For four small pieces at 89pesos, it surely is expensive. There are times as well when they serve this sausage all shriveled up.
But wait till you slice your knife and fork into it and you’ll be surprised that out of the shrivelled bit comes out juicy meat that would want to make you eat it ASAP. And once you eat it? Ahhh…perfect. Salty just the way I love it, with hints of pepper.
Hacienda Isabella is one really beautiful place. It’s one place that would be perfect for photoshoots and dreamy honeymoons (considering the bedrooms! hehe). I fell in love with the place more and more as I come across pictures of it every now and then in my research for wedding details. Hubbie shares my feelings and views on the place as well. Beautiful.
Yet, we had to forego the place. We were almost about to make a go for the place until we’ve decided to set aside a weekend day to check out the place and see it for ourselves. And as we drove on and on, my heart got sadder because even when we haven’t seen the place yet, I know that we have to forego it simply because of its distance from Caleruega. To top it off, our wedding is in the evening hence the long and winding and tricky road to Hacienda Isabella might leave a lasting (and negative) impression on our guests. We presume the guests are real hungry already by the time they’re on their way to the ceremony.
Of course, foremost to us is the comfort of our guests.
But without a doubt. Hacienda Isabella is a beautiful place for a wedding. Perhaps, if your wedding is early in the morning, then, perchance, the Hacienda can be a perfect location for your reception.
Do check out below some of our photos. Courtesy of my friend Rezza Flauta-Chua. Our thanks to Rezza and her hubbie JJ and their really smart niece Maki for setting aside time to accompany me to Hacienda Isabella despite their busy schedule.
After visiting Hacienda Isabella, we drove to Ville Sommet as well just to check out the place again. This time, I felt the “this is it” moment with Ville Sommet. This time, i’m settled. Albeit at the back of mind is the thought that the place sure is really expensive (considering the minimum amount 900 php per head they require for the catering).
Oh yeah. I asked uber smart 5-yr old Maki to help me in judging whether to select Hacienda Isabella or Ville Sommet. After we did our rounds, Maki confidently selected Ville Sommet. That made me smile. Sometimes, kids’ judgment has to be trusted. ^_^
Another thing I have to let go with Hacienda Isabella is that a lot of my favorite Dino Lara pictures were taken from this place.
Hacienda Isabella are renting out rooms though for honeymooners and out-of-towners so you just might want to consider the place for your stay.
One happy note: Yey, I was finally able to know how to make a slideshow in wordpress. I really love wordpress!!!
wifey’s note: all posts with “wishlist” are not what we hope to receive on our wedding. Rather, they are stuff that we would love to have but we’ve found we cannot have for our wedding anymore owing primarily to practicality.
We’ve already booked our major suppliers and being in the almost-final leg of booking for our suppliers, we are already nearing the high alarm point on our budget. Suffice it to say that we cannot afford to splurge anymore and that we have to tighten the belt.
This fact makes me wish I found Pat and Spruce Floral Designs earlier to prettify the Church some more and to add more style to Ville Sommet’s Glasshouse. But I have to let go.
Please do check out Pat Pastelero’s arrangements on Spruce’s Facebook account and on her tumblr account The Floralist. Her designs are j-u-s-t lovely.
One thing with Pat is that not only her arrangements really good but that she’s great to work with as well. We only corresponded through emails but she was so fun to talk to and she wasn’t stingy with suggesting her ideas. When she learned we have travel theme for our wedding, she listed a number of ideas on how to emphasize our theme on the reception venue. And they certainly were ideas that I like!
What I initially liked with her was that on her specs sheet, the question “flowers you DON’T like” was included. And of course I have a number of it. She’s so easy to work with.
But again, sigh. I have to let go.
It’s a bit of a torture though. Because everytime I’ll have my fitting with Richie, I’d get to see Pat’s arrangement since Pat and Richie (both having the same name Patricia) share the same unit in Palm Village.
wifey’s note: all posts with “wishlist” are not what we hope to receive on our wedding. Rather, they are stuff that we would love to have but we’ve found we cannot have for our wedding anymore owing primarily to practicality.
Not until Dylan Gozum (of Vatel Manila) pointed it out, did I realize that not all brides are particular with the types of flowers that will be used in their wedding. I thought all brides were as stringent as I am. And I thought all brides were strict on the symbols and meanings of flowers. But apparently no.
Flowers just make my day. They just about complete my birthday and any special event I have, one of which is our civil marriage. The flowers caps the event and at the same time bouys me up some more. In all sense, i’ve come to associate flowers with special and happy events.
Of course, foremost in my selection is the beauty of the flower. But then since almost all flowers are beautiful to begin with, I think the competition will just have to be meted out with the symbol they portray.
Although yellow is such a happy color, I definitely wouldn’t want to have them on my wedding as yellow flowers generally symbolize jealousy. I don’t want any calla lilies on our wedding as well as they are also associated with funerals.
Initially, I have this list as a guide in checking my florists’ proposals:
Tulips generally symbolize fame and perfect love whilst orange tulips in particular means energy, enthusiasm, desire and passion.
Stargazer lily symbolizes wealth, prosperity and aspiration. I love its scent as well!
