"YES!!", what now?

Okay, many people fancy a fairy tale wedding, a lot of ideas comes to mind, but, where do I really have to begin? First things first, what kind of wedding do I want? simple? grand? exclusive? But hey, how much are we willing to spend just to say "I do" to my partner? As for me, I discussed it thoroughly with him, after all he's the one who'll allot the budget for it. ;) Next question is, who will do the ceremony? A priest? pastor? minister? or a judge? I was raised as a Roman catholic growing up while Ken is a (kind of) Christian, and, many prospective guests comes from several religions. Thirdly, where do I want it to be held? A lot of people gave suggestions and recommendations so we went and asked. How much for the place? food choices? ambiance? availability? so we can have more ideas and weigh for pros and cons. Fourth, how many guests? who are they? Ken and I aren't celebrities nor politicians so not everyone needs to know that we'll tie the knot. Only few important people in our lives are invited such as close friends and family members.

This illustration might help in managing your guest list, didn't work for me.
*photo from instagram

Wedding attire? As for us, we do not want to spend a lot of money for the clothes that you'll only wear once. For the groom: long sleeved top under a blazer, a pair of trousers and a top-sider shoes, while the bride: long flow-y dress and peep-toe shoes. As for the guests, we chose two colours that most people already have so that they don't need to spend a penny to buy clothes just for the occasion. Wedding rings? Believe me, we looked around; shops, online, and even ring makers. Since we are modern and practical couple, we combined traditionally and modernised ring. Program and details? I took advantage that people dear to me and to Ken gathered all together in one place so we'll try to make the most out of it without breaking a bank, as much as possible we want it to be fun and unforgettable.

It's better to involve him in every step of planning and you'll be surprised with his ideas and suggestions.

WHAT WE CAME UP:

Simple and intimate. Definitely not the wedding of the year, however, I am marrying the man of my dreams and that will make it a perfect wedding for me. Plus, all the people we love will be there which makes it my ideal wedding. 

Judge. Ken and I are not very religious people and a wedding is not about who will do the ceremony but mainly about the groom and bride. I am also sure that God blessed this relationship from the moment we rest our eyes on each other up until we breathe our last breath.

Event hall, early dinner. People close to me knows that I am not a very morning person and I love cramming (I know, I know). Like I've said, people came from everywhere so it is very convenient for everyone to start in the afternoon. The occasion is a semi-formal and it is very humid here in our country, no one is having fun while heavily sweating in a wedding (not unless you're in the dance floor) so we chose an air conditioned event hall.

Less than a hundred, at least. Up to the last minute, we can not be sure how many people will attend. At first,  we want it to be just with immediate relatives and friends which will make it at around 10 people each. While making the list of guests, we realised that both of us came from big families and made us think how friendly we were.

White and blue. I decided to wear a cream white dress and a combination of gray and white for the groom with green accents for both of us. No veil needed but I have my round bridal bouquet or i'll look like a guest, hahah!:D For the guests, we just asked them to wear something white or blue in any shade. We do not want people to use the motif as a reason for not attending.

a flow-y long dress with sleeves and a nude peep-toe shoes,  

Silver and plain. FYI: when fitting rings, your dominant fingers are bigger than the non dominant so try them on your chosen finger. I recently found out that in catholic wedding, the priest will tell you to wear it on your right ring finger. However, we decided to wear it on the left since that's the only finger that has a direct vein connected to the heart. ;)

Ceremony and reception are held in the same location. The ceremony won't take more than an hour, so it'll immediately be followed by a traditional wedding reception. The program will be traditional such as pabuhos (showering the newly weds with flowers), cake cutting, wedding toast, bridal bouquet and garter catching, pasabit (guests will hang money on clothes while the couple is dancing). Click here for more wedding inspiration.
Also,sweet buffet is very popular nowadays so the guests can munch some sweets during the program and wont get hungry until the food is ready. And yes, I did not mention about the invitation cards and giveaways. We are not giving away invitation letters because people are everywhere and we do not have all year to wait for RVSPs so we just send out texts messages and made some calls for faster response. When it comes to giveaways, photo booths will do the trick. I do not personally keep little figurines or stuff with date and name of people who have invited me, in photo booths, you have the picture of the newly weds and the guests so they'll surely keep it, no waste! ;) 

Anyways, are you like me who's planning a wedding? I hope my ideas will be helpful to you. Or you are already married? share me what happened in your special day. And if you have suggestions, you are very welcome to comment below. thankYou! x

- May Lynne

Save The Date

Just like any other groom and bride-to-be, engagement or prenuptial photo shoot is necessary which can go with the announcement that they'll tie-the-knot soon. In some cases, if the couple has a "proper" pictures, people instantly think that they're planning to get married (believe me, it is based on experience and yes, I've been asked many times).
Anyways, as my beau and I have been planning our wedding for months, we have decided to shoot it ourselves. With a little help of his two cousins, the tripod, some props, inspirations and violaahhhhh . . . . we have the official prenuptial photos!

