30 Reasons I’m Happy (in random order) – A November 1 post

1. I love my life. I love every minute of it. I admit, I don’t LIKE every minute (especially during times I want to just curl up and cry) but I have learned to embrace whatever God has planned for me. Kung ano man yan, bring it on! I know God will always guide me.

2. I have Jojie. Jojie is the world’s best husband. He’s not the most perfect husband but he’s definitely the only one for me. *blush*

3. I was able to travel this year. Jojie and I went to Boracay, Bicol, Cebu, and Malaysia!

4. I have Mama and Papa. My parents have always been amazing. True, there were times we didn’t see eye to eye but they’ve always been pretty cool parents to me.

5. I get to eat Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf’s caesar salad or pastrami sandwich, which I just love, whenever I have a meeting there.

6. I get to go to the gym. I enjoy working out. Once I’m there, I’m okay. I even get to smile in between exercise counts. Ngayon ang problema na lang kung may time ba akong pumunta. 

7. I have a wonderful team! Ay! I’ll be nothing without them. Galing-galing nila! Gaganda pa! O ha!!!! Hahaha!

8. I have Maye, my sister. Thanks for everything, sis! Mwah!

9. And of course, I have Dindon, my brother, whom I absolutely miss. Hey bro!

10. Our team made it to this year’s Top 10 list.

11. I’m coordinating this year’s W@W Christmas Party. I’m enjoying the preps. Sana lang ganito pa rin ako ka-enjoy on the day! Hahaha!

12. I was able to sleep until 5pm today!

13. I had the BESTEST party ever last night!!!!

14. I have friends I know I could count on, whatever and whenever. Sila yung ni hindi ko nga nakakausap pero alam kong totoong mga kaibigan.

15. I ate at Paseo Uno for dinner with Jojie today. I love their salad station, their japanese section, their cold buffet, and their grill!

16. I get to sleep and wake up beside Jojie everyday.

17. My parents are not pressuring me to have a baby. They’re just supportive of what I want.

18. I have developed real friendships with some of my brides.

19. I have the complete set of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. And whenever I feel blue, I just pop a random disc in my player and tsadan! I’m laughing in less than three minutes!

20. I also have the complete set of Harry Potter.

21. For the first time, I was able to host an open bar during my party. Super enjoy yung friends ko sa open bar! Yahooo!

22. I got to cook spaghetti and chicken last week.

23. I have Sonya’s secret salad dressing in my fridge, courtesy of Benz.

24. I enjoy wedding planning.

25. I already have a website! Although hindi  pa tapos and not yet officially up…. oh well! Will definitely launch it before the party.

26. I love DelMonte Fit and Right! It makes me feel I’m doing something to lose weight without even doing something.

27. I lost 8 pounds! At least as of last week that’s 8 lbs. After today and with the long weekend ahead, I’m sure I can gain it all back again.

28. Jojie is almost fully recovered from his thyroid problem. Konti na lang and we’ll be back to “normal”.

29. I had time to blog today!

30. I turned 30 today!

Side kwentos: W@W Top 10

Written on 30 October 2007

A month ago, I was meeting with Tisha of Balay Kandila for her son’s birthday party and we talked about the Top10 suppliers. Since with the number of clients I have (read: with the konting number of clients I have), I was pretty confident that we wouldn’t make it this year … yes, “pretty confident” yung term ko … I told her “Naku, pag nag-top10 ako, I would take it as a sign na gusto ng Diyos na mag-coordinate ako forever!” And then I laughed. Tisha said “Naku, sister, ingat ka sa sinabi mo.”

In a meeting with Benz and Tisha for the W@W Party, the Top10 topic came up. Sabi ni Tisha, “Naku, yang Top 10 na yan…” She was talking about the stress associated with being nominated as one.

“Naku, imposible akong masama jan” I said.

Benz replied, “So pag nasali kayo, aalisin ko na lang kayo?”

