Monday, October 17, 2011

E-Session : Behind the Scenes


We were all ecstatic one lovely Sunday morning (October 16,2011) for our long overdue and early engagement shoot. Long overdue because we booked our photographer friend as early as April, a month after Dave and I got engaged, also early for the wedding that will take place next year.

We headed to our shoot location as early as 6.15am since the travel will take us one and twenty minutes or so. We prayed before going there and asked the Lord for protection and blessings for the whole day. We have been blessed with a wonderful and fun shoot and lots of food, praise God! Here are few of the beautiful things that day. 

1) Picnic Theme

     Dave and I wanted to have a fun shoot that is true to us, something that reflects who we are individually and as a couple. I first thought of this picnic theme since we both love nature. We both like to recreate with nature and can spend a day wandering in a forest, hiking, taking pictures, camping, etc. Since he is a musician, we brought along with us a guitar, he played and I sang. Since I am into reading inspirational books, we also brought along some and read together.

2) Fishing Theme

    We have gone fishing quite a few times already and this is one of the activities we do to bond as a couple. Way back then as a kid, I spent a lot of time fishing in our province. We had this clean and fish-filled river (now gone) that served as a abundant source of water in our place (remembering those days). No, we are not professionals when it comes to fishing but it is one of our favourite past times as a couple, plus, it teaches us to be more patient.

3) Playful Theme

    Why playful? Because we are like playful children in many ways, laugh on silly jokes, tell lesson-filled stories, and 'lambing' like a child. We also wanted to have it fun and colorful. Makulay ang buhay!

4)  Miss Wonderful Photographer

     We have been so blessed to have a dear photographer friend who helped us a lot in our preparation and all the way through our shoot. Carem even spent time with us to discuss details of the shoot and was as excited as we were (even more I think haha :p). It really helps a lot when you are friends with the photographer (befriend them if you are hiring photographers that are not your friends) because it creates a setting where you are more relaxed and can be just yourselves. I think we spent a lot of times giggling and laughing throughout the shoot and that would make beautiful candid pictures (right Carem?). Even more lovely with her is that she contaminates her cheerfulness, a happy photographer makes happy pictures . :)

5) Ever-ready stylists/assistants
     Aby and Ivy were also with us to help us with the shoot and were excited to go to Merimbun for the first time. We can't thank you enough ladies for being there and helping us set the shoot, from the hair and make-up to accessories and especially your time (kering-keri ang pagbibilad sa arawb :D).

6) Bountiful Lunch by Kuya Romy
     Picnic lunch over the green meadows, calm lakes and cool-hot breeze (ok, 'twas mostly hot breeze - but never mind) we enjoyed a full seafood lunch courtesy of dear Kuya Romy. Thank you so much kuyang. We felt so loved and cared for. Praise God for your kindness. Alongside with Kuya Romy were Elmer (thank you for the chips mer) and Kuya Benj. Thank God for your time, blessings to you all!

7) The location - Tasek Merimbun

     When we planned for this shoot, Dave had already had Merimbun in mind. The place was perfect for our two themes, picnic and fishing. We visited the place 2 weeks before the shoot to plan ahead. Even we had to travel for more than an hour to get into the place, it was all worth it. And we had a perfect weather! What a bonus!


8) Something blue (outfits) and something borrowed
    We have planned this shoot ahead and we see to it that we are not going to spend a lot. My dress/blouses and Dave's polos/pants were all budget-friendly (very budget-friendly). For the accessories, it was a blessing that Ivy brought her turban, bangles and earrings to complete my bohemian look for the fishing theme. Thank you so much Bella!

All of these blessings were brought to us by the Greatest Provider.. Thank you dear Lord for all of these!!

I was teary-eyed by the end of the day realizing all the blessings (kasama na rin ang pagod :))..

Blessings to us all!!! To God be all the glory!



   

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Bits and Pieces





Hello. My name is Xenia, wife to Dave and mother to a pretty little girl.

Started this blog in February 2011 with a purpose of personal diary and creative hobby. Now I randomly post still with the same purpose and more, to share reflections on faith, hope and love and anything in between. May it be recipes I have tried and travel tips and information from our travels.

The blog is titled Faith, Hope, Love and with the domain 'from up above' to remind myself of these 3 beautiful things. I desire to share my faith in Jesus Christ to you too, yes you who are reading this right now. My hope is that through this little blog I will point myself and others to our Heavenly Father who is the author of all things beautiful. 




Saturday, October 1, 2011

Revisited - Enchanted Kingdom with the Alcids


It was my first time to meet Dave's family. I was pretty excited about it since he already introduced me to them thru phone conversations and chats and they seemed to be very nice. I was right in many ways.

Together with his siblings we planned to have a family bonding where everybody can have fun - Enchanted Kingdom at Laguna would be the best place to go since almost all of us haven't gone there. Suggested. Finalized. Prepared. We're ready to go.

'Twas an hour drive from Cavite to Enchanted Kingdom, children were singing and made up some stories in between. His nieces and a nephew were all excited as I was, felt like a kid once again. As we arrived EK a lot of people queued at the entrance, there were categories with the entrance fee i.e. ride all-you-can or the selected rides only. We took the ride all-you-can to fully enjoy the trip. There are a lot of attractions and activities in the theme park but I mostly enjoyed the river rafting at rio de grande rapids. We stayed there for hours as we all bonded as family. Enchanted Kingdom is great for family fun weekends! I would recommend
.


Nieces and a nephew (MJ , AJ, CJ, HJ) - Madeline Joe, Ashley Jen, Caleb Joshua and Hannah Joe
Dave's accommodating and kind parents Mami and Dadi and cousin Mylene
While on top of  the ferris wheel, I still managed to smile though I was a bit scared.. It was so high!
Little china town at EK

Enchanted Kingdom at night
 

Revisited - Tagaytay with KingKong

The cool breeze, fresh air, beautiful scenery, warm people are few words to describe Tagaytay - one of the beautiful and tourist-drawing spots in the Philippines. Tagaytay trip for a day was one of our itineraries during our two-week vacation last Feb 2010. I have been wanting to go there and experience the zip line ride - which was one of the things I wanted to do even before I was in college, or we call it the 'bucket list'. And yes, as simple as it may seem but I really believe dreams do come true. I still can remember when a college friend of mine and I shared our dreams, the things we want to do when we graduate and that included this zip line ride.
Dave and I decided to bring along a dear friend, King, much more of a younger brother to us. Since he left Brunei and stayed in the Philippines for good, we exchanged stories while on the way to Tagaytay. We enjoyed sight seeing, picture taking and just being with each other, and oh did I mention that cool breeze that made us unaware how sunny it was and got us tanned unconsciously.
Look at how tanned we were
Luckily my shoes didn't fall off, well actually almost

Mount Taal, Tagaytay Batangas