My 1920s Hair

My good friend, Jerry, got married over the weekend, and my college friends, my husband, and I headed to Tagaytay to witness him get hitched.

Other than the significant others, I was the only girl from our college bench!

The dress I planned to wear didn't fit my, er, chest anymore, so I opted for a loose, peach, beaded number. It had a 1920s vibe, so I wanted Downton Abbey-inspired hair. (Season 3 is supposedly set in the 20s.)

My usual el cheapo salon was closed early in the morning, so my hair was courtesy of these Youtube tutorials. The "pinished froduct" was a combination of the two styles demoed.

Hurray for Youtube!

My Top 5 Wedding Pet Peeves

Snarky post alert. This is two days too late. I wanted to post it in June, traditionally wedding month (although it's been edged out by December in the Philippines) but, er, life got in the way. Anyhoo, let me present: my top five wedding pet peeves:

1. People who ask if they can bring a +1, even when the invitation indicates the number of seats allotted. Wedding-goers, please believe me when I say that the bride and groom thought long and hard about their guest list. I'll say what they're probably too polite to say: "There are 300 other people that rank higher on my priority list and that I'd rather invite before that guy you're 'kind of dating.'" (Wedding etiquette dictates that the only time it's OK to ask is if you're married to your +1.)

2. People who skip the church ceremony because they're tamad. Come on. It's the most important part!

3. Drill sergeant wedding coordinators. I don't like being barked at to get in line, or being unceremoniously herded into a venue. I'm all for being efficient, but efficient doesn't mean rude. There's a polite way to do it.

4. People who talk incessantly during mass. And they don't even try to keep their voices down! I know this might be the first time you and your seatmates are seeing each other since high school, but save the chit-chat for the reception. It's a wedding, not a reunion. It's still supposed to be a solemn affair.

5. And my biggest pet peeve of all: girls who wear white to other girls' weddings. Good grief, woman. Out of all the colors to choose from, why would you decide to wear the bride's color on her day? Sure, that form-fitting white dress flatters you in all the right ways, but get over yourself.  Your  name is not Pippa Middleton. It's someone else's color and someone else's day.

And while this isn't really a pet peeve, I can kind of understand why this writer believes that writing your own vows is a bad idea. It's a pretty entertaining read.

Got any wedding pet peeves of your own? Do share!

Our Wedding Album, Finally!

As I've mentioned before, my husband and I weren't a typical bride and groom. We didn't have pre-nup photos taken because 1) it would have just felt like work to me since I'm at shoots all the time, and 2) we couldn't imagine getting all emote-y in front of the camera. We had photos like this at our wedding, for crying out loud.

We didn't book a videographer who would've asked for our firstborn in payment, and instead decided to go for a friend's start-up company. And we didn't book any of the big-name wedding photographers, and instead asked photographer-friends whom I've worked with for years. Some people choose to spend big money on all these, and that's all good. We just chose to spend our money in other ways (good food, because I'm very particular about that, and an open bar). Then again, I am fortunate to have generous, talented friends!

Our photog-friends gave us CDs of photos, and I fully intended to have a wedding album made soon after.

What's that quote about good intentions?

It took me two-and-a-half years to finally get it done. I got a Groupon deal for a Photobook worth P6,000 for just P1,200, and let me tell you, it was totally worth it. I finally got our Photobook today!

 I apologize for the quality of the photos I took of the book--I usually take photos with natural light, but was just so excited that I couldn't wait til morning!

I highly recommend Photobook. The whole process of sorting through hundreds and hundreds of photos, and working on the layout took me about 10 hours in all, but that might be because I'm a bit OC (I work in the magazine industry, so layout is kind of a big deal). I just had to download the Photobook program, upload my photos, and get to work. They actually have a template already--all your photos will be laid out for you. But I wasn't happy with the page formats used, so I manually redid every page (all 100+ of them!).

It didn't come out perfect--I completely forgot to put our names anywhere on the book (haha), and some photos are the wrong size (blame it on my glasses-less existence--I couldn't see the grids properly sometimes)--but I am very pleased with the outcome. Some pages:

The first page: Our rings on our invitation

 My mom played a scene from Mamma Mia! ("Slipping Through My Fingers") during her speech. I cried, as in an ugly cry.

Frame by frame: first kiss as husband and wife

 Scenes from the reception. The only photo of the outdoor cocktail area was taken by Hamil's cousin, cosplay queen Alodia.

 

 One of my favorite spreads: at left, Hamil being carried by the girls; at right, me being carried by my teammates

The next time Groupon has a Photobook deal, I might just purchase it again. I'm thinking of giving Photobooks as Christmas or birthday gifts--although I'll probably make do with the templates, if I can help it!

Wedding Wear

'Tis the season to get married! Attended two weddings yesterday in what is probably my favorite wedding outfit to date (not counting my wedding gown, of course!).

