5,000 hits

no, this post is not about baseball.

just today, our online blog has reached a milestone of sorts racking up 5,000 visitors since its inception. we’re not sure if that is something really worth celebrating but we do find it kinda interesting. 🙂

as mentioned in our blog history page and our inaugural online post, our blog started out only as an email blog. we launched this online blog just last may 26 of this year (note: all posts dated before this were migrated from our email blog). roughly 4 months after (125 days to be exact), 5,000 persons have visited our online blog. that gives an average daily visit of 40. that’s really quite low by blog standards 😛 but interestingly high enough since this is just a personal blog and we just update this roughly on a weekly basis. factor in that our company do not offer internet access to its employees (how pathetic is that?) and that number does indeed look interestingly high.

to those who visit and frequent our blog, it warms our hearts that you take interest in what we post about and in what’s happening with our lives.

to those who posted comments and are vocal in their appreciation of our blog, our sincerest thanks. your words are a source of both encouragement and inspiration.

to those who are visiting us for the first time, welcome and enjoy. 🙂

here’s a few more interesting (at least for us 😆) facts about our blog:

all-time posts (top 5 as of today)
[groom speaks] talking about our suppliers part 2: 646 views
[groom speaks] talking about our suppliers part 1: 402 views
[groom speaks] talking about our suppliers part 3: 245 views
another 777 wedding: 216 views
due to insistent public demand: 207 views

most viewed post (single day)
due to insistent public demand: 56 views

viewing record
monthly (sept): 1,552 views (and still counting)
weekly (sept 2-8): 438 views
daily (sept 4): 154 views

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a dreamy tagaytay wedding… and a reunion of sorts

with its cool climate, fresh air, picturesque views and relaxing atmosphere, tagaytay provides the ideal backdrop for romance. since it’s only an hour and a half away from manila and with venues sprouting left and right, it’s no wonder tagaytay is turning to be the destination wedding of choice for soon-to-weds. we had ours there around 8 months ago… and a couple of our friends had theirs just this past weekend.

vena and neriz (that’s not a typo, we just call her that way 🙂) are officemates of ours for around 8 years. vena being a batchmate while while neriz being a departmentmate. their romance was at first unexpected but when we, their friends, started noticing, we got excited and even started doing things to speed up the process. 😆 i even bought a couple of group games so that there will be a “reason” for them to be together… para hindi masyado halata na nag-mo-moves na pala c vena. (tanda nyo pa yun, vena? 😀) it doesn’t matter now if those tactics helped or not (probably it didn’t 😆), the bottom line is they ended up being together.

during our preps, neriz was one of those who was always excited to receive our email blogs (vena was not much into reading kaya d nya type ang mala-nobela naming blogs 😀). vena hasn’t proposed then yet but apparently neriz already had an inkling that they were next kaya naman maaga pa lang, eh nag-a-aral na sya how wedding preps goes. our wedding passed and a number of blog postings later, vena proposed (finally!) and their wedding preps is on.

the two are meticulous and perfectionists (especially neriz 😉) hence were very diligent and deliberate during their preps. they ventured to far places (lumban, tagaytay, marikina… etc), made a number of investments and practically used up their vacation leaves just for the preps. weddings only happen just once in a lifetime and they were making sure they’d get the wedding of their dreams.

even though it was a destination wedding and it was raining hard that day, guests arrived early at chapel on the hill… us included. this gave us time to mingle with other guests and, of course, take some photos. 🙂 everyone dressed up for the event and we’re sure vena and neriz appreciated this simple gesture. selle even made her very own best dressed list (we had so much fun talking about this 😀) with jade, ruby & rhea topping the list.

the couple ensured that their guests would feel that their long trip was worth it. there were cocktails. there was a mini-theater. the venue was elegantly styled. the food was abundant and sumptuous. the souvenirs were a hit. there were strings, a professional emcee and a team of coordinators. there was a choco fountain (neriz really wanted one 🙂), 2 captivating onsites and, to top it all off, a grand fireworks display. this two showed that with thorough research and careful preparation, a couple can achieve the wedding of their dreams (of course, it also helps to have a LOT of moolah also 😉).

