the early bird

With a tight and very busy schedule this next coming two semesters at school, I wanted to plan as much as I could in the very beginning so that I could focus on everything else. I am now on my two week summer vacation before classes begin again and I feel so ahead of schedule with my planning that I only have little details left.

I couple weeks ago we met with a Matt Windsor for MDM Entertainment and immediately liked his style and his work ethics. I've read many great reviews about him and the company on weddingwire.com and within a week, we booked him and the company for our DJ and Lighting Decor. It's going to be amazing and I cant wait! Again, the Great Lord blessed us.

Last night, we met with the videographer, who is also one of Mike's close friends, and his films are unlike any other that I've seen. I must have been on at least 15 different websites searching for a film maker that the style we were looking for, and Orange Video Productions is the only one that can capture the moments and make it look like a movie. I watched one trailer, and it brought tears to my eyes. JJ Kim and his crew really have special talent. I cant wait to see it put all together. I get to pick songs that will play in the DVD, soooo any suggestions for good music would be great.


I am soo ahead of schedule right now, but since we are getting married during the busy wedding season, it's better to book ahead and get what you want then to settle for anything else. Mike has been the absolute best to me and has given me everything I wanted for this wedding. I feel soo loved and spoiled and I hope I can give him the same in return. We have been through some of the toughest moments together and have been able to stay strong through the power of prayer. This wedding is going to mean soo much to us, and we cant wait!

Wedding Planner

As fun as it is to plan the day every girl dreams of, it can be very stressful. For those that know me, I HATE calling random people on the phone. I don't know why, but it was something I picked up a few years ago and have had a phobia for talking to strangers on the phone. Even when I was out doing some recruiting, I couldnt make one appointment over the phone. So, I always always always have Mike order food or make appointments for me. However, lately it seems that I have been the one to call all the vendors and schedule all the appointments. I dont like it.

This is where Miss lovely Connie steps in and offers to help plan my wedding. She is a professional wedding planner and has graciously offered to help plan my wedding for me for free. I am soo thankful for this because I know that on that day, I want everything to run smoothly.

I didnt realize that planning your special day could be soo much!

Another great gift from above...

I think I've been watching waaaay too many Platinum Wedding shows on WE tv because I seem to want it all; the glitz, the glam, and the good food. Unfortunately, I'm a Bride on a budget. I know I cant have the decked out draping around the wall and the spectacular crystal trees, the chivari chairs and even the detailed plates and napkins.

When Mike and I had to sit down to find out what was important to us at the wedding, we both agreed that getting a good photographer was at the top of our list (after getting the perfect venue of course), but the one we wanted cost a lot...we thought about just staying in our budget of 3k for a photographer and videographer and found some decent companies that fit our budget. However, looking through the portfolios, we were not feeling the "it" factor. We wanted our photos to be different, to have our personality shown through an artistic view, to have the moments I wanted captured for me to always remember. After all, if there is anything we have left to take from our big day, its the memories though our photos.

We decided to cut back on some of the other expenses of our wedding in order to get the photographer we wanted. Soon after making this decision, Joshua Albanese Photography called me. He was a photographer we met at a Bridal Expo and his work was indescribable. He has such an amazing knack for capturing the perfect moments, and all of his work looks like in belongs in a fashion magazine! But what I loved most about his work was that it was completely different. It wasn't the traditional cookie cutter type pictures. I could see the passion the couples had for one another in his photos. Joshua isnt scared to go outside the box and I dont think there is one photo I didnt like at all.

Anyway, we made an appointment to see him and he was our first photographer appointment of the week and became our last :) Originally we debated on having as a photographer because of budget reasons. But after deciding to splurge on photography, we were set to find the best. We went in for our consultation and immediately clicked with him. Josh is very very passionate about his work and limits himself to only 20 weddings a year. We liked it because we dont want a burnt out photographer at our wedding, we want someone who wants to be there. He showed us the packages and Mike and I were thrilled to find out the package we wanted soo badly was in our reach. Josh also explained payment options for the upgrades we wanted at zero interest. God really gave us another gift.

We now have the photographer we wanted from the start that we thought we couldnt afford. And we still have money to spend on other things for the wedding. Things really are falling into place for us. I am sooo thankful for everything He has given us. So, thus far, I got my wedding gown at a bargain deal, my venue at a great steal (i am saving some mad cash, thanks Lisa), and my photographer whose package pricing came closer to our budget than we originally expected.

Has God been so gracious to us or what? ;)

Oh yes.. did I mention that I also got a professional wedding consultant for free? I will post about my wonderful friend Connie in my next blog.