Sabay kabig ako, “Hindi naman sa ganun!”

And we all laughed.

When I learned that the list of the Top10 suppliers was already posted, I immediately got out my laptop and accessed the W@W website to see the list. I texted those whose numbers are in my phone book. Syempre sa lahat, si CJ ng Threelogy yung namukod-tangi. He replied, “Clarice, I haven’t seen the list yet. Did you make it?”

Sagot ako, “Hindi nga eh…. huhuhu… ang sama na nga ng loob ko, pinaalala mo pa….” Hahaha! Then I added that our team did make it. It was so surprising that CJ didn’t use that to tease. He just said “Sabi ko na eh.”

Au, one of our coordinators, texted me this message.

CONGRATULATIONS! You really deserve it. I’m so glad to be a part of your team. At least sulit lahat ng pagod at sermon mo sa min and I guess your being [a] perfectionist make us do our best. Aba hirap kaya i-meet ng standards mo!

O di ba, nag-congratulate ba siya or na-ngonsensiya?

The best text I received (aside from the one Benz sent) was from Veluz (2005 W@W Supplier of the Year) the day after. I so love this girl. She’s so wonderful at what she does and it’s always, always a delight to work with her. Kung perfectionist ako, ay lalo na ito! I feel much more confident during a wedding when she’s my bride’s designer because I know whatever happens, I’ll have someone there with me who cares as much for the bride as I do.

Last year, she was the one who first told me that I would be nominated. When our team did make it last year, she called and said, “Hmmm… ang haba-haba ng buhok! Blond!” Hahaha!

Anyway, after texting my coordinators, the other top 10 suppliers, and my parents, I texted a few, like four lang ata, people to share my good news. I super love this people kaya I wanted to share with them my happiness. Since gabi na yun, syempre yung iba kinabukasan na nag-reply. This was Veluz’s reply:

“Anuvah! Ano namang kataka taka dun!? Hahahaha! Sooo happy for you! Mwah mwah mwah!”

Thanks, Ms. V! Mwah mwah mwah!

OH MY GOSH!!!

(This is a series of blog posts that never got to be posted on the days that they were supposed to be posted. Hehehe! This one’s dated October 27, 2007.)

I received a text message from Benz of Weddings at Work last night.

“We have just concluded the nomination for W@W’s 2007 Supplier of the Yr & we are so happy to inform you you’re part of this year’s Top10… Congratulations!!!”

I can’t even begin to describe how I felt at that exact moment. I was just so happy! I jumped up and down and up and down (well, hindi naman kasi pwedeng jumped from side to side… hahaha!). I was just giddy! Jojie and I hugged and kissed. I was just so happy!

The first person I called was Mitch, our team’s reception coordinator. She, too, couldn’t believe that we made it. Then I called/texted the other coordinators to share with them deliver the perfect wedding everytime.

To all the W@Wies who voted, from one W@Wie to another, thank you, mga sis. (I’m actually hugging you from my side of the computer. )

27 year old wedding pictures

I read about this couple who was able to afford their wedding pictures only after 27 years! Read about them here.

Kakalungkot na kakatuwa no? Only goes to show that you can have the simplest wedding but have a long-lasting marriage… which should be the goal anyway. :)

 :)

Done!

I’ve finished transferring the really few wedding-related blog posts I had in my personal blog to this blog. I realized that although more than half the time I was maintaining that site I was already coordinating, ang konti pala talaga ng posts ko about weddings.

Oh well, will post more now.

Have a blessed Sunday!

Backtrack: A really good week…

Posted in Buhay Misis, ATBP. on  16 July 2007

Remember my “Good morning!” post? That good morning stretched to a good week!

Teng, my June 29 bride, texted me last also later that day. Her message went:

“Hi Clarice. Pauwi na ko NY bukas. I juts want to thank your crew again, most especially you for all your help sa wedding namin ni Charles. Parang di pa sapat yung thank you and fee to let you know how grateful we are to you. I hope mas maging successful pa kayo. We’ll miss you. God bless and ingat palagi…. Mwuah!”

