Ruby Bayan, our ninang

Our principal sponsors at the wedding are awesome, wonderful people, who happen to be very good friends and close relatives of ours and our parents. But one truly awesome ninang is Ruby Bayan, mom of my best friend and our best man Dante Gagelonia.

Tita Ruby is based in Florida, and is a woman of many trades: she writes, does Web design, creates gorgeous jewelry, does her own carpentry and gardening, and is often sound engineer for her husband, Mike Llamas aka DJ Stoney Burke.

When we asked her to be ninang, Tita Ruby jumped onto the Star Wars bandwagon without hesitation. She scoured the Web for a costume she could wear to the wedding, and not only did she indeed wear a costume, but she made it herself too! And she modified a costume that was purchased for her husband. Check out her costume construction progress on Multiply.

Bridesmaid jewelry

In addition to the awesomeness of her costume, she also gave us a wonderful wedding gift: bridal jewelry for me, and jewelry sets for my bridesmaids and main and matron of honor! We gave these sets to the bridal entourage on the day of the wedding, and they all shrieked like teenage girls when they saw the beautiful, beautiful things. Check out the jewelry and the process of making them on Tita Ruby’s blog.

Tita Ruby, thank you for being an awesome ninang!

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Sure, we’re stressed, but it doesn’t feel like the end of the world, or like a deadline looming. It feels more like the rest of our life is about to begin, and we really can’t wait.

So what have we been up to? I’ve been trying to tie up loose ends at work so that everything’s okay when I go on leave. Oneal’s been doing the same, I think. Together, we’ve been delivering wedding invitations, getting RSVPs from the guests, and preparing for the despedida de soltera, which is happening this Friday.

Perhaps among the most exciting things we’ve been doing of late are the attire fittings, and the dance lessons. I can’t wait to see my finished dress and veil, and Oneal’s really excited about his barong. And last Sunday, we took our first dance lesson!

In the days to come, we’ll be meeting with our ninongs and ninangs, finishing off supplier payments, and pampering ourselves in time for the wedding.

I can’t wait till I’m married to my hunny bunny.

– rej

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It seems like every free day or hour we have is spent on the wedding. Or in the car, going somewhere wedding-related. Take Wednesday, for example.

We spent Tuesday night in Roseroland, then woke up bright and early on Wednesday to go to Parañaque City Hall. We applied for the marriage license, which only took an hour. The documents required were the CENOMARs (Certificates of No Previous Marriage, obtained from the NSO), our NSO-certified birth certificates, and Oneal’s barangay clearance, since he’s a resident of Parañaque.

We went to the office, where the nice lady gave us a form to fill up–in triplicate. Naturally Oneal made me fill them up–”Your handwriting’s much better than mine!”–while he went to have our CENOMARs and birth certificates photocopied. That form was pretty detailed. Not only did it ask for the bride and groom’s personal information, but also for our parents’ information. Good thing I’m 28–if I’d been anywhere from 18 to 25, I would need a parent’s permission to get the marriage license. Zoiks.

Upon completion of the form, we had to have it notarized. We went to a law office that the nice lady specified, and for P50 they notarized and signed the forms. Then we had to make a payment of P200 at a payment lounge. Then we returned to the nice lady (it helps to be there early, and to smile at them), who gave us a slip of paper and told us to go to the DSWD office on the second floor for counseling.

This is the funny part. The nice lady told us the counseling wouldn’t take long. So we went to the office with our slips of paper, and a secretary told us to sit down, fill up some forms and sign our names on some logbooks, while she typed up a form with our names and had it signed by some lady of authority. Upon signing our certificates, she called Oneal, gave us the certificates, and said we could go. Uhm. Yep, counseling! Oneal said, “Well, if they leave you alone for a few minutes and you don’t end up yelling at each other, then you don’t need counseling!” Haay.

Then back to nice lady, who gave us our receipt and told us to come back for the license on December 21. Done!

Up next: Oneal’s baptismal certificate! We were done at the city hall by 10, so we rushed to San Vicente de Paul church in Manila, near Adamson University and TUP. Traffic was getting congested, and it was 11:30 when we made it there. Fortunately the parish office didn’t close for lunch till noon, so we had time. Oneal got his baptismal certificate. Yay!

We hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast at 6:30 AM, so we went to Makati for lunch. By 3:00 we were on the way to Bulacan, to get our wedding rings and arrhae. Traffic was bad, and I was tired and full. I fell asleep somewhere in Mandaluyong; when I woke up, we were back on EDSA and approaching Cubao. The jewelry shop was closing at 5, so we had to hurry down NLEX to get to Meycauayan. It was a little past 4 when we made it there, and boy was the trip worth it. Our rings are beautiful! So beautiful that I didn’t want to take mine off na. It looked so lovely on my finger, next to my engagement ring. The jeweler said it was a really nice design, like something she saw from Bulgari. Sosyal!

