Travel Hacks

How we pulled off a travel-themed civil wedding

A lot has happened since my last travel in April. I was so preoccupied with a lot of things (my wedding, my family's visit from the US, and my operation), that it was difficult for me to find time to blog. And to make matters worse, just a mere week before I would walk down the aisle, a health problem turned up. But God was really good to me, as my condition didn't worsen through the 4 weeks that had me running errands. Of course, I was a bit sad when my doctor advised us to cancel our honeymoon in El Nido, to lessen the risks on my end. But nothing mattered more to me than to be well and fit until my scheduled surgery. 

As I write this, I'm already 2 weeks post-op. I'm also happy to be recovering this fast, and to be sitting up again. Finally, I can share some of the photos from our travel-inspired, civil wedding.


If you've been following my blog, then you've already been acquainted with the fact that Rubel and I love to travel. We've recently tied the knot last May 28, 2016 after 8 years of being together. (For a detailed review of our suppliers, you can read our gratitude letter on my new blog: Wife Life Discoveries).

PREPARATIONS

Rubel and I had a year to save a few more pesos for our civil wedding. But since he worked abroad, I was left to do all of the physical arrangements (with the help of some family members), which I enjoyed a lot, with no complaints. I even assembled a lot of our travel-inspired props and souvenirs (DIY-style) to cut on costs.

INVITATIONS

All of our travel-themed layouts were made by my brother Choy, and his girlfriend Cathy. Cathy did the invitations (which we printed at home), while they both worked on the stage backdrop design and photobooth picture arrangement.


STAGE BACKDROP:
WORLD MAP

We were able to buy this stock photo online, which Cathy was able to tweak in our preferred size, color and layout. Good thing it didn't pixelize when we had it printed at 8 by 8 feet.


PHOTOBOOTH LAYOUT
AIRMAIL DESIGN WITH PHILIPPINE MAP SEAL

I'm happy Cathy was able to tweak this airmail design by placing a seal of the Philippine map, along with our wedding details. I'm also glad we were able to incorporate this into our wedding photos without the design looking too cheesy. We were even surprised to hear that a lot of our guests loved the arrangement.


TABLE TOPPERS: 
WORLD LANDMARKS AND AIRPLANES

I was able to find a site that offered free downloadables of world landmarks and airplanes, which we were able to use as table toppers. If you'd like to create your own, just download and print your preferred destination at CANON-Architecture or at NCCA-Heritage Sites.

I probably started assembling these paper crafts during the first quarter, and was only able to finish all of the pieces late April. But out of the 16 landmarks, two were given as a gift by a friend (the Taj Mahal and Notre Dame Cathedral), while two were assembled by a family member. Of course, the table numbers had to be on-theme as well, so I had those adjusted on Photoshop, then printed at home.

 

COUPLE'S TABLE:
VINTAGE FOOT LOCKER (BAUL)

Rubel and I were extremely happy with the outcome of our table, which was created by our good friends and event stylists Alf and Eli (with the help of our carpenter Teng). Our foot locker table was so beautiful (hinges and all) that it became a conversation piece in our wedding. 


WEDDING SOUVENIRS: 
CAKE POPS WITH AIRPLANE KEYCHAINS

These moist and tasty desserts are actually homemade, and were lovingly baked by my Kuya's wife, Bing. Rubel and I are happy that she made our giveaways, as they complemented our wedding colors and our additional souvenir, the airplane keychains. Our guests really loved the cake pops, that some of them took home more than what was provided for them. 


CAKE

Our cake was actually given as a freebie, since we booked 150 pax from our caterer, Angelica's Catering (I forgot the name of the cake supplier that they were partnered with). But I commend them for being able to create the exact design that we requested for. Rubel and I were really happy with the outcome, especially with the flavor and texture.


PHOTO MONTAGE OF OUR TRAVELS

I just had this wooden frame made from the pieces of wood that were lying around our house. Our stylists just tied some strings on the side, and then taped our "Polaroid" photos. If you'd like to make your own Polaroid pictures, you can upload your digital snaps and customize them at ROLLIP.


PHOTOBOOK

I wanted something that our guests can write on, something that Rubel and I would love to flip through if we wanted to go down memory lane. Good thing Photobook Worldwide offered a FREE photobook, which I was able to avail after attending a Wedding Expo in Mall of Asia. It was a small book that cost PHP1,200, which can be customized using the brand's template. I only had to pay the shipping fee of PHP 250. And in less than a week, I received my precious photo guestbook. It was such a great steal!


Explore & Be Free!
Mai

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2 comments

  1. Replies
    1. Hello! My apologies, but I can't divulge our budget for personal reasons. :)

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