Place card or Poster? That is the question! :/

My mom and I visited a friend and we saw this different idea -

Or...should we just use place cards?
Hmm....

Flower Girl

AmAm, Gabbie's mom, sent me a picture of our special little girl with her special pink dress on :)

She's almost ready! Thanks, AmAm! :D

Paper products!

The paper products are almost done, thanks to Tita Linda Dimayuga!  Phew...

First up - the table cards:

We are incorporating locations that are important to Adrian and I so each table number is something different.  You can get to know us by going to different tables!

Next is the menu - YuM!

Lastly, the favor tags also.  

Printing production is currently in progress! Woohoo!

Updates!

The invitations were sent out today! Phew!

Also, after talking with Kate, I found out that my photography hours were not enough! So....what better way than to use my cousin and show off her skills!  Christina Whittaker will be shooting the rehearsal dinner, the girls getting ready, and the last hour of the reception.  Mark Marcojos, a friend who shot our engagement dinner, will be shooting the boys getting ready.  Thanks Christina and Mark!  You guys are the best!

Rehearsal Dinner

Thanks to the Antiguas, the rehearsal dinner is all set!  There was a lot of problems getting some type of location because of the large entourage and the expensive setting of St. Augustine.  However, Hilton Historic Bayfront hotel gave them a deal - free valet, free designing, great food, AND it's right beside the church.  Yay!

The banquet room will look like the picture above.  We are trying to really make it into a relaxed environment so the theme we have decided is beach/tropical. :)

The new and improved FINAL invitation

The changes:
-a pearl instead of a gold seal
-some detailing in the corners inside the invitation

So filipino looking! :)

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

The invitations are here!

And now it's all packed and ready to go!

Stay tuned!  

Success!

Philippines trip was a success!

Things accomplished:
-gifts for bridal party
-decoration for the wedding
-buy capiz
-get Adrian a Camiso Chino for his barong
-get a filipino cake topper
-buy hair accessories

                        The Cake Topper                                    

Frame made out of capiz shells

My hair accessory

A luggage full of wedding gifts and accessories

Adrian's Camiso Chino for under his barong

                    

I had so much fun shopping for cheaper! Bargain, bargain, bargain is the key! :)

Time is passing by...

So many things have changed since the last post -
1. I finished my specialty residency in Seattle
2. Moved out of my apartment and I have started living out of my suitcase for 1 month!
3. Travelled to the Philippines for 1 week
4. Spending time with my parents in Melbourne, FL before starting my job in Gainesville

As we speak, I have 55 days left!  Phew!  Almost there for the big day!

Things to do still:
-Reserve restaurant for bridal brunch
-Arrange centerpieces
-Get favors ready
-Mail invitations---ALMOST!!
-Buy random stuff (i.e., guest book pen, pins, etc)
-Compile songs
-Prepare the table numbers
-Get marriage license

These are the only things I can think of right now.  Blah!  Thank goodness for no working x 2 more weeks.  Just met with Kate today and we need to get to work!  Next meeting - August 8 in St. Augustine.

The KAG Bridal Shower

My residency class at University of Washington probably has the most brides (and groom)-to be the program has ever seen.  This year alone, there are 4 weddings from our class.  But KAG (Kristin, Abigail, and Grace) are the 3 brides to be this year and our awesome co-residents, preceptors, and friends all joined us to celebrate.  Thanks, ladies! <3

What a shocker!

On May 21, my mom underwent a bilateral thyroidectomy (removal of both lobes of the thyroid gland) and when it was biopsied, it was found to be malignant.  You can just imagine the fear and sadness I felt not being with my mom during this scary time.  I was sad to not be near her to give her a hug and to personally tell her that I love her.  Thankfully, mom is a strong woman - a true fighter.

She will undergo her radioactive iodine therapy hopefully this June.  Please pray for her continued recovery and be cancer free!

Phew, First meeting with the priest is done!

After almost 5 months after going to our Pre-Cana and taking the FOCCUS test (to see if we are compatible), the priest finally scheduled to meet with us.  Thanks to Skype, this was quite doable :) Adrian was physically next to the priest while I was here in Seattle during my lunch hour.

