M plus M

We booked Club Balai Isabel in Talisay, Batangas, more than a year before our wedding. The place is number one among our non-negotiable wedding suppliers because first, we wanted a beach wedding and second, it's less than an hour away from Manila. First ocular visit @ Club Balai Isabel (Pantalan sa Clubhouse) At first, I wasn't too impressed with the beach. I wanted white sand (like Boracay). Eventually, I've come to accept that this is the closest thing we can have next to Boracay, budget-wise. We planned to have both the ceremony and reception in Balai Isabel . I didn't like the indoor venue because it would defeat the purpose of having an outdoor beach wedding, correct? Also, getting one of the indoor pavilions will cost us for a separate ceremony venue. So getting the Clubhouse Pantalan (lakeshorevenue) seemed like the best deal. We gave one payment for both reception and ceremony venue. Transacting with Ms. Ruby Mendoza, our account manager, was has...

Hiring musicians for our wedding was last among our priorities. When Mike shared his thoughts that he would want to hear violin playing while we're having our first dance, we decided to go for it. A few weeks before our wedding, when Al Espina of Juan Carlo suggested Muzziqe Vox who often plays at Fernbrook Garden weddings, we got in touch with Iggy Rey, the band's manager. There isn't a lot of feedback about the band over the Internet or at Weddings at Work (W@W), but we booked them, without looking for at other options. It was a good thing that they waived their out-of-town fee given that our wedding is in Talisay, Batangas. I was happy to know that they agreed to play the songs we requested that were not part of their repertoire. Muzziqe Vox plays mostly jazz, bossa nova and acoustic music. I requested for them to play the following (emphasis on songs not part of their repertoire): Ceremony Music The Entourage - Canon in D Entrance of Bride -  Somewhere ...

Before Club Balai Isabel allowed us to have an "outside" supplier to provide catering services for our wedding, we were set on getting their wedding package, which includes food and reception details, and discounts for the use of venue.Two or three months later, we finally persuaded them to have one of their accredited suppliers, which is Juan Carlo to be our catering provider. The biggest part of our budget went to Juan Carlo. And that means we really did expect a lot from this supplier. We were requested to provide feedback on their food, services, styling, etc. Except for the food, I gave them very satisfactory rating. For some reason, Mike and I didn't have the appetite as we used to during our reception. Our menu included the following: Appetizers (Nachos with Cheese Cream Dip / Bruschettas with Cheese, Tomato and Basil) Salad Bar (Assorted greens, cucumber, tomato, white onion rings, corn kernels) Main Course (Italian Beef Rolls / Hongkong Style Chicken in ...

We got Top Cakes initially as part of the package offered to us by our caterer, Juan Carlo. It's either the a basic 3-tiered fondant cake or basic light and sounds. Knowing that getting L&S supplier separately would cost more, we decided to spend for the cake. Besides, Mike really wanted a unique wedding cake when he saw those game console-inspired cakes at the bridal fairs. We planned to splurge on this one. We scheduled meetings with Ms. Mary Anne to give our down payment and discuss the design for the cake. She has regular bible study schedule during Thursdays in Makati so I was convenient meeting for us to meet her after office hours. What we appreciated best about Ms. Me-Ann is her experience with her craft. She's definitely a pro. When we showed her Mike's design sketches, she knew exactly what needs to be done. She sent us a sketch after our meeting, and then another one with with our color motif. Our last meeting was scheduled for the cake tasting. She...