Review: Detalye Weddings and Events

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Was browsing my roaming phone earlier and came across food trip pictures that I should have had featured on my goodfood blog. But I ran out of time till I cannot make an accurate review anymore. Hence, before things get hectic, even when I still don’t have pictures from Dino Lara, I have to make a go on my review, putting in as much pictures as I have at the moment.

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I figure half of why I felt so calm the morning of our wedding day was that I learned to let go; that I did my best with what needs to be done with the time given me; that for the wedding day itself, I am letting God do the rest.

The other half is that I know we’ve chosen really good suppliers and that I trust they will also do their share to help us have the wedding we’ve dreamt of. I think this confidence stems as well with the thought that even when I wasn’t there to remind our suppliers (especially those whom I have had no contact with for some time already) of what we wanted for the wedding, I am assured that our coordinators will be there to make things work.

My confidence was justified – Detalye Weddings and Events is one efficient group of coordinators.

I couldn’t count anymore the number of times that I’ve met with the couple Erika and EJ; a nice couple, although I really look diminutive with how tall the two are haha. I booked their partial coordination package albeit it was a revised one already because when I booked them, I was already able to book most of my major suppliers.

Back when I was still researching for escort cards, I fell in love with the idea of us having airplane origami escort cards. The escort cards are actually part of Detalye’s scope but thinking it would be too laborious to work on the origami considering there’ll be a 100 guests, I didn’t bring up my wish the next time Erika and I met. But lo, Erika mentioned she read my blog and since EJ is luckily into origami, they’re gonna make us airplane origami. Can-you-just-imagine how happy I felt? haha!

Half the number of the origami planes were in orange whilst the other half is in lime green. True to their name, Detalye was really OC with the details – for couples, they gave an orange and a lime green for each. Love that small detail.

Now I have these hypersensitive nose. I get really bad sinusitis when I get exposed to dust and minute particles. Suffice it to say that I get sick whenever I go to Divisoria (a pity, really, since there are a lot of good finds in Divi!). Erika and her team though were kind enough to buy us the materials for our invites and our napkin holder – which hubby and I DIYed – and for it, I am really grateful.

Oh, since I booked them on the spot when we met, they gave me a freebie – supposedly a hair accessory for the bride. But since my couturier Richie Torres is gonna provide one for me already, I requested Erika if they can provide chopsticks headpieces for our little girls instead. Erika went beyond the chopsticks idea – she accessorized the chopsticks with neutral and orange wooden flowers and green berries. It left me totally green-eyed with our little girls. I want one as well!! haha.

Now, I was really having a hard time looking for a match with long handle. So much so that 2 days before the wedding, Hubby and I decided to just buy an orange and a green lighter in Ace Hardware. Completely unadorned! Of course Erika knew about the purchase and that we’re settling with it as we really had no time anymore.

Come wedding day, Erika told me they were able to scour matches with long handles. Great! But when I saw how the matchboxes were wrapped in lime green and orange and that it was literally covered with stamps,stamps that has our initials and wedding date as that, OMG!! Well, you can imagine how a bride can be really giddy. Really happy and thankful. I promise to post a picture of it ASAP – whichever comes first, Dino’s pictures or us making some order out of the chaos that is now the library cum luggage room.

Except for during the actual ceremony, Erika seemed to be right beside me almost all the time; calming me down, giving me water, even assisting me when I need to go to the toilet (yeah, I had to go once!). Erika was even coaching me before my walk to be mindful of the carpet edge as it’s a usual stumbling block for the brides (I tried to feel the carpet edge with my feet because I really don’t want to look down as I walk down the aisle and it was successful!) When I sufferred migraine from right after the wedding, Michelle (on the car en route to Ville Sommet), Erika (on the chalet), EJ (during reception) was ever ready with a pain reliever for me.

One other thing. It was already at the back of my mind but I really wasn’t able to confirm with Dylan if the flower beds he was providing us for the rings and arrhae already comes with a pouch. Come wedding day, Detalye came to the rescue by bringing an orange organza pouch. Girlscout! 😀

And oh, did I mention already how calm and collected their team is? Not panicky at all. No running around.

