DIY: Rustic Table Numbers

What good is a reception without a nice, theme-inspired centerpiece? That's why I'm bringing another wedding element made with love---table numbers! Making these is definitely one of the easiest among all the DIY projects we’ve done so far. These vintage-looking framed table markers only took a trip to the surplus shop, a spree in the bookstore for some craft supplies, and a visit to the hardware store. I let the fiancé take charge in this one though, because he was accusing me of not knowing how to use the spray paint. Whatevs.

Anyway, we used wooden frames (NOT plastic frames that look like wood) that we bought from MSM American Surplus, some specialty paper and double-sided tape from National Bookstore, and plastic numbers painted in copper paint, both sourced from Handyman.

Here they go:

Love the distressed texture of the frames. You won't get that with plastic ones.

Easy, right?

Estimated project cost: Php160/number

Breakdown:

• Wooden frames: Php50/pc
• Numbers: Php88/pc
• Spray paint: around Php200
• Paper + tape: around Php60

We still haven't finalized the total number of guests so we might add more numbers depending on how many tables will be set up. 

Obviously, this project’s a little pricey, but that's because we wanted to stay away from the regular printable templates that can be easily downloaded online (though it was actually our first option). Printed numbers look flat and boring when framed, so we opted to put some texture. As you can see, the numbers look 3D. LOL. Despite the price, the outcome looked exactly how we wanted it! Good job, fiance!

For those who don’t want to spend anything else besides printer ink and paper, you may check out sites like Hello Lucky and Wedding Chicks, to download available templates and print away!

Designing Our Own Wedding Invitation

It’s only a little over 4 months to go before the big day so the smaller details are now underway. We’re now working on finding wedding favors, looking for custom bridal shoemakers, scheduling our CANA seminar, finalizing our guest list, and of course, making the invites. We didn’t want the traditional, formal-looking, scented wedding invitations that most classic couples use because they look a little old for us. Thankfully, more and more wedding invitations are making use of fun graphics and incorporating out-of-the-box ideas so there’s plenty of inspirations to take advantage of.

Because we didn’t want to spend much on the invitations, we opted out ordering custom-designed invites from famous personal invitation stylists. Being a professional (motion) graphics artist,  the fiance has been  appointed (by me of course) to design our invites. 

We wanted something that looks like these (all photos lifted from Google Images): 

 

http://www.missmoss.co.za/2012/01/24/love-vs-design/

And in two days, he was able to create a draft that incorporated typography.  For obvious reasons though, I won’t be posting the finished template. =p

Once all the details have been finalized-the names of the sponsors, the location map, etc- we’ll just send the design over to a cheap printer somewhere in Recto for production.  Even though we’d still be spending some amount for the printing, at least we didn’t have blow out a hefty price to hire a graphic designer to personalize the design. It really helps if you make use of your (or your friends’) intangible resources A.K.A mad creative skillz if you want to save up some cash.

But for those who feel they're not artsy enough but still want to do their own wedding invitations, there are sites that offer custom wedding printables and downloadables for free. Two of the most popular sites to get your free downloads are Wedding Chicks and Martha Stewart Weddings, which scrimpy brides can explore for more options.

I’m so excited to get our invites printed and sent out to our guests! The fiancé better finish the final prototype soon!

Meeting with the Event Designer: Light & Space Contemporary

One major thing that we’re most bothered about in this whole planning process is getting the right person  to do the reception styling. We have lots of ideas in our heads about how the wedding party theme will go, problem is we don’t know how we’re going to execute them. So it’s such a big relief that one of our ninongs owns Light & Space Contemporary – an artist-run gallery that houses artworks by young and upcoming local and foreign artists. They’re also engaged in doing set designs for big-time entertainment productions (Light & Space Concepts). How lucky can we get? :)

7-storey art gallery

Jason's artwork welcoming guests to their office/gallery

Reception area designed by the ninong

We met with Jason, our ninong’s son and a good friend of the fiancé to discuss the theme that we have in mind. The fiancé sent him our pegs prior to our meeting so by the time we met, Jason already understood what we’re going for.

Jason and the fiance discussing the details

blurry pic of the boys thinking

ideas...

more ideas...

We initially didn’t know where to get all the props for our rustic-vintage-inspired party, so when Jason toured us around their office and showed us all their personal stuff—the antique cabinets, sofas, lamps, etc that his dad impulsively bought from antique auctions—that we could use as props, we’re sold. But wait, it's not even the best part yet---we’re going to meet again to visit their warehouse and check out more stuff from their past set designing projects that we could for the party!

I can’t wait! 

Light & Space Contemporary

53 Fairlane St. West Fairview

Quezon City

Philippines

Phone: +632 4305202

Mon - Sat 10am to 9pm, Sun by appointment

Wedding Favor Part 1: Enchanted Farm Cafe, Quezon City

From custom-labeled wines, to coffee beans, to candies, and cupcakes, we’ve practically considered everything that we eat to use as our wedding souvenirs. Yes, there are lots of options out there, but one thing’s making choosing a little difficult---we don’t want those cheap-looking wedding figurines (wedding couple, dove, bells, whatnots) that guests would probably just throw out after the party. We want something that will perfectly go with a simple “thank you” note so we’re looking at the edible side.

We went to Enchanted Farm Cafe in Quezon City to check out some organic food items that we can consider. The cafe is a social enterprise led by Gawad Kalinga, which showcases home-grown products that aim at improving the lives of the poor. Since the restaurant is a hub of social entrepreneurs, there are plenty of things that look wedding favor-worthy. Here are some of their products:

One refreshing drink.

