Appetite for Life

Since Jude and I weren't able to invite my college friends to our very small wedding, we decided to celebrate with them on the Saturday of the same week. We called it a post-wedding dinner party.

I found cute and customizable Save-the-Date cards while browsing various wedding blogs. That's when I decided I wanted this to be a rustic-themed event.

From then on, I've been sparing some time making DIY accents for the party. Not so many though, because of the time constraint. These are what I've come up with.

We booked Bintana as our venue, which was the perfect place for a handcrafted, rustic theme. Sarah and her mom were very accommodating and helpful. They only asked for 3 thousand for 3 hours, which was consumable. They even gave us a few hours ahead of schedule to put up decors, lights, flowers and other details.

I like how our post-wedding dinner turned out. It was like one big family dinner, with a little extra decoration of course.

Cake is still from Jane of Yoyi's Pastries and Desserts. She nailed the naked cake on her first try!

While there were a few things I wish I changed (table setting, etc.), I had the time of my life. There's nothing like spending time with these people-- laughter, sarcasm, snarky comments and all. I love you guys! Thanks for coming...and for the gifts, too!

xx,

Some photos were grabbed from Jessa Ducao's facebook. :P

I love mornings.

And the morning of December 9th 2015 will always be my favorite. Because later that day, my boyfriend and I headed down to the courthouse and finally tied the knot.

We got engaged on October 29 -- which was just a few days over a month before our wedding day. We knew from the start that we wanted to steer clear from the traditional ceremony so we got busy with the few wedding elements we wanted to incorporate - attire, bouquet, cake, videoke, photographs.

The wedding planning wasn't a breeze despite our efforts to keep it as simple as possible. The legal stuff, which was a big chunk of our to-dos, was a real challenge especially under time constraint. The other tasks were less complicated but also needed time and effort.

Our attire was one of the last things we were able to take care of. I wanted to get an RTW but I couldn't find any green dress/gown to my liking (or my body type's liking). So we ended up buying RTW for the groom and having my gown made by our seamstress neighbor.

Lucky for us, friends and family volunteered to help out with the other details. The bouquet and accessories were crafted by my loving DIYer mother. She just asked for the materials and did her magic. Mind you, the bouquet was a scene-stealer!

The desserts were made by my dearest friend Jane of Yoyi's Pastries and Desserts, photography was done by a co-worker Anna Sarzata, and our getaway car was covered by Micmic and family. It was so pretty thanks to the DIY powers of Queenie from QuaintQuinn.com.

The ceremony

Our ceremony at Minglanilla Regional Trial Court was at 10 am. My small crew and I arrived at the location around 9 am, the same time Jude and his family arrived. At 9:30, all of us were at the courthouse, filled with anticipation. A few candid photos later, all 11 of us gathered inside the Judge's tiny chambers and started the ceremony.

I wasn't expecting to be emotional during the ceremony. We didn't prepare our vows, there was no romantic background music, and to be honest, the chamber was really tiny that it was funny seeing our photographer doing #buwisbuhay poses to get the better angle. But I was totally wrong. Even if we didn't write our own vows, the ceremony was a tearjerker. There were "I will love you til the ends of the earth" type of statements that made my eyes misty. There were a lot of almost-crying moments. But there was also smiling, lots of it. And hugging. And kissing.

We went directly to Music One Family KTV And DVD for the reception and after party. There, my parents, other family and friends were waiting for our arrival. But before starting the food and fun, my father blessed our union with a short symbolic ceremony involving chocolates, water, and perfume.

Jeff gave the wedding toast and it was beautiful.

What ensued was an afternoon of dancing, singing, eating, laughing and love love love.

Here's a short video of the day, created by my sister. Hope you enjoy it!

Our biggest challenge

Aside from processing the legal papers and trying to get everything ready in a span of 30 days, one challenge was losing my voice on the day of the wedding. Well, it wasn't totally lost yet, but every time I wanted to speak, what came out was a low-key husky tone just like a boy who's experiencing voice change.

On top of that, my wedding coordinator - my sister - also lost hers a few days ago and she's totally voiceless overseeing the reception and entertaining guests. It was difficult Ariel-ing our way throughout the event.

Note to future brides: Take good care of your voice days heading onto the big day!

My favorite moments

All of it was beautiful but if there was one thing I liked most about the wedding, it was having my most favorite people in the world (family and friends) under a single roof, involved in the celebration. And not just sitting and waiting in line to congratulate me and my husband, but really involved in the party.

Jokes were made, a lot of candid shots were taken, almost everyone was being him/herself. It was an upbeat event with family and friends.

The good thing about having a small guest list was having the time to talk, mingle, laugh and sing with each of our guests - and not just exchange "congratulations" and "thank yous" for a few seconds on the receiving line or during table visits.