Our Road to the Altar

Welcome to our wedding blog! Thank you for visiting, and we hope that you'll find all the information you need to know about our wedding here. This site will be continuously updated as we get closer to the BIG DAY. We can't wait to celebrate with you! The bride is a grammar nut, a crybaby, a singer, and a beach loving extrovert. The groom is a gamer, a basketball player, an athlete, and a dog loving introvert. They are both crazy over dogs, food, and movies.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

The Caterer | Al Fresco Food and Catering Services

So we're down to the last two major suppliers for the big day! The caterer and the floprist!

Hon and I were quite busy and work and we have not been able to actively search for a caterer.

Things have been really crazy at work. In case you didn't know, Aegis has been acquired by Teleperformance and my team has been heavily involved with all the integration classes and initiatives. And because of this, I have not actively looked for a caterer.

But even if we have not gone out and attended food tasting events, we already had a list of potential caterers in mind.

- Juan Carlo
-Malyn's
-Linda Fe
-Tecson

But guess what? Guess what? My fiance is simply unbelievable!

Without me knowing, he scouted for caterers, contacted a few, selected the best, and SCHEDULED AN APPOINTMENT FOR FOOD TASTING!

Hells yeah! All I needed to do was show up and gobble down some grub!

Ladies and gents, we'd like you to meet Al Fresco Food and Catering Services!

First time, big time, y'all!

What am I talkin' about? We met with Rachell, the proprietress, tasted the lovely food, chatted for a bit, and booked their services! Right on the spot!

We didn't have a good start though, as the food was about an hour late. But we spent about a few minutes chatting Rachell up. Rachell was such a sweetie, she was able to answer all our questions and was very amenable to all of our suggestions. She even had suggestions of her own and I loved them!

And as for the food, ooh were they yummy!

So Hon and I were served with pasta, fish fillet, beef tenderloin, chicken barbecue, pork spareribs, and pansit palabok. They all tasted really good! Yum! Hon even finished his whole plate. It is worth noting that we just had lunch at home and feasted on mom's amazing cooking. So the fact that Hon was able to polish his plate off meant the food was THAT good.

Here are my top picks. Now I'm no food critic so pleave forgive my not too detailed review.

1. Fish fillet - granted, you can find fish fillet in EVERY buffet; but the fish fillet we had was sooo good and tasty! It was crunchy on the inside and (you know it), yummy on the inside! It came with a dip (I can't remember the name, though) and it was oh, so delicious!

2. Chicken barbeque - this is also another food/dish that you can find almost anywhere, anytime, but the barbeque was really tasty! It was smoky and juicy and it was not tough nor dry, which I loved.

3. Pork Spareribs - this was the first viand that I tried and boy was I impressed! It was really juicy, saucy(?), tasty, and soft too! I am, however, not a fan of gnawing on bones, so it wasn't a favorite of mine. Now I'm pretty sure I was not a dog in my past life.

4. Beef tenderloin - Just like the spareribs, the beef was very tasty It was, however, a little tough and dry, and was a little difficult to eat. Maybe it was due to the fact that the food was no longer warm. But it was really delicious, nonetheless.

5. Pasta - I'm no longer sure what the pasta was called but I liked it. It was delicious, creamy, and milky; just the way I like it. I wasn't too impressed, though. I've tasted similar pasta before. But it was goood!

6. Pansit palabok - Now, I am a big fan of pansit. I will choose pansit any given day over rice, or spaghetti. But the things is, either I was too full to be impressed by the pansit or it was not that oh-my-god delicious. And that it why it was the last on my list. It tasted good, but I wasn't very impressed.

There were a number of things that I wish had gone differently though:

I wish the food was not late.
I wish the beef wasn't tough and dry.
I wish there were more food served (vegetable, desert, and soup)

But those three things aside, all in all the experience was just amazing. We had a great planning, food tasting, and conversation with Rachell.

Even after our meeting, I could text or email Rachell and her replies are always prompt and complete.

What made us decide to get them? Read on then!

The food was Amazing
The business is located in Lipa City, Batangas and we didn't need to pay Out of Town Fees
Their office is very accessible as it is located in the city, right in front of De La Salle Lipa
Rachell was nice, knowledgeable, had great ideas, and was very passionate about her business
She is very upfront and transparent about their services and staff
She is quick to reply and open for recommendations
The rates were very affordable, the downpayment was only 10% of the total amount of the package
The menu and other services are open to modifications

Read on to see their set menus :

So there we go, we've booked our caterer!