vena and neriz, kudos to your dream wedding. welcome to the married life. now, the real fun begins… 😉



details, details, details.
(clockwise from upper left photo) (a) interesting pattern formed by individual chairs (instead of pews) laid out in a circular manner
(b) the candles and the couple’s kneeler. everything was prepared pati pamaypay (that we guess wasn’t used dahil sa lamig 😀)
(c) one of kaye’s signature desserts stylishly presented
(d) candles with an autumn-inspired plant box centerpiece


my own take at photojournalism.


some shots are taken with a specific layout in mind. this is one of them. the mixture of drama and mystery works for me here.


a ceremony shot. notice the stained glass overhead. nice.


the newlyweds. simulated narrow depth-of-field to make the couple stand out more.


a scene from the cocktail area. the combination of the randomness of the guests and the patterns of the beams all leading to name of the venue makes for an interesting photo. converted to black & white for the final touch.


(left) we were asked to participate in a game involving a jigsaw puzzle. syempre sineryoso naman namin. 😀 converted to black & white to add more character.
(right) we eventually won (sabi ko naman sineryoso namin, eh 😀) and we ended up doing this. no complaints here. 😉 lomography effect applied… i got to use it somewhere. 😆


ongoing onsite video editing… while at the church (left) and then at the reception venue (right). i do edit videos myself but i still am in awe at how fast these guys edit without sacrificing quality. galing talaga.
somewhat related to this, i gave the couple one last advice a day before the wedding and it goes:
vena, during the bridal march… or vows… or both… umiyak ka, ha. it makes for good video.
neriz, smile naturally… laugh uncontrollably.
it’s safe to say they followed my advice. 😀


the thank you speech by the groom (hindi nag-speech ang bride kasi feeling namin dun na sya magiging emotional 😛). it’s always interesting to shoot from an unusual angle presenting a different perspective. notice the crystals hanging from the ceiling, that’s courtesy of kaye’s styling. give her a theme and she will execute it… guaranteed.


fireworks display to end the night. too bad our point-and-shoot is too slow to react to be able to capture the fireworks and all we ended up was this. maybe it is time to get a dslr. 🙂

weddings are always an event to look forward to because not only does one witness probably the most memorable day of the lives of two people but one gets to catch up with friends also. with this wedding, we were looking forward to those… and, aside from that, we were looking forward to meeting up with 3 of our former suppliers… or should we say friends.

you see, during vena and neriz’s preps, we somehow became one of their unofficial “wedding consultants” (the other one being the whole w@w community 😀). we guess that we’re influential enough that we convinced them to get fol, bob & kaye. not that they needed much convincing because they saw first-hand that these guys (and gal 😉) were really, really good… and, expectedly, their services were top-notch once again.

one thing common about our suppliers is they’re genuinely nice people. that’s why we wanted sana a group picture with all of them after our wedding but, unfortunately, we were not able to. this wedding was turned out to be like a “reunion” so we took the opportunity to have pictures taken with them (just like what we did at the expo last march). 🙂


with the uber stylish (can we say best dressed? 😉) and uber nice kaye of k by cunanan catering (dami namin nakain, kaye… bumawi kami. kami nga pinaka-una sa buffet, eh. 😆 yumm-o talaga…)


with the ever humble but top-of-the-food-chain videographer bob nicolas videography team (you did it again, bob… another moving onsite. 4 thumbs up!)
(left) ian (videographer), (right) bob (videographer/editor)


with the super kulit but true professionals fol rana jr photography team (postcard-worthy shots once again, fol… galing nyo talaga.)
(from left to right) edong (2nd photographer), fol (main photographer), lito (lightsman/driver), russ (3rd photographer/onsite editor).

