Supplier's Review: Couturier: Jef Albea

COUTURIER: Jef Albea

Peso Power: Php 53,000 – bridal gown with free reception dress, 2 mothers, 3 SS, 4 FG. Php 5000 one pina-jusi barong set for papa

Recommendable

with Jef: our first meeting, during one of the fittings and on the wedding day

He was referred by Anna Mexicana, and since his shop then was near our place, I decided to set a meeting with him. Honestly, I never felt a “this-is-it” feeling to him or to any of my suppliers. I believe my process of choosing my suppliers is way different from all the other brides, I always think of my budget first – if it is affordable or within my budget, then I will set a meeting. 2^nd and 3^rd will be the chemistry between me and the supplier based on our meetings or exchanges of correspondence, and the service, craftsmanship, creativity, talent and performance. Usually this one will be base on recommendations and portfolio, so it’s not always 100% sure that it will work for you too. So I will always rely to my gut feel and the chemistry we have.

Jef seems to know his craft. The design sketches he made for me on the spot were pretty. He came up with a design that I have in my mind but didn’t mention it to him but I just told him that the dress should create an illusion of height and svelte body as much as possible. He was able to give me a discount so that I can afford him base on my budget, and he is good-looking (did I mentioned about my “thing” for suppliers who are good looking or presentable?), he was nice, and his shop is near my place it will be convenient for my sister to do some follow ups if required, so I booked him.

I paid the 50% DP before going back to Bangladesh. And then after a few weeks, I heard a negative story about him. But I really don’t want to dwell on it, and I want to keep my trust on him. After all, I don’t know the real story from both sides and I believe there are different experiences for different people and different chemistry too. And I prefer to believe Jef’s side of the story. It got me worried too especially that I’m an overseas bride; I can’t just throw-away the DP just because “someone I don’t know personally had a bad experience with him”. I just really have to have trust and faith in him that he will be able to deliver what is required and expected from him, so I still push through with him.

It was easy transacting with him. I have a total of 5 fittings with him and the fun part is, every time I had a fitting, there are changes. My gown design which has a modified a-line silhouette is continuously changing to suit me well, because during the last 3 months prior to my wedding date, I enrolled in Gold’s Gym to help me lose weight and to tone my body. 

the evolution of my bridal gown and me 

An endless revision – from the original tulle long sleeves because I want to hide my big arms, to quarter sleeves because I heard Joed saying that long sleeves will make someone who is already petite looks more smaller in a bad taste and because I notice all the Bangladeshi relatives had a long-sleeves bridal gown, and finally to off-shoulder – low back – plunging neckline gown.  And the final fitting, I was with my mom and mom-in-law and we were all awed with the gown and how it suited me well.

Back details: before and after

Pro:

• My gown is beautiful, it fits me well. My honey loves it too. I feel like a princess in my gown.
• His shop is near my place - first it was in V.Luna and now, it's in Scout borromeo cor. Sct Ybardolaza.
• Easy to talk with regarding changes, he is open to suggestions and opinions too. He will not impose on you what he wants but rather he will give you advice and enlighten you to help you decide with what you really want. He was supportive also especially when I was trying to lose weight. And keeps on reminding me that I need to have confidence to make justice to the gown.
• My 2^nd gown, which was supposed to be my reception dress, looks elegant even if it is made entirely of a tulle-like material. I wore it on in our reception here in Bangladesh.
• He was able to deliver according to our schedule, and even finalize the dresses of my mom, mom-in-law and sister after their first and final fitting which was 5 days before the wedding day. 

