Beautiful Pran Havana at Prachinburi

Pran Havana Vacation June 2004

A friend of mine mentioned this place to me. A boutique hotel hidden in Pran Buri. I hired a van which took us on a 2-hour drive going there. The place is very dainty but clean. Lots of insects at night but they provided us with mosquito nets anyway. Joey was so funny because he is also afraid of insects with wings. So, when a cockroach flied into the room, we both ran. But he still managed to kill it because I won't hehehe.

We pigged out everyday because the food was so delicious. I think we had 3-4 courses per meal. They cook whatever you want them to prepare for you.

We tried going to the beach but there were dogs always barking at us. Feeling like prisoners inside, we were able to finish doing our budgets, guests list and few details of the wedding proposal. In a few days, we will be off to Manila for the pamanhikan...

Joey's Second Bangkok Visit

June was indeed a happy month for me. After seeing each other last January 2004, we scheduled June as Joey's visit here in Bangkok. And the visit was crucial since we will officially start our wedding preparations which has to start right with THE PAMANHIKAN. Plus, this will be the first time everybody important in my life will meet him -- my relatives, the Community, my Saatchi friends, not to mention the reunion with our highschool batchmates!

Joey arrived June 17, 1030 pm via Thai Airways. I was so harrassed that day going in and out of meetings but I managed to go the airport an hour before. I waited for him at Terminal 2 with so much anticipation. I had my XDA on camera mode ready to snap his photo as soon as I see him. Hmmmn, but almost an hour has passed and still no Joey in sight. So I decided to go to Terminal 1. Ha ha ha! He was there, looking intently for me from the crowd. I saw his anxious eyes hoping to see my face he has missed for so many months! I ran towards him, kissed and hugged him tight and everything was alright. And boy, did he look great! He lost a lot of weight and he looked more handsome than ever... sigh.

Joey stayed with me in Bangkok until June 24. We have to be in Manila from June 25 - July 2. Then back to Bangkok again for sone last minute shopping then he has to go back July 4 to LA. We had fun in Bangkok despite my hectic schedule. Projects are coming in here and there and I have new staff joining. So I was caught in between of juggling my work and Joey. But, Joey, angel as he is, helped me managed everything. He even helped me with some of my projects -- typing and doing some research.

The fun part was that he was able to meet my Thai colleagues again who joined the welcome dinner with him at Bar B.Q. ICHIBANG, a Korean BBQ and grill restaurant at Lang Suan. We had nice dinner with Ben, Hui, Palm, Lynne, Jaja, Kij and Khun Viraj. After dinner, we went to this ice cream place to chat some more.

We parted ways nearly midnight while Joey and I ran to EGV Cinema at Big C Central World Plaza to catch the last full show of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Pamanhikan - the asking of the girl's parents' permission to wed the affianced pair.The 'blueprint' of the wedding plans are drawn or made known on this occasion. The pamanhikan is often hosted by the bride's family where the groom and his parents set to visit the bride's family to formally ask her hand in marriage and discuss plans for the upcomming wedding over lunch or dinner. This can be a real uneasy situation if it's the first time for both sets of parents to meet. The groom- and bride-to-be may feel a little awkward (nervous even) seeing and listening to each parents consult each other face-to-face on matters like their wedding budget, guest list and the likes. Why bother with all the trouble? Filipinos seek their folk's blessings for a happy and hassle-free marriage. Afterall, pamanhikan is a treasured Filipino heritage which, first and foremost, avoids an awkward situation having the parents see each other as strangers come wedding day.

The Wedding Proposal

Finally I was able to do the first few slides of our wedding proposal. This is very important for me and Joey since this will set the direction on our wedding plans. Just like any other big event, it should start with a proposal. A proposal is good when people get the full idea and the total picture in one passing. And I guess our wedding proposal should be that way! Strategic, creative and paints the picture.

I have a simple outline for this.

The title page
I was able to craft a very witty title which applies to me and Joey very well. It goes...

Jane & Joey: Our New Chapter, 20 Years After
2005 Wedding Plans

I am sure everyone will ask "Why 20 years?" So, the next slide will be a glimpse on how it all started 20 years ago and how it will be sealed with a beautiful wedding after 20 years to begin or continue our new chapter as a couple.

Oh, how I love it!

1st Part
Here, since we will be presenting to our families, I devoted a few slides to let them know Joey and me (for the family of Joey.)

Title goes: Let's Meet Joey
Who is he?

Then next slide shows a brief biography of Joey with pictures.
Then after this slide are his pictures when we were still in elementary and highschool.
Then Joey at present.

A few slides will de devoted for me, too (for the sake of Joey's family)in the same flow as Joey's.

2nd Part: ThemeThis part will be strongly supported by picture references

3rd Part: The Plans
Here I will put the wedding date, venues, entourage list, principal sponsor list, references for the gown, etc. This will be the longest part as the wedding details will be discussed here.

4th Part: The Suppliers
List of all suppliers we will use plus sample of their works.

5th Part: Your Part in Our Wedding
Here I will put the responsibilities we need to assign to our families and relatives. We want them to be part of the preparations, too. And this will be the portion where they can make suggestions on how else to make the celebration meaningful and joyful.

I was able to finish only up to Joey's part. I have to put a lot of effects per page. That is why it took such a long time. But I was very satisfied with the results.

I can't wait to finish this proposal. Joey will be here on Thursday and it has to be ready by that time.

