Paul, Sara, and Basti too! :-)

Paul, Sara, and Basti too! :-): Moved!

2011-10-17T22:56:00.000-07:00

Paul, Sara, and Basti too! :-): Moved!

http://waytogomomzilla.blogspot.com/

Moved!

2011-10-17T22:55:00.000-07:00

We've spun off this blog to a new one - check out http://waytogomomzilla.blogspot.com/

Sara will be maintaining this new blog moving forward :)

Thanks!

2 Years!!!

2011-05-29T22:37:00.000-07:00

Recently celebrated Basti's 2nd birthday last May 25, 2011 :)

We just had a simple celebration at home with family and friends we call family :)

Cant believe its been 2 years already!!!

Here's Basti on the morning of his birthday, trying out his party hat, and Happy too :-)

More photos of Basti's birthday celebration at Ninang Mari's facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150198202378036.313488.538233035

We spent the rest of the week with Basti (no work!) and ended with a swimming trip to Paul's family's resort in Lucban, Quezon.

Happy 2nd Birthday Basti!!!

Missing in Action

2010-12-06T20:48:00.001-08:00

I know we have been missing in action a lot...

Basti's just suddenly developed into a big ball of energy and we are having a hard time keeping up!

Promise to post new stuff soon.

And old stuff too, that we havent been able to post for ages.

:-)

The Bad Guy

2010-09-13T17:54:00.001-07:00

September 14, 2010

Dear Basti,

I’m here at work today thinking about you. And hoping you are ok, and not throwing up anymore like yesterday.

I know one day you’d understand why even on days that you don’t feel too well, I still have to go to work.

I need to believe you wont think I love you less. And I pray to God that you wont love me less.

I hope you know that if I could, I would just stay home with you everyday - even when you are not sick. I hope you know that I would rather be playing with you and singing songs with you or simply just be near you to watch you sleep.

But somethings just have to be done. Like work.

It’s probably not easy to understand why I can’t just drop everything at work everytime you get sick. I guess it doesn’t make sense when I say you’re the most important person in my life, and when you need me to be there with you, I can’t.

So today, to you, I will be the bad guy instead of the hero.

But that’s my sacrifice. For you.

Love,

Mommy

Our Job

2010-08-31T04:34:00.000-07:00

Last night, Basti and I were playing in our room before we went to bed and one second he was so happy, the next he was wailing like crazy. His fingers got pinned when he pushed close a drawer. My heart raced as I ran, no, leapt to where he was, pulled open the drawer to release his fingers and carried him and kissed him and tried to console him and just did not know what to do. I screamed for an icepack and while I was waiting for it to be brought upstairs to us so I can apply it on his fingers, so many thoughts ran across my mind -- are his fingers alright? Are they complete? I checked. Yes they are all intact. But is blood flowing inside? How will I know? Shit. Can he move his fingers? He has not stopped crying. Oh God. I know it hurts like hell. I once had all four fingers pinned by a sliding door of a van. It was so traumatic for me that I got shingles a few weeks after because of the stress it caused me.

Finally, his dad came rushing to us with the icepack. Basti was a bit distracted by it and stopped crying as we placed it on his fingers. But I guess it was still painful and so he started crying again... I thought I was going to cry too. I think I did. After several agonizing minutes, I was able to calm him down a bit and he fell asleep- probably from exhaustion from too much crying and the shock.

Basti's fingers are completely ok. He was able to hold his bottle properly when he was dozing off to sleep. When he fell asleep, I tried to re-enact how he pinned his fingers and did it several times with probably more force, just to check the level of pain he probably felt so I can assess how he was feeling. After a few times, I felt a bit better. I don't know if it was because I realized it did not hurt too much (but then again I was 29years old and Basti's fingers are just more than a year old!), but maybe also because I felt like I punished myself already by experiencing the same pain more times over.

