Warning: This post contains photos overload!
What seemed so far away was now just right around the corner. In a blink of an eye, February came. We're just so happy we were able to resolve in time all the sudden changes we encountered due to the onset of Covid-19. Details here.
My family, my hubby's parents and a couple of our principal sponsors booked the first Cebu Pacific flight for February 7. Of course, the morning greeted us with a flight delay! Thankfully, we were able to arrive just around an hour before lunch time.
In the resort's airport lounge located beside the airport, they especially placed a tarp with our names to welcome the guests. Felt like real VIPs already. They also placed one in their guest hotel right before the guests would ride a boat to the island resort.
Photos taken from Ms. Carolyn Batay, one of our emcees
There was not much agenda to do the day before our wedding. Our coordinator wanted us to relax and forget about all the plans. It's finally our day so we must make the most of it. Also, our guests chose their own flights so they would only be complete come dinner time. It's basically free day today. The day after was also free day as each guest would have their own itinerary. Some would stay longer, and some would go back home like us. Our coordinator simply briefed us on what will transpire the next day, made sure all items were prepared and set up in our rooms for use of the P/V team. She also checked on us on how we were feeling. A bit jittery but still relaxed. I was a bridechilla! The resort made a good job registering our guests for swift check-in, not much problems were encountered so far aside from the occasional long wait for the buggy rides as the influx of guests started to increase.
It was festive came the pre-wedding dinner. It was a reunion of sorts for most of our guests and we were happy we had this time to mingle with them and get to know the unfamiliar faces. We wouldn't have this kind of time during the reception tomorrow. Some of our guests even got up to sing and dance. There were resort personnel's dance performances, local acoustic band that can even sing in Chinese, as well as local fire dance. It was really merry. This was one of the unexpected happy moments we would forever be grateful to have.
The festive pre-wedding dinner
I managed to sleep in around 10pm and woke up beautifully next morning at just before my 6AM call time. After showering and eating breakfast that was delivered to my room, my makeup artist, Ms. Lindsay Lin and her team came to my room early to setup and glam me up for the prep shoot. A little later, the Mayad Studios team also entered my room for their elements and detail shots. My bridal assistant was also present. I must say the room was a little crowded, but I would prefer that than being quiet all by myself moments before getting hitched.
So here are some of my solo prenup shots wearing Event Starters dramatic peach bridal robe. I looked fresh and flawless and seemed to have luscious hair thanks to the quality hair extensions Ms. Lindsay used for additional length and volume.
Some of the detail shots of our wedding elements. Love these!
When my girls had finished their hair and make up, they also came to my room for robe shots. Really getting crowded, but festive still! I honestly didn't hate it.
Meanwhile, my hubby and his boys were also doing couple of shoots in his room.
We also had our lunches delivered in our rooms. Afterwards, we dressed up in our gowns for another shoot. Our parents had also visited us in our rooms for that obligatory family photos.
"Time flies" was an understatement. We thought we had much more time as our ceremony was at 4:30pm, but then there it was. It's time. Our guests had already assembled at the ceremony area. Our photographers went ahead to capture the place. It's magical.
If you're working with nature, you didn't really need that much styling.
Then of course, to start off the ceremony were the entourages' and groom march. I was waiting in my bridal buggy before my turn.
Finally, the most awaited moment. Photos here show from the start of my walk until I reached the altar.
You're all familiar on what transpired next. We had the usual ceremony timeline, sermon, vows, symbols, photo ops, etc.
There's one unique detail during our ceremony. The pastor's main sermon and our vows were translated to Chinese when spoken in English or Tagalog, and English if spoken in Chinese. Translations were done by our trusty emcees, Jeffrey Yu and Carolyn Batay.
Funny moment! We had our own vows memorized and when he paused, I thought he just forgot the words and I even whispered that it’s ok to look at his script. But when I saw his eyes reddening, I just realized then and there that he was actually going to cry. I did not even think about the possibility of him crying because this was the first time I saw him tear up after 8 years of dating. By then I was also holding back tears too. Thankfully, he regained composure in a while. Otherwise, I think we would have a crying session. Needless to say, this was my favorite moment as I got to see another side of my husband I’ve never seen before.
Alas, we're married! Mr. & Mrs. Liao in the house. <3
What came next? Post-ceremony shoot of course! We started first with our bridesmaids and groomsmen...
... Followed by an enchanting shoot at the yacht during the golden hour for just the two of us. This was my ultimate favorite shoot and photos. I had to share, this was totally unexpected! It wasn't in our schedule. It just so happened that our coordinator saw a yacht parked at the dock. She immediately requested and secured permission from the resort if we can shoot there. She did not tell us anything and just surprised us once we arrived. We were downright speechless. Thank you so much, Ms. Monina, and to the resort for additional priceless memories.
