. Brass Munkeys play 50-60s Jive, Swing music--the big band sound. It was fun having them at the reception. Showmanship was awesome. For some of our guests, it was the first time they saw that kind of entertainment--another plus! Regarding the church requirements, I had to go home twice to fulfill the necessary requirements. There was no way around it unfortunately. 
In lieu of the Discovery Weekend, Mike and I had the 1 day CEFA 
Vannie, Gracie, Nette, Marj, Kristine, Ydah, Benz, Joanne, Joy, Mel, Faye, Aggie, Mik, Mec, Bless and Sheryl...!
Thank you so much for your messages! Sorry for the delayed response, playing catch up with my e-mails and trying to update our journal. 
Thank you ladies for all your well wishes! Really appreciate it!
Finally...wedding pictures!
Enjoy!
http://mike-pebbles.fotogra.ph/ - professional photo gallery
http://community.webshots.com/user/santosgarciawedding - my vain attempt ...
* All pictures taken by our back-up wedding photographers, Karmina Abesamis and Karl De Leon. Great jobs guys! 
We're down to the wire, folks! Only 14 more days until the big day!
We're checking off the last few items on our wedding checklist -- a bitter sweet feeling really. I'm running out of things to do and I'm starting to miss the wedding preps...and I'm not even married yet! 
A few more accomplisments this week (well..mostly Mike's):
Mike finally ordered his wedding ring! He got Tiffany & Co.'s Lucida™ Wedding Band, 4.5-millimeter width in Platinum. I love it! Husband-to-be has taste! 
I'd like to thank Maiko Ramirez again (a fellow Rita Neri bride and w@wie) for helping Mike with the purchase of his wedding ring. Maiko has helped us a great deal in securing our wedding rings. She sourced out Tiffany stores when the wedding ring I wanted was on back order and made sure it shipped overnight as soon as it was available. When Mike was shopping around for his wedding band at Tiffany's website, Maiko (who works at Tiffany & Co.'s E-Commerce Dept.) patiently answered Mike's questions about the ring designs, resizing and shipping. When Mike finally ordered his wedding ring last Friday, everything was coursed through Maiko. The ring was shipped out the same day and will be delivered to me first thing Monday morning. How's that for service! Maiko, I have come to know a handful of wonderful, genuine and caring people at w@w and you are definitely one of them. Mike and I are truly indebted to you...we hope to repay your kindness one day. From the bottom of our hearts....thank you!
We have a live band for the reception, folks! Mike went to Gateway Mall last night to meet Lakshmi Ramirez of the Brass Munkeys AND watch them perform. I asked Mike what he thought of the band after they performed, to which he replied, "Earl, I, Raymund and Eric were blown away..." I guess he was so "blown away" that he signed the contract with the Brass Munkeys and paid the 50% down payment in cash that same night. So there we go...Live Entertainment.....CHECK!
Mike submitted my wedding banns (he already submitted his weeks ago) and our CEFAM Certificate to Bernadette of SSA AND paid the church fee balance. All document requirements and fees have been met and paid! We're all set for SSA!
Now for my own little vict'ries this week.... I finally got my U.S. Passport! Yaayyy! Have passport, will travel!
I received our Table Names from Harriet Rose last Thursday! As expected, they were gorgeous! AND..AND...our Table Names are now featured on Harriet's website! Check this out! Ours is the "I Love You" in 30 different languages in Burgundy Spencerian w/ Gold Accents." (More pictures of our Table Names: Pic 2, Pic 3.)
Feels like early Christmas! I bought gifts for the male members of our entourage, the principal sponsors, Mike's Mom and Dad. I can't post pictures of the men's gifts just yet. Ditto for the ladies' gifts. I think some of them read this journal and I definitely don't want to ruin the surprise. I did, however, take a picture of Tito Pat's (Mike's Dad's) gift since I had it gift wrapped. I got him something from Red Envelope. It came in this nice red box with a big white ribbon. Really attractive packaging! All of the lady entos' gifts also came from Red Envelope. Love that store! So many great gift ideas!