If you're planning your own wedding and would like to look Al Fresco Food and Catering Services up, below are their contact details:

5th Floor MVL Centre, National Road, Paninsingin Tambo, Lipa City, Batangas, PhilippinesEmail:rachell.ramales@alfrescocatering.wbats.com
Website: www.alfrescocatering.wbats.com
Contact : 0908-243-1939/0917-626-4478

__________________________________

Hit me up!
Wedding Blog: http://ourroadtothealtar.blogspot.com/
My life's blog: http://www.sentimentsofleng.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elliane.varias
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlinsesLeng

Monday, October 20, 2014

Wedding Preps Update: 10.20.2014

__________________________________

Hit me up!
Wedding Blog: http://ourroadtothealtar.blogspot.com/
My life's blog: http://www.sentimentsofleng.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elliane.varias
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlinsesLeng

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Our Prenup Photoshoot

Last August , my cousins Kuya Aryz, and his brother, Kuya Glenn, came home to the Philippines along with their families. The brothers have not seen each other in seven years as Kuya Aryz has been living in Dubai with his wife and kids, and Kuya Glenn has worked in Japan for a number of years, and has been living in Australia with his own family for the past three or four years.

Along with their jobs abroad, they also have been practicing photography; and even Kuya Aryz has done prenup, wedding, and other themed photography gigs. So along with their vacation plans, the brothers also offered to shoot our pre-nup pictures! Aren’t they so sweet?

So even when the brothers were still abroad, we started planning the photoshoot schedule. And finally, we’ve set a date and agreed to shoot the photos on the 21^st of August, which was a holiday, and also our (Kelvin’s and mine) 93^rd month as a couple. :) We also decided to have the shoot done in our most favorite place in the Philippines. Kim Siong Community, TAGAYTAY!

Here is a picture that was taken of us back in 2009.

To prepare for the photoshoot, Hon and I (well, it was mostly me, of course) listed the clothes that we would wear, and of course, I advised him to get his hair trimmed.

And, boy, did he have his hair trimmed! He went to his barberbut he left with his head SHAVED! I guess he didn’t know how short the “dos” haircut looked like. AND NOW HE SURELY DOES! And if that was not bad enough, he had his hair cut THAT short just four days before our pre-nup photoshoot!

But guess what? My baby looked damn fine! Look at him working that new 'do!

Anyway, there we were on the 21^st of August, all set for our photoshoot. Let’s get the details out of the way, here are the things that we have chosen for our prenup photoshoot:

For my hair and make-up, I asked our good family friend and makeup artist, Kim Ombrezo to work his magic on me.
Photographers – My amazingly good looking cousins Kuya Aryz and Kuya Glenn
Venue – our special place, Kim Siong Community, Silang Cavite – a private resort situated in SIlang Cavite, a ten-minute drive from Tagaytay. It is one of our (Kelvin’s and mine) favorite places on this God’s green earth and we’ve spent many a day in the resort with our close friends.

Clothes – mine and Kelvin's
Styling – mine and Kelvin's with some ideas thrown in by Mama and our cousins
Theme – We really didn’t have a theme and just went posing!
Food – my family was with me and Mama prepared food enough to feed a small army (Thanks, Mama! I love you!)

We arrived at the venue at around noon and started prepping up. For our first outfit, we went with matching gray shirts. I wore a plain gray shirt, shorts, brown leather boots, and had my hair straightened. Hon wore a gray T-Shirt, jeans, and his Jordans.

My cousins started shooting my pictures first and I was soo nervous!

In the first few minutes of the session, I was so nervous and too self conscious I didn’t know how to pose for pictures. I’ve never modeled ever before and I wasn’t sure if I was doing things right. I felt so awkward I didn’t know how to smile, where to look, where to put my hands, how to bend my limbs, or when to glance at the camera. It was too awkward I think 4 or five of my pictures I had my eyes closed! LOL!

But after a few minutes and a few encouraging instructions from our fantastic photographers/cousins, I guess I finally got the posing and the smiling right as I saw my cousins start clicking away and shouting compliments like, “Ayan!” “Tama!” “Ganyan! Wag kang gagalaw!”

After my solo session, they started shooting Hon and me together. That was soo much fun! The weather was so nice and cooperative even the clouds were putting on a show! I was having a lot of fun posing, smiling, posing, and Hon was so supportive. As for my cousins, they were just phenomenal and looked so professional. They were breaking their own bones kneeling, bending, and twisting, trying to get awesome shots. And awesome shots, they indeed were! Hon really surprised me. I actually had more trouble than he did! He was either really comfortable being photographed or he just happens to be a really good actor. He was such a natural! And he was having fun!

For the second session, Hon and I changed into more formal attire. Hon wore a maroon long-sleeved polo, black slacks, black leather shoes, and a coat. As for me, I had my hair curled; put my little black dress on, and my black peep toe suede shoes.

