Privacy isn’t really something you can expect if you get a hotel at the heart of the Boracay night life. You hear loud party people till the wee hours, and that’s really isn’t a very romantic setting if you’ve planned to consummate your relationship in Boracay for the very first time Notwithstanding whatever “activities” you newlyweds would like to do in bed, party noises make it difficult to sleep—which is something you might not like if you’re there for days of rest and relaxation.

If you prefer a quiet and romantic honeymoon at the beach, you might want to consider Microtel Inns & Suites at Diniwid Beach. It’s located at the other side of Boat Station 3, just about a few minute’s walking distance from Boat Station 1. And yes, it’s quite secluded. I know this for a fact—not only was I able to sleep soundly every night we were there, but I was also able to get some work done on my laptop. Read more »

Boracay Island in Aklan is probably one of the most popular tourist destinations here in the Philippines. Tourists and city folk alike flock to these beaches every summer, usually to enjoy its famed beach nightlife. I myself have wanted to go there and experience that night life people so often talked about, but my hectic schedule made me want to crave more for quiet moments with my husband as opposed to partying till dawn.

Before choosing Boracay as a honeymoon destination (or even the spot where you’d like to have your wedding if you’ve got enough cash lying around), there is something that you should first ask yourself: Are you there to party with crowds or enjoy quiet and romantic moments with your husband? This matters a lot, especially when choosing the hotel you’d be staying in. Either you get one right in the middle of Boat Station 2 (where the night life is), or you get one on the far end of the island where it’s quiet and secluded. The same goes if you want to have a wedding in Boracay: it’s either party or privacy. Fortunately, I have been able to see both for myself. Read more »

Readers, take note: This is a paid review. But as I have said in my disclaimer, I’m going to be as objective as possible regardless of which.

Being a web designer by profession had somehow turned me off a bit from buying online. I guess seeing the production of a shopping cart from concept to execution just made me think twice before inputting my credit card info. It’s not because I didn’t have faith in online transactions, but it’s simply due to the fact that we have always found alternatives for shopping cart payment gateways because Paypal isn’t available in the country yet. It was the issues on Philippine banking laws that prevented us from having fully-functional Paypal accounts, which kind of makes you wonder if it really is safe to transact online. But ever since the Paypal ban has been lifted, I must say that I’ve been less paranoid about buying stuff online with my credit card—which makes my husband frown every time he got our credit card bill. Hehe.

So what does all this tech talk have to do with wedding favors? A lot. Well, in the case of this review at least, because what I’ll be reviewing is an online store for wedding favors: Truly Wedding Favors. Read more »

First off, I’d like to apologize for the delay on posting. I’ve been pretty busy with work and some personal stuff—my husband and I need to ready our things before our move. Anyway, let’s get back to business
I think it’s already quite obvious that you will have to get help from your family, friends and connections whether you like it or not—you just can’t do everything on your own. But sometimes, a bride can’t help but want to do everything, or at least take part on each and every single aspect of her wedding. That’s understandable. After all, it’s your most important day we’re talking about here. Just don’t forget you have to walk down the aisle, and not rolled into the Church in a coffin

Planning a wedding is actually a bit similar to running a business—the lower the expenses and higher the profit, the better. You want to have the best wedding at the lowest cost possible. And just like in business, pulling a few strings can help you do just that. Read more »

Unless you’re too busy to even have weekends for yourself, there are a lot of things for your wedding that you can do on your own. A little patience, research and creativity can go a long way—especially when it comes to cost.

Whenever you hire a service provider, you don’t only pay for the product, but the cost of labor and creativity as well. My husband Marc and I run a small design firm, so we kind of know this for a fact. We don’t just factor in the hours worked on a project, but the value of the design as well. When you do things on your own, you only need to consider the cost of raw materials—you won’t need to pay for labor nor for design value, because you’d be the one doing it. Unless, of course, you need to “bribe” a creative cousin or nephew to do some “arts and crafts” for you. But still, it won’t cost as much as hiring a pro.

Realistically, you can’t do everything on your own. If you’re not an owner of a catering business, you’d definitely need to hire a caterer (you wouldn’t want to spend the night before your wedding cooking loads of food, do you?). Same with flowers. Hiring a florist would be logical if you don’t own a flower shop. But there are things that you can do ahead of time. Here are some ideas… Read more »

I honestly don’t know how much a wedding is going to cost in other countries, I’m only telling you this in context of the Filipino culture. And when you talk of Filipino weddings, you would know that weddings here in this country is not just a family affair—it’s a celebration that involves, most often than not, the entire clans of the bride and groom.

I don’t understand it much either, to tell you the truth. Weddings here are such huge events that even if a family isn’t well-off (like us!), they’d want an extravagant wedding (or “bongga,” in colloquial terms). A “simple” wedding here in the Philippines can mean a lot of things—having 50 guests instead of 100, or having a judge perform the rite and treat just about a dozen people to dinner for a reception. With all these different perceptions of what a “simple” wedding here means, allow me to just describe to you our wedding so you’ll have a pretty good idea of what came about with that Php155,000 (approximately US$3,000) budget. Read more »

I have honestly dreamed of having an outdoor wedding reception. I love nature, and I love animals, so it’s only natural to want to have my special day in a place that I’m particularly fond of. But, we just couldn’t afford it
Through extensive research and canvassing, my husband then-fiance, Marc, and I determined that a garden reception was just a bit too pricey for us. Outdoor venues in Quezon City are just way too pricey. And the thing is, we wanted our wedding ceremony held at a church which held sentimental memories of my late grandma. That’s our main priority, so we just contended ourselves with an indoor reception. Read more »

For me and my husband (Marc), food tasting was the best part of planning our wedding. Why? Free food, of course! But, as we’ve found it out the hard way, depending your lunch on a food tasting event is bad idea if you have a big appetite.

The food servings given at events like these are only small portions—basically, just enough for you to have an idea of how their food tastes like. And because there are a lot of people going to these events, you won’t be able to see the actual table arrangements (they’ll show you photos of real weddings for those). Sometimes the caterers go all out on decorating their buffet tables (like Josiah’s Catering did on a bridal fair I attended), but there are also times when the setup is just simple (not the real thing in weddings, obviously). Read more »

If you have a sweet tooth like me and my husband, you’d probably want more than the menu choices your caterer will provide you. Caterers usually have set packages for weddings, and the dessert choices are usually very limited. Unless you choose the more expensive wedding packages, you’d probably end up with simple desserts like assorted fruits or buko pandan salad.

The best way for you to spice up the desserts you will serve your guests is to add some of these dessert alternatives. Some of them sound pretty expensive, but really, most aren’t—you just need to get the right supplier Read more »

Imagine yourself attending a wedding where you don’t know anyone except for the bride. Or the groom. Unless you’re extremely friendly by nature (like, you make friends with strangers on a regular basis), it will be very difficult for you to find a place to sit and strike up a conversation with a person you’ve never met before.

The seating arrangement for the wedding reception is one of the more important aspects of planning your wedding, especially when you’re inviting a lot of guests. Unless your wedding is a very intimate celebration (like, only 50 guests or less), it’s necessary for you to have at least a blue print of where guests will sit come the wedding reception. Why am I just talking about wedding receptions? Well, for the simple reason that there won’t be a need for socialization during ceremony itself (you wouldn’t want your guests to be talking amongst themselves while you take your vows, would you?). But during the wedding reception, there is.

Here are some tips on how to plan your wedding reception’s seating arrangement. Read more »