The Enchantea is really good. I just wish they sell this in concentrate form so the souvenir could last at least a week. This would be like giving C2 or Real Leaf as wedding favors. But it only costs Php 35 a bottle so still worth considering.

Would've been a nice wedding favor if only we liked salabat.:/

I didn't ask for the price of the salabatea because I've no plans of buying it. I like teas, except ginger. They should make a powdered matcha green tea instead. LOL.

I should've tried this one

 This crunch bar looks good. But I'm thinking of something bottled as wedding favor. There's just something vintage and rustic about bottles.

We'd love coffee in a burlap sack as favors, problem here is the price tag. Php 250 is waaaay too expensive.

pardon the blurry shot but I think we've found the winner in this feta cheese

These are gourmet feta cheese made from goat's milk and they taste super good. Unfortunately though, they cost Php 200 a bottle. I asked the store manager if they could customize the product and he said it's possible, we just have to tell the manufacturer our requirements. We need to see first if we're going for this one.

In the meantime, we're going to look for more options. We'll keep this in mind for now.

----

On a different note, the fiance and I ordered some of the items in their menu and everything's good! We need to go back soon!

What we ordered:

Pinoy pesto with lemongrass chicken

Salad with calamansi vinaigrette

Enchanted Burger--Jollibee should be ashamed of their lettuce size!

Cheese sticks using kesong puti--YUM!

Enchantea served in mason jars -- very refreshing!

Love everything about this store!

Enchanted Farm Cafe
Unit 2A, 463 Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City

09328722427, 09178933003
enchantedfarm.cafe@gmail.com

Incoherent Nonsense On A Rainy Day

People say weddings are supposed to be the best day in a girl’s life. I don’t know if it’s just me but I’m yet to understand this. Aren’t weddings supposed to be just the start of better days? Better days that would consequently turn into the best reason that could explain why it’s good to be alive?

Almost every girl look forward to that one special day, and I do too. Sadly though, not all of us know why. Is it because our foremothers have instilled in us what weddings are, or more bluntly, what weddings are supposed to be? Is it tradition exaggerated by commercialization? Whatever it is, I don’t know. All I know is wedding is one of the most hyped events in a person’s life.

I’ve read hundreds of wedding planning stories even before I get to write my own. Most, if not all, give me the impression that once you’ve become “the bride”, you’ll turn into one perfectionist monster who will not hesitate to gobble up anything/anyone that/who gets in her way. But I find comfort in stories that tell how a bride accepts it if her wedding doesn’t turn out the way she has imagined it to be.

Personally, I never understood why wedding days are that big of a deal. And fortunately (or unfortunately), after 7 months of planning my own, I have yet to find the reason which will make me understand why. Yeah, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event, I get that. But everything else happens just once in our lifetime, right?

But enough of my nonsense sentiments and unsolicited opinions. At the end of the day, to each his own. While other brides are too busy worrying about finding the perfect gown to wear, I’m busy getting my mind all set for that day and the days after that. 

How to Save Up on Wedding Photo and Video Services

Before getting all too excited about photo/video hunting, here are some questions that you can ask yourself if you’re on the scrimpy side like me:

1)      Are you willing to stick to your budget? Saving up starts with proper budget allocation. If you’re looking at the possibility of eventually increasing your budget limit to adjust with the price of your ideal photo and video service, stop reading.

2)      Are you paying for their skills or for their equipment? If you’re hiring Jason Magbanua or Bob Nicolas, you’re obviously paying for their skills. You know you can give them your regular point and shoot and still be confident with their output. But if you’re going to hire someone who boasts of high-caliber equipment but is relatively new in the industry, no portfolio whatsoever, think again.

3)      Do you really want to pay an extra Php 20k for a 40-page wedding album? Because there are printing shops like Photobook Philippines who can do the same thing for Php 4,000. Or you can bring your jpeg files to Digiprint and get the same thing for less than Php 2k. They can also print your photos on shirts or mugs if you want to. LOL.

4)      Do you really need their Photoshop-ing skills? Because if you can do basic color adjustments in photos, then maybe you can just avail of their “service only” package and edit the raw files yourself.

5)      Is the projector included in the same-day edit package? If not, how else are you supposed to play the video besides incurring additional expenses for LCD rentals?

6)      Do you even need a Same-Day Edit video to begin with? I’ve seen couples with PowerPoint presentations of their childhood photos and couples with professionally-edited videos and photo slideshows for the reception and neither actually stuck in my mind. I saw the difference, yes, but I doubt if the Titos and Titas, and Lolos and Lolas did.

7)      Can the more expensive packages really give you more value for your money? Usually, they just include more things to spend your money on. I know a lot has changed with all the latest in technology and all that jazz, but if you can learn to stick with the basics, then you won’t have a hard time getting only those that you need.  

Just look at these figures (rates based from Blacktieproject):

Additions:

On Site Photo AVP…………………….Php 4,000

On Site Video/ SDE………..…………..Php 10,000

Save the date Video Shoot……………Php 20,000

Blu-ray copy of video………………….Php 5,000

Prenup Photoshoot………………….Php 15,000

That’s Php 54,000 worth of not-so-necessary add-ons! You can fill up a whole living room with that amount.

8)      Do you know the difference between “priceless” and “pricey”? If you’re going to blow your lifesavings just to immortalize that “priceless moment”, then it’s only half priceless because you’re clearly paying for it.

Have you realized something yet? If yes, then good for you, if not, then you’re probably a rich-ass kid with business magnate parents. LOL. There’s nothing wrong with wanting only the best for your big day. What’s wrong is if you don’t think about the day after that.