1 day

December 29, 2010

I'm officially signing off as a single woman.

My harvest has come...TRUE LOVE.

2 days

December 28, 2010

PRAYER BEFORE TRAVEL:

Lord, be with me as I prepare for travel.  Calm my fears so that I can begin this trip rested in mind and body.  Keep me alert for any dangerous situations I might encounter so that I might arrive at my destination unharmed and secure in the knowledge that, when my trip is over, You will always be there to guide me safely.  Amen.

Have a safe trip to Tagaytay, dear guests!
We'll see you there!

3 days

December 27, 2010

People have been asking what our love song is. If you ask us both, we will give you the same answer...in perfect unison, most likely.

Click here to listen to OUR song

 Go figure. :D 

4 days

December 26, 2010

One crazy night with my girls...

Photo courtesy of filmreference.com

I WILL NEVER LOOK AT ZORRO THE SAME WAY AGAIN.

Thanks to my groom for being really cool about it.

Thanks to my girls for the Zorro surprise.

For inquiries about Zorro, contact my friend Anansa. 
Photos to come out after the wedding. :D

5 days

December 25, 2010

I can't wait to say I DO in MY RED HIGH HEELS...

A GIFT FROM JEN, MY MAID OF HONOR!

THANK YOU for getting this beautiful pair, Jen! 

I'm in love with it!

XOXO.

*Oh, that's my PRINCE holding my shoe!*

6 days

December 24, 2010

A blessed Christmas to everyone!

We had an early Noche Buena today with my family.

For Christmas Eve (just a few minutes to go!), 

we are going to spend it with our own families. 

We have a lifetime to be together during Christmas Eve, anyway.

And it's my turn to be with his family tomorrow!

Can't wait to taste Tita Edith's lasagna!

***

After that yummy dinner, we had our exchange gift portion, a tradition in our family.

Got me two gifts from Mommy!

 Her wedding gift

Aww, thanks Mommy!

 My newest 'K' necklace

THANKS MOMMY!!! 
I SUPER LOVE THEM!

***

Again, I wish you the gift of LOVE & PEACE this holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

7 days

December 23, 2010

Got a sweet tooth? 

***

Then, be sure to check out the Love and Sweets Corner 

(our very own candy corner) at Splendido.

***

Well, the bride (Moi!) really loves any sweet treats that she can eat.

So, if you don't see her (Moi, who else?) at the couple's table, 

she's (Moi, again!) probably somewhere near the candy corner.

My DIY project today: 

CANDY CANISTERS (with a hint of Christmas theme)

DIY Project done under 30 minutes!

***

Wedding styling, anyone?
(Seriously, I can do this for a living! Hmmm....)

8 days

December 22, 2010

Thank you so much, Mike Bustos, for this dashing suit!

My groom loves it! 
Without a doubt, the Bernardez men just love Mike's creations!


Our two inspirations, which I got online

Photo courtesy of  famewatcher.com

Photo courtesy of  famewatcher.com

Add Mike on Facebook: Bustos Tailoring

For future grooms, Bustos Tailoring creates quality AND affordable suits.

Give him a call at 0928-7944215

9 days

December 21, 2010

The moon caught my tired and sleepy eyes tonight. Oh, it's FULL MOON...I remember her again. She who loved the moon so much...she who adored its beauty...TIEN.

Something to Share: I wanted to marry my man on a full moon date. In fact, we tried getting December 21 as our wedding date. Too bad, bookings didn't work out. I wanted her 'presence' on our day so badly. 

10 days

December 20, 2010

Watch out for...

...our super cute WISHING WELL!

It's definitely one of my favorite wedding details. 

I'm pretty sure that our little flower girls will hang out near the 
wishing well during the reception. 

Big thanks to Tita Edith and Tita Carol 

for supervising the 'construction' of this well. 

MEET OUR DREAM MOMS TANDEM. Tita Carol is our culinary expert. She knows almost all kinds of cuisines. Her knowledge on food is so extensive. She also has a knack for home and garden designs. Tita Edith is our super mom! She can basically do everything! She is our personal adviser on ALL aspects of our wedding -food, financial, logistics, spiritual, etc. The Edith-Carol tandem is just remarkably great because they offer and do everything with love and sincerity. We are really lucky to have them! 

13-11 days

December 17, 2010

The Queen T arrived from India

She's here for a few days only to renew her visa. 

She'll be flying back to India on 3rd January.

Talk about great timing!

December 18, 2010

Chedy's family visited Mom on her birthday

 Mom's kiddos

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN, MOMMY!

Mom's surprise guest, sis Dang

The Readers 

(What were they doing here, huh?)

December 19, 2010

 Tie shopping with the Rainbow boys

***


Let's all pray for a great (and a PRODUCTIVE) week ahead! 

14 days

December 16, 2010

*tic, tac, tic, tac, tic, tac*

15 days

 December 15, 2010

There are times when only a Mother's love

Can help us on life's way

And inspire in us, the confidence

We need from day to day.

I'll be sleeping tonight with a grateful heart knowing that
I have the best of both worlds...feeling the LOVE

of my two moms, Mommy Rose and Mommy Edith.
They are my strength and my inspiration...my HOME.

