Featured Bride!

Oh I almost forgot to share this! Earlier this year, Gold Magtoto, my wedding make-up artist, featured me and some of her other clients in the 2012 Make-up by Gold video. Thanks, Gold! :)

MAKE UP BY GOLD 2012 DEMO REEL from Jayr Magtoto on Vimeo.

Throwback Thursday

Every breath,

Every hour has come to this...

One step closer.

The Big Bang Wedding: Cecilio Abad Design Team

It has been four months since I wore the most special (and the most expensive!) dress I have ever owned!!

My feelings still hasn't changed, I am still so in love with it! Credits to Vidal Clayton of Cecilio Abad Design Team for turning my dream dress into reality! It was truly much more than I had expected. *Sigh*

photos by Jaja Lifestyle Photography

Interested? Contact Cecilio Abad Design Team now and see your dream dress come to life!

Cecilio Abad Design Team

c/o Vidal Clayton, Ikyat, Marcy, & Flev

Address: 1120 Pablo Ocampo cor. T. Ayala Sts., Malate, Manila 

Mobile: 0920-9027022

E-mail: cadesignteam@yahoo.com

The Big Bang Wedding: Make-up by Gold

photo by Jaja Lifestyle Photography

Gold is one of my most favorite suppliers. Her expert hands easily brought out a natural glow which highlighted the thrill and exhilaration I felt during my wedding day. Many people commented how beautiful I was. That's when I knew that I really hit gold with Gold!

On a more personal note, what I like about her is that she doesn't treat her brides as just clients, she treats them as her friends. Hers is truly a service with a personal touch! And that sets her apart from all the rest. 

Trivia: Gold's team was the very first supplier who arrived at the hotel on my wedding day. They didn't anticipate that there would be no traffic from Manila to Tagaytay so they got in 2 and a half hours earlier than their required call time. As in I was literally sleeping pa when they arrived. Gold was considerate enough not to wake me from my sleep and oh so patiently waited at the hotel lobby! A+ for effort, punctuality, and for an excellent work done!

The Big Bang Wedding: E-Session at El Kabayo Riding Stables

We had our prenup photoshoot at El Kabayo Riding Stables in Subic. This was actually our second photoshoot since we shot our first during our trip to SG last September. If you can still remember, photos from our first photoshoot were released as weekly teasers prior our wedding.

This shoot was taken by our wedding photographer, Jaja Samaniego, with another talented lady photographer, Nicolai Melicor. Click their names to see some more of their work. Enjoy the pictures!

Mon + Jen Prenup AVP 12.07.12 from Raymond Santos on Vimeo.

The Big Bang Wedding: Threelogy

Our same day edit is one of the things I looked forward to the most in our wedding. Our videographer, Threelogy, truly did not disappoint!

Trivia: Even before I met Mon, I have already set my eyes on Threelogy to be my wedding videographer. By hook or by crook! Joke! 

I have no regrets in getting them because I saw how they were very professional the whole time. They blended well with my other suppliers and the best thing is that I received no complaints about them whatsoever during and after the wedding. All in all, I am really very happy we got them. They're super worth it! Kudos, Bong and the rest of the Threelogy team! :)

Enjoy the video!

Mon + Jen SDE 12.07.12 from Raymond Santos on Vimeo.

The Big Bang Wedding: Jaja Samaniego

So I am now married. Yes! I'm married! Everyday since that fateful day last December 7, I've been waking up all happy and giddy, realizing the fact that I am now married to the most lovable man I know.

Without further ado, here's a glimpse of what took place during our wedding preps up to the ceremony. Our onsite photo slideshow created by our very talented and my most favorite! wedding photographer, Jaja Samaniego.

Trivia: I stumbled upon Jaja's work on Bridalbook, where an e-session she covered was featured. I immediately loved her work! I loved it so much that I stopped researching for other wedding photographers because I was so sure she was the one! I am just so full of love for this lady photographer.

Enjoy the pictures!

Mon + Jen Slideshow 12.07.12 from Raymond Santos on Vimeo.

Blissfully Happy, That I Am :)

photo by Jaja Lifestyle Photography

I am now Mrs. Raymond M. Santos. This is so amazing. <3

#1weektogo

whew! just one week left, my friends! one week before i walk down the aisle. at this time next friday i shall be on my way to the church where my groom awaits. naks!

teasing you real hard #2weekstogo

hi folks! i have a very very special treat for you today. nope, it's not a video, it's more than that!

but before i say what my treat is, i just wanna say thank you very much for taking time to catch my weekly teasers all the way back from week 12! i hope i was able to make you feel excited about our wedding as much as i did this whole preparations process.

anyway, this will be my final wedding teaser. i promise it's going to be better than just a picture or a 10-second prenup video. it's extra special because it's actually mon's treat for you! mon kindly took time and made this so we hope you'll like it! i know i do! so what are you waiting for? click here to view his special treat! 

bye guys and see you at our wedding!

