Hi everyone,

It feels good to be back =)

After 6 long months, the next issue of Wedding Essentials will hit book stores and magazine stands in a week. WE`re all excited to share with you what WE`ve been busy with- the more we look at the black book (same book in Ugly Betty containing print-outs of the pages of the magazine), the more WE think it`s a wonderful issue (ok, ok, we`re a bit biased =P).

In 7 days, you`ll be able to
a. know what WE mean and hopefully, agree that it`s a beautiful issue
b. check out wonderful wedding discoveries of WE
c. win in our online contest
d. all of the above

***c. - will post mechanics in the next few days, so pls come back to our blog to check for updates. WE assure you it will be a nice prize. Maybe even prizes (keeping our fingers crossed!)

In the meantime, here`s a little preview to whet your wedding planning appetite a bit.

1. Do you really need that mile- long cathedral train? Or the same fully beaded Inno Sotto gown Ruffa wore when she walked down the aisle with Yilmaz? Kit Kwe, a real bride-to-be (and award-winning fictionist), gives the lowdown on how to recession-proof your wedding (translation: How to have a great wedding without busting your budget). After all, Kit says in her story, `no one ever got arrested for skipping the garter toss`...


2. Guess where this is? =) It`s not in Tagaytay, nor in Baguio. This place in B_t_n_a_ is one of our WE Discoveries in the issue.



3. Pls trust us when we say that you don`t have to be a model to look strikingly beautiful in your wedding pictures. Years in advertising taught us that (and Mica Tuanio, the writer of this piece is still in advertising)

But. You have to know your angle and practice, practice, practice. Personally, I think my best photos of myself were during my wedding years ago.



4. One of the 4 dream themes for this issue is this beautiful set-up by Jing Tanada at the Conservatory of The Manila Peninsula, in collaboration with planners Nenita Zagala and Ruby Ines. It was our first time to work with Manila Peninsula, but it definitely won`t be the last. This is quite memorable because it took our photographer Terry Uy, less than 3 hours to finish the entire photo shoot (which usually takes about half a day)- thank you Nenita and Ruby for orchestrating this well-planned photo shoot. Because we finished early, we also err, finished most of the desserts on the buffet table set up by the chef. Oops!



Some chocolate related- aha!- moments

Terry Uy, photographer



Dr. Michael Young, saxophonist



Sorry guys, don`t have pics of the girls eating chocolate- wink =P

Now for the best part. I used to think that the groom singing to the bride live, during the wedding is a most touching scene- then I saw this.
A video of Jed (by Jason Magbanua), to surprise Lesley during the dinner reception.


Jed for Les from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

I love cheese! Jason and Jed, you guys rock!

Due to our erratic schedule as newspaper/magazine people, the first wedding I attended this year was my husband Eths` friend Jed`s.

It was actually just last July 11. And it was this part of the invitation that got me going(despite it being a friday which is the busiest of all days in the newspaper industry)

Let Lesley light up her special day.
Please come in elegant ALL-BLACK attire,
to help make the bride, all dressed in white, shine.

Wow! ALL-BLACK in ALL-CAPS! They must mean business. I got excited as I thought of 2 things:
1. ALL-BLACK is something I have A LOT OF in my closet.
2. How would the place look like with an ALL-BLACK theme?

So how did it go?

Here`s a little bit of what I photographed at Jed`s and Lesley`s reception taken with my trusty K850i camera phone to better show how intimate, at the same time grand the celebration was. Jed had the file of their feature in WE enlarged to greet the guests, behind them is a series of pre-nup pics that got us girls swooning....



sweet diba?



and they even prepared a seat plan with our pictures!
That`s my hubby Eths on the left with his college friend Goddy (a fantastic photographer) and his soon-to-be bride Candy pointing to where they`re seated.



We couldn`t help but be touched! And I can`t believe that my hubby, a true-blue techie, has such swoon material friends =)



The event styling was dramatic and at the same time, had the right mix of colors to keep the occasion from looking er, ALL-BLACK, or dark & dreary. The burst of colors from the lavender of the cabbage rose, the pinks of carnations and the reds of the roses,added a`happy` feeling to dramatic that night. Not a usual combination but a lovely one actually. I met Charo, the owner of 7 Lily (yes, singular Lily), the group who did the event styling of Jed`s and Lesley`s celebration at Edsa Shangri-la yesterday and am glad a new talent has emerged in the industry. All the best, 7 Lily!