Surprise Birthday and Engagement Party

He may not be a showy-type of boyfriend, never gave flowers nor chocolates, celebrates monthsaries or goes on a movie date like a typical bf/gf does but he makes it appoint that he will let me feel every single day how precious and lucky I am to have and be with him.

Before my birthday dinner, we already agreed that we will just have a family dinner exactly on my birthday and that we will just have a barbecue dinner on a weekend as 2nd part of my birthday celebration with some of close friends and relatives nearby our area. He even told me “Just invite your closest cousins and neighbors since it’s only bbq and I don’t want to have plenty of people around”. Though irritated, it was really not a big deal to have or not to have a birthday party so I just invited cousins near to our place and some few friends but when I asked them to confirm, they never contacted me at all… quite frustrated but that’s life, they might be busy and I do understand.

Early morning on the day of the barbecue party, Steve woke me up to go to a salon and pamper myself. I really refused since first, my hair is fine and secondly, it was my holiday and I didn’t want to wake up early. I kept on telling him that I didn’t want to go there and preferred to just stay at home and help them do the marinating but my mom and my sister Sharon told me that they would love to go and have their hair done. Even Rhyz and Shyne were interested so I had no choice but to go with them and stayed there all day from 930am- 6pm.

Everyone, once finished went home until only Mom and I we're left there. When mom finished her hair, we called the house and told them that they can now pick us up. To my surprise, my uncle, Diko Iking was the one who showed up saying that the guys were too busy for the barbecue party (his place is in Cavite which is approximately 3 hours’ drive from our area!) And not only that, at the gate of our subdivision, I even saw my cousin with her boyfriend waiting for a tricycle (3-wheeled motorcycle) so I told my mom and uncle that I saw Makki and asked mom to stop to get them but mom said that they might be going to a party elsewhere and kids were already waiting for us so we have to be in a hurry. While approaching the house, there were tents outside, elegant table arrangements, catering and almost all my relatives and friends were there... I was really stunned!  That was really a surprise!

Steve in connivance with my family, arranged everything including fireworks displays, catering services and invited everyone. I only asked for a dinner with my family but what he gave me was an experience I will truly treasure for the rest of my life. He told me that he’s about to propose on that day in front of my relatives and friends but since he already proposed… this is now my surprised birthday and our engagement party that ended up at 6am the following day! Take note, my Uncle Romy said that he got drunk twice that night! 

Best Birthday ever had!

Pre-nuptial Photoshoot: WAWA DAM

It was sunny and the humidity was high in the morning then suddenly be raining in the afternoon almost everyday during our holiday in Philippines and that made Steve suffered from cough and colds. I even considered cancelling the Pre-nup shoot Steve said that he will be fine and that we no longer have time as we still have lots of things to finalize before our holiday ends so...

Pre-nup day, I woke up at 5am, took a shower, dry my hair and wait for Khite at home for the HMU and when she arrived, we started the preparation right away. As what I have said on my previous blog, the hair and make up is truly loved!

There are lots of nice ideas for the pre-nup but for Steve, Pre-nup should be how "We" are as a couple in our daily lives... no drama... no fancy clothing... and everyone agreed to that point of view so we will just get something from the 2 luggage of clothes we brought with us to Philippines.

We're done with HMU when Steve woke up and started getting ready. To be honest, we're really not prepared. Steve is not feeling well, busy attending wedding appointments, we also have other things to do that we forgot to make sure that we will be ready for the Pre-nup. No confirmed clothes to wear, no accessories, we don't even know which shoes to be used but when Revianne arrived, she suggested some clothes we can wear so we just grabbed it from the hanger and that's it... Ready to go! Good thing that Revianne was there to guide us... she is our Wedding Planner, Yes! But it's not part of her service to join us in our Pre-nup session... she just wants to make sure that everything is okay and she's doing it for free... Bless her! Russel and his team said that they will just go straight to the venue so everything was set and we're on our way to Wawa Dam.

Wawa Dam is located in San Rafael, Rodriguez Rizal and one of the eco-tourism sites in Southern Tagalog Region. There's a District office in charged for the peace & order and Tourism office to preserve the beauty of the place based in the area. It is free to go and visit but if you're going to have a photo shoot regardless if it is a Pre-nup or for commercial purposes, both offices have fees. We we're able to meet (Ms) Guy, a very humble yet very accommodating head from the District office who assisted us with the permits and getting us tour guides. Please be aware that the tour guide's fee is not included on the fees you paid to the District and Tourism. They are volunteers but it is expected to give them any fare amount for their time and it will be great to be generous enough to include them in your food budget.

Entrance to Wawa Dam is somehow a residential area and you have to walk few kilometers to reach the target location.

Since it is between 2 mountains, be prepared to have inclined walks, cross some metal bridges over looking the river and since it is rainy season, make sure to use a non-slippery shoes. Warning: This place is not for people with Acrophobia or afraid of heights!