My mom's gown and my papa's barong

Mom-in-law's gown

Con:

• There are times that he does not reply to your emails simply because according to him, there’s nothing to say anyway. As for me, if you really value your client or respect them, you should still reply just to acknowledge that you did read the email and got the message.
• Sometimes, it’s tough to fix the fitting schedule but he can be flexible with the timings. I just don’t like it when he tries to change the timing a few hours before the said schedule. If it is just me, it’s ok because I can easily adjust my timings since I’m at home most of the time but for my FG’s moms it is not easy or acceptable.
• And, he made a mistake with the color of the fabric. Our original colors were the violet and green of Barney. My sister told me that I’m a “nice bride” because I didn’t require Jef to change all 4 dresses. I just told him to change the MOH’s dress and use the original color that we agreed and just retained the SS dresses as it is. And, this mistake turns out to be a good one because on the wedding day, all my female entourages look good in their dresses. And all my SS prefers the lilac shade over the Barney shade, it's a good thing then that Jef made a mistake and I didn't require him to change it.

Our entourage

• 

  MOH's gown: the first picture with the wrong color of fabric and the final output.

  Except for my gown, my MOH’s and 3 FG’s, the rest of the female entourages has to send their measurements since they’re not base in manila. I don’t know if this is the reason why some of the dresses are ill-fitting. The bust padding of my sister’s gown was not right on the spot, though it isn’t noticeable. The candle sponsor’s gown looks short and the top part looks too-low that anytime her twins will be exposed, I’m just glad she wore it with confidence. One of the little girls dress was too short and tight for her. The neckline of my mom-in-law’s dress doesn’t look straight also. And, I don’t know why all zippers are visible.

Secondary sponsors gowns

Flower Girls

• I just notice it now, the final reception dress was not according to what he told me, it should be in jersey fabric with gold accent but the final output, he used a tulle-like or maybe that is a tulle material without any gold accent. I forgot about the original design too, as a matter of fact , i wouldn't realized about the mistake if I'm not writing this review, I found out about the mistake when I was editing the pictures. It is okay if I was informed about the changes, but he didn't mention that he will change anything. The only thing I asked him to change when I had my fitting was the skirt, I want it full fabric instead of the layered skirt.

• 

  My reception dress: the original sketch and the final output

Even with these minor glitches, I will still recommend him with a bit of advice: work closely with him, be friendly with him but be firm. He delivered on time even with our hectic schedule a few days before the wedding.

I love my gown; I’m happy with it and satisfied with it. Every time I had my fitting, there’s always a new and different feeling. Even on the wedding day itself, when I wore it on, there’s a different “wow” effect. It’s simply the perfect gown for me. And yeah, the tiis-ganda part, I had to wear a 5 inches platform heels to compliment the look. Generally, I liked all the dresses, that's why I still recommend him for bride's looking for affordable with quality gowns.

Supplier's Review: Flowers, Emcee and HMUA

FLOWERS: Headbands & Headbands by Mikee Palmera

Peso Power: Php 5505

Inclusion: 1 Bridal bouquet, 1 groom boutonniere, 2 mother’s bouquet, 1 MOH bouquet, 5 ninangs brooches, 3 SS wrist corsages, 4 FG headbands plus shipping fee

Highly Recommendable

Originally, I was eyeing for this known supplier but after inquiring for their basic package, I know I have to give them up. I’ve checked other suppliers also but I find it a waste of money to pay for something that I will throw afterwards. Flowers will wilt and then you have to throw it. I told honey the same reason before that’s why he doesn’t buy me flowers anymore.

My Bridal Bouquet

I don’t want to splurge on real flowers. I want something that I can keep and re-use but affordable. Then, I read blogs about fabric bouquets and brooch bouquets. I asked Alvin if I can have a non-traditional bouquet and he said it is fine. I started searching for a peg and was planning to do it myself but the laziness hits me. So I look for fabric flower supplier instead.

My Husband's Boutnniere

I read about H&H in W@W. There’s another supplier but I find H&H more convenient in communicating with. Transaction with her was easy. It’s a good thing also that I was able to get a quote from her before her price increase because when I finally placed my order we followed her previous quote instead of her new rate. She was able to follow all the pegs that I showed her, we just had a hard time with the boutonniere but the final output is still pretty. 

