Jacqueline: 3rd birthday party

February 9, 2010
McDonald's/Villa Caceres Hotel, Naga City


I know I have said this many times before, but I have always been very lucky with the clients that I get.  Always. Like 99% of the time.  But among those wonderful clients, there are still those who stand out.  Judy is one of them.  She was totally amazing to work with from the very start.  We constantly talked through emails, texts, and phone calls during the months leading to the parties. And although we haven't actually met  by then, I already felt that she trusted me and she treated me like a friend. (I will never forget when she sent me a gift basket after she heard about my "incident" last December.) And when we finally met in person a few days before we flew to Naga, it was like we have known each other for a long time.

It's always such a great honor when someone books me for an out-of-town event, because it feels great to know that they chose me even though a local supplier would have cost them much less.  Judy flew most of her suppliers from Manila to Naga.  And she treated each one of us like a VIP. I wouldn't go into much of the details because it would embarass her, but Judy went all out and over the top to make us feel like kings. I'm not kidding! Yeah, Judy is every supplier's dream client.  And I feel so grateful that serendipity caused her to find me when she was looking for suppliers online. :)

The family visited Naga (they're based abroad) just to celebrate Jacqueline's 3rd birthday with relatives and friends. It was a whole day affair, starting off with a thanksgiving mass in the morning, a lunch party at McDonald's and finally a grand party at the Villa Caceres Hotel.

Below are some of the photos.

A couple of shots from the thanksgiving mass.


Judy warned me beforehand that Jacqueline was very shy with strangers.  I was glad I was able to capture these photos of her actually smiling at me and having fun in front of the camera.:)


Family shots after the mass.


Love these next photos.

Then we were off to McDonald's for Jacqueline's birthday lunch party.

The kids having fun.

The family with the McDonald's crew.



In the evening of that same day, the family had a grand party at the Villa Caceres with relatives and very close friends.

Jacqueline's lovely attire for the night.



Venue set-up was done by Petals and Charles.








Party favors!





This huge cake ensemble by Marta's Cakes had to be flown in pieces along with a staff from Marta's to put the everything together before the party.





The birthday girl getting her glitter tattoo.

Symond drove all the way from Manila to entertain the guests. I have to say he was a hit in Naga.;)

Jacqueline's uncle was also celebrating his birthday so they brought out a surprise cake for him.





This photo was taken the day after the party when we all went to Camsur. But I just think Jacqueline looks so pretty here.:)


Special thank you to my sister Pie who was my 2nd shooter, and Pete who missed work just who he could go with us on the trip and assist us during the party.

Thanks also to the Thor Production team for being awesome to work and travel with.:)

And to Judy and her entire family for trusting us and for being such gracious hosts to all of us!:)

Three!

Three years and about 2 hours ago, the doors of the Nuestra Señora de Gracia Church opened, and I stepped in to see the smiling faces of all our friends and relatives looking at me. I took a deep breath and slowly started to walk. But then, I had to pause because I felt the strap on my right shoe slip off. I contemplated excusing myself to fix the strap, but then that would have probably ruined the drama. So, I moved forward slowly, dragging my right foot, being very careful not to fall on my face, and trying not to trip on my gown. I felt relief when I finally reached my dad's arm. Finally, I had something to hold on to for the rest of the walk. And then I saw Pete. He looked like he caught something in his eye...

Yep, today marks our 3rd wedding anniversary.

To try to understand our relationship based only on our three years of marriage wouldn't be right though. That would be like watching only the last season of LOST, which Pete says you have to watch from the very beginning to really appreciate. (Hence, I ended up not watching it at all.) I hope I didn't offend Lost fans out there by comparing my relationship with my husband to one of the best television shows ever. (At least, that's what I heard.) In fact, I don't think our story is even TV-worthy. At least nothing to write Ate Charo about. But if it were a TV show, our story's pilot episode was in November 1996. It was crap--didn't really take off and was cancelled about two months later.:D We spent the next months developing a more viable plot and by November 1998, we were back on air. And after 8 and a half years, we opened another chapter by tying the knot.

And so here we are three years later.

The past three years have been awesome. Really. Things just kept getting better and better since that day three years ago, that when I really think about it, our wedding was probably one of the low points in our marriage. And I'm not saying we have a perfect life or a perfect marriage. I guess we just learned to appreciate things and life more. And everything just seems so much more fabulous!

So, although I woke up with a really bad cold this morning, and have been sneezing like crazy the whole day, things didn't seem so bad because I woke up with my husband by my side to hand me the inhaler. Hehehe.

Happy Anniversary to us!:) Here's to 68 more seasons together (because I just decided we're both going to live to be a hundred.;))




*Photos by Pie Lorenzo

Gabbie: Kiddie portrait session and 1st birthday party

I was going through my portrait sessions this year, and I realized I skipped blogging about Gabbie's pictorial last January. It was my first time to do a shoot at the Bonifacio High Street, and I was a bit nervous that the guard would kick us out. However, when we got there, I saw a lot of people with DSLR's hanging around their necks, and there were even photographers with long lenses. With my 5D and 50mm lens (which I carried in a pink tote bag), I blended in quite well.:D

Gabbie is a very active toddler.  I had to follow her around to get the shots.  But she's so pretty and adorable,  it wasn't difficult to get good photos of her.
 

February 13, 2010
Max's Restaurant

A couple of weeks after the pictorial, I photographed Gabbie's 1st birthday party.  I wasn't physically in top shape during the party (in fact, I got sick again just a few days after), but the party was relatively laid-back that as far as I can remember, I actually enjoyed doing it.:)

Some details:






It's always great to work with friends. Jacque of Party Boosters was there to set the place up.

We headed outside for some photos.

Gabbie wasn't in the mood for photos that day though.











I took time to take photos of one of her outfits during a break in the party.

The canvas frame of one of the shots from the pictorial.





Gabbie's cousin.


Jojo Bandana was there to do magic.


Bubbles!





I was able to take pictures of her other set of clothes after the party.


Took a few more shots of the family after the party. Love Mommy Olga's face painting!:)