mr. right's wrong...

i love kids...i love tulips...my mr. right knows all those facts. he understands why i can't stop missing my little boys (that's how i call my endearing nephews - mattie & miguel), even if i just spent the weekend with them. he understands that if i ever have a chance to see tulips growing in the streetsides of manila (how i wish!), he can never stop me from just being so bubbly and from asking him to take a lot of my 'flowershots' (kahit nakakahiya pala yun if i realize later on). oh well, i can say he knows me...he knows me very well - my quirks, my weakness, my comfort food, my mood. why am i writing this? i can't sleep. i can't get the thought out of my mind...that i was wrong. yesterday was another memorable one for me -- hectic as it always was, my day was packed with a series of meetings and a bad headache that i never had the chance to even see my mr. right (we're working in same place, by the way)...i just wanted my workhours to end so i can move ahead with my social life. yesterday, i had to check out on one reception venue setup (which was impressive, i should say) and to attend the rehearsal of our choir. yes, i was excited to hear them practice (especially that i miss my chorale practices lately). our friendly choirmaster invited us in, shortly after they finished on the song they were practicing when we got there. the kids said hello (oh, i forgot to mention, i have always dreamed of getting a children's choir for my wedding day...so we got one!). the choirmaster seated us in front of the kids - there were 25 to 30 kids in the room - and said, "this is one song we are practicing for you..." i smiled and said, "oh thank you!". the moment i heard the background music, i immediately said, "baka maiyak ako niyan ha...hehe". the kids started singing..."I Will Be Here" (S.C. Chapman). while listening, i was just smiling...until the little boy in front of me stood up...and handed me a red tulip! i smiled and said, "thank you!"...i was just thinking, "how sweet". and one by one the kids started to stand up while singing, handing a tulip to me...then i realized something's wrong! I WAS WRONG! i knew i fell for my mr. right for his sweet, caring and loving nature. i just never thought he was that creative...towards the end of the song, i saw all the kids in front of us, standing, smiling, and singing angelically....and saw my mr. right kneel down before me, as i was laughing and crying at the same time! (what a crazy sight, huh?!)...he was proposing to me with a ring! (oh yes, i got my ring)...while our choirmaster and rey were busy capturing the moment for us. who in the world could turn down a proposal like that! in the end, we were surrounded with talented kids (laughing with us and enjoying the moment) and colorful tulips! it is definitely a memorable day for me...my usual harassing day turned out to be a special day that again made me check off one of things in my "little girl's wishlist" -- a memorable proposal to share with our own little angels...

S350?

Yup, as my honey mentioned, the S350 comes with the Manila Peninsula package. Not a bad deal, but it could've been sweeter had these babies come in the elegant and mafioso Obsidian Black. Oh well, Peninsula Green ain't that bad. It's an exclusive color to the Peninsula chain of hotels, or so we were told, so it's not a common sight. And, finally, we get to ride this luxo-barge. I wonder if it'll be able to fit honey's long train and veil. Hmmm... I wonder if can get to drive it tho. "Please Mr. Driver, it's just a short stretch from Santuario to The Pen. How in the world do you think I can get it up to 180 kph?"

Top Wedding Songs

On my way to work one morning, I was listening to a station whose DJs were counting down the Top 10 Wedding Songs. Part of the list were the usual "I Could Not Ask For More" by Edwin McCain, "I Wanna Grow Old With You" by Adam Sandler which is one of our favorites, "The Way You Look Tonight" by Tony Bennett, and "All My Life" by America. "I'll Be," another of Edwin McCain's oft-sung ballads was out of the list coz of the song's overall theme. What caught my attention though, was the inclusion of "Loving You" by Michael Ball.

Who is Michael Ball? And what was "Loving You" about? Well, thanks to Google, I find out he's a operatic-musical-type-of-singer. Here are the lyrics. (Unfortunately, however, I still haven't heard the song):

Loving you is not a choice
It’s who I am
Loving you is not a choice
Not much reason to rejoice
But it gives me purpose
Gives me voice
To say to the world
This is why I live
You are what I live
This is why I live

Loving you is why I do the things I do
Loving you is not in my control
But loving you I have a goal
For what’s left of my life
I will live
And I will die
For you

It gives me purpose
Gives me voice
To say to the world
This is why I live
Yes, this is why I live
Loving you is why I do the things I do
Loving you is not in my control
But loving you
I have a goal
For what’s left of my life
I will live
And I will die
For you

I will live
And I will die
For you.