After that, it was back south. We went to the Fort, and hopped into Make Room for our wedding registry. We started picking out a few things, while waiting for Aids to come over so we could go to the dress shop. It was fun to pick out things for our new home (wherever that may be). It must be noted that most of the things we picked out were kitchen items and serving dishes; we love having people over, and we expect that both our families will be coming over a lot, especially when we have our first baby!

Then Aids arrived, and we went to Tita Jenny’s. He got measured for his barong, and we discussed Oneal’s barong with Tita Jenny. Also, good news for the lovely ladies of the entourage: your dresses will be ready for first fitting by next week. Mine too!

So in one day, we:

1. Applied for the marriage license
2. Got Oneal’s baptismal certificate
3. Got our wedding rings and arrhae
4. Picked out things for our wedding registry
5. Designed Oneal’s barong

That’s a lot for one day! And WE’RE NOT DONE! *faint*

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In case you haven’t seen the news on Facebook, then here’s the announcement: Our rings have been made! *happy dance* Oneal’s Tita Angie recommended a jewelry shop in Meycauayan, Bulacan, where they could make the rings for a low price. We’d looked at wedding rings before, at bridal fairs and in jewelry shops in malls. They always cost upwards of P25,000, for anything from simple bands to elaborate affairs with engraving and diamonds.

All we wanted was a pair of two-tone rings, two outer bands made of yellow gold, with a white gold band in the middle. Matte finish, no diamonds, no engraving. Quotes at bridal fairs placed it at P30,000.

So last Monday, Oneal’s mom came to Yale with Tita Angie, and we all went to Meycauayan to order the rings. Good Lord, what a price difference! We told them what we wanted, and they measured our ring fingers (mine is 5 1/2, and Oneal’s is 11, haha!). After some computation and a bit of consultation with the craftsman, the proprietress quoted it at P21,000. Whoa!

In addition to the rings, we had also brought our arrhae. We decided to use the arrhae from Oneal’s parents’ wedding; it’s our “something borrowed.” It’s a set of gold-plated 1967 50-cent coins. There are supposed to be 13, but two were missing. A few months ago I put out a call for coins, but eventually it was Tita Baby who found them: one among her jewelry boxes, and the other just sitting in a ceramic bowl in the house.  Oneal said, “ It was in that ceramic bowl in the basement, right under the light switches. Mom wouldn’t have looked there if my dad hadn’t changed the light switches in the house, and that particular one stopped working. When he was checking the switch, my mom looked at the coins and found the 1967 50 centavo coin. They said it’s like something was telling them to look there.”

So as you can see, our arrhae is pretty special. We needed the jeweler to repair the crown that held all the coins, clean everything, and gold-plate everything.

We went to the jewelry shop last Monday. This morning, they called me. The rings would cost only P17,200. The arrhae repair and plating? P800. So everything for a total of P18,000! If only we didn’t have so much work to do, I’d drag Oneal to Bulacan tomorrow so we could get the rings na.

I can’t wait to see them!

– rej

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Imperial Palace Suites, at the corner of Timog and Tomas Morato

Since both our families live so far away from the wedding venue, we need a hotel nearby for our preps. There we can all get ready, get made-up, leave our other things, and probably stay for the night before and/or after the wedding.

Since the wedding is in Fernwood, we need a hotel in Quezon City. We were originally considering Sulo Hotel, but naturally we wanted other options too. So today, we checked out rooms and rates at Hotel Rembrandt, the Imperial Palace Suites, and the new Torre Venezia. The only problem with this area, Timog and Tomas Morato, is that you have to cross EDSA to get to Fernwood. But it looks like there are SM Advantage Card perks for the Imperial Palace Suites and Hotel Rembrant! That’s certainly a plus. Stay tuned for our reviews!

We’re also going to visit Sulo Hotel, since we heard it’s been renovated. We’d also like to see PCED, Balay Kalinaw and the University Hotel in UP Diliman. Those hotels would definitely be closer to Fernwood.

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I owe so, so, so much to Tita Peachy, my mom’s friend from college, for finding us our priest, Fr. Clod Bagabaldo. We met him last Tuesday, and the meeting went so well!

We met at Bizu in Greenhills at 8PM, since he said Mass at 7pm. He seemed a little lost as to why we needed a meeting in the first place. He said that for most couples he’s marrying, he doesn’t meet them till the wedding day itself.

So we explained that we wanted to get to know him, and for him to get to know us, so that we were all on the same page about the wedding. We wanted to know if there were any rites we were forgetting about. I also wanted to consult him on the matter of my confirmation certificate, and the bridal march.

