Confirmed Wedding Cake: Judy Uson, The Cake Artist

Time flies... it is already our last week of holiday in Philippines yet, we still have couple of things to finalize and that includes the cake.

Since the detailing is already finished and personally confident that they can do it... it's now time for the cake tasting. They have eight or nine flavors of the cake. First flavor was the Carrot Walnut, I do admit that I don't like carrot cake but when I tasted this carrot walnut, it is super nice! Steve and my brother-in-law also liked it! Unfortunately, I really had a bad cough that time and it worsen that I can hardly breathe after having a small portion of the cake sample (but it's not their fault) so I just let them do the cake tasting and the rest is history.

They all liked the flavors but when we asked them which flavors we will be having for our cake, they said that they already forgot and Steve jokingly requesting for another batch of cake sample! Means that he liked the cakes! Since I wasn't able to taste the rest of the cakes, Steve and Raymond decided to have four flavors: Carrot Walnut which I tasted and liked, Red Velvet, Lemon Butter and the last is the Tropical Pineapple. Looking forward to taste all those three flavors on the wedding!

Steve, surprisingly liked all the flavors except for the chocolate which he said too sweet for him (though my sister liked it), we decided to upfront confirm with Judy Uson and inform Revianne to cancel the other appointment. Somehow, I felt bad for not giving the other supplier a chance to amaze us but with the positive reviews of Steve, my brother-in-law and my sister... No regrets!

Wedding Cake

For some couple, wedding cake is not a top priority but for us... it is essential as wedding cakes were made to be shared by all and bring good luck to all guests and couple.

Like wedding dresses, I am fond of watching "The Cake Boss", "Amazing Wedding Cakes", "The Next Great Baker" and that made me think outside the box.

None in the wedding will be traditionally formal including the cake! Typical wedding cake with formal- flowery design is really not our style. We both want a cake design that is unique and will tell a story of "US".

Revianne referred some cake suppliers but when she founds out that my wedding cake design requires TLC, not to mention considering the outdoor venue and striking heat of the summer, she told me that she needs to check it first with the vendors. Some suppliers say they can manage to do it but I am not satisfied with the way they described the possible design so to make things easier for all of us... I will be the one to conceptualize and draw the design.

It will be a "West meets East" design... minor changes will be totally fine with me for as long as the concept will still be there. So now that the design is already done, all we have to do is to find a Cake artist that can truly make our cake design possible on a reasonable price. Take note, Steve is not a cake lover so for him to like a cake is really something...

All about Wedding Theme, Invitations and Color Palette

We told Revianne that we wanted to have a beach wedding and since we already have a venue, next thing to do is finalize the color palette: We cannot start with the planning and conceptualizing till we find the right color for the wedding.

After checking all options, we short-listed 3 color palettes and asked our family and friends to choose which they think is the best color to describe the wedding and us as a couple and we came up to a final decision of choosing the Lemon-Tangerine-Grapefruit color palette. 

After finalizing the color palette, Revianne start conceptualizing everything and even generous enough to create a monogram for us. Since almost half of the guests will be from other countries and other half needs to drive approximately 4 hours to reach the venue, we came up with an idea of having a Passport type invitation. Revianne was very helpful to do the layout and design from the invitation cover to the packaging... feel blessed to have a Wedding Coordinator like her!

Bridal Gown & Entourage Gowns: Carla Ignacio

It is important for me as a Bride to look (almost) perfect on my wedding day and for it to happen, there are things to consider and one of those are the Bridal Gown.

When I got engaged, I spent a lot of time watching Bridal TV series and it includes all about bridal gowns like "Say Yes To The Dress", "Perfect Wedding Dress" and "Something Borrowed, Something New" to have an idea which style will complement my body type.

I already have this style in mind... but I'm not sure if it fits in our budget. 

Somehow, we felt the pain of planning our wedding (in Philippines) while we're both here in the Middle East. We don't know which to purchase here and which to purchase in Philippines and one of the issues is the gown. Initially, we decided to purchase the bridal gown here in UAE so as early as beginning of year 2014, with the help of my bridesmaids and friends, we started looking for a bridal couturier and the best style I've seen is the work of Michael Cinco but it is way too beyond our budget so unfortunately, we cannot get his service. Also, there's an issue, I have a chubby figure and I do tend to gain weight fast (especially if I'm stressed!). We will go back to Philippines 3 weeks before the wedding and no one can guarantee that my size in 3 weeks of staying in Philippines will still be the same size as what I will be having on the big day. What if I gained weight? who will be the one to alter the gown? what if there will be minor adjustment/s on the day itself? Lots of questions bothering me so we decided to consider looking for some options in Philippines.

It's already given that Filipinos are naturally born talented. There are lots of well-known designers/ couturiers in Philippines but expensive as well. Personally, I don't want to spend beyond hundreds for my wedding gown knowing that somehow, there will still be talented Filipino designers who can create a gown within budget. It doesn't mean that expensive is equivalent to stunning or gorgeous... it still depends on how you carry yourself as a bride and how happy/ inspired you are as your inner self will definitely reflect. Also, it depends on the designer on how she can visualize yourself in your dream bridal gown to check if that certain style will complement your body, give ideas and opinion without maximizing your budget... that kind of couturier is the one we are looking for.

While browsing the internet, I saw an FB bridal page named Carla Ignacio Bridal Collection and Beyond which one of my friends liked. I checked it and started liking her collection. She also deals with overseas brides like me so I decided to contact her and she really does respond promptly. After several emails and phone calls, I know that she is the one! Her very accommodating approach, the cheerful voice and her being herself every time we we're talking made me decide to confirm and signed the contract. She will be the one to do my Bridal gown and the Entourage as well.