We hope to see you on the 2nd! Let us all have fun as we celebrate the start of our journey together. x

- May Lynne

Yellow Orange Day

Green Greenwich Spring

Jollibee on the third day.

Myself, cannot help but to taste my favourite "Jollibee meal".
Oh yeah, there's no chicken nor pasta in fast foods where I came from.

Just like any other Filipinos living or working abroad, the one of the first things we're all looking forward was the food (mainly Filipino dishes), next to our loved ones of course! Not to mention that I have been away for 3years and 4months, that was that long believe me! The photo above was taken last January 3rd, my third day in my home country.
I arrived at 2pm on the 1st, family fetched me from the airport and dropped by at my granma's house in Bulacan, arrived home at around 7pm so I wasn't able to look around town since it was already dark.
Second day, family and I went out to buy some grocery and revisit the "oh-so-famous" pacific mall. Naahhhh, I was just excited like that, and not to mention I got excited at simple things around me and that was one of those. Actually, I wanted to see the changes and the things that remained the same. Well, most of it stayed the same, it brought back memories when I was still studying, good and bad, you got it!
Any, third day was for me and the bFriend. He asked me what do I want to do, I said "Jollibee". So there I was. xx

London to Malaysia to Philippines

Okay, so it's time to say goodbye to my home for nearly 4 years (ohhh, that's quite long). But heyyy, I'm going back to my comfort zone, yes indeed, with my loved ones and friends, the culture and the place like no other, Philippines!!

Anyways, my flight is scheduled at 10:40am on December 31st (yes, I availed my visa upto the last day) and since my place was few hours away from Heathrow, I planned to wake up as early as 5am. But I had a despedida dinner the night before and finished at around midnight so I decided not to sleep and pack the rest of my stuff instead (yes, I'm a crammer!!)

I arrived in the airport at 8am and expecting to meet my friends there before I leave but few of them didn't make it. My allowed luggage wight for check in is only 25kls and 7 for the hand carry, I only managed to fit in 20kls in my violet luggage and it is nearly breaking, I tried to fit it all in because I can only have one to check in. Also, I paid 5gbp to wrap it with plastic to prevent airport disasters and not to peep out anything from the inside. Then, my hand carry was a maroon luggage (7kls) and a yellow shoulder bag(3kls). Those already sounds like a disaster!

Good thing, not alot of people were traveling that day so I smoothly checked in my luggage and fortunately not asked to weigh my 2hand carry stuff, phew! I saved few pounds there! 

I had my goodbyes and off I go! I passed the immigration freely and went to the waiting area for the plane. We were like 20minutes delayed (yes, not only in Pinas!) and then had my seat. I got Malaysian airline so it has passengers going to Asia and Australia. Asian family man on my right and a quite big white man on my left side. 

The trip to Malaysia was okay except when the plane is taking off, I always get that ringing in my ears and feels like its bleeding. When we arrived in Malaysia, I was expecting of the view of Petronas but all I saw was desert. Ugh!

No, I'm not a missus yet but I don't know!!

Thank goodness I brought my little sketch book with me and entertained myself for few hours before my connecting flight to Pinas.

I sat near the gate where the plane dropped us, not knowing that my connecting flight was in the other terminal, good thing I checked an hour before the flight!!

I have to go in a train to be able to reach the other terminal!!

Pulling a 7kl luggage and carrying another 3 in my shoulder, panicking!!

I was all sweating in Malaysia since I'm all wrapped up from winter London!

When I get into the connecting plane, it was like a bus, you can hear the wind and feel every turn of it!!

All in all, I had a smooth flight (but jet lagged). Wasn't properly hear the immigration officer when asking for my passport and the personnel trying to help me with the cart, spent few minutes waiting for my luggage and my mobile's battery was empty. I am also desperate for a wee, no tissue in the toilet  and sticky airport floor! Hello Philippines!!

But all of those fade away when I saw my family waving at me, the boyfriend is coming near to fetch my stuff. Ohhhh worth all the hassle!!

Sunny Brighton once again

To be honest, I do not like going back to places that I have been here in the UK, to go on holiday of course. I thought it's just a waste of time since I already visited the place and knew what to expect. But then, I was wrong! This time, I came with bunch of friends and went back to the same place all over again. It was indeed a different experience. We stayed in a neighbor hotel and able to go to the beach huts in Hove, which by the way we didn't reach before. And yes, we ate my fav oysters by the beach. My Brighton experience will not be complete without eating them. 

Hi Mr. Lobster, we met again!

I just hope the photo gave justice to the artwork behind.

Yeah, same hotel that we stayed in Scotland. Good thing we did not stay there this time.

Sightseeing like a boss

A must eat in Brighton, of course with white wine.

West Pier, it was burned yet look amazing.

Yes, I am wearing boots and tights by the beach. It was cold honey!

Book sale by the beach area

Thank goodness for the clear blue sky! :)

Finally, we reached Hove. We cannot find it the fist time.

Souvenir shop seafront

No, it's not gum balls dispensers

Where and what do you like doing in places that you keep coming back to dearies?? Is it always a different experience every time? I believe you all had a fantastic weekend! x

- May Lynne