Most important of all, we wanted to tell him we were having a Star Wars wedding, because we wanted him to understand how important Star Wars is to us. We wanted to show him pictures of the costumes the entourage were wearing, because we’d heard stories of other priests refusing to proceed because the bridesmaids wore strappy dresses, of the hemlines weren’t low enough, or some other objection. If Fr. Clod had any objections, we wanted to hear them early on, so we could address them.

Well, it turns out we needn’t have worried at all.

Fr. Clod is very open-minded, and he says whatever we want is fine. All other things associated with weddings are just fluff, traditions that aren’t crucial to the marriage rite. If all we wanted to do was get married, the rites would only take 15 minutes! He even said that since everyone was there already, and we had prepared so long for the big day, then it was just as well that we have a full Mass and have the parents and the principal sponsors play a part in the ceremony.

We asked him about the entourage attire, and the bridal march, and he just waved our worries away, and said those aren’t really important. The bridal march isn’t part of the marriage rite, so why should he mess with that? When we showed him the pictures of the attire, he admired them and said they really were different, and that was that!

In short, I should have known that Tita Peachy knew me and Oneal well enough to recommend for us a priest who was not conservative. Tita Peachy, thank you so much!

And Fr. Clod, thank you for agreeing to officiate our wedding. God bless you indeed!

– rej

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Last night Oneal and I brought my Maid of Honor and one of our Secondary Sponsors to the dress shop, so they could get measured for their dresses. My Maid of Honor, Kat, saw the pictures of my dress, and she shrieked! She and her boyfriend, Sonny, seemed pretty excited about the whole thing. She was asking how she should do her hair, and what everyone else would wear.

Jovan, our Candle Sponsor, was able to discuss with our couturier, Jenny Rojales, her suggestions and concerns for her dress. Jovan and Kat also got the contact info of the dress shop, so in case they want to go there on their own, for fittings or whatever, they cal call for appointments.

Tita Jenny showed me the type of lace they found in Divisoria, which they can use for my dress. She says she’ll go to Divisoria this week to buy it. Oh wow, it’s starting! I’m so excited. Everytime I see the pictures of my dress, my heart does a little somersault.

– rej

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… But you don’t know what to wear? Never fear!

The Star Wars universe provides many wardrobe options, especially the Prequel Trilogy! You can dress up as a Jedi, Royalty, a member of the Galactic Senate, an Imperial officer, a bounty hunter… the possibilities are endless! If you don’t know where to start, maybe we can point you in the right direction. It’s a good idea to check out the following sites:

• Padawan’s Guide
• Vader’s Fist: The 501st Legion of Stormtroopers
• Rebel Legion

Not only are there many ideas and pictures, but often you’ll also get tutorials, construction tips, suggestions, and links to fan-made costumes. <recruitment pitch> If you’re making a Star Wars costume, make it screen-accurate, and once it’s done, you can register for membership with either the 501st or the RL! </recruitment hahaha>

We’ll post more links and ideas as we find them. Already many people are saying, “Ooh, I’ll wear this!” and “Is it okay if I make that costume?” Hala, agawan na!

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One of the first things you think of when you get invited to a wedding is, “What am I going to wear?” This is especially true of our own wedding. In response to the news that ours will be a Star Wars wedding, most people–especially the friends of our parents–say with a small note of worry (or is it panic?) in their voices, “Will we have to wear costumes too?”

Oneal’s answer has been, “If you’re going to wear a costume to our wedding, it must be screen-accurate! It must be 501st quality!” I tend to say, “Well, it would be nice, but you don’t have to!” with a sheepish grin. Let’s face it: Star Wars costumes are not cheap, nor are they easy to make. Imagine having to explain to your seamstress what tabards are!

If you aren’t up to the expense and stress of having a Star Wars costume made, that’s perfectly okay! Standard formal attire is completely acceptable: barong tagalog for men, dresses–cocktail, long, or otherwise formal–for the women. Our motif is white and gold, so I’m sure you can find something appropriate.  But if you are planning to wear a Star Wars costume to our wedding, then YAY!

That said, here’s what you shouldn’t wear, because these costumes have been assigned/claimed:

• Padme’s Wedding Gown from Attack of the Clones

• Mon Mothma – Revenge of the Sith
• Mon Mothma – Return of the Jedi
• Bail Organa – Alderaan

• Bail Organa – Tantive IV
• Breha Organa

• Princess Leia’s awarding ceremony gown from A New Hope

• Imperial Navy Admiral’s uniform

• Gold handmaiden dress

• Sheltay Retrac, Bail Organa’s aide

This list will get longer as we get closer to The Day, so stay tuned!

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