Wedding I do’s…

And because we turned 2 years today, I decided to share about our Beautiful special day.
Our very own wedding day…

A special day that I thought I missed already. Again, when you want something and you prayed about it and you trusted God. I assure you, it will come to you. And the best part, the wait is so worth it! Because God will surely make it so beautiful in HIS time. Finally, my turn to say, “I do…”

If you have decided to get married. Go now and enroll to a “Marriage Counseling Class”. A must do.
Then visit your local courthouse to register. This is gonna be so exciting!

Being an event organizer & coordinator, of course I would for sure enjoy planning my very own wedding. It can be really tiring and exhausting but the joy that comes after is just priceless. It makes every event more beautiful and meaningful if you are hands-on. So, I  started by imagining how I want it to be. (Remember, if you are the Bride, this is your day! Do whatever and however you want it. Do not be discouraged or be manipulated by others. Seriously it is not their wedding- it is YOURS!).  And then I consulted my Husband every step of the way. For the record, he was so supportive that he was with me every step of the planning & the countless canvassing we did.

Now, make sure you pray together every step of the way. Every part of the planning, let God lead you & bless you… because it can be really frustrating for both of you. Unless you want an easy out, hire a wedding coordinator.

Planning starts from the day you chose when to get Married. Find a date that means something special for you both. We chose May 26, that is the day we became official. And then decide if you want a traditional Church wedding or Garden wedding or Beach wedding etc etc. We chose traditional Church Wedding and plans a unique Ballroom Reception either near a beach or a greenery. Then your motif. From color to the kind of wedding Party you prefer. We chose color “Red” as the main color motif and then we did mostly a mix of American & Filipino wedding traditions. Now before you do hunting for a Venue…

Next step starts with your budget. Know how much you guys can to spend for your wedding. From that you can allocate budgets. Church fees; Reception Venue & your choice of food (Do you want it sit-down or buffet); Save the Date & Wedding Invites (Consider if you want it breakfast, lunch or dinner); Bride & Groom, Parents, Entourage, Sponsors, Outfits, Hair & Make up (Decide which one will you be willing to cover or will they be able to); All the Flower arrangements; The knick-knacks to decorate the Church & Reception Venue; Coordinators; Souvenirs/ Giveaways; Any accessories the Bride & Groom can think of from Jewelries down to Shoes; Engagement Pictorial; Photographer; Videographer; Musicians; DJs; Sound system; Projectors; Thank You Cards; Love gifts to your Parents, Entourage & Sponsors; The vehicle to rent (would like Limousine, Sports car, Vintage car etc). Your choice of wedding cake. And of course your wedding Rings. And many others things that you can think of to make this day, extra special.

Then assess how much help you guys can get in your planning stages to the Big day from family, relatives & friends. You might find some great savings on this area. And can help you maximize your budget, remember you have to plan for your Honeymoon as well! Anyways, like with what happened to us, we found a lot of loving helps! My second sister helped us in some aspects and she even became our “On the day Wedding Coordinator”. Then her husband, our brother in law became our Official Photographer who happens to be A Semi-Pro Photographer. We have few good friends who actually sang in the Ceremony and in the Reception venue. Then through referrals, we found reasonable Dj, Videographer, Make up Artist, Flower Shop & etc. Our made of Honor who visited from the Philippines actually baked our  delicious & beautiful “Bride & Groom Cookies” as our chosen souvenirs. Some of our Family Members that flew in to LA and some good creative friends actually helped us in setting up the Church and the Reception Venue and even helped us during our big day. (My Tip for you is to make sure you put good thinking & budget for your Photographer & Videographer, this is once in a life time experience and you want to capture every moment of it, beautiful or tearful… A good outcome will be a “treasure” for your family to have that last forever. Have a sit down meeting with them on how and what you want to capture.)

 

Now, you can easily start hunting and do price checking, a lot of comparisons and haggling for everything you need for the wedding. Make sure you try to see a minimum of at least 3 different stores or suppliers for whatever you are looking for before you decide. And because of my Chinese blood, I was able to use my skills in haggling which my Husband felt so happy about that we got almost a good deal in everything for the wedding WITHOUT sacrificing on how beautiful & detailed we want it to be.

Make sure all contact details, contracts and receipts are in one folder for all your vendors. Assign someone to take care of Balance payment (If needed) on the Big day itself. Set them aside put a note and seal it individually on an envelope for easy hand over.  Maximize your entourage, give instructions & assignment for them with different easy tasks like who will give away your souvenirs, who will distribute the Love gifts for the sponsors & entourage, at least 2 people should be in the reception area, someone who will look after the gift table/ money gift box, and someone that will look after you & your spouse (In case you need help with anything like drinks, bathroom time outs and etc).

Don’t forget about how you want the flow to be for the Church & Reception’s programs. You have to sit down with your spouse and whoever is gonna be your on the day wedding coordinator and emcee. And this is the best time to coordinate if you are planning a surprise for your spouse. Like with what I did, I never told my Husband that I will sing a song for him. Surprise!!! Thanks to my only brother, who created me my accompaniment for my song number.

Amidst the chaos in planning, we made sure we wanted everything that’s gonna take effect soon. From our outfits, my Wedding gown to his Tuxedo. The venues we chose. We chose our Local Church, “New Life“ as the place to say our, “I do’s…” (By the way, it’s up to you both,  if you want to make your personal vows. We opted to do the Traditional Vows because we’ll do the personalized vows on our 10th year!).  And because the date we chose is popular wedding weekend, our First choice of place can’t have it for a dinner which was supposed to be a Ballroom by the Beach. But we never regret our Back up choice, “The Recreational Golf Course , a 100 Year Old Ballroom” next to greenery, a Golf course. We did received an excellent service and great deal. We enjoyed overflowing drinks and very good Buffet food. It can be expensive but for us it’s worth every penny. Not only we both enjoyed it, but most of all…we made sure our guests enjoyed it as well.

Just to share further, I made my own long white wedding “Veil”. Yup almost everything you will see in our wedding were hand made, hand picked and created with personal touch. And we are so happy about it. Because it will be a beautiful story to share to our next generation. And above all these we give thanks to everyone who had helped us, to everyone who celebrated & had fun with us, most of all…to our almighty GOD who made that day possible, beautiful, blessed and so meaningful.

It’s not easy to prepare for a wedding. But if there is God, love & unity, nothing is too difficult for both of you. Getting married is not cheap, and it can go beyond thousand and thousands of dollars. If you have the budget, go for it. Because after all the craziness in preparing & spending, when both of you look back, you will see only but beautiful memories to Cherish. After all, the wedding is for the two of you!

 

 

If you are married already, wishing you many more beautiful years to forever! If you are planning to get married, good luck! And if you are getting married soon, congrats! And if you are waiting for the Right one, I pray with you…that day will come for you as well. Believing God will.

  “4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, But in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.–Phil 4:4-7“