But of course that was not enough punishment for me! My thoughts raced again -- what if what happened was much worse?? What if his fingers got cut? What if they weren't cut but they got numb forever? Will he still be able to play ball? He loved shooting hoops! He is so good at it. Will he be able to drive a car? He loves playing with the steering wheel…

A few more minutes passed, and soon I was able to calm down more. And the sensible me started whispering to myself, just relax. It’s nothing. He'll be fine and will forget about it tomorrow. Besides, it’s the first time, and there will be more similar terrifying experiences to come...maybe some even much worse. Its part of growing up and raising a child…

Sometimes, I still get overwhelmed when I think about our job as parents, my job as a mom.

At work, I run the operations of a company composed of about 50people. My responsibility includes ensuring that the company is earning more than enough, so that we can pay our dues, and pay the salaries of the people in our team, so they in turn can pay their dues. It’s quite a handful to manage, it’s a very big responsibility such that if I don't do my job well, a lot of people will be very much affected in a bad way.

But when something like tonight's incident happens to me, I am reminded of what a bigger responsibility it is to be a parent. Your child has only you to depend on, for his life, for his future… At work, if I don't do well, they can just replace me... My baby boy, he did not choose me. He cannot replace me even if he wanted to (I’m sure it will occur to him to wish for that at one point in his life). He's stuck with me. And he's counting on me, us, his parents. So it’s up to us to be just the best we can possibly be for him.

When he grows up to be a fine young man someday, I’m sure I will not get a loyalty award for being a good parent and putting up with him for so many years. I’m sure there will be no fat bonus waiting for me when he graduates from college or when he gets married. But one thing I’m definitely sure of – it will still be the most rewarding job I will ever have in my life.

- Sara (August 31, 2010)

Basti's new cousin

2010-07-29T01:04:00.000-07:00

Basti has a new cousin- Caleb!

Paul's brother Patrick and his wife Marianne welcomed Caleb last Sunday, July 25, 2010 :-)

We have yet to see him this weekend!

And its also going to be Patrick's birthday on Sunday, August1.

Finally!

2010-06-22T20:45:00.000-07:00

After almost 2 years, Mommy Sara has finally gotten back to painted nails :)
Since she got pregnant with Basti, up to the other day, she has not had a mani-ped!
We're happy she is starting to go back to her usual routines for herself, now that Basti is less dependent and we now have a yaya :)

"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"

Daddy Shoes

2010-06-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

Paul's new favorite - Sperry boat shoes.
Sara remembers her dad's pair that is exactly the same.

"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"

happy daddy's day daddy! :-)

2010-06-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

Love love daddy :-)

After 1 year and 10 months...

2010-06-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

After a year and 10 months of being married, here's how we look now. We sure gained a lot of weight so far, but gained a lot of wonderful experiences too :-)

So much has happened and changed in our lives, and we're just about to celebrate our 2nd year anniversary this August.

Now that our son Basti has turned one year old, we really feel like parents now, officially. Like we sort of know what we are doing already, and have just crossed the "newbie" phase. But we know that there are lots to come that we will never be prepared for, haha. Still, we are looking forward to every minute :-)

Basti turns 1!

2010-06-17T22:25:00.000-07:00

Another milestone for our family :-) Basti celebrated his first birthday last May 25, 2010, and we had a party at Fun Ranch (Westgate Alabang) on May 29. Thank you everyone for coming - Basti really had a blast!

Basti as Alien Earth Invader

2009-11-26T18:09:00.001-08:00

Alien Invader Basti is appealing to earthlings to take him to their leader as he is out to conquer the planet!
Talking in godzilla speak. Haha :-)

(video taken last October 24, 2009, Basti at 5months old)

Finally, a new post

2009-11-26T02:31:00.000-08:00

Its been ages since we last updated! OMG -- Basti is 6months old already! Will try to post more updates again soon... In the meantime, here's a new photo of our pogi-poging baby Basti :-) Half a year old already - oh, how time flies...

2 months!

2009-07-26T20:58:00.000-07:00

Here is Basti at 2 months, July 25, 2009 :-)
We took him to the doctor that morning for his DPT and rotavirus vaccines. Brave Basti just cried for maybe 5secs and he was ok na :-) Doctor also noted that Basti is gaining weight well, yey!
Then we had pancit and cake to celebrate at Sara's parents' house!

