Happiness Day 2!

I don't know if the everyday stress from work is making this challenge harder for me.. But who cares? I have the best husband in the world!!

Mushy as it can be, I am so blessed to have the ever patient and loving partner. With that I am forever thankful. :)

I will be happier, one day at a time. :)

Lately, I've been really as in REALLY stressed in work. With all the adjustments of working in a company where I am in right now, everything should be understood ASAP. Coming from advertising, I must say that this is an entirely different industry. The word planogram is not enough! Only that, allow me to brag a little, I was able to come up with a business review all by myself! (Thanks to Rhea, for helping me, even if it means staying up to three in the morning!)

Anyway, I came across this website 100 happy days challenge and it instantly motivated me to be happy despite the stress of my everyday life! Ang dami ko pading blessings na natatanggap! So allow me to join this happy bandwagon, I am sharing nothing but happy thoughts! And to start...

Potato corner (saggy please) made me happy today! I know it's full of oil, and flavorings, but it's my forever comfort food!! Like when I am sad, (or even if I'm not), I eat friesss! I even bring packed lunch just to have extra money to buy fries! 

And today, even if my work is eating me alive, I am thankful that God invented Potato Corner! :)

Our first month. :)

Okay, just a few minutes of "me" time in between my admin work.

Time flies so fast that I can't believe it's been a month since we got married! I must say a lot of things changed already. I guess maturity comes with marriage, only if you choose to bring it with you. Now I am more conscious when it comes to expenses, that I am tasked to budget whatever it is that we got from our wedding. (We spent everything that we have for it, and thank God for generous guests, we have something to spend after our big day.) I value our money now more than ever, especially that we have moved in into a more decent home. We're doing one step at a time, starting from scratch is hard but really something to be proud of. :)

Second, I am a self-confessed cheese! Romantic, sentimental, and of course... CLINGY! Maybe God gave John to me because he is the ONLY person who can stand my being super attached. (But don't get me wrong, I have my own life too, it is just that I tend to be really close to him whenever I can.) Now I can say that we are at the peak of our relationship, we're sweeter and more romantic! (Hah!not just me!) John is really the best husband, because he never fails to tell me and make me feel that I am appreciated and beautiful (naks!). Again, he is the only man who was able to make me realize that I am worth it. The proof? He proposed, and we got married a year and a half after that. :)

Back then, I am a huge fan of monthsaries. But now that I am of age (makatanda ganon?), I am starting to think that monthsaries are just reasons to spend for gifts and dinners. haha, hindi naman ako bitter, I just think that we are old enough to celebrate that every month. But!! I am making an excuse this time, maybe it is a must for us to celebrate even for our first year. And since we've been starting to eat dinner at home, and start bringing packed lunch at work, we are entitled to spend a little for a decent dinner to celebrate our first month as husband and wife.

My best friend slash circuit buddy are scheduled to have our session yesterday. So we had a double date with her and her boyfriend last night. Spontaneous and fun! And we are planning to try this make your own burger in Burger Project, and it's good!

I know it's all about burgers.. But I fell inlove with their chili cheese fries!!!

My burger vs. his! I didn't even finish mine!

It's a double date night and I'm just so happy that we're able to celebrate with two people who are close to our hearts. :) Two thumbs up for burger project! :)

Friends forewvah! :D

Okay, so I love these people to bits and I want to post some photos with them. Gazillion thanks to them for helping us to make our big day really special. Next event will be your future inaaanak's baptism! mwah!

PS. I miss you Joanna friend, next picture you'll be here na!! :D

John and Niki's happily ever after.

Here's our On Site video courtesy of Joaquin Ambata films.



Have fun watching! ;)

Suppliers' Review: Our happily ever-after. John and Niki 1-4-14.

Hello everyone! Finally I had the time to post my suppliers' review. Please bear with me as this is quite long, for I will insert all the emotions that I have in every supplier that we had during our wedding! :) hehe.

Church: Sto. Domingo Parish
Rating: 10/10

This is actually our second choice because we already booked for Mt. Carmel. But we wanted to have a later time for our wedding so we booked for Sto. Domingo. And yes, we made the right choice! Everyone in Sto. Domingo is really accommodating. Special thanks to Sir Daniel for assisting us in every step of the process. (Since John is not a Catholic, he needed to get some permit from Diocese of Cubao, and yes, thanks to Ms. Bessie, for helping us too!) Akala ko hindi na kami aabot talaga! hahaha! 
We also love the church arrangement, simple pero may dating. :)

Here's a photo of us during the ceremony, taken by one of my husband's cousins.