2 weeks. how time flies. :)

teasing you softly #3weekstogo

teasing you softly #4weekstogo

teasing you a little bit more [a video special] #5weekstogo

so here's the final video teaser mon made for you guys! one more and you'll see the whole video na! hehe. anyway, the full video is going to be shown at our wedding. it's a mix of kilig and funny and we hope for those invited that you won't miss it! but for those who won't get to attend, i promise to post the whole thing here or maybe i'll just post a link.

video courtesy of Pointblanc Studios

edited by mon

five weeks, folks! five weeks until we say "i do". i'm so excited!

teasing you softly #6weekstogo

so because i posted last week's teaser a day later, i'll post this week's teaser a day earlier! hehe. it's a crazy reason i know. :)

teasing you more softly #7weekstogo

teasing you a little bit more [a video special] #8weekstogo

eight weeks to go, folks! wedding preps are in full swing and we are really, really, very excited. a lot of things still have to be done, mostly our DIY projects. so for now, i'll just leave you with another clip from our video.

video courtesy of Pointblanc Studios
edited by mon

thank you all for watching and i'll see you guys next time! bye, everyone! :)

teasing you softly #9weekstogo

Wedding legalities: church requirements

Some women think that preparing for a wedding is "just so cool and easy peasy" when there is really more to it than choosing the perfect gown and the best photographer. There is "what flower should we give to the godparents?", "bouquet or corsage for the mothers?", "what color of table cloth and table runner should we use?", and "when's the food tasting? Oh, Thursday? It can't be on a weekend? It can't? Darn it, I need to file a leave from work".

So what i'm going to blog about today is by far the most boring part of the whole wedding preparation process: church requirements. Now I don't know if it's the same for all churches but at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Tagaytay, these are the things you will need:

1. birth certificate & certificate of no record of marriage (cenomar) - original
2. baptismal & confirmation certificate
3. id pictures - 5 pieces 1x1 and 1 piece 2x2
4. parish name and address
5. interview with the parish priest
6. pre-cana seminar
7. marriage banns
8. permission from the groom and bride's parish priest
9. marriage license
10. list of entourage
11. review of marriage contract
12. confession

I have told my friends repeatedly that if they are getting married, they better be sure that they're marrying someone they really really love because just by looking at the church requirements, my gulay, susuko talaga ako 'pag hindi ko gusto yung pakakasalan ko. Hahaha! 

I'm not going to take credit. Probably more than half of those items in the list were not done by me but by Mon or his mom or my mom. Mukhang napaghalata yata ni Mon na ayoko silang gawin kaya he took matters to his own hands! So let's discuss the requirements one by one.

1. birth certificate and cenomar - these should be copies from the national statistics office. it's really easy peasy! mon just logged on to https://www.ecensus.com.ph/Default.aspx. apparently, you can apply this online then have it delivered to your house. galing diba? just follow instructions in the website.

2. baptismal and confirmation certificate - these two have to be secured from the church where each of you were baptized and confirmed. don't forget to put "for marriage purposes" in the certificate. this is very important. why? i don't know. hahaha!

3. id pictures

4. parish name and address - the parish where you belong to depends on the location of your house. so the church where you attend mass every week may not necessarily be your parish. do your research. where to start? the internet of course! googling can get you so far.

5. interview with parish priest - this was scheduled by the parish secretary of Lourdes. should be done at least a month before the wedding date. ours is scheduled sometime in october.

6. pre-cana seminar - pre-cana seminars are held in churches everywhere!  it usually lasts for half a day or two half days but there are other pre-cana seminars that lasts the whole weekend such as discovery weekend and catholic engaged encounter. mon and i opted to attend the discovery weekend retreat. it lasts longer but we figured we can never be too prepared for marriage.

7. marriage banns - we need to apply this at our respective parishes. truthfully, we haven't applied for this yet. but i think the procedure is that the church will give us a document that we'll submit to our respective parishes for our names to be put on the bulletin board or announced in the mass for three consecutive sundays...or something. the parish secretary said she'll give us the document after our interview with the parish priest.

8. permission from the groom and bride's parish priest - this one i still haven't figured out yet. 

9. marriage license - to apply for a marriage license, get an application form from the civil registry office where either one of you resides. this is a bit tricky because there are so many requirements before you can apply for a marriage license:

     a. birth certificate

     b. cenomar

     c. certificate of attendance in a pre-marital counseling and family planning seminar (conducted by the division of maternal and child health at the city hall where you will be applying for a marriage license) - ours was pre-scheduled at a different date. so in other words, dalawang puntahan yun sa city hall. one to schedule and one to attend.

     d. valid id

     e. parent's consent (for 18-21 years old) or parent's advice (for 21-25 years old)

if you're residing in quezon city, here's a link where you can download a copy of the application for marriage license. look under civil registry forms. http://www.quezoncity.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=236:downloadable-forms&catid=77&Itemid=309

note that even if you have already downloaded a copy of the application form from the internet, you still have to pay for the application form at the civil registry office. i think the application form from the internet is intended to prevent hassle in filling out the form at the civil registry office itself. para pagdating dun, derecho bayad na lang!

oh, and note also that the marriage license is valid only for 120 days from the date of issuance so be careful not to apply too early.

10. list of entourage

11. review of marriage contract - weeks before the wedding, the church will show you a copy of the marriage contract they have drafted. couple will review if the information written in the contract are correct (i.e. spelling of names, etc.)

12. confession - should be done the day before the wedding date. 

So there you have it, brides-to-be! I hope I was able to help you in my own little way. I know it all sounds exhausting, but once you're halfway done, it kinda feels good really!

Happy planning! :)

teasing you a little bit more [a video special] #10weekstogo

i have a special treat for you today, folks! for this week's teaser, i will be showing you a 10-second clip from a video we have prepared for you. enjoy!

video courtesy of Pointblanc Studios
edited by mon

teasing you softly #11weekstogo