Basti's baptism - June 27, 2009

2009-07-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

One week after :-)

2009-06-01T04:47:00.000-07:00

Our Basti is one week old today :-)

First Family Photo

2009-05-28T00:27:00.001-07:00

Taken at the delivery room, just a few minutes after Basti came out :)
Paul was present throughout the labor and delivery :)

Basti! Finally!!!!

2009-05-27T05:15:00.000-07:00

He's finally here!!!
Sara gave birth to our dearest Basti (Sebastian) last May 25, 2009, Monday, 1249am at the Asian Hospital in Alabang.

2 more weeks

2009-05-17T18:41:00.001-07:00

Dearest Basti,

Our doctor said that you might come out in two weeks! Mommy and Daddy can't wait to see you and hug you and kiss you! :-) So hang in there, and just let us know when you're ready :-)

We've prepared our room already, with all the things you would need and even those you don't really need, hehe.

Daddy can't wait to play with you! See you soon!

Love,
Daddy and Mommy

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Repost: It has 3 Wheels

2009-04-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

Sara's friend Erika posted this on her Facebook page today, and she was soo touched she just had to repost it.
Here's to all our crazy families who love us all unconditionally!
---------------

It Has 3 Wheels...
by: Joan Erika Pineda

my family is far from perfect. i guess that goes for almost everyone else here.

i've got a dad who acts like a "dude" rather than a father. i've got a mom who's so involved and always has a say to every single decision i make, even with the clothes i wear, she sometimes suffocates me. i've got a brother who never fights with the guys who made me cry. i've got a younger sister who never treated me like her "ate"...she even stopped calling me that for years now. i've got a baby brother who punches me whenever he gets the chance and runs away laughing as i rub the injured part. i've got a daughter who is so demanding and such a brat.

everyone talks. it's a chaotic household of laughters and tears...of shouts and cold silence...of companionship and familiarity...of misunderstandings and acceptance...of arguments and foolish jokes...of witty remarks and nonsensical comments...of violence sometimes and pure love always...

but i wake up today and i saw that dream's scooter has 3 wheels.

i sent a text message to my dad saying, "you're right! dream's scooter has 3 wheels." he replied with a short "he he he" and nothing more.

i felt my heart squeeze. i said, "thank you for not rubbing it in...that i was wrong and you were right..."

i remember how stubborn i was, arguing with him that the motorcycle we saw can stand on its own, without the rider having to balance it even when it only had 2 wheels because the wheels were huge. he said it can't because it only has 2 wheels. i told him it's possible and i used dream's scooter as an example. he simply kept his mouth shut...

i realized that all throughout my life, they were the people who'd believed me despite the times they found out i lied. they were the ones who listened even when i didn't want to speak. they were the ones who loved me even upon seeing and knowing my worst.

5 years ago, i had a grave problem. it was made 10 times easier to deal with because i had them as my family. i made a mistake. it was my fault. but they all stood by me and helped me face the situation...without telling me how stupid i was.

my dad simply said, "'di na ko dadagdag sa problema mo. mahal kita."
my mom said, "don't cry...it's not good for you..."
my brother said, "nandito lang ako...aalagaan kita..."
my sister said nothing...she just cried and held me for a long and tight embrace.

now i know, i've got a dad that is also my friend. the friend who takes me as i am. helps me when i need help and never complains. he lets me make my own mistakes and lets me realize them on my own too...not because he doesn't care but because he loves me enough to trust my judgement. he must think i'm pretty smart when i want to be. haha

i've got a mom who'll never tire of taking care of me...i'll always be her baby. she's my strength. when i'm weak, she'll hold me up so i can stand still. deep inside she may be crumbling too. but she'll never be too sad nor tired when i need her. i am sure.

i've got a brother who inspires me and motivates me in a lot of ways. he must know how much i admire him and how much influence he's got on me but he never acts like he's superior...he believes i'm someone too...not someone he should just push around. and he gives me a hug even when he gets a belly punch from me right after.

i've got a sister who gets mad for me when i'm too defeated to be angry. because of her, i've got someone who'd cry when i'm too dry to shed tears. she's hurt for me when i'm in so much pain, i'm almost numb. and she speaks my words when i keep all the burden inside. she makes me laugh too, when i'm too depressed to even smile.

i've got a baby brother who's sweet smile can do wonders to my battered heart.

and last but not least, i've got dream who's mere touch is a glimpse of heaven.

my family may not be perfect...but it's a family of LOVE and FAITH.

i never fail to thank God for them though i rarely tell them one by one how much they mean to me.

i am lucky...i am lucky i have 6 people in my life who'll take me as i am for the rest of my life... :)

dream's scooter has 3 wheels for it to stand. and, i've got 6...