Mother's bouquet and my MOH's bouquet

She even delivered the package herself to my place because she’s worried that the courier will not take care of it and might break the feathers in my bouquet. And she gave one extra brooch. Instead of 5, I got 6 brooches. She’s one pleasant lady and she does Hair & Make Up too. 

SS's wrist corsages

Ninang's brooch

I just added embellishments in the handles of the bouquets, but even without those, her handiwork is wonderful. 

PRO:

• She was able to deliver what I want and on-time
• She doesn’t require down payment if the work order is at minimal rate
• She shows the sample’s images for approval before proceeding for final production.
• She’s fast at her work. She delivered it ahead of time.

CON: To some, this is maybe not a con. She copies from a peg, I’m not sure if she can come up with her own design, but I guess with her creativity she can create her own design.

WEDDING HOST: Missy Ferrer-Litao

Peso Power: Php 9000 with Php 500 discount if you are a W@W Tagholder

Highly Recommendable
Contact details: 09088649651; missy_ferrerlitao@yahoo.com

A wedding host can either break or make your wedding reception. A good one can bring life to the party and I've experienced having a very excellent host in my Manila Wedding reception, and a non-professional host in my Bangladesh Wedding Reception, and i've seenthe difference.

We forgot to have a decent picture with Missy

I'm so glad booking Missy as my wedding host. She’s great in her hosting. She is one of the best if not the best wedding host in town. My In-laws were so amazed how she handles the program. There’s no single dull moment or blank air moment. The guests only have good words for her. She’s bubbly and full of positive vibes.

Missy in action

My only observation, she does her hosting so well and right to the dot that it feels like “it’s too rush up” since she needs to finish the program within that 1 ½ hour, or maybe because I feel the whole day itself is too short. It can be a CON or a PRO, depends how you see it. My sisters had different opinions on this though. One find it good, at least the program is not dragging and it finished just in time and long enough for the people to be entertained. While my other sister said, Missy did it so fast that they were not able to enjoy their meal because Missy requires the family in some parts of the program like every other minute. Even with this observation, I’m still glad I booked her to host our event. You never go wrong with Missy.

CON:

• Her rate is higher than the other wedding host because she’s from Cavite, so there’s an OOT charge in her rate already.
• Since she is from Cavite and works in Makati, she only does meet-up at Makati area and usually after office hours which is 5pm onwards. It’s a con for me because I’m from Quezon City and I commute, and I hate the rush hour in MRT stations.

HMUA: Irene Manigo

Peso Power: Php 19200 - Bride + 5 heads + groom, additional 2500 for airbrush upgrade for the bride

Highly Recommendable

I was actually eyeing the HMUA during my eldest sister’s wedding, but since my sisters doesn’t like to pay for their own HMUA, I have to look for someone I can afford. My journey in selecting my HMUA is a long one that I booked trials with different HMUAs when I went home for vacation.

Trial Hair &Make-Up: Traditional; Before and after

Ms. Irene wasn’t in my shortlists but after the not-so-good experience with another HMUA, Krystle who is a fellow w@wie, referred her to me. So I instantly inquired and set a schedule for trial while I’m in manila. I’m glad I did. She’s nice and I don’t feel any “yabang” in her even if she’s been in the industry for so long. She knows her craft and it’s easy communicating with her. She replies to my email promptly. She uses Laura Mercier, Lancome, Nars, Shu Uemera, Revlon, L'Oreal and Krayolan. Even my photographer has good words for Ms. Irene's work and professionalism.

Upgraded to Airbrush

She and her team arrived on time on the day. They are fast with their work but meticulously done. Ms. Irene enhances my beauty and I never felt so beautiful. Indeed, every bride is the prettiest on their wedding day.

from Ms. Irene's mobile camera

with Ms. Irene, photo from her mobile

They gave me a second look but it’s her assistant Angel who does it. Ms. Irene stays until you leave the hotel, and after that, Angel is in charge. I’m fine with it since it’s just a re-touch. Angel is a nice lady also. My husband said "Angel made him look more handsome that day!".

