(Wedding) The Initial Discussion

Love and I were still high after our engagement and were receiving congratulations from our family and friends when my Mom suggested that we plan the wedding already and push for February 2015.  My Mom is based in the U.S. and is going back home late February for her high school reunion.

Love didn't really mind and she just went from newly engaged to full blown wedding planner in an instant. We decided to give it our best effort to book all the needed locations and suppliers but if we can't, then we'll do it on  a later date.

While in Batanes we worked on these things (we created a wedding excel file :-)):

The Date

The last two weekends of February became our target dates.  Since we were restricted it was an easy decision.

The Location

All of Love's siblings got married in Pampanga, her home town.  She asked me if it was OK to do it there.  I said I have to confirm with my family but for me, I was OK with it for the following reasons:

• Cavite doesn't really have a nice wedding location.  Well, except for Tagaytay but that wasn't an option.
• Getting married in Manila I believe, is a lot more expensive.
• Booking for a wedding in 4 months might be possible in Pampanga.

The Church and Reception

Since it was her home town and she's the bride, she gets to chose the church and reception venues. We decided to check out her top 3 choices.

1.  Xevera Chapel - The Country Garden 

                

2.  Chancery - King's Royale Promenade

     

3.  Clark Chapel 2 - Grand Palazzo Royale

                

The Budget

I won't get into specifics about our budget but I can say with absolute confidence that any couple's initial budget will inflate!  About 25% at least.  We agreed on our initial budget then.  Since it's just four months it's a little tight, good thing there's our 13th month pay to look forward to.

The Suppliers 

I won't include the prices as to not ruin the surprise for aspiring couples.  

• Caterer
• Photo and video coverage
• Cake
• Lights and sounds
• Choir/band
• Florist
• Wedding gown 
• Groom's suit
• Entourage dress rentals
• Wedding rings
• Make-up artist (I can't believe the amount women pay for their make-up)
• Accommodations
• Invitations
• Tokens and giveaways
• Bridal car
• Day coordinator
• Photo booth
• Booze... errr... wine.

Number of Guests

"150?".  I initially suggested.  We'll share the guests that we'll invite from our old company (where we met) then divide the remaining by two and invite our own.  Sounds good at the start but like our budget, the number of guests also inflated.

The Entourage

From our experience on attending weddings we made an initial list of the entourage titles we need to fill. We agreed that all male will come from my side and all female will come from her.

• The Primary Sponsors (we decided 5 pairs)
• The Best Man
• The Maid of Honor
• Candle Sponsors (pair)
• Veil Sponsors (pair)
• Cord Sponsors (pair)
• Groomsmen (2)
• Bridesmaids (2)
• Flower Girls (we decided 3 girls)
• Ring Bearer
• Bible Bearer
• Coin Bearer (there's also a rosary bearer and cross bearer but we didn't know that then)

Most of our friends told us that 4 months will be tight and stressful but we're both IT professionals and we're used to deadlines and crunch time work.  I pray and hope we execute great as well.