19-16 days

December 11, 2010, Saturday

Monica, Lourdes and Cecille helped me out with the favors!
Thanks guys! 

***

December 12, 2010, Sunday

 Our first Christmas dinner
(with Christmas music in the background)

Another impromptu family gathering in Parañaque home

***

December 13, 2010, Monday

We went home hopping in Parañaque and Las Piñas to personally give 

our invites to our Ninongs and Ninangs. 

***

December 14, 2010, Tuesday

We attended Dan & Charley's lovely wedding...it gave us wedding jitters!

WE ARE NEXT! 

20 days

December 10, 2010

Today, I talked to my fiancé about my change of name after the wedding. Don't get me wrong, this is not an issue for me...and it's not trivial either. Significant and beautiful changes come in after the wedding. Marriage takes charge the moment we become husband and wife. This is what Jeff and I are more excited about, actually.

I have a lot of married friends, who have chosen to be hyphenated. It's the trend nowadays. This is common among famous women like news anchors, public officials, actresses, etc. For some couples, hyphenating can be a compromise. On the other hand, I have some friends who went to the other direction of keeping their maiden names and not placing their husband's family names after that small but terrible punctuation mark called a HYPHEN. And I know a few (VERY few, actually), who have bravely taken the traditional way - no maiden name. This is perhaps, the most acceptable among the three options.

I've read a lot of articles and forums about the changing of names among newly-married women. It got me really interested. Some comments are very powerful and emotional especially towards the hyphenated names. Different folks, different strokes. That's all I can say. It goes without saying that we should always respect what others have chosen for themselves.

I choose to add my husband's family name WITHOUT being hyphenated. I have good reasons for it. I'm not a famous person so my husband's family name next to mine won't really create any confusion. No hyphen needed. Call me traditional now, but I still want to keep my maiden name. I want that 'bond' with my family (including my Dad and Tien) to stay until the day I die and I need to preserve my family name while taking his. And of course, I would gladly take my soon-to-be-husband's family name. BERNARDEZ. Believe me, there's just more to it than being his Mrs. For one, being 'officially' part of his family is a great blessing to me. No hyphen needed. I'm going to be married to him COMPLETELY. No hyphen needed.

21 days

December 9, 2010

Last Saturday, Jeff and I finally got the gowns for our female entourage. We just love all the 16 gowns that Bridesdream has created. I'm more than satisfied! Tita Leony and her seamstresses make sure that the bride gets what she wants. At first, they were a bit hesitant with my design choices. Parang hindi pasok sa budget kasi mabusisi gawin...parang fashion show kasi. They thought the designs were not traditional. In the end, Tita Leony understood me. She got the vibe that I was not her typical bride. She was particularly challenged with my gown and the designs for my bridesmaids. Well, to be challenged is good.


I am also happy with the wine colors that I've chosen. They all look great together. Thank you to this site for the complete wine color guide. I've chosen blush wine for my bridesmaids, deep purple wine for the secondary sponsors and deep red wine for our moms, maid and matron of honor. 

 For the ladies

The night before our Measurement Day (September 19),

Jeff and I printed out 12 "Will You Be" cards for the ladies

and 14 gown photos for Bridesdream's reference.

Our "Will You Be" cards for the girls

Beng as our Bridesmaid 

 Mona as our Secondary Sponsor

 Tikoy as our Secondary Sponsor

 Becksie as our Bridesmaid

Dang as our Matron of Honor

THANK YOU, Tita Leony of Bridesdream for the lovely gowns! 

Hope you get more brides in the future because your team is just awesome.

I can't wait to see mine this weekend! 

22 days

December 8, 2010

It's happening real soon.

♥ 

a DIY project inspiration

♥ 

Photo by Patricia Lysons
www.wedding.theknot.com

23 days

December 7, 2010

Our Catholic Engaged Encounter

(Batch 14, Tahanan Village)

Excerpts from our Betrothals for each other:

"I will make you feel like a princess even if we are already 80 or 90 years old.

I will wake with you and tuck you into sleep from now on until the day I die.

I'll hold your hand every step of the way.

I am overly in love with you. Now until forever."

-Jeff

"You are the perfect guy for me. Your loving ways still surprise me. 

Without any hint of doubt on my mind, I am ready to be 
your life and love partner.

I'll always be your love."

-Au

26 days

December 4, 2010

Taking that long drive to Tagaytay for some errands is one thing we're going to miss after our wedding. Just like what happened last Saturday, Jeff and I went to our favorite getaway place to complete our 'Church' responsibilities. It was a long, tiring but productive day.

CHAPEL ON THE HILL

After our mock wedding rites with Fr. Jess

 CANYON WOODS VIEW DECK

Submitting our requirements to the Parish Office 

POTTER'S RIDGE HOTEL

Checking their rooms

 BAG OF BEANS

Cinnamon bread to go!

MUSHROOM BURGER

His restaurant choice

 TAAL VISTA HOTEL

Checking their rooms

CHATEAU HESTIA

Wine hunting

 RAZON'S at Paseo de Santa Rosa

Our sugar fix after all those errands

***

The best part in doing our Tagaytay errands is the quality time we get to have inside his car. We talk. We laugh. We sing together. We hold hands. These are just a few of what I'm going to miss...the simple joys of a bride!

***