Snakeskin top and pleated black skirt with slit and gold waistband from The Ramp at Crossings, nude platform pumps by Parisian, Aranaz clutch, earrings by WWW, bangles from Forever 21

I was tired of wearing the usual prom-like gowns, so I opted for edgy separates. I looove the slit. This skirt would be more flattering on someone three inches taller though! Har. Didn't think my husband would like it, but he actually said, "Ooh! Snakeskin!" Got another wedding this month in Baguio. Thinking about a formal outfit to wear in cooler climes.

Marry Christmas!

Our Wedding Is Featured in Bridal Book!

As you may have gleaned from the title, our wedding is featured in Bridal Book! It's a local website which features real weddings and which gives loads of ideas for brides-to-be. Click here if you'd like to read about our pang-chick flick love story and see purty photos of the wedding details. And Like us, if you feel so inclined!:)

My Best Friend's Wedding: Fashion Show

Ladies, if you think you have trouble figuring out what to wear to a friend's wedding, just think that you could have bigger fashion problems. Just consider what my friend Surabhi said when we talked about Indian weddings: "It's so hard because you have to think of four different outfits for every wedding!" It's tough work but the result is a visual feast.

With the bride and groom (in matching turquoise), the bride's mom,
and our friend K

For the Sangeet, the outfit required was "traditional." For girls, this meant a sari. For boys, this meant my husband wore this for the first time...

So cute! And he matched the bride and groom! Mads insisted on providing us with outfits. She made me this cute dress, with a very heavy, coral-like neckpiece; she also made pants to go with it, to make the outfit more Indian. Hamil's outfit, fresh from India, came with matching pants, but the fit was a bit awkward so he wore his own. He kind of looked like he was a member of the groom's family...

I would have wanted to wear my gorgeous sari, but Mads said, "No! Save the best for last!" Meanwhile, our other Pinay friends wore their saris, also courtesy of Mads...

K and Pam and their Indian poses on the dance floor. Pam was quite the headturner that night!

She reserved an animal-print fabric for Pam--an edgy fabric that suited this super fashion stylist (and which caught the attention of every table she passed). It was too loose on her, so we spent twenty minutes in her room trying to secure everything so she wouldn't give everyone a free show. I think it pretty much held up during all the dancing we did that night.

For the beach barbecue, we were encouraged to wear "floral." I just wore a black eyelet dress and my famous floral wedges...

You already saw a sampling of the costumes at the Youngsters' Party in my previous post, so let's skip to the actual wedding. I LOVED my sari--and so did K! When Mads asked her to choose a fabric prior to the wedding, K eyed mine. But sweet Mads had already reserved it for me. "It's your color," she told me, gently prodding me to choose the fabric among the multitude that she showed me. (BFFs naturally get first dibs. Haha.)

With my dapper husband

It's a mustard yellow with intricate gold embroidery. The aunties were stopping me and telling me that I looked "very nice." When I mentioned this to Mads, she remarked, "Wow, even the aunties were impressed!"--normally a tough bunch to please!

Luckily, I didn't have to figure out the draping much--all I had to figure out was how to suck in my stomach for several hours. Mads had the sari sewn so that all I had to do was wrap it around once and place it over my shoulder. Sari veterans (like Mads's mom) could artfully drape a plain piece of fabric (albeit one that's six yards long) around their bodies.

A little bit of skin

While I adored my sari, it didn't come close to Mads's and Muks's breathtaking outfits...

Now take all the pinks and blues and yellows and bling, and multiply them by 500, and you'll get an idea of just how dazzling an Indian wedding is--a wonderful reflection of their colorful, beautiful culture.

Photos from Heidi Valencia and Jamie Lihan of Imagine Nation, K, and my own cam

My Best Friend's Wedding: Indian Weddings 101

I love love love Indian weddings! I attended my first one a few years ago and it introduced me to the true definition of the word "spectacle"! While some of my Indian friends are already kind of jaded when it comes to going to weddings, I'm always thrilled to be invited to one.

There are so many events (and prayers in between) leading up to the actual wedding: The Mendhi ceremony is when the bride gets these henna tattoos drawn on her hands, arms, and feet--the letters of the groom's name are hidden in the intricate design. Alas, I missed Mads's as I wasn't in Cebu yet. But during my Indian-themed bachelorette party, Mads served as Mendhi artist, drawing fabulous peacocks on everyone's hands.

(Top) Mads hard at work at my bachelorette party; (above) my glowing best friend at her Mendhi ceremony

On the official day of festivities at Mads and Mukesh's wedding, there was the ring ceremony and the Sagri--a ceremony where the groom's family gets to know the bride, if I understand correctly. These were followed by one of my most favorite events at Indian weddings: the Sangeet.

