PREPS Update

Preparing is really stressful. Imagine, I'm already feeling this way when I'm not even 1% done with the preps. But the excitement, for both the wedding AND the marriage, balances out the stress. I'm happy because there's progress since my last update. The nice thing about planning a year and a half before the event is that you can do things slowly but surely. I'm part of a wedding mailing list and the brides who cram seem more stressed than those who prepare early on.

We already have a pamamanhikan date. A friend of mine said it's too early but Jovan's from Batangas, and there they believe that the pamamanhikan should happen before planning and preparing for the wedding. The purpose of the pamamanhikan is for the groom (together with his family) to ask for the bride's hand in marriage.

We made our guest list so that we'll have an idea on how many people will attend the ceremony and go to the reception. I was told by my former bosses and other people that I should also consult my parents for the guest list, which I did. Now our guest list is really bloated. The only thing that's keeping me from worrying so much is that I know not everyone in the list will attend, like our relatives from Davao. (Tapos yun pala pumunta lahat! UH OH!) The number of people will help us in choosing the Church, reception venue, and the other suppliers, especially the caterer.

We also have two dates in mind already. First choice is May 7, 2005 and the second choice is May 21, 2005.

The areas we had in mind were the following: QC (Fernwood Gardens or Gazebo Royale), Makati (Guadalupe), Roxas Boulevard area (Shrine of Jesus) and Intramuros (San Agustin). I was able to visit Fernwood and Gazebo Royale and sadly, I've taken out QC in our list already. Both places are nice but I felt that the cons outweighed the pros. For one, they're both VERY expensive. And it's not very pretty going there. I also didn't feel excited. I've always been told that you should always give importance to your instincts and your gut feel. I have called San Agustin, Manila Cathedral and Shrine of Jesus already and the prices are reasonable. I'll just ask around which of the 3 is the strictest. As much as possible, I don't want to have too many limitations during the wedding (for songs, vows, picture taking, etc.). I'm planning to visit thes Churches on thursday. I also called Father Blanco's Garden and Baluarte de San Diego and I was able to get the schedule of their next events. We're going there on thursday and saturday. Intramuros is now our number 1 choice. Hopefully, we'll be able to reserve by next week.

To any who can give feedback on the following, please please do so:
Manila Cathedral, San Agustin, Shrine of Jesus, Father Blanco's Garden/Makati Skyline, Baluarte de San Diego.