Kian: 1st birthday party

January 30, 2011
Urdaneta Village Clubhouse

Theme: Elephant and Balloons

I have photographed a lot of gorgeous kiddie parties but I have to say this is one of my recent favorites. I loved the theme, the colors, the charming little details...from the invitations, to the lootbags, and even the napkin holders...everything was just cute and pretty!  And it didn't hurt either that Kathleen dela Merced and her Hi-5 Parties team did an excellent job with the venue decor, as always!

And what made this party even more perfect for me?  The wonderful clients, of course! Mommy Jackie and Daddy Brian were both so easy to work with.  I already knew I wouldn't have any problem with them even when we were just exchanging emails.  On the day of the party, I felt that I had their full trust and it made me want to work even harder to deliver great photos.

Below are some of my favorite shots from the day...

I loved the venue decorations by Hi-5 Parties!


Look at the lovely design of on these lootbags!


Some more photos of the exquisite party details...











Birthday outfit of the cute birthday boy.

We went outside to take a few family shots before the party started.

Such a lovely family, aren't they?


I always love "candid" family photos.





Kian is such a handsome little man, isn't he?





The awesome Flooch was host for the day.


Jiggles the Balloon Lady was also there to make her amazing balloon sculptures!

The kids enjoying one of the games.








Candle-blowing!


Venue decor: Hi-5 Parties (c/o Kathleen dela Merced)
Treat Bar: Hi-5 Parties
Cake/Cupcakes: Vanilla Kitchen
Host/Magician: Flooch
Additional entertainment: Jiggles the Balloon Lady
Carts: Red Mango Frozen Yogurt, NYFD Fries, Hi-5 Corndogs

Special thanks to my good friend Ces Kasilag for being my backup shooter that day.:)

Viene: Baptism and 1st birthday party

November 6, 2011
Binondo Church
Annapolis Seafood Restaurant

For kiddie events, I usually deal with the moms before the actual party.  However, lately, I've been getting more and more inquiries from the dads.  I find it actually kinda refreshing to know that dads nowadays are more involved in planning their babies' parties.  I have to be honest though. Every time I get an email or text from a dad asking about my services, I get a bit intimidated.  The first thought that comes to my mind is that they have probably never heard of me or seen my work, but their wives just asked them to book me.  This was how I felt when I was exchanging emails with Daddy Vince.  Besides, he sounded oh so serious in his emails and he seemed like a man of few words...quite scary, if you ask me!  Well, I was in for a surprise when we finally met in person during baby Viene's party. He's actually one of the coolest dads I have ever worked with! Also, he and Mommy Grace, and their families were so nice to me and Pie that working with them didn't feel like working at all.:)

Below are just some of my favorite photos from that day.

The baptism was held at the baptistry of the Binondo Church. It was one of the shortest baptismal ceremonies I have ever been to! Not that I was complaining...it gave Pie and me some time to go shopping for our favorite hopia across the street before driving to the reception venue!:D





A quick family photo after the baptism.

As soon as we got to the party venue, I started shooting all the pretty little details that Mommy Grace laid out for me.


It was an intimate luncheon, but they had colorful balloons to liven up the place.



I always love taking photos of little girls' dresses.



And their shoes, too!

The super colorful cake and cuppies from Balloon Republic!


And here's our birthday girl sitting comfortably in her stroller.





It was raining outside and there really wasn't any good spot to take photos in front of the building, but we found this area right outside the function room that had good enough light and had plastic plants that reminded me of those old studio photos from the 90s.:D The photos didn't turn out bad at all though.;)

Viene enjoying her lunch.

It was a Chinese Lauriat, and I will never forget how Vince and Grace put aside our share for each course while I was still shooting.  And they let us sit with them in their table! (Oh, by the way, can you see me in this photo?;D)

Viene fell asleep shortly after having lunch, but she woke up just as guests were leaving and everyone was packing up. We took a few more shots of her with the cake.

And one last shot with mom and dad. :)



Venue decor: Balloon Republic
Cake: Balloon Republic
Viene's dresses: Periwinkle

Sofia: 1st birthday party

January 29, 2011
The Blue Leaf
Party theme: "It's a Small World!"

Mommy Sheryl first contacted me when she was still pregnant with Sofia back in 2009.  She wanted to have a maternity photo session.  Unfortunately, we were never able to do the session because we had a hard time finding a schedule (the whole family is based abroad, so their schedule was always too tight whenever they were in the country for a visit).  In fact, we set a schedule for it a couple of times but had to cancel the last minute!

A few months after giving birth, Sheryl emailed me again, this time to book me for Sofia's 1st birthday party!  The day of the party was the first time we met (finally!) in person, and looking back, I am so grateful that I was given the chance to work with this family. Mommy Sheryl and Daddy Arman are just soooo nice! When I first met Arman, he called me by my first name, even when we had never "met" (not even through email) before that day.  And I'm pretty sure he pronounced it correctly, too!:D  (My name get mispronounced maybe 80% of the time, so it's a big deal for me when people say it correctly the first time. Hehehe.)  And Sheryl has been such a darling, even after the party.  Seriously, it's clients like her who remind me why I love doing what I do.

Oh, and there's Sofia, of course!  She was a bit shy at first but she's such a pretty little girl that I really enjoyed photographing her. I've been seeing more recent photos of her on Facebook, and she's growing up to be really beautiful. I actually told Sheryl I really wish I could photograph Sofia again.;)

Here are some of my favorites from the day...

We started the day at the Hotel Celeste.

This beautiful pink dress is by Cecilio Abad!


As I said, Sofia was at bit shy at first.  We had to bribe her with some gadgets just to get her to stay on the bed for some shots.:)

We also had to give her some snacks.


All dressed up! By the way, I always love taking photos at Hotel Celeste.  Every one of their rooms have unique furniture and decor which are perfect for photos!


Isn't she lovely?


I love this photo of the beautiful birthday family.

A couple more shots...





...then we were off to the party venue.

This is one of those beautiful huge cakes that move!

Gorgeous party decor by Hi-5 Parties (Kathleen dela Merced)!

Before the program started, we went outside to take some more family photos.  There's just something I love about this photo.


Yey! A smile from Sofia at last!:)





One of my favorites, Alex Lagula was the host/magician.


As always, he was a hit!








Candle-blowing!





Hotel preps: Hotel Celeste
Venue: Silk Pavillion, The Blue Leaf
Caterer: Bizu
Sofia Jae's Outfit: Cecilio Abad
Videographer: ThorProd
Party Planner: Kelly Dela Merced (Hi-5 Parties)
Themed Dessert Buffet: Sugar n Spice Dessert Buffet
Cake: Les Sucreries
Magician and Host: Alex Lagula