Modern Rustic Wedding of Romeo and Kharen

True love is not a strong, fiery, impetuous passion. It is, on the contrary, an element calm and deep. It looks beyond mere externals, and is attracted by qualities alone. It is wise and discriminating, and its devotion is real and abiding.
--Ellen G. White--

The wedding of Romeo and Kharen was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever witnessed. Their wedding was really surreal with their theme of choice - modern rustic wedding theme - simple, serene, no fuss. The couple was also one of the kindest I have ever worked with. They were simply very easy to work with. They knew what they wanted from the start and drafted their wedding plans very well. They were both engineers so they knew how to do about designs. They were also somewhat sure that the guest list would be rather short. The groom's family traveled all the way from Butuan city to Davao City to witness their union.

The wedding ceremony was set last July 28, 2017, Friday at 2 o'clock in the afternoon and was held at St. Michael Chapel, Eden Toril, Davao City. Wedding reception followed thereafter at Fernwood Clubhouse, Eden Toril, Davao City.


Wedding Preparations

Barangay Eden Toril Davao City is a renowned wedding destination for nature lover engaged couples. Many weddings have transpired in this place because of its cool climate, foresty ambiance and romantic landscapes. 

We held the wedding preparations of Romeo and Kharen at Loleng's Mountain Resort. This was the most feasible room accommodations at that time. 

The Wedding Invitations

The wedding invitation was designed by the groom along with the wedding message cards that served as guest book instead of the traditional guest book. They sought for the help of the commercial printing press to have their design printed on special paper.

 

The Wedding Invitations designed by the groom.

Message Cards with wishes and greetings from the  guests.

Flowers and Church and Reception Set up

The couple wanted rustic ambiance for their wedding. The florist of their own choosing delivered their request to the minute detail.

Rustic Theme Guests Table Centerpiece

Modern Rustic Them VIP Table Centerpiece

Rustic Stage Backdrop

Bouquets

Church Entrance Signage

Souvenirs for the bridal entourage

The Wedding Cake

The Bridal and Groom Portraits

One of the most important aspect in every wedding is to choose the right photographer to capture the moments in your once-in-a-lifetime event. Below are some of the best snapshots of the beautiful bride and gallant groom as they prepared for their walk down the aisle moment.

Wedding Entourage

A wedding will be happier and more memorable with the family and friends who are gathered to celebrate this one meaningful day of your life. Your bridal entourage will journey with you in this joyous day as they have been there with you from the start of your relationship.

Bride's Family

Bride's closest girl  friends

Groom's Family

Groom's Best Men

The BIG Wedding Moment

The wedding moment that every groom and bride have been preparing for many months has finally come. The wedding ceremony is probably the most nerve wracking moment in the history of weddings. There are no repeat, no retake, no redo. This is the moment of all the moments in the entire wedding planning that should be perfect at one passing.

The wedding aisle of St. Michael Chapel, Eden Toril, Davao City

That look from groom to his bride.... that is just...... love.... pure love....

First Official Kiss

Mabuhay ang bagong kasal!

After the wedding ceremony, every one headed to Fernwood Clubhouse, Eden Toril, just a few meters away from the chapel where they wed. There was merriment and good cheer all throughout the night. One of the bridesmaids, Ms. Roby Pagong, volunteered to be the program emcee and she did exceptionally well delivering the program. The guests enjoyed the very cold weather of the place and the over all experience of the couple and their guests have been positive.

My Team of Wedding Coordinators at the end of the day... forgive the haggard faces, we've worked so hard!

The groom was also very pleased with the experience of their beautiful wedding. I especially loved what he wrote in his comments to our Facebook page:

 

And more importantly, the bride was very happy as  well. She left me the sweetest message on my wall: 

 

There was only one goal in my mind that I wanted to achieve for their wedding - to make the bride and groom happy! I must say GOAL MET! The guests were all praises and so were they.

I offer the success of this exceptional wedding EVENT to God Almighty! Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam et Dei Genetricis Honorem!

