Typhoon Ondoy has sidetracked many people, and many plans. That weekend, we were supposed to have a family pictorial! Obviously, we had to cancel it.
Since that weekend, and through the other typhoons that have blown through the country, we’ve been busy with relief efforts here and there. Also, Oneal has a new job, and I have two new projects that keep me busy. So you can understand how our wedding planning got sidetracked.
Now we’re gathering our wits again, and going through all our wedding checklists to see what else needs doing. Fortunately, there’s not a lot left. All the major suppliers have been booked:
- Ceremony and reception venue – Fernwood Gardens, QC
- Caterer – Shangri-La Chinese Restaurant
- Florist for the church – 15-58 Flowers and Styles
- Florist for the entourage – Go4Flowers
- Photographer – Pat Mateo
- Videographer – 30fps
- Cake artist – Our friend, Reitch Calabia
- Couturier – Our friend, Jenny Rojales
- Rings maker
- Bridal jewelry – Our ninang, Ruby Bayan
So now, here’s what we need to do next:
- Book the hair and make-up artist
- Complete our wedding documents
- Draft and finalize the missalette
- Design and finalize the invitations
- Decide on the music for the ceremony
- Decide on the music for the reception
- Decide on the preps hotel
- Finalize the reception program
- Attend a pre-cana seminar
There’s more that needs to be done, but these are the most urgent. We’re working on some of them already:
- Some of the documents have been obtained while a few others need to be requested.
- We’ve canvassed 4 hotels in Quezon City already.
- I know which HMUA I want to get.
- Jovan is working on our invitations.
Some things need more work than others, obviously. 
But we’re getting there. Wish us luck! In the meantime, it’s my birthday on Saturday, and we’re flying to Bora for a much-needed vacation. Yay!
– rej
Yes, we’ve finally selected a caterer. Amen! We went to a food-tasting at Shangri-La restaurant on West Ave. last month with Paul and Dante, and it was pretty good. We like the food, and they can serve it lauriat-style, with no extra cost! Yay.
So tonight, we’re going to the restaurant to pay the reservation fee and discuss the terms for the contract. Yay!
We got to try them sometime last year. The owner and her family are friends of Jovan. The food tasting was held at Oasis.
I honestly don’t remember the specific foods we tried, but I remember that we liked most of them. Unfortunately, we arrived late, and they’d run out of some of the dishes, like the prawns Thermidore, and most of the desserts. Oh well.
Pros:
- Maybe Jovan can get us a discount!
Cons:
- They’re not accredited at Fernwood.
– rej
I’ve said that we can’t hire Caterer Tananaaan for the wedding, because every time I hear the name, I’ll start giggling and there will be no stopping me. I’ll need an inhaler! And it’s Oneal’s fault.
One day, we were stuck in traffic, approaching Guadalupe on EDSA southbound. I think we were going to a bridal fair. We were reviewing the list of caterers currently accredited at Fernwood, and we started laughing at Caterer Tananaaan. Oneal launched into an impromptu skit where Caterer Tananaaan is some macho chef, and every time his name is uttered, there is theme music (trumpets i think) coming out of nowhere. The mental image I’ve conjured up is Johnny Bravo, but brunette, Italian, very smarmy, and with a handlebar mustache. If I hadn’t been in the car, I’d have been rolling on the floor, laughing.
But the point is: the food! The food-tasting was held at the Coral Tree Garden in Fernwood. That was good because we saw how our reception venue looked with all the tables. The food was mostly good. Not excellent, but definitely better than Caterer J. They seemed to be flexible about swapping out the amenities. The stuff that was cooked on request were good, at the carving station and the pasta station.
Pros:
- Lauriat doable.
- They’re accredited at Fernwood.
Cons:
- Salad dressing was not nice.
- Desserts are so-so.
– rej
We see them EVERYWHERE! We were wondering if they lived up to their rep. Seems like they did. I liked the vegetables, which were served with a cream sauce and breading. Not your usual veggie dish.
There was also a carving station, and we liked the beef and the pork. They had the usual buko pandan dessert, and it was good too. I think there was also chocolate mousse.
Bottom line: There’s a good reason they get jobs all over Metro Manila. Those trucks are carrying good food! If you’re at an event catered by Caterer H, I dare say you’ll be well fed.
Pros:
- Oneal and I both like the food.
- The company is actually run by the family.
Cons:
- They’re no longer accredited at Fernwood.
– rej
They’re the ones who catered Anna’s wedding. I confess I don’t remember how their food tasted, which leads me to agree with Oneal that it’s not one of the things people will think about or recall after the event. But still, I’m eating, and so is Oneal, and we would like good food.
