26 February 2007

Supplier Kwentos

As a time-honored tradition in W@W, we're posting our supplier ratings for other B2Bs and G2Bs. We were quite happy with our suppliers, no one really gave us heartaches but for the purpose of keeping the discussion within W@W, wala na lang score dito. What we posted are pictures and kwentos na lang (both the good and the not-so-good)...here goes...

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CHURCH: Parish of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary (aka Twin Hearts)
DESCRIPTION: Package includes Aisle and Altar flowers, Priest stipend, Organist, Soloist, Candles (to be lighted by the candle sponsors), Pre-cana seminar (they served us merienda)
CONTACT: Ms. Dodo Asuncion – 3719102 (Parish Office)

- Beautiful church – photogenic façade and altar

- Accommodating staff, they have coordinators during the ceremony

- I really wanted to get married in a small church lang but with a long aisle. Weird ‘no? Pano kaya magkakaroon ng ganun? I didn’t like cathedrals because I felt those to be too large for a wedding which we intended to have few guests lang. Twin Hearts was just right for us :)

- The church is not airconditioned which some couples may not prefer; this was not a problem for us since breezy naman at mejo cool month pa ang February. For couples getting married during summer, would recommend handing out fans to your guests.

- Due to the experience of Sis Ann (fellow Twin Hearts bride), we were very careful not to throw any petals inside the church.


CATERER: Hizon’s
DESCRIPTION:

Menu: Crispy Spinach, Mushroom soup, Pasta Alfredo, Cheesy Lasagna, Lengua, Grilled chicken, Fish fillet with tartar sauce, Steamed rice, Mixed Veggies, Buko Pandan, Halu-halo bar, Coffee bar

Package inclusions: Complete set-up – pillars for bride&groom, presidential table, 10-seater round tables for guests, Bridal car, Doves, Wine for the wine ceremony, 3 Satellite cakes (mocha with marshmallow icing from Merced), Guest signature frame, Bubble machine, Sound system, Emcee, ice sculpture (which we opted not to avail and had the lechon chopper instead – addl of P700)

Freebies: All Tiffany chairs, 2 medium-sized choco fountains, 1 pasta, upgrade to halu-halo bar from assorted pastries, coffee bar

CONTACT: Our AE – Judith Dayrit (0920 9476457)

- Albert and I have decided from the start what our priorities were and here’s our list – photo/video and rings (since these are the only items that you get to keep as reminders of your day) and the food (this is what your guests would usually remember aside from the program of course). We’ve had several food tastes with other caterers but it was only with Hizon’s that we agreed (it was either ayaw ni Albert yung food or masyadong mahal ang package nila hehe).
Food was great! :P usual comment from our guests. Though we didn’t get to eat much, we’ve had 4 food tastes na hehe (everytime we go to their office to pay/meet with Judith or see them at bridal fairs lagi kaming pinapakain) and everytime, their food tastes exactly the same. I don’t eat lengua usually but with their lengua, ang sarap talaga that I don’t imagine what lengua actually is hehe.

- We got to keep all the leftovers (they brought their own styros and aluminum foils pa). Although a caution to other B2Bs since I’ve read of ratings before commenting that they didn’t get the leftover food… make sure you have someone to look after this and we’ve always reminded our AE about it.

- For someone who's not really very particular with details, we liked their set-up. Though I have to add that even if we're not really particular with the details BUT if it was stated in our contract, we expect it to be there. In our case, what we agreed upon was to have crossed aqua organza runners over a white tablecloth for our guests table. However what was set-up was blue (not sure what shade it was but definitely not the organza aqua) tablecloth with a white smaller tablecloth over.

- A lot of freebies and we really felt that their package was worth it…ang dami nang inclusions e.

- The bridal car driver was courteous and was even makwento and helped me relax a bit. When I was standing outside the church to prepare for my march and Ella (coordinator) who was supposed to be with me went inside for a while, Manong helped me fix my detachable off-shoulder sleeves. I couldn’t reach the velcro attachment na kasi sa likod so he helped me :)

- They’re quite strict with the 3 hours allocation for the bridal car. We had to pay extra kasi nag-exceed daw kami due to the photoshoot that we had pa at Twin Hearts after the guests left for the reception.


