Our precious wedding bands

Yahoooooo!!!! Finally after waiting for almost a month we finally got our wedding rings. We bought our rings at the Lee Hwa Jewelry in Tampines Singapore, We spent the whole day (May 23) visiting almost all jewelry shops in Singapore hahahaha!!! Initially our ideas of a wedding ring was different, one was too feminine or too masculine so we decided that one ring will have diamonds and the other will not. When we tried this ring it was perfect for us, design was simple but elegant, it was out of the ordinary and speaks well about our personalities and most of all it was on SALE!!!! hahahahha!!!! But the Tampines shop did not have our sizes and I wanted to have the ring on that day so we went to Orchard and City hall branches unfortunately they too did not only have our sizes but it was more expensive too. We visited almost 4 other branches but no luck so we just decided to purchase the rings from Tampines and claim the ring after a week. We got a call a week after saying that the ring was ready, =) so Ariel went there to claim it, we were so excited but the excitement faded when they said we can only get one of the two rings!!!! HELLLOOO these are our wedding bands and of course we wanted to have both at the same time... so we had to wait another week... the following week we got another call this time saying that both rings were ready... we were excited again!!!! and unfortunately AGAIN something went wrong so we had to waid AGAIN!!!! Ariel did not want to rush them nor pressure them to deliver the ring as it might have effect on the rings' quality so patiently we waited. After two weeks!!! (June 19) yahoooo finally we got them and it was perfect!!! Engraved in Roanne's ring is "Baby Ariel 18 Dec 05" and on Ariel's ring is "Baby Roanne 18 Dec 05"

So after 3 attempts we have successfully claimed the symbol of our love and friendship forever =)

See our rings: http://community.webshots.com/photo/360151865/373167650bpVQfk

Our first wedding gift...

Today, June 9 , 2005 I woke up around 730 in the morning and I found an unexpected mail on the table for Mr. & Mrs. Ariel Santiago!!! For some reason I got excited and my heart was pumping really fast. It felt like I was about to walk down the aisle to marry the man I have chosen to spend the rest of my life with. Its funny how this letter have affected me this morning. I touched it and realized it was a card =) hmmmmm so I was thinking, who gave this... hmmmm =) then I thought it would probably be from my uncle and aunt who was our visitor for night. They spent the night with us but they will be travelling home to chicago this morning.

At first I did not want to open it. =) I wanted to make sure it was for us (Ariel and mine) so I left the mail on the table and searched the kitchen for breakfast. I read it again and it was really ours hahahaha I checked the name for like 3 or 4 times hahahaha!!! As I was eating my bread I was staring at the letter, hmmm should I open it??? or should I just wait till Dec. and open it with Ariel... or should I open with him on Aug. when I visit him in Singapore... or should I just open it hahahahaha....

I just cant help myself, Dec. is like 6 months from now!!! Aug. is two months!!! hahaha so what the heck!!! I opened it... and finally saw what was inside.. =) I was touched by the simple message of the card "Wishing you a long and happy life together" and was very happy with its contents as well....

Many many thanks to my Tito Enteng and Tita Lyla =) This is one memory I will always treasure. =) Too bad I woke up late to personally thank them... but I will just make up for it.

My Wedding shoes

my wedding shoes

Maanne(my sister) and I was just killing time in the Landmark's shoe area. We were actually looking for walking shoes or sandals when she found my wedding shoes =) its a bit early to buy shoes but what the heck =) i like it...hahaha, but i really liked it and it is super comfortable plus the heels are not too high. Perfect shoes for me.

Our arrhae container

our arrhae container

My sister and I was on our way to National Bookstore yesterday when we passed by this small shop in glorietta, the one in front of Celine. Hahahaha I can't even remember the shop's name. O well I saw the perfect container for my arrhae, for me it was perfect, a bit pricey but i really liked it. Thanks to my Mom for lending me 500 pesos a few minutes before she left my sister and I in glorietta. I guess this was really for me.

Investing in our relationship as a couple

A little about us...

Ariel and I were officemates in Accenture. We fell in love and officially committed to each other in May 12, 2003. Ariel went to Singapore in June 2004 for an employment opportunity. My first visit in Singapore was in August of 2004 then I went back for another visit in November 2004 this time with his Mom. It was in this visit that he proposed to me!!!May, 2004 I visited him again and we attended the catholic engaged encounter weekend.

