Vintage Theme Black and White Wedding

Choosing your wedding colors is one of the most important aspect in wedding planning. It is the reference point to which everything must be decided upon. The design of the stage decors, ceremony, dresses, invitation and flowers must all follow the theme and color concept of the wedding.

My recent June bride chose the most uncommon color combination for weddings - Black and White. In the Philippine wedding traditions, this color combination is a taboo for such a special occasion because of their negative connotations especially for the conservative elders. However, in other parts of the world, black and white weddings are just as lovely as other color combinations.

Since the bride really wanted to have these colors incorporated in her wedding, we also added a third hue which is Maroon to lessen the stigma that black and white colors are known for. 

Wedding Reception Set-up

Our goal for this wedding is to achieve a simple but pleasing-to-the-eye wedding decorations working around Vintage theme and incorporating black and white and maroon all over. 

Stage Backdrop

What my team did for the stage backdrop was to fill the walls with vintage props and decors. 

VIP Table Centerpiece

For the VIP table centerpiece, we envisioned a simple combination of red roses and touch of white roses in a teacup. We wrapped the cylindrical vase with black paper and white ribbons to incorporate the color motif. 

Bridal and Bridesmaids bouquets

The bride specifically requested red and white roses only for her bridal bouquet. I made sure it was achieved as requested. The bridesmaids bouquets are made up of calla lily and roses combination.

Cake and Souvenirs and Invitations

The cake stands beautifully with its vintage black and white feel. The souvenirs are black and white cake in a jar to complement the wedding cake. 

Miss Mel poses with her cake masterpiece.

Wedding Aisle

The wedding ceremony took place at the amphitheater of Jack's Ridge Resort and Convention Center. The wedding reception was held at the Penmar Hall 2 with the breathtaking view of Davao City at night. 

We started the planning of the wedding in late February. They chose the Simple Wedding from the complete wedding packages we offer. We had four months to get things in place. There were bumps and glitches along the way, but we were able to pull through what was planned.

 

It was a simple wedding but one memorable for the couple and their families. Just as they journeyed to this day, they will have a lifetime to journey with each by their side.

This is my team of wedding decorators and coordinators. We will help you achieve your dream wedding and make a memorable occasion that you will cherish for a lifetime. 

The best part of being a wedding planner is when the client and their family appreciate all the hard work you have done to make their event memorable. These simple words from the groom and mother of the groom resonate for the rest of my career as wedding planner. Thank you so much for trusting me and my team to deliver your dream wedding! Praise God for the talents and skills and opportunities to help and make people happy!

Happy Wedding Ariel and Laissa! May your marriage be as happy as the celebration of your wedding day!!!

Thank you to my very trusted and equally talented awesome colleagues in the wedding industry. Thanks for helping me deliver their dream wedding!

ARIEL + LAISSA Wedding Suppliers 

Venue: Jack's Ridge Resort and Restaurant Davao

Wedding Planner / Coordination / Set-up and Flowers / Emcee: Leah Jacobe Weddings

Photo and Video Coverage: Philip Cuison Photography

Cake and Souvenirs: Mhayrie's Home of Sweets

Hair and Makeup: Joseph Nazareno 

Invitations: Timeless Paper Ideas

(Photo Credits to Different Owners)

Popular Wedding Trends 2015

Wedding trends vary every year. Different styles for different times. Once, the Cinderella ball gown is the most in demand style of wedding gown. Then as the century turns, slimmer and body-hugging wedding gowns emerged. Wedding motif and themes have also developed throughout the decades. Most brides in the 90's plan their own wedding without the help of a wedding planner. But today, most brides and surprisingly, hands on grooms are very particular with their ideal weddings. Today, weddings range from the most classical to the most uniquely bizarre ideas to date.


Wedding Colors

Among the colors most chosen by brides, nothing beats the popularity of peaches and pinks. This soft color spells out elegance and tenderness combined. Brides prefer this color because of its feminine appeal and classical feel.

image courtesy of brides.com

Wedding Decorations

True indeed, you can't go wrong with the most popular wedding color of all time. As with the color, so with the wedding decorations. Flowers are just as important as the wedding dress. The set up and design of wedding trends are moving to a more classical era reviving the Victorian essence with the combination of rustic elements specifically the candles. This year's most in demand wedding theme is the Rustic-Shabby Chic-Victorian Era theme. 

