Poignant. Priceless. Perfect.

Our team is currently looking for new coordinators. Prior experience in wedding coordination is not needed. In fact, we prefer those who do not have formal experience in event coordination.

We’re looking for pretty (hahaha!) girls who love weddings and handling events, who are team players, who are efficient and organized, who can work under pressure, who do not mind standing for long hours, who can smile in spite of everything, and who can still laugh after a long, difficult, and tiring day. It will be a super plus if you’re available on weekdays.

If you think you fit the above qualifications, shoot me an email at clarice@eventsbyclarice.com.

On Sept 15, 2009, I received an SMS inquiry for a Day Management for October 10, 2009. Super lapit na nun kasi less than one month to go. And although I have decided to accept just one October wedding (since October was supposed to be my rest month, to gear up for the December peak season), I still met up with Kats (ni Harvey), the bride, kasi ang lapit na ng wedding niya and I was pretty sure she was already panicking.

When we met, I learned that she “came” from another coordinator and that she was really OC! As in! When we met, she already made photocopies of all the files, contracts, and receipts for me, put inside a brown envelope printed with my name!!! As in yung brown envelope may monogram nila and may pangalan ko! Printed!!! Nakakaloka! Hahaha! The files contained pictures of all her entourage members, pictures of her principal sponsors, layout of the ceremony and reception venues, pictures of the centerpiece mockups, pictures of the personalized pens for the signing of the Principal Sponsors, etc! Talk about being OC-OC to the highest level! And although I promised myself that I would just get one wedding for October, I ended up doing their wedding.

During the course of the just one month-long preps, I have come to know her more than a bride. We were able to discuss things beyond wedding planning and after one particularly “conversation-ful” meeting, she sent me this SMS (some parts were cut our for brevity’s sake).

Dear Clarice, i hope you don’t feel pressured to meet our expectations i just thought you might be when you asked me this afternoon if i’m ok with how things are going. I understand that ours is a special case i hope you don’t take my peculiarities too seriously and think of me as a walking bundy clock. And i don’t feel that it’s merely an oc behavior. maybe in between the behavior and the disorder. joke. i just want you to know that i am happy. i’m glad that i met you. i mean where else can you find a coordinator / counselor? <SNIP> but you know what if i’m to thank you for just one thing, its not because you agreed to salvage our wedding, its not your delightful curly hair, or your bubliness. i want to thank you for bringing me back to the true essence of a wedding. i got so carried away by all the glitz and glamour that i totally forgot what this is all about. <SNIP> And you know what, with the stories you told me, about your other brides, about your life, about things, i realized i’ve forgotten that i’m doing this because i’m finally marrying God’s gift to me. and that’s what i’m thanking you. for bringing back the “human”ity to your wedding. and because of the principles you were able to impart to me, i’ve finally learned to let go. You know what Clarice, i believe you come on time not because you feel pressured to. Our first meeting proved that. You come on time and do what’s proper because those are your principles and I salute you for that. I don’t really care so much anymore how oct. 10 would turn our to be. I gained friendships. I learned a lesson. I grew up. I realized what a wedding is. I guess that’s more than enough for me. And you taught me that. It doesn’t really matter anymore how our wedding will turn out, I’m thankful enough for the things i’ve learned and what God has given me. As i’ve told you, i feel being a coordinator is one of the hardest professions around and with your brain and credentials, i believe its your love for the craft that enables you to endure the headahces that brides should be the ones undergoing. and that for me is what passion is. <SNIP> from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you. regardless if the wedding is perfect, regular, or zzzzz. knowing you is enough. how you changed my views is priceless. thank you.

Una, yup, this was a text message. Her next message, in fact, was. “Sorry for the long text. Wala ako dsl.”

I was SUPER touched by her message. Except for one time (from Kay ni Arlo), I get thank you’s like this after the wedding. So super ko talaga na-appreciate her message. Made me remember again that coordination is not just planning the wedding per se but getting to know the couple and bring part of their lives. I have brides I have ended up being real friends with. Lunch or dinner pag my time, email-email, text-text. Nakakatuwa to know that the relationship does not end when the wedding is done.

