CHIPS N FOZZY

The weather's getting colder and the wedding's getting freakinishly nearer.  Time to scream!  The weekends are non-existent.  My eyebags are getting the better of me.  We've been running around trying to complete everything and so far here's what we've got:

- Wedding rings done!  We just got them over the weekend.  Lovely lovely.  Chips will need to get used to wearing jewelry.  We've got skinny but bony fingers, so there may be some difficulty in getting the rings worn during the actual ceremony.  Fair warning to those who will be watching us. 

- Already bought the gifts for the Principal Sponsors.  Yehey!  That's finally done and over with. 

- Coordinators have also gone on oculars at the Church and at The Peninsula.  We've also turned over our supplier contacts already.  Just a few kinks remaining, but other than that, we're fine.

- Calligraphy personally done by moi - on 180 invitations.  I haven't done calligraphy since high school.  Feels great to be doing it again.  Chips says I could make a career out of it.  Invitations have been sent out and some RSVP's have been logged.  We've got more invites to send out, just waiting for the extra envelopes we ordered.

 

Now yammering on the other things left to do:  I'm currently working on the guestbook.  Laying out the photos from the prenup and stuff.  Chips is also laying out photos for the Lomowall, which will be the backdrop for our photobooth.  Which reminds me, our supplier has yet to email me their proposed design for the print-outs.  Hmmm... what else?  Oh yeah, need to check the misalette because we just copied off from some past wedding.  I haven't even read through it yet.  Fitting for gowns and suits are supposed to be this week.  I really hope they turn out well.  Especially Chips' suit.  I'm going to die if it doesn't.  Okay that's it.  Enough yammering on a Monday morning.

Cheers!  Spread the love.

It's getting more and more hectic as the day draws near.  Will have to DIY print the map to insert in the invitations.  For those who'd like a quick online reference, uploading it here.

Cheerios!

It's getting scary-close.  We've closed on our OTD coordinator already.  She's Chips' friend from fencing.  I'm glad to have someone that at least one of us already knows and trusts.  I probably would find it hard to entrust like, the biggest day of my life on some stranger.

Over the weekend, we got the proof for our invitations.  Some editing and font-enlarging, and today I sent the final files for mass production.  I totally love how the paper texture absorbs the ink.  I was actually quite scared for a moment that my font color (a kind of mustard yellow) wouldn't show nicely.  But it was just perfect.  Can't wait to have the final ones, with the translucent envelopes.  It should look great.  I squee.

We also got to visit one of our ninangs, who will also be the one designing and making our wedding bands.  Chips, being the simple bare-bones guy that he is, refuses to have ANYTHING on his ring.  No design, no diamond.  Save for my name which will be engraved inside the ring.  It's kind of sweet, actually.

We also got to buy a bed for his house.  Since the condo won't be ready until February next year, we'll be staying over at his place first.  But get this, we actually went bed-shopping with my parents.  Because they wanted to also stop by Jollibee to redeem their credit card rewards.  Talk about awkward.  But dad was really helpful too - giving insights about the correct bed frame and all those technical stuff about different kinds of wood.  It was fun.  And we had chicken joy after, which was super delicious.

Other things for this month?  Finalizing the list for the bridal registry.  Securing the marriage license.  Third fitting for my gown.  Pestering entourage people to get themselves fitted and measured.

That's it for now guys!  Spread the love. 

Yehey!  They're finally printed.  The biggest cost to us here is probably the printer ink - because we had to go far and wide to actually find a store that actually still carries cartridges for my printer of more than 6 years (or more, even).  That actually set us back a week.

Well now they're finally done!  Ingredients:
  - Oncewed.com for inspiration
  - Epson Stylus Photo 830
  - Ivory board paper 80gsm c/o National Bookstore
  - Coin pockets c/o National Bookstore
  - Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
  - Patience
  - Fonts from www.dafont.com / www.abstractfonts.com
  - A whole lot of patience and LOVE!

We're off to distribute them in the coming week, while waiting for our formal invitations.  Which reminds me, I need to follow-up on the proof...

 I don't know if I want time to go faster or slower.  On one hand, I can't wait to be married.  To fall asleep and to wake up with my man beside me.  To brew coffee and talk after breakfast (or dinner, since the odds of me getting up to afford breakfast is like slim to none).  To watch TV and maybe fight over the remote control.  To make a mess because I have way too much clothes and shoes.  I know we'll argue.  But getting thru those things makes life more fun, and makes us better at being "us".