There were just a few hitches though, among of which was that the Bestman and MOH weren’t given their gifts. Somehow it was given to the parents (we already had separate gifts for the parents) and it took us a couple or so days before we knew it was with them and that we had to collect it back. In the end though, Bestman and MOH got their gifts. All ended well.

There’s one thing I realized with the qualities a coordinator should have aside from being organized and efficient – they should be trustworthy. They will be handling the payments on the day, making purchases and receiving your gifts (all of our guests really held true to our request – those who gave gifts really gave cash gifts). Hence, your coordinator should be one who is trustworthy in that even when you don’t re-check the calculation anymore, you know they did it right.

And Detalye is one trustworthy group of coordinators.

If our wedding had been a success, it was partly because our prayers and all that we worked hard for bore fruit. And of course it was also partly because we had a very efficient and organized coordinator who handled things smoothly and efficiently.

Thank you so much Erika, EJ, Michelle and the rest of your team! 🙂

Supplier: Detalye Weddings and Events

Rating: 4.75/5

Contact details: info@detalye.com.ph, erika@detalye.com.ph, +63917.8937452

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Oh there’s more to be thankful for with Detalye!

  • They took care of the script with our emcee
  • They took care of booking the vans for hire that our families will be using during their 4-day stay in Manila-Tagaytay
  • They even had an itinerary ready for the drivers!
  • that and more besides.

bladeless

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Learned of the existence of coolness, in many ways, just this morning.

Bladeless electric fan. Cool right?

See how it works in a video and also see their cool balloon research here.

Excited for Hubby to be home this evening so we can open our package together. Thanks to PMTech!

A & M

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Atsushi and I decided to surprise our guests with a short performance during reception; him on guitar, me on vocals. We can only hope they were pleasantly surprised. 🙂

Love this photo taken by our friend, Jonathan Dante Olya-on. Can’t be too sure though if this was during “Make Me Whole” or “Chega de Saudade”.

ribbon obi

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Finally, I had pictures of how the ribbon obi of our little girls looked like. I had no idea the altar had our colors as well. Even without the flowers! haha.

Cathe with Jane (our secondary sponsor, cord)

By the way, I thought Cathe was mostly around me before the ceremony. It seems though that Cathe had been quite busy during our wedding day. Here’s Cathe inspecting our church flowers. Cute haha. I can’t help but wonder how she’d be when it’s her turn to wear a white gown. 😀

 All photos courtesy of Jonathan Dante Olya-on (our secondary sponsor, cord), Jane’s hubby.

Review: Linda Dee Bridal

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One of my suppliers who absolutely didn’t give me any stress whatsoever was my entourage dress supplier Tita Linda and her sisters, Tess and Beth Salamat. In fact, they even helped remove some of my stress by taking care of the fitting scheduling themselves. I had to fly to Japan early March, which was around the time that they had to fit Kat’s dress as well as the dresses of the little kids. They coordinated the schedule themselves – I absolutely didn’t have to worry about it at all. I think it helped though that we personally knew each other and that their son, Rey, was my friend and long-time batchmate in the office hence Rey himself can coordinate with the moms of the kids who were our officemates as well.

When Tita Tess had an emergency operation in the brain due to aneurysm last end of January, they were teasing me that I should freak out already because beadwork will not be by the expert and that it might not be finished in time for our wedding hence everyone will be pitching in with the beadwork, including me. Honestly, I was more freaked out on dabbing a hand on the beadwork myself as compared to the beadwork being done by the others and not by Tita Tess. Thankfully though, Tita Tess recovered amazingly fast (she’s the most cheerful patient I have ever seen!) and insisted that she do the beadwork herself. She was even the one who can’t sit tight when she knows there’s still something missing/not perfect with the dresses (although I think all three Salamat sisters have the same streak hehe).

Mama’s dress. The design was inspired from a design we got from the internet albeit Tita revised it by adding beadwork on it. Green japanese beads and white swarovski crystals were used on the dress as well as on the delicate bolero. Cloth is chantilly lace. Very delicate and girly. When I brought this to Davao last December for Mama to have her first fitting, Mama initially doesn’t want Papa to see her on it. She wants Papa to see it only during the wedding. Feeling bride? hahaha! Tita Linda though made the dress a bit longer on the back, making a very short train. There’s some justice I think to Mama feeling like a bride considering the train haha.

the newly weds! er, parents of the bride. 😀 Irene Sy-Go opted for the "Pilar Pilapil" look on Mama

Okasan’s dress. The design Okasan liked was one of Richie Ortega-Torres’s designs. Tita Linda opted to have it as a blouse and skirt though rather than a whole dress. She also opted to have the skirt layered to add more beadwork. Cloth: Dope dyed chiffon with charmeuse silk lining. Orange japanese beads and orange swarovski crystals were used on the dress.

still waiting for the official photos with Okasan in her dress
And of course, I have already mentioned the purse made for the mothers, haven’t I? They were just so pretty!!! Mind you, the pretty beadwork extends up to the back. Happy.
Maid of Honor and Bridesmaids’ dresses. These dresses are a cross between Japanese and Greek style. The cut is grecian but Tita Linda added an obi-belt, giving it a Japanese touch. We were also very happy with the bags provided. As Cindy put it, “hindi gumamit ng tira-tira lang na tela, may bling-bling pa” (they didn’t use leftover cloth; they even added an accessory!). 😀  Shawls were also provided which my pretty ladies used during reception. Dress cloth: chiffon with charmeuse silk lining. OB cloth: charmeuse silk with lace applique lace peppered with beads and swarovski crystals.

pretties with tita linda

pretty kat in her intricate finely pleated bodiced japanese-inspired grecian style gown (LOL!)

pretty cindy

To Cindy: when it’s your turn to wear the white gown iha, hold the bouquet lower. Remember, flower over flower 😀

pretty mayumi with handsome hubby (hehehe!)

And! and!! Our little kids’ dresses are obviously one of my kilig things with our wedding details.

Of course we wanted something Japanese on my entourage dresses since we already have the barong for the men – Filipino side. Me wearing a kimono is definitely out since it would take a long time (certainly longer time compared to wearing a white dress) to dress me up in it, even with the help of an expert kimono stylist (and we didn’t have one with us in the wedding). Plus, the (true) elaborate obi would make it harder for me. I have to sit at least a foot away from the back of a chair. My pretty ladies wearing a yukata is out as well. Yukata is too simple for the ladies, especially in this special occasion – you can even wear a yukata for sleeping!

kat and I, Matsumoto, winter 2008

But with the little kids, the yukatas and hakamas would lend to an overload of cuteness in a wedding!!! ahhh! I just love these! Love the cloth Tita Linda used as well for the girls – just perfect for our motif.

from the left, Gabrielle, Rafael (they're twins!) and Micah

I wouldn’t wonder why Cathe, the other flower girl, is not in this picture. Because Cathe was forever with me, haha! I had been showered with a lot of compliments that day but I think 50% of it came from Cathe alone. She would come up to me, and shower me with compliments, each different from the previous one she said. Name it, she said it, “you look so gorgeous!”, “you look so beautiful!”, “you’re like a princess!”, “your dress is so lovely!”, “you’re like an angel!”, “tomorrow I want to have your autograph”, “you’re very pretty”, und so weiter. Tell you, I was amazed with the number of compliments she had in her little head. She even want to walk with me! haha. To which I (along with Erika Bergara, Dino Lara and Richie Torres) had to convince her that she should lead the way for me. End result, she later on told everyone, “I’m the leader!”. haha! So cute! I think though, she’s the bride bride, if you know what I mean.