Then last Friday, on my way to my car, our building guard approached me and gave me a card which arrived via mail. It was a card from Sarah and Lesley, our May 26 couple. This was the card they sent.

Aaaaaw! Aren’t they sweet?!

For some reason, everytime I even consider quitting coordination, something like this happens… a former bride texts or emails to thank us and I realize how much I really enjoy this job.

Before I end, just want to share this email I got from Tin (our July 1, 2006 bride). Last January, during the time I was so stressed, Concon texted me and told me that I should continue with coordination then Tin emailed me this super duper heartwarming letter.

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Hi Clarice!

This morning, I thought of you. You see, one of my college friends got married on January 12 and last night we met up and talked about our weddings (masaya pala yun! ).

She shared that her make-up session (also with Madge) ended a little later than scheduled, because she had to stand up and fix a few things every now and then. She was still awake around 1030pm the night before her wedding day texting people and reminding them. She got goosebumps all over the morning of her wedding day because she was too nervous. They forgot to arrange for packed lunch for the suppliers and everyone else in the hotel until a day before. She walked too fast down the aisle. The church boy was all over their pictures simply because they didn’t know what to do and he had to tell them pa. At marami pang glitches. I admire her mom though for pulling it off beautifully pa din.

And then I realized, I didn’t have the same problems as hers. I was so relaxed and light hearted a week before the wedding, moreso on the day itself (that is until I was ready to walk down the aisle hahahha). Mhel said, it’s because I knew we were alright with you around. He was right.

So there. I am sending this just to let you know how glad and grateful we are that you and your team played a big part in making our wedding very memorable. Thank you for giving us your best and more. We will never ever regret having you.

hugs,

Khristine

ps. madrama ba? naiiyak nga ako oh, promise! hehehe
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I oh so love love my brides!

Backtrack: Good morning!

Posted in Buhay Misis, ATBP on 10 July 2007 

I woke up this morning with a slightly-higher-than-last-night’s fever. My energy level was so low and I know I shouldn’t go to work or else baka lalo pa lumala. I extended my hand to serach for my phone (a thing I do every morning). I had one unread text message. It said:

“Gd am. Tita Meli to, mom ni Pam. Remember Mla Pen? Nag-attend ako wedding. Compare ko kay Pam. Wala sa 1/4 ang ganda…. Maganda talaga service niyo…. Ngayon pa lang ako magpapa-thank you sa iyo. Isa ka sa nagpaganda ng kasal ng anak ko. God bless.”

It was so heartwarming to know how much Tita appreciated the work we did. It made my day.

Backtrack: A groom’s speech

Posted in Buhay Misis, ATBP on 09 July 2007

Weddings are all about love. Guests see and feel the love between the bride and groom. After all, that’s the reason for the whole celebration.

In Ryan and Juli’s wedding, I was reminded again that the love we feel and see during weddings is not just that between the bride and groom. In Ryan’s speech, he thanked Juli’s parents for allowing him to marry her. He promised Juli to love her and to take care of her in this lifetime and in the next ones. He thanked his Dad for being there for him. He told him that if he, Ryan, does half as good a job as his dad did, he would know that he succeeded. He told the guests that although his biological mother wasn’t there, he was sure that she would approve of the decision he made to marry Juli. Lastly (I put this last because I was most touched by this part), he thanked his stepmother whom he simply called “Mom”. He thanked her for coming into their lives, for bringing stability, and for making his dad happy.

Weddings are really about love and not just between the bride and groom.

Backtrack: Staff concerns

* Posted in Buhay Misis, ATBP on 14 June 2007

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Oh yeah, this may be an old but post I’m still looking for people to add to our team.

