EVERYDAY: Breathtaking Sunset Beach Engagement Shoot

May 10, 2020May 6, 2020 / venicedelacruz / Leave a comment

Stunning Photos featuring the glowing sunset in the background. ❤ We decided to hold our second enagagement shoot in Coron.

Coron, Palawan will always be special in our hearts. ❤ This is where my husband proposed. ❤ and this is the reason behind why we wanted another shoot in this beautiful place.

That orange aura of the sky brings out something else, right? ❤

I’ll be posting some tips on what to wear, what to prepare and what to bring during your engagement shoot this week. ❤

EVERYDAY: Engagement Shoot in the Mountains

May 7, 2020May 6, 2020 / venicedelacruz / Leave a comment

8 months of being engaged, 5 months prior our wedding, we had our engagement shoot. ❤ We never really had a hard time coming up with our vision board for our prenup shoot. We both wanted bright, light and in nature.

A little Background: I initially wanted to hold our wedding reception in Villa Milagros in Rizal and our wedding ceremony in St. Benedict in Cavite which are cities A P A R T. So we had to change altogether. At first, we were thinking of holding our engagement shoot in Villa Milagros but we both really wanted to inject nature, a lot of sun, space and air. ❤

Our Engagement Shoot was held in Treasure Mountain in Tanay Rizal and in Grounds Resort, also in Tanay.

Sharing with you the amazing photos by Timoteo Photo. ❤

Now here’s our second set.

Our Third Set was shot in Grounds Resort. ❤

Thank you for letting me share with you photos from our engagement shoot. ❤ It was so much fun and tiring at the same time. ❤

I will be posting some tips on what to wear, what to prepare and what to bring this week. ❤

EVERYDAY: Bridal Shower (Family)

May 3, 2020April 30, 2020 / venicedelacruz / Leave a comment

This is the only shower that I was completely aware of. 😛 I think hiding and the concept of surprise is not something my Mom considered. 😛 About 40 days before our wedding, my mom kept asking me of my weekend schedule because she wanted to plan my bridal shower. She was that blunt!! Haha.

Unfortunately, one of the unexpected things happened 15 days before my wedding. My Mom got Shingles! Shingles!!To be honest, I was worried for myself. Have I contracted Chickenpox when I was a kid? No. That’s exactly why I was extra cautious! I’ve seen my classmates before who had the illness, even my siblings. Thus, I know how the battle scars can never be removed and I was only days away!!

My Mom was very understanding. She was thinking of the wedding too but the bridal shower was near and we can’t ignore her sudden shingles. I didn’t want to continue this because I know my mom won’t be there and I know that she was the one who planned everything together with my sister. But she really wanted to throw me a send-off dinner.

I’m in my staple wardrobe because obviously, it was no surprise. 😛 It was held in a small function room of Mama Lou’s in BF Paranaque. ❤ The room can hold around 15 – 20 people. They still had a table for my gifts and a table for the props and all.

The guests were a bit older than the usual guests during a bridal shower. Thus, the games that my sister planned were games that can be done on paper and while seated. There were: What’s in your bag? How well do you know the Groom and Bride? Guess who, Bride or Groom? Word Search, Bridal Bingo Card. My Mom and Sister also prepared some prizes. ❤ ❤

I absolutely had the best dinner. ❤ Everything that they served was delicious! and mind you, this is the first ever cheesecake that resonated to me. RESONATED? Hahahaha. My husband is a huge fan of cheesecakes and we would normally order separate cakes but man! The Mango Cheesecake of Mama Lou’s is the bomb!

After several games and our sumptuous dinner, time to unwrap what they prepared for me. ❤

Thank you Tita Grace & Tita Aileen for the Pillows. Thank you Ninang Irma for the set of Utensils. Thank you Ninang Baby for the Dish Rack, Thank you Tita Evelyn for the matching towels. Thank you Tita Karen and Tita Carol for the cash. 😛

Thank you Ate Ives for the All purpose Shelves. Thank you to my sister for the set of glasses. Thank you Rox for the Bowl Server. ❤

A special thank you to my sister who planned the games, prizes, decor and even hosted the whole night. Thank you Ate Ivy for co-hosting. Thank you Rox for helping decorate the place and thank you to my brother who drove me and dropped me off.

Thank you everyone for spending your Saturday Evening with me, for participating in the games and for bringing a little something to help us start our married life. ❤ Thank you. ❤ ❤

EVERYDAY: Bridal Shower (Office)

April 25, 2020April 23, 2020 / venicedelacruz / Leave a comment

Okay, I think by now I can say that my husband is very manipulative and a very good liar. NOT. 😛 I sensed this one! — but mostly because I know my office mates. They are a sucker for showers like this, may it be a bridal shower or a baby shower. Plus, I’ve been there. I have been part of the planning group. So yep, guessed this one alright!