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a batangas wedding

couples seem to like numbers. sure, it’s not as popular as the date 7-7-7 (or the succeeding dates of 8-8-8 or 9-9-9) but 9-8-7 is still a very interesting date. we’re not sure if the date selection was intentional but 9-8-7 was fairly easy to recall and when september came, we were counting down… 9-8-7.

mike and i were batchmates here in samsung and we spent the first few months of our employment in korea. though we are in different departments, our jobs are related so we do communicate and convene from time to time. meanwhile, selle is mike’s departmentmate. they share the same office and their desk are of close proximity to each other. mich on the other hand is a familiar face of finance.

mike and mich’s romance blossomed within the confines of the samsung factory. they were at different buildings, different floors, different departments. but love really has its ways of leading to people towards each other. 🙂

since mich was in another country, mike, together with his in-laws, was in-charge of most of the preparations. nakakatuwa kasi rare na mag-participate ang groom sa preps. we don’t know why but, sad to say, grooms usually just pay the bills and show up at the wedding. kaya kudos to you mike for being really active during preps. 😀

the wedding was held at mich’s hometown of batangas. weddings at provinces have a different flavor than those done at the metropolis. the atmosphere is a lot more festive and a lot less formal. the guest list is far longer. the churches are rustic yet majestic. different as it may be, one thing is constant in any wedding… love is ever so present.

to mike and mich, congratulations and welcome to married life. exciting times await you… 😉


we arrived early but decided to have breakfast first at a nearby fast food chain. when we did proceed to the church, we were greeted with this scene. 🙂


a captured moment: the proud father and the radiant bride.


a wide shot of the altar area. this shot was taken from our seats. we were seated near the altar where around 80% of the rest of the church is behind us. that should give you an idea how HUGE this church was.


very high ceilings. intricate paintings. steel chandeliers. arches and domes. you’ve got to appreciate the beauty of church structures.


another details shot. the wedding cake intricately done by a family member. we were talking about the cake while we’re on our way home as everyone was raving about it. galing! 🙂


the first dance. a series of post-processing was done to enhance the photo. cropping to follow the rule of thirds. blurring to imitate shallow depth of field and movement. a touch of glow to highlight the couple. the things we do to enhance a point-and-shoot taken photo. 🙂


couples kissing ala lovapalooza. 🙂 we had a similar shot during our wedding. post-processing was done to isolate us from the rest of the activities happening all over the photo. sometimes, we just tend to be oblivious of what’s happening around us. 😉

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due to insistent public demand

a couple of weeks ago, we blogged about our wedding video. because of that blog post, we’ve received A TON of requests asking us to post our actual video. so we were thinking, “what part of our video should we post?”

fast forward to this past weekend’s expo. as stated in our previous blog, we stayed at bob’s booth at the expo. as always, whenever he has a new sampler, bob gave us a copy (we just admire his work). at home, we watched the sampler and was surprised to see our own wedding video in it. 🙂 sneaky bob… d man lang cnabi na andun pala kami. 😀 this is what jap was referring to when she was talking with bob… just before she met us. straight out of her blog post,

one particular AVP made me cry twice and yes, i watched it twice.

bob has got to read this. 🙂

it was our second time to be featured in bob’s video samplers. the first one was our onsite video included in last march’s expo video sampler. tapos ngayon, a chapter off our wedding video. bob must love us… or must be proud of what he did to our videos… or both. 🙂

without further delay, here’s the opening chapter of our final edited video. enjoy. 🙂



this chapter is a fusion of the preparations and highlights of the ceremony. the song and editing approach was a perfect setup for the following chapter which was uberly dramatic. now that one made us cry. 🙂

wanna see that chapter also? then drop by our house. 😉

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surprise, surprise…

to unwind, we went out and saw a movie this past weekend. while amidst the heightening suspense in the movie, the invasion, i suddenly received a call (we do practice phonetics and our phones were in silent mode. 😛). it was from our dear friend, wengi:

“kuya, nasa bahay kayo ngayon? dun ako ma2log mamaya, ha.”

