The Caterer: Josiah's Catering

This is an easy one. Since Fernbrook Garden has only five accredited caterers it was easy to decide which to eliminate. Plus, we've received a lot of good feedbacks with Josiah's food and reception styling. 

Last September 4, 2010, Josiah's held an exclusive food tasting in Fernbrook Gardens for Fernbrook clients. Both Marvin and I's parents were there plus Marvin's Achie and my sister Joyce. 

We were surprised with the abundance of food prepared and good thing we were starving that we had an empty stomach space for everything. They're buffet setup was very nice and elegant. 

The food they serve includes: the mushroom soup, Pan-seared sole fish with roasted garlic in lemon butter sauce or pesto cream sauce, Grilled tender chicken glazed in teriyaki sauce, Braised Ox tongue in red wine and mushroom, Rosated US Hanging Beef Tender with Roasted Vegetables and a shrimp viand which I forgot the name. Aside from that, they had a Salad Bar, a Mongolian Barbecue set up, a Pasta Bar, and of course, the Dessert bar with lots of sweet delicious delights such as cakes, pastries, mousses and chocolate fondue. (too bad, I didn't have a camera with me! ). But the pasta bar and dessert bar are upgrades from the basic package.

Marvin and I, didn't even think twice and booked Josiah's right there and then. We didn't need to try the other caterer's since we are already familiar with what they could offer. But for Josiah's, this was the first time we got to taste their food and saw their styling, and yet we were convinced.

Josiah's package has lots of inclusion as well. A pre-dinner cocktail & welcome drinks is included, nice buffet table setups with centerpieces, couple's background design, 3 layer cake (separate post), program emcee (separate post as well), and more. The freebies we got include a sushi bar, pasta bar, coffee bar, dessert bar, additional supplier's meal, and an additional hot viand dish.

Our AE, Maui Constantino, was very easy to talk with and she was very honest in terms of what can and cannot be included. But she helped us out to haggle for more freebies and additional discount. She is also quick to reply with our inquiries and concerns. 

We were yet to finalize the food for the reception. I'll post a separate entry for the food tasting.
You may check out their site here: http://josiahcatering.com/

PS: Just a tidbit, we actually had a food tasting first before we actually had a "pamamanhikan". Haha! It was just funny that things happened so fast and we appreciate that both our parents agreed to come with us despite of not yet discussing the formalities of the wedding.

The Venue: Part 2

Since I concealed the venue in my first post, I will reveal it now. the invites has been sent out so many who do not know about it should have researched about it already.

So... tada!!! it's Fernbrook Gardens in Alabang. 

To those who are familiar with Fernwood Garden in QC, Fernbrook Garden is also a collaboration of the same people who developed Fernwood. But, unlike, Fernwood, Fernbrook has a more Victorian feel. With it's architecture and interiors, one would imagine being in Venice, especially with its indoor river where in one can have a romantic Gondola cruise. I wonder if the Gondoliers also sing? hmm...

We would be having both our ceremony and reception here. Fernbrook Gardens has a Mini Basilica, the Notre Dame De Vie, that is allowed to hold wedding ceremonies. It can accommodate upto 250 persons, making the ceremony very intimate. It has a short aisle which I definitely approve of since I don't want to have a long, dramatic march.

The ceremony will start at 2:30 in the afternoon of June 12 and will end approximately at 4:00pm. Cocktails will then be served in the Classical Dome.

We will have photo booth by Click D' Fun Photobooth (I'll have a separate feature for this) and gondola ride for our guests so they would have something to do while waiting for the reception.

Reception will follow at around 6:00 in the evening in the Victorian 2 Gardens which can accommodate a maximum of 400 persons (I'll soon make a separate post on guest list).  The venue itself need no more additional styling since it is already very beautiful.

In dealing with the respective person in charge n the church and reception venue, both King Emmanuel of Fernbrook and Brother Rein of Notre Dame De Vie (Notre Dame De Vie is under Madonna del Divino Amore Quasi Parish-Diocese of Paranaque), are very reliable and easy to talk to.

Fernbrook has a "worry-free" package and it was tempting. But we decided not to avail this since we wanted different suppliers. Their venue package includes air condition for venue, bridal preparation room, free use of venue for prenuptial photo, and basic sound system. The rest like gondola ride and dance panels are add ons. They have five accredited caterers, two accredited florists and one accredited sound system and mobile bar. If you prefer to have different supplier you'll have to pay for corkage fees.

