Invites – downpayment paid, started the drafting

Things still hanging in the balance:

• Flowers
• HMUA
• Giveaways

I don’t remember what else is missing. I’ve got a list around here someplace.

Less than four months to go!

Now, Mark dislikes going to Quiapo and Divisoria when the throng is already there. So we prefer to leave QC for Recto by 8am. But on Sunday, we both overslept and by the time Mark got to QC it was past 10am. So change of plans.

We decided to visit Casa Camba in New Manila and Mark was insistent to go to Oasis afterwards. When we got to Casa Camba, the Robert Camba venue in New Manila, the only staff there was a guy cleaning and waxing the Mercedes Benz cars. But we got a good idea of the capacity of the place although we swore that we’ll go back the next time there is an event.

Oasis was our next stop on our venue tour and we were lucky enough to see Hizon’s setting up for a wedding reception later that afternoon. (I still have beef against them that I’ve already told our Hizon’s AE Camille to stop bugging me about their events after that Gazebo Royale fiasco. But that’s another story.) Despite any ill feelings I have about Hizon’s, their set up gave us a wonderful image of what it could be like for our wedding reception. Mark was very enamored of the place that I can tell that Oasis was bumping of some of our other options from the shortlist that wouldn’t stay short.

Ms Maan of Oasis was very helpful and she sent me an email of their packages already. I was already mentally crossing off Oasis from my list because of previous perceptions and I’m glad we made this trip.

From Oasis, we took another ride to Gateway to run an errand for Mark’s friend who’s also getting married to his long-time sweetheart who is currently based in South Korea. He’s planing in from Saudi Arabia then he’ll be off to Seoul to get civilly married. The PH wedding will be next year, if I remember right.

So from talking to the travel agencies, ideas for the honeymoon got stuck in my head. Thanks to Ms. Arlene of Roundtrip Travels who was very patient through all our inquiries.

We decided to drop by Suarez Wedding Rings again to look at the available designs. We found another possible design, similar to what we asked about earlier although it’s for a higher price. We’ll see if we’re finally going to commit to a Suarez wedding ring after that oft-postponed trip to Quiapo gets underway.

Overall, we were able to accomplish much from our weekend jaunts. We have a clearer picture of what we want to happen on the big day as well as what is available out there for couples on our budget.

Saturday found us heading to Robert Camba’s office a couple of blocks from our house in Project 4. We got there in time to see the food being laid out for the food tasting that they conduct at the office every weekend.

We got to talking with Ms. Neneng who has fans within the w@wie ranks and she was very helpful in deatiling and explaining the packages to us. Right off, we were served iced tea by the waiter preparing the food and althroughout our stay at the office, he was very solicitous and was constantly refilling our glasses.

When the food was all finally laid out, I got a little of each dish. There was the fish fillet with the wonderfully creamy and tasty tartar sauce, the delicious chicken teriyaki, my favorite roast beef with mushroom sauce, the sweet pork hamonado and the pork teriyaki which I decided to pass on. The only thing that I didn’t like was the taste-less sotanghon. As you can probably tell from my narration, I found the food really good. Mark also had the same reaction and even told Ms Neneng to compliment the chef on our behalf.

Ms Neneng also invited us to go to Casa Camba since we have not yet decided on a venue. She mentioned dates when she had wedding receptions scheduled so that we can see the place fully made up.

From here, we decided to go to UP Bonsai Garden. Armed with just a memory of the map we saw online, we guided the taxi to it’s location on Delos Reyes street. It’s such a beautiful place and Mang Mody was so pleasant and wonderful to talk to. He now has two covered areas, the covered hall and the greenhouse. The hall has electricity and fans set up while the greenhouse is just the covered structure.

He told us that the greenhouse was a rushed job finished in time for an August 8, 2008 event. He told us that he accepted an event for that date and was not able to tell his pamangkin who also accepted an event on the same date. Instead of reneging on their bookings, he decided to have the greenhouse put up earlier than planned. Since then, it has also been the venue for international conferences and even former UP President Javier’s birthday party. Too bad I wasn’t able to bring a camera for pictures.

