Manzanida - Cuaresma Wedding

Throwback Thursday photos have been continuously circulating since who knows when it really started. Since today happens to be a Thursday, I looked back on my previous weddings and events that I haven't featured in my blog.

Today, I will write about my high school friend who had a do-it-yourself wedding last August 22, 2012. Her name is Krishna and her husband is Willie. They were married in Sta. Ana Parish a couple of years ago. (To view more of the intricate details about their wedding you can visit http://shyr7.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/pink-and-black-wedding-motif/.)



I was honored to have been invited as Master of Ceremony for their wedding reception program. Had I known that it was all a do-it-yourself wedding, I wouldn't have charged for my hosting services (Yes, I sometimes do that to friends). I must admit she and her best friends have done an amazing job in organizing the wedding with as little budget as possible. Their chosen motif was pink and black.

 It was surprising to know that they did their own make up during the day. Their invitations were hand made by Shyr Deloy which was awesome and at the same time a gesture of generosity for her best friend Krishna.

Their wedding photographer was also one of the bride's best friend who happen to be a photo hobbyist.

The flowers were the thriftiest I have known in my entire four years of being an event planner. The bridal bouquet and entourage flowers were very beautiful and affordable at two thousand pesos only!

I guess the bridesmaid dresses were also do it yourself sewn dresses too. The best part of it was that they got to bring home the dresses and can be worn in other future events too.

They didn't have a wedding coordinator during the day, the entourage did what they must do which was awesome because not all wedding participants really know what they were supposed to do having a role to fulfill.

At the reception, every one was cheerful and cooperative in the games that I prepared for the program. The mood was festive and the guests were super cheery. I had an easy time in telling them what to do during my games.

Truly indeed, a budgeted wedding is possible if you have generous friends and family you can count on. The entire wedding would have costed (if my estimate serves me right) around 50,000 more or less. It was a simple celebration of their union but until now, two years later, I was still impressed on how they were able to pull off a very thrifty wedding event. After all, I believe that the more important thing in weddings is not the details but the ceremony when the husband and wife vow in marriage in front of the people of God and of God.  

To Willie and Krishna, this may be a late greeting from your wedding program host and high school friend, 

HAPPY 2ND WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO YOU! GOD BLESS YOU MORE!!!

(Photo Credits To Shyr Deloy, Noreen Rebuldad and Krishna Cuaresma Facebook accounts and blogs)

What Kind of Wedding Planning and Coordination You Should Get?

Recently, I have learned the 'dirty' tricks of the wedding industry. I am not supposed to divulge it since I can also benefit from its schemes. I know there is a stiff competition in whatever industry there is but I was caught off guard that some business thrive in sweet coated marketing strategies to keep their businesses afloat or better yet to be able to get a big chunk of money from the client.


Because I could not take into my conscience any of these dirty tricks, I am here to lay down some tips on how to avoid from falling in these traps. Here is why you should choose your wedding planner, partial wedding planner and on the day wedding coordinator wisely:

1. Top of the reason why you need to do extensive research on your wedding planner is for you to get your mind off from simple things during the wedding day and they must "think" for you.

2. The competition is stiff and so many coordinators would sugarcoat anything just to let you sign that contract of service and hand your money to them. Extensive research could save you from being trapped in a contract that would cost you more than what you should be getting. Review what they have listed in their services and make sure you counter check your contracts. There are suppliers who will offer you more making you believe you "need" those additional services. Check first their packages and don't sign anything yet until you are sure that what they are offering is what is best for you.

3. Hire an honest wedding planner. You will know what honesty looks and sounds like. If you are lured with the grandeur of their promises, don't decide just yet. Take a day or two to ponder and search others for their services. Comparison works.

4. The wedding industry is composed of several suppliers that would compete for your money. Hiring a good wedding planner will recommend you the best choices based on your budget and will advocate in your behalf to get a good deal for you to save on adding more costs.


What Kind of Wedding Planning and Coordination You Should Get?


You need Full Wedding Planning when you and your fiance are planning to hold the wedding in your hometown and you are both living outside the country or out of town most of the time. It would be a difficult inconvenience for your families to get the wedding suppliers for you and communicating all the time. The wedding planner will be your representative in all deals. It is important that you get to know your wedding planner first before trusting to her your once in a lifetime affair to remember.