Then, we will show this powerpoint presentation to my family and his family as represented by Noel, his brother, in the afternoon of June 27. It will be a big family gathering from my side since everyone is just so excited to meet Joey. There will be lots of food (yum!) and it will go on until dinner time. Yipee I'm so excited!


On a separate note, we were able to chat with some highschool batchmates today -- Jun, Trupel, Kai then me and Joey. We had fun laughing our hearts out with Trupel who is a declared gay. He revealed that he had a crush with Joey when we were still in school and he was really funny. Joey rode with the flow of conversation and he was very game, too, and it made the chat livelier. Hope to chat with them again.

Joey and I are both excited on the upcoming wedding. It's a year and half of preparation left and soon, panic time will come. But, first things first. This coming June 21, 22 and 23, we look forward to spending quality time at the heavenly Pran Havana at Pranburi. I need the break after so many months of hard work and being away from Joey. And I want Joey to relax, too. I can't wait to get on that place and spend the rest of the 3 days just with my Joey. I'm sure, we will do nothing but stare in the beach and be lazy all day long. For once, we will not think of work...

My First Bridal Gown Trial

1st Bridal Gown Trial @ Queen Sirikit Wedding Fair 


It is not yet my dream gown but it was significant because it was my first time to try on a BRIDAL GOWN! We'll, it's not everyday that I get the chance to prepare a wedding, right? Pia and I went to see the Bridal Fair at Queen Sirikit last May 30. Being stuck here in Bangkok with no real source of good wedding ideas, we tried out that one hoping we will get some samples, ideas, just like the way they do it Manila.

It was a disappointment because most of the suppliers are for photography and bridal gowns which are mostly for rent. Thais do not have the concept of buying bridal gowns. So, Pia and I tried on a few gowns just for the heck of it and of course to see if we will look great on them. I tried on this particular one because I like the mandarin collar. With my fusion theme, this is the collar i want exactly but sexier with a haltered cut to reveal my nice shoulders and make it really low at the back. The cloth materials are fabulous and they do the embroideries really well. The best part is that it is very affordable. So, the bride-to-be's got possessed and started collecting their business cards so we can call them in the future.

One thing I discovered that I really like is the Wedding Book. This photographer from Sa-Guan Foto studio has the style I like. She take candid, dynamic shots of the entire event and compose a carefully and beautifully art directed page by page wedding book! It is much much better than a photo album. She gave us a packaged cost of 35,000 Baht. It costs 500 Baht per page if I will just provide her the pictures in CD format. I really want to have something like that. I have to check if it fits our budget, though (as I do not want us to overspend).

Hopefully, when Joey and I go to Manila this June, we can be able to attend a bridal fair. I think Manila is still the best when it comes to dream weddings!

Jane and Joey 

The wedding coordinator is finally planning her own

I am not really an official wedding coordinator, but I consider myself one since I have planned and coordinated so many weddings in my life. Being a creative, OC and super organized person that I am, all the nitty gritty that go with it is never a task but a fun and easy activity that adds color to my everyday living. Nothing can pump more blood easily to my system than a squirt of creative juices coming from racking my brains on ways to make an event a memorable one.

But then suddenly, the time finally came when heaven dropped me this chance to become the bride-to-be. The very thought of it sends a glow to my wholebeing and lifts me up some steps higher above the ground.

Joey proposed to me January 1, 2004 at the romantic Vertigo Restaurant located on the rooftop of Banyan Tree Hotel in Bangkok. It was a perfect evening for us starting the year together. I will post a separate side-story on how we were before and met again after 18 years.

Finally, I am getting married! Well, I am 34 years old. I think it should be high time. Thus, the OC spirit in me was stirred more vehemently beyond my expectations. All the excitement seemed to have numbed my "creative" braincells. Suddenly, I cannot think of anything creative for my wedding!

And so it is true with what they say that it is different when you are already planning your own. This is the very reason why I want to start the preparation for more than a year before D-Day. I want to make sure I can find the perfect theme, do the perfect plan, and most of all is to do it in a relaxing manner. Plus, the above-my-head-workload will definitely affect my time. So, planning early is the best option I can take.

After months of being lost without a theme, heaven took pity on me that lo and behold! I got the main ideas and strategies figured out already. I finally decided to have FuSiOn as our theme with various shades of green as the motiff. My Joey agreed already and I am looking forward to his inputs on these ideas.

Why Fusion? Joey and I are very different from each other. Imagine mixing the joker and the serious type, the artist and the IT, the talkative and the quiet person! And yet in some strange way, Joey and I are compatible in areas that touch the deeper part of us. Love does move in mysterious ways. It is like the meeting of the east and west. The mixing of the black and the white. We are the yin and the yang. I am beauty and he is the beast he he he.

How far have I gone with my preparations?

I gathered as much information I need to prepare my ultimate Wedding Day proposal. Yes, I am doing a proposal for our wedding to present to Joey just like any other big event (but this time Joey is my client he he he). It will be compelete with theme, picture references, details, the works! And, we will use it for the pamanhikan so it is easier to present everyone our plan. Oh my, I'm super excited!

Joey and I are following a timeline, though we are not too strict about it (hmm...I guess I should impose strict following of the timeline for the months to come). We have started our savings together. And we have our guest list already (though I still need to check it). Plus, we have the date finalized and where to go for our honeymoon (Joey did this ahead of everything).

The wedding is still a long way to go -- December 27, 2005, and yet we are preparing early. In fact, it's mid-2004 now and yet I have not really sat down to type the proposal, the guest list and the budgets. Plus, joey is due to visit me on the 17th of this month! Yaiiks, I must be out of mind. Well, got to go to finalize the guest list!