We also had last minute shoot on the beach, and some fancy shots with the full moon! February 8 was the end of the Chinese Spring Festival, so full moon was expected.
After that, we finally got some rest. We were taken to a holding area near the reception to eat our dinner first. We also changed into our reception look. Meanwhile, our guests were having a good time during cocktail hour with the grazing table prepared by Graze Manila, followed by a fun trivia game we prepared with the emcees. We wanted our receptions games to be playable and relatable to all the guests, without the need for force volunteers or people feeling out of place. Prizes were at stake! We gave away a number of Huawei bands and bluetooth speakers for all our games. We also encouraged our guests to share their photos with the hashtag #kaxiAnjiansiClarice equivalent to "kasi andyan si Clarice". Our coordinator's team came up with this and we loved it.
Reception Setup
Trivia game proper
It was time to start the party. After introducing our parents and principal sponsors, our bridesmaids and groomsmen were asked to get up the stage to dance an impromptu number! Because if we asked them for this ahead, they wouldn't agree to this for sure. Sorry guys! Treat this as your additional gift to us please?
Finally, it's our turn. They played our prenup photo slideshow before our entry as sort of pre-introduction. Our guests were able to participate again upon our entry by lighting our way with sparklers. These shots were also my faves.
We started off the program with a big bang with our father-daughter dance to a Bruno Mars-Michael Jackson mash up! The crowd went wild as father-daughter dances are usually simple sways and very emotional, while ours were fun and thoroughly rehearsed. Shout out to our excellent and patient dance choreographer, Mykel Sun.
Immediately followed by our first dance to the song "Like Me Better" by Lauv, also directed by Sir Mykel.
We then proceeded with the traditional cake cutting and cross-over toast. These gestures still remain as important marriage symbols to this date.
It's dinner time. Since we finished eating, we relaxed in our couch while some of our guests wanted to take group photos with us. We also went down to have a few photos with the principal sponsors and greet some of the guests. We've also played our Tinghun video for our guests viewing.
Since it always takes time for the photo/video team to finish up the SDE output, we worked hard with our emcees to come up with additional games that will not bore anybody. For the second game, we did the famous "jack-and-poy" money game where the winner takes all the money from the loser until only 1 winner remains. We had a twist though! Instead of the usual peso bill, we used $1 US dollar bills to make it more interesting and to make the amount seem larger. Boy did they had fun!
The next segment was another exciting fire dancers show. But they're different from the pre-wedding dinner, as they also incorporate LED lights. They're ElectroFire Dancers that we especially imported from Manila. This was one of the entertainment segments that can only be done for outdoor events, so we definitely grabbed the chance.
The last game of the night was an explosion of creativity from the guests as they participated in a modified bring-me game, grouped by table. The emcees will say a word, example "love", and then the audience will put things in a bag starting in L, O, V, and E. It could be leaf, orange, veil, egg, basically anything they can think of and get heir hands on according to the letters of the word. The first to come in front and bring all correct and valid items wins. This was also a hit!
Then finally, our most awaited moment of the night, the SDE photo and video viewing. We were excited but at the same time a bit worried if Mayad was able to capture our style. Once it ended, we were speechless. It was beyond what we expected! We were deeply grateful to have booked them. They may cost more then the average P/V team, but after looking at their works, it was all very worth it. So pleased to end the night with a happy note and utter satisfaction!
All eyes on the screen as we all went back to what transpired during the day.
I must mention that our coordinator shared us her opinion. She had handled hundreds of weddings and ours was the first that she watched the entire SDEs. Because usually, they would catch a glimpse at the start then immediately go back to work. But for ours, she managed to watch the entire reel. We're so pleased to here that from our very experience coordinator. It just meant that the work was indeed a masterpiece. Below are our SDE photo slideshow and video.
SDE photo slideshow:
SDE Video:
In between segments, there were of course rounds of speeches from our parents and us at the end to thank the guests for especially making time to come to Coron and to join in the celebration of our love. We wanted to keep speeches minimum to not bore the guests with details that they may not relate to.
We started with a big bang, we would of course end with one as well. What better way to do that than to light up the night sky with fireworks? We hired Official Dragon Fireworks Inc. Palawan affiliate to help us execute that. It was definitely a night to remember.
All that money, time and energy spent for planning just this one day has gone by so quickly. However, looking back at these photos and videos, at the candid emotions of all the people involved, at the many other photos captured and shared by our guests, at how I had managed to blog about our beautiful wedding and feel really proud about it, we knew we had made priceless memories for everyone. We wouldn't have done it any other way and if we were given a chance to create another wedding for ourselves, we would do it in exactly the same way.
For me it wasn't just about our wedding, it was also a learning experience. Because of this, I had become a wedding and events enthusiast, and I was able to create this very site, offer my services and declared myself Forever a Bride!