Baby Shower

2009-04-26T22:47:00.001-07:00

We finally had a baby shower last Saturday, April 25, for family and friends.

It was a simple gathering only - dinner and opening of gifts :)

Everything was super cute and got us all the more excited to see our baby Basti!

Thanks to everyone who came. Click link below for the photos:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=94267&id=613941034&ref=mf

32nd week

2009-04-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

We are on our 32nd week of pregnancy today :-) Just a month more to go and we're all set to see our baby!!! :-)

We're having a baby boy and we're naming him Sebastian, Basti for short.

Had another ultrasound yesterday, and finally, Basti turned already and he's now in the right position for delivery. Last month, he was still in a breech position, and we were really hoping he would turn soon because we're gearing for a normal delivery :-)

We're almost done shopping for baby stuff, yey! Now we need to do the baby showers, so we can fix up the room already and get it all ready for Basti's arrival.

Can't wait!

P.S.
Paul's sprained ankle seems to be a bit better already - he doesnt wear his cast anymore, but its still a bit swollen and he gets tired of walking easily. But hopefully it will be totally healed when Basti comes :-)

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Hay Naku!

2009-03-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

Last March 22, Sunday, Paul sprained his ankle during a basketball game...
We thought it was just a normal sprain, until the next morning when his right foot was purple already, so we brought him to the hospital and they put his foot in a cast!

Tsk. Tsk.

8 YEARS

2009-03-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

Today, we celebrate 8 years of togetherness! :-)

(we officially became a couple last March 11, 2001)

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We are in Marie Claire's feb issue :-)

2009-02-15T19:32:00.000-08:00

Happy post-valentine's! :-) Check out Feb issue of Marie Claire Magazine - we are on page 58.

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6 months after :)

2009-02-09T23:06:00.000-08:00

Its been quite a while since we last posted anything on this site, have been so busy lately - enjoying the rest of our lives haha :-)

Last February 8 (Sunday), marked 6 months after our wedding, and though its just half a year, we still feel that its a milestone! So many things to celebrate - we're also 5 1/2 months pregnant already, and we can hardly wait!

The past months we have been busy traveling for our honeymoon, adjusting to our new home, finding out we were pregnant, going to check ups, getting ultrasounds, thinking of baby names, among other things. Haha :-)

So anyway, just decided to drop by and post a photo of Sara, with our bun in the oven.

We're planning to rehash this site soon, and change the title, then it will be more about our life after the wedding, so stay tuned :-)

YOUR photos :)

2008-09-04T23:44:00.000-07:00

Here are photos of guests naman, from the reception :)

Thanks so much again to everyone who made time to come and join us in the celebration!

Click here for more.

Photos, pictures, pix :)

2008-09-03T21:53:00.000-07:00

Click here for photos of the wedding.

These are mostly photos of us pa lang, we have yet to sort through the thousands of photos, so please expect more photos (especially of our wonderful guests) to be posted soon.

Photobooth!

2008-09-03T21:49:00.000-07:00

Hit na hit ang photobooth! haha :-) We're glad everyone enjoyed it :-)
Check out the link at the sidebar to your left, for the soft copies of your photobooth pictures.

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Mr. & Mrs. Paul Alvarez

2008-08-09T03:18:00.001-07:00

Just got married! :)

Will change site title and intro soon, haha, just need time to catch our breath!

Thanks to everyone who helped, who came and who wished us well :-)

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Photos!!!!

2008-08-09T03:05:00.000-07:00

Some photos of our wedding, for those who are excited, like us, hehe :-)

Courtesy of our friends - thanks a bunch! :-)

Click here. And here.

Wait! there's more!