Wedding tips from Ms. Irene:
Hair coloring / treatment - at least 2 weeks before the wedding date
Eyelash perming - 2-3 weeks before the wedding, you can have it at a later date, this is just an advise so that the eyelashes will not be too curly which in effect may look so unreal
Facial - no facial 2 weeks before the wedding

Supplier's Review: Cake Topper, Wedding Rings & Wedding Invitation

CAKE TOPPER: Kokeshi Dolls by Khristine Borbe

Peso Power: Php 3500

Highly Recommendable

Our Kokeshi dolls

I saw the pictures of the Kokeshi dolls even before I got engaged. I find them pretty and wonderful gift. Since our cake supplier will not provide the cake topper, that’s when I emailed Khristine to inquire about the Kokeshi Dolls. It’s handmade and personalized and she helped me execute what I want to show – embracing our different culture and showing our differences that endear to us – that’s our height difference and our skin tone. This is the reason why our kokeshi dolls are not of the same size.

Our Kokeshi dolls are not wearing the regular bridal gown. The bride is wearing a red bridal saree while the groom is wearing the Philippines’ Barong Tagalog. For me, it’s showing that we are both embracing each other’s culture but keeping our own identity and personalities. I learned to appreciate my height because of him, that’s why we have different sizes of dolls – the groom doll is tall and thinner, and the bride doll is the short and stout. And the groom is wearing his favorite bangle too.

Our Kokeshi Dolls on top of the cake during our Bangladesh Reception

My in-laws liked the dolls and we were able to use it again here in our Bangladesh reception. Honey finds them adorable too. Right now, it’s on display in our room. It was easy communicating with her thru email. The only CON is the pick-up points since I’m from QC, but other than, it’s a breezy transaction.

WEDDING RINGS: Aireen Mistica

Contact Details: +639175421791, ajmistica@yahoo.com.ph

Highly Recommendable

She was referred to me by my sister because she is their regular jeweler. She is from Bulacan and accepts meet-up in Manila. For us, we had our first meeting at my sister’s office in Discovery Suites, then the following meeting were in Trinoma since it is both convenient for us.

Po guarding our wedding rings. Photo by Bryan Yap.

I gave her the images of the ring that I liked and we customized it according to our budget.  It’s a two tone yellow gold & white gold 14k with 1 piece princess cut diamond for the bride’s ring in size 5, while his one is just a 2 tone band without the diamond in size9 ½. She gave me a good friendly price since my sister is one of her regular clients. The delivery is fast too. It’s just a matter of week. 

before and after the electroplating of our Arrhae

I gave her also our arrhae, which is already an heirloom since it was my parents', then my second sister used it on her own wedding then I will pass it on to whoever is going to marry next, for gold-electroplating and engraving. I asked her to engrave again my parents name and wedding date, my sister & her husband's name and wedding date, and ours. It cost us Php 1000 for that, gave our stainless mock rings for engraving - Php 200, and cleaning of my lola's ring which she gave to me as a gift, another Php 200.

WEDDING INVITATION: Wink

AE: Cindy Mesina

Peso Power: Php 5680 for 80 pcs.

Recommendable

Our buttercup wedding invitation. Photo by Bryan yap

Another item that I don’t want to splurge. I just have to order 80pcs because that is the minimum order. I selected from their template, luckily they have a sample that is the exact color motif and nearest to my “damask theme” in mind. Transaction is easy; you can deposit your DP and pay in cash or in check upon pick-up. My AE replies promptly to my emails too.

