Yung nakita ko naman eh sa brother ko.
I was supposed to help him plan his wedding, from searching for suppliers, to budgeting etc, but he can be a real jerk and threw a lot of words at me, pressuring me, telling me that it's his big day and I better not screw it up kasi sila (ng fiancee niya) ang mapapahiya. I was appalled. First time ako nakaencounter ng groomzilla, tas kapatid ko pa. Anyway, I bailed out of being their planner, and they found one who was supposed to just be the caterer, but offered to plan the whole affair at a budget of 60K.
Please take note that this is a province wedding, so a 60K wedding budget is not unheard of. My brother asked me to be in a couple of meetings with the planner, and after 2 meetings where the planner took almost an hour to arrive, I was beginning to have my doubts about her 'expertise'.
When the big day came, it was a disaster. The reception venue, which was supposed to already be designed and prepped since the night before, was not yet ready, even at noon. The planner kept making excuses, saying it was the venue's issue, since there was another event the night before. Like really? She could've started in the morning, but her people didn't start work until 2 hours before the reception! Also, the planner came in late for the wedding preparation! She only arrived after the bride had already been made up (thank goodness for competent photogs and videographers who worked without the planner, that was the only bright spot during the day). Needless to say, simangot na yung bride, umagang umaga pa. Then, come to learn na yung nirequest nila na smoke machine, di pala nakuha ng planner. Yung planner suggested na she'll just get incense from the church and fan it. LIKE WHATDAFUQ???!!! Papaypayan mo ng insenso ang sis-in-law ko kasi wala kang makuha na smoke machine, kahit na months before pa nila yun inorder??!! Thankfully, we had resourcesful bridesmaids (na nasuper stress din dahil sa katangahan ni planner) and managed to acquire the smoke machine last minute.
Di pa tapos. Oh no, di pa. During the wedding itself, there was no bible bearer. Why? Because the planner insisted there was no need for a bible bearer in a church wedding!! She insisted, kaya wala! Ayun, kakahiya, nasermonan tuloy ng pari yung kapatid ko at sis-in-law ko na kulang yung preparation nila.
Also, muntikan nang nagkasunog, kasi yung bouquets sa aisles, nilagyan niya ng mga kandila...sure, it looks pretty, but she placed the candles UNDER the bouquets. We had to stamp out the flames while the ceremony was ongoing!
When we got to the reception, the food god damn AWFUL! Parang nagorder lang ng marami si ate planner sa mga karenderia na questionable tas pinagsama. The cake looked decent, but nothing special, and tasted like nothing special. Also, the bride and groom requested, and VEHEMENTLY requested months before na ayaw nila ng program (both are rather shy about that, and they just want dinner, then uwi) but the planner comes out and does and entire night's program, complete with dances, garter toss, bouquet toss, etc. Sure, almost all weddings have that, but the couple had told her even before hand NOT TO HOLD A FRIGGIN PROGRAM! Then, after the wedding, marami pa tirang food kasi di nga masyado masarap. Still, my mom thought to take home some, and of course she asked permission from my brother and sis in law, who insisted she do just that. Pero nakita ng planner si mama and BLOCKED HER WAY, ASKING HER WHY SHE WAS TAKING FOOD!!!??! My mom had to reminder her that she was the mother of the groom adn she was allowed to take food. As soon as my mom was done, and no sooner had she turned her back, the planner ordered her people to hide the food!!! MY GOD ANG BABOY NI ATE!
Ang ending? My bro and sis in law filed charges against her (the 60k had apparently ballooned to over 100K because she kept asking for more and more money as the days progressed). Luckily yung isang ninong eh lawyer and helped them at least gain a bit of refund. Not much, but enough to settle things.
That woman, I forgot her name na, and her catering business, had apparently chosen to have my brother's wedding as her first try in full wedding coordination. I learned through some sleuthing that she used to be an underling for a wedding planning and catering business, but split to launch her own catering business.
Guys, I urge you that if you're gonna get a planner, get a reputable one. Wag niyong isakripisyo yung big day para makamura kayo especially if wala pang magandang portfolio yung planner. I learned from my brother's mistake and my planner made sure my day was amazing.
