This is the story of my first out-of-town wedding coordination for my good friend Ramon and his long-term girlfriend Jo.
Ramon by nature is the joker type and who does not not divulge details about his love life. For us, his friends, all we knew was that he had a girl, but as to whom the "lucky" one is remained a mystery. It came as a surprise when one November 2010 evening, Ramon announced over some booze to his guy friends (I was the only rose that night in the drinking spree) that he was tying the knot. Shock was indeed an understatement. Right there and then, I offered to help him and his bride regarding the preparations. Over some booze, I sealed a wedding deal.
Series of text, email and meetings were made in order to make the dream day possible. One of the catch was the wedding's schedule and venue. It was on a weekday, April 28, 2011 (Thursday) to be exact, at the couple's hometown in Bulusan, Sorsogon.
Come February, I was already busy in preparing the couple's program. It was also then that I met the simple and quiet bride Jo, who had the concrete vision of how she wanted her wedding to be. The reception was lunch by the beach, adding up to the summer/travel feel that the couple wanted to achieve. I was faced with tasks that were new to me including how to design the guests tables, decorate the reception and church. The biggest challenge however is where do we source the flowers and how are we gonna ship it to Bicol, which is 14 hours away by land.
As the event gets near and details were almost polished (btw, most supplies were sourced from Manila and was shipped one by one to Bicol), still the problem regarding the flowers exists. We then created a game plan, we will source the flowers from Dangwa, request that it will be packed accordingly to withstand the long travel to Bicol. Before scouting Dangwa, I laid out potential flower choices. The couple settled for yellow and white calla lilies, yellow roses, white chrysanthemums, star gazers, and a yellow tulip as boutonniere for the groom. We then headed to Dangwa and got a good deal (we thought it was until the flowers were shipped to Bicol). The package was then picked-up by the groom's friend.
The day before the event, I left Manila via plane to Legazpi and took a grueling 4 hours road trip to Sorsogon. With me are all the materials and programs printed to be used for the big day. The night before the big day itself, Ramon asked me to come over the reception hall to check the arrangements. That was when we noticed that there were missing flowers in our shipment: it lacked the yellow tulips and stargazers that we ordered. To pacify the groom, I told him that we could still work things out and the events stylist told him that he would just make the grooms boutonniere different from the rest.
28 April 2011. The Big Day
Even during hours before the wedding, the couple, even the natives from Sorsogon told me that weddings there are more of an eat-and-run event unlike in Manila, wherein guests would patiently wait for the program to be over. With that challenge at hand, I asked the help of my friends who came also for the event. They became ushers and coordinators during the reception while I anchored the program. We made sure that everybody was seated and their tummies satisfied.
Yes there were uncooperative guests but overall I could say that the wedding was a blast. And yes, I was successful to surprise Ramon by showing him a greeting of his best bud who was currently stuck working for a cruise ship in Caribbean then. The bride also had her share of tears of joy and loads of thanks. Probably the pictures would tell more.
Here's the rundown of the wedding details:
Groom: Ramon Beltran
Bride: Jo Firmanes-Pura
Motif: Chocolate Brown and Gold
Ceremony: Catholic Wedding
Church: St. James the Greater Parish, Dancalan, Sorsogon
Reception: Villa Luisa Celeste Resort Dancalan, Bulusan, Sorsogon
Photographer: Clara Photography
Later!
Ramon by nature is the joker type and who does not not divulge details about his love life. For us, his friends, all we knew was that he had a girl, but as to whom the "lucky" one is remained a mystery. It came as a surprise when one November 2010 evening, Ramon announced over some booze to his guy friends (I was the only rose that night in the drinking spree) that he was tying the knot. Shock was indeed an understatement. Right there and then, I offered to help him and his bride regarding the preparations. Over some booze, I sealed a wedding deal.
Series of text, email and meetings were made in order to make the dream day possible. One of the catch was the wedding's schedule and venue. It was on a weekday, April 28, 2011 (Thursday) to be exact, at the couple's hometown in Bulusan, Sorsogon.
Come February, I was already busy in preparing the couple's program. It was also then that I met the simple and quiet bride Jo, who had the concrete vision of how she wanted her wedding to be. The reception was lunch by the beach, adding up to the summer/travel feel that the couple wanted to achieve. I was faced with tasks that were new to me including how to design the guests tables, decorate the reception and church. The biggest challenge however is where do we source the flowers and how are we gonna ship it to Bicol, which is 14 hours away by land.
As the event gets near and details were almost polished (btw, most supplies were sourced from Manila and was shipped one by one to Bicol), still the problem regarding the flowers exists. We then created a game plan, we will source the flowers from Dangwa, request that it will be packed accordingly to withstand the long travel to Bicol. Before scouting Dangwa, I laid out potential flower choices. The couple settled for yellow and white calla lilies, yellow roses, white chrysanthemums, star gazers, and a yellow tulip as boutonniere for the groom. We then headed to Dangwa and got a good deal (we thought it was until the flowers were shipped to Bicol). The package was then picked-up by the groom's friend.
The day before the event, I left Manila via plane to Legazpi and took a grueling 4 hours road trip to Sorsogon. With me are all the materials and programs printed to be used for the big day. The night before the big day itself, Ramon asked me to come over the reception hall to check the arrangements. That was when we noticed that there were missing flowers in our shipment: it lacked the yellow tulips and stargazers that we ordered. To pacify the groom, I told him that we could still work things out and the events stylist told him that he would just make the grooms boutonniere different from the rest.
28 April 2011. The Big Day
Even during hours before the wedding, the couple, even the natives from Sorsogon told me that weddings there are more of an eat-and-run event unlike in Manila, wherein guests would patiently wait for the program to be over. With that challenge at hand, I asked the help of my friends who came also for the event. They became ushers and coordinators during the reception while I anchored the program. We made sure that everybody was seated and their tummies satisfied.
Yes there were uncooperative guests but overall I could say that the wedding was a blast. And yes, I was successful to surprise Ramon by showing him a greeting of his best bud who was currently stuck working for a cruise ship in Caribbean then. The bride also had her share of tears of joy and loads of thanks. Probably the pictures would tell more.
Here's the rundown of the wedding details:
Groom: Ramon Beltran
Bride: Jo Firmanes-Pura
Motif: Chocolate Brown and Gold
Ceremony: Catholic Wedding
Church: St. James the Greater Parish, Dancalan, Sorsogon
Reception: Villa Luisa Celeste Resort Dancalan, Bulusan, Sorsogon
Photographer: Clara Photography
Later!