Peony for romance and prosperity, good fortune and a happy marriage. I am so happy when Macy Dy (of K by Cunanan) confirmed that having peonies for our centerpieces in the reception would not entail flower upgrade. Yey, happy!
Hydrangea, symbolizes friendship, devotion and understanding.
Iris, symbolizes faith, wisdom, cherished friendship, hope, valor, promise in love.
Rununculus, means “I am dazzled by your charms”
I figure that florists would need filler flowers on our bouquets. Hence, I’ve included Forget me nots, which is quite literal really in what they mean – please don’t forget me.
Orange rose, symbolizes enthusiasm and desire. Yes, it has to be orange. No red please.
Yet another filler flower – Heather for admiration and goodluck.
In general, Carnation means bonds of affection, health and energy, fascination, admiration whilst white carnation signifies sweetness and loveliness, innocence, pure love.
For all we know, somebody some time ago just came up with the flower meanings out of mischief. But then again, if flower lovers in the cyberworld agree that so and so flowers has this particular symbol and meaning, it’d be fun to play along with the game. After all, it somehow helps knowing that as you walk down the aisle, you are surrounded with such positive forces albeit it may just only be symbolic and a made-up one at that.
Later, when everything has been fixed, I’ll post articles of my florists to give them due credit.
I woke up at 7am with a very nasty tonsilitis and slight fever. My tonsils were so inflamed I was having difficulty swallowing. Gargled, in the hope that some bacteria will be killed and then went back to bed again. I have to get better to be able to go to Makati for my 1st gown fitting with Richie. The next time I woke up, it was at 11:30am already, still with fever. Still, even when movement was sluggish, I pushed myself to dress up, meet with Kat and then head off to Richie’s studio in Palm Village.
Yes, I was late for our 2:30 appointment. But I’m so thankful that Richie was still very gracious and patient with me.
For almost 2 hours, I forgot about my tonsils and colds and fever. Richie was sick as well but still, her bubbliness shown through. I asked her what was her opinion about the superstition of fitting your wedding gown. Laughing, she told us that the “malas” situation she had was when the bride didn’t had her fittings because the bride’s mom was so supertitious that they didn’t allow the bride to have her fittings. End result was that the gown didn’t fit snuggly as it should. Since then, Richie had been strict in having the gown fittings with the loophole that the gown will only be in the almost-finished state even at the last fitting.
We only fitted the lining this afternoon but as it is, I liked the “skeleton” of my gown already. I can just imagine how it would be when it’s finished. And I like how Richie is OC when it comes to fittings. We might have 4 more fittings before the wedding. I like! Cause then I can see my gown turn into me.
2 things I learned during our fitting that made me like Richie even more:
Richie also liked my shoe design idea although she suggested its better if combination is orange and gold instead of orange and pewter. Of course I’ll follow her. 🙂 I showed her my possiblel hairstyle from the party the other night and she loved it as well and showed me some hair accessories styles that she might put on me. Kakaexcite!
I wish though I can post some of my pictures here or share it with hubbie. But Richie was strict on this and I think, rightly so. As Dino Lara put it when we had our conversation, “there’s something really special during that moment when the groom first sees the bride in her wedding gown”. Hence, even if it takes a lot of EQ, I wouldn’t spoil that “moment” by posting some spoiler pictures.
This train of thought though brought me to a shocking realization: our wedding’s 4 and half months away!! Got to review my checklist!!
For now though, I need to have a healthier body.
PS
Thanks to Kat (my MOH), for setting aside some of her time to accompany me in my fitting.
I wouldn’t want to have a made-up face go to waste. My trial make-up session had to coincide with an event/party or our prenup (take two!) session. That being said, the most sensible thing to do was to schedule my trial make-up with Irene on the day of our company Christmas party in Fernbrooks where we had to dress up in our black and/or white formal attire.
I’m not one for make-ups. And hubbie doesn’t like heavy make-ups as well. Hence choosing the right makeup artist for our wedding day is crucial. A fellow W@Wie recommended Irene to me back in October, prompting me to check on Irene’s site. I loved Irene’s work; Kat and I were very amazed the night we browsed Irene’s site – it made us realize how good makeup can really enhance one’s features. I pondered on the thought that probably soon, some other bride-to-be will have her share of oohhh’s and aahhh’s with her friends over my before and after photos. But what the heck, care ko; it’s a cycle. =D
Irene advised she’ll be at our office at 3pm. But she arrived a quarter before 3 – this despite hailing from Quezon City and on a December traffic at that. Really professional.
The whole session lasted for more than 2 hours. Before starting our session, Irene asked me a lot about any allergies, any color/style preferences, the look I want – very thorough. I like! What I specifically liked with her was that she was OC with sanitation as well. She has facial cleansers and hand sanitizers and alcohol (for her tools) ready for use. She wasn’t heavy-handed at all. And even when using eyelash curler on me, I didn’t feel it at all.
Everyone gave a thumbs up on how I looked last night. When hubbie saw my pics and gave his thumbs up as well, it was then final. I’ll have Irene Sy-Go take care of our hair and makeup for our wedding.
We probably will opt for the Jessica Alba hairstyle.
I loved what Rica, Irene’s funny hairstylist, did to my hair.
Above shot as taken at the elevator, by very-preggy-yet-beautiful-buntis-jane.
Notes for the wedding:
