Kat in the Box

What are my prized possessions? Oh, I have several. Let me share to you some of those:

Rating
    5 stars - Excellent
    4 stars - Very Good
    3 stars - Average
    2 stars - Sloppy Service
    1 star  - Poor Service

Background
 The theme of our wedding is “The Beatles”. Since invitations are our guests’ first impression of our wedding, we wanted it to be exciting, fun and colorful. Our theme colors, yellow, red and orange are the three dominant colors of the Yellow Submarine album cover. All the designs and graphics came from the cartoon in the ‘60s named after the same Beatles’ Album.
The words “Love Love” on the front cover is actually the first two words of our grand entrance song for the reception “All you need is love..”.
Needless to say, we have very specific requirements for our invitation. And thus, we want our supplier to be able to put together the perfect wedding invitation for us.


Printed Matter 
With the special requirements for our invitation, I knew that our supplier will definitely have to be something new and innovative. The traditional types just won’t do. We chose Printed Matter because of their modern yet personalized invitations. I booked them as well at a Themes and Motifs wedding fair but prior to going there I already knew that we will have them as part of our wedding team.
Thumbs Up
 For the modern bride and groom, Printed Matter has a wide array of fresh and non-traditional wedding invitations to choose from. Among the popular choices are the passport type, boarding pass, ticket type (like ours), storybook and caricature. The digital prints are actually very good. Couples can personalize it as much as they like by choosing their own prints, designs, font, etc…
Since printed matter’s invitations are personalized, they have artists who helps out in the creative process. They were very nice and accommodating. When I discussed our concept with her, she immediately has tons of ideas which are all very good. The artists are also very attentive to clients. The exchange of drafts was very fast. In just a week’s time, we were able to finish the complete design of the invitation.
Printing process is also very fast. Once the final layout is agreed and there were no changes on the mock up, our first batch of 110pcs of invitations were ready for pick up after 3 days! The thing that I liked best about Printed Matter was the kindness of their people. When we first visited their store in August, we were ready to pay the reservation fee right then and there. But they were kind enough to tell us that they will be part of the wedding fair in October, and thus, we might want to place our bookings there since that’s where they will give big discounts, as much as 50%. And true enough; on the wedding fair we got 40% off the regular price +some freebies! I really appreciated that gesture. I think it showed a lot of class and pride in what they do. Pride in the sense that they are comforted that even if they let us go that day, and the wedding fair is still in 2 months, they knew that we will come back to them despite us seeing out printers as well.

Thumbs down
The only thing that I didn’t appreciate much about Printed Matter is their Head Office location. It is located in Aurora Blvd, which is quite inconvenient to go to. True, they have express shops in SM North and Trinoma, but all decisions and layouts are done in the Head Office. Traffic is terrible going there. Their policy is that you all transactions will be done on the branch were you booked your account. It would have been better if they allowed us to transact in the Head Office, then have the mock up and actual invitations delivered in either Glorietta or SM North EDSA.

Value for Money
In terms of price, Printed Matter is quite expensive. The price ranges from P85-P170 each. If orders are less than 100, there are additional charges, as well as customization fee if the designs that you require are very specific and unique. The package includes the invitation, envelopes, address sticker and sticker seal. So if couples intend to book them, it’s the perfect idea to visit them at the wedding fair.

Overall Rating: 4 stars
Overall we think that it is a good decision for us that we booked Printed Matter. We definitely recommend it to everyone.

Contact Details: Printed Matter Concept 722-2522/584-0735
Printedmatter.com.ph

Rating:
      5 stars - Excellent
      4 stars - Very Good
      3 stars - Average
      2 stars - Sloppy Service
      1 star - Poor Service

 The Bellevue Manila

Bellevue is the only five star hotel in Muntinlupa. We came across Bellevue during our first visit to a Themes and Motifs wedding fair.

Thumbs Up – Bellevue has a very good wedding package. Included in their standard package are as follows · Bridal Suite (2 days with buffet breakfast for two)
            · Groom’s Suite (de luxe room for 1 day with buffet breakfast for two)
           · Wedding reception food and arrangement
           · Cake · Bridal Car · Lights · Sounds
                                                                                                · String Orchestra/Mobile · Several gift certificates

The event coordinators are very nice and accommodating. They patiently listened and took note of all our requests and requirements as well as that of our Wedding Coordinators. I enjoyed all my meetings with them. I love how they took care of almost everything concerning the reception because it saved a lot of my time, worries and resources. At first I was hesitant to entrust to them almost everything because I’m worried that if they screw up, they will bring with them the entire wedding reception. But I’m glad that we took the risk and trusted them completely. On the day of our check-in the staff were very polite and hospitable.They even upgraded our rooms from standard bridal suite to premier bridal suite and Sherwin’s room from standard to businessman deluxe. The buffet breakfast is impressive as well. One day will not be enough to try everything! Food is our number one consideration because we want all our guests to go home satisfied with what was served to them. Bellevue did not disappoint us. The main course was delectable! Desserts were mouthwatering! Even the iced tea is unforgettable! During the food tasting, they were items that we did not like and Bellevue was kind enough to allow us to mix and match items from different menu groups.

Ratings:
       5 stars - Excellnet
       4 stars - Very Good
       3 stars - Average
       2 stars - Sloppy Service
       1 star - Poor Service

Months, or even years before the wedding day, the bride and groom are busy choosing their wedding team. For tips on how to choose wisely, you can check out my friend Viviene's blog http://www.theblogforbrides.com/1/post/2011/01/7-donts-in-your-wedding-planning.html.

  St. Peregrine Laziosi Parish
 We chose St. Peregrine because of its location, ambiance, and my personal requirement, the aisle.

Thumbs up: If one intends to marry in a big church, this may be the ideal church for you. With its high ceiling and wide pews, one will be amazed with its simplicity despite the size. The church is also very serene and cool. Despite being located along the national road of Tunasan, Muntinlupa, inside the church compound you won't feel the busy street just across it. The price is also reasonable. The church charges P15,000 which is already inclusive of the flowers, seminar costs, candles, red carpet, choir, priest and readers (if you don't intend to assign any). The church also has a several choirs to choose from. Luckily for us, my friend Alpert is a member of Epheso choir. All the songs that we requested were played! But for those who doesn't know anyone from the choir, I suggest that you ask the schedule of the choir assigned to you so you can listen to them live and get the know the members as well. 

Thumbs down: The church is not air-conditioned. But the church provides electric fans during the wedding, plus there are several doors and windows at the side of the church which they open during a wedding to allow the air to come in. The flowers that are included in the package is not plenty enough. You may opt to upgrade the flowers just like what we did, at an additional cost, and you must personally get in touch with their supplier.  

The required seminar is for 3 consecutive sundays for two hours each. I personally think that this is inconvenient and at the same time not enough if one intends to prepare the couples for married life. I would not mind if it is for one whole day or even two days. The seminar is also quite dragging since for two hours, the couples are required to just listen to the facilitators. At 2pm on a Sunday, that is not easy. By the 1st hour of the seminar, our attention has already drifted.

Overall Rating: 4 stars
We are happy with our decision to get married in St. Peregrine and if asked, we will definitely recommend it to other couples as well.
Contact details: National Road, Tunasan Muntinlupa City 842-2424