 My clients are mostly from abroad and they need assistance in finding or follow up of wedding suppliers in Davao or Gensan. Being a full wedding planner, my job is to make sure I deliver the queries of the client regarding their prospective and chosen wedding suppliers.


You need On the Day Wedding Coordination when you have planned the entire wedding by yourself or with your partner and you only need a team to manage the wedding suppliers during the final week and during the wedding day.


There are couples who want to have comparison of different wedding suppliers and research will take time and effort to do so. Having a wedding planner will make finding these different wedding suppliers easy as breathing. The cost of a wedding planner varies from each person. If you are looking for a Gensan wedding planner, you can avail of my services to assist you in putting up your wedding event. Not every one will appreciate the need of a wedding planner because they think there are no affordable wedding planner to find. But our team will not over charge you for choosing us. In fact, we are the most reasonable priced coordinators in Davao.

Inquiries are welcome! Email me at leahjacobe@gmail.com or call and text me with my mobile number 0949 770 28 29 for your concerns and wedding inquiries!


Happy Wedding Planning!

DIY Kiddie Party Decorations

Whether it's a birthday party or baptismal party, kiddie parties are the most colorful event to organize. You can even do it yourself when it comes to planning and decorating everything. The good thing is that if you buy decors for a kiddie party they don't cost that much and can be reused for the next kiddie party event.

Recently, I have do-it-myself everything for the baptismal of my child. I am going to share to you the nitty gritty details of organizing everything for a baptismal party. These following tips are also applicable to other kiddie party events.


Event: Baptismal Party
Planning Time: 2 weeks
Budget for Decors: 1,500 Philippine pesos

STEP 1
Set a theme and color motif. For my baby, I chose 5 colors: blue, pink, yellow, green and violet. Then I did research. I did a very extensive research over the internet with the search keywords "pastel color kiddie party decorations". I saved some pictures for my reference in making the decorations.

STEP 2
Plan the layout. The party was held in my mother's house because there was a huge space outside the house to hold a party. I sketched my layout and imagined how things would look like on the actual day.

STEP 3
Purchase the materials.
Here is a quick breakdown of the decoration expenses:
 3 meters Pongee cloth Yellow @ 45/meter = 135
 3 meters Pongee cloth Blue @ 45/meter = 135
 3 meters Pongee cloth Pink @ 45/meter = 135
 3 meters Pongee cloth Green @ 45/meter = 135
 3 meters Pongee cloth Violet @ 45/meter = 135
 25pcs  5" metallic balloons @ 5/each = 125
 20 pcs 10' metallic balloons @ 8/each = 160
 17pcs printed letters @ 5/each = 85
 3pcs pink cartolina = 17
 3pcs green cartolina = 17
 3pcs orange cartolina = 17
 3pcs yellow cartolina = 17
 3 pcs pink flowerette gift wrapper = 40.50
 1 pc decorative tissue paper green = 17
 1 pc decorative tissue paper yellow = 17
 1 pc decorative tissue paper fuschia = 17
 1 pc decorative tissue paper pink = 17
 1 pc decorative tissue paper blue = 17

TOTAL Purchases: P 1238.5

STEP 4
Get the work started.

How to make Tissue Pompoms (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDiGHGzGXK0)

 Inflate the balloons using electronic balloon pump or manual balloon pump. Print the letters and make a layerette using the decorative gift wrapper and the cartolina to create a dramatic effect.

 Cut the colored cartolinas according to your desired shape in my case round to resemble polka dots.

 For the table centerpieces, I used coffee mugs and wrapped it with crepe paper.

  I used the colored pongee cloths as ceiling drapes.With these methods, you can now have a colorful and budget friendly kiddie party decorations. The upside of this is that you can save a lot from the costs of decorations. But the downside is that you really need to have an imaginative mind and patience and perseverance in making the crafts! For your inquiries on kiddie party decors on a budget, ask me now! Email me at leahjacobe@gmail.com or contact me at my mobile phone 09239431199!

Happy Decorating!!!

Tips in Giving A Wedding Speech

Weddings are a great venue for expressing your thoughts and feelings. This is especially true when you are holding an important part in the entourage like if you are the FATHER/MOTHER of the bride, BEST MAN or the MAID OF HONOR where you are OBLIGED to give a wedding speech. If you are the type of person who is used to all the spotlight, giving speeches will be a breeze but when you are like most people who get cold feet and frozen tongue, you will need these tips in giving a wedding speech with the least chance of nervous breakdown:


Writing Your Speech

The most basic outline of writing your speech is a 5-part structure:

• Introduce yourself and your relationship to the newlyweds
• Acknowledge the audience 
• Give your message to the newlyweds. You can mention fond memories.
• Give your well wishes and advice.
• End with a toast.

