A Trip to LUANG PRABANG LAOS

Luang Prabang, Laos Slideshow: Mary’s trip from Chiang Mai, Thailand to 4 cities Chiang Rai, Luang Prabang, Chiang Khong and Huay Xai was created by TripAdvisor. See another Thailand slideshow. Create a free slideshow with music from your travel photos.

Reminiscing my backpacking trip with two of my best girl friends :-)

I will go back here :D with Brian, of course :D

Our DIY Boutonniere

Brian and I are already married for almost five months now. I can't believe how time flies by so fast! Just last year, we were just scouting venues for our wedding and now all I can say is that I've had so much fun with all those wedding preparations. Anyway, I just wanted to share to you guys one of our wedding details that I'm quite proud of: our DIY boutonniere:

Me and my sister worked together to make this. We made a total of 23 boutonnieres - one for Brian, two for the dads, one for Pastor Sonny, one for Janjan (Brian's Best Man), 3 for the groomsmen, another 3 for the secondary sponsors, 3 for the little boys, and the last 9 for our principal sponsors. It took me and my sister months to finish this because we didn't have the luxury of time to work on it in one sitting and the final design wasn't decided upon right away.

The materials we used for this DIY wedding project were stiff Gray and Lavender felt cloths, some dried wheat bundles (in dark violet and light brown), small white and light lavender artificial flowers, thick nylon strands topped with silver beads, ribbons, buttons, floral wire and a music sheet printed on parchment paper. Almost all of the materials we used were purchased from Tabora Market in Divisoria.

Anyway, what I'm really excited about this boutonniere is the parchment paper we used to wrap the base. Since Brian and I are into music, I really wanted some music elements/design to be incorporated into our wedding. I initially thought of including a glitter wire formed into a G-Clef as part of the design but the work involved seemed too much so what I did was to print a music sheet into a parchment paper, cut it up into pieces and used it to wrap the base of the boutonniere. It's so cute!

After making all the boutonnieres we individually mounted them against a glittery black cardboard paper and secured it with pins (which was also used to pin the boutonniere on the guys' lapels). We also personalized it by labeling each with the names of the guys who will be wearing them.

Anyway, I'll try to do a step-by-step tutorial on making this boutonniere soon...I just hope my schedule permits me to!

So what do you guys think? Leave your comments below :-)

Summer Contest Giveway - I WANT TO WIN!

I haven't been posting lately...I've been busy with work at home and in the office...but I promise to update this blog soon...

Anyway...I really want to win this contest by Kikay Si Maria...so I'm blogging and reposting it :-)

I tried to join her contest before but unfortunately I didn't win...so...I want to try it again! And maybe this time around, I'll win :-)

For those of you who want to win some beauty/makeup products from Luview Cosmetics, HBC, Krave, Red Jhelli, Skinsonic, Suesh, Style Qtr, and RK Manila, then visit the link below :D I really hope I win this time around!

Kikay si Maria's Finally Summer Giveaway

Have You Been a Guest-zilla?

I just read the Rebellious Bride's recent blog post about an Ugly Truth about weddings. And it inspired me to write this...

A few years back, I was asked by a friend to be one of her secondary sponsors in her wedding. I was thrilled because it was going to be my first time. I went through the whole process with glee - going to the mananahi to get our measurements for the dress, going for fittings, and rehearsing for the wedding. It was such an exciting experience for me. And when the wedding day came, while we were preparing at home and doing my makeup, my mom told me this, "don't be too pretty! It's Ate Van's day today. She should be the most beautiful woman". Since then, I've kept that thought with me every time I attend weddings. It's not an excuse to under-dress. But it's a mental note not to overdo it because the fact still remains that it's the BRIDE and GROOM's day and not anyone else's. And for the ladies out there who want to hoard the spotlight away from the bride...that's just mean. It's okay to be beautiful and glamorous and all that...but HEY! It's the BRIDE's day...not yours.

But that's just the scratching the surface of the UGLY TRUTH. Brides and grooms have a lot to go through in a wedding. They're excited, nervous and happy at the same time. With lots of things to think about, it is sometimes understandable that they can become monsters on their big day. BUT...when it's the wedding guests who turn into monsters, that's a different story. A wedding is about the bride and the groom. People who attend weddings should understand that.They shouldn't be too demanding or uncaring.


I've had my own little guest-zilla moments in my own wedding. And thank God, I didn't freak out. I kept my calm and smiled at everyone despite the fact that a lot of things didn't really go the way Brian and I wanted them to be. But that doesn't mean that we didn't enjoy our wedding. We really did and that is because we've got our family and some friends who understand what a wedding should really be. And here's one thing that I learned from our experience - and that is weddings are supposed to be the happiest day for a couple and guests (which includes family and friends!) should understand that and give that to them.

Alright. Thank God I got that one out :p