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

Hello dear We♥Weddings readers, this is Cynthia signing in for the first time in a month, I think? Eep! Sorry for the lack of updates from my end, I've actually had my hands full working on the layouts for the upcoming Beautiful Weddings issue (abangan), among other things.

***
Anyway, in Wedding Essentials' current issue's We to You letter, we mentioned that we've both been pursuing our passions on the side - Marbs with travel and me with other artistic diversions.

I'm happy to report that we are still very much at it. As of this writing, jetsetter Marbee is halfway across the globe travelling through Russia and Paris! I'm sure she'll have lots of stories to share with us soon. :)

In my case, I recently took part in Frailty, a group show featuring the works of 33 female artists in the fields of art and design. Please see this article for a complete listing of all the chickas.

The photo below features a detailed portion of my piece, Sleeping Like A Marble Girl. (Photo by Karlo Samson):



We had the opening night last Saturday and it turned out be quite a party since it also coincided with Pablo Gallery's 3rd anniversary. [photos]

The exhibit will run until October so please feel free to drop by Pablo Gallery at Cubao X to take a peek at all the lovely artworks made by my colleagues in the art/design industry. :)

***
And because I'm still on diversion mode, my Print Gocco is something I've been putting to good use lately.

From Wikipedia:

Gocco (プリントゴッコ, Purinto Gokko?, "Print Gocco") is a self-contained compact color printing system invented in 1977 by Noboru Hayama.

The Gocco is such a neat contraption - I kinda liken it to having your own mini printing press. Brides-to-be all over the world have been going crazy making d-i-y invites, favor tags and personalized bridal stationery with it. (And then after you get married, you can use it for your thank you cards, your first born's baptismal cards, your daughter's debut inv... alright, you get my drift.)


It's really fun and easy to use too. There's a step-by-step tutorial and guide on my blog that I posted some months ago [go]

Here are some photos of cute printed things others have made using the Gocco:






After seeing all that eye candy you're now probably thinking "...but where can I buy a Print Gocco and its supplies in the Philippines?"

A quick Google search led me to One Tiny Party's website. Tin, the shopkeeper is an Iloilo-based stay-at-home mom who decided to start the business while planning for her son's first birthday (isn't that sweet?). She sells Gocco kits, inks, bulbs, and other paraphernalia you will need to lead the Gocco life. [go]

***
We ♥ D-I-Yers! If you plan to make your own invitations and other wedding essentials (<--uuy, subtle brand placement), please drop me a note along with a photo of your creation so we can feature it on this space!

Aren't those photos of Miramar gorgeous??!

I'm a Colin Cowie fan as well, not as much as Marbee probably since I haven't bought any of his books, but I love how he takes inspiration from the mundane (circles, for instance) and transforms those concepts into something interestingly complex and beautiful.

[ insert slick segue here ]

And speaking of beautiful, one of our dearest friends and among our suki photographers at Wedding Essentials, Mr. Toto Labrador, just launched his shiny new website. Please check it out and see why he is THE MAN.



I've known Toto since our college days in UP Fine Arts and Marb has known him since his brother Albert photographed her and Eths' wedding years ago, BUT it is with absolutely no biases at all when we say that when it comes to fashion photography he is in a league of his own. This is why his photos have graced the pages of several glossies and Wedding Essentials since our very first issue in 2004...



... and the twin covers of our second issue in 2005.

Congrats Toto! WE hearts you. Here's to more photo shoots together. (:

Apologies to everyone waiting for the issue since July- the team was adjusting to quite a few changes, and challenges- but we pulled through with an issue that we`re proud to present to you all.

As we always say- Enjoy the new issue as we enjoyed putting it together. WE is what it is (in thickness and in heart) because of all your support- to our readers, advertisers, partners, bosses, printers, proofreaders, delivery people and retail outlets- Cheers from WE to you.

Will be back later to give you a peek into the new issue.

The prize for the correct guess of the cover model of the upcoming issue of Wedding Essentials magazine is a bottle of Hardys Cabernet Sauvignon (Varietal Range) 2006! pictured bere with our fire engine red printer. =) Congratulations to....J! Sorry Summer, but for your effort, you win a free issue of WE8 to be delivered to your office hot off the press in a few days. =) Thanks for joining J and Summer!

In the upcoming issue of WE (out in the market late next week), we decided to take the idea of a make-over further by making-over some of the industry's most popular and most loved suppliers. Guess who the 3 are? We'll squeal on 1 na, it's TADA! Photographer Wally Gonzales (here being photographed by Aldin Aspillera- sorry no clearer photo guys- but it's really sir Wally- in a snappy grey suit and a Ralph Lauren shirt...Abangan next week! =)

Interested to know who the cover model of the upcoming issue of WE is?

Here are some clues
1. She's a soon-to-wed who's a TV personality.
2. She has that rare combination of beauty and brains on the boobtube.
3. Beauty because she's appeared in numerous TV commercials already, most notably is a shampoo commercial with tada- Paolo Bediones
4. Brains because she's an assistant director for TV (some Project Runway Philippines' episodes), MV (Sandwich), TVCs (Coke, Century Tuna, etc) and Cinemanila short films.

Just for fun, we're holding a contest to see the first who can guess correctly. Join na! The prize is a surprise but it's a good one, =)