Not surprising enough, wedding decorating with candles have been on the rise. There is a growing trend on wedding decorations using only candles. Yes, without the flowers that is. Now, that would look like this:

image courtesy of http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/candle-only-centerpieces/

image courtesy of http://hksanthialeei.blogspot.com

I think it would be very romantic to see these gorgeous candles all lighted up during the dinner reception! I would love to design a wedding with this kind of concept!

Wedding Gowns

Ah well, THE DRESS! This is probably the most well researched, most sought after, most thought-of aspect of the wedding. Dresses now are centered on the details. The more beadwork and stonework on the dress, the more brides will dive for it! Laces and embroideries have never gone out of style, but this time, this timeless piece of detail has probably taken the spotlight. More and more brides opt for laces all over their wedding gown. 

image courtesy of http://bridalmusings.com/2014/01/30-lace-sleeve-wedding-dresses/

Lace is timeless. It is elegance. It is classic. It is beauty. It is forever. It is probably THE DRESS for every bride. The dress you choose will depict the kind of personality you have. If you choose lace, you must value high end style and highest quality of its kind. You can never go wrong with a lace wedding gown.

There you have it the pressing matters of planning a wedding. These 3 elements of a wedding make a wedding stand out along with some other aspects. Filipino weddings are as up to date as the western weddings could be. Philippine wedding trends are gaining inspirations from different wedding trends around the world. 

To give you more details on the present day and upcoming wedding trends, feel free to email me: leahjacobe@gmail.com. Also, for your wedding planning inquiries, click here.

Happy Wedding Planning this 2015!

Best Time of the Day to Get Married

What is the best time to conduct a wedding ceremony? Most wedding ceremonies take place in the afternoon so that the reception time will take place at night and the after party breaks until dawn. But not every couple follows this tradition. 

If you are wondering what time you would want your wedding to happen, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner is the best time for a wedding for you, check out these advantages of each time of the wedding:


Sunrise Wedding (5am, 6am)

 Pros
If your wedding venue is strategically located facing the East, then this is the perfect time for you to say "I DO" with a feeling of a bright tomorrow awaits you as the sun rises and greets your wedding with a soft light to begin the day.


Cons
This is probably a dreaded time for most Filipinos. It can be too early for most people especially that in the Philippines, Filipino Time is usually 30 minutes late and conducting a wedding ceremony at this time will pose a major setback in preparations and arriving on time.

Your wedding suppliers may have additional charge for setting up very early or the day before for your wedding.

The Solution: This is best for an intimate wedding of about 50 guests housed in one venue the night before. Everyone should be in the same place for easy call time and gathering of the guests and entourage at early dawn. 



Morning Wedding (8am, 9am, 10am, 11am)

Pros
These time slots are best for people who want to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and night with their family, friends and guests who may have come a long way to attend their wedding. The wedding ceremony and reception will usually end at the most 2pm so there is plenty of time for an afternoon or dinner bonding with out of town guests without going beyond the time indicated for supposed "first night" of the newlyweds.

Cons
If your wedding will be held in the city, expect morning traffic. And if your wedding falls on a weekday or holiday rush, expect more traffic. Aside from working people and students rushing to get to their designated places, the holiday rush may also bring out more people out in the streets to get what they need in time for the holidays - think Christmas. Whew!

The Solution: Choose a hotel near the church or choose a location where the distance between the ceremony and reception will be bearable to transport. Avoid choosing dates that people are still at work and special holidays when people will be roaming the streets - like parades and Christmas holidays.


Afternoon / Sunset Wedding (2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm)

Pros

Most weddings are held in the afternoon because primarily it gives the couple and their families and friends to have enough time to prepare and run errands that may be needed during the wedding - like buying socks or belt because they forgot to bring theirs on the preparation site. Wedding suppliers will also have enough time to do their tasks at their most working mood because these are the time slots when normal working hours is conducted.