Oneal and I were able to go to a food-tasting for Caterer A, and their food tasted good! Oneal actually liked the breaded eggplant. That’s very encouraging.
They also passed the Lengua Test. To my recollection, not a lot of their dishes made me think, “I can make this.” And that’s good. Their food is kid-friendly too.
Pros:
- Anna hired them!
- They do lauriat.
- Oneal ate the eggplant.
Cons:
- They’re not accredited at Fernwood.
– rej
This is the only food-tasting we had to pay for. We saw them at a wedding fair in the Rockwell tent. We didn’t like them. First of all, the lady in charge wasn’t very nice. Second, the food was very ordinary. My cooking is better! Third, you know it’s bad when even the dessert is boring.
The only good thing about them is that they are accredited at Fernwood, and that’s not a good enough reason to hire them.
We got to try them again last December, at AJ Axalan’s birthday party. The food was all meat, and it was so heavy and filling that I felt bloated afterwards. Even Oneal gave up on the lechon, which is one of his favorite foods. Anna told me about a wedding they attended in January which was catered by Caterer J was the caterer: she, her mother and Gabby all had upset stomachs afterwards.
Caterer J is definitely not an option.
Pro:
- They’re accredited at Fernwood
Cons:
- Upset stomach
- Ordinary food
- All-meat kids buffet
- Unfriendly staff
– rej
This is the first caterer we tried, and the absolute yummiest. They had a lovely salad served in martini glasses, with whole kernel corn and tortilla-like chips, and a light dressing. Oneal said their ribs were the best he’d ever had locally. There was a Moroccan-style fried rice, which i loved.
The desserts were lovely. They had small turon with dark chocolate sauce on top, and rich, creamy chocolate mousse.
Pros:
- They’re Kapampangan!
- Oneal and I both love them
Cons:
- They’re not accredited at Fernwood.
– rej
They had a food-tasting at Aliw Theater while the Themes & Motifs wedding fair was ongoing at the PICC Forum. The food was pretty good. They had a really nice, tasty soup, and a good salad with shredded chicken. Oneal liked it. When Oneal likes the soup and the salad, that’s a really good sign.
They only had plain rice and rolls. The pasta was not nice. Mom makes better alfredo sauce, and their red sauce was just bad. The rest of the food was pretty okay. The Parmesan-crusted cream dory was good, and the ginger chicken. The BBQ chicken was tasty enough, but nothing special. They did pass the lengua test though.
The best part was their dessert buffet. Yum! They had different kinds of mousse, gelatin and whatnot, as well as eclairs, and all but one item was excellent.
Pros:
- They’re accredited at Fernwood.
- Chef Nick can get us a discount
Cons:
- No lauriat option, only buffet or sit-down
– rej
Now that the holidays are over, we have a full year of wedding preps to look forward to. Securing the church and the reception venue were the biggest hurdles we had to jump, I think, and we’ve covered those. The ceremony will be held at the St. Francis of Assisi Chapel, and the reception will be at the Coral Tree Garden, both in Fernwood Gardens, QC. So now there’s the rest of the preps to think about!
Our next target is to find a caterer. Having selected Fernwood narrows down our choices, since we’re only allowed to choose from their accredited caterers. While it’s a little disappointing that it limits our choices, it’s also a relief because it limits our choices. We’ve tried a number of caterers (food reviews soon!), and only one of them is accredited at Fernwood. At least now we don’t have to search far and wide for our caterer!
Our criteria: We’re not that picky. We’d like the food to be yummy, of course, but we’re not looking for anything too specific. It would be nice if there were a good balance of meats and seafood, stuff kids will eat, and more importantly, vegetables and soup that Oneal will actually like. A chocolate fountain would be a very happy plus!
We’re also hoping that the caterer we hire can serve the food lauriat-style. We really don’t like buffets, because we want our guests to be seated and enjoying their food, not rushing to the buffet tables for fear of missing out on the good stuff. Besides, it’s awful to have to wait your turn at the buffet line!
Our other big step this month: we want to go to the dress shop! We already know exactly what I’m wearing, and we have a pretty good idea of what Oneal wants for his barong. We’ve also selected designs for the entourage. We’re going to ask our loyal costume maker, Jennevita, to make my dress and the entourage gowns. Should be fun!
Other updates: We’ve already asked some of the ninangs and ninongs, and about half of them are confirmed, yay! We’re also in the process of informing our friends that they’re in the entourage.