To get you in perspective, you have to know that my Wedding was scheduled last November 24 and the Shower happened the Friday, two weeks prior.

First, my colleagues and I already picked the date for our Christmas Party so to get that out of my hair (buying the gift and all), I told them that we needed to pick our Santa Babies already and I need the wish list pronto! (But all of them were saying to delay it by the said Friday – and they were pretty insistent, if I may say). – so that was Hunch 1. Two, one of my office mates were collecting money. For what? Hunch 2. Three, one of hubby’s office mates asked me to bring him to a condominium for his surprise bachelor’s party. (to the same condominium my office mates were talking about for our Christmas Party!) Hunch 3. And to test the waters a bit, I kept dropping hints that I wanted to go home that Friday because I was feeling a bit beat up due to all the wedding preparations. And the event planner in our group is obviously quite pissed. Hunch 4. HAHA.

Everyone from all sorts of division is here! The night is filled with some dancing, games and a lot of drinking! We started at 8 in the evening so everyone was pretty famished by this time. We ate some good ol’ pasta, chicken, pizza and cake.

First game? No other than the famous Make your own wedding gown using tissue! I know, Sorry Mother Earth for wasting so many tissue. They were supposed to guess which gown I would wear but they both guessed wrong. One of them was off shoulder, and the other, a tube. The team who won was the closest to my neckline.

Mind you, I’m also part of the games. The second and third game was a bit lewd. Teams were divided into two and the two guys will be seating in the chairs with bananas in the middle of their legs and the other group mates will have to finish / eat the banana without using their hands. The other game was the guys will be holding a balloon pump in between their legs and the ladies will have to pump a balloon and pump until the balloon pops. I’m part of the winning team, if you may ask. 😛

Of course, there’s pin the dick with my husband’s face on it. There’s a twist of we will be shouting Hot or Cold. Hot if the player is already near while Cold if the player is moving farther away. But the technique is? If the player is moving towards the right direction, SHOUT COLD! Haha. We were so tired from all the laughing when our eldest colleague ended up pinning the dick in a WHOLE DIFFERENT ROOM. Hahaha.

After 5 games, we were pretty pretty exhausted from all the laughing. We took a bunch of pictures and a second round of dinner. 😛

Let the party begin! Like I said, a whole lot of drinking.

Thanks to alcohol, I discovered I’m pretty good with cups! Hahaha. There were different levels of tossing the cups and I managed fairly better than the rest. ❤ Hahaha.

I’ll be editing videos from this night. It was so fun! I’ll share them with you once I’m done. ❤ Usually, they are uptight but this night, everyone was out of it. Everyone was dancing and hammered. I had so much fun! Thank youuuuu, guys!

Any memorable experiences from your Bridal Shower Party? Share them with me. ❤ I would love to hear them.

EVERYDAY: Bridal Shower (College)

April 22, 2020April 21, 2020 / venicedelacruz / Leave a comment

Another win for my husby this day! ❤ I had no suspicions two weeks prior. I even prepared a gift for his colleague’s birthday! The lie? The hubby pointed out that this particular birthday party will be held at this colleagues unit. (the same building where my friend’s salon was).

The husby forced me to check out the salon and little did I know, my blockmates were waiting for me!

I love this cupcakes! You always see lips, boobs, vagina or penis cupcakes! This is my first time to see a cupcake in action. 😛 Since this is pre-dinner, they also prepared a feast of cold-cuts and cheese!

Look at that spread! ❤ There were moscato, wine and champagnes!

And here it is, the other bride to be! One week apart.

The great part is, it’s my close friend’s salon. It only means, free manicure, pedicure, foot spa and full body massage! ❤ ❤ ❤

Before I drop so many photos of the said afternoon, here are the two grooms. 😀

We ended the night with some unlimited Korean Beef Barbecue. ❤

Thank you, J1 Loves. ❤ I appreciate all your efforts! Thank you too, babe.

EVERYDAY: Bridal Shower (Girl Squad)

April 20, 2020April 20, 2020 / venicedelacruz / Leave a comment

On the day our Second Fitting, My Fiancee had me thinking we were going to pick up our wedding rings after having it resized. Coming from Pasig, we went all the way to Market, Market in BGC.