This weekend was a real blast. We had so much time together to talk about our current and futurre lives. We learned tips and tricks of life-giving acts that would help us overcome whatever challenges we might have in the future.Actually, we really had no plans of attending such a weekend. We were thinking that it would just be an extra expense and there is really no need for us to access our readiness to commit our lives to each other. Ariel will not be able to take a vacation leave from work to go home to attend to the church requirements here in Manila, so i had to reasearch on other ways we can complete the requirements and this Engaged Encounter weekend one answer i got.So for the amount of S$100 we registered and went there.

The trip to the weekend venue was quite long, it was far from the city. Ariel and I were assigned to two different rooms which made us a bit sad for we want to spend every minute together but that's ok we will just sleep late and wake up early. We were given notebooks and pens and was separted from each other and write our thoughts on the question given. The first night sessions was more about ourselves. It was nice to know and reaccess how i know myself and how we know each other. The rest of the evening were instructions of the rest of the weekend. We met another Filipino couple Raymond and Stella.The next day, May 21 started with morning mass. This day had the best sessions. It was more about married life and planning for the future. The questions were mostly relevant to our relationship and we were very happy with the outcome of our discussions and notes for each other.The last day, May 22 ended with a mass as well. It was touching to know that other couples were also praying for your relationship to be as loving and peaceful and strong as God would want it to be.

The weekend in general was well worth our time and money. We learned a lot of things and even discovered more about each other. I know that after the weekend we were and will be a better couple and hopefully very good parents in future.

The seach for our venues...

a little about us...

I was engaged November 10, 2004 around 10 PM in Singapore. I got back in Manila on the 16th of Nov. After being forced by my friend Jennifer Ong-Lee to start searching for church and reception venue I finally started end of November.

I did not know exactly how to start so I just called whatever church I had in mind. Nuestra Seniora de Gracia was the first church I called and unfortunately, all weekends of December was already booked!!! (Hahahahaha) So I just made pencil booking on some of the free slots which were like the first few days of December. Then I called the Shrine of Jesus (fully booked as well, hahaha free slots where just 7am, 10am or 6 or 7pm slots) I did not like the time so nevermind. I did not like to be married on the famous cathedrals like Manila Cathedral or San Agustin or San Sebastian or Malate Catholic church for these churches have too much weddings in one day and I don't want to be rushed while taking pictures after the ceremony nor do I want to see the next wedding lined up during my recession. Then I printed out the list of churches in Metro Manila and called several of them (Santuario de San Antonio, Santuario de San Jose, Sacred Heart,etc and to my surprise most good slots are fully booked!!!! Naturally I was in panic!!! hahahahaha

To organize myself, Ariel and I decided on a date. We definitely wanted to be married by Christmas so the date we agree on is the 18th of December. When I found out that the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Makati is still free on my date I wanted to pay the reservation fee at once. Unfortunately, I still have to undergo the canonical interview so I scheduled my interview the first slot the priest was available. The interview lasted for almost an hour, hahahaha, and after my reservation was readily accepted. ( Thank GOD!!! )

Searching for the reception venue was as stressful as the selecting the church venue, I literally called all hotels in Makati, unfortunately all of them were either booked already or I am place on waitlist (3rd or 4th on the list!!!!). I did not want to have a garden reception because I did not want to be stressed over the possibility of a rainfall or my guests feeling hot or insects or leaves on their plates or glasses. I called almost all reception venues in makati and nearby places to check on their availability and then one weekend, my Dad and I drove around Metro Manila and visited my long list of reception venues still available, we went to the Loft (but it was too expensive for me), intramuros area (booked already at the time we got there!!! kainis!!!). I finally had 3 options, Hyatt Casino, Heritage and Diamond Hotel.

Heritage was the final choice because it was nearest to the church and slightly cheaper among the 3. Diamond's lobby was so impressive, but hey the function room had huge pillars ( hahaha ) and I did not like that plus the AE was not as friendly as the AE from heritage. Hyatt on the other hand did not want to give me special rates for extra rooms plus if would be almost 40k more expensive.So there it goes, I paid the reservation in Heritage and before the year 2004 ended I paid up 50% of the package to be protected against any price increases for the year 2005.

Whewwww.... so that was it. Thanks to Citibank for the ready credit!!!