Kats’ wedding is done. It was not glitch-free.  Because of things beyond our control, it was the pinaka-na-late na wedding ceremony ko na ever. But in spite that, I was happy with their ceremony and reception. And Kats and Harvey were very happy. After the wedding, Harvey actually took time out to talk to Bernard (who went to the hotel to pick me up) to thank him. So in spite the stress to the highest levels, I went home real happy, knowing that I have made another friend in Kats.

During a wedding, we try to be in the church 2 hours before the scheduled ceremony time. If the church is one which allows lagare weddings (i.e., sunod-sunod without much time allowance in between), we would normally see the wedding before us.

Last Saturday, we had a wedding in Barasoain Church in Malolos. The ceremony (i.e., processional) was scheduled at 3:40pm.  We arrived around 130pm and learned that there was a 2pm wedding  so we just stayed in the pew nearest to the church doors and observed the other wedding’s preps.

When I saw the groom, I noticed that his boutonniere was pinned on his breast pocket! Syempre hindi ko napigilan ung sarili ko and I went up to him. I introduced myself then I unpinned the boutonniere from the pocket and pinned it on his coat’s lapel.

Around 210pm, the lineup has not been started yet. Wala kasing coordinator. Late naman yung coordinator ng church. Natatakot na kami kasi we knew kami ang maiipit. Eksakto, the church coordinator arrived. I went up to him and offered him help. He declined. We could hear the entourage asking themselves what was going to happen. Nakarinig pa ako ng isang ninang na nagsabi, “Aayusin nila yan.”

The coordinator then started the lineup. Sigaw siya, “Best Man, Groom, Magulang ng Groom, pila na dito.” Then “Mga ninong at ninang, pila na.” And, in our horror, nagpuntahan lang sa carpet yung mga ninong at ninang, not knowing what to do, and kung sino yung katabi nila, yun na!

The next 10 minutes went by so fast, parang military operation kasi ready lahat…  I asked for a copy of the invitation from an entourage member and proceeded to line them up, according to the invitation. After that, I ran to the start of the line and saw Au guiding the Principal Sponsors. I asked her to conduct the processional (church policy says the processional should be quick, the people marching should just be 4 pews apart so ang bilis bilis talaga!).  I instructed Jane to go to the bridal car to assist the bride in going down. Syempre ang Jane tinanong pa ako, “Ms. Clarice, hihintayin ko ba yung photographer o ibaba na yung bride?” Hahaha! Hindi na namin bride, concern pa rin namin ang pictures! So I ran to the front of the line again and asked the photog. Hindi naman daw siya magpapadala ng rep sa bridal car. By the time I got back to Jane, natapos niya nang ma-brief yung parents sa closed-door entrance. Lucre and Michael were in charge of the doors. Jane assisted the bride in going down and we laid out her train. When the bride’s parents were already in their place, halfway down the aisle, the music changed and Lucre and Michael slowly opened the doors.

We had a perfect bridal entrance!!!

I love how imaginative and resourceful and helpful suppliers are.

During our wedding last Saturday, Jane (from our team) needed to prepare the bride’s preps dress. The bridal gown was from Veluz but the preps gown was from Cecilio Abad. Mejo nalukot yung preps gown sa byahe so we needed to have it pressed. And since the gown was not from Veluz, it was not the job of her team members to press the gown. So syempre sa amin ang bagsak ng trabaho. (Promise, my team members are all experts when it comes to steam pressing gowns! Not that it’s actually part of our job pero syempre when push comes to shove, we do it. And hindi lang steam pressing… altering, cutting, hemming, etc. Hahaha! Kaya we love suppliers like Veluz and Cecilio kasi we know we can count on them to help. Usually kasi kami-kami lang eh.)

And although alam namin na hindi nila trabaho, Jane still asked Ms. Lempot of Veluz’s team for her opinion (and help! Hihihi!) kasi natatakot kami since chiffon. (We love her team eh! They are always so helpful!). As expected hindi nga pwede ordinary plantsa. So Jane asked the hotel’s housekeeping department for a steamer. Syempre wala. Jane told Ms. Lempot that there’s an electric kettle available.  She was thinking na magpapakulo na ng tubig. Desperate times call for desperate measures! Hahaha! At first, baka hindi daw kaya but when Ms. Lempot saw na maliit lang pala yung kettle, ay go na! The result, a bride in a well-pressed preps gown!

