The Caterer

On top of my things to consider when scouting for a supplier is rapport. I am so blessed with all my suppliers... they are all very nice, sweet, and pleasant people. Preparing for a wedding is unbelievably stressful so it feels great transacting business with generally happy people.

Thanks to my caterer, Eloquente, and the resource persons, Jeric and (most especially) Tina.

Visit www.eloquentecatering.com.

The Sponsors and Entourage

ROMULO-BERNALDO NUPTIALS

~o~

Parents

Harvey G. Romulo†
Rizalina A. Romulo

Cesar A. Bernaldo
Citas G. Bernaldo
~o~
Officiating Minister:

Pastor Arsenio G. Bonifacio II
~o~
Principal Sponsors:

Zeny Tengco

Ben Sanvictores

Victoria Aliño-Camarillo

Joe Guingona

Joanna Tang Sy

Jerry Chan

Tess Faustino

Vijun Genato

Cora del Mundo-Gonzales

Reynaldo Bernaldo

Lydia Bonifacio

Vergel Romulo

Regina Carlos

Benjie Borja

Gemma Avorque-Nunag

Fernando See

Margarita Romulo-Masa

Gary "Ito" Kish

~o~

Secondary Sponsors:

Candles:
Loyva Conje-Fernandez
Mark Cayanan

Veil:
Hazzey Dane Romulo
Charles Bernaldo

Cord:
Jingle Perez-Pascual
Dennis Panganiban
~o~
Entourage:

Maid of Honor:
Renee Victoria Camarillo

Matron of Honor:
Carmina Bernaldo-Streegan

Best Man:
Lesley Yacat

Bridesmaids:
Chits Jimenez
Eirene Pacuriib
Ana Zamora
Raquel Ignacio
Beth Mapula

Groom’s Men:
Jorindel Romulo
Lindley Romulo
Noel Pura
Jojo Roa
Allan Yamson

Flower Maids:
Daryl Valenzuela
Francesca “Kit” Kwe
Lourdes Parawan
Charis Grace Orias
Celina Jean Streegan

Ring Bearer: Carl Jason Streegan
Coin Bearer: Christopher Jeffrey Streegan
Bible Bearer: Christian Justin Streegan
Flower Girls: Nicole Fenandez
Denise Fernandez

***

Special thanks to my best friend, Renee (my maid of honor). I don't know how she does it but she manages to help me in the preparations and support me in every way she can despite being in UAE. I love you, Kalila!

The Color Motif

The colors for our wedding are very reminiscent of autumn:

Chocolate
Apricot
Merlot Wine
Burnt Orange

For inspiration, feel free to gawk at the pictures below. Aminin niyo… ang yummy!

The Theme

Opposites attract? Well, I can agree with that, but planning a wedding with someone so opposite is a different story… nightmarish, in fact. =) Honestly, it was a great challenge (again) for us to come up with a wedding theme. We couldn’t do cinema or film because I like Gary Oldman, Humphrey Bogart, Marcelo Mastroianni, and Tony Leung. Jas, on the other hand, likes Vin Diesel, Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, and Jackie Chan. We couldn’t do a music theme too because I like Beatles (mod), but he prefers R&B/hip-hop.

Thank God for Wolfgang Petersen’s “Troy” (starring Jasper’s idol Brad Pitt) and the film version of Frank Miller’s graphic novel “300” (which is now Jasper’s favorite movie of all time), we had a fusion of interest of some sorts. Even as a kid I loved Greek mythology so deciding on the Grecian / Greek theme didn’t require the intervention of a referee.

So here we are with our Grecian theme. Actually, the Greek theme is just useful for the women. At least, it would be nice to look at the pictures from the wedding and see all the girls in Greek-inspired outfits. We cannot expect the men to do the same since it would be revolting to see them in white drapes or in full-Trojan battle gear.

Suggestions:
For men – barong (if you want to put laurel leaves on your head, go! Yun nga lang, mukha kayong sasali sa Balagtasan! hehe)
- please don’t wear checkered or plaid shirts!
For women – I see a lot of silk, satin, and chiffon… mostly flowing designs and “drapey” styles (no beadwork, embroidery, lace, and ruffles please)
-please stick to my color palette too para maganda, diba?

