Charley Braga's blog

Our design decision

We met with our contractor for the first time yesterday, who surveyed our place and gave us his initial observations.  We showed him the scope of work that needed to be done, and he put in his insights, offering additional comments on the wiring, leaks, and roofing.  So we're set, we have our contractor for hire.  And based on my mom's past projects with him, he came very highly recommended: he's easy to work with, thorough, trustworthy, and most especially, he has a reputation that he keeps to his word, so no delaying and stalling on projects, which is a very very good thing.

I'm a big believer that when hiring people to do a job for you, the whole hiring process has to feel right -- from the initial meeting, to the interview, to the pleasantries exchanged after.  (And that applies to meeting Mr. Right, joining an organization, and becoming friends with someone new, too.)  Being "in sync", having an aura, a particular feeling, or a vibe -- they all mean the same thing.  Simply put, it's a genuine like and trust that a person has with another, even during a first meeting, perhaps even a first glance.  And I'm a big believer in that.

Coming from that, we've discovered that apart from our contractor, finding an architect has been a daunting task.  We've bidded out the job to a few that other people have vouched for, and this is what happened: our first architect got along with us great, but gave us a quotation that was grossly overpriced; we had high hopes for our second choice but he's been AWOL and has failed to answer our SMS messages; and our last option is perhaps a tad too SMS friendly, texting at different times of the day, everyday for weeks straight.  Hmm... 

So right now we're a bit unsure, and of course we want to leave our first home in good design hands.  We have such high expectations, and a load of ideas that we want shared with someone who can understand what we want.  Symmetry is key.  We're praying about it, and by next week we hope to finally award the design plans to the architect that we feel good about. 

I can't help but say it again -- it just has to feel right.   

6 months later...

It's been quite a while since we wrote in here and for our friends, family, and lurkers, here's what's evolved since January 26, 2008 (and by the way, we'll be six months married tomorrow!!):

• New jobs, for Vinley.  Yep, this year marked the beginning of Vinnie's leap from telcos to fast food, and he's quite happy -- stuffed silly, so to speak.  Me, I started work with an awesome global internet company that keeps me on my toes and learning about YUIs, PPCs, APIs, and the like.  My brain is dizzy by all the acronyms, but I'm loving every second of it.  Life couldn't be any sweeter, nor more fast paced these days.  
• Travel opportunities; some work-related, but mostly for pleasure.  We've found ourselves jetting from Manila to Baguio to Thailand, to the US, then Bacolod, then finally Vietnam, Cambodia, and back to Thailand.  It's been an amazing year, and we couldn't be more thankful, nor more culturally-enriched because of it.
• 10 pounds.  For both of us, that is.  (Haaaay!)  It's a sad, sad reality that newlywedded bliss packs on the pounds.  Married friends high and lo warned me about this as I entered marital life, and yes, the extra poundage miraculously appeared on both our bellies.  Darn!!  (That's what happens after nearly a month and a half honeymooning in the land of ginormous food portions... sigh.)  I'm hoping that as the honeymoon wears off, the extra pounds will too, as is the claim of those same married friends of ours.
• And lastly, a new home.  A year ago we switched from thinking we'd be renting a place, to staying in Vinnie's family's home, to living near my folks, to actually living with my folks.  Thankfully, we've been blessed to have a place that'll need some remodeling and purchases of furniture, and we expect a major 360 degree home facelift within these next few months.  So now most of our free time goes to deciding on a house theme: whether we prefer "Contemporary Filipino/Asian," versus the ever so dignified "British Classic" or the cozy "American Colonial".  Then we went through a slight austere "French Indochina" phase as well.  We've noticed that the more we peruse magazines and interior decorating reference books, drop in on furniture stores, and surf the net, the more refined our taste becomes and the more easily we can pinpoint, "I like that," versus "Nah, not my style."

So it's been a good year thus far.  We're still in our honeymoon phase, still deliriously reveling in each other's company, and still looking forward for our next new project to tackle together.  Stick around if you'd like to read upcoming posts on our home renovations with before and after pics, and our adventures and misadventures along the way -- just like wedding planning, I'm sure there will be many :)

Thanks for checking in on our little journal of sorts, and have a great new week ahead! 