On the other hand, I can't help but think we don't have enough time for the wedding preps.  The bridezilla has awakened, as Chips would imply.  One minute we thought that we had all the time, and now my brain is in a panic of counting how many weekends we have left, and when I could possibly take a leave this month to get the papers done.

Okay.  I'll try not to think about what needs to be done.  So I'll just focus on looking forward to Palawan.  And that's 66 days until we see the beach again.

I got this idea from Oncewed.com where one of their featured weddings distributed paper bags with the loose petals towards the end of the church ceremony.  I guess anything is better than the guests trying to hold as many petals as they could on curled palms during the recession.  It's also a more organized / less messy way of distributing them.  Not to mention, cute!

Anyways, I also designed a seal that I'll just have printed on sticker paper.  One of the w@w bride-to-be's mentioned that they had some labels printed in Megamall... so that's probably where I'll get these done.  So there.  Tada!  I'm just too happy flexing my Adobe muscles.


On a side note, we'll be in Subic this coming weekend.  So that's two days out of the preps calendar.  Chips will be running the full marathon (that's 42 kilometers, aka 4++ consecutive hours of running).  I'm going to be there for moral support (waiting at the finish line).  Wish us luck!

If you would recognize, that's our non-monogram.  Printed on canvass.  Which my mom is sewing into a lovely souvenir (I'm not going to tell, it's up for you to guess).  These will be wrapped together with the personalized pencils (thanks Kuya TJ!).  I absolutely can't wait for everything to come together.

Spread the love!

We got super great news from our DMCI agent last night.  Our condo will be turned over earlier than expected!  As in super earlier.  The original date was December 2010 (which would mean we'll be living with Chips' parents... or mine for a year).  But because DMCI is so uber great, the turnover for our unit at Tivoli Garden Residences will now be on February 2010!  Woohoo!

We'll probably be able to move in around March though, since we asked for a bare unit.  But still.  Utter happiness.  I'm so excited.  It's another design project for me.  Hehe.  I do hope that since Chips and I got through the wedding planning scott-free, we could get through decorating without killing each other.

Omigod it's getting closer and closer!  So many things to do!  That's aside from all the things we need to accomplish for work.  I swear, this is not helping my eyebags.  I will have to rely on a very, very talented make-up artist for that.  I don't think the powers of my eye-refining cream could handle it.

Anyways, just to update you guys, our Canonical interview is done.  We were actually at the church at 8:30am last Wednesday just so we could be first in line and not be too late for work.  I do hope that the priest didn't notice that I was zoning out for a couple of moments.  Well, if he did, good thing he still gave his official blessing.  Wee!

I also had my second fitting of my pin-cushion of a gown.  It's still the lining and it will be a while till I get my 3rd fitting, where we'll see all the lace and stuff.  They finalized the length and Niko decided that he still needs more cushioning around the hip area.  Of all the places, the hips!  I never thought I'd need that.  Anyways, he said it's to help the skirt have shape.  I will leave it up to him as he's the expert.  I'd like for some miracle on the boob area though.  It feels so... umm... hollow inside that gown.  I swear, I feel like a 12-year old child.

Last Saturday, as the typhoon wreaks havoc in the city, we were at the church having our Pre-Cana Seminar.  At some point, the electricity got cut and we had to do it in the dark, with candles and an emergency light.  But all was well and we got our certificate.  No major fighting between the both of us (I don't know about the other couples though).

Okay photo on the second fitting has not vastly improved from a camera-phone level.  I did buy a new phone (wee, another wishlist thing crossed) but then again, it's still a camera phone.  Sorry guys.

Today, Chips and I took leaves to settle all the certificates we can needed for the wedding.  So church-hopping we went to get the baptism and confirmation papers for purposes of marriage.  There's some kind of wow as we read the "for marriage purposes" thing typed on them.  Wooohooo.  It's like really so happening!

This was also THE day for the first fitting with Niko (now it was just mom and I).  Oh MY it was so wonderful.  It's probably the biggest complacency shake that I've had.  You're getting married, it screams.  I felt so giddy.  It's just the lining, but it's got the basic shape already and the train as well.  Can I just say that mommy was absolutely gleaming at the sight of the "compromise" train.

I'm also getting 4-inch shoes (which Niko really loves).  I'm really going to get yellow shoes too!  Wee.

Anyways, apologize for the absolutely FAILED resolution of my old phone's camera.  Stupid me didn't even bring a camera.  On hindsight, that's really a bad, unflattering angle on the first one photo.  Sheesh.  Camera should not point down.  Anyways, there's me!