Collecting Addresses

I didn't know how much of a task it would be to collect everyone's contact information. Because of email and cell phones, I very rarely have the need for addresses unless you are a Mary Kay client or live far away. Even if I drive to someone's house, I just kind of go by memory. It would have been better to have had all the work done beforehand, but right now, I've been receiving 90% of these addresses within these past couple weeks. The holes in my Excel sheet is slowly filling up one by one. Honestly, I'd probably save a ton on postage if I just emailed everything to everyone. No matter, we have such beautiful postcards, and there's always something special about getting a package or letter in the mail. I know that this database will be good to have even after the wedding is over; so I'll suck it up for now.

11 Months and Counting

Time flies by fast. I started work again on the 7th, and it's been extremely hectic. I haven't had time to think about anything else for the passed couple of weeks. I am hoping that this is not the precursor of what's to come for the 8th season of Smallville, and that there will be down time to concentrate on the wedding once in a while. If not, then I am in big trouble...There's still lots to do. I am really hoping to go dress shopping again soon. My big project will be sending out save the date cards which I must say looks pretty cool for what it is. I can't really send them out to everyone yet until I fill out all the details on the website...

Here is the front:


Here is the back:


It took Paul and I a really long time to take this photo of the date written in the sand. It was very difficult to make the words legible first of all. The waves were very unpredictable and kept wiping our slate clean. And our timing on the camera was either too slow or too fast. This was the best one out of all the photos we took. Then we brought it into photoshop, added the wordage, and sent the file off to vistaprint. Amazingly, adding color to the back of the postcard was the most expensive part. That's how they get you in the end. Who wants to send a black and white postcard when there's a pretty picture on the front? Well, I think it turned out pretty well. Now, it's time to get out the address book!

One Year Countdown

So we decided to give Luana Hills a second look and talk to Kyle about our options with making the ballroom able to accommodate more guests. We scheduled our meeting on June 27, 2008 at 5 pm. We didn't realize it at the time, but we were seeing the venue 1 year before our prospective date. So of course there was a second round of photos as well. It is really interesting what you remember and how you perceive certain things. I was convinced that Luana Hills was tiny, but after looking at it a second time, everything changed. I saw more possibilities and was hopeful that maybe something could be done. Kyle was extremely flexible with the layout and basically, our plan was to move the buffet out of the reception room area, and that would allow about 3 more tables to be added. Also there was a possibility of having the run of the entire building which would give us plenty of options as far as rearranging things in the reception area. We got really excited hearing this news. Here are a few photos:


Alternative for Buffet area


Wide shot of interior building lounge area

So one year to the date we took these photographs, Paul and I will be married and sharing it with all our favorite family and friends. We are hoping for a beautiful day, a safe trip, and that everyone will enjoy themselves.

The Art of Cake Tasting

I have to say that my most favorite wedding planning experience by far is the cake tasting. I think Paul would definitely agree because he absolutely loves cake. We would buy a cake from Costco for the smallest reason: hockey season is starting up again, etc. and then freak out because we have so much left over. I actually don't eat a lot of cake, and I really hate those really sweet and sugary icings. I always scrap them off and only eat the cake and filling, but these wedding cakes for some reason were really good.

To prepare for these cake tasting interviews, I looked through hundreds of cake styles through theknot.com, and picked out a few of my favorites. Some people are really talented with their cake making skills. The first person we interviewed had cake samples for us in strawberry and cream, mango, and lilikoi. They were all very soft and light and the icing was incredible. She pureed the fruit into the buttercream icing and filling; so each bite was filled with flavor. By far, strawberries and cream got the most raving views from my family who was also there for the cake tasting. She also had really great buttercream and fondant designs. Her specialty is her sugar flowers that she handcrafts...

It's kind of funny how so much attention is spent towards so many little details. I'm sure that the cake will be good on the wedding day, but is that what I'll remember or what the guests will remember from that day? I barely remember anything from any of the weddings I've attended...But I think I will remember this tasting and spending it with Paul and my family. I have to give it to Kathy (ironically, she shares the same name with Paul's sister who also is an excellent baker and used to make cakes). She was open to letting my family participate even with all the kids running around. My family is also extremely expressive and a can be little blunt, but they raved over her cakes. So maybe it was good for her and us to have so many resounding positive feedbacks. It is definitely not an easy choice with so many options and designs and monetary concerns that all need to be considered. If I was to choose on taste alone, she is by far my favorite...it's a good thing we have some time to play with.

Handful of Babies

I must admit...Paul and I aren't exactly prepared for babies. We have cats, but Winkie and Nibbler are kind of easy to take care of. Just give them enough water and food, clean out their litter pan once in a while, don't forget some petting before bedtime, treats here and there, and they are happy. During our trip we experienced an explosion of babies. Practically every cousin, sister, and friend had kids. Allyson, my niece, who is about 2 1/2 can walk and talk now which is kind of nice. We can actually have a conversation, and I don't have to carry her all the time, but she can also say no and run really fast. I think that's how Arleen stays so skinny because she is always chasing after them. I can barely keep up.