Please come back to this site for more photos soon!

This photo, courtesy of Jayvee Fernandez.

1 day to go!

2008-08-06T10:29:00.000-07:00

1 more day to go before the big day!
Just thought we'd share this photo from the bridal shower put together for us by our GeiserMaclang family :-)

*Chocolate body frosting gift from Sara's team :-)

Thanks guys!

See you all on Friday!

Organizers :-)

2008-08-04T08:39:00.000-07:00

We met with our event organizer today - Creative Juice's Janice and Gary - two of our favorite people in the world because they are always so positive :-)

We can relax now knowing that we're in good hands already with Janice and Gary taking over, hehe :-) (big thanks guys!)

But there are still stuff for us to do - seat plan, final songs, final program! Whew!

Good thing Sara's mom is enjoying putting together the misalettes and other stuff that need to be put together pa, hehe :-)

Also, at least the honeymoon plans are ok na - thanks to another wonderful person who is good at organizing - Jackie :-) (thanks for helping us out with this Jackie!)

3 days to go!!!

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More Showers!

2008-08-02T23:47:00.000-07:00

More bridal parties for Sara! More goodies! Haha :-) Thank you everyone!

Bridal ShowerS

2008-07-27T21:59:00.001-07:00

Last last weekend, Sara's family threw a luncheon at Leslie's Alabang for Paul and Sara. Everyone was so full from the buffet!

Over the weekend naman, Paul's family threw a party for them at their family's resort in Lucban, Quezon. It was lots of fun and Sara got goodies from Victoria's secret! :-)

Thanks to all our families! We love you all! :-) See you on August 8!

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16 days to go

2008-07-22T05:17:00.000-07:00

16 days to go.
Gown, check!
Marriage license, check!
Misalatte, check!
....
Eyebags, check :(
Stress, check :(
Lack of sleep, :(
....
Parties, check :)

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Make Room

2008-07-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

We finally were able to put together our bridal registry, due to insistent public demand, hehe :) We really didn't want to register at first because we're not moving to an empty house anyway, but what the heck, we went ahead and did it na rin :)

Our first instinct was to go to Rustans, which seemed to be the easiest and most common bridal registry option, but when we got there, it turned out we had to make an appointment, etc., so we were kind of turned off.

So we went to Make Room (also owned by Stores Specialist) instead, one of our favorite home stores (both of us are a bit obsessive compulsive and Make Room is like heaven for us because of their selections of organizers, boxes, storage solutions, etc).

And it turned out to be a better experience for us, they were sooo accommodating! :D and their items are really really nice!

We had a blast, and we hope you check out their stores, even if not to buy us anything, we're sure you'll find something there that you'll like for yourself or your homes as well :)

Check out the left side bar of our website for the list of branches.

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Map to the Reception - The Loft

2008-07-06T18:25:00.001-07:00

Here's a Map to the Church

2008-07-06T17:43:00.000-07:00

For the birthday girl!

2008-07-02T18:12:00.001-07:00

Flowers for Sara on her 27th birthday yesterday, her last birthday as a Miss. :-)

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Invitations

2008-06-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

Haaaay, stressful day today, we are trying to finalize the invitations, and its driving us crazy!

Our goal was to have it all printed by end of today, but because there were still revisions as of last night, we have to push the deadline to this weekend.

Have yet to see the final color of the envelopes too...

Our invitation is super simple lang naman and we dont get how we haven't finalized it yet???

Actually, the invite itself is ok already, its the color of the envelopes that is really driving us crazy...

Anyway, we're posting here the soft copy of the invitation - but not all of it, para naman when you get the actual invites, you can still appreciate it :)

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References

2008-06-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

When we were just starting to plan the wedding, we, well, mostly Sara, went into a mad rush of buying wedding magazines, and other guides that we can use.

But the most helpful ones that we got were the ones given by friends - copies of Wedding Essentials Magazines from the editor herself, Ms. Marbee Go and the Weddings at Work Wedding Primer and Bride's Yellow Pages from event organizer Janice Villanueva.