Because we were more comfortable posing, we then moved to the garden and the grand stairs for more dramatic poses.

Look at my good lookin' cousins clicking away with their cameras lookin' all professional and stuff!

Of all the shots we’ve had, that was by far, my favorite! Hon and I were very comfortable, we were smiling, laughing, and posing the whole time while my cousins were busy clicking away. The shots were romantic, dramatic, and classy. Here’s a sneak peak!

We were down to the last session and it was getting a little challenging for our photographers as the sun was starting to set. Hon wore his choice of basketball jersey and basketball shoes, and I had on a pair of denim shorts, a blue button up polo, and my favorite red hot pumps.

We shot the last session in the basketball court, and they took a picture of Hon shooting a basketball, lay up style.

That was Hon’s favorite; and he can’t wait to put it up as his profile picture! We had another shot where Hon and I were kissing behind an umbrella. My cousins were busy setting up their camera and lights; Hon and I were just too preoccupied practicing behind the umbrella!

(Oh, hi, Daddy!) :)

So those were the last shots of the day. We wound down by wolfing down enormous amount of food made by Mama.

We had soo much fun!

Update as of Oct. 28:

We received the first batch of the pictures last week and the pictures were amazeaballs!

If you're in Dubai and you'd like to have your fabulous photos taken by my phenomenal cousin, you may click on the picture below or visit his webpages here:

http://avreflection.carbonmade.com/
http://www.500pxart.com/aryzvarias
http://aryzvarias.wix.com/avreflection

Watch out for my next post about our next supplier. The CATERER!

___________________________________

Hit me up!
Wedding Blog: http://ourroadtothealtar.blogspot.com/
My life's blog: http://www.sentimentsofleng.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elliane.varias
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlinsesLeng

http://aryzvarias.wix.com/avreflection#!

September 3, 2014

After discussing the most stressful wedding topic, which is of course, the budget, Kelvin put his arm around me and said, "This is going to be fun, hon."

I replied with," What is?"

"The whole thing. The planning, the budget, everything. I had a lot of fun. Especially the pre-nup shoot. That was really fun."

‪#‎weddingpreps‬
‪#‎weddingplanning‬
‪#‎KelAndLeng2015‬
‪#‎weddingconvos‬
‪#‎aww‬

October 9, 2014

"Hon, pumayat na ba ako?"

After 3 long seconds, he answered, "Next question."

October 12, 2014

I'm the luckiest bride in the world!

Kelvin searched for and booked an appointment with a caterer for today without any prodding or help from me.

Whoopee! Good job, hon!

‪#‎KelAndLeng2015‬
‪#‎weddingpreps‬
‪#‎TheSearchForACatererContinues‬

Saturday, September 6, 2014

The hunt for THE Florist

Hi, everyone!

On the last week of August, Hon and I went to Dangwa to look for potential florists for the wedding.

I spent four years in Manila when I was going to Nursing School in FEU but never have I gone to Dangwa. Neither has Kelvin, even when he has lived in Manila his whole life.

So to get things started, we hopped into a taxi cab and asked the cabbie to take us to Dangwa. When we got to Manila, I was looking at the street signs and waiting to see "Dangwa" posted on one of the signs. But to my surprise, Dangwa is not a street name!

The mecca of flowers in Manila was actually named after a famous bus terminal called Dangwa Terminal. But the row of flowers and vendors can actually be found along Laong-Laan and dos Castillas Streets. The Dangwa Terminal is found at the end of Dos Castillas Street.

When we arrived at our destination, we each grabbed a cup of fishballs and started our search.

Boy, was Dangwa overwhelmingly gorgeous! There were rows and rows of flowers and shops and it was just beautiful. Our senses were greeted with the scents of sweet smelling flowers and eye-popping blooms of flowers in different shades.

Say hello!

We were invited by a couple of gentlemen from the first stall called La Primera Nene's Flower Shop.

Frank, who I assumed was one their personnel, offered to provide us with an initial quote. He first started by asking questions about the date, location, colors, entourage, and stuff. He then went to take notes on this piece of paper.

Now, if you are reading this and you are planning your own wedding, and you are looking for florists, it is important to have the following information ready when you speak to or interview a potential floral supplier:

Wedding date
Location - out-of-town fee may apply
Wedding theme
Wedding color - I told Frank that I wanted Coral but when I pointed to some flowers that I liked, he said that the color that I wanted was pomelo pink and not coral. Oh well!
Do you want them to provide flowers for any or all the following:

Church - aisles, altar, garden aisle, drapes, candle holders, etc.
Entourage - bouquet, mini bouquet. corsage, wrist corsage, boutonniere, petals, throwing bouquets
Bridal Car
Reception

Preferred flowers (if you've done your research before meeting with a florist, which is of course, we didn't do)
The number of people in the entourage and their roles

After 20 minutes of questions, flower selection, flowers 101, and pictures of their works from previous events, Frank has finally provided us with a final quote.

