A Batangas Beach wedding

While most people would frown at the idea of traveling three hours to attend a wedding, hubby and I were super excited for two reasons; one, it was the wedding of our longtime friend, Joy and two, it was a chance for me and hubby to be alone together in a secluded beach. Ok, it wasn't that secluded but hey, it was like our nth honeymoon, so why wouldn't we be excited?

Also, it was my first out-of-town wedding after almost 10 years, so there I was at the wheel, eager to reach our destination.

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Joy and I worked together for our high school paper and became classmates in college. Like most classmates who grew up in a generation without social networking sites (heck, most people didn't even own mobile phones in college!) we lost touch when we started working. But coincidences of coincidences, Joy became hubby's officemate when we weren't married yet (yes I know, small world) and that's how Joy and I got connected again.
Joy was very hands-on with her wedding preparations, making sure every detail was true to their specifications. From the color palette of the invitations, to the souvenir wedding ribbons, to the flowers at the church -- Joy made sure this was going to be the wedding she truly wanted.
Joy and her now-husband, Benedict chose to have an intimate but fun wedding in the new summer place to be ---- San Juan, Batangas. Their ceremony venue of choice was the idyllic San Juan de Nepomuceno parish and their reception venue was at Acuatico, a resort on the Laiya shoreline.
Just look at Acuatico's photos and you'd be lying if you told me you wouldn't want to book a room right away.

The floating bar

The fountain fronting the restaurant

Acuatico's in-house cafe

The bed in one of the Executive rooms

Above and below, photos of the colorful bathroom, complete with toiletries (unlike some of the other resorts in Laiya)

Below, the entrance to the San Juan de Nepomuceno church.

The aisle that welcomed the bride and groom.

Couldn't resist taking a shot of the window as the sun was setting.

That's me and hubby waiting for the bridal march. We were to present the fruits for the offertory procession.
I had to wear a bolero to hide my not-so-conservative beach dress :-P

There's Bene, the giddy groom.

And there's Joy, the bubbly bride.

The ceremony was short and sweet.

Joy's family

The beach reception. Loved that the atmosphere was fun and casual.
Guests were wearing flipflops, 80's music was playing and grilled food was served.

Loved the souvenirs at the registration table -- sarongs for the girls!

Wasn't the cake and the canopy just beach-perfect?!

If there was anything that I didn't like about the night reception, it was that I couldn't get the right light to take photos of the gorgeous flower arrangements on the tables! They were a medley of all-white flowers, baby pineapples and reeds that looked like cat tails!

That's Joy and (my) hubby after he changed to beachwear.

Above, a morning-after shot of the sarong and below, the prizes hubby and I won during the couples' game. It's amazing how hubby and I always win prizes when we join wedding games. :-)

Because I couldn't take decent photos of the flowers the night before, I took them during breakfast. :-)

I think these are tube roses and green button mums.

White roses, of course.

Roses, calla lilies, button mums, the cattails and white snapdragons.

Below is a closer look at the snapdragons. Aren't they just lovely? I couldn't stop staring at them because they're rarely seen in Manila. They were arranged by Acuatico's in-house florist.

That's hubby, reading the ceremony missalette. My attempt at a silhouette shot.

To Joy and Bene, congratulations! Remember that marriage, unlike your wedding is not a destination, but a journey. :-)

And to those of you who didn't get their fill from my photos of the wedding, here's the on-site audio-visual presentation by their photographer, Bryan Yap who captured the true mood and tone of the wedding -- fun, fun, fun!


Benedict + Joy - SDE Photo Slideshow from Bryan Yap on Vimeo.

A late Valentine date at Lemuria

Valentine's Day was never a big thing with me and hubby. Every year, everywhere is always too crowded and too commercial -- movies, hotels, restaurants, concerts. Bah, humbug. :-P

If Valentine's Day is about you and your sweetheart, then celebrating it with a crowd is so not the way to do it.

What hubby and I do is wait a few days to celebrate the day of hearts. And this year, we decided to try out the restaurant named after a mythological island, Lemuria.

Before the restaurant became known as Lemuria, it was known as The Winery. It houses possibly a hundred or more wine varieties and was open to small parties half a decade ago. I even thought of having my wedding here but the lack of space for the guests and their cars made me cross it out from my list.

Located in a quiet neighborhood in Quezon City, Lemuria's main dining room can accommodate around 50 heads. There's also a function room which I believe can fit about 50 more. Hubby and I were hoping that we could have the place to ourselves that day, but a group of students from a culinary school were having their exposure trip of sorts.

Well, so much for a romantic lunch. :-P

For starters, we had raisin walnut bread and foccacia slices with balsamic vinegar and whipped butter.

Below, crostinis. Yum.

Both hubby and I decided to have soup. He ordered the soup of the day which was Cream of Pumpkin (above) and I got the Bouillabaise (below), which tasted a tad bit fishy (well, it was seafood soup but I wish the "fishyness" could have been tempered or masked by the "citrusness" of the orange).

Oh well.

For appetizers, hubby got the Prawn Saganaki (above) and I got the Seared Fois Gras with braised cabbage and fig glaze (below). I'm not particularly a liver lover and after a forkful, I exchanged appetizers with hubby who happily finished the Fois Gras. As for the prawn which was flavorful with tomatoes and basil, I could only wish the prawns were a bit bigger. Hubby and I love eating gargantuan prawns at home so seeing little shrimps was sort of a let down for us.