So it's done? Over? Not quite. Our destination wedding, like others, limited our guests to just the family, relatives and the closest friends which made the event more intimate and special. However, my dad's a member of a Chinese association and for us Chinese, it's a form of respect to invite your fellow business colleagues and acquaintances over to a special event like a wedding. Thus, surprise! We had also planned a postnup reception in Manila for business clients, association members and other friends who weren't able to attend in Coron, for 2 weeks after the wedding at February 22. It's definitely so much simpler than our wedding day, and the program would me more chill and senior-friendly, as most of our guests would be the Chinese elderly. Watch out for the details about our postnup reception in the next chapter!
***All my posts are in no way sponsored or paid. I narrate our wedding planning adventure like a diary, with only actual facts and experiences.***
Chapter 15: Our Dream Wedding Finally Came True
Days to go: 0 months
Wedding Planning Progress: 100%
Wedding Planning Team:
1. Bride & Groom
2. Wedding Coordinator: Monina E Events & Marketing
3. Venue, Accommodation, Catering, Cake, Car: Sunlight Eco Tourism Island Resort
4. Event Stylist: Monet Event Styling (packaged with coordinator, Monina)
5. Photo / Video: Mayad Studios
6. MOH, Bridesmaids, Flower Girl Dresses and Bowties: Jannah & Keith Fashion Boutique
7. Fan Souvenir: Jeanalds
8. Minor Wedding Elements, Materials and Miscellaneous Items: Divisoria & Shopee
9. Bridal Robe: Event Starters
10. Bridal Hair Accessories: Halo Bridal PH
11. Entourage Robes: SHOPPERSONALIZED BY:jaemieann
12. Ceremony Accessories and Unity Coin: Tela at Moda / The Wedding Library
13. Wedding Rings: Forever Couple
14. Bridal Barefoot Sandals: Waltz Manila
15. Bridal Gown: PS Officiel
16. Bride's Earrings: Fidela PH
17. Bride's Hair Accessories: Rose & Crown Ph, Halo Bridal PH
18. Bridal Sneakers: S&H
19. Bridal Nails: Azhua Nail
20. Bridal Hair Color: KOOP Studio
21. Groom's Suit: Suit it Up Manila
22. Groom's Shoes: GEOX
23. Mothers' Gown: Weddings By Desino Dulce
24. Fathers' Suit: Exclusively His Tailoring
25. Groomsmen Attire: VanHeusen
26. Live Band: Woodstring Band
27. Grazing Table: Graze Manila
28. HMUA: Lindsay Lin of Lindsay Lin Makeup Artistry
29. Lights and Sounds: LH PRO Sounds and Lights
30. Emcees: Jeffrey Yu and Carolyn Batay
31. Officiant: Rev. Larry San Pedro
32. Invitations: Yanna's Printshop
33. Fire Dancers: ElectroFire Dancers
34. Fireworks: Official Dragon Fireworks Inc.
35. Choreographer: Mykel Sun
36. Bridal Fitness Coach: Coach June Marin Calvez of Hype 24/7 Fitness
37. Perfume Souvenirs: Perfume: KC Perfumes Bottle: CLF Crystal Arts (taobao.com)
Prenup Shoot:
1. P/V, HMUA, Stylist, Outfit Rental, Coordination: 玫瑰星座 Rose Studio
2. Accommodation: Wyndham Sanya Bay c/o Rose Studio
3. Photo Slideshow: Rule of Thirds
4. Location: Sanya, Hainan, China
Tinghun:
Days to go: 0 months
Tinghun Planning Progress: 100%
Tinghun Planning Team:
1. Bride & Groom
2. Venue, Accommodation, Catering, Styling, Musician, Cake, Ceremony Snacks & Drinks, Crew Meals: New World Makati Hotel, Cake Concepts, Bernie Pasamba
3. Bride's Robe: Soler, Divisoria
4. Mom's Gown for Tinghun: Jannah & Keith Fashion Boutique
5. Bride's Gown: 168 Mall, Divisoria
6. Bride's Nails: Azhua Nail
7. Bride's Shoes: Gibi from The SM Store
8. HMUA: Joyce Jimenez of Headstart Malabon
9. Groom's Suit: Melaine Yu
10. Groom's Shoes: Geox
11. Emcee: Carolyn Batay
12. P/V Team: Peach Frost Studio
13. Custom Candies: Twisted Candy
14. Jewelry & Watches: Hong Kong
15. Kasaipia & Kasaike: Diao Eng Chay
16. Fortune Cookies: Upgr8 Studio
17. Clothes Boxes: Boxination
18. Gold Ingot Chocolates, Packaging, Miscellaneous and Other DIY Materials: Shopee
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