Reception Venue: Elements at Centris
Rating: 8/10

We loved the place, because of its high-ceiling and drapings, but the only thing that made me rate them 8 is that we need to pay extra fees for caterer's ingress and all. Plus they are charging 30% corkage for caterers who are not accredited. Pricey.

Caterer: Queensland Catering
Rating: 5/10

This really made me feel bad about Queensland. Obviously, we got them because they are affordable, yet they offer good food and good service. I have read good and bad reviews but we decided to get them still. First, our AE asked us to extend the ingress (from 2PM to 1PM) because they said, they need more time since we have 300 guests. So we called Elements and paid for extra, just to extend their time. On the wedding day itself, they are calling me asking for another extension!! Diba nakakastress lang yun?? AE is explaining this and that, but my mom insisted, this is our agreement!
Next: kulang yung tables. For 300 guests, they should have 30 tables, guess what? They just brought 27! Thank goodness, everyone had a seat! 
Food: As the bride, I do not have time to taste the food that they served. We're busy entertaining guests so I just asked my friends regarding this. Food is okay. Not good, not bad.

Photographer:She & Him Photography
Rating: 10/10

Honestly at first, John is hesitant to get them. As an aspiring photographer, he has this taste with regards to people who will cover our wedding. But they really surprised us during our E-session and wedding day! They are divided into two, since I will be coming from Bulacan and John from Quezon City. Sheena was assigned to me and I love it how she assisted me! I guess that is an advantage of getting a female photographer. She already knows my angles! haha! I consider them as one of the best suppliers that we had. I remember telling John that we should get the best photographer and videographer team to cover our wedding for we will keep the memories for the rest of our lives. We made the right decision. I can't wait to see our official wedding photos!! :)

Videographer: Joaquin Ambata Films
Rating: 10/10 

We booked him with She and Him. And like them, he is a-awesome!! Everyone loved our Same Day Edit! One fun guy to work with, we absolutely love his team! :) (I will be uploading our SDE in my next blog entry)

Wedding Make Up Artist: EG Make Up Studio by Eds Go
Rating: 10/10

Aside from the photo and video, I said I will be investing with the person who will make me look my best during my wedding day. We booked Eds September 2012 (few months after we got engaged!) She is the first supplier that we booked! Back then, she is just starting her job as a make up artist. We had our trial and John loved it! Plus she passed my ever okray mother! hahaha! Good job sissy!

She also did my sisters' and mom's make up. :)

Wedding Coordinator: Silverback Events
Rating: -10/10 (as in negative to the nth level!!!)

They are the worst team that we hired. Very inefficient and unprofessional! Let me tell everyone why:

-We decided to terminate the contract, after paying bloody 20,000 pesos. Why? They are unprofessional! We booked for FULL wedding coordination, and guess what? We looked for all the suppliers that we had! No updates, no email. (Magaling lang magpadala ng check list, na hindi din nia ginagawa.) We know they CANNOT deliver.
-Does not know how to dress properly. Marie joined us during our canonical interview in Sto. Domingo, and yes, she is wearing a super short shorts! Inside the church!! Need to say more?
-She keeps on rescheduling meetings. Two weeks before the wedding, she rescheduled the meeting TWICE. 
-Just after the money. She always ask us to pay blah blah, blah blah. So disappointing!

I wish no other soon to wed couples experience this. I hope nobody hires them as their coordinator. Simply because they do not know what "coordinate" means.

Bridal Gown: Sonny Mindo
Rating: 9/10

I looove my gown! Sonny made a good job doing it, plus the measurements are good too. Only that he is late during fitting schedules.