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Ang hirap maghanap!!! Our team is currently in need of new coordinators. No, we’re not putting up a second team but we do need more people to be included in our pool of coordinators. Madali lang naman requirements. I need someone responsible, assertive, smart, efficient, someone who is alert the whole time, and someone who can think on her toes (kahit sumisigaw na ako sa harap niya). Since I was able to find several people with these traits, hindi ba dapat pwedeng makakuha ng iba pa? Kung meron man, hindi naman pretty… this may sound bad but I do need someone super presentable or basta may authority yung dating. Contrary to popular conception, wedding planning is NOT a glamorous job… it involves being on your knees to tie someone else’s shoes, being on the floor to arrange the veil, assisting the bride while she pees… So i need to make sure that the coordinator, after doing all these, still looks presentable or else baka hingan kami ng tubig ng mga guests sa reception (as in “Miss, tubig nga!”). Kahit sa mga waiters, it’s hard to command respect pag hindi ka presentable. Hindi naman porket magpakilala ka na coordinator rerespetuhin ka ng mga suppliers. You need to earn that and looking nice makes the job a little, teeny, weeny bit easier. (Oo na, Emily, I know I’m not practicing what I learned in UP.) Plus pa pala, she needs to jive with the whole team kasi promise, we always laugh. I need someone kikay pero cowboy.

I did interview someone last week who might fit the bill. Super gushing siya about how excited she is to be a coordinator. Juice ko, nung tapos na yung interview and I told her to come in for an observation, she told me that she doesn’t want to go inside a catholic church. Ay juice! Gusto ko siyang awayin sa loob ng Starbucks! Ang tagal naming nag-usap hindi niya pala naintindihan na ang “wedding coordinator” may kinalaman sa pagpasok sa loob ng simbahan! Juice! Sabi ko sa kanya, “Iha, walumpung-limang porsyento ng Pilipino ay Katoliko. Ergo, karamihan din ng kasal sa Pilipinas Katoliko!” Haaaaay!

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Hey! If you know someone who is interested in wedding coordination (our team prefers those with no prior experience), please ask them to email their resume to eventtoremember@gmail.com.

Backtrack: Peachie and Wilbert

* Posted in Buhay Misis, ATBP. on 12 June 2007

Peachie and Wilbert’s wedding last Saturday was not the usual Chinese wedding.

Preps was done at the bride and groom’s respective houses. Normally, I do not recommend preparing for a wedding at the bride’s home. The parents are more often than not more anxious since they are in effect “hosting” the suppliers. Whereas in a hotel, our team has the run of the room and we can just call housekeeping for anything, in a bride’s house, we have to ask for permission for every little thing. Concern din ang aircon because if the bride’s home does not have centralized airconditioning, it might be too hot for the bride to stay in certain areas of the house where the picture taking may take place (plus her makeup might melt). Also, since our team does not have a groom’s coordinator (we do not see the need for it kasi talaga), we have a harder time making sure that the groom leaves at the time that he needs to leave since we’re at the bride’s home.

In the case of Peachie’s wedding last Sunday, preparing at their house was a non-negotiable thing for her parents. I was really anxious kasi the wedding was at San Agustin in Intramuros while their house, ergo the preps venue, was in Quezon City! Although Sunday naman pero kakatakot pa rin ma-late lalo na sa San Agustin pa.

Our call time was 830am to 900am and my team assembled at 8am. Yun lang, stupid me couldn’t find my trusty Nike wedding shoes at first and it took me several minutes to realize that I left it at my parents’ place. So I had to go there befor I could go to our team’s meeting place. We got to Peachie’s place around 845am.

Another thing why I do not want to prepare at the bride’s place is… and this is not to sound arrogant… the pictorial spots at a normal home is limited kasi bihira naman yung may bahay na tipong straight from Real Living pages. But in Peachie’s case, super ganda ng house niya for pictorial. No exagg pero mas maganda pa sa hotel room yung Master’s bedroom where we had the preps. May staircase din sila where pictures can be taken so it was actually a good idea to hold the preps there kung sa picture at sa picture lang naman.