Supplier's Review: Bridal Car, Hotel Preps, Groom's Car and Crew Meal

BRIDAL CAR: G Luxury Cars

Peso Power: Php 2895 + additional Php 750 for fuel if the location is QC because the car is coming from Makati, for 4 hours with driver, new Mercedes Benz C180

Highly Recommended

the bridal car

I want a vintage car for my bridal car, but the rental fees for 2 or 3 hours only is way beyond my budget. The G.I. in me decided not to splurge on this whose main purpose is for photography/videography purposes (in my humble opinion okay, since you will be inside the car for few minutes or hours only depending where you’re coming from and going to) and besides I hired the best photographers and videographers so they can do without the vintage car.

Bridal car is isn’t in my priority list. I have an option of borrowing a car from a relative or maybe from a friend if I won’t be able to find a car with a reasonable rental fee. Good thing, I saw this voucher ad in Groupon and then after awhile, I saw it trending in the waw yg emails already. That’s when I decided to call and inquire about it. After discussing with Sir G, I texted my coordinator Charisse, and asked her opinion. It’s a good price already so I booked it.

Sir G is nice. He even called me in my mobile phone just to double check the date and to inform me that I need to confirmed with him by evening as there is another one who inquired about the car for the same date and timing. It was easy transacting with him.

On the wedding day, the car arrived on time. The driver is okay, not really talkative, but he is okay, he is by the way a relative of Sir G.

HOTEL PREPS: Discovery Suites

Peso Power: Booked it through my sister who was the Corporate Sales Director then, so we book it using the employee’s rate, 1 3BR suite for 2 nights and 1 2BR Suite for one night

Highly Recommended

Since my sister was employee there, we were kind of “loyal” to Discovery Suites. They have a good service, and with my sister around, it feels like you get faster service too. 

the birdies

We just booked their regular rooms instead of their newly renovated rooms – The Serendipity Suites – because employee’s rate was not applicable for that. And, I’m always in the look-out for affordable, lower rates. I booked 1 2BR suite for my fiancé’s family and 1 3BR suite for two nights for my family and after the wedding for me and in-laws. 

We had the preparation in the living area, the only place with natural light.

Their 3BR suite is spacious, we didn’t feel crowded during the preps time. It’s good also that my eldest sister and her family booked a room also for them. At least papa was able to spend time there while we are all busy prepping up. Something that papa hates.

There’s no problem in bringing in outside food, drinks and even beers. We had our lunch meals care of Amber’s. They delivered the packed-lunch to our suite. The month of May is considered peak season thus they were strict with the check out time. The groom’s family transferred their belongings to my suite around 12 noon which is the check out time with the help of the hotel staff. And my fiancé and his family just spend more time in The Lounge for more photo and video sessions. You can actually use the other hotel facilities for photo & video sessions.

Most of the supplier’s find it a hassle that you require a key card in using the elevator if you have to go up, but this is just for hotel’s security purposes. Somehow we were able to request additional keycards and provided it to the other suppliers. The hotel management was able to provide us rooms that are all in one floor. I especially requested for this one to lessen the hassle for the suppliers in moving back and forth to different floors. 

GROOM’s CAR: John Lord Transport

Contact Person: Mike +6329328439681

Peso Power:  Php 2000 for 10 hours + fuel 500 + driver’s meal

Highly Recommended

Found it thru W@W. I think it was Arlene who mentioned about them. I booked them after canvassing with other car rentals. I actually booked them for 1) airport pick up, 2) during our pre-nup pictorial in Sunvalley Estates at Inarawan, Antipolo after our short trip to the Antipolo Church, 3) on the wedding day, and 4) when we had to dropped my sister and her family to the airport. I requested for the same driver – Kuya Dhong, since I don’t want to transact and chill with a new driver every other day, so I asked Kuya Mike to give the same driver for the rest of our schedule, but on the 4th time, I was surprised that Kuya Mike was the one who came with the van.

with Kuya Mike

my computation

Kuya Mike is a nice person. It was easy transacting with him, and as well as the driver, Kuya Dhong, he was a good driver and is familiar with the roads.