Oh yea, one more thing..I raved on and on about what a great photographer Joshua is.. check out his site to see for yourself... I hope to do a trash the dress photoshoot with him.. I just wish there were caves around in Chicago.. lol maybe we can do one at a fake pool cave in wisconsin dells or something. lol.. http://www.joshuaalbanesephotography.com

Finding the Dress...

Okay so I wont tell you what dress I have, but I can tell you how I found it....

As I said before, my cousin Kate made and appointment for me to just "try on and look" at wedding dresses at Demetrios. We went there and tried on six or seven dresses and only two of them stuck out to me. We put them on the lists of maybes. The lady that was helping me told me that dresses take about six months to make and that I was on time trying on dresses. Whoa! Six months? I always thought you could buy it off the rack or if it was made, it would only take a few weeks! Because of this, I quickly learned about how I needed to start planning my wedding even though it was still a year away.

Originally, I wasnt even going to start planning until six months before the date we picked out, but I am sooo thankful for my cousin bringing me because everything seemed to fall into place shortly after.

I made my second appointement at Marrilee's bridal boutique because I wanted to try on Maggie Sottero gowns I saw in bridal magazines. Kate is a good luck charm because I found my dress the second time around! And wouldnt you know.. it is a Maggie Sottero gown. The lady that helped me was soo amazing because she is the one who recommended me to try it on. Originally, I didnt like how it looked on the rack, and honestly it wasnt my style. But wedding gowns are different. You might see something you absolutely love, but when you try it on, it just looks horrible on you. Well, in my case, this dress wasnt my type at all except that it was made out of taffeta, but when I tried it on, it brought tears to my eyes...and Kate's, and Pat's. lol It was perfect for me. What's even better was that my dress was under the budget I had set and Pat even gave me a discount. Whoo hooo! Now we have extra money to put towards the reception.

Am I lucky or what getting all these great bargains? Ate Kate, if you are reading this, you are awesome and a total good luck charm!

Wedding Chronicles

Since the moment my cousin Kate made that first appointment for me to look at wedding gowns, I've been in wedding mode. Originally, Mike and I had planned to keep our engagement a secret until January, but as I quickly learned, if you want to be a June bride, you gotta start planning early.



Little did I know that it takes at least six months to have your dress made, and that booking a venue needs to be at least a year in advance, especially during the busy wedding season, and even more so if you want to be a June bride. Honestly, I wouldnt mind pushing the date further except that we wanted our honeymoon to be in the Virgin Islands and we didnt want to hit hurricane season. However, putting our life in God's hands has given us a solid date for the wedding next year along with extra perks. Allow me to explain....



For one thing, Mike and I were pretty much set on having a destination wedding. We wanted our wedding to be very intimate, and we wanted to enjoy a long needed vacation/wedding/honeymoon. See how cool it would have been to have a destination wedding? What better way than to get married on cliff overlooking a golden sea of blue as the sun set with our closest family and friends?

Well, as much as we wanted it, two problems occured. The first problem came when my Inay (grandmother) came to visit my family from the Philippines. It is getting harder for her to travel and when I asked her if she would attend my wedding (she is very important in my life) she said that it was too far. I told Mike that more than anything I wanted my Inay to be there. Problem number two arised when we noticed that all the destination weddings had only officiants and no Pastors. It was very important for us to have the blessing from God because He is the reason Mike and I found each other and has been very important in our relationship with one another.



So....tada! We decided to have our wedding in Chicago and we couldnt be more pleased or blessed! God has been watching us closely and we have been soo fortunate to have found the perfect venue for our reception, the perfect church (Harvest Bible Chapel, where we attend), perfect photographer and the best friends and family to support us.



Mike and I are unworthy of God's love but we are a living testimony that God is loving and forgiving. We both feel very blessed with everything that has come into place for us.



On to the wedding details!



With the recession going on, Mike and I have been fortunate enough to be able to save for our big day. We have been looking at venues left and right for the perfect reception and at an affordable budget. I checked out a few places like The Westin O'hare, The Westin Itasca, The Westin Northbrook (can you tell I like the Westin?), Intercontinental Hotel and a couple of The Renaissance Hotels.



We were pretty much set on having it at either Westin in Ohare or Itasca, but for some reason I decided to go ahead and make an appointment at the Renaissance in Northbrook anyway. Well, we went there and it was perfect! Lisa ( the catering manager) was very accomodating and was able to work with our budget and even threw in a few little extras along the way. God must have been really looking out for us because I was afraid we wouldnt be able to afford to have our wedding at a hotel (i've always always always wanted my wedding at a hotel..unless it was someplace super cool) and now we can....and.....it's on a Saturday! I still couldnt believe that Lisa offered all these extra goodies to us! So there it is...July 16, 2011 at The Renaissance Hotel in Northbrook. I cant wait to do the cake testing... hehe