Pat Dy's pictures

 

Cover

We received our box of pictures from photographer Pat Dy, and the first word Vinnie and I uttered was: "Wow."

The pictures came in a lovely black cloth-covered box with a buckle.  On the cover was the above photo, which was within the box's frame.  They're all beautiful!  Now we're waiting for the rest of our wedding photos from our other photog, Terry Uy.

For a sneak preview of some of Pat's photos, check out his blog.  We've been featured as part of his chosen couples, and we're so glad he thought our wedding was "fantastic," as he mentioned in his post.  Imagine, he goes to weddings every week, and chooses from among the many to feature.  Thanks Pat!!

For a look at his Vinnie & Charley blog entry, venture here.

And we're back!

I know, I know.  I've been remiss with updating this wedlog cum newlyweds blog.  But I've gone through feelings of whether I should continue this little Vinley pet project, or if I should just let it be.  Ending it where the wedding ended too.

But it's just the beginning for Vinnie and me.  The wedding was the introduction to a whole new life, and it's been an exciting, thrilling, and eventful one at that.

Aside from getting to know each other better (and believe you me, there are tons of things we just discovered about each other these past two months that we had no idea about these past 15 years!), we're also adjusting to a different lifestyle and building up a new routine for ourselves. 

And people have asked how soon Vinnie and I plan on expanding our little family unit, and so far our answer has been, "After this year, we'll see...," leaving it at that and having our voices trail off.

But really, it's because it'll be a year of travel for us.  Something that we didn't plan on doing, but has come up as events have transpired: a wedding present to Thailand from our Ninang, a visit to relatives in the States, a wedding coming up in France, and my family's decision to have a family vacation on my birthday later this year.  I mentioned that once to a friend and he balked.  "'Year of travel' versus having kids?  I'd love to have that dilemma," he joked.

So now that we're back, tanned, and all rested from Thailand, here are some pictures, a little collage of the fraction of the activities we did together while away on our honeymoon.

And boy, did we feel special!  It seemed as if all the hotels we stayed in during our trip (we stayed in four hotels, in four different locations) tried to outdo each other with "how to welcome the newlyweds best" upon their arrival.  From the JW Marriott Resort and Spa Phuket's champagne and chocolates, to the General Manager of the Sofitel in Krabi going out of his office to personally welcome us to the resort and give us his best wishes, we were mightily impressed by their great service and attention.

Here we are in the JW Marriott, after our first day of walking around.  The resort is HUGE, with its own private beach situated by Mai Khao beach.  Aside from the beach, there's a ton of foliage scattered about; so much greenery for the human eye to behold.  Turns out, the JW Marriott in Phuket is right beside an animal sanctuary, so this also explains the dim evening lights, so as not to disturb the animals in their natural habitat. 

If this isn't paradise, I don't know what is.  Sawasdee!

Our own private Thai oasis

 

Walkway to our room

Upon our arrival into our room, this is what we found:

Swans in Love

Two swans made out of towels, surrounded by a huge heart made out of rose petals, and scattered with cut out leaves.  Ingenius!  Such attention to detail!

Even the leaves are individually arranged!

What's great about the JW Marriott in Phuket, is that guests never have to leave in order to have a good time.  There are about three swimming pools all over the resort, a private beach, a spa, a gym, restos, little nooks around the gardens to veg and read, and even a conglomeration of Thai ladies by the beach ready to offer a relaxing 1-hour Thai massage for a cool 300 Baht. (It beats the hotel's prices, although we did manage to have a couple's body scrub and deep tissue massage together in their world class spa, one of the world's ten best, according to Conde Nast's survey.  It's "an experiential purchase," we kept telling ourselves, something to at least try once in a lifetime, we reasoned)  They even have hourly activities for their guests, and aside from partaking in a yoga class together (Vinnie's first time, and I was so delighted!), Vinnie also chose to take up Muay Thai from an instructor while I was there to take pictures and videotape the whole thing.

Here's my hubby, doing a powerful powerhouse kick.  Waaaa pamm!!  He's a natural!  Such good form.