Run Allyson Run!

Paul's always been kind of cautious with kids especially the very little ones. I think he is afraid of dropping them honestly. I do try to give him a kid or two so we aren't totally helpless when the time comes. Paul and I with kids are like teenagers going through puberty. Our voice changes (higher pitch) and we feel really awkward and don't know what to do with our limbs. Babies don't always look very comfortable when we carry them. And we are at a loss when anyone cries...thank goodness we can just give them back to mommy or daddy.


Jr. Don't Cry...

Jr., my nephew, just celebrated his 1st birthday. We reserved all of Saturday just for him. It's kind of a big thing in Hawaii; so we had a big party. I woke up 6 am to help get it together. My brother-in-law's sister and I worked on the poster for Jr. which was done just in time. There was lots of food and plenty of kids. Allyson wanted to run back and forth between the bounce houses. Paul followed her around making sure none of the big kids squashed her by accident. Jr. grabbed everything that could fit in his mouth and things that couldn't fit. That boy has a strong grip and an endless appetite. All in all, the party was a big success, and we left the park at about 10 pm after cleaning up. We were exhausted!! But most importantly Paul and I survived.

This trip was really nice because we got to see the kids more often then our "once-a-year" routine which I owe it to Paul for changing things up on me. This will be our 4th time to Hawaii in a one year period, and I feel like I am actually watching the kids grow instead of seeing them already grown in chunks of time. Plus, it's practice without really practicing. =P

Officiant Obstacle

Normally how it works is that the pastor or priest of the congregation you belong to would be the officiant of the wedding. How easy! But Paul and I have a couple of factors that make this search a little difficult. I am a Catholic that was never confirmed. If I wanted to do a Catholic wedding, I would have to go to "school" or counseling in California and transfer the paperwork over for it to be approved in Hawaii. If I was considering a Catholic wedding, I would like it to be at St. Theresa, my elementary school. The priests I grew up with are no longer there, plus there will be renovations to the church around the time we plan to get married; so it was not meant to be.


St. Theresa Church Entrance

Honestly, I was kind of relieved. Traveling between 2 venues is difficult, Catholic weddings in my opinion are too long, and I wasn't looking forward to confirmation school. BUT I did want to include some of the traditions of a Filipino-Catholic wedding; so Paul and I decided to just make it a non-denominational Christian wedding, spiritual and symbolic. Since we were having it in Hawaii, I wanted to get someone local to officiate even though Paul had a Lutheran Paster and youth leader he grew up with who could officiate for us.

Honestly, I didn't know where to start. Paul actually gave me the key which eventually let us to the officiant we picked in the end. His boss, Reid, gave him the number to a Paster Nelson who we interviewed. It seemed that our wedding date was going to conflict with his birthday; so he gave us the number to Pastor Mack. In the meantime, we interviewed a Pastor Christoperson who had a more military feel, and not the local flair I was looking for. He did have a really nice view from his house on St. Louis Heights...

We found another officiant who had a 4 week waiting list to even schedule and appointment. I couldn't believe it...did everyone else have this problem?

Finally, we talked to Pastor Mack, and he was really wonderful. Not only does he have a congregation that he preaches to on a regular basis, he offered a little marriage counseling as well. He has done many weddings and is extremely organized. I think he will send us off with a good, meaningful message as well as conduct it smoothly and efficiently.

I was a little worried that we would have to settle with an officiant that we have never met, and it was important, at least for me, to at least have semi of a relationship with the person who was going to marry us. I am glad that Pastor Mack came along...I can't imagine conducting more interviews via web/phone.

2 Weeks

That's all we had to go to Hawaii and find a venue, date, and interview vendors in the midst of family events and plenty of distractions. Paul and I had a mission. We needed to secure a date with a good venue within our budget...kind of hard in Hawaii, the wedding destination capital of the world. I knew coming in that we would have to make compromises here and there, but we soon came to the realization that planning a wedding was harder than I thought.

The first venue we visited was the Luana Hills Country Club. That was an amazing venue. The ceremony site was huge, and we were surrounded by the beauty of the mountains. The only problem was that the reception area was quoted to hold only 180 comfortably. Originally, we had about 250+ estimated on our invitation list. I guess if a few people couldn't make it, that wouldn't be a problem, but that was a LOT of "few people" that we hope don't show up. We couldn't treat our guests that way so we were really disappointed leaving Luana Hills.


