Pre Nuptial Inspirations

It's already August and soon it will be the "ber" months now.  What is it that we look forward to during December?  I know, I know, it's Christmas Season! The time to be jolly, gift giving, sharing and everything!  But aside from that what else??

Hey, this is the new Wedding Month! Long ago that it used to be June, now it's December! :D

What made me even more excited was about the wedding preparations AND of course, now a days we have this thing called "Engagement Photographs" also known as "Pre-Nuptial Pictorials".

One of the many things that I enjoy a lot is looking at pre-nuptial pictorials.
Even if I had mine two years ago, I still smile every time I browse through our album.  I already discussed my thoughts about this activity (Click here to read more!) and I don't think it will change anytime soon. 

Anyways, my intent of writing this blog is to highlight some of the things that inspired me as I was browsing a lot of engagement shots.  I would like to share some of the things that made me smile.

First off, in our generation now, there are a lot of things to do about pre-nuptial pictorials.  It is just a matter of how imaginative and creative the couple would be and how far they can go in terms of experimenting.

My two cents: 

(1) Think about your theme - this is where you will get inspiration for what to wear, how to look and where your photo shoot will focus.

      - Special place (zoo, cemetery, mountain, beach) / event
      - Movie (romantic / comedy / sci-fi / anime / fantasy / horror (duh!)
      - Period of time (Greek Mythology / Medieval / Futuristic / Stone Age)
      - Profession (teacher / doctor / traffic enforcer / model / fireman / clown)
      - Sports (