My Muay Thai Hero

We did manage to leave our hotel for a while to watch Fantasea in Phuket town, a Thai cultural show that I can describe as "Vegas' Cirque de Soleil meets Thai culture".  This show had it all: flaming fire, Thai acrobats, monkeys, tigers, and of course, elephants.

We also left our hotel to go canoeing, where we traversed our way through huge rock formations, cliffs, and mines.  The natural beauty of the country is exquisite!  Many times we were left breathless, but we were also reminded by our trip to Coron, Palawan, where much of this is found too.

On our canoe

 

Gliding through canals and magnificent rock formations

We also spent part of the excursion making flower/candle offerings to the Thai deities.  Done every year, it's a belief to set these out into the ocean and make a wish. 

Making a flower offering to the gods

As sunset came over, we set our offering adrift and made our newlywed wishes.

Vinley by sunset

We managed to spend a few nights at the Sofitel Phokeethra Resort and Spa in Krabi, and apart from meeting the GM, we were also met by a bottle of wine and a honeymoon cake!  Here I am with more bed rose petals:

More hearts!

We spent a day in Krabi town, and managed to arrange a speedboating trip out to the islands, most notably the island from the movie, The Beach.  Massive rock formations greet us as we approach the island.

Awesome view from our speedboat

But we're overwhelmed by the amount of people on The Beach!  Oh Leo, Leo, what have you done to the island?  Haha!  Only Hollywood can bring in the tourists in droves.  Vinnie and I join them for a while, although at this point we're missing Boracay and Palawan already.

By The Beach!

Next we hit Bangkok, where we arranged to have a cooking class taught by a genuine Thai chef.  We decide to take it in Silom Cooking School, an authentic cooking school that promises to teach us how to cook the way Thais do in their own kitchens.  We meet at a Thai market then take a short walk into a little apartment set with mats and cooking burners.  We're taken by the quaint setting, very nice!  For the first time, Vinnie enjoys making Thai Green Curry.

Cooking green curry

While I happily put together Pad Thai noodles.  Yummm!!!

And pad thai noodles

And of course we spent the day shopping, and loving the night bazaars.  Only in Thailand are the bazaars open everyday till midnight.

Shopping at a Night Market

We also headed out to see the legendary Thai Buddhist temples all over Bangkok, and the world's largest reclining Buddha.  We managed to get a massage done inside Wat Pho, the original Thai massage school.  Apparently people from all over the world visit the school to learn the fine art of Thai massage-giving, and their masseuses are pros; they knew where every nook and cranny of pain and tension were on our bodies.  Very well worth the trip.

Carrying our own temple

And what's a visit to Thailand without food???  Devouring Thai food daily, we decide on our last day to head out to the Four Seasons Hotel Spice Market Buffet, the mother of all buffets, in my opinion.  Filled with more fine food than the resto can handle, we enjoyed caviar, prime rib, lobsters, and foie gras!!  They actually had caviar AND foie gras bars at the buffet, a first for me to see.

Yep, this is all mine!

So now we're back home.  Stuffed, tanned, and just about to leave yet again for another trip.  Wow!!

In the meantime, people have asked how it's like being with Vinnie day in and day out.  I can't speak for all the newlyweds I know, but in our case, it's been completely blissful.  We have fun everyday, whether it's watching a movie, going through YouTube together (watch the ImprovEverywhere series; it's hilarious!!), taking a walk, even just reading on our bed beside each other.  And we've been doing a lot of that, because our wedding magazine collection has now been replaced with architectural and interior design mags.  So yup, we're officially fixing up our house!  From the enormous task of wedding planning, we're now initiating ourselves into architectural design.  It's exciting and thrilling to start on another major project together.

Honeymoon!

Belated Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!!

So how did we spend our first V-Day as newlyweds?  The day before, I cooked my hubby a steak, potatoes, salad, and truffle pasta dinner, while he surprised me with the most orange-pink rose bouquet I've ever seen.  That was enough to keep us happy... steak for my man, and flowers for me.