Souvenir

We had quite a hard time choosing our wedding giveaway. I specifically wanted to avoid novelty stuff that usually ends up in trash bins like figurines, candle-holders, etc. So we decided to trim down our options to useful things. Problem is that it has to be something that has significance to us somehow or something that represents something common in us. This was the toughest challenge because we don't seem to have anything in common! Hehe. Good thing is we both love to eat and we can both cook. I won't tell what the souvenir is but it has something to do with cooking. Actually, parang funny nga eh. I'm sure there would be comments like, "Ano ito?" Sorry na lang... it's our wedding and we both think it's cute. =) Anyway, thanks to Gourdo's for our souvenirs. Thank you to Sheila and Dhigz for the assistance. Check out their products and services at www.gourdos.com.

By the way, the souvenir is just an ordinary household item. What makes it special is the packaging and the added flair courtesy of my lovely sister, Carmina. She's really gifted with arts and crafts.

Pre-nup Pictorial

Ayan, para matawa naman kayo... presenting... our pre-nup pictures! Jasper and I dreaded this day because, unless you're movie stars or models o sadyang vain na tao, a pictorial is probably the most awkward situation you can get yourself into. It's even worse than running into an ex or a classmate you picked on in grade school because this is scheduled! Few days before April 27, I knew I had to overcome my anxiety because I kept imagining Jas and I being directed by the photographer to smile, look lovingly into each other's eyes, etc. etc. Alas, I thought of establishing a theme to make the pictorial fun and corny and not yuck and mushy. In short, naisip namin "pag-tripan" na lang yung pictorial. So last April 27, we had our pre-nup pictorial. I chose 3 themes (siempre ako na naman at walang magawa si jasper hahaha). First is film noir, reminiscent of Italian gangsters, Hitchcock heroines, Mastroianni, Fellini, and Humphrey Bogart. Second theme is Bonnie and Clyde. Jasper's hat and my black gloves were borrowed from ABS-CBN's wardrobe department. I couldn't find a nicer hat for Jasper so I guess he ended up looking more like Charlie Chaplin (sans the diminutive moustache) than Warren Beatty. The last was from one of my "mostest" favorite movies, Wong Kar-Wai's In The Mood for Love. Too bad we were both too silly and too much in a good mood to mimic the morose faces of Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung. The cheongsam I wore belonged to my late grandmother, Francisca "Kikay" Bernaldo. I just had the sleeves removed and the back side turned into black tulle para see-through... para maarte (my gorgeous Lola Kikay would have been proud). For the last set of pics, we just wore our matching Adidas jackets (much to Jasper's relief kasi naloloka na siya sa mga trip ko). Thank God our photographers were wonderful, nice people. Jasper and I were so comfortable with them. The studio is right next to their place so it was really cozy and homey. Thank you very much, Jun Valbuena Photography. I found them through their ad on Metro Weddings magazine. Thank you, Mr. Jun and Ma'am Glory. You may visit their website - www.junvalbuena.com Thank you, Irene Manigo and Ava for my hair and makeup. Found Irene in bridal fair in Rockwell. She's really good and she makes use of Laura Mercier's line of cosmetics (new fans are Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow). MAC kasi is like a big gunk of makeup on the face. Laura Mercier is perfect for me. Parang walang makeup. Irene Manigos's website is www.makeupartist.com.ph

Save-the-date Card

"Nowhere you can be that isn't where you were meant to be... it's easy..."
Save the date!
June 30, 2007
9:00 am
Jasper Romulo-Anna Bernaldo
Wedding
(invitation to follow)

###

For our "vips" and very busy invitees, we came up with save-the-date cards that we designed ourselves. It's postcard-style (to save on envelope costs hehe). It shows an original vinyl record of The Beatles' "All You Need is Love" single on the front. We adjusted the colors to suit our color motif.
Thank you to Dotgain Digital Printing located at 35 Esteban St., Loyola Heights, Q.C.

The Ring

Thanks to the Media Asset Management office's wonderful lighting, my face appeared paper-white as Sadako's. Good thing I pulled my hair back. No, I'm not trying to show my big nose... i'm showing off my engagement ring. Thank you to my sweet fiance for the lovely heart-shaped diamond Tiffany ring.

WHERE WE MET

Summer of 2005, Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro
In the words of the great poet, Christopher Marlowe, "Whoever loved that loved not at first sight?"