2 Weddings, 1 Weekend

glad to have been part of two dear friends' weddings over the weekend :) it was a good opportunity rin for Jeff and myself to get ideas and think about our future wedding naman

January 3, 2014

Jopa and Dan's Wedding in Tagaytay

Jopa is the third in our GS barkada to tie-the-knot! it was quite a long but amusing Church ceremony. admittedly only found out about certain details in their relationship during the priest's sermon. :)

mabuhay ang bagong kasal!

it was also the first time ever that I got to attend a ceremony in Calaruega. Jeff and I visited here a few years back, but we didn't get to go inside. the chapel setup was quite intimate and it sure was different seeing the place at night

friends of the bride photo op

I think Calaruega is really an ideal venue for weddings; however the local government really should do something about the road; it was not asphalted/cemented + there were no light posts in the area too; considering what I think would be a huge number of couples who get married here, they should at least exert some effort in improving the roads leading to the chapel; especially for ceremonies held in the evening

the ceremony ended at around 830 pm na; we should have followed the earlier advise to take heavy snacks talaga haha; we then headed back up towards Alfonso to reach the reception venue: Rosemont Gardens

it was a simple venue but was transformed to a really nice wedding reception place; I loved how the arrangements came together and you could really see how much effort had come into each detail of the wedding

a photo of Jopa and Dan + the menu (hehe) welcomed us in our table

cool personalized M&Ms as part of their dessert table

Paulinians + partners reunited

cheers to the newlyweds!

the matron of honor. Fria delivers a message to the couple

Coders missing Jo and Fayme

cute photobooth backdrop :)

the wedding was made more special with the wonderful messages from family and close friends; sayang we didn't get to stay until the end; but we sure left very excited and a bit pressured thinking about our own hehe. :)

#db1314

Transfiguration Chapel
Caleruega, Brgy. Kaylaway, Batulao, Nasugbu

Rosemont Gardens
General Aguinaldo Highway, Laurel, Batangas



January 4, 2014

Lem and Joyce's Wedding

buti na lang hindi on the same day ang wedding although admittedly ang hirap rin pala ng magkasunod na events! hehe. it was quite a long drive from Tagaytay to Libis, but glad we made it on time naman

it was another first for me to attend a wedding here at Christ the King

since it was a particularly hot afternoon; it was a relief to have a church with AC; made me think that should be a consideration too when we plan ours hehe

I think the walk down the aisle is usually the most emotional part of the ceremony if not for the vows; sayang I missed Jopa's walk but I was near the aisle during Joyce's + seeing Lem crying then--couldn't help but feel emotional too (pano pa kaya when its our turn na!)

it was a more straight forward ceremony; the 'you may now kiss the bride' portion came in the middle this time then the signing towards the end; while Jopa's had that naman in the middle and the kiss portion was in the end; there was no single format pala for a wedding 'no?

I was pretty impressed with their wedding planners/faciilitators I must say, hehe. very well organized and they seemed to have a lot of 'pakulos' planned :) it was the first time too that I've seen 'male' wedding organizers

Christ the King church - the couple's first kiss as newlyweds - the sweetest kiss including their parents

so the question from everyone is: kelan daw kami??

first photo op with Lem and Joyce

from Libis, we then travelled to Makati for the reception at the Rigodon Ballroom of the Peninsula Manila

loved the accents/details of their reception venue; they even had a 'front porch' setup for the newlyweds area; they placed this in the middle section of the ballroom which made it more accessible to all the guests vs the usual front near the projector screen

upon entering they provided give-away snacks to each guest consisting of mixed nuts, raisin and M&Ms; on the tables naman there was a canister of mints

when the couple entered the ballroom; Lem sang while they were walking to eventually lead them to their first dance! 

A for effort Lem!

we enjoyed watching a video of their love story + Lem's proposal though we've already heard it from him before :) what we enjoyed more though was taking photos and hashtagging them all to get printouts haha

looking forward to having dinner with the team this time in the couple's new home naman!

#lemandjoyce1414

Christ the King Church
Greenmeadows Avenue, Quezon City

Peninsula Manila
1226 Makati City

Maple

January 2, 2014

This was a really nice way to start the year -- a new resto to try + a dinner/mini-reunion with Unilever colleagues, both former and current

Have long been hearing about Maple and seeing it in friends' IG posts, and have always considered it a posh breakfast place kaya I never really made an effort to try it out on my own :p

they have a branch na pala in Shang Mall, and since most of us were from the North area, this was where we opted to meet up

pretty homey--Maple in Shangrila Mall, East Wing

I really liked the vibe of the resto plus it was kid-friendly too! they had a portion allotted for toys and bookshelves for kid guests

since we were there ahead, we had some safe starters muna, while waiting for the rest

Chili Fries (Php 225) and New England Clam Chowder (Php 250)

everyone else enjoyed the fries--I like my fries just plain fried and salted so it was too much for me; the clam chowder was tasty too and was good enough for sharing

Yanpi recommended the Tapa, but we opted to have other dishes

Fish and Chips (Php 480) and Chilean Mussels (Php 375)

both dishes were okay naman pero when we saw the Tapa they ordered we couldn't help but drool over it and ended up ordering one too

Prime Rib Tapa (Php 520)

four of us actually ended up sharing this dish; and we didn't even get to finish everything. it was really good and had thin portions of fat kaya I liked it more; some parts though were quite gnawy lang and the fried rice that came with it was just too oily for me

Sumptuous Salmon Torte (Php 2200)

the name pretty much said it all. it truly a full meal on its own: Salmon fillet + rice + onions and spinach all in a pastry puff as huge as a standard chopping board = sarap :)

considering everything that we ate, there was barely room for anything else; kaya we ended up just ordering one dessert plate for all of us

Red Hot Choco Lava Cake (Php 280)

sure would love to take my family for meal here some time soon!

last customers out!

Maple

G/F East Wing

Shangrila Mall
https://www.facebook.com/MapleRestaurantPH

The Year That Was

To date, I still owe myself about 11 blog entries on trips and food finds. :|

I attempted to finish everything over the holiday break, but as usual I ended up procrastinating and not completing even a single entry. hehe.

so for now, let me just do a quick recap on the year that was...

1. A lot of new food finds - surprisingly mostly Japanese
2. 3 domestic trips: Bohol, Iloilo-Guimaras, Dumaguete-Siquijor
3. 4 overseas travels, 3 of which in new countries: Siem Reap, Japan, Singapore-Malaysia
4. 3 theme parks: Tokyo Disneyland, Universal Studios and Legoland
5. 2013 was also an opportunity to move out of my comfort zone--moving to a new role + mounting #UnileverOneAmazingWeek but in the end we achieved # 1 Employer of Choice and were recognized as Unilever Heroes :)
6... and last but not the least, Jeff and I got engaged!

Looking back though, what made the year great were not just the places/destinations/events, but it was having to share these moments with my loved ones, family, friends and colleagues.

Hoping for bigger moments in 2014!

I hope to also be able to update my blog more constantly this time around :)

Happy New Year everyone!