The grand stage at M&M's Sangeet

The Sangeet is a big program prepared by the bride and groom's family and friends. I really enjoy it because, aside from being very entertaining, it's a manifestation of the family and friends' love for the couple. So much time and effort go into preparing for it; several practice sessions take place so people can perfect a dance, a song number, a skit. I can't imagine Pinoys doing this over and over again--sometimes several times a year when there is one wedding after another!

The bride and groom, part of an audience of about 600 guests, show their appreciation

M&M's Sangeet revolved around "Gossip Auntie," a takeoff from Gossip Girl. Gossip auntie was a fictitious busybody auntie who, through the course of sending tsismis text messages about M&M, effectively told the story of the couple. The messages also served as introductions to the dance numbers.

The finale was a number by the friends, which I choreographed. It was a dance-off between the couple's guy and girl friends. We had around three practice sessions before heading for Cebu, which wasn't easy considering this was during the transition period between my old and new jobs! But anything for my BFF!

(Top) Mads joined the girls, (above) while Muks joined the boys. I called Mahesh (leftmost guy) my star student because he really wanted to master the dance!

After the program, everyone usually gets on the dance floor to shake their groove thang...

The bride struttin' her stuff

And when I say "everyone," I mean everyone--young and old!

Hamil and I LOVED this guy! He was just dancing all. Night. Long. With anyone and everyone!

I love how people are so game to dance, no prodding required. Pinoys are normally shy when it comes to dancing at weddings (I'd like to think our wedding was an exception though!), so Indian weddings are a refreshing change! Everyone's just so ready to party! (The free-flowing alcohol certainly helps...)

The following evening, there was a seaside barbecue, complete with bands and fire dancers.

But this was just a prelude to the night's main event: the Youngsters' Party. If you haven't figured it out by now, Indians are all about partying--and they definitely go all out when it comes to costume parties! M&M's theme was Madonna and Michael Jackson, so you had to come dressed as either one. Just so you have an idea of how seriously they take the whole costume business:

(From top) M&M as M (Michael) and M (Madonna)--Muks wore a scary-ask mask; the bride's (and my) sister was legally blonde; Mahesh, who always has showstopper costumes, with his gorgeous wife Karis (aka Riana)

Mads wore a Preview-worthy dress by Patrick Galang. And I came as A League of Their Own Madonna, first because I didn't want to wear heels for hours as I anticipated a night of dancing, and second because I figured no one else would come in that outfit!

(Left) My costume; (right) my inspiration

The following day was finally wedding day!

Til this day, I don't understand exactly what happens at Indian weddings. During previous weddings, people seated beside me would try to explain what was going on. All I know is that at some point, the bride and groom walk around the fire...

And...the bride changes her name! It totally blew my mind the first time I heard about it. They announce what the bride's new name is going to be (Madhuri is now Rania); the bride also takes on the husband's first name as her middle name, and his last name as her last name. She becomes a whole new person! She gets to choose her name (there are auspicious letters given), so that's kind of fun. Normally, though, it's only the husband's side and her new acquaintances that call her by her new name. To me, she will forever be Madhuri!

Also, the bride is supposed to leave ALL her old stuff at her old home when she moves into her husband's home! Wow. Well...it means new shoes for Mads!

After the wedding, the bride and groom have some sort of closed-door salt ceremony with the groom's family. Then they head to the reception for one more night of partying! But of course.

Photos (except for my bachelorette and Madonna costume) by Jamie Lihan (watermarked) and Heidi Valencia for Imagine Nation

My Best Friend's Wedding: Setting the Scene

As I mentioned in a previous post, my lovely best friend Madhuri recently got married! Mads and Mukesh's wedding was held at the Imperial Palace Waterpark, Resort and Spa. The two wanted a destination wedding, but it had to be a place that was big enough to accommodate the hundreds of guests that were flying in from all over the world. They found this new place in Cebu, and it was pretty awesome!

(Top) A view of the grounds from our building. (Above) The cool slides that Hamil and I were raring to try out!

After finding the perfect place, the couple went about setting the scene. Since their first names both began with M (I say "began" because Mads has since changed her name...more on that in a later post), their main theme was M&M! So cute. They made use of the logo, which they tweaked so that it would have an Indian-inspired print. This logo appeared on practically everything, including bag tags that were given to us at the airport.

We arrived a little early, so we had to wait for our room to be prepared. While we were waiting, we got to see the couple of the hour. I was so excited to see Mads!

Mads in a gorgeous dress that she designed. Me in a sunny yellow romper that I bought for P300 (around $7)! Haha. I had a shawl for the chilly plane ride to Cebu.

After a quick photo op with my BFF, Hamil and I then proceeded to check into our oh-so-pretty room! It reminded me so much of local home store Heima (some of the furniture pieces had similar shapes to stuff in their first collection) and I was so pleased with our girly watermelon color palette! Other rooms were a deep blue, which made them look so masculine; ours seemed nice and sunny and airy!