So there! Our team learned a very handy way of steaming gowns that day! Kudos to Ms. Lempot and to Jane! Ang init nung kettle ha!

Picture of Escie from Redefine Weddings.

Every time a couple avails of the Full package, it is my job to have a good grasp of their personality and the approach that they want. Personally, I love details, I love great lighting, I love having cocktails for the guests, I love standards, I love Martha Stewartish centerpieces… But then again it’s not my wedding. So my primary job is to make sure that we have the wedding that the couple wants.

Rhea was a typical bride. She had pegs and a more-or-less definite idea of how she wanted her wedding to be. Christian was a typical groom. He was quite involved with the wedding preps and would join the meetings but would just zone out when he does not enjoy the topic (like flowers, makeup, etc).

When Rhea and I were first discussing styling, she said she wanted Martha Stewartish centerpieces (kakatawa kasi Christian had no idea who Martha Stewart was). She wanted a formal ambience and I remember that she didn’t want to prioritize lighting.  We threw around ideas and agreed on the florists we would set appointments with. At one point Balay Kandila came up. She said she was familiar with them but the wedding styling they did that she has seen in the web is not just for her. Everytime we would discuss centerpieces, Christian would just not pay attention.

So we started meeting florists/stylists. Every time we would meet with florists, Christian would zone out. He would read a newspaper or a magazine. After meeting a couple of stylists, Rhea has more or less decided who to get but for just an additional option, we agreed to meet with Ronald of Balay. Ako naman, as excited as I was to see how her wedding would turn out with the florist that she chose, it’s always good to have more options.

So okay na. Since they’re both busy, we normally clump meetings together. I set the meeting/”demo” with the emcee and with Balay in one day so we can save time. We went to see Melissa Litao in Oasis Manila. Rhea, Christian, and I were already there and so was Melissa when Melissa learned that the coordinator for her wedding that day gave her the incorrect venue! Juice ko! Bottomline, she had to leave. So walang nangyari sa amin nila Rhe and Tian. I proposed that we go to a coffee shop to discuss and to wait for Ronald (our meeting with him was still 3hours away). On the way to the coffee shop, I called Ronald and learned that he was having problems with a setup. He wanted to cancel but I told him I couldn’t afford not to meet with him (kasi naman super hirap to arrange the schedule of the couple so sayang talaga yung araw na masasayang). Ninenerbyos na ako kasi baka walang mangyari sa araw namin. Mahihiya ako!

So off to the coffee shop we went. I discussed the status of the preps again with the couple while we were waiting for Ronald. When he arrived and started talking to the couple, lo and behold, Christian actually joined the conversation! He gave his inputs and then he discussed how he visualized the wedding reception to be. He even had a special church entrance planned for the bride! He wanted smoke and haze (lots of it) and a spotlight behind Rhea so when the doors are opened and Rhea comes in, the effect would be ethereal. For the reception, he wanted his own DJ booth, a very cozy backdrop, and lighted dance floor!

Ay sobra ako nagulat! Even Rhea was surprised! Christian, all the while, also had a definite idea of how he wanted his wedding to be. We ended up going with what Christian wanted (minsan lang mag-assert eh, pagbibigyan mo, kasal din naman niya! ) Rhea still got what she wanted. We had floral and lamp centerpieces and we just made sure all the stationery matched (invite, missal, table cards, place cards). But it was a party!! Christian got his party!

It was a wonderful beginning of their happy-ever-after.

All pictures taken by Pat Dy.

I “died” last week.. well, that was because of the amount of work. And then I resurrected again this week. Hahaha!