For the main course, I opted for the Sea bass, poached in saffron olive jus and braised fennel. Hubby ordered the Dutch Veal rib eye steak stuffed with duck liver, ancholade and port wine reduction. (Wow, that was a mouthful).

That's hubby's fork and knife attacking the veal. Well, maybe not "attacking" because admittedly, the veal was so tender, I almost didn't need to chew it as it slithered its way down my mouth.

For dessert, we had the Vahlrona Chocolate Souffle Cake with Lavender Ice Cream. I'm biased with anything chocolate so I can only say that I didn't give the cake a chance to sit on that plate too long :-)

Above, the glassware sold at Lemuria -- not surprising to find ridiculously exquisite crystal from a place where good wines are sold (below, the wine cellar).

Below, an adorable mailbox greets you just before entering Lemuria's dining area. Don't you just love darling details like these?

Overall, the lunch was ok. It's been a while since hubby and I went out on a real date so to me, the food was just secondary.

If there's anything that I loved about Lemuria, it was definitely the impeccable service. If only for that, Lemuria is worth going back to.

Lemuria now also accepts catering services for intimate, casual and formal lunches and dinners, cocktail parties and all sorts of functions. They even now have a partner venue, The Broadway House, conveniently located in New Manila, Quezon City. I haven't been there myself but I do plan to check it out one of these days.

Lemuria
5 Julieta Circle Horsehoe Village, Quezon City
+63.2.724.5211
+63.2.722.2185
+63.2.724.6306

http://www.lemuria.com.ph
http://www.brumms.com.ph

What to do in case of wedding emergencies

No, I don't mean getting cold feet and running away on your wedding day.

I mean certain situations and events that happen in weddings beyond our control. Rain, hail, snowstorms, floods, earthquakes, military uprising, and the most common emergencies -- a wedding dress with a broken zipper, the entourage member who got lost going to the ceremony, the bridal car with a flat tire, a flower girl who refuses to walk the aisle, the ring bearer who refuses to surrender the rings or a drunk guest hogging the microphone to deliver a speech of epic proportion.

Yes, they do happen and if you are one of the lucky ones, not all at the same time :-)

So how can we avoid situations that may potentially ruin our wedding day? Simple. We plan. Thoroughly. Use common sense. Or avoid the situations that may become potential problems.

For example, if there is only one boy in your family who can be the ring bearer, but he is only 1 1/2 years old, I suggest that you find an adult, usually the best man, to carry the rings. Children below the age of four are the most unpredictable creatures on earth, next to pets that is (even if they're well-trained). I'd strongly discourage using pets unless you want your pair of rings to end up in your chihuahua's intestines.

If you're planning an outdoor wedding, have tents on standby. Save for the months of February till April, it could rain with the Philippines' unreliable weather forecasts. To avoid broken shoe heels and ankle injuries, you might want to find ways in making the ground more heel-friendly with carpets, movable flooring or mats if you are planning a garden wedding.

If you are inviting elderly guests, make sure your ceremony and reception venue have ramps or elevators.

I've read about weddings that were delayed by five hours because of floods that prevented the officiant, photographer and entourage members to get to the church on time.

I've heard about a wedding whose ceremony and reception venues were moved to a different location due to really bad weather. It was probably a wedding planner's nightmare, having to call all the guests and wedding vendors to inform them of the new venues. Because of the change in reception venue, the couple had to improvise with what a nearby restaurant could offer them. They had no wine or champagne to toast with or even a cake they could cut as part of the wedding program. But at least, the wedding did push through and they were with each other :-)

There was a wedding about two years ago when a couple of military men decided to storm a 5-star hotel in Makati (Metro Manila's business district) so the wedding reception had to be moved to the next door hotel. Again, a wedding planner's nightmare.

So you see, crinkled wedding dresses can be solved by a steam iron. A host who suddenly becomes ill can be replaced by an eloquent or witty friend or cousin. A fainting future mother-in-law can be relieved with some smelling salts.

My advice? For every plan A, have a plan B ready. Except replacing the bride or groom, that is.

Yes, spontaneity is fun, but planning saves us from a lot of possible wedding emergencies (and stress).

Happy planning!

A wedding clay to remember

Aside from flowers, the cake, the gown, the food, what else will make guests remember your wedding? Souvenirs, of course!

One souvenir shop (if you can call it that) which I just visited late last year was The Beadlady, a quaint "crafts cafe" where beading enthusiasts can choose from a buffet of trinkets and make delightful presents for their female entourage members or souvenirs. Given enough time, the owner of The Beadlady can even craft made-to-order designs made of polymer clay.

Angeli, the owner of The Beadlady, loves making clay cupcakes so if you have a cupcake-themed wedding, you might want to order from her.

Above and below, charms and beads you can use for your souvenirs.

If you're not the crafty kind, you can also purchase ready-made trinkets like necklaces and bracelets.

Below, handpainted shoes and bangles.

The Beadlady Craft CafeShop

54 Cubao ExpoGen. Romulo St., Cubao, Quezon City

Shop hours

Tuesday to Saturday 12noon to 10pm

Sunday and Monday 4pm to 10pm

Another online site I stumbled upon is Claylettes by Karla & Co. Claylettes makes the most mouth-watering, lip-smacking clay creations, you'd think they were good enough to eat! Some claylicious items they've done are donuts, brownies, cupcakes, cookies, popsicles, ice cream, pies, beverages, pretzels, boxes of chocolates and tiered cakes. Everything made from scratch.

Claylettes also makes souvenirs for baby showers, kiddie parties and other events.

Check out their site at claylettes.multiply.com