Supplier Hunt

There hasn't been much happening with our wedding preps since August started. Thing is, we're still looking for a caterer and we could not think of any other things to do until we find one. However, reading suppliers updates in W@W from fellow soon-to-weds, we cannot help but start panicking that we haven't booked some major suppliers yet. Thus, we had to divide the tasks: R to look for a caterer + event stylist; M to look for entourage gown designers/makers + florist. In addition to this, we also needed to find a supplier who will print our main invites, a supplier for projector & screen, a bridal car, and a priest.

Task 1: Finding a caterer-slash-event-stylist.

One of the things we probably did wrong in our preps was that we had food tasting with Passion Cooks first. Their foods are heavenly, we could not find any other caterer whose foods tasted better, or at least at par, with Passion Cooks. And for those who have seen their multiply or facebook page, we're pretty sure you would agree that they do an excellent job with event styling as well. If only we weren't working on a budget, we would've booked Passion Cooks right then and there. But we needed to see what's out there first before we decide. R had 3 other food tasting this month, the last one being 2hrs ago, which we're still to discuss once he gets home.

Task 2: Finding an entourage gown designer/maker.

This has been a must ever since our OTD Coordinator, Charisse, reminded us we still have a lot of suppliers to book. Our original budget for entourage gowns is way lower than the starting rate of most gown designers/makers. This holds true for barong tagalog as well, although because most of our entourage have their own barong, this is not much of a problem for us.

M is already set to have the entourage gowns made in Divisoria, the only problem is no one will be able to (and willing to) travel all the way from QC to Divisoria regularly to make sure the gown production runs smoothly.

Two days after R went to the wedding expo at the NBC Tent, M received an email from a designer re his current promo. The starting rate is twice our original budget, however it is already low as compared to most designers so we sent him an email and inquired. It took 2 more weeks before we sent the sketches to him, and we were told the sketches done could be accommodated for the promo. At the rate that he has, the gowns would cost just a little bit above Divisoria-made gowns.

And oh, the gown sketches were made by M's friend, Joey Anin.

Task 3: Finding a florist.

We are not very particular with flowers as long as they are light pink. As a matter of fact, it took us some time to reply to Charisse when she asked us what type of flowers we wanted for the entourage. We only sent her some pegs from google and off she went to Dangwa to inquire for us as well.

We also have a specific budget for the flowers. Its a bit cheap compared to what most people might have allotted, however we're both keen not to spend too much on them. Besides, we won't be getting fresh flowers for the bridal bouquet anyway.

Email inquiries were sent to 6 different florists, and only 3 replied. Their quotes varied, and only one of them has given us a quote within our budget. Flower arrangements and flower types differ as well depending on the designation in the entourage.

Task 4: Finding an invitation supplier.

We're dead set on having a DIY invite to save costs. The only problem was printing them. Ink costs too much for the design we want, and no one would have time to cut the invites to size. So much for a DIY invite!

Anyway, we came across an invitation supplier who, surprisingly, has invites way lower than what we expected. We're not fussy on the design but it has to meet one basic requirement, and they would be able to execute it.

Task 5: Finding a projector&screen supplier and bridal car.

The 2 projector&screen suppliers we emailed has roughly the same price and same inclusions in their package. R however is not sold to the price and has promised to find an alternative one.

For the bridal car, M's initial plan was to use the one from the caterer, or borrow one from a relative or a friend. R had other plans in mind, as he wanted a white vehicle. And to those who could think of why projector&screen + bridal car are both in one "task", you get a special prize! :-)

Task 6: Finding a priest.

We thought we already have a priest. The misalette is already finished, ready to be checked and edited by our priest, only to learn that he won't be available for our wedding date. He is our first choice, being R's uncle, thus it was sad when we learned he won't be here in the country for our wedding date. Thus the hunt for the priest starts again.