We also spent time with our long-time friend Henzie, who hosted a post-nup / despedida (send-off party as we head out for our honeymoon) dinner for us with our other friends PV, Mike, Jovee, Nic, and Cris.  Henz is a sweetheart, and although she couldn't make it to our wedding, she offered to arrange a get-together in our honor instead.  (Thanks Henz!!  The food was superb!)

Yup, we're on our way to our honeymoon... and in a few hours we'll be at one of Condé Nast's Top 10 hotels in the World, the JW Marriott Resort and Spa in Phuket, Thailand.  Then we'll head off to Sofitel's Phokeethra Resort and Spa in Krabi, and use that as a jump off point to visit the neighboring islands via boat: Railay, Ko Lanta, Ko Phi Phi (known as the site for the film, The Beach with Leonardo Di Caprio), then finally Bangkok.  Woohoo, we are living it :)  We're sooo excited!!    

But first, here are a couple of great shots from the church we received from our friends:

With our principal sponsors

 

With our entourage

We're still waiting for the official wedding photos from Pat Dy and Terry Uy, plus I'll post the AVP shown during our reception when we get back (Bob will tweak a few of the photos shown)... Till then!

The new Mr. and Mrs. Braga!!!

 

Bobnicolas-VinnieAndCharleyWedding699

It's been five days since our momentous exchange of I Dos, and the new Vinley Braga couple is still on a high...

Thank you dear family, friends, and all our loved ones for your best wishes, your positive energy, and your prayers.  We couldn't have been more happy to share our special day with all of you.  We've posted our onsite video done by the ultra talented Bob Nicolas for you to have a glimpse of what went on during our special day.

The past few days, Vinnie and I have settled in my parents home till our Phuket and Bangkok honeymoon in a couple of weeks, (a short transition period) before heading over to his house where we'll be residing.  (We'll be doing a few minor repairs and renovations, all of which we're really excited about; and slowly we'll work on the main parts of the house, just focusing on our bedroom and bathroom first.)  But really, we are already on a honeymoon high right now :) 

Who knew that being married could feel so grand?  I say grand instead of great, because (and excuse my cheesiness) suddenly everything just sparkles :)  Everything and I mean EVERYTHING just looks, feels, and seems better.  Ahhh, the after effect of true, genuine love.

Every morning we wake up in each other's arms and smile as we make eye contact, knowing that we are really husband and wife now, after 15 years.  It has been quite the journey to get here, and now we are finally Mr. and Mrs. Braga.  Just calling each other "my husband," and "my wife," sends chills up our spines.  And since we've known each other for so long, we feel like we're still the same best friends we've always been, but on such a deeper, more meaningful, more profound level.  It's such a beautiful, grand feeling!

So how do I explain our momentous January 26, 2008?

It was pure MAGIC.  And I mean that in the truest sense.  Talking to my parents and friends, they felt the same way too. 

I was awake by 6 AM, and looked out of my room at the Baguio Country Club -- the sun was out and shining, the clouds were a light, cheerful blue, with nary a glimpse of the previous week's dreary weather and fog.  The air was comfortably cool and crisp, and hardly nippy.

And I loved that I got to spend the evening and hours before with all my friends and family, no matter how tired and exhausted we were (we had a particularly difficult day, where we were on our toes about earlier events, last meetings with suppliers, and a list of To Dos that were still left to do... sigh).  After a church rehearsal and dinner on Friday evening, Vinnie and I hung out at the verandah with the gang, our friends from high school (Tisha and Allen, Rod and Len, Mike and Kris, Clara, Noel, Bryant, Paolo, Sly, Ian, PV).  Afterwards, I met my Paris friends Kellee, Francois, and Wila in their room and we hung out and chatted a few hours (it felt just like old times in our Rue de Grenelle apartment!).  Then my mom, sister Lori, her daughter Boo and I all got to have a girls night in my suite, woke up together, and ordered in breakfast before all the commotion started.

I felt like a princess (as any bride does) while I was getting ready - Lourd Ramos and his team JP and Luisa doing my hair and make-up, Lea from the Country Club giving me a manicure and pedicure, and Fely from Ben Farrales' shop dressing me up (they were all wonderful, watch out for my suppliers' ratings in a next wedlog post!).  Having my sisters Lori and Tricia, mom, my mom's sister Tita Marie from Canada, Kellee and Wila, getting ready with me was so fun too!  They totally broke the ice, and it felt like we were all having a girl bonding day instead of getting ready for such an important event.  By the time our stylist Jaime Santiago, photographer Pat Dy, videographer Bob Nicolas, and second photographer Terry Uy showed up, we were all laughing and completely comfortable.

