Wedding Banns

The three weeks for posting our wedding banns are done.
Mabuti naman at walang tumutol. Hahaha! Subukan lang nila.

Sa church nila Momon, maganda ang banns, sa church namin, hindi man lang pinost.

Our Wedding Invitation

Momon and I love our invitations!
We can't wait to give it to our guests. Sana magustuhan din nila. :-)

The Surefire Way to Convert Money Into Happiness

This is article is such an eye opener. Although I consider myself a good financial manager, I still learned loads from this piece.

Momon says this is just the same-old wants vs needs concept, but I beg to disagree. I think what Martha Beck shows here is that wants and needs do not need to compete, and that there are ways we can still get want we want even if we do not need them. I also like how it helps us determine how much part of our income can we allot for each quadrant in the matrix.

Now, let me see how I applied the matrix into my wedding stuff, and how Momon and I can apply this to our finances as a couple. Please do read on.

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The Surefire Way to Convert Money Into Happiness
By Martha Beck
O, The Oprah Magazine | July 15, 2010

Long ago, so long ago that I was practically still a gill-breather, I noticed a magazine ad that claimed the average person earns $700,000 over an entire lifetime. I have no idea how they came to that number, but I never forgot the words splashed in big, bold letters across the page:

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH YOUR $700,000?

I was lucky to encounter this question so early on, because it's lurked in my mind ever since, reminding me that I want to spend my life's earnings creating the most satisfying experiences I can. That might mean buying and using certain objects, paying someone for life-enhancing services, or donating to good causes.

This is a type of wealth management, but the wealth isn't money; it's happiness. And to reap as much of it as possible, I've come up with a little system to maximize the joy dividend in all my money decisions. This strategy may sound odd to actual financial advisers, but when I've ignored it—even to make what appear to be fiscally sound choices—my joie de vivre has declined. I've learned that sticking to my rules makes things turn out far better, and I'm hoping that if you adopt this system, it will work for you, too.

Discovery Weekend (Ros' Account)

Momon and I attended the Discovery Weekend last July 2-4. It is a marriage preparation workshop conducted by the aptly named Marriage Preparation Foundation, Inc.

Much of what Momon and I experienced during the weekend cannot be put into words. So I acknowledge that this account is completely inadequate in sharing what we have gained in the workshop. Still, I will try my best to write down some thoughts with hopes that you will also decide to invest in your marriage and partnership, the way we did, with Discovery Weekend.

Discovery Weekend (Momon's Account)

I have to admit that I had my doubts with DW. I felt that it was going to be a waste of time and money. There are many successful marriages that did not go through DW. I felt that we could use the money elsewhere since there are cheaper and less time consuming alternatives.

Also, guys have a hard time sharing their feelings, even to their partners. I’m not exactly the expressive type. So why pay for something that I don’t even like doing?

Another thing, Ros and I have been together for almost 9 years. What else is there to know about her? What else is there to talk about and share? I thought that this was going to be a useless exercise.

After the DW experience, I admit that I was wrong with my initial impressions. First, regarding the fee, the organization is nonstock and nonprofit. The money will be used for future DW and other outreach programs. For two night’s stay and plenty of food and snacks, the fee is reasonable. The experience is also, as cheesy as this may sound, priceless.

Regarding the sharing of feelings, you won’t actually share with the other couples. You will only share your thoughts and feelings with your partner. There is no other venue or opportunity to share your innermost thoughts like DW.

I found out that length of time as a couple is relevant with DW. Ros and I are together for almost nine years. During the weekend, we affirmed our past experiences. We revisited special moments and determined what made it special for us. We also shared with each other our expectations for our future as couple.

I would recommend DW to all couples getting married or having plans of getting married. This experience won’t change your life, but it’s a start.


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For more information, please visit: http://www.discoveryweekend.org/

Monthly Amortizations, Done!

Finally, napuno na ang chart! Imagine, a chart that was started in December 2007--that's almost 3 years ago; a chart that we go to every month logging on payments and always making sure it balances with the bank records and keeps with the prescribed wedding budget.

Puno na! Dati we got excited that it's at 50% or 60%, now it reads 100%!

We have 3 months to go. We have also each made 50% payments to our deficit (discussed in previous entry). Pag nakabayad na kami sa deficit, all the rest we'll be earning will go straight to savings or as addition to the start up money we need. Hay, this is a nice feeling. Nung una akala namin we're in trouble, ngayon... it's looking positive naman. I am so proud of myself and Momon.