The preps went very smoothly. The bride’s mom just had an appendectomy and kakalabas niya pa lang ng hospital that morning pero she was game. I really appreciated the fact that she was not pa-importante kahit na may operasyon siya. She was really nice. Actually, the bride’s family was very accommodating… and super ganda lahat ng girls sa family nila.

A funny thing happened during the preps. Dino Lara’s team and Threelogy arrived around 11:00 am. Sabi daw kasi ni Dino sa kanilang lahat bawal daw mag-sapatos loob ng bahay nila Peachie so LAHAT sila pumasok ng naka-medyas lang! Super nakakatawa!!! Isip ko nga next time dapat may dala akong camera palagi para I can capture those moments. Hahaha!

I left Peachie’s house around 1230pm to test the traffic. We arrived in Intramuros at 115pm so tolerable naman the traffic, sa Quiapo lang. When we got there, the coordinators for the 2pm wedding were preparing na.

We started preps for the ceremony as soon as the 2pm wedding started. Since nagdadatingan na rin naman yung mga sponsors, we started checking the attendance na. One thing I realized that our team really needs to master is tying neckties kasi ang daming hindi alam mag-tie ng necktie nila eh.

The mass went without a hitch. The thing I’m most proud of is the fact that we were able to clear the area beside the carpet between the doors and the pews. Pag Chinese wedding kasi andun lahat ng guests so what happens is hindi nakukuhanan yung bride ng wide angle pic na hindi nakikita yung isang libong guests na nakatayo. The task was actually not easy since some guests were being very unhelpful (I was told by one of the guests when I asked her to occupy the pews “Ayoko, ayoko, ayoko!”)

After the mass, the couple went to the Inner Courtyard for the pictorial while the rest of the team went to Century. When we arrived at the reception venue, papasok pa lang yung Balay Kandila, the event stylist. The ingress was at 430pm, imagine!!! Ingress is normally, at the least, 4 hours before the event pero dahil may lunch event na isang Chinese Association (na I’m sorry pero super duper hirap paalisin), nakapasok yung Balay Kandila just before 5pm.

We immediately started preps for the reception. Buti na lang super bilis ng Balay, ni Alex Franco (for the cake), and ni Strad (for the sound system). By 630pm, almost done na and we were able to open doors at exactly 7pm (as per the agreement with the couple).

The Century function hall was transformed! Nag-mukhang ballroom ng hotel! Ang galing talaga ni Balay Kandila kaya rin they’re my favorite stylist.

The program was very short and sweet. Cake cutting lang and two AVPs basically yung laman ng program. Super okay talaga pag ganun kasi the guests were not bored (and the guests numbered 900 nga pala!). Paulo Clemente and the RSVP String Ensemble entertained the guests and entertained they did! Ang galing nila! It was my first time to work with RSVP and I understood Paulo’s comment that it was great to sing with them kasi hindi sila nagkakamali.

The program ended exactly the same time the last course was being served which was exactly our goal. Ganun kasi sa Chinese wedding. The program cannot end after the guests are done eating, otherwise lahat sila umaalis na.

Another funny incident, after the program, Marielle and I ran to the Century Hotel lobby (mejo malayo yun ha!) to run after guests who took the centerpieces home. It slipped my mind that aside from the main entrance, there was a side entrance, and guests who knew that we were at the main entrance watching out for vases went out of the side entrance so they can make puslit! Hahaha! Buti may mga naabutan naman kami. I even requested Robert of Dino Lara’s team to take a picture of the two of us holding the vases we were able to sequester. Hehehe!

By the way, Candy, my January 27 bride, dropped by to see Balay’s work. She chatted with the suppliers and nag-enjoy siya. Sa kulit ba naman ng Threelogy at sa bait ni Alex eh.

I got home past 12 midnight. Super kapagod (ushering 900 guests is not an easy task) pero super saya, espcailly running to the lobby for those vases!