surprise, surprise! 🙂

but it was a welcome surprise. 😉 it’s been a while since we’ve seen wengi and spending time with her, be it unplanned, was something we would not turn down. she was having her gown fitted (she’s a member of the entourage for 2 consecutive weddings this september) while we planned to buy some groceries after the movie so we decided just to meet up at our house.

at about the the same time we we’re unloading our groceries, wengi arrived. what soon followed was hours of conversations mainly between selle and wengi. natigil lang kwen2han when we were watching our wedding video. 😀

wengi has such positive energy and a distinctive laugh (watch our wedding video raw footages and you’ll know what we mean. 😆) which made her short stay a pleasing one.

the following day, we all went to manila. wengi went home while we decided to visit our friends/suppliers at the wedding expo… just like what we did during last march’s expo. unlike last time though, only 2 of our favorite suppliers were present. apparently, september wedding expo have limited slots that’s why slots were raffled out. unfortunately, fol and lanie didn’t get their names picked. therefore, only bob and kaye were at the expo (the siytangco’s (bella vista) don’t join fairs).

bago tumambay sa mga booth nila, we strolled through the whole exhibit area first (we even bumped into an ofcmate who was surprised see us there 😀) and had the following notable observations:

• the photo booth is the latest craze. karl and mimi started it last march with clique booth but now there’s a whole plethora of photo booths suppliers. in a span of months, there’s now at least 3-4 more new photo booths.
• jason magbanua is really into lomography. he had 2 lomo-walls flanking his booth. very eye-catching.
• kaye stands out and never runs out of ideas. we really like the plant box centerpiece that was displayed. it’s both refreshing and unique.

after roaming around, we went to bob’s booth at nakipag-kwen2han na. 😀 it’s always a pleasure talking with bob and let because they’re innately nice people. tapos andun pa friend nila na si joey boquiren, a photographer extraordinaire in his own right, na super kulit at masayang kausap. kaya naman d talaga namin namalayan oras habang andun kami. we were so into our conversations that we forgot to take our camera out to take a quick snapshot. that’s why this post is a photo-less one. todo-kwen2han namin pero, of course, we didn’t want to disrupt naman bob’s business kaya everytime may potential client na lalapit, eh tigil muna kwen2han.

during one of those times habang nag-e-entertain c bob ng guest, interestingly, eh bigla kaming tinuro ni bob at tinawag. yun pala, bob was talking to jap, a fellow w@wie that we got to exchange mails a couple of weeks ago.

surprise, surpise! 🙂

to quote jap,

been exchanging mails with this couple & they’ve been so helpful! i finally met them sa booth ni bob. i was just telling bob that i cried watching selle & dyoks’ avp & he said, heto cla o.. hehe.. andun pala cla nakikichicka..=)

kakatuwa, no? 🙂 ayun, kwen2han kami ni jap na, according to her mom, “like we’re college friends.” funny but it sure did feel that way. mainly because she’s nice and bubbly (teka lang, that’s sounds like a drink. 😆). after she left, selle and i can’t help but smile on just what happened. it’s still a bit early but we’re sure that jap, being the positive person that she is, will have an amazing wedding. 🙂

balik na naman kami sa kwen2han and later on, we realized another w@wie, to whom we referred bob, booked him also just the day before. throughout our stay there, bob was constantly being approached by couples and b2b’s. we’re extremely happy that he is beginning to be recognized… he deserves to be.

we left bob’s booth after a couple of hours or so. we came back to kaye’s booth but unfortunately, we just missed her again. anyway, we’ll see her naman at our friend’s wedding in a couple of weeks. 🙂

we capped-off the day by having dinner at our favorite restaurant in festival mall… bangus. there we are always treated with warmth and friendliness by the owner and the head waiter. parang family na kasi kami dun. 🙂

this past weekend we were a recipient of a couple of pleasant surprises. who knew that those things were to happen this weekend? we certainly didn’t. life is definitely full of surprises which that makes life worth living… and we only have God to thank for that. 🙂

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