Due to long walk, we we're all sweating when we reached the destination. We rented a nipa hut for Php100/day and waited for Russel and his team to arrive to start the photo shoot. My nephew almost regret coming with us and my sister who's pregnant was surprised (as well as myself!) as this is not the Wawa Dam we knew decades ago... it is still beautiful (don't get me wrong) just with more houses being built near the dam so it looks like populated and visible signs of vandalism but it also has improvements like bridges and fences.

Since not prepared, my sister and brother-in-law went back to the town to buy food and drinks. It's almost lunch time when Russel and his team arrived so we decided to just wait for the food and have lunch before we start. Expect loitering dogs, cats and chickens in the area especially while eating, they're after your leftover food.

Okay! Pre-nup... It feels awkward to pose in front of the camera because we are not used to it specially Steve. We don't know what to do but Russel and Ial made us feel comfortable and tell to just be ourselves... So photo shoot begins!

There's also an area where Steve was quite hesitant to go because he doesn't know what's under the water but they we're able to persuade Steve to try... and it turned out really nice!

and not to forget about below breathtaking view... Only in Wawa Dam

After the 1st session, it started to rain so we have to go back to the nipa hut and wait for the rain to stop. But when? what time? we're running out of day light so Russel and team decided to just do some random shots while sitting and another lovely photos have been taken!

The tour guides said that there are still some nice spots on the other side of the mountain but we have to cross by boat for Php10/head and since due to almost everyday raining, the water current is quite strong so we opted not to take risk. One of the tour guides also mentioned that there is one more nice location near the residential area so when the rain almost stopped, we decided to pack our things and head up to the last location near the parking area while Jeffrey, the videographer capture some video footage for our Wedding teaser (this is to follow... I still don't have a copy yet).

Everyone is knackered but it's all worth it! Steve despite of not feeling well, still enjoyed and admired the place. He even asked me why we never been in that area before lol :)

For the people who made this photo shoot possible... Thank you so much! To Ms. Guy of Wawa District and to our tour guides, Richard and Ronald for assisting us. To my Sister, Brother-in-Law and my Nephew who woke up early to help and support us all through out the day (Rain or Shine). To Revianne who's always been with us the whole photo sessions regardless if she's already sweating just to assist us. Giving us tissue, asking if we need water, doing everything possible just to make sure that we're both fine. To Khite, for making me gorgeous all day long, making sure that my HMU are still okay and for conquering your fear of heights just to be with us... lol :) and to Russel, Ial and Jeffrey for the fun, experience and lovely photos... See you all soon!

The Proposal

June 2013, Steve asked me what I wanted for my birthday; a gift (that I've been longing for so long) or a holiday. Since it’s been 5 years that I haven’t celebrated my birthday in Philippines with my family (I usually go home during Christmas and kids’ birthdays), I told him that I wanted a holiday... but in Philippines; a simple dinner with family is more than enough for me so we flew back to Philippines to celebrate my birthday.

On the day of my birthday, we reserved couple of seats for the family at Vikings, SM Marikina. We’re already late for our reservation due to traffic and the mall was so busy, we decided to let my brother-in-law, Raymond drop us at the entrance before going to the parking area. While waiting for them, Steve and Shyne went missing for almost an hour.

Everybody was already starting their dinner when they came back. I was quite pissed as I was already hungry but Shyne handed me a gift though obviously Steve was the one who bought it so I just told to myself, “Ah okay… so this is why they went missing!”

We started our dinner; everyone was busy getting their food at the buffet station when my mom, Shyne and I were left on the table. I asked Shyne where they have been but I also thanked and told her that I really like the watch they gave me then she slightly slipped her tongue and said “Mom the ring is really nice! I helped daddy Steve in choosing that…” then mom said “Shyne, what are you talking about? Your Dad won’t buy it for you…” I was a bit curious and kept on asking Shyne but she didnt want to talk anymore… so I assumed she wanted to buy a fashion ring but Steve refused to buy it.

After Viking staff had sung a birthday song for me, Steve gave me a box with a ring inside and said “Marry me.” Take note: he didn’t ask me at first, he’s telling me to marry him! I was in a state of shock as I never expected it. My hands were shaking and perspiring, felt like I was floating in the air. I was trying to figure out if it was real or I was only dreaming… still can’t absorb what was happening… Ohh best feeling I ever imagined! Then he asked me, “YES or NO?” Ohh, wow… I wasn’t dreaming… He was really proposing!

All I did was nod my head as a sign of “YES!” I couldn’t talk coz I was avoiding my tears to fall but when I saw his teary eyes, happy tears fell down and that's it... we're already engaged! By the way, how can you say "No" in front of your family? lol! (Just kiddin)

Steve showed the ring to my Mom and even asked permission prior to the proposal.