CREW MEAL / LUNCH MEAL: Amber

Highly Recommended

Most of the time, this is one of the most neglected item in the checklist. It seems like a minor detail only, but once you had your total headcount of how many people will be present during your preparation in the hotel and multiply it with the cost of the packed-meal, you will be surprise that it is NOT a small amount at all.

Deciding what meal to serve during the preps is tough. You don’t want to be stingy and at the same time you don’t want to splurge, but definitely you want everyone happy and not hungry and at the same time not too full that it will be tough for some to work with a heavy stomach also, but you want them to last long since you will never know when they will get the chance to eat their next meal for the whole day event.

We ordered the Rice Combination Package 4. The prices are not updated

Czar, a Wawie, recommended Amber packed Meals since she also served the same thing during her preps also. I asked of course the opinion of my photographer friend regarding food also. I know most of the suppliers are tired of fast food meals so I have to serve them something other than the usual.

It was easy to order from them. I selected Rice Combi Package 4 which consist of 1 rice, 2 chicken, buttered veggies and pichi-pichi, asked my coordinator to order it for me since I was stressed out the day before our wedding day and instructed my groom to deposit the downpayment to their bank account, emailed them a copy of the deposit slip, and just paid the balance and the delivery fee when they delivered the packed lunches on the day of the wedding. The meal doesn’t include drinks, so I also asked my groom to buy 40 bottles of 500ml mineral water from the supermarket. My family including my in-laws enjoyed their lunch, and our suppliers were happy with their lunch too - (I hope they did).

As for the dinner time, my caterer gave me 15 free crew-meals so I just ordered additional crew-meal from them too. More info and tips on crew meal, you might want to check this at Joed Shares

Supplier's Review: Reception Venue & Caterer : Oasis - Orchard & RichGold

VENUE: Oasis – Orchard

Peso Power: Php 135,500 for 100pax

AE: Ms. Maan Iglesias

Inclusions: 4 hours use of the venue, cake, photo booth, in-house lights & sounds, LCD & projector, caterer, doves, free use of the oasis compound for pre-nup pictorial, valet parking, bubble machine

I choose this place mainly because of logistics consideration. Some of my guests will be commuting so I want to lessen their hassle by making the church and reception venue near to each other. Also, to avoid the traffic this is already common in Manila.

With our AE, Ms. Maan Iglesias. Photo by Bryan Yap.

I booked the church and the venue at the same time – constantly emailing Ms. Maan while calling up Ms. Carla in order to check the available dates and time. I was half-hearted with the Pavilion then because it’s too pricey for a 100pax event. Luckily, Oasis was building a new wing that time. Yes, I booked Oasis-Orchard base on its 3D images only and my trust to Oasis. And when I went home for my vacation, and saw it in actual, I know I made a right choice in booking the place.

PROS:

•         With their package, my work of scouting other suppliers was cut into half. Something that is helpful for an overseas bride like me who doesn’t have the liberty to meet the suppliers personally.
• With white drapes and hanging crystals, you really don't have to decorate the venue.
•         The AE assigned to me is pro-active, she replies to my queries and emails promptly. And in times that she was on-leave, someone else will reply in behalf of her, making sure that I’m not leave hanging. She was there also on our wedding day, and even came to meet me after our reception.
•        The ballroom is beautiful. AC is cool. Unless you have a “specific theme”, you really don’t have to decorate it anymore because there are lights and white drapes on the ceiling with hanging strings of crystals already.

CONS:

•        The area for the photo booth is in the hallway which is inconvenient because it’s so warm in that area especially if you come out from an AC room. Only few guests notice the photo booth because it was outside.
•        The hallway in-front of the ballroom is narrow. It’s not enough space for a cocktail hour. If I were the architect, I could have provided more space there, instead of the high-ceiling that only the 2^nd floor ballroom can appreciate.

