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Supplier Ratings
September 17 came and went and I'm still trying to take everything in. Everything is still moving in slow motion. And apart from wearing our beautiful bands, nothing much has changed for us. I told Daz over breakfast at Sonya's the morning after the wedding that I didn't feel any different and he figures the reason why is that we've actually already "been married" for nearly 6 years. And I realised that it's true. :) Other brides may feel totally different waking up with their new husbands the next morning. I woke up with a temperature hehe –we figured it was all the stress finally leaving.
And because we were both still feeling surreal from the ceremony onwards and can hardly remember what happened apart from the vows, we listened to the ceremony in bed while the sun was rising and promptly fell asleep while we were doing that. Our wedding was non traditional from the first stage of preps. We both did not want a large wedding, we only wanted immediate family and close friends. We also wanted a destination wedding far removed from city life and we wanted a wedding that was laid back and relaxed, nothing stiff and formal.
But no matter how you try and plan for a really laid back wedding, I have learned that it doesn't really happen. Although a lot of our suppliers did say it was the most relaxed wedding they had ever come to, it was still a little too hectic for us and we found ourselves forgetting so many things –the silver pen to sign the contract with (we ended up signing with a ballpoint pilot pen quel horreur!), the polaroid camera for the reception , and many other things! But overall, it was the wedding we both wanted: intimate, simple and full of love and laughter. Anyway, for other brides, here are our supplier ratings, with 10 as the highest and 1 as the lowest
Couturier: VELUZ
Rating: 15
Package includes: bridal gown, bridal shoes, bag, veil, cord, secondary sponsor's veil, ring pillow, coin pillow, garter, groom's suit (3-piece suit)
Veluz and Niko are our most favorite suppliers, bar none. They have just been delightful from the very start, when I was corresponding with Veluz over the gown to the day itself, when they both went to dress Daz and I at Sonya's. We told them we were checking in at 1pm but they both still arrived at 11am. Veluz had a massage while waiting for Daz and I to arrive. When we got there, they both made me relax (I was having a lot of dramas with my mom) and Veluz even told me to get rid of my "sad" eyes. They joked around a lot, specially since Niko has a small crush on Daz and we were all joking around that Daz won't make it to the ceremony kasi ililigaw ni Niko yung car, hehe…
Niko stayed with me while we were waiting for the car, and both he and Veluz arranged my dress and did everything coordinators do before the walk down the aisle –even if that wasn't their job na. They didn't stay, although we would have wanted them to, as they both have become good friends now and not just suppliers. Niko even texted me the day after to say congratulations!
Definitely did not regret booking them.
Wedding Preps and Night of the Wedding: Sonya's Secret Garden
Rating: 10
Package includes: accommodation per person, with breakfast and lunch or dinner
Leila at Sonya's was just wonderful. We had paid for our stay there through a bank deposit and had no time to fax over the deposit slip. They told us to bring the slip at check-in, but we couldn't find it anywhere. Leila just gave us the key, told us "don't worry about it, it's your wedding day!!" It was just amazing to come back from dinner, tired and exhausted, to the sight of Sonya's Garden with all the little lights on the path. We woke up late the next day, way past breakfast time and they still made us sit and have breakfast. Wonderful place :)
Photographers: Mimi Abesamis and Karl de Leon of Fotogra.ph
Rating: 10
Mimi and Karl were the first suppliers we booked. We paid in full straight away because we trusted them. They are so easy to talk to and are practically invisible. Daz and I didn't want any posed photos at all, so they didn't make us do anything, apart from asking if we were sure we didn't want any portraits. We eventually agreed to do a few and they were very game about the entire thing. Mimi even made me an online gallery even if it wasn't really part of our deal. The one thing lang was that they were a little late, but once they were there they started taking photos na rin straight away. My friends and I agree that the photos were a motley mix of casual elegance –which is sooo me and Daz! Nothing overly contrived, which was how we wanted it.
Reception: Antonio's
Rating: 10
When we decided on a Tagaytay wedding, there was only one option for the reception for us: Antonio's. We wanted something that was romantic and unique and didn't need any dressing up and of course, great food. Antonio's is perfect for that. Everyone absolutely loved the place, felt at home straight away. Jona, the banquet manager is such a sweetheart! She is very easy to talk to and we felt really good trusting her with everything. The waiters/waitresses at Antonio's are also very smart and took care of our guests. I dropped my table napkin twice because it kept slipping off my dress, and the waiters noticed and gave me fresh napkins each time. The food, of course, was great as usual and we kept getting rave reviews after each course. Daz's parents loved the bread and herbed butter so much, they had seconds. My parents really liked the fresh salad and Daz's aunt and uncle loved the cream of tomato with beef. Everyone loved their mains and the barako soufflé. And the mint tarragon tea was a winner. We also had an open bar for drinks. Darren just had a little trouble with one waiter, probably because of his accent and all that.