Cons
If you are having an outdoor wedding specially in the Philippines where the climate is tropical, these time slots may still be a little humid with the rays of the sun too strong to stand in. Sometimes, rain might interrupt the ceremony.

The Solution. Provide umbrella for the guests and entourage witnessing the ceremony. Choose a location where there is a canopy of trees or a garden tent to shield the people from heat and moisture.


Sunset Wedding  (6pm, 7pm, 8pm)

Pros
These time slots are best for people who want to get the party going all night. Sunset weddings are romantic and dreamy specially if held in the open with the night sky full of twinkly stars. If you start the ceremony about thirty minutes before the sunset forecast, you may have a cozy sunset rays just in time for your first official husband-wife kiss.

Cons
This is not so appealing to the some people specially the older ones and those with infants and children since it can start too late and end too late which can alter their sleeping routines. Some older people and children may not have the energy to finish through the night.

The Solution: Prioritize the elders and children during the program so that if they wanted to go home ahead, they would already have participated on their part of the program.



Depending on the location, venue, weather and type of people attending the wedding, every wedding is a perfect time to celebrate at any given time of day. But of course, you must put in mind that your wedding is a mix of two families and friends and so it is also crucial to consider your attendees to have a comfortable and fun experience during your wedding.

In all time slots, it is best to check the weather forecast for the day before, during and after your wedding so you would know what to expect.

Happy Wedding Planning!

Tete-a-tete!

Best Wedding Venues in Gensan (Airconditioned Halls)

General Santos City is best known because of the globally famous boxing fighter Manny Pacquiao who has always promoted the 'capital city of tuna'.

For most people who have no time to travel but are curious of what General Santos City has to offer when it comes to wedding venues, here are some of the best wedding venues in Gensan according to my own opinion as wedding planner catering clients to this place.

This is just a random listing and NOT according to ranking. So here goes...

Best Wedding Venues in Gensan 

Phela Grande Convention Center

This marvelous huge convention hall can accommodate a very huge crowd of probably 500 or more guests. I had a first-hand experience working with Phela Grande staff and here are my observations:

Positive:

- They have very friendly and quick to understand waiters. 

- Their marketing officer, Mam Luz is very accommodating even if I contact her at the wee hours of the night or morning. She never fails to return call or update you with details.

- They have very good tasting food.

Negative:

- They have double bookings. During the day of my event with Phela Grande which was held at 3pm, there was another wedding reception in the morning that lasted to almost 3pm which pressured my partner florist Sir Rolly Jagonob and his team to set up everything in less than one hour!!! So it was really unfortunate that there was very little time to set up according to what we have planned. 

- According to other past wedding suppliers, they have a terrible sound system, so during our event here, we have rented a separate lights and sounds to meet the quality sound system that the couple wanted.

Venue 88

This is a compound of function halls. Each function hall has distinct number of guests accommodate inside it. 

I have also a first-hand experience working with them and here are my insights:

Positive:

- The venue is equipped with fantastic lights and sounds equipment and they have electric trees that create a cherry blossom effect when used to accentuate the stage.

- They have built-in, in-house ceiling draping that could save a lot of decorator and florist efforts in setting up the place. With it, it can also be a money saver for couples to offset ceiling treatment for their reception decorations.

- They have a very bubbly and friendly Sales and Marketing Manager Mandy, who takes pride in his promotion of the place.

Negative:

- I am not sure if the catering was part of the function hall because it was the choice of the client as per recommendation of the management or if it was entirely a different catering services. Me and my team observed that the waiters of that particular catering were not so professional in terms of etiquette. I wont divulge any more details about it. I just had a negative observation on the catering services.

- The location is slightly off the main highway but it can be manageable.

Paseo Del Sol

This is a prestigious place to conduct affairs in Gensan because of its fame to prominent people in the area. They have a Renaissance feel with a mix of dreamy garden setting, it is best for weddings with Nature inspired motif. It is an intimate place so it can probably accommodate around 200-400 guests. If you include outside setting, then it would probably cater up to 500 guests.