I badly want a vacation!!! I haven’t had a real one since I got pregnant. I was planning one for August-September but my husband couldn’t afford to take a week-long (or longer) leave from work so wala nangyari.  Isip ko HongKong  pinakamabilis but I am reserving that for when Jia can already appreciate Disneyland. I realized how much I want a vacation when I received a message from a bride this morning. Sabi niya natanggap na daw niya yung invitations that I sent through DHL yesterday. Astig nga daw kasi ang bilis. Upon reading the message, reaction ko, “Ang galing! Ang bilis! So kung sumama pala ako sa invitations, nasa Singapore na rin ako ngayon.” Then pity sigh!

Then I realized how pathetic that sounded. Hahahaha!!!

Oh well, pasimula na peak season so weddings muna. Net year na lang uli planning.

Jia, my baby daughter, has a Minnie Mouse stuffed toy given to her by one of my brides. Minnie is stationed in Jia’s playard and Jia would hug it everytime Yaya would put her there.

A while ago, Yaya out Jia inside her playard and Jia immediately proceeded to get Minnie and to hug her. I then overheard Yaya, who is trained to talk to Jia all the time to encourage Jia’s language development, say, “Wow, love talaga ni Jia si Minnie… hug ni Jia si Minnie… Minnie splendored thing.”

Di ba panalo? May last na pala si Minnie bukod sa “Mouse”!

Normally, I am not able to fully listen to the homily of the priest during a wedding. We’d be so busy preparing for the nuptial rites and the offertory that we’re not able to focus on the homily.

I was blog hopping when I read a reader’s comment in Jason Magbanua’s site that a particular priest’s homily moved her to tears and gave her goosebumps. This was for Renren and Margaux’s wedding. I remember super liking Father Ed Africa, the priest who officiated their wedding. He was so easy to coordinate with over the phone and was so pleasant in person. So I watched the video again. And what he said rang so true:

Let me remind you today. You’re not gonna promise to each other that you will not disappoint one another. You will. At some point you will. What is important is you don’t go away, you don’t escape, you don’t leave one another because you were disappointed. That is the meaning of fidelity.

Super totoo.

Margaux and Renren from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

*On a different aspect of the video altogether, I love the lighting during Renren and Margaux’s first dance. Ganda no? Galing!*

I was on voice chat with Escie ni Rudy several days ago when our talk drifted to my own wedding cake. She asked how it looked like and I ended up sharing my online wedding album. After our meeting, I looked through my album again and remembered how much I enjoyed wedding preps. Of course, the next step was to read through some of my earlier posts in my wedding preps blog. It brought me back to the time I was so high with the wedding preps. Made me vividly remember how it was to be a bride — the giddiness, the over-the-top excitement, the stress!!! Promise, it’s not an exaggeration to say that I was a super hands-on bride. Midway through the preps, I actually resigned from all my jobs (I think I had 6 part-time jobs then) to concentrate on wedding planning.

I was not a crafty person but I reveled in DIYing so many details for the wedding. I did our invitations, the place cards, the candle favors, the easels and the frames for the photo gallery, the missals, etc. I also went out of my way to acquire items for the wedding. I went to Boracay to have a cord made of “beach” stones and to get Boracay sand which Karla Magbanua, our cakemaker, requested for the wedding cake. I learned the ins-and-outs of Divisoria and Ils-de-Tuls (aka, ilalim ng tulay sa Quiapo) when I was sourcing materials for my gel candle favors. And most important for me I think, I learned to get out of my comfort zone to do things I normally wouldn’t do.

My life has now changed. I’m no longer a bride nor can I consider myself a newlywed (for 3 years after the wedding, high na high na high pa rin ako sa wedding ko… and everytime someone would ask, I would actually say that I was still a newlywed until someone would point out na hindi na. Hahaha!). But backreading my blog made me realize how bride-ly I am up to now. And how much importance I still give my wedding and the weddings I do.

The other day, I met with a bride for the usual obligation-free consultation. She was with her husband-to-be, and her sister-in-law who got married just a year ago. I was surprised that her SIL’s first question was if I was already married. Coming from her own wedding, she said she believes that it is important for a coordinator to know how it feels to be a bride. I told her I also feel the same way. At least for me, it helps to know how much brides think of, dream of, and breathe (LOL!) weddings. And even after doing over 150 weddings, I still feel giddy every time I see a bride and a groom kiss and I silently pray that their wedding be the start of their happy-ever-after.