These were really super helpful references - Wedding Essentials had options for all types of budgets :) And the Wedding Primer had all the tips, reminders, practical to-do's, etc :)

We also tried buying international bridal magazines, but they were mostly useless because, for one, you cant get anything thats there - unless you are really looking at getting your stuff/suppliers from abroad, and also because their suggestions are kind of baduy - hehe. Their wedding gown designs, tokens, etc are all so common and not very creative. But once in a while you'll still come across some fresh ideas and inspirations from those magazines too.

So anyway, if you're planning you're own wedding soon, try checking out the local magazine stands for Wedding Essentials Magazines (they are also good references for planning even non-wedding events). For copies of the Wedding Primer and the Bride's Yellow Pages, you can email mail@weddingsatwork.com.

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Songs

2008-06-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

We're finalizing our song list this weekend, and we're wondering if you have any suggestions?

We want the songs to be a mix of old and new :-) and the not-so-overly used wedding songs. Of course they should also be appropriate - we cringe at weddings where the wedding singer sings songs that are about lost loves or something...

Sharing with you the lyrics of one of the songs that we really love, which is part of our song list now.

The Last Time by Eric Benet

The first time I fell in love was long ago.
I didn't know how to give my love at all.
The next time I settled for what felt so close.
But without romance, you're never gonna fall.
After everything I've learned;
Now it's finally my turn.
This is the last time I'll fall... in love.
The first time we walked under that starry sky,
there was a moment when everything was clear.
I didn't need to ask or even wonder why, because each question is answered when your near.
and I'm wise enough to know when a miracle unfolds, this is the last time i'll fall in love.
Now don't hold back, just let me know.
Could i be moving much too fast or way too slow.
'Cause all of my life, I've waited for this day.
To find that once in a lifetime, this is it, I'll never be the same.
You'll never know what it's taken me to say these words.
And now that I've said them, they could never be enough.
As far as I can see, there's only you and only me.

This is the last time I'll fall in love.
Last time i'll fall in love.
The last time i'll fall... in love.

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Attire

2008-06-26T02:49:00.001-07:00

We've been getting questions already regarding the attire for the wedding, so we're posting it here na din for everyone's reference:

Its Barong Tagalog for men, and cocktails for ladies.

Our motif by the way is composed of different wine colors - deep purple, cabernet (wine red), and champagne. But you dont need to necessarily follow the color scheme naman :) But if you want to, why not? :)

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888 Wedding Frenzy

2008-06-25T22:17:00.000-07:00

Last January, we were featured by Ms. Tina Dumlao in Phil. Daily Inquirer - because of the wedding date that we chose - 08.08.08 :)

Apparently Ms. Tina found our story interesting enough to write about, when Sara told her how far in advance she had to do bookings for the wedding because so many couples are getting married on the same date.

Here's the link to the article :)

Lucky Date - 888 Wedding Frenzy

Why did we choose the date anyway? Well, actually, we wanted to do 777 originally, but we had to move it to the following year. As it turns out, 888 seemed a better date - as 8 symbolizes infinity (i know, how cheesy... *wink) :)

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Nuestra Señora de Gracia Parish

2008-06-25T05:43:00.000-07:00

We chose this church first of all because we wanted the venue of our wedding to be accessible to all - and Makati is a happy compromise to all our friends and family who are coming from all over the metro, the provinces and even abroad :)

Sara's friend and officemate Alma, actually gave us the idea about this church. Our original choice was Sanctuario de San Antonio in Forbes, but even as early as September last year, the church was fully booked already for August 8. The day Sara panicked and was fantically calling up churches in Makati for an alternative, Alma searched online for this church that she said was one of the oldest churches in Makati.

The photos over the internet were lovely so Sara immediately called to book our wedding ceremony there, for the 2pm slot (the only remaining slots were 8am and 2pm). A few dayd after the booking, we went to go see the church and we realized how it was such a blessing in disguise that Sanctuario de San Antonio was fully booked already.

Here's a link to an online article about the church, for more information :)

Trivia: They say this church has been a setting for some local movies and TV series'. I remember the movie with Kristine Hermosa and Diether Ocampo - the wedding scene was shot here - i think its the movie that was a trilogy? And i also heard the series Lupin had some shots taken here as well.