After which, the fiancee’s Aunt called that they need to be picked up for some dinner. We went to a condo, thinking we are going to pick up his relatives — and, Ta-duh! SURPRISE!

I’m not going to every single detail anymore. When I entered, there were food, decor and everyone who was there in the fitting, was in the party. ❤ much less, additional guests too!

We played a bunch of games.

Our Good Host Bianca prepared several games such as: Whoever finishes a Jumbo Hotdog lasts will moan aloud, the famous paper Wedding Gowns and fitting a condom in a cucumber using your mouth.

And thank you to my friends who prepared a little some-some for me. ❤

I’m really glad we are all coming along together. ❤ Thank you so much!

EVERYDAY: Our Wedding (Reception)

April 17, 2020April 17, 2020 / venicedelacruz / Leave a comment

November 24, 2019, the most magical day of my life. ❤

Okay! Hard part is over! 😛 I don’t really like being the center of attention and all. You might say it’s the same since everyone will still be looking at us the entire time. But, with the other half, the reception — people are more relaxed. Everyone will be dancing, talking to each other, singing and eating their hearts out! So, less judging and critical eyes on us. 😀

Our Reception was held at Aquila Crystal Palace. It’s about 30 – 40 minutes from our Ceremony. We had time to relax and just talk to each other in the car on the way there. Mind you, we were still with our bride & groom assistants.

To give you a preview – here’s what it looked like. ❤

BUT BUT BUT! Before we get to that, let’s go back to the start. Shall we? While we were taking our post-nup pictorial, we prepared welcome snacks and drinks for our guests!

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Our supplier for this Gabrielle’s Appetizer. We prepared 200 mini sandwiches (cucumber & kani, chicken salad, tuna salad, egg & bacon), 150 mini burgers (chicken and beef), 200 crostinis (gorgonzola bacon, goat cheese & fig ham, prosciutto & brie, smoked salmon) and 2 gallons of cucumber lemonade

I’m so happy to be hearing good feedback from our guests! Their favorites? the mini burgers! But before they can eat, they will pass by our Signages!

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I’m proud to say that I designed all the layouts, with the help of my husband, of course. ❤ We decided to maintain the theme of our invitation – White Marble is such a classic and classy design. Aside from the welcome signage, I wanted to add a little extra! – An Infographic of our love story. ❤

While others are eating or taking a photo in our photobooth, we also prepared some games before everything starts!

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I personally created a Word Search Game with Startbucks GC for their prizes! I devised a personalized puzzle with words that have roles or connected to our relationship. For instance – Management Trainee (we were both Management Trainees in a bank. This is how we met) 😀 Everything is so much more special when it is personalized. Do you agree?

Before they officially enter the reception area, I also insisted that I wanted a signage for their Seating Arrangement:

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I’m definitely proud of this! I’m a huge, huge fan of F.R.I.E.N.D.S! I insisted to insert the friends theme in our seating arrangement! The heading is The One Where We got Married (just like how all their titles are worded). ❤ I also named our tables with all the memorable lines / quirks of the series such as Pivot, Big Fat Goalie, How you Doin and etc.

I also asked our host to ask our guests whether they know what theme our seating arrangement is. I prepared a FRIENDS themed prize also, which I bought online (a Friends Door Keychain).

The One thing that will welcome our guests upon entering the place is our Animated Monogram.

At first, I wanted a White Background with Gold font for our names. But our coordinator pointed out that I may not be seen if the background is also white. 😛 So, we decided to switch to Dark Green, still in line with our theme. ❤

Okay! So when we arrived at the scene, it’s time for our make-up retouch and time to fill our stomach with the incredible feast we chose for our guest. ❤ It was really delicious. While we were having our early dinner, there’s another game inside the reception: TRIVIA GAME where we gave out bags of chocolates for every correct answer. Some of the questions were: First movie together, Who said I love you first, Term of Enderament, Favorite Series Marathon food. (Some of the answers to the questions were posted in our Infographic) 😀 Clever. Huh?

Initally, we wanted the Fireworks at the end of the program. But we were also hesitant to schedule it after since it was Sunday and our guests might leave early.

Proven! Guests really do enjoy the fireworks! It also elevates your event! ❤ After the fireworks, guests were asked to return to their seats for the Grand Entrance. 😛

Our Bridal Squad were introduced in the tune of Dura by Daddy Yankee. while our Groom Squad danced to Boneless by Steve Aoki.

As you can see, our male squad is definitely more coordinated with Matt Stefanina dance moves. Hence, they won the challenge of who’s better. 😛

Followed by the entrance of our esteemed entourage, our Prenup / Save the Date Video was shown to all of our guests.