LECHON: Elar’s Lechon
DESCRIPTION: 16kg cooked weight
CONTACT: 731-7551/731-7552/732-4116

- Learned about Elar’s from W@Wie supplier ratings and food blogs. The lechon was indeed delicious – juicy and tender! Very easy to arrange the booking and delivery


RECEPTION VENUE: Bulwagang Claret

DESCRIPTION: Air-conditioned Main hall + sound system
CONTACT: Ms. Precious (921 6683)

- Of our major suppliers, this was the last one that we booked. We’ve looked at several other indoor (Balay Kalinaw – ganda sana kaso ung floor lay-out na L-shaped mejo mahirap, Philam Clubhouse) and garden venues (UP Bonsai Garden) kaso there was always something which made us hesitant. It was either the "fear" of rain pag garden venue or the size and price of it. Our AE from Hizon’s gave us a list of recommended venues but the number listed for Bulwagan was an old one! I had to search for their number through Google and siguro meant to be, I found it naman. When I saw the pics in the internet, parang okay sya and when we had our ocular, we decided to book it na agad! :)

- Staff are accommodating and quite easy to deal with

- Air-conditioned and spacious (naman pala, I initially thought na hindi kakasya ang 15 10-
seater round tables + presidential table + buffet table hehe)

- Low ceiling so Hizon’s had to make last minute changes in the lay-out. We intended to have a gazebo for the cake however di daw kakasya so they changed it to pillars na lang din.

- Caterer’s corkage fee à although this shouldn’t be charged to us, we ended up paying for it kasi hindi rin babayaran ng Hizon’s :(


PHOTO/VIDEO: Kenneth Uy
DESCRIPTION: 2 photographers, 1 videographer,
CONTACT: Kenneth Uy (0917 3280678)

- We have soooo many pics (worth 3 DVDs na raw shots) because he brought 1 more photographer with him on our day. Let the pictures speak for his talent lalo na yung mga non-traditional poses...feeling namin nasa Metro Weddings or WE kami hehehe

- His team is so kwela kaya nakakatanggal nerbyos kasi tawa ka na lang nang tawa

- Kenneth has a very artistic eye and he’s very nice. Soft spoken na kalog and he even poses to show you how he wants the pose to look like :)

- Have yet to see our video…


OTD COORDINATOR: Loi Villarama and his Angels Ella, Lari, Jen and Marvin

DESCRIPTION: OTD Coordination which includes free hosting, make-up retouch and Loi sang 2 songs during dinner (para makapag-break din ung musicians)

CONTACT: Ella (0915 7642760), Lari (0927 6033473)


- Energizer bunnies!

- Easy to deal with them, our guests enjoyed the program and a lot of them complimented us that our wedding was beautiful and unique daw. We feel that our coordinators contributed to this kasi gaya nung sa garter game, honestly, Albert and I had no idea on what will happen then. We just discussed the flow of the program and on the day, sila na nag-lead ng lahat…kasi lutang din kami ni Albert, it was good that there was somebody to guide us and remind us on the next part of the program :)

- Loi was very professional. After the program ko na lang nalaman that he was not really in the best of health due to some stomach pain pero di talaga mahahalata kasi he was always smiling and gave suggestions throughout the day.

- It was a good decision to hire OTD coordinators kasi as in wala kaming problem ni Albert on our day (well, aside dun sa mga na-late), we just let go and let them worry about stuff hehehe. They were also very helpful in giving us suggestions when we had no offertory candles (we forgot to buy those!), no ride for Fr. Blaise from Pasig to QC. Friends and suppliers also informed me that our coordinator sent them a text message to remind them that blah-blah…this was proof na talagang kino-contact nila ung mga kelangang I-contact and that they were doing their job :)

- We got other items na rin from them like the body form (discounted from P500 to P300!) and the party poppers para less hassle. With the guest and gift register at the reception, everything was accounted for din, me forms din silang pinapapirmahan during turn-over.

- There were moments that I couldn’t find any of them kaagad…like during church pictorials at pawis na pawis na ako after ilang pics ba bago lumapit si Jen with the tissues/oil-blotting papers. Very minor though, di pa rin naman halata sa pics :)

- A comment on how they handled yung pagka-late ng ibang members ng ento…I wish that they didn’t inform me na lang that some people were still not around and we were about to start. Although nagawan naman nila ng paraan for someone else to proxy while our commentator was not yet in, sana iba na lang yung sinabihan nila. I was in the bridal car and texting these people pa to check where they were. Sobrang stressful yun for a bride na kinakabahan na ngang naghihintay sa loob ng car, no!


BRIDAL GOWN & SHOES/GROOM'S ATTIRE: Ysabelle Bridal Factory
DESCRIPTION: Bridal satin (matte side), 4 yards veil, minimal train (takot akong madapa e hehe), detachable off-shoulder sleeves, small pillows for the rings, arrhae and bible, tiara, pouch, arrhae, secondary veil, cord. For the shoes, see the picture na lang. My hubby wore a pina barong which they make as a set complete with slacks na.
CONTACT: Rhoda Lao (0917 8120819)

- I’m happy with my gown because it was simple with minimal beading lang (alam kong mabigat pag masyadong beaded hehe) and a not so long train. The detachable sleeves I liked too because it made the gown look sexy and gave me a chance to look different during the reception when we removed it :)