(all photos in this blog post are courtesy of Rated Love Photography)



Special Thanks to following Davao Wedding Suppliers for helping create this magnificent wedding event:
Wedding Planning and Coordination: LEAH JACOBE WEDDINGS AND EVENTS
Photography: RATED LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY
Video Coverage: WONDER WORKS CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cake and Cupcakes: BEVYCAKES 
Hair Styling: MIA
Makeup: BETSY ARCENA
Flowers and Set-up: PINKTOUCHE EVENT STYLING
Caterer: 1397 ALCANTARA CATERING SERVICES
Sounds and Lights, Acoustic Band: MELODIC HARMONY
Bridal Shop: BFF BRIDAL BOUTIQUE
Bridal Car: MIB CAR RENTALS
Van Rental: RONALD DESIERTO VANS
Tiffany Chairs: JCARL EVENT EQUIPMENT RENTALS

How to Create a Wedding Budget

Hello Grooms and Brides of 2018 (or 2017)! I am sure by this month of August, those who are recently engaged and planning to tie the knot next year are already excited to get things rolling.

So first up, the very core of wedding planning is the wedding budget. How do you allocate budget for each part of the wedding? How much should you allocate for the venue? photo and video? food? dresses? cakes?

It can be overwhelming for any couple trying to work within their spending power and not go broke after the wedding.

I am giving you these simple guides to follow for you to come up with your budget for the entire wedding.

1. Decide on your wedding venue and food.  The biggest chunk of the budget goes to the wedding venue. It composes 25% of the wedding budget. Choosing the venue will make or break your bank. Most hotels have function rooms with in-house food catering. There are also venue rentals where you can choose your own caterer and bring your own food preferences. The food is also one of the top priority for any event. Guests will mostly remember the food and ambiance of the wedding especially if there is overflowing booze to top it all.



2. Choose your wedding theme. The wedding theme will determine about 15% more or less of the wedding budget. This comprises the flowers, stage backdrop, table centerpieces, church floral arrangements, etc. The more intricate your design is, the more materials will be used, the higher the charges will be. You have to consider the costs of labor, equipment transport, food for the working crew and sometimes accommodation if it is out of town. Among the wedding themes, the most costly would be the "Lush Flowers" Wedding Theme since it will entail lots and lots of flowers - fresh and artificial alike.

Photo credits: Philip Cuison Photography

3. The third aspect of the wedding that will be needing some hefty amount will be the accommodation. This is true especially for out-of-town guests. Most of the time, in Filipino etiquette, the bride and groom will shoulder the costs of accommodation of their guests coming from other towns or country. If you have understanding guests, they will shoulder their fare and accommodation to show support and love for the both of you. You may also politely tell them to shoulder their own expenses to your wedding as their wedding gift to you.

Another equally important aspect of the wedding that needs a big chunk of the budget is the Photo Video Coverage. More and more couples are gearing towards quality photo and video coverage so they are investing heavily on this part. Sometimes, this aspect can even out-cost the budget for the food and venue because photos and videos are all that will be left to remind you of the most beautiful day of your life. You should not scrimp on this one.

Other aspects of the wedding will be divided accordingly to smaller details such as souvenirs, invitations, emcee, coordinators, cake, bridal car, etc. The pie chart below will give you an idea on how to allocate budget for your wedding. However, I did not include the budget for wedding rings and engagement ring since it is relatively personal to the groom in most cases.

There are also other minute details to consider that I haven't included in the chart pie. These details are more demand-driven than being wedding essential. The wedding budget depend entirely on your choices and how much are you willing to spend for this once-in-a -lifetime event in your life. In the Philippines where I conduct many weddings, most brides and grooms will spend more than they are willing because of the rarity of the event. The notion that it will happen only once in a lifetime will put more value on what will be memorable for the years to come.

The role of the wedding planner, (that's me!) is to make sure that your budget meets the right wedding suppliers to get the most out of your hard earned money and deliver you quality services and products that you deserve.

The year 2018 will be a year of weddings. Filipinos have deep Chinese influence and the number 8 is considered lucky. So I will be gearing up for the surge of couples wanting to tie the knot next year.

Happy Wedding Planning!!! 💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