King, our AE, is very kind and accommodating. She replies to my queries fast and she addresses my concerns right away. She even suggests suppliers and she gives us tips. The downside is the venue is really quite expensive, of course, its beauty has a price. But fortunately, King was able to haggle more for us. 

The chapel has a different fee and the air condition has separate charge also.
As for Brother Rein, though he is quite difficult to contact through phone, since his carrying a wireless landline, he can easily be approached to whenever his around Fernbrook. He is also very helpful in all our queries regarding the requirements that we needed to acquire and submit.

So far, our experience with Fernbrook is smooth. Aside from the Bentley car, that we were supposed to use, that needs repair and was replaced, but was informed to us early on. We have not encounter any problem yet.

here's the link to Fernbrook Garden's website if you need more information,
http://www.fernbrookgardens.com/

25 days left and my blog post has just resumed...

At the start of the wedding preps, I told myself that I will make a blog and document every detail of the preps. But as you can see, I haven't touched this blog since September. haha! The lazy me just couldn't find the time to continue.

Anyway, 25 days to go, and with the guest list and table planning hullabaloo, I decided that I'd do at least one post each day, all wedding related. *good luck to me!!!*

So... I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I know I can do this! hehe Aja!!! 

The Venue

Marvin and I wanted a Tagaytay wedding specifically at Caleruega. Many couples have had and are having their wedding at Caleruega. In fact, reservation for Caleruega is almost always fully booked. However, to have a Tagaytay wedding would require the guests to travel at the least an hour and a half and we do not want to hassle our guests. So we decided to have it in the city. 

I won't be mentioning the exact place since Marvin strictly told me to keep it a secret specifically from his relatives abroad.  None from both sides of our family have attended or celebrated any event at this place and we believed that everyone will be mesmerized by the place.  It is very elegant and very picture-worthy, as if you have time-traveled from the victorian era.

I was surprised to know that Marvin had already taken his family to this place for ocular even before he proposed. Marvin said that his family was insisting the new church near Marriott to have our wedding. But Marvin insisted on showing them the place and then they were amazed! It was extraordinary and one-of-a-kind! They can't help but have their pictures taken. No other questions, the venue was granted approval!

So then, he arranged an appointment with the AE Ms. King on Monday. If we review the sequence of events, Marvin proposed Saturday, we hiked Sunday and on Monday we already had the appointment.  I think Marvin was confident enough to know that I'll say "Yes" to have scheduled the appointment! hehe But I guess he was just soo excited! 

As we survey the location, I can already imagine the mood and the styling of the event. It would be very intimate and enchanting! Less decorations are needed since the place itself is beautiful enough, most especially during night time.  

The venue itself shouts fairy tale coming true; with me as the princess getting true love's kiss from my only prince.

the next day drama...

The day after the proposal, we are set to go hiking at Mt. Makulot, Cuenca, Batangas. Thanks to Tin for organizing this day hike, to Gotch and Eric for being patient trail guides, to KJ for wanting to shout high up above (thus the reason for the hike), to Gelo & Faith for being fun companies, and of course, to Marvin, who agreed to come with me despite of his reluctance to come.

We were mum about the engagement thing. Only those who were able to witness the moment the night before were the ones who knew about it. I didn't want to tell other people yet. I wanted to tell my parents, college and high school barkada first.

It took us about two hours (with long stops which I forgot to count) to finish the hike. It has been a long time since we've done this again. It was what they call a Level 1 hike or a beginner's hike. There were steep and slippery trails. But we had such fun! Of course, not to mention all the jokes KJ threw to us that day, that definitely amused us. We even played "gestures" at the camp site. We climbed another highest point which I forgot the name (I'll get back on this post once I remembered). At first, I thought it would be impossible to reach, since it was too high seeing from afar, but then when we finally got there and the view was simply stunning! We had a 360 degree view of the Taal lake which includes the Taal  volcano.

I'll cut the hiking part short. After the view of Taal, we went back to camp site where Eric was waiting because someone has to watch our belongings.  Then we descended.  

So drama began when we were on the way home (in our place in Lipa). Nes was texting and calling about some important news that she was not informed about. I knew then that she was referring to the proposal thingy. But then I can't figure who might have told her. It's not that I intentionally did not want her to know but I am taking small steps at a time. But she was very frustrated, very mad. She felt that she wasn't important to the barkada that she had to know it last.