- The place is really nice for a quintessential styling. Great for royal themes and Cinderella story effects because the structure of the place is a mix of vintage elegance and romantic moldings.

I still have to write the Positive and Negative observations of this function place as I will be having an upcoming event to be held here soon. So I will just leave it at that. More details to follow.

I know there are still a lot of best wedding venues in Gensan but these three venues I have elaborated here are within the city and very accessible to transportation that's why I think they are best places. Your guests wont be having a hard time to locate them even if they are from out of town.

You may also want to check out garden wedding venues in Gensan as follows:

• Mt. Sabrina Resort
• Sarangani Highlands
• Yolach's Venue

Click the link and you will be redirected to their respective online accounts. 

I hope you have learned a bit more about destination weddings to Gensan. For more personalized attention to you inquiries about conducting weddings and best wedding venues in Gensan (General Santos City), don't hesitate to contact me:

Leah Jacobe

Wedding Planner

leahjacobeweddings@gmail.com

0949-770-28-29

Thanks for reading my post! Happy Wedding Planning!

The Most Comprehensive Filipino Wedding Checklist

Philippines is a culturally rich country. There are many beliefs and rituals taking place especially during a Filipino wedding. Aside from the wedding cost, if you are planning to tie the knot with your Filipino spouse in one of the churches or places in the Philippines, you might need many things to prepare because a traditional Filipino wedding is not your ordinary westernized wedding. Here's a complete checklist of things you must prepare for your grandest event in your life, your dream Wedding Filipino Style!

The Most Comprehensive Filipino Wedding Checklist Pre-Wedding Checklist:

During Wedding Planning, decide on the following: Attire   [] Color Motif Attire for Female Entourage  [] long gown  [] cocktail dress  [] knee-length  [] below the knee length Attire for Male Entourage  [] Barong  [] Suit  [] Tuxedo  [] Others Venues    [] Church (strict for Catholic Weddings)    [] Outdoor (Christian Weddings)    [] Reception         [] Outdoor         [] Indoor    [] Caterer           [] c/o Hotel or Venue          [] Independent Photographer    [] with pre-nup   [] without pre-nup   [] other add-ons Videographer   [] with pre-nup   [] without pre-nup   [] other add-ons Florist   [] Church & Reception Venue   [] Church Only   [] Reception Venue Only Make-up Artist   [] Bride & Groom only   [] Bride, Groom and parents only   [] Bride, Groom, Parents and Female entourage only   [] Bride, Groom, Parents and whole entourage   [] Bride, Groom, Parents, whole entourage, & others Wedding Invitations   [] for VIPs   [] for Guests Wedding Souvenirs   [] for VIPs   [] for Guests   [] for Groom's Men   [] for Bride's Maids Cake Designer   [] 3 layered cake   [] 4 layered cake   [] 5 layered cake   [] satellite cakes   [] cascading cake   [] cupcakes with mother cake   [] cake tower   [] others Add-ons: [] Photobooth []  During- Wedding Day Checklist:

Church Checklist

Mass Participants (Catholic Weddings)

[] Priest

[] Commentator

[] Readers

[] Reading 1st

[] Responsorial Psalm

[] Reading 2nd

[] Prayers of the Faithful

[] Offertory and Offerors Things to prepare:

o   Candles on stand   (2) o   Unity Candle (unique to Christian Weddings) o   Candles for lighting the Unity Candle (2)  (unique to Christian Weddings)

o   Fruits

o   Flowers

o   Unblessed Host

o   Wine

o   Cruets (wine and water)

o   Ciborium (host)

Ceremony Materials

[] Secondary sponsors

[] Candles

[] Matches or lighters

[] Cord

[] Veil

[] Arrhae (13 pieces of coins)

[] Bride's Bible

[] Rings (with fakes if necessary)

[] Pillows (2)

[] Misalettes and/or ceremony program

[] Garter (worn on the right leg of bride)

[] Flowers for:

