Operation: Church | Our Lady of Mt Carmel Shrine, New Manila

Kudos to MOH aka Sis Jv for taking this pic

Our Lady of Mt Carmel Shrine in New Manila was one of our first choices. Most couples in Quezon City would include this church in their lists. Mt Carmel is simply one of the romantic and sought-after churches for weddings in Quezon City, probably because of its architecture, location, ornate altar and big glass windows.

Last year, Kiko, JayVee and I went to Mt Carmel right after one of Hizon's Grandfoodtasting events in Oasis Gallery, which was about two blocks away from the church. We thought of hearing mass there when we saw its facade from Oasis' Gallery. Kiko, at the time, was somehow decided to book the Oasis-Hizon's Package, more than a year early Cosa Nostra. So, our last deciding factor was Mt Carmel's availability on our date.

Bridal Fair and other Events Galore: March

Here we go again... March has a lot of events lined-up, so better keep that calendar updated, because our weekends may not be as free as we thought it would be. I thought of including other events which we may find useful, and slightly related to Cosa Nostra.

For Japan, With Love

We are shortly interrupting this publication for a quick public service announcement:

The Guins are taking part in this project by the blogging community. The Other Guin had made a campaign early this week on Facebook, having our profile pictures changed to this with this cry:

"Lets us all unite in prayers for the people in japan regardless of our race, faith, creed and nationality. use this image as your profile pic to show your hope for the recovery and healing of a nation. the sun will rise as hope does."

Now, I just saw this project from The Perfect Palette, and a post from MyWedding.com on twitter. This project, which started by the kind hearts of the peeps behind Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours, is spreading throughout the net community, reaching out to bloggers all over the world. We can just do so much for, and this is just the right time to do our part, even in our simplest ways.

You can either show your support by participating in bloggers day of silence today (Friday in Manila) or tomorrow (Friday in the other side of the world). You can also share some of your loots, which will really help finance rescue operations in Japan. If you'd like to find out more info on how to help this operation, click here. 


Despite the devastating images we see on the news and the sad stories we hear about what happened to Japan, let's not lose hope... Miracles happen, and we see this happen everyday. Let's keep the faith and hope burning, as the sun rises again. 


c",)

Operation: Dress-Up the Bride | Inspirations

Craig Sillitoe/Sydney Morning Herald

Now that we have booked almost more than 50% of our suppliers, I guess it's just about time that we talk about "the dress." We are to meet up with a designer this Sunday, so I thought of sharing my gown's inspiration design. 

Since Cosa Nostra will be living up to the Mafioso, I'd like to have something that will honor the glam and roaring era of 1920's. The time when women started to think liberated, jazz and art deco became popular, flappers, the Great Gatsby (which I haven't read yet), and Prohibition. 

When I was thinking about our theme, and was researching it online, I found both positive and some not-so-good reactions about the idea. Along with these are reviews on the era's fabulous fashion and signature looks. That is what I'm talking about, as I wanted ours unique and not-the-usual wedding. 

Bridal Fair Chronicles: Weddings and Debut Fair 2011 Day 3

We weren't able to visit all the stalls on Saturday, so we went back to the Weddings and Debut Fair in Megamall the next day. It was the last day of the fair, and we have a few more suppliers to look for. Kiko has decided to consider Ms Ven Ocampo to do our gowns. So now, on with our HMUA (Hair and Make Up Artist - for those new to the lingo) and wedding rings hunt. But first, we went to the secretariat's booth to get our raffle ticket from the on-site booking we made the day before.

Bridal Fair Chronicles: Weddings and Debut Fair 2011 Day 2

Almost a week after the recent bridal fair. Quite a number of accomplishment, I might say. We had a number of things lined up last weekend, starting with Kiko's grade school friends' reunion, the Bagunu-Alcala matriarch in the hospital, and the bridal fair in Megamall. These, I guess, are all a breather for me. 

Anyway, since we woke up late on Saturday, we got in Megamall at around noon time, so we decided to have lunch for before we go the fair. After our buffet at Cabalen, we went up to the Megatrade Hall to register. All Megatrade gates were open for registration and entrance to the event. From the registration booth, I could hear Leggiero playing from the Hall 2; and they never fail. ☺ I finally got my tickets, and just waited for Kiko at the gates.