Wedding Rings: Tony Walker at Anthony Collins Jewelers (Perth, Australia)
Rating: 10
We love our wedding rings. Everyone who has seen them say they're unique. We love them because no one else has anything remotely the same. We inquired about the possibility of having them done with Matus, but they said that they did not have the technology to do something like this yet. So we had our rings done in Perth. Tony, the jeweler was very efficient. He had the rings done in three days and our rings have a lifetime guarantee for cleaning.
Florist: Petal Patch
Rating: 8
AJ is soo easy to talk to and the only requirement I had for the flowers were that they be colourful as the wedding was in the afternoon- early evening timeframe. She also worked within the budget I gave her. She got to the church early and even met my mom who was supervising the set up for the luminaries. The flowers were pretty and I love my bouquet, although I noticed that a few rose petals were a little brown na on the side.
Cake and Souvenirs: Hearts and Bells
Rating: 7
Marita is very nice and accommodating and I really liked working with her and the only reason why I gave her a 7 is because she mixed up the flavours of the cakes we were having. We got a package from her, a 4-tier set-up with 30 mini cakes and one 8-inch cake. The mini cakes served as souvenirs. We got three designs for the mini cakes and two flavours: carrot-pineapple and chocolate. We agreed on the designs for both flavours, and specifically agreed that the 8-inch cake was to be chocolate because Daz is a chocoholic. Anyway, we found out later that the 8-inch cake is actually carrot and only a handful of the mini cakes were chocolate. Brides working with her should review the specifics before the wedding.
Musicians: String Minstrels
Rating: 9
The String Minstrels were prompt, professional and very very good. Some people asked me for their contact number after the ceremony. The ceremony was a blur, but I listened to the recording and am glad I got them, they played beautifully.
Accomodations for Family and Friends: Chateau Royale
Rating: 2
By far, the worst experience ever! We booked four log cabins for everyone to stay before the wedding. We paid a downpayment three weeks before to guarantee late check-in and specified that we wanted the cabins up front. They assured us it would not be a problem. We got there late Sep 15th because of the rain and fog. They also put us in cabins at the back with single beds, which was a problem. The whole reason why we booked early was because we wanted to get the cabins up front and because we knew there was a possibility of late arrival, what with everyone getting driving over at the same time. What's more, the cabins leak, there are no phones in the room so no room service. The staff at the front desk were useless. Absolutely lousy customer service. To top it all off, the power went out Friday night, the night before the wedding. When we went looking for hotel staff to ask what was going on, they said that they did have a generator, but there was no one there who knew how to get it going. Rather pointless. Needless to say, we're never going back there again, nor recommend it to anyone else.
Hair and Make Up: Anne Castano
Rating: 8
Anne became more than a supplier, she is a friend now and bonded with my family and friends. I don't normally use make up but I was happy with it, as I still looked like me :) but I was just really shiny towards the end of dinner. I didn't really notice, but the photos show it. I guess we were all just really having too much fun.
Church: Chapel on the Hill, Nasugbu Batangas
Rating: 8
Chapel on the Hill is pretty and was my choice from the time I began preps for a Tagaytay wedding. The contact person, Lorie, is nice, but she is apparently the only person who you can deal with when it comes to any information about the chapel. When she's not there, expect to not get anything done because the other staff are idiots. Also, for other brides planning an afternoon – early evening wedding, beware of the mosquitos! Yikes, we had to keep swatting them away, they were huge!
Chancery of Lipa
Rating: 5
Well, they got the job done, but it was just one big hassle dealing with them.
Invitations and Save the Dates: DIY
Rating: none
Everyone loved the Save the Dates, they thought it was very clever, a bag and a luggage tag indicating a destination wedding. The invitations got a similar response, though I suppose I probably just got tired of looking at the thing after making them all.
Make Up for the girls: David's Tagaytay
Rating: 7
Everyone else apart from my, my MOH, my mom and Daz's mom were having make up done at David's. It is easy getting in touch with them, but it was only later when I heard that my friend, Tricia, who was the lector at the mass, had a difficult time with her MUA. The MUA kept insisting on doing her make up a certain way, which she totally did not like and had to redo. Apart from that, everyone had a relatively easy time with their MUAs.
Videographer: my ninong
Rating: priceless
My favorite uncle took the video, but we haven't seen the end result yet. He was retrenched from his job a month ago but still booked flights to Manila and then hired a car to Tagaytay to see me get married. And took the video.
Luminaries: DIY
Rating: priceless
My dad's employees went through the trouble of making my luminaries and we brought them back with us from Bacolod. They didnt have to, but they wanted to because they said it was their gift. I think the luminaries turned out wonderfully :)
Car: Richard Abian
Rating: n/a
Richard has been someone Daz and I use a lot when we need to go somewhere and so it was naturally our choice to have him drive the car the day we got married. However, things got complicated and he sent his brother to make sure we had a car on the day. His brother was okay, but ripped us off in the end. We'd rather deal with Richard.
Looking back, we got the wedding we wanted. Daz asked me today if there was anything I wanted to change, what would it be? I said "Chateau Royale". When I asked him the same, he said "I wish our cake would have been chocolate instead of carrot." hehe
Mik post