>Bride

>Maid of Honor

>Bridesmaids

>Junior Bridesmaids

>Flower girls

>Secondary sponsors

>Principal sponsors

>Mother of the bride

>Mother of the groom

>Bride's throw away

>Boutonnieres for suits

[] Recessional Effects

>Bubbles

>Confetti

>Party Poppers

>Petals

>Rice grains

>Doves

>Others: balloons

[] Songs for:

> Wedding Processional march

> Entourage

> Bride

>Vows

>Offertory

>Lord's Prayer

>Communion

>Picture taking

>Recessional

>Others

> Wedding Recessional March

[] Food tidbits for travel to reception

[] Priest's stipend (optional) Others    [] Jewelry and accessories

Reception Checklist

[] Invitation    [] RSVPs

[] Flat shoes

[] Souvenirs

[] Gifts

>Principal sponsors

>Entourage

[]  Seating arrangement (unique to high-end, Westernized Weddings)

[]  Reception lay-out

[]  Place cards (unique to high-end, Westernized Weddings)

[]  Menu cards (unique to high-end, Westernized Weddings)

[]  Drinks

>Wines

>Champagne

>Liquor

[]  Reception Songs

>Cocktails

>Entrance of newlyweds

>Dinner

>Bouquet activity

>Garter activity

>Married couples activity

>Cutting of cake

>First toast

>First dance

[]   Entrance for the reception

[]   Procedure for pictures with guests

[]   Reception programme

>Emcees

>Opening prayer and blessing of the food

>Acknowledgment of principal sponsors    > First Dance (Prosperity Dance)

>Table hopping

>AVP if any

>Bouquet toss or other activity

>Garter toss or other activity

>Married couples activity

>Wedding Bell Pull (Balloon Bursting)    >Releasing of Doves

>Speeches           >Bestman's toast (prepare copy)

>Wishes from the Maid of Honor (prepare copy)

>Parents of the newlyweds

>Couple (thank you, honoring, etc.)

>Others

[]  Cutting of cake

o   Serve Cake

o   Favors

[]   First toast (unique to Westernized Weddings)

[]  First dance

[]   Presentation

o   Song

o   Dance

o   Friends

[]   Programme card

[]   Materials for bouquet toss and garter game

[]   Registration table specially for arranged seating (unique to high-end, Westernized Weddings)

[]   Guest book or cards

[]   Crew meals

Persons in charge:

[] Registration table:

[] Gift registration:

[] Distribution of gifts:

[] Payment to suppliers:

[] Make-up Artist:

[] Dress Designer:

[] Photographer

[] Videographer

[] Transportation

[] Hotel or caterer

[] Musicians

o   Church:

o   Reception:

Sound equipment

[]  Cake maker

[] Florist

o   Entourage

o   Church

o   Reception

[] Reception venue

[] Wedding Planners

[] Others

Post- Wedding Checklist

[] Make-up remover

[] Endorsements of the ff:

[] Ceremony materials

[] Reception materials

[] Food for the bride's family

[] Food for the groom's family

[] Gifts

[] Transportation

[] For bride

[] For newlyweds

[] For family

[] For gifts

Contact Numbers of Suppliers

Make-up artist:

Designer:

Photographer:

Videographer:

Transportation:

Hotel or Caterer:

Musicians:

Church:

Reception:

Sound Equipment:

Cake Maker:

Florist:

Church:

Entourage:

Reception:

Church:

Reception venue:

Printer:

Others: --------------------------- If you find it overwhelming to take note each one of the wedding checklist,  you can request your maid-of-honor and bride's maids and even the groom's men to assist you in preparing the materials.  Sometimes, the couple want their friends and family to just enjoy and relax during the entirety of the wedding event.  For a hassle-free, worry-free wedding planning, it is best to hire a wedding coordinator on the day of your wedding or better yet,  hire a wedding planner six months before the wedding event to ensure smooth flow of the event  and stress-free transition from single-hood to married life. Good luck with your wedding planning!  I hope this article helps you in reducing stress in your wedding planning process!  For your On-the-day wedding coordination needs, you can always count on us for assistance!  For questions and inquiries, do not hesitate to email me at leahjacobeweddings@gmail.com. All the best in you transition to married life! Tete-a-tete!!!