CAKE: Hearts & Bells

From the list of choices, Hearts and Bells is the most recommended by Wawies. So I selected them. I emailed the design peg for the cake design and color to Ms. Maan and she forwarded it to the supplier. I just received a phone call from the supplier a few days before the wedding to confirm the designs and color. It’s a customary in Bangladesh to serve the cake to the guests, and it is considered rude if you will not serve it. For this reason that’s why we decided to have a 40 pieces of assorted flavors cupcake tower and a 6” vanilla flavored satellite cake over the 3-tiered fondant cake where only 1 tier is the real cake, and the rest are Styrofoam. And it’s more practical paying for something that you can actually share and eat than a fake cake, that’s mainly for decoration and pictorial purposes. I wasn’t able to taste all the flavors, but the one that I ate was yummy, I think it’s the carrot walnut cupcake. But from my guests’ feedback, the cupcake is indeed yummy.

PHOTOBOOTH: Pose & Print

Actual lay-out and output, and the Pose & Print guy manning the booth.

The original lay-out that I want is not in their template. I had a tough time communicating what I want to the AE that was assign to me. She was not prompt in replying to my emails that I felt I will not have enough time anymore if I will still insist with my original lay-out in mind. Because I don’t want to stress myself with this small detail, I decided to choose from their template, gave them the quote, the picture and the font design that I want. The package is only for 2 hours with unlimited shots but there were 91 shots in total only. I’m not sure if it is because it’s only for 2 hours or because the location of the photo booth is in the hallway just outside the ballroom. Some guests didn’t know there was a photo booth and maybe because it was warm outside that they don’t want to go back after a few shots in the photo booth. The Oasis provided an industrial fan outside but it’s not enough to cool the place. I noticed they have lesser props and you can’t really choose in that small box on the floor. The location is not their fault but it would have been better if they have newer or more props to choose from and if the props were spread out in a small table like one of the supplier’s during the W@W Christmas party, but again there’s a question about space. For the output, it’s clear and fast but the copy they gave me in CD contains only the actual picture with the lay-out and not with the individual shots which I noticed from other suppliers.

Lights & Sounds: In house L&S LCD & projector

Oasis' actual in-house lights. View from the entrance. Photo by Bryan Yap.

View from the right side. Photo by Bryan Yap.

I’m G.T. or Genuine Ilocana; I didn’t splurge in additional lights and sounds which is another Php 5000 and up. I’ve just use the in-house lights and sounds, and the LCD & Projector provided by Oasis. I know the Lights & Sounds can create different ambience and mood but these are small things that I can and I have to live without. Our wedding reception was still fun, romantic and wonderful even without the mood lights, and other lighting and sound effects. It’s a good thing that our quartet doesn’t require much of the sound system; the basic sound system is good enough for them. And with the ballroom’s ambient lights, I can see all the smiling faces of our guests.

CATERER: Richgold

AE: Jed Ng

I highly recommend RG. I can say that this is a W@W find.

My journey in choosing our caterer was a long way. I want to make sure that the food that we will serve on our wedding day will make us and our guests happy. I went for the known caterers – old, tried and tested, RG was not even in my shortlisted. I’ve been to three food tasting with the known caterers but still couldn’t make up my mind. There is always something missing.  Whenever I attend an event especially in Oasis, it’s always catered by Hizon’s, thus I was half-hearted and having second thoughts in selecting them. I don’t want our event to be just another “Hizon’s Event”. No offense meant there ok. Ms. Maan was telling me to try RG since they are new in the wedding industry but they have been catering to corporate events. But I was scared because I haven’t read any feedback regarding RG until Ms. Benz posted in her wall about them. That’s the only time I decided to try and check RG.

