Vaginal Realm

Solenne was baptized as a Christian last Saturday. Man, time flies so fast. It didn't seem like four months ago she was wrapped in a pink blanket at the hospital nursery. She grows so fast, too. By now she probably weighs an estimate of 7 kgs, double her birthweight. She got her Otosan's extremities, long and slender, while she got her skintone and hair color from me. She loves to sing, hugs her muymuy and hotdog pillow like crazy, and is fond of watching TV. Her hair is already long enough to be tied with pretty little ribbons. And just recently we bought her new pairs of shoes because booties doesn't suit her anymore. Give it a few more weeks and then she'll start crawling. Haaay.

Sig and I are giddy with excitement the night before. Bibinyagan na si Solenne, we sighed. It was a milestone for her and for us as well. It took us one month to prepare for this whole event, and that excludes the planning that took about another month. Now, being the first-born that she is, of course we parents are excited with all the planning stuff. Let me recap the steps that led to this wonderful celebration:

We started by listing down the things to do, which we narrowed down to six:

1. Pick a venue for the reception - funny, this was actually at the top of our list
2. Pick a church, which ironically should be within the vicinity of the reception
3. Souvenirs
4. Cake
5. Invitation
6. Guest List

After considering our options, we chose to have the reception at Cafe Ysabel at San Juan. Aside from being homey and cozy, the food is just superb that we believed everything they serve would appeal to anybody's discriminating (or jologs) palate. Plus, the staff were really courteous and helpful. We went there 3 weeks before the scheduled date to do some food tasting, and finally decided on a sit down menu that comprises a full meal - salad, soup, main course, dessert, coffee/tea, and drinks. We initially wanted it to be July 28, but since this date was unavailable we settled for August 4 instead. The restaurant manager was not around that day so I went back two days after to pay the downpayment. August 4th it is!

Cafe Ysabel, 455 P. Guevarra Street, San Juan. From Ortigas, turn left (or right if you're from San Juan town proper) at Wilson Street. Landmark is Metrobank at the corner of Ortigas and Wilson. Go straight ahead until you reach a mini-crossing at the end of Wilson, at which turn left to P. Guevarra Street. Landmark is Asiatrust Bank at the corner of Wilson and P. Guevarra. Within 100 meters you will reach Cafe Ysabel at the left side of the road. Perfect date resto. Price is about average, expect to shove out P500 per head which includes a main course, dessert or salad, and drink. Our set menu costs P605 per head + 12% VAT. A P10,000 DP is demanded upon closing of the date.

Next, after paying the downpayment that Tuesday, I met with Sig and went to Santuario de San Jose inside East Greenhills Subdivision. The church proper is really pretty (and quite big for a subdivision parish) with huge stained glass windows and gold as the main color theme althroughout. The baptistry is located in a separate room at the right side of the altar, where there is a life-size idol of the Risen Lord and bowl for pouring of the Holy Water. The church and the baptistry are air-conditioned, which is suitable for a baby wearing an elaborate lace and organza christening gown. The church staff are very friendly and helpful, plus they have a working fax machine through which I sent Solenne's birth certificate and list of ninongs and ninangs. The parish priest Fr. Noel was also very nice, himself a light-hearted person and would sometimes be a funny bone in an otherwise awkward ceremony.

Santuario de San Jose's office is open from 8am to 12nn, and 1pm to 5pm with telephone number 725-2044, fax 724-4139. Baptismal charge is P1,500, which includes the priest's fee, use of airconditioning system, and candles for the sponsors. The baptismal certificate would be available within a week after the ceremony. For baptism, they only require a photocopy of the child's birth certificate. A form is also required where you list the names of ninongs and ninangs. I might be wrong, but there are only 4 pairs of ninongs and ninangs in the form, so I guess better check if they will allow more sponsors beyond that.

The next weekend after our food-tasting session, we went to Divisoria to look for souvenirs. We had a lot of ideas, and we went all over 168 and Divisoria malls to look for them, only to find what we wanted in a quaint shop within the jungles of the streets of divisoria itself. A personalized glass paperweight bearing Solenne's picture with some little message of thanks. It costs P30 per piece for 30 pieces and would be finished within 2 days. The first batch they got the message all jumbled up. Seriously, we wrote the friggin' message down. How the hell can they get it wrong? So we gave them another two days to fix the fuck up. The souvenirs come in its own little red box.

Due to time constraints and the unavailability of our desired baker, we decided to forget about the cake. Heck, as if the guests would have spare room for cake with all the food they'll be served with.

The invitations were designed by myself and printed using company resources (ssssh!!!). I just had to purchase nice board paper and formal invitation envelops for 30 invitations, costing about P250 at National Bookstore. We have a good enough laser printer here in the office, so why would I use my own or pay for it? No way.

Now, the guest list. Initially, we listed down 29 guests, 3 of which might not make it, so that makes 26. But OF COURSE, the Filipino that some of us are, they would tag along their bf/gf/friend/whoever even if it says in their invitation "We reserved 1 seat for you". And then my sister had to tag along 2 of her children's nannies, and my father invited my aunt and her husband and her son with her girlfriend...SO *surprise surprise* on the day itself there were 39 people, 4 kids (as opposed to only 1 officially invited) and 2 unexpected nannies. That shot up our total bill to a bit above P28,000 all in, less the downpayment of 10K. But then again, all the guests were happy and filled to the throat with their meals and all of us had a great time, catching up and spending another golden moment together, so I guess it's worth every penny.

Solenne's gown and booties was made using a hand-embroidered lace and organza gown by deconstructing my own gown. The fabric was given to me by my mother. I simply paid the tailor for labor and a few beadwork she made at the train of the gown. It costs me a meager amount of P500, but believe me, whe you purchase a less elaborate gown at Rustan's, it costs P6,500. I guess it's because of the concept of the designer and the fabric that makes it so expensive. When I went to the couturier I already have the design on hand, so in a week's time she was able to finish the dress.

All in all, it was an unforgettable experience. Solenne was baffled with the number of people wishing her well. With all those blessings, I know she will have some kind of a life ahead.

Oh, and did I mention that everyone thought she is soooo beautiful? *snicker*

See more pictures here.

Labels: bubu