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).