You can get creative by inserting quotes and wise words about marriage. You may also recall your favorite memories with the couple. USE THE LANGUAGE YOU ARE MOST COMFORTABLE TO SPEAK.


Delivering Your Speech

The spotlight and the microphone will be yours for a couple of minutes. If this gets you very nervous, here are quick tips to shrug off the nervousness.

•  After writing your speech, make time to practice it in private. 
• Face a mirror and practice your speech. See how you look, sound and feel when you are practicing.
• Practice as much as you can. The more practice you do, the better you become and the more your body will get used to it.
• Imagine yourself on the actual moment. Visualize the venue and the people.
• Remember: THEY HAVE NO IDEA IF YOU ARE FEELING NERVOUS. Don't give them the idea that you are jittery about the speech.
• On the actual moment, take a deep breath before starting your speech and gather your thoughts together.
• Make sure you have your guideline or cue cards if you are not confident in memorizing the speech by heart.
• Relax and be yourself during the speech. Everyone will remember the message you gave and not how nervous you have become during the delivery of speech.

Giving a speech during a wedding means that the couple has chosen you because you are special in their lives. Take this opportunity to give back the trust and honor that has been given to you. Not everyone will have this privilege of making their thoughts be heard during a special occasion. How you compose your speech and speak out your mind will determine how you feel and think about the couple and the occasion so give it your best shot.

If you are the kind of person who is not confident about writing and speaking, you can always ask assistance to the wedding coordinator. They are equipped with skills in these scenarios. The wedding planner will help you with the speech and how to go about it from the start. Just make sure you inform them while there is still time.

Good luck with your speech!

For more speech samples and guidelines, email leahjacobe@gmail.com.

Tips in Choosing Your Wedding Planner

A wedding planner is a professional who plans, organizes, collaborates the weddings of couples who wish to marry. The wedding planner assists in the design, planning and and over all management of the wedding event. 

The professional wedding planner has the following responsibilities:

• ·     Initial consultation with the bride and groom, complimentary
• ·     Unlimited phone and email availability during business hours
• ·     At least three planning meetings between clients and planner
• ·     Preparation of  a detailed budget breakdown and management process of the budget during the planning period
• ·     Custom schedule/time line and checklists
• ·     Assistance with site tours, selection and booking of ceremony and reception venues
• ·     Assistance with menu selection
• ·     Assistance with selecting a color scheme, theme and style of the wedding
• ·     Assistance with selection of wedding attire and accessories, accompaniment to fitting if desired
• ·     Guidance in finding, negotiating, and booking suitable vendors. Assistance with scheduling appointments. We will accompany clients to a minimum of one meeting per vendor category.  (some vendors will require more meetings)
• ·     Baker
• ·     Caterer
• ·     Florist
• ·     Musicians
• ·     Photographer
• ·     Rental Facilities
• ·     Videographer
• ·     Wedding Attire (bridal shops) Alterations if needed
• ·     Officiate
• ·     Transportation
• ·     Ongoing updates and consultation with clients about vendors services/products
• ·     Coordination with vendors to ensure services/products are provided in a timely manner
• ·     Assistance with choosing invitations, printing
• ·     Assistance with tracking RSVP’s and who will be attending
• ·     Ceremony planning
• ·     Preparation of  itineraries to be provided to vendors
• ·     Final walk-through with client at selected venues the month of the wedding
• ·     Final time lines prepared the month of the wedding
• ·     Final phone consultation with vendors the month of the wedding
• ·     Final meeting covering all details with client, the month of wedding and the week prior to the wedding. This two hour planning meeting will include:
• ·     Ceremony planning, processional, recessional, placement, timing for music if applicable
• ·     Preparation of rehearsal and wedding day itinerary as a time line to be provided to client and vendors
• ·     Final walk-through with client at selected sites month of the wedding (meeting should include florist if possible)

Types of Wedding Planner

There are many types of modern wedding planner. Most of these professionals are multi taskers and take on several duties at the same time. Find out which of these types of wedding planner do you need most.