When we got home, I immediately checked my FB page and found that Ivy posted a message that made Nes react. I did not know how to explain it to Nes. Even Cris, Tin and KJ was a little worried about it.  It took me a while before I had to courage to explain to her ( hehe this just proves how scary can Nes be,haha, peace!) She didn't talked to me the first try. So I let it be. Then, she called back. It was so funny reminiscing now, we were crying while talking on the phone!!! I understood where she was coming from, she felt neglected finding out that she wasn't informed about it during the time the proposal happened. I explained to her what had happened that night. Then she was calmed. We were like two crazy girls crying and laughing at the same time!!! haha ( I missed those moments with Nes.. awww) The guys (especially Marvin and Eric) were laughing at us.  They just won't understand us girls.

So there, the drama was over.

the proposal... which I planned

Wait! Don't get me wrong! I did not plan my own proposal nor did I urge Marvin to propose!!! Dalagang Filipina pa rin naman ako noh! hehe

Anyway, what was supposedly an intimate college friends reunion -- after many weeks of not seeing each other -- turned out to be the ultimate reason for celebration. I planned this meet up since we had so much to celebrate - my belated birthday, cris' belated birthday, tin's graduation, and cris' as an official MD!!! Like most of the time, it was I who set the time and place. It was the 21st of August and since we were always in Makati area, I decided to have our dinner in Tomas Morato area where KJ is attending another party so there will be no excuse for her not to attend.

I learned from the ever reliable "Our Awesome Planet" about this new restaurant named Cerchio (pronounced as 'Tzerhr.kyoh') means Circle in Italian in Tomas Morato. The interiors were so nice, stylish and intimate. We were seated in a square table which sits 8 people. The attendees were Cris, Annie, Tin, Gotch, Marvin and I. Kj followed after about an hour of persistent calls and texts from me.

We had crispy pata, singaporean crispy squids, thai sinuglaw and more which I forgot already. It's not that the food was forgettable it's just me, I just seem to be forgetful and unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me.  No one actually did have a camera, that is, until KJ arrived. 

So we were having our usual conversations and sharings. We were contemplating on "one's" soon to come proposal. (I deliberately did not include the person's name for privacy purposes.hehe) Until...

...moments later, as we were to conclude our dinner and our chats, Marvin suddenly stood up and asked me to stand beside me. I was wondering what he will do and why I was being asked to stand up. I saw the baffled faces of my friends as well. With my refusal to stand, Marvin being sooo red (which I thought was because of the wine he drank), took something from his pocket, bent his knee, took my hand and uttered "Sylvia, will you marry me?!"

Everyone was surprised and speechless! I was the most speechless of them all! I felt blood rushing to my cheeks!!! The moment was happening too fast, I know I heard myself say "yes" the first time but no one seemed to heard it. I felt Cris' jerked my elbow and I heard marvin asking me again for my answer. And then, I said, "Oo naman.." with a *blush*. 


No one expected that that would be the most special thing we were celebrating. Everyone was so happy and bouncy!!! "Kilig to the bones talaga!!!" As for me, I was very happy, I am soo kilig!!! I felt more in loovee!!! hehe  Actually, I was kinda shy, since we were the only group that was very loud!!! to think it was an intimate restaurant! But who cares!!! I was having one of the most special evening in my life and no one can ruin that!!! 

Though it wasn't my ideal proposal with all the dreamy production, it was definitely beyond expectations!!! What made it more extraordinary was the company of my beloved true friends (who had unimaginable faces!!!) It was truly priceless!!!

Now I am ready to spend the rest of my life with my best friend and my one and only love. <3

choosing the inspiration

Marvin and I have been together since high school. In the course of our ten years of togetherness, there had been times that we've talked about marriage but we never have discussed about the details. So when the day came when he popped the question, I was totally clueless about the details of what might our wedding would be. 

Browsing through the ever reliable world wide web, I was instantly in love with the peacock wedding theme idea!!! I love all the colors -- teal, turquoise, cobalt blue, plum, fuschia pink, and gold.  I saw many inspiration boards and they are all lovely and elegant. I also love how the over all look is very vintage-y! 

I also found out that peacock symbolizes beauty and fidelity. according to feng shui: peacocks are a symbol of beauty reminding us to take pleasure in the finer things in life. It is pure of heart, loyal and faithdul to their partners. In fact, the male peafowl goes to great lengths to attract his hearts and his ladylove's desire.

In real life, I am fortunate enough to have met "my peacock" which is why I am happy to have this as our wedding theme. The theme would truly reflect the beauty of our love and our loyalty to each other.

But I had to limit my color options into just - plum, cobalt blue, and teal with accents of gold.

Now I am excited!!!