It may not sound so romantic with the lines, "Loving you is not a choice, Not much reason to rejoice," but then, this isn't the courtship stage any longer. That's over, as well as the Wedding. Now the Marriage begins. And, to me, since we've already decided to take that lifelong plunge, it's time to stand by that decision, and strive to make things work, no matter hope hopeless things may be, at times. "Loving you is why I do the things I do, Loving you is not in my control, But loving you I have a goal, For what’s left of my life, I will live And I will die For you".

The Blog Name

Ever wonder where the "Takawmata" in Takawmata.blogspot.com came from? Well, wonder no more. The term, in general, refers to one's (bad) trait of getting or ordering more food than he or she can consume. In our case, it's actually my honey's (endearing?) trait. She'll order more than she can eat, and I'll end up devouring her leftovers. Which is why I let her do the ordering. I'll eat anything anyways. Isn't that part obvious?

Anyhow, that's perhaps just part of the story of "takawmata". It's actually meant to be a funny but real description of my honey and I. "Takaw" is, evidently, me. I just said I'll eat anything. Knowing that she cooks is probably going to mean a lot more exhausting badminton games, among other things, (wink)(wink) after we're married. Or else, there'll be more of me for her to love. "Mata" is, hehehe, my honey! Check the pics, you'll find out why. Nakuha nga ako sa tingin. Luv yah, Honey! :)

m-t-v!

still shots are already covered...we're in good hands in recording our undoubtedly fun moments during our BIG day. but wait, we also need video! again, also considering our friends' inputs, we drew up our own list based on our priority - that is, making sure that we're getting value for our money. we had our top three choices - whew! but after getting rejected by the 1st video supplier that we went to (yes, they are already fully booked!...too bad), we had to consider adding more options to our top-3 list. after watching video samplers and doing supplier-hunting (which we both enjoyed doing - more bonding moments for us!), we are happy to say, we also found a talent in bob nicolas...it was great getting to know this kind and goodhearted person. (yun nga lang, mas bata siya sa akin...he always makes me feel so old. well, kasi naman he's very respectful.) tama nga sabi ng friend ko...apparently, we got to book two of his suppliers...there is nothing much more to say about this guy. you just have to see his work: www.bobnicolas.com..
and yes, with the latest trends, couples have more and more choices of photo and video suppliers which could make it even harder to decide. here's an unsolicited advice: keep the list simple and make sure that your photo and video partners are people you can be comfortable with. you will not just get an MTV style video but a Truly-Moving (or Memorable) Video you can cherish forever...together!

photographs & memories

after so much number of weddings i have attended, i know how important it is to have good photos to capture those special moments during the BIG day...ang hirap din ata magprepare ng wedding, so might as well make sure that all the little special details you planned for are captured in photos. ilang albums na din nakita ko at ilan na din prenup shots ang naenjoy ko...lalo na sa mga cute poses (haha). well, yes, the new era has brought a new meaning to the term prenup...prenup in most manila weddings would mean - more nice pics of the couple before the wedding. and yes, since we're both sucker for pictures (hehe), we need to have the best that our money can buy. so we went to meet our friendly photographer - fol. no need to say much about him, i guess his works precede him (check out: www.folrana.com). we loved the shots, the imaginative packaging of his images, the artbook (not to mention his cozy house)! when we learned he's still free on the day of our wedding, we had to book him fast. you can just imagine how my mind went wild thinking where we will be shooting those prenup shots...

reception venue

the grand staircase...everyone who spoke of the peninsula (or "the pen", as most people would call it) always remember the staircase which should be a grand photo-op for the bride. other than that (and the exclusivites yummy cheesecake), the rigodon ballroom has always been a favorite in my list. plus the fact that, the ballroom boasts of having the kitchen adjacent to it so food is always served fresh and hot. another plus is that, it has just been renovated! we hear a lot of people say we're lucky as it looks really grand-er after the renovation. wait, do i need to also say we get to ride an S350? *wink, wink*

ergo, reception venue: check!