Mark wants the greenhouse more than the hall and I have to agree with him. It was more airy and picturesque than the old hall that they rent out. Our biggest concern with the place is if it would fit the number of guests we were planning to have. It would be a tight fit for 150-200 guests although we would be able to make it with the lawn just beyond the covered structure.

We spent some time talking to Mang Mody since he learned that Mark and I were both UP alumni. I’m from Diliman and he’s from LB which also happens to be Mang Mody’s undergrad campus. He was telling Mark that during his time, the only choice was either Agriculture or Forestry. Then they started reminiscing on the old campus haunts, old professors, fraternities and dormitories while I tried to visualize how the place would be like for the reception.

After more talk on Mang Mody’s regular Saturday Bonsai workshops, we bade him goodbye and went on our way to Bahay ng Alumni.

A few weeks before, we did our rounds in UP to look at Balay Kalinaw and the University Hotel. Bahay ng alumni was kinda scratched off our list since Mark feels that it is too open to the public. We went to eat at Chocolate Kiss one time while a wedding reception was being set up. He didn’t like the fact that we were actually strolling through the hall even when the couple and their guests were there already.

But after seeing pictures of a wedding set up wherein they managed to make the place look intimate, I told him to give it another try. The hall was empty when we got there so we were able to really look around at how we could dress it up with the look that we were after.

Since it was really hot, we took a breather and had desserts at Chocolate Kiss. Even after all the walking that we did, we were still feeling full from the Robert Camba food tasting. So we took our time discussing the pros and cons of the suppliers that we saw over my new favorite, the dayap chiffon cake AND my old favorite, the carrot cake.

From UP, since we were really in a mood to look at possible venues, we headed to Kapitan Moy in Sta. Elena in Marikina. Marikina for me is a last resort location because I’ve been going there long enough to know that traffic along A. Bonifacio will be a hassle. Although the proximity of the place from our preferred church is acceptable.

There was a wedding reception on the first floor when we got there. It was kinda crowded since it was a small area. When we got to talking to Mrs. Lim who oversees the Cafe Kapitan, she said that for the number that we were considering, it has to take place on the second floor. We were not able to peek at the second floor since there was another event not under the purview of Cafe Kapitan although from my recollection from way back 1996, the place was certainly big enough.

When we got to see pictures of their reception set up, it was really nice, simple and elegant. The prices for their packages were also within our budget. Mark’s only concern with this are the food choices from the menu. I told Mark that from experience, Marikina caterers have never let me down. I’ve always enjoyed good food from even their simplest fare that I’m confident enough that Mrs Lim swearing about the quality of the food is something we can take to heart without any food tasting.

To cap the day, we decided to attend the anticipated mass at Miraculous. We got to the church just in time before the parish office closed for the day. So we had our opportunity to ask for the requirements for marriage. The staff was probably thinking of going home already and was hesitant to accommodate us. She pointed at the bulletin board but eventually gave us the leaflet for those inquiring about the marriage requirements. At the bottom, it said there that they will only entertain those that have complete papers already. Since she didn’t feel like talking to us, we decided to go back another day.

The bulletin board was helpful though, I learned that Kawan members are entitled to Php2,000 off the church fees. Since my dad is registered, as is my lolo, and maybe even Mark’s lolo, does that mean we can get Php6,000 off?

She’s even more agitated than I am!

The thing is, the church that I am eyeing is our neighborhood church. I am very adamant to get OLMMP due to sentimental and practical reasons.

Both Mark and I were baptized and confirmed at that parish.  We usually attend Sunday mass together at the church.

Getting married there will continue a tradition and will be less hassle to complete the requirements. Also, our current parish priest, Father Arnel, is in the process of renovating parts of the church making it more “photogenic”. That’s the icing on the cake.

I’ll be inquiring with the parish some time within the week. Ruby rattled me enough to really think that it’s crunch time.