June 27th 2009
Chapel on the Hill
Splendido

Ton & Lea from Bong Sare on Vimeo.

Ton and Lea are both smart and funny.

Both are products of Notre Dame.

Heck, all Damers are smart and funny.

One fantastic school.

I finished HS there, by the way.

But in any case, this is one happy wedding!

Well, this actually happened last February.

Clips courtesy of Bob and the Gang.

Enjoy!

The 5DX Team from Bong Sare on Vimeo.

Rhome - 18 from Bong Sare on Vimeo.

Cecilio created not one, not two, but three fantastic threads for her.

Madge did her make-up.

ImagineNation took care of the photos.

Christine Ong handled/coordinated the entire event.

Surely not your typical “debut” party.

And here’s Rhome’s I-Am-Now-A-Woman SDE sprinkled with footages from the actual day of the event and her pictorial at Madge’s studio held a few days prior. And it’s got Craig David singing “Insomnia” in the background.

May 18th 2009
Naga City Basilica
The Avenue Plaza Hotel

Ariel & Sheryl from Bong Sare on Vimeo.

The trip to Naga is not something we can really describe as smooth.

Nope. Far from it.

The Andaya Highway (or Quirino HW) is a big mess. There are potholes within a pothole inside another pothole. And there are hundreds of them, if not thousands.

The ride was totally uncomfortable bordering on bone-crushing.

But actually, the rough ride came in pretty handy.

Why?

Because we left Manila for Naga just four hours after a five hour trip from Baguio. And with the amount of sleep (or lack of it) we had, falling asleep while driving was a real concern.

Potholes to the rescue!

It was rough and it took us ten hours to reach Naga City. But you know what, it was all worth it.

Why?  Let me count the ways:

First, we stayed in CWC for four days and three nights. And we’re talking about one of the best, if not the best, cable wakeboarding facility in the world. I first experienced CWC back in 2007 and loved it so much that I promised my kids I’ll take them there with me once we get the chance of doing so.

Second, Dino , Madge and Veluz were also there. They spent their first two nights in a different hotel but eventually transferred to CWC one day before we were all scheduled to leave. Oh, and my surfing/wakeboarding buddies Mimi and Karl also arrived that same day.

Lastly, and the most important reason of all, we were there to cover a wedding we’ve been waiting for a very long time - Ariel and Sheryl’s!

The preparation and reception took place at The Avenue Plaza Hotel while the intimate ceremony was at the very beautiful Naga City Basilica.

Sheryl (who wasn’t really excited about their wedding - hehe) surprised Ariel by using an original song for their on-site written and performed by Trina Belamide, whom Sheryl started bugging for a song as early as 2007. And based on Ariel and their guests’ reaction, that too was worth it.

This will go down as one the most memorable and fun-filled wedding we’ve covered, and we only have this lovely couple to thank. So, to Ariel and Sheryl, congratulations guys and thanks for bringing us over. Oh, and thanks also for helping me tick one item off  my promises-i-made-my-kids-list.

May 16th 2009
Baguio City

Louie & Melissa from Bong Sare on Vimeo.

Personally, I prefer afternoon over morning weddings simply because I’m a night person. I sleep between 3-5 in the morning every single day. And covering a morning wedding means shooting (and editing) with little to no sleep at all. But this one … is a bit different.

Yes, the ceremony was at 10am, so naturally, we were at the hotel at 6, which is typical of a morning wedding. But I happened to enjoy this one. Why? Because it was held in Baguio City … the coolest city in the country.

And when you’re surrounded by a laid back couple, pine trees and a cool weather, you can’t help but match it with an equally laid back SDE with Katie Melua’s version of The Cure’s classic “Just Like Heaven” playing in the background (the couple’s choice). And spared from dehydration by perspiration, this is my current favorite morning wedding.

By the way, this is the first part of our two-part North to South roadtrip which took place last May 15-20.

Congrats Louie and Melissa!

May 10th 2009
Santuario de San Jose
Edsa Shangri-La

They hold hands and kiss in front of everyone like it’s the beginning of their relationship. And hands down, they are our sweetest couple ever.

And I would be very happy if all those who tied (and will tie) the knot (including me and my wife) end up like these two.

Jet and Myrna from Bong Sare on Vimeo.

I’m not really a religious person, but Jet and Myrna, and the song they picked, made me realize how great God really is.

We only covered two weddings last April, Ian and Tina’s and this one.

Gelo and Ezzy from Bong Sare on Vimeo.

The preparation, ceremony and reception all took place in Hacienda Isabella, a welcome getaway from the boiling weather (that was before the rain started coming in). And this one is a BIG HIT! In fact, this vid contains the BIGGEST HIT we’ve ever seen. Haha

Congrats guys! It sure was fun covering your big day!

May 2nd 2009
NSDG
The Blue Leaf

We made a lot of supplier-friends in the last five years (we started April 2004), and Mitch is definitely one of them. She is one of Clarice’s not-so-secret weapon. Always there when she’s needed. Always at the right time.

And last Saturday, Mitch’s time to walk down the aisle FINALLY came. “Total Happiness” might still fall short in describing how the two looked that day. And we’re mighty glad we were there to witness (and document) everything.

Walvine and Mitch from Bong Sare on Vimeo.

It’s always fun working with supplier-friends, but covering one’s wedding … off the charts!

Congrats Walvine and Mitch! Enjoy Puerto Princesa!

Organizer - Events By Clarice
Gown - Veluz
Photo - Paul Vincent
Cake - Alex Franco
Food - Josiah’s

My last post was three million years ago. And you can’t blame me, ‘coz simply put, there’s nothing, over the past few weeks, that can be considered as blog-able. I simply refuse to blog about what we’ve been doing (or what we haven’t done - ‘coz there just ain’t any) just to fill the ” blog gaps ” - and Facebook takes care of that. It’s just one boring, excruciatingly long April for us.

Good thing it’s April 28, because today, we (together with Team M+K) are heading North to Zambales. Potipot Island, to be precise. In a desperate attempt to save our sanity. Haha

Our office will be closed from today ’til Thursday (April 28-30). But you can still get in touch with us via our mobile phones.

Normal operations resume May 4.

Considering the weather (thanks to global warming?), this promises to be our wettest and most exciting summer getaway to date.

Pix and vids soon.

Photo courtesy of manilenio.com.

April 5th 2009
Caleruega
Ville Sommet

Ian and Tina from Bong Sare on Vimeo.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen won the 2008 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian GP in Sepang.

This year, Brit driver Jenson Button took the checkered flag in his surprisingly dominating Brawn GP BGP 001  (a rookie F1 team).

Ian and Tina, on the other hand, got married last (Palm) Sunday, April 5, 2009.

The connection?

Watch the video and you’ll find out.

Congrats Ian and Tina!