And our Grand Entrance in the tune of Good Life by One Republic, inspired by our Wedding Hashtag of #itsJANNAbeaJUDElife transalated as It’s gonna be a good life.

TIP: Please please be witty enough to think of your own wedding hashtags! One, it’s simply fun. Two, it will encourage your guests to use your hashtag. Three, you’ll have an easier time in collating pictures and videos related to your event if it’s clear that YOU are the only ones using it instead of #JudeandJannaforever or #JudeandJanna2019. Maximize the power of hashtag!

For our Grand Entrance, we decided to use our Indoor Fireworks (which is not shown in the photo) plus this heart shaped confetti free of charge from our Coordinator. ❤

Followed quickly by our entrance, we gave a bit of our opening remarks to our family, friends and loved ones who celebrated with us.

Our first ever dance as a married couple is in the tune of Say you won’t let go by James Arthur. 🙂 This is also the song I was singing to when he proposed. ❤ This song is really special. ❤ Again, there were Indoor Fireworks and confetti as well.

Wedding Traditions followed such as Cake Cutting and Wine Toasting!

Our 3 tier carrot cake is designed with pure white with gold highlights with huge floral appliques. It’s so good! I’m actually sad that we forgot that it was in our ref.

The wine that we toasted is free from our package with Aquila Crystal Palace. If I remember it correctly, it was not hard because I finished it instantly. ❤

My sister, one of the Matrons of Honor started the speech followed by my Brother in law and finally, my Best friend ended the speeches by inviting everyone to offer a toast for our marriage. ❤

After the long speeches, it’s time for the most awaited time of our guests! Dinner time. ❤ The cousins of my groom, Seth and Yohan led the prayer.

While the guests were eating or in line to get their food, some of the music that we chose to be played are the following: The way you look tonight, Collide, The last time, if I ain’t got you, Everything, Perfect and Close to you among others.

Well, you know how this goes already. . . . . before they can even line up to the buffet, they all have to take a picture with us. ❤ Here are some of them.

While eating, another batch of Speeches coming from our Principal Sponsors.

Principal Sponsor speeches! We had to choose one from each of our side. My God mother, sister of my father gave a speech while it was a Family friend from the Groom’s side. After the speeches, a couple of games again — which is the second best game! Minute to Win It – Wedding edition. ❤

So we filmed a one time, one shot games of: Segregate it, Pingpong Ball, Shoot the Ball etc. Each table have to guess who won whether it’s the Bride and the Groom! Everyone turned out to be competitive at this part. ❤

After an interactive game, it’s the Parent Dances!

We decided to dance simultaneously to the tune of You are so Beautiful by Joe Cocker. 😀 I was scaring my dad and reminding him of their speech! 😛 while I think my mother in law is having the best time dancing with his son. ❤

After a bit serious of dances, it’s fuckin time for another game! Another game? We can never miss out on Single’s Game! To get the suspicion out of their minds, our host called them like they are about to receive a prize.

Men are lined up in front – a music is played and whoever dances the right move first gets to seat down! The following music were played – Watch me whip, Soulja Boy, Teach me How to Dougie, Gangnam, Level Up, Stayin Alive, Thriller and Can’t Touch this.

Then whoever doesn’t dance, will remain in front and the ladies will start searching for the safety pin. The lady who doesn’t find a single pin, loses. ❤

The losers of both games, or rather the last man and woman standing wins a Starbucks GC which they can use to go on their ‘date’ – a little matchmaker doesn’t lose its touch on weddings!

It’s my husband’s colleague and one of my closes high school friend! ❤ And after this fun game, our host now calls on both of our parent’s for the wise words.

It’s the Welcome to the Family speech! It’s such a cliche but really overwhelming. It warms your heart, right? I felt really happy to hear it goes both ways. ❤ I have no better way of saying this but it felt really good.

Before the night is over, we prepared some awards to be given to our guests.

Cool Tito Award (right picture) and Fab Tita Award where we award the Best Dressed one – we gave them Wine and a Tefal Pan. ❤ We also awarded Dressed to Kill (Upper Right) for the Best Dressed Millenial and we gave them a 6-pack beers and a Make Up Kit. Lastly, we gave out a Grand Prize (Lower Right) for the best picture and handed them a powerbank.

Then we played our On Site Photo and our Save the Date Video. ❤

Look at our faces!! ❤ Our Photo Team is led by TJ of Timoteo Photo and our SDE was created by Mac by Stories by Supermac! Extremely in awe, hearts bursting with joy and overwhelmed with gratitude and love. ❤