Rachel, my ever so loving and sweet cousin and Maid of Honor, left for Manila this morning. Before she left though, she mailed me a note and made sure that I read it only when she's on the plane and on her way to Manila for the wedding. I got teary eyed when I opened it. It had this heart tugging note and a drawing of what I think is me with a tiara and a veil on my wedding day. I tell you folks, if there is such a thing as a perfect Maid of Honor (Yes, I will say it again), she would be IT! She's been my support system (other than Mike, of course) throughout this wedding preparation and has made this crazy ordeal fun, fun, fun -- not only did she organize my Hawaiian bridal shower, NOW she's coordinating our entourages' night out AND my bachelorette party in Manila. I'm sure when speech time comes at the wedding reception, I will be bawling my eyes out thanking Rachel for her undying love and support for Mike and I... Rachel, if you read this...Y-O-U A-R-E T-H-E B-E-S-T C-O-U-S-I-N E-V-E-RRRR!! LOVE YAH!
I guess that's it for now... I have to finish packing... Hope to blog again before I leave for my wedding... Stay tuned!
I got another pleasant surprise last Friday!
Grace Guevarra-Giagnocavo, a fellow w@wie who I chat with on AOL almost everyday, sent me a wedding gift from Crate & Barrel! Woohooo!
Grace got us 2 sets of Crate & Barrel's 5-part Server with Tray on our bridal registry. Grace, I am overwhelmed with your generosity! Thank you so, so much! I love your gift!
'Wish you and Patrick could join Mike and I on our wedding day. Sayang. Anywho, I will definitely use the 5-part servers when Mike and I throw our first "Mr. & Mrs. Garcia" party. hehehe
*HUGS*
Mike and I have been tackling our wedding preparations at break-neck speed but I've been very, very slow in blogging about it.
Here are the things we've accomplished so far during the past week:
Here are the things that we still need to do or are working on:
That's all I can think of for now...I'm sure I forgot to mention a million other things...
OUR TABLE NAME CARDS ARE DOONNEEEE....AND THEY'RE BEAUTIFUULLLL!!!
Harriet Rose, a New York based artist who's doing the cards, sent me an e-mail today which read:
"just to give you a sneak preview...although you can't really see the shiny gold accents on the scan. I sent these to my webguy to add to Table Names page on [my] website."
Woohooooo!
Here's a sneak peek of how our Table Name Cards will look like. I'll post pictures when I get all of them next week.
Harriet's work has been featured in several bridal magazines such as Brides, Modern Bride, and Martha Stewart Weddings to name a few. To read more about her and her work, visit http://www.rosecalligraphy.com
Mike and I got another wedding gift in the mail today. I came home from work to discover this huge box from Pottery Barn sitting at our back porch. I had to drag it into the house and figure out who it was from. It was from Tita Meyen and Tito David from New Jersey. Mike and I got the Springwood Salad Service Set from our Pottery Barn online registry. The set includes 1 Springwood Salad Serving Bowl, 4 small bowls and 2 serving utensils. Love it! Thank you Tita Meyen and Tito David!
I love Pottery Barn's packaging! It looks so elegant and the bridal registry gifts look extra special. I think Pottery Barn's packaging is way better than Crate & Barrel's.
******
I finally got my Certificate of Naturalization! I had my U.S. Citizenship Oath Taking Ceremony last Wednesday, July 27th, and I am now officially an American citizen. I was about to take a picture of my Certificate of Naturalization when I saw the text just underneath my picture on the Certificate which read: "IT IS PUNISHABLE BY U.S. LAW TO COPY, PRINT OR PHOTOGRAPH THIS CERTIFICATE, WITHOUT LAWFUL AUTHORITY." Too bad, I wanted to show Mike my Certificate.
July 27.....August 27.... What are the chances of having two milestones in my life both falling on the 27th? How odd is that?! Could 27 be my lucky number?
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