When we went back to Philippines last February 2014, we we're able to finally meet her personally in Eastwood, QC. She was with her supportive husband and I was really surprised to know that they are staying in Pampanga though her family has shops in Greenhills and Market Market. Driving couple of hours to meet us really touched my heart but when she showed us all the sample fabrics and different shade of colors to choose from, sample bead work for the bridal gown and sample fabric for the veil... Revianne, our Wedding Planner and I were amazed. She's really well prepared! She showed me some of her designs and I can confirm... never regret a thing in choosing her.

In September 2014, we went back again to Philippines to finalize everything and almost gave her a heart attack when we asked her if she can make the 2 entourage gowns and Mother of the Groom gown as we need to bring it with us to UK. We really didn't expect anything from her knowing that she only has less than 2 weeks to purchase the fabric and make it but once again, she amazed us when she contacted us a week later asking where we could meet to give the gowns. They have some meetings to attend so they might as well give us the gowns rather than them travelling again. We met them in Tiendecitas and we're really happy upon seeing the gowns. The color combination was amazing, the style is exactly the one we discussed and even if it is rush, still the quality of the work is well polished.

Now that I already saw the quality of her work and her attitude towards handling unavoidable circumstances or let's say demanding requests of difficult client/s (lol), I can no longer wait to see the outcome of my Bridal Gown/s! 

Our Wedding Planner: Revianne Sesante of Weddings by Revianne

So now, it's time for us to look for a Wedding Planner... Since we are overseas and this is our dream beach wedding, we are looking for a Wedding Planner that can make us feel important and priority, someone whom we really can 100% rely on, someone who's very much familiar with beach weddings in Batangas area and can effectively communicate well with us. Someone who can also keep her temper and patience dealing with us as a couple... I am not sure what kind of a "Soon to be Bride" I am and I cannot guarantee that I won't be a "Bridezilla" especially when it comes to our wedding preparation. lol :)

Due to limited sources/ knowledge, I asked my friends & relatives and even posted on my FB wall asking for Wedding Planner/ Coordinator recommendations but either we don't find them knowledgeable of what they are doing yet charging us a lot or some that cannot communicate well with Steve and for us, that is one of the most important things to consider in getting a Wedding Planner or some well-known suppliers that takes time to reply just for a simple inquiry which for us have a negative impact knowing that how can you deal with someone who responded to your inquiry 1- 2 weeks later and took couple of days again to respond to your follow- up inquiry? Is it because since the wedding is still more than a year to happen then they're not taking us seriously? Just can't imagine the feeling/ dilemma if you will get their service then few months or weeks before your wedding, they will suddenly not contact you or keep you hanging... I hate it!

I don't know if our standards are just way too high or we haven't find the right one... I almost give up looking and about to confirm the one who took time to respond when I called Acuatico Beach and asked for a Wedding Planner recommendation. One of the staff there mentioned that Revianne Sesante was the Event Coordinator during the owner's birthday recently but they don't have her contact details. I searched her name online and saw her FB page, Weddings by Revianne. The page is not updated but there's an email address so I tried and sent her an inquiry and to my surprise, she responded very quickly and that made us both excited to call her. To be honest, I easily felt comfortable talking to her plus the fact that she is familiar with our chosen venue since she had wedding events being held there. I also gave the phone to Steve to talk to her to let him explain what kind of wedding we both wanted and Revianne was very accommodating giving some of her ideas and letting us feel that she knows what we wanted and that she will help us make it happen. Steve also felt comfortable talking to her and I know... we finally found our Wedding Planner!

It was October 2013 when we first confirmed Revianne's service as a Wedding Planner. A year had past as it's now October 2014 but we never regret a thing. Not only we got a reliable Wedding Planner but we also gained a friend in her.  

Choosing Our Wedding Venue- Acuatico Beach, Laiya Batangas

We're officially engaged!

Once back from our holiday, we started talking about the wedding... the theme, the date and the venue.

Steve and I both wanted to have a beach wedding so we decided that we will definitely have one. We first planned of having it in Dubai since we're both residence here and near to his relatives in UK but thinking of the long procedures and expensive fees in getting visas plus the air ticket and accommodation for all my relatives just to attend our wedding made us decide to do it in Philippines and since it is an outdoor event, we chose to have it in Summer.

Philippines is surrounded by water so definitely, there will be a lot of beaches to choose from. We started looking for a venue online and most of the nice venues for an intimate wedding are in Boracay like Discovery Shore, Shangri-la, Estacio Uno, Asya, Sea Wind Boracay and Fridays but logistics' wise, it's not a good option for us knowing that all my relatives are in Manila and Steve's relatives need to travel almost a day from UK to Manila then another couple of hours from Manila to Boracay and at the same time, not all the guests we wanted to be present in our wedding can afford to shoulder the expenses. Though we wanted to have a beach wedding, we also need to consider our loved ones so we looked again for other options then I remembered something... Batangas also has nice beach resorts so we searched online. There are couple of nice beach hotels in the area but the one really captured our attention is the Acuatico Beach Resort in San Juan, Laiya Batangas.

                                                   http://www.acuaticoresort.com.ph/

According to their website, they only have a total of 21 rooms and villas good for 62 pax. In that case, the hotel is not that big to be crowded and to have a lot of in-house guests so it is just perfect for our intimate wedding!

We sent them an inquiry right after we got their email address on the website. Izel, the Sales & Reservations Manager was very accommodating sending us their wedding packages. The package options include the basic set-up of the venue, dinner buffet and overnight accommodation with breakfast for 62 pax which makes the hotel EXCLUSIVE for us on the night of our wedding! That is the type of venue/ package we are looking for... an intimate and exclusive wedding for us and our loved ones.

Now, since we are overseas, next is to find a Wedding Planner.