Of the many other things we have to do, our church requested that we each do an autobiography discussing our family, friends, faith, each other, etc.  It was at least a 7-page document each!  It was quite enlightening though as the priest unveiled to us what Adrian and I answered to each question.  I did not necessarily find out anything new about Adrian and I do not think Adrian found out anything new about me, but the priest gave some insightful things that can help us with the road ahead of us.  Some things to do:

1. Practice the 10-10 rule.  Allow 10 minutes each day for the wife to talk and 10 minutes for the husband to talk - about anything!  Just 10 minutes of uninterrupted time away from everything with no judgement and just acceptance and support.
2. Have dinner together at least 3-4 times a week.
3. Have a date night at least every other week.
4. Read "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus."  I was told to always tell Adrian if something is wrong at work, with friends, etc so that he does not start blaming himself when I am in a funky mood.
5. We should show interest in what makes each of us happy.  I.e., Adrian should try to enjoy clothes, shoes, and purse shopping with me and I should try to enjoy Best Buy shopping.  *gulp*
6. There is a BIG fallacy about compromising in marriage.  Compromising for the most part causes divorce.  Compromising changes a person in a certain way that will only make one party happy.  If an argument exists, get to the root of the problem and hear each other out.  Do not just follow in the other person's lead just to keep peace.
7. Discuss ALL financial issues privately and openly to each other.
8. Save money for a big house with an in-law's house.  :)
9. Always tell each other what you feel on a daily basis especially if it's endearing things.  Saying 'I love you' will never hurt.
10. Note to myself - Do not close down when I am not happy, mad, or disappointed.

I hope this helps someone in the blog world :) Adrian and I will try to make sure we look at this list when we forget to appreciate each other.

101 days left!

Another cute idea

Thanks to Kate Hall, here's another pretty unique idea for the centerpieces:

Makes the sticks more vibrant, for sure :)

Favor Dilemma

Big Uh-oh just happened. :(

First the good news - the favors have been ordered!  We also ordered gifts for the primary and secondary sponsors, which I need to keep as a secret for now.  Let's just say Mother of Pearl is involved.

Bad news - Got an email from UPS saying that the mother of pearl gifts are being submitted to the US Wildlife Conservation which may take a while.

Let's just hope awhile will not be beginning of October :/

Invitations! (draft 1)

The first draft of the invitation is here! :) I have asked for a few changes already so please let us know any comments/suggestions!

Stay posted for more updates! :)

The Bachelorette Party...ooohh la la!

Right after the bridal shower, the girls had another surprise for me - my bachelorette party!

We went to Portofino Hotel for an awesome girls night out. 

The night started with me forgetting my little black dress!  (I really hope this does not happen on the wedding day..) After panicking for 30 seconds, I saw Jen's pink dress with a black belt and in my head, this will have to do.  Phew!

After getting ready quickly, Brandy Burridge came to take photos of the girls and I.  We had 2 bottles of champagne and that was enough to get all of us going.  We took pictures all over Portofino then headed to Universal City Walk for 1. Dueling Piano + Dinner and 2. Bars

I love these girls and here's a little sneak peak of our photos :)

"Even though we've changed and we're all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we'll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we're not all still friends."

The Bridal Shower

Jamie, the Matron of Honor, and the bridal party planned my bridal shower in Melbourne, FL.  It was a very special day since we were celebrating multiple things - my birthday, my mom's graduation, and mother's day.  The theme was perfect - pink! 

I am so fortunate to have women I love celebrate with me.  So many friends and family flew from all over the US.  Love you all!  I had so much fun playing games, reading marriage advice, and eating (my fave)!  I cannot thank you enough for making me feel extra special to have you in my life. 

Groom's Cake Update

Problem solved!  Thanks to Lauren Book Lim, the groom's cake problem no longer exists.  Thank you so much, Lauren.  I do not know what I would do without your help and creativity!

With that said, I cannot tell you what it will look like since it's Adrian's surprise, but prepare to get blown away! :)

Bienvenue à Paris!

After 1 year of Adrian keeping our honeymoon a secret from me, he finally spilled - we are going to Europe!   It was really sweet of him to involve me with the honeymoon plans, so when he asked me where I wanted to go (choices: Italy, France, Greece), I said Paris!

I chose Paris because it is known to be one of the most romantic cities <3,  Carrie Bradshaw from 'Sex and the City' went here with Mr. Petrovsky, and it is the city where a majority of beautiful purses come from.  Hehe...

We go to Paris for a week - Sept 20 to 27.  Ciao!

Lets Get Some of Your Song Requests Now

Hey everyone! So we have started getting our song lists together for the wedding and thought that it would be a great idea to get some of your own song requests now!  So let us know what you'd like to hear so we can try and fit them into the nights playlist!

Grooms Cake

Any ideas?  I have so many things I want to incorporate for Adrian's groom's cake that if I do it, it might come out as one big (maybe hot) mess. 

Help!

Favors

When Adrian and I were thinking about favors, we wanted something that will be filipino-like, useful, and classy.  One of our other wedding sponsors, Roseanne Davila, gave us this idea to give salad servers.  We really liked this idea but we did not know where to even begin getting at least a hundred of these things. 

So, my future mom-in-law went on a search when she went to Manila.  Here's what she found for us:

Looking at both price and quality, we decided on the wooden spoon/fork.  Orders are in and will hopefully be getting shipped in the end of June.  :)