We will keep this system of making monthly amortizations. It's a great way to discipline ourselves with money, learning to prioritize savings, and living within our means. Perhaps the first months/year will be difficult since it's both our first time to live completely, as in 100%, apart from our parents and not relying on them for dinner, water, electricity, etc. But we are together, and that's what matters. :-)

Deficit

I'll say it straight: We have a P50,000 deficit in our wedding budget. ARUY.

Hindi kasi namin sinama sa original budget and honeymoon, documents, additional transportation, house, choir, pre-cana seminar and DIY items.

Meron kaming savings sa wedding rings at venue. Nagsponsor din ang family namin ng guest favors, wedding attires and cake. Pero all these savings went to the excess payment for the documentation and food. At ang dumali talaga samin are the items na di namin pinasok sa umpisa. So, in essence, wala kaming deficit, ng problem ay ang items na di pinasok.

Kaso lang hindi naman essence ang usapan dito.

But no worries, kaya to: P25,000 each. I am still thankful that Momon is an accountant who can figure out our budget deficit precisely, that I was and still am very diligent in writing down all our wedding expenses since we started in Jan 2009, and most importantly, that we have savings and jobs from where we can derive the deficit from.

Isa lang to sa mga pagsubok namin. Bring it on.

Solid.

It's now only 17 weeks or should I say 17 WEEKENDS till our wedding. Remove 1 weekend for a workshop our office is implementing, and another for Discovery Weekend, and possibly some more weekends for work.

It may seem like we have a lot of time, but when weekdays are spent for intense fitness regimen first thing in the morning, full-time jobs throughout the day, wedding research and tasks until we fall asleep at night, weekends are all we really have for the actual legwork.

Just this last weekend, Momon and I were supposed to be in Puerto Galera with Ben, Rhea and Vincent. But we were threatened by Friday's downpour so we decided to cancel. A blessing in disguise, I would say, cause we were able to send out our save the date cards, finalize our website for guests, visit two of our Principal Sponsor and start house-hunting.

I remember a line something like this in Bride Wars: The final weeks of wedding preparation is like a litmus test for couples. Others breakdown, while others draw strength from each other.

At this point in the preps, I'm proud to say Momon and I are the latter. Momon and I have worked on school assignments, reports, presentations, planning trips, etc. This is undoubtedly our biggest project yet, and I'm confident we'll ace it. Our teamwork is superb, our decisions on point, and our efforts focused. We don't feel rattled, but we know the urgency. We are no longer get swayed by new wedding ideas or comments by other people, because our vision for our wedding is clear, and we are confident with all our choices. And finally, we are also starting to feel not just our excitement, but also that of the people we are planning to celebrate our union with.

Save the Date: October 2!

Yahoo! Finally we are ready to release our Save the Date cards.

Thank you very much to our dear friends who helped us accomplish this task. We couldn't have done it without you. Grabe, para tayong bumalik sa mga project natin nung high school!

Photos by Ben. Styling by Rhea. Expressions-coaching by Ben and Rhea. Letterings by Vincent. Layout facilitated by Hanna. Cuteness by Cello.

Thank you again! Mwah!

Birth Certificates

Feel ko na talaga na malapit na ang wedding kasi inaayos na namin ang documents. This is really is it.

Here are our pretty NSO-issued birth certificates ordered through NSO Helpline 737 1111.
Very easy ang procedure:

1. Call 737 1111
2. Provide the following information:

• Complete name of person to be certified
• Complete name of father
• Complete maiden name of mother
• Date of birth
• Place of birth
• Info if you were registered late or if there are corrections in your birth certificate
• Complete name and address of requesting party
• Number of copies needed
• Purpose of certificate

3. We applied for both birth certificate and CENOMAR. The customer service agent will just apply the same details to your CENOMAR application.

4. They will ask you to note down the reference number. 1 reference number per certificate. So, for us it was four reference numbers, 2 for birth certificates and 2 for CENOMARs.

5. Pay for the service in any Metrobank branch. 1 birth certificate is P330, and 1 CENOMAR is P430. We got 2 copies each... tatlo palang birth certificate para sakin dahil sa baptismal certificate issue ko (Boo!).

When filling up your Metrobank payment slip use the green slip, 1 per reference number. Use NSO Helpline as Company Name, and the name of the requesting party as the Account Name.

You can also pay in Bancnet ATM and Bayad Centers

6. Birth certificate is processed within 4 working days, and the CENOMAR within 7 working days. Make sure to provide an authorization letter in case you're not the one to receive the package. The authorized recipient also needs to have an ID.


Ay salamat, nakuha na ito. And thanks to our parents who made sure all entries are correct!

Here they are!