After having my photo ops and changing, my bridesmaids arrived and we had our own photoshoot out by the garden area before proceeding to the church with my parents.  I think I was hyperventilating for a bit before my walk down the aisle (I was waiting in front of the church for a good 30 minutes), so I needed a drink of water to catch my breath.  Having my matron of honor Karts and bridesmaids Clara, and Kellee sit with me in the car loosened me up -- that's when it hit me that this was IT.  I was actually getting married.  "Charley, just breathe.  Look into my eyes, and breathe," Kellee told me.  (She has always had an incredibly calming effect on me!)  "This is the moment you've been waiting for for your whole life and it's happening.  You're so ready for this, and it's Vinnie who's waiting for you."  I nodded, and smiled as I looked into her green-blue eyes.  "I love you Charley," she said before stepping out of the car to make her way into the church for the processional, and I held her hand as I told her the same.  So sweet.  I just love my girls!!

And when the entourage entered the church and it was my turn to leave the car for my entrance, the doors closed while I stood behind the Cathedral's heavy wooden doors just waiting... and waiting...

Till finally the doors opened, and I heard a voice saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, the bride."

Having all 250 of our guests looking at me, clapping, and filling up the church was breathtaking (it looks wonderful to have a church filled up for a wedding!), and the guests actually clapped again as I slowly entered the church and passed a few of them.  I was all smiles until I saw the tears of my guests, who looked completely stunned and wide-eyed.  By the time I reached my Papa who was waiting for me down a few pews, I kept smiling and was completely relaxed.  I held onto his arm, and he grasped my hand and I took a deep breath before we started our walk together.  "It's OK, Charley," he told me.  And we had a special moment as I looked at his tearful eyes and said, "OK Papa." 

At that moment it hit me, the significance of my walk: my dad, who has been the first man I've ever loved, was giving me away to the love of my life.  And I couldn't help but feel emotional as tears welled up.

The amazing thing about my church walk, is that I didn't hear the music ("The Prayer," sung beautifully by the Maryknoll Sanctuary Choir) but I remember all the faces I saw as I passed them.  And the Baguio Cathedral has such a loooong aisle that I passed so many, smiling, glowing, faces, and many of them were crying (it's only later did I hear from people that my walk was "magical" and so "dramatic, with the light streaming in from behind me, and my veil flowing).  By the time I reached the top of the aisle where my mother stood and hugged me, "Don't be sad, it's a joyous occasion," she whispered, and Vinnie's dad came over to kiss my cheek, I was completely overwhelmed. 

My dad passed my hand over to Vinnie, and said, "Take care of her, Vinnie."  It was such an emotional event, almost an out-of-body experience as I watched myself meeting the man I loved who whispered, "You look beautiful, so amazing,".  And we both smiled and looked up at our officiating priest, Fr. Fermin, who was all smiles as he began the mass.

The rest of the mass just flowed, that I didn't even realize an hour had passed by.  All we saw was each other, our parents, and Fr. Fermin as we were all by the altar.  We said our vows, and were both blown away by each other's words (later the guys in the gang mentioned that they all had to catch their breaths as we spoke, it was so emotional for them that they couldn't understand how calm we seemed), and when we slipped our rings onto each other's fingers, the finality that we were husband and wife sunk in.  When Vinnie was given Holy Communion by Fr. Fermin, he gasped and said, "That was amazing," his first time to receive the body and blood of Christ in a Catholic church. 

When Fr. Fermin said, "Vinnie, you may now kiss the bride," and Vinnie lifted my veil and tucked it behind me, we both looked at each other smiling (amidst cheers and screams from our guests, "Go Vinnie!" my sister Lori shouted) and our lips met for what seemed short, but to our guests was long ("That was a long kiss!!  Probably 10 seconds for sure," our groomsman Sly said). 