Cathe in a Japanese pose

Tita Linda and her sisters also thought to include in the little girls’ outfit a matching bag (see Cathe’s picture above). Cathe was telling me she hid her bag inside the big folds of the arms of the yukata so that it would appear that she’s only holding her flower ball. Very smart little girl! 🙂

Segue: Cathe also gave us more laughter on our wedding day. When Atsushi and I kissed, she stood in front of us and said a loud “uuuyyyy!”. Her mom, our Ninang –  Ate Loida, told us later she has been asking Ate Loida a number of times when are we kissing in that when it was time for us to have our kiss, one of the coordinator told Cathe it was “kissing time” already and Cathe immediately went to stand in front of us. hahaha! Also, later, after our performance in the reception, Cathe passed by in front of us and gave us a two thumbs up to tell us we did a great job. A truly adorable kid.

I just don’t have a picture of it but the girls’ obis have a big ribbon at the back, like a true obi. And please do take notice on the knot of the cord on their obi – that’s how it’s really done in the Japanese way. Tita Linda and tita Beth had to watch videos on how to correctly tie the knot and they had to research tons on how to make a yukata and hakama (the boys’ outfit). Yes, it’s their first time to make these kinds of dresses – can you imagine?? It definitely doesn’t look like a first timer’s work. And if one is convinced of this, then it goes to show how good a couturier is.

Oh, take a pause for this thoughtfulness: Tita Linda and her sisters were sure the kids being kids, they might be uncomfortable with their obis after some time and that for first timers, it would be difficult how to tie the knot and form the obi ribbon. So, to have less stress for the moms and kids, what they did was sew everything in the cloth so it would be just like a belt. Nice.

The skirt of the boys’ hakama looked authentically Japanese! All cloths (cotton) were bought in Divisoria by the way. Tita Linda and her sisters were just so good in looking for the right cloth.

It took a long time for my 3-yr-old nephew, our Bible bearer, to wear the hakama and his Japanese socks and slippers. Everybody in the family had to convince him he look really pogi (handsome) in it for a loooong time before he agreed to wear it hence, he has a lot of pictures with his hand on his chin, for the “pogi” look.

little Carl and his dad

See the back detail of their hakama. Like!

yep, Carl finally agreed to wear the hakama - but with his jeans beneath it haha

More photos!

kilig overload!

with the newly weds

I think it goes without saying that i’m giving Tita Linda and her sisters an excellent rating.

Supplier: Linda Dee Bridal

Rating: 5/5

Contact numbers: +632.920.5165; +63917.628.3483

To the curious, yes, Linda Dee is Lene Dee-Dragon’s (our invites and stationeries designer) mom. Talent runs in the blood, eh?

All pictures except Kat and me in yukata (from me), Cathe in Japanese pose (from Cindy), Carl and his dad with the pogi shot (by one of my brothers using my phone cam) were courtesy of Rey Dee.

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A month after posting.

I`m still in the middle of sorting our pictures from Dino (6DVDs containing 5500+ photos!) but finally, I can share here a picture of Okasan in her dress.

 

stir-fry it in!

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When it’s already past 3pm and we don’t have food stocked up on the fridge and I am yet to go out to the groceries, I almost panic sometimes. It’s cause I can’t think of what to cook for dinner. I email my hubby and ask him if he has any specific request. Sometimes he’d say “anything is ok”. But mostly he says “something healthy would be good”. I usually cook one main dish and a side dish (which sometimes, depending on the menu I’ve thought of, is almost like a main dish as well but more on the veggie side). So still at home, and with very vague requests from Hubby, I panic what to cook for the night.

But then whenever I go to the groceries store, I smile as I thought of different menus to experiment as I walk down the (groceries) aisle. I’m basically teeming with ideas! Weird thing is that the ideas ebb out of me whenever I walk out of the store haha. Suffice it to say that I usually end up buying much more than what I initially intended.

I was just initially thinking of bacon with mushroom as side dish. But I picked up a small pack of shrimp, baby corn, asparagus, green bell pepper as well. In the end, what was originally a side dish became a full main dish. I tossed it in Japanese soy sauce. Hubby kept on exclaiming it was so good the whole time he was eating. haha!

If you want to try this, you may opt to shell the shrimp. I preferred it with the shell kasi. 😀

 

So hmm, what’s for dinner tonight?