I had been having trouble sleeping before this trip, but each night in this room, I slept sooo well. Maybe it was mostly because I just felt so relaxed, being away from reality and spending great quality time with my husband!

The couple thoughtfully and generously placed a welcome basket in each room. It had snacks, some drinks, a fan (it was the height of summer, after all), and some other cool stuff.

And of course it had a packet of M&Ms!

The welcome basket also included a tote bag and a brochure which listed resort info and events lined up. The purple album is the wedding invitation.

The thing you have to know about Hindu weddings is that there isn't just one ceremony and one reception like typical Catholic weddings. There are all these prayers, ceremonies, and parties, so the whole thing goes on for days! So after we got settled, I went to the ballroom to practice for the night's event called the sangeet, where family and friends have a big program for the couple.

With fellow Pinays K (aka Karylle) and stylist extraordinaire Pam Q (kind of like the Philippines' Rachel Zoe, although I don't know how she'd feel about that description. Haha), and Mads's other best friend Tash.

There were 10 (count 'em, 10!) dances in all, and Mads asked me to choreograph the finale. My friends K and Pam wanted to join this dance, but they were unable to attend practice. A couple of weeks before the event:

K: I want to dance but I can't go to practice.
M: We shot a video of it!
K: Maybe I could just learn from the video!
M: Yeah, Tisha choreographed.
K: Oh...it might be so complicated then.
M: Trust me, I think she really dumbed it down for us.

Hahaha. I had no doubt that K could catch up, considering she's used to doing last-minute practices for the noon-time shows that she's on! Pam, meanwhile, decided to join the dance that afternoon. Being a fellow CADs (Company of Ateneo Dancers) alumna, she had no problem picking up the steps--or just winging it. In fact, fresh from a plane and plunging into practice, she just listened to me bark orders over the music, like, "OK, then we'll do the same thing but backwards!" and she would get it!

After practice, Pam and I headed to her room where we just hung out and talked for over an hour. We hadn't seen each other in months and it was just so nice catching up. "That's our six-month summary!" she quipped. And then I headed back to my room to get ready for the night's events, and left Pam to figure out how to wear her sari!

More on the wedding in a succeeding post!

Tishie's Travels: My Best Friend's Wedding!

My darling, darling best friend Madhuri got married over the weekend!

Photo by Jamie Lihan for Imagine Nation

Will have a more detailed post about the lovely, fun-filled occasion in Cebu. For now, I just wanted to share how incredibly happy I am for her and her husband Mukesh! (Eep! I can't believe she has a husband!) Mads is one of the people I love the most. She deserves every happiness this world has to offer, and the best man that there is out there. I'm beyond thrilled that she ended up with Muks, who is such a great guy!

Mads has one of the kindest hearts, and she has this amazing talent of making each person feel special. She is smart and generous and she's always making pretty dresses for me! Haha. (Seriously, at events where I'm wearing something she made me, people always ask about my dress!) I think she got so stressed over wedding preparations because, well, aside from it being a logistical nightmare (people flying in from six continents for a destination wedding!), she seemingly couldn't shake the need to take care of every little detail herself. This isn't because she's an absolute control freak! Over the weekend, I realized that she takes on so much because she hates hassling other people. She hates it so much that she'd rather be hassled herself!

With gorgeous Mads at their sangeet

Exquisite as she is on the outside, she is even more dazzling on the inside! All the bling in the world (and at Indian weddings, there is LOTS of bling!) can't compare to her stellar personality! Congrats and best wishes, Madhuri (Rania) and Mukesh! I have a new brother! Yay!:)

What's Blue, Red, Pink, and Silver All Over?

Tito Butch and Tita Meng's 25th wedding anniversary!

Me with the other secondary sponsors. The bride in--what else?--silver!

My dad's brother and his wife celebrated a quarter of a century together with a renewal of vows. I was the veil sponsor (a particularly inept one at that--pinning that thing is tricky when the gown is heavily beaded!), and I was asked to wear a royal blue gown.

With my dashing husband

...while my sister-in-law Rita and my niece Marga (a flower girl) were asked to wear turquoise. As luck would have it, they had matching turquoise gowns! (Other flower girls were asked to wear pink.)

My brother's family walked down the aisle together since Marga wouldn't walk alone. Rita was a bridesmaid, Iggy was a groomsman, and my nephew Diego...well, he was there to support his little sister and hold her hand as she marched down the aisle. Awww.

My SIL and I were given hats and gloves to wear. The feathered gloves didn't quite go with my outfit, but I totally loved the hat.

After the church ceremony, we headed over to White Space for the reception, catered by my fabulous caterer, Kaye Cunanan.

Happy anniversary, Tito Butch and Tita Meng!

Twenty-five years of dancing together