Here is the breakdown:

ENTOURAGE:

Bride's bouquet - Pomelo Roses - P1,200.00
Maid of Honor - mini bouquet made of carnation, gervera, and button - P800.00
Bridesmaids and Secondary Sponsors - wrist gervera P1,200.00
Flower Girls - basket with petals, and headress - P9,000.00
Parents' and Principal Sponsors' Corsages - P3,000.00
Freebies: bouttonieres, petals, throwing bouquet, car bouquet
Total Price for Entourage (with discount) - P7,000.00

CHURCH:

10 Aisles
1 Big Altar
2 Small pillars
3 Candle Holders
Total of P7,000.00
Delivery Charge - P1,500.00

Add them all up, and everything sums up to P15,500.00

Frank was nice enough; Hon and I were impressed with his ideas. He really knew flowers and his business. He even showed us every single flower that he plans to add to the arrangements and named a few of them for me as I didn't have any earthly clue as to what those flowers are called. My flower vocabulary is only limited to roses and orchids in my mom's garden. Hon was very sweet and gracious that when I asked him as to what he wanted in terms of colors and flowers, he just smiled and said, "Whatever you want, baby."

Aww...

I did feel, however, that Frank was pretty forceful in his ideas and even shot down some of ours. I also didn't feel that he was very enthusiastic or passionate about his business, products and services . Don't get me wrong, the man knew what he was talking about and he was able to answer all of our questions; he even taught us a few things. But there was something about him and I couldn't put my finger on it. But if I've proven anything in the past 8 months of planning, I learned to trust my instincts.

After thanking Frank and getting his contact details, I decided to try one more stall and ask for another quote. Hon was getting impatient and wanted to leave but I begged him to let me talk to one more store are he relented. I then met Dan, and I'm not sure as to the name of his store because there was no name on his paper.

Here is what he gave me:

I wasn't very impressed; Dan was so focused on giving me lower prices that he didn't show me any real flowers nor ask me a lot of questions. He was busy writing the prices down and we were done in less than 15 minutes.

That was also the time when I realized that I have not seen Hon beside me for a number of minutes and I got worried. When I left Dan's store, I couldn't find Kelvin on the street so I called his mobile.

I was looking for him in the stores around me when I heard someone say loudly, "Sir, ayun po si Ma'am o!"

I turned around and there my fiance was. He was holding a pink stuffed teddy bear and a wrist corsage made of pink gerveras. There were about three other grown men around him and they were all looking at me smiling. Hon was just standing there, holding his two gifts with a sweet smile on his face. I walked to him and wordlessly he handed me the flowers and the bear, who now goes by the name Dangwee."

I thanked him and he asked me to talk to the proprietress of the store where he got his gifts from. Pointing towards the store and saying in an excited voice, "Hon, go ask them din about the quotes. Parang ok dito."

Two minutes into our conversation and I knew she was it. She was going to be our florist. Jayzell, was a very nice and sweet lady. She was very accommodating and even offered to make a mini bouquet just for us to showcase their products and give us a feel of how the finished products would look and feel like. She showed us pictures and pictures of their arrangements and products and even helped us decide as to the color combination of the bouquets. She had great recommendations, questions, and she was very enthusiastic and passionate about the designs and color combination. She and her team went back and forth, getting flowers and putting them in this bucket so that we get a feel of the arrangement.

Here is a sample:

Isn't it beautiful? I can't wait to see these colors arranged into a lovely bouquet with ribbons and greens and yellows!

After a series of questions, discussion, recommendations and decisions, we finally have our quotation from Jayzell!

Not only was the package affordable, it was more stunning! She added more colors, types of flowers, she even offered to switch the secondary sponsors' wrist corsages to mini bouquets for the same price! Talk about awesome!

She also recommended that we add a glorious garden aisle and Hon wanted to add Stargazers! Beautiful! Talk about awesome ideas!

But to me, I just love how animated and enthusiastic she was as she was describing the arrangements and colors. She could really see her passion for her business and craft. I just love her!

We've found our florist, everyone! Woohoo!

____________________________________

Hit me up!
Wedding Blog: http://ourroadtothealtar.blogspot.com/
My life's blog: http://www.sentimentsofleng.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elliane.varias
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlinsesLeng

THE COUPLE

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Monday, October 20, 2014

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Saturday, September 6, 2014