- I liked the design dun sa me waist because it made an optical illusion at mejo lumiit ang bewang ko hehehe

-It’s fun to talk to Lawrence, he gives suggestions and always reminded us to enjoy the process. He also gives pieces of advice on how to make it more cost effective :P When it came to haggling for the price, Lawrence is easier to talk to ;-)

- Rhoda is also accommodating but it’s Lawrence who’s also makwento. Rhoda also gives advice on how to make the dress more dramatic and improve on the measurements. Mabilis din mag-reply si Rhoda sa inquiries through text :)

- Make sure Rhoda and Lawrence will be in the shop when you go for fittings. Mas na-a-accommodate kasi kayo and Rhoda sees to it that when she gives instructions on the measurement changes, her assistant would write it down :P

SHOES:
- You get to choose your own design for your shoes

- It didn’t match my gown :( kasi they used the shiny side of Bridal Satin e ung gown ko ung matte side ung ginamit so mejo off

- The shoes were smudged with dirt when we picked it up, Albert had to go back the shop and have it cleaned à mejo luminis but still dirty. Gina had to clean it again when she came the next day to steam the gown and see to last minute adjustments.

- Mejo maluwag yung shoes even though they added pads on the sole. When I had my first fitting, maluwag yung shoes so Rhoda said they’ll add pads daw. But when we picked it up na, maluwag pa rin…result mejo gumigewang ako during my march :(

TIP: Fit, fit, fit your shoes! I should have bought na lang sa stores, mas marami pang maganda sana for the same price :(

BARONG:

- My hubby looked very gwapo in his barong :)


GROOM’S SHOES: Hush Puppies
DESCRIPTION: See pic na lang…

- Very comfortable (si Albert laging Hush Puppies ang binibili na shoes, gusto nya kasi ung fit ng shoes, ganda rin ng cushion :) )


ENTOURAGE/FAMILY ATTIRE:

Barongs: Store-bought

MOG/1 Ninang: Ysabelle Bridal Factory

MOB: Store-bought in Davao
Candle/Veil Sponsors: Ysabelle Bridal Factory (labor only)

MOH/Cord Sponsor/BridesMaid: We gave them heavy shantung which we bought from Divi
and they had their dresses made by their own mananahi (they were not Manila-based kasi kaya mejo mahirap to have them made here without actual fitting)

Flowergirls: Store-bought from Kaboosh

- Flower girl dresses were a great find from the mall. We opted to buy the girls a RTW party dress instead of magpatahi pa so that the girls can still wear the dress without looking like flower girls pa rin and it would be cheaper pa for us.

- I have always wanted our entourage to have a say on their dresses and I also didn’t want to have clones for my entourage (no offense meant po!) kaya we gave the ladies the freedom to choose their design. Our only criteria was that it had to be floor length (because our BM is a Moslem and thus can’t have shorter dress) and no plunging neckline po :) It was our gift na rin sa kanila, it was great to see how the ladies’ styles came through :)

- If there would be any problem, it would be going to Divisoria. Luckily for us, we went there July pa so no Christmas rush yet but still it was a bit of a hassle with the crowd :)


INVITATIONS: Trina Valenzuela (VProjekt)
DESCRIPTION: main invite page + entourage page + RSVP card
CONTACT: Trina Valenzuela – 0917 8161388

- We learned of her from W@Wie sis Ann, visited her website and contacted her through email. She responded promptly and thus started our discussions with her.

- Accommodates your budget, very friendly and gives suggestions on how you can be more cost-effective and artistic at the same time.

- No minimum qty required

- Yung isang bagay na kinatuwa talaga namin was that initially yung quoted price nya was for the main page only and we had to add P10 for the entourage page and P5 for the RSVP card, but in the end she just quoted us the original price for the whole set na!

- You’d have to define from the start when you expect to have the finished product on-hand. Make constant follow-ups din through text (this I did especially during Nov-Dec yung aming communication period when there were a lot of holidays).


RINGS: Suarez
DESCRIPTION: Two-toned (matte white gold + yellow gold), comfort-fit
CONTACT: Ann/Cristy – Suarez shop is at Gateway Mall in Cubao, malapit dun sa LRT entrance

- We like our rings to be simple, syempre everyday use yan e :)

- Suarez staff are accommodating

- Siguro dahil nag-coincide sa APEC Summit ung sked namin to pick up our rings, mejo na-delay ung pagkagawa. Albert had to do several follow ups (at kelangan pang magalit sya nang unti) for them to finally have the rings done


TIP: The price of gold is always increasing so if you see a ring that you’re sure you like, bilhin nyo na. Kami kasi we decided to wait pa kasi we wanted to look at other rings/shops pa and in the end when we decided to go with our initial choice, nagmahal na ang gold, thus the ~P3k increase in the price!

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