Entrance to Luana Hills Country Club

The second venue was Hale Koa. Hale Koa is located in Waikiki and is actually a military resort. In order to get in you have to be in the military or sponsored by the military, and it was one of the most affordable hotels in Waikiki to hold a wedding. The price was just right, except that we had to account for a 5-8% increase for next year which we wouldn't get into writing; so things could easy change. Plus it was a different feel from what we wanted our guests to experience. There was more than enough room to accommodate for our guests, but we would lose the intimacy. We had to think really hard about these details...


View of Hale Koa Reception Area

The third option was the Moana Surfrider also located in Waikiki. Although it was extremely beautiful, it was very crowded. There were strangers (tourists/beachgoers) who could crash the wedding or be in the background ruining pictures. On top of that it was really expensive. It would pretty much wipe our our entire wedding budget; so we would have a ceremony and reception, no flowers, photographer, cake, etc. The Waikiki area is tough on the locals who would have a hard time with parking. I feel that it was still good we visited this option. I appreciated venues located outside of Waikiki more.

View of Surfrider Ballroom

Lastly, we visited the Ko'olau Golf Course. We had high hopes for this venue. How it was described to us was "Luana Hills but bigger" which was exactly what we were looking for. We explored the site, and it was true. The reception area could accommodate our guests and then some, but then we started to see details that would be hard to deal with. The outdoor ceremony site was extremely small and...awkward. I don't know how our wedding party would fit and the entrance to the site was all the way around the building from a side path. There was no real "grand entrance" for the bridal party. The reception area had a really great view, but if you were guests sitting on the upper level (about half of the guests), your view would be obstructed by huge columns. I know that guests would adjust, but it would be a little annoying. It seemed that no place was going to be perfect...

View of outdoor ceremony site

The Sunset Engagement

We departed at 5 in the morning to make our 8 am flight. Tim and Lilian dropped us off. After a 5.5 hour flight, we arrived in Hawaii at noon. Supposedly, my family were all at school or working; so Paul and I decided to drive around and visit some easy spots like Pali Lookout and Kailua Beach. We took a whole bunch of pictures, and just enjoyed taking in the greenness of Hawaii. Paul really wanted to see the sunset; so we drove back to Waikiki. There was a lot of time to kill. We walked all over the place, and Paul made me change locations saying that there were too many people or the kids were too loud or the view wasn't that great. I guess, I should have been suspicious. Well, it was almost sunset, and I was ready with my camera to capture it. Paul suddenly turns to me and said, "I didn't bring you to Hawaii for only your birthday..." He takes out this small box from the backpack that he carried all day. I screamed, "What is that? Is that what I think it is? Oh my GOD!" Paul got down on one knee, and said, "Donna, will you marry me?" I was in complete shock. I thought how did I not see this coming. I started throwing a whole bunch of questions at him, and he tried his best to answer. I asked, "Did you ask my dad?" He told me the story about his phone call with my dad, which I'll tell later. Paul then said, "You didn't even look at the ring?" I was kind of afraid that I was dreaming this whole thing, and I didn't want to wake up. I looked at the ring, and it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I let him put it on. He turned to me, and said, "You didn't even say "yes." And I gave him a huge hug, and said, "YES!! Yes, of course I will marry you." I cried. I admit it. It was the sweetest, most thoughtful thing I've ever encountered in my life. I accosted a stranger and asked him to take our picture. Then, we had to leave right away to meet up with my family at the Willows Restaurant. It was so memorable!!

The Birthday Surprise

It was the most beautiful and exciting thing I've every experienced. I'll give Paul credit. He really knows how to sweep me off of my feet, and he did it twice. I'll never forget March 20, 2008. I hope Mom appreciates that Paul asked me on a very good luck year.

Well, here is the play by play:

March 19th 7:00 pm - I ate dinner with Paul's family at Red Robin. It was my choice of course, and whenever it is my choice I always choose Red Robin. I guess while we sat there, I just happened to sit underneath a sign that said Waikiki. I knew there were a few whisperings and picture takings. I guess I should have realized what was going on, IF I read what was above my head. Afterwards, we headed home to open gifts. I got the usual stuff, Fraggle Rock DVDs seasons 1 and 3, a Barnes and Nobles gift card, a chess board, and a bundt pan. Then there was an anonymous card, and when I opened it, inside there were two tickets. It said that I was leaving with Paul tomorrow morning at 8 am. They were all looking at me, and I was really quiet. The reason why is because I was speechless. I didn't want to believe that this was really true that Paul was so wonderful, he planned this for me because I might wake up from an incredible dream. Also, I was kind of scared because I was supposed to start work the next day. I didn't know how I was going to explain this to my boss. Paul and his family spent the next 10 minutes convincing me that work was informed and was okay, my family was informed and were expecting me, and the tickets were real. Then, I gave Paul a smack for spending so much money on me. Paul's family all laughed as if they were expecting it. Then we rushed home, packed our bags, and tried to go to sleep. It was going to be great to go home and spend it with my family the first time in 7 years.