Exclusive Wedding Planner. This type of wedding planner is a professional who plans exclusively meaning the expertise of this professional is into planning, designing, concepts and devising the ways to achieve that plan. He/She knows which ideas are better, which are difficult to acquire and which ideas are feasible and attainable to the event.

Wedding Planner and Decorator. This type of wedding planner is both a planner and doer. He plans for wedding concepts and can create it with the right tools and supplies. They are mostly into site set up, floral decorations, ceiling and wall drapings and table arrangements and centerpieces.

Wedding Planner and Host. This type of wedding planner is excellent for program emcee. These are the professionals who can pull off a wedding program with their talents in speaking to the crowd using their wit and humor.

Overall Wedding Planner. If you have heard about Jack of All Trades, then this is the type of wedding planner who is an all around. He/She can do all of the above at any given point in time. But of course, no one can spread himself/herself too thinly in doing their work. There should be a focus of skills to achieve quality. 

Tips in Choosing the Best Wedding Planner for You

1. Ask questions. Don't hesitate to ask the wedding planner about his/her scope. Ask the following: 

• What are the inclusions of his/her services?
• What are the prices of the packages?
• What are the terms of payment?
• What are his/her experiences in the wedding industry?
• How long has he/she been to this job?

2. Ask more questions and samples of work. There are many wedding planners who are ready to cater your needs but there can only be one or a few who can meet your personality, style, and most of all budget. Do your research first before cashing out your down payment to them.

3. Security questions. This is very crucial for people who would search wedding planners online. There are a lot of fraud people just waiting for their next prey. If there's a doubt in your head, DON'T. You know that these people are fake with the following:

Photo courtesy: nextlevelvision.com

• They have no clear answers to your questions.
• They will evade some questions and mislead you with double meaning statements.
• They will pressure you to pay them immediately.
• They say nasty things to other wedding suppliers.
• They have no credibility online and no one can recommend or even recognize them.
• They will probe your private details and even credit cards and personal information.

With the easy access of information online today, there are also many if not millions of criminals online who are just waiting for an opportunity to make money by their fraudulent acts. It is imperative to be cautious always especially when it involves your hard-earned money.

I hope this post helps! For your wedding planning concerns, email me at leahjacobe@gmail.com

Happy Planning Your Wedding!!!

Deciding For A Destination Wedding

It's already 2014!

The race is on for weddings and events lining up the calendar year. For most people, the year of the horse is believed to be a good year for going for your dreams and taking action to make things happen. As swift as the horse, so must people be with their dealings in their lives this year.

I have been a little preoccupied these past few months in the later part of 2013 but one of my new year's resolution for 2014 is to post at least two blog entries per month to help my readers and followers and stumble-upon people in their wedding planning.

First up this month, DESTINATION WEDDINGS. Let's talk about destination weddings!

Ever dreamed about having a wedding somewhere out of town? How about that dreamy place you have always envisioned your special day? With these in mind you are still not sure whether having a destination wedding is the right thing to do. Here are the pro's and con's of having your dream Destination Wedding.


Advantages of Destination Wedding

1. Your dream wedding in that far flung place is finally coming to fulfillment.
2. The event will be intimate and memorable for close family and special friends only.
3. It will serve as a dual purpose for your wedding and vacation as well.
4. It may also serve as your place of honeymoon getaway after the wedding ceremony.


Disadvantages of Destination Wedding

1. Some of the family and relatives won't be able to afford the fare and accommodation for the event.
2. Most of the cost of this out-of-town event will be shouldered by the couple.
3. You will need a skilled wedding planner and coordinator who knows the local vendors. Although this might be a great idea, prepare for a hefty professional fee.
4. You will have to travel at least a few times to the place in order to see the venue and other amenities you might need during your stay there.


For Filipinos, traditional weddings are still the top choice for many couples. By tradition, weddings are always held in the church for Catholics and in the gardens for most Christian denominations.The idea of Destination Wedding is reserved for the rich and well-off families who want to have intimate celebration of the wedding.


There is one determining factor that will make or break a destination wedding: BUDGET. This kind of wedding will probably cost more than traditional weddings especially if the couple is going to handle all the accommodation, meals, and transportation of the invited guests. There are ways to minimize the expenses of the destination wedding event but for wise advice, make sure you have the available budget to cover all the wedding expense including other unforeseen expenses that you must anticipate.