Entourage Gown: Sonny Mindo
Rating: 6/10

Even if he made my wedding gown, I am disappointed with how the gowns of my entourage came out. I love the color, and the design, but he still needs to do some alterations in some of my bridesmaids. Measurements are not accurate, but thanks to some of my dear friends, for trying their best not to eat before the wedding so their dresses would fit. hehe. :)


Groom's Suit: supplier from 168 (Still have to ask what's the store name hahaha)
Rating: 7/10

John had a hard time choosing the suit. Initially, we planned to buy one, but he said he want to have it customized instead. Two days before the wedding, the owner said that he could not find the suit because his saleslady had been absent for three days! Of course stressed si hubby, but thanks to heaven and earth, after an hour, they are able to find his suit. It looks good on him naman, the fit and all are good too. :)


Wedding Cake: Little Oven Cakes
Rating: 9/10

Sasa is one of my grad school friends. She made our cake and it's just so lovely! But sorry that I had to rate it 9 because there was a funny moment during the cake cutting ceremony when we thought that the lower part of the cake is the one edible only to find out that we're cutting styro! Bloopers lang! hahaha! :)

PhotoBooth: wedding gift c/o Sir Peter
Rating: 10/10

Thanks to sir Peter and Sir Ronald for a wonderful set up and pictures! Sulit sa guests yung photobooth! :)

Wedding Souvenirs:  Cherub Online Shop
Rating: 10/10

We had the cutest souvenirs! She is one of the nicest suppliers that we had, very friendly and super daling kausap! Plus super creative! She even gave us our cake topper as a gift. :)

Lights and Sounds: Rave Party One
Rating: 10/10

I honestly was not able to talk to them or what, because John did all the coordination before our wedding. He said he is satisfied with the way they deal with clients. And yes, the mic is good, sounds are good too. Lights had not been a problem given the high-ceiling venue as well.

Wedding Singer/s: Penelope Matanguihan of the Voice Golem Pagkanlungan
Rating: 10/10

Penelope is my cousin. Actually, one of the reasons why I cried so much is that nadala naman ako sa kanta nia! haha! They both did an amazing job! Thank you for making our day more romantic.

Florist: Clint Carl Flower Shop
Rating: 8/10

I super love my wedding bouquet! (I love flowers in general) But they made me panic a bit since they arrived late in Bulacan. (feeling ko naligaw. hehehe) 

Wedding Ring: c/o h2b
Rating: 10/10

I absolutely love our wedding rings. One, because natupad yung gusto ko na may bato! hahaha! (Believe me, it was a huge debate, since hindi daw bagay sa guys yung ring na may bato!) John said he wanted the best wedding ring for us, since it will be the symbol of our marriage that we will keep forever.

Hotel for Preps for h2b (As I will be coming from our home in Bulacan, traditions.traditions.): Aberdeen Court
Rating: 8/10

John's accommodation was a gift from John's best man. As we all know, Aberdeen is an old hotel. That's the reason why I only gave an 8. But space and peso power-wise, it's a winner! 


So that ends my loooong wedding supplier's review. Sana wala akong nakalimutan. Haha. 

I am certain that the wedding that we had is better than I imagined it to be. There might be glitches here and there, (and thanks to our friends for covering up for us) but I consider our wedding a magical one! (fairy-tale die hard fan here) We are beyond blessed that we were able to come up with a wedding that is a product of hard work. And of course, we are also blessed to have wonderful families and friends who helped us to make our big day as wonderful as it can be.

Finally we're hitched!! :)

Hello everyone! I know I've been absent for more than a month, and that is because, obviously, I am preparing for our wedding. It has been a roller coaster of emotions, budget and all, but I am just so happy that we were able to have the best wedding that we can have. I know it is not perfect, but it had been beyond our expectations!

As I write this post, I am with my husband, in our honeymoon (part 1). I do not know where to start, happiness is an understatement. I will post my suppliers' review soon, but for now, I will share some photos taken by some of our friends. :)

And so it begins, another chapter of my life started. Before anything else, I just want to express my gratitude, to the Big Guy up there, for letting me experience everything, in the right time, with the right man. We may not be the richest people in the world, to afford the most expensive wedding that one is dreaming of. But I am so proud of my husband, that he is able to give me a wedding that is a product of hard work and perseverance. We both know how we saved for our most special day, and that is something that we will always be thankful for. 

I am just so blessed that I was able to experience and feel how is it to be adored and loved. It is not every lifetime that the person you love the most asks you to marry him. I get to enjoy preparing our wedding, I was able to walk down the aisle (kahit umiiyak ako ng bongga dahil sa tuwa) and see my fiance waiting for me. And now, I was able to enjoy married life. Totoo pala yung sinasabi nilang "honeymoon" stage! I feel like we love each other more than ever!

So to those single ladies out there, I am pretty sure that someday, the man that is meant for you will come. Please allow me to brag, that I am one living example, that love comes at the right time, and more often than not, it will come the time you least expect it. 

Till my next wifey adventures! :)

xoxo,

Niki Mendoza-Catalan <3