Last February, when my longtime friend Reynan broke the news of his upcoming wedding and asked for Concept Magic's help in planning it, I knew that he and his fiancee, Karen, would be brokenhearted to find out that I wouldn't be there to attend their wedding.
Let's call it the 8-8-8 conspiracy. I wonder just how many couples got married that day. August 8, 2008 - one of the luckiest dates in the history of superstition. After all, the number "8" is supposed to signify infinity, continuance, as well as that notion of TOGETHER FOREVER for couples, so naturally, nobody would be surprised to find all the churches and possible reception venues fully-booked on that day.
And that was how it worked for Reynan and Karen. Because they wanted to get married in Caleruega, it was close to impossible getting a good date. Since Reynan was very much insistent on the 8-8-8 wedding date (and was devastated to find out that Caleruega was no longer available on that day), he finally settled for August 17. Technically, it still fell under the 8-8-8 conspiracy (simple math, folks: 888 = 8 + [1+7] + 8.)
The problem was, he wanted ME to personally see to the details of the wedding, being a good friend of his for ten years. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I was leaving for the US in May... and that I wouldn't make it in time for his wedding. :-(
Nevertheless, everything pushed through. Since I really did care about how their wedding would turn out, (Reynan had this specific vision of what he wanted his wedding to be like: perfect in every way) I decided to plan their wedding even though I was thousands of miles away!
Reynan spared no expense. We got Joel Salindong's company to be the photographers/videographers (Joel incidentally is a good friend of mine from way back during my college days) and the couple got the most expensive photo/video package that the company was offering. I arranged for Ara Fernando to do Karen's hair and make-up (Ara was also my friend from college - although she was from an upper batch.) We were also able to book Taal Vista Hotel for their reception venue... again, Reynan chose the most expensive reception package! Finally, we were able to strike up a great deal with YZA House of Couture (yes, this is where the Concept Magic site office is located) for the bridal and entourage attire, and we were also able to get the owner of the shop (Tita Jenny Caballero) as one of the ninangs.
I would send weekly email and text updates to Karen just to ensure that they're right on track, and sometimes I would even make overseas calls. I wanted to make sure that even though I wouldn't be there to physically coordinate their wedding, I wanted to let them feel that my support was there because they were really good friends of mine.
Reynan, being the car aficionado that he is (that's why we get along so well), opted for a racing theme - and this was pretty evident in the kick-ass pre-nuptial shots, as well as in their AVP which Joel produced for them. Our whole racing team (Team VCZR) was able to schedule a shoot along White Plains (the current illegal race dragstrip.) Here's their "Consite AVP" - a term borrowed from Joel which refers to a Concept + an Onsite AVP in one:
I was deeply saddened that I wasn't able to be there personally, but Reynan and Karen both understood my dilemma. I was just so happy for them - that they finally found each other. I also felt fulfilled because I knew that I was able to help them despite my absence. Nevertheless, Concept Magic was still able to take care of them, and apparently, the wedding was a complete success!
*Photos and video courtesy of Joel Salindong. Click here to check out more multimedia and write-ups about the wedding.
*Click here to find out more about Joel Salindong and his photo/video packages.
*Click here to find out more about Ara Fernando's HMU packages.
*For inquiries about bridal/entourage gowns and attire, contact YZA House Of Couture, c/o Mrs. Jenny Caballero at (02)4014423 or 09272185903.
Let's call it the 8-8-8 conspiracy. I wonder just how many couples got married that day. August 8, 2008 - one of the luckiest dates in the history of superstition. After all, the number "8" is supposed to signify infinity, continuance, as well as that notion of TOGETHER FOREVER for couples, so naturally, nobody would be surprised to find all the churches and possible reception venues fully-booked on that day.
And that was how it worked for Reynan and Karen. Because they wanted to get married in Caleruega, it was close to impossible getting a good date. Since Reynan was very much insistent on the 8-8-8 wedding date (and was devastated to find out that Caleruega was no longer available on that day), he finally settled for August 17. Technically, it still fell under the 8-8-8 conspiracy (simple math, folks: 888 = 8 + [1+7] + 8.)
The problem was, he wanted ME to personally see to the details of the wedding, being a good friend of his for ten years. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I was leaving for the US in May... and that I wouldn't make it in time for his wedding. :-(
Nevertheless, everything pushed through. Since I really did care about how their wedding would turn out, (Reynan had this specific vision of what he wanted his wedding to be like: perfect in every way) I decided to plan their wedding even though I was thousands of miles away!
Reynan spared no expense. We got Joel Salindong's company to be the photographers/videographers (Joel incidentally is a good friend of mine from way back during my college days) and the couple got the most expensive photo/video package that the company was offering. I arranged for Ara Fernando to do Karen's hair and make-up (Ara was also my friend from college - although she was from an upper batch.) We were also able to book Taal Vista Hotel for their reception venue... again, Reynan chose the most expensive reception package! Finally, we were able to strike up a great deal with YZA House of Couture (yes, this is where the Concept Magic site office is located) for the bridal and entourage attire, and we were also able to get the owner of the shop (Tita Jenny Caballero) as one of the ninangs.
I would send weekly email and text updates to Karen just to ensure that they're right on track, and sometimes I would even make overseas calls. I wanted to make sure that even though I wouldn't be there to physically coordinate their wedding, I wanted to let them feel that my support was there because they were really good friends of mine.
Reynan, being the car aficionado that he is (that's why we get along so well), opted for a racing theme - and this was pretty evident in the kick-ass pre-nuptial shots, as well as in their AVP which Joel produced for them. Our whole racing team (Team VCZR) was able to schedule a shoot along White Plains (the current illegal race dragstrip.) Here's their "Consite AVP" - a term borrowed from Joel which refers to a Concept + an Onsite AVP in one:
I was deeply saddened that I wasn't able to be there personally, but Reynan and Karen both understood my dilemma. I was just so happy for them - that they finally found each other. I also felt fulfilled because I knew that I was able to help them despite my absence. Nevertheless, Concept Magic was still able to take care of them, and apparently, the wedding was a complete success!
*Photos and video courtesy of Joel Salindong. Click here to check out more multimedia and write-ups about the wedding.
*Click here to find out more about Joel Salindong and his photo/video packages.
*Click here to find out more about Ara Fernando's HMU packages.
*For inquiries about bridal/entourage gowns and attire, contact YZA House Of Couture, c/o Mrs. Jenny Caballero at (02)4014423 or 09272185903.
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