My first AE was Carlo and my first food tasting with them was not a “love at first sight”. It was not successful that I already strike them out from the list. It’s not entirely their fault since it was raining during their FT in an open area. The present state that time messed up the whole experience, and Carlo was so busy that he barely had time to discuss things with me. But maybe, RG is really destined to be our caterer. When I went to Oasis to give another payment, there was a Ft that day and one of them is RG. Ms Maan convinced me to try RG again, and even called Jed Ng, who would be my new AE since carlo left RG already, to assist me. And, good thing I gave them another chance. Better ambience, better environment, better AE and better FT experience, they won my heart that day. Had another 3 food tasting with them because I just want to make sure I’m choosing right. First Ft, it was a one-on-one discussion with Jed at their office and food tasting, I was alone. 2^nd, my sisters and bro-in-law was with me and I have selected our final menu, and 3^rd, was during a wedding exhibit, it was to discuss also the decors with their in-house designer.

Couple's divan and backdrop. Photo by Bryan Yap

VIP Table Basic set up: Spring Theme by RG. Photo by Bryan Yap

Guest's Table Set up. Photo by Bryan Yap

What I liked about RG, aside from the fact that Jed is good-looking and pro-active (did i mention that I had a penchant for suppliers who are good looking or presentable) and the food are delicious, is their basic set-up is already great, you don’t have to shell out again another pesos for an upgraded set up. Their set-up portfolio is awesome that I selected from there. I selected their “Spring Design” as it is the one nearest to what I really want. And it’s a good thing that at the last leg of our preps, they already have a “damask-like pattern backdrop”. I just requested to put violet or lilac fabric behind it since the walls in the Orchard is already white.             

Photo by my brother-in-law.

The food were delicious, obviously it’s all edible. It’s not an “orgasmic food experience” but it’s something that you can be proud of to serve to your guests. I enjoyed the food, and besides I can’t really please everybody, and we have different taste buds too. What is good to me maybe good or not good to others and vice-versa. Like what the saying goes “different strokes to different folks”. Our menu were Nachos with cheesy dip and cheesy crackers for appetizers, Pumpkin soup, green salads with balsamic vinaigrette and/or thousand island dressing, Pasta fettuccine and penne with creamy pesto sauce and/or pomodoro, Medium spiced korean beef stew, pan seared dory fish with white wine mushroom sauce, chicken cacciatore, pork scallopine with tartare sauce, open faced lumpia with deep fried wrapper, steamed rice, bread pudding with nuts and chocolate sauce , and creme brulee, and we had unlimited lemon iced tea.

PROS:

• Jed is very accommodating, he replies to my emails promptly and reminds me also whenever I forget something.
• He gave me us a chocolate fountain for free and a jar of welcome drinks
• Honey loves their blue lemonade
• I loved their Korean beef stew, I heard my guests enjoyed the food too and the open-lumpia was a hit too.
• There were lots of foods. There were lots of left-overs even if I have a total of 85 guests + kids out of the 100pax, and some of them had 2^nd servings too
• The waiters assigned to us at the VIP table were attentive, too much pro-active that it ended up to be a “CON” because they took my platter of desserts when I haven’t eaten them yet nor touch it just because I left the table to greet some guests.
• The waiters served the desserts from Purple Dish’s Dessert Buffet bar to all the guests.

CONS:

• I’m not sure about it but my cousin-in-law who was seated with us at the VIP table said that “not all the food was served to them.
• The waiters are too eager to clean up the table. I just went to see some of my ex-colleagues but when we went back to our table, the desserts platter that they serve us was not there anymore. I just ate a slice of the matcha cheesecake and honey took a bite of the éclair only, while the rest of the desserts on that plate are still un-touch but the waiter took it away already.
• They didn’t pack the left-over foods equally. My instruction to our OTD coordinator was to divide all the left-overs equally into 3 so that we can distribute it to three families. When I asked the waiters if it is divided equally, they told us yes, only to find out later that my family went home with all the pastas and some fish, chicken and beef, while my grandfather went home with all the meats.