Adventure of a Lifetime: Gabriel and Lorma (Preparations)

When Gabriel first mentioned marriage to me, we were hundreds of kilometers away from each other and we were just six months into the relationship.

At first, I thought he was just toying with the idea. But he was dead serious. Three months later, we began our preparations.

Ceremony and Reception Venues

We first considered San Juan, La Union as our venue. Gabriel visited various churches and reception venues, but none felt right. We decided to have the wedding in Baguio instead since weather is nicer and there were more hotel options for guests. By January 2018, we already had our ceremony and reception venues booked: St. Ignatius of Loyola in PMA and 19th T of The Forest Lodge at Camp John Hay.

Early Wedding Gifts

Among the first people to hear about our wedding plans were my friends abroad. When I visited the Bay Area in California in June 2018, my friend Lalaine, gave we a valuable gift that helped throughout our planning:

When Lalaine and I visited Jasmine in LA, they surprised me with gown fitting at Panache Bridal Salon in Pasadena. I tried at least 5 gowns. The one I liked the most was a Rosa Clara gown. I almost bought it.

Before I left the US, I also ordered my first item for the wedding: a personalized table napkin.

Wedding Suppliers

Next is selecting the couturier for my bridal gown and bridal entourage. I decided to go with Debbie Co since one of my friends had her before and I was a bridesmaid. We chose mauve as color motif for the entourage.

We got our wedding coordinator and event stylist and florist next. Thanks to my Maid-of-Honor, Lizbeth, we were able to book the best in Baguio – Ms. Liz Soliva and Thirty One Events. We decided on a rustic theme to go with the design at Forest Lodge.

Upon our coordinator’s recommendation, we got Reinforcement for lights and sounds, Krizia Guevara and Dapper Groom for hair and makeup, Glyco Sweetshop for our cake, Jaime Yaneza as event host, Music of the Heart for music and entertainment, Happy Bunny for photobooth and Robin Tan for our bridal car.