And when we finally had contact with our guests for our picture-taking, it was so good to hear their congrats, with Virginia, Vinnie's sister and our Ninang Corito saying, "That was such a beautiful ceremony," our Ninong Jing saying, "What wonderful vows," and our Ninang Ting telling me, "You are the most beautiful bride I've ever seen."  Wow.

Later my mom said, "There was a certain magic in the air, it was like you were gliding Charley, so graceful as you walked down the aisle.  And there was a feeling of closeness and unity in the church, you don't get that for all weddings."  Really, there were angels smiling up at us from above, watching out and taking care of us on that day.

By the time we walked out of the church to have rose petals thrown at us and kiss, we were completely jubilant to see everyone!  My friend Ana ran to me and hugged me tight, "You're even more gorgeous than I could've ever imagined!"  I love how everyone was there for me and Vinnie, and felt the same magic that we did too.

It was really the happiest day of our lives.  Better than we could've ever expected or prayed for.

And with the reception that followed, it made us even more ecstatic, if that was even possible.  More on the wedding reception to follow...

2 more days!

We're in Baguio, and the weather is perfect!! 

I hope I don't say that too early and jinx myself, but it's been perfectly sunny and cool the past few days and really chilly (which is a good thing; it's comfortable chilly, not get-me-outta-here chilly) at night.  There's also a full moon out, the stars are shining, and the scent of pine seems stronger now than ever -- can't you tell we're excited?? :)

After our interview with the Baguio Cathedral's parish priest -- which was surprisingly quick and included the usual routinary questions: "Are there cases of insanity in your family?" and "Are you getting married out of your own free will?" and a short lecture about the insolubility of marriage -- we were scot free and ready to continue on with the rest of our wedding duties.  (Yup, things aren't done just yet...  The reception seat plan is making me go bonkers!!)  Tomorrow includes a last meeting with our on-the-day coordinator, our caterer, and our florist.  Oh, and yes, we have a rehearsal at the church, and a dinner with our entourage that follows.  A neverending day of activities...

But I'll be sure to squeeze in a good night's rest for (hopefully) some beauty sleep.  Ohh and we still have to write our vows (eeek!).  The clock's ticking, but we're still smiling, and oh-so-happy!! 

Till next time!!  Thanks to our faithful readers for following our little wedlog throughout our path to wedded bliss.  Say a little prayer and send some positive energy over to Vinnie and I please, as we finally arrive at our wedding day.  (I've come to the realization that things can't be perfectly perfect on our wedding day, and we're trying not to sweat the small stuff right now, which probably explains our cheery dispositions lately.) 

I'm not sure when I'll be writing next, but I could very well be a Mrs. by the time I log back on here.  So please check back for videos, pictures, my supplier reviews, stories about our Bangkok / Phuket / U.S. honeymoon, and more.

Lots of love to you, from me and Vinnie :) 

 

Despedida de Soltera

Can't believe it, just 3 more days to go!! 

It's incredible that in a few day's time, I'll be Mrs. Vincent Braga!!  If you're wondering, there'll be no hyphenating my last name for me, Vinnie's last name is catchy enough to stand alone as it is :)  Plus, I love that little bit of alliteration with our two last names, both starting with 'B' -- I'm lucky that I don't need to change my initials!

I'm typing this after a few hours sleep, after staying up and fixing our seat arrangements, our pictures for our AVP, our song list, and other last minute to-dos.  We're leaving for Baguio tomorrow, so already my house is in a frenzy with wedding gifts filling up our living room, entourage's dresses and ties hanging downstairs, and people coming in and out as they make themselves ready for Baguio (we have cousins from Canada staying with us, and 16 foreign cousins all in all have arrived).  Today I picked up my Paris roommate and close friend from Shanghai, Wila, from the airport.  In a few hours time I'm picking up my other Paris roommate Kellee, and her fiance Francois, and from there we have a full day ahead of us (trips to the bank, the mall to buy shoes - no 'summer shoes' in chilly Shanghai and Paris as of the moment so they need strappy sandals to go with their gowns, gown fittings for their bridesmaids dresses, a massage for us and my friend Clara -- we're trying out the Spa at 6750, (different from "The Spa" chain) it's supposedly very good, then rest for a bit, dinner with some friends, then dancing all night long!  Phew.

And being with everyone makes me so happy!  That they're all here to celebrate with me and Vinnie (last night 15 of his relatives from Bacolod arrived), and willing to take the trip up to Baguio.  How exciting!!

Last Sunday marked my despedida de soltera, my parents' celebration as a "good-bye to single life" for their youngest daughter -- me.  It was held at Le Souffle, at Amorsolo Tower, Rockwell, and about 60 of our closest friends, family, and entourage members were in attendance.  After feasting on scallops and foie gras salad, lobster bisque, dalandan sherbet, a choice of lamb or Chilean seabass, and then a choice of flambeed mangoes over ice cream or a chocolate crunch souffle, the speeches began with my friend Clara saying some words about me and Vinnie (she's known us as a couple the longest, we go way back early high school days, and known Vinnie since they were in the second grade).  Then my future sister-in-law Virginia spoke, about Vinnie and my relationship with him and welcomed me into the Braga family, then my sister Tricia spoke about our growing up years together.  My eldest sister Lori followed, with advice from one married sister to another soon-to-wed sister, then my Lola Nena (84 years old, and still strong and able to give an extemporaneous speech!), then my dearest Mama.  Words could not express how grateful I was for this occasion, and I was so touched by the time it was my turn to give my thanks.  My Ninang Ting, who emceed the event, even gave us a couple's blessing, with our parents and sponsors surrounding us -- so touching.  It was an actual circle of love.

That special night marked the beginning of this fast, fun-filled, gut-wrenching, and heartfelt week.  Just thinking back to that night gives me the goosebumps, because it was incredible to feel such love in the room from my family and friends.  And they'll all be with us in Baguio in a few days!!  I sometimes have to pinch myself to realize that this is all really happening -- getting married to my first and only true love, Vinnie, in front of the people dearest to us.

My brother-in-law Jude videotaped the speeches, and our second photog Terry Uy was there to take the pics.  So I'll be posting them here too once they come in :)

Later Clara will be throwing me a batchelorette (as I mentioned above), along with my Paris friends Kellee and Wila, and we'll be dancing the night away!  Vinnie's gang is giving him a batchelor party, and hopefully it's not actually just "tea and scones" as Vinnie teases me, how uh... boring?? :)

Will write again one last time before we head up to Baguio tomorrow morning.  Till then, thanks for the happy thoughts and best wishes, everyone! 

Bridal shower with my favorite girls

Woohoo, it's early Saturday morning right now...  So that means, exactly one more week to go!!!!  I am doubled up in excitement!

After a particularly tiring, stressful, and anxiety-ridden past few days, I ended the week with a bridal shower thrown by my friends Kartini and Clara, and my sisters Lori and Tricia.  It was one of those days where I spent the day running around doing errands, feeling angsty, grumpy, and tired, and all I wanted to do was go home and sleep (something that's been hard to do lately).  And by nightfall, I mentioned to Vinnie that the last thing I wanted to do was put on a happy face and smile throughout a party.  Vinnie sympathetically looked at me and said some famous last words as he dropped me off at Lori's house, the bridal shower venue: "Just smile and have fun."  Hmmph.  I found that hard to do, especially since I was so dead tired. 

But when I walked in and saw some of the dearest people to me, it only came naturally to do just that -- smile and have fun.  (Vinnie's always so right about things.)  I was so happy to see everyone!  From my sisters Lol and Trish, childhood friends Karts, Ana, Jen, and Ces, to my high school friends Clara and Corinne, my cousin Ines, future sister-in-law Virginia, my Parisian bonding-mates Missy and Janelle, and long lost friend Anda, I couldn't help but be thrilled and delighted to be in the same room with them! 

And to think they were all there for lil ole me.  Lori and Tricia prepared an Indian dinner (my fave!), with my favorite New York cheesecake and a (wink wink) kinky cake from Kinx Cakes for dessert.  Please someone, tell me why the cake and its... umm... "equipment" was so dark??  Hehehe. 

After a session of cardio striptease (sooo cool and really so much fun, it's something that I wouldn't mind signing up for again in the future!), we were all relaxed, smiling, and really comfortable with each other.  I was flattered when after the session, Gemma, the instructor mentioned to me after, "Charley, you're so lambot (flexible).  Do you have a background in yoga, pilates, or belly dancing?"  I told her that probably my yoga had something to do with it, plus I have a hula dancing background from way back childhood days.  Haha, Vinnie will love that I'm so lambot!  Hardy har har. 

I was worried that my different sets of girl friends would find it hard to mingle, but they got along wonderfully.  People seemed to find connections with each other, and I so loved that.  Everyone was so comfortable, and so game to participate.  Highlights of the evening were the different games: two groups came up with different (green) poems, and I had to choose the winning team, a set of questions that I had to answer and drink a shot of vodka and strip a stuffed Vinnie-doll if I got the answer wrong (I probably drank 7 shots by the time the evening was through!), and the highlight of the night, a group of male dancers came to "fondle" me while I was blindfolded -- Vinnie and the guys from the gang -- Ian, PV, Kevin, Rod, and Pao!!  Hilarious.  (Whoa, what high class dancers those were!)

And I got great gifts too :)  A set of Parisian and Provencal cookbooks -- looove them, a super cute bikini for my upcoming Phuket honeymoon, and three kinds of lingerie!  And not skanky lingerie, mind you, but stuff I'd actually use.  Very tasteful stuff.  Sweet!!

I was buzzed over with vodka, red in the face, excited, and so happy by the time the evening was over.  Really, the shower was one of my most happiest moments ever, and so far one of the best parts of being engaged.  To be with most of my favorite gal pals, to share my joy with them, and to have them excited for me and Vinnie as well, that was really just the best; moments I'll really treasure long after the wedding has passed. 

And the excitement has carried over to this morning, where in a couple of hours Vinnie and I will be heading off bright and early to Divisoria to pick up Vinnie's beloved reception candles, and Mang Ben's shop to pick up the entourage's dresses.  Then it's a pre-nup picture taking session with Terry Uy, a photo delivery to Bob Nicolas, and Vinnie's officemate's wedding in the evening.  Phew. 

But so far I feel a second wind again, where I've been reenergized in a good way.  Thanks girls, for all the good vibes you sent that evening!!  They really reached Vinnie and me, and now we're ready to face our wedding preps again with fresh faces.  Thank you, thank you.

Oh, and the shower was one of the best bridal showers I've been to!  And it was a bridal shower in my honor :) 

I'll post the bridal shower pics soon, when they're sent to me.  I promise.

 

Wedding preps drama

Wedding preps aren't wedding preps if they're not fraught with at least some kind of drama.  At least from our experience this past year.

And most recently, the drama isn't coming from me nor Vinnie, nor my parents and our families, it's coming from a couple of our suppliers.  (Ironically these suppliers were among the first we signed on for our wedding.)  Crazy, isn't it?  Aren't suppliers supposed to be paid for their service and to help relieve the bride and groom of stress come their wedding day?

This late in the game, I had a supplier snap at me last week, which prompted me to go to another for a quick last minute fix.

Then just yesterday, after a really productive meeting with one supplier where we ended the meeting all smiles and in agreement with each other, that very same supplier texted Vinnie later in the evening:

"Vincent, maybe you should consider having another supplier do your wedding.  Thank you, and good evening." 

Whoa!?!  Where is this all coming from??

We didn't know whether to laugh and consider the text as a not-so-funny joke, or consider it simply bizarre.  (Really, a message like that coming in the form of a text??  A phone call would've been more appropriate for that sort of message.)

We understand that weddings are stressful, and yes, even suppliers experience stress.  It just sucks when supplier stress comes thisclose to our wedding day, when there are contracts, time, effort, and money involved.  And it sucks when we're thrown surprises from left field, without any kind of prior notice. 

So anyway, Vinnie and I are meeting with another one today for yet another quick fix.  Surprisingly, we haven't lost our wits and we're plowing along, still smiling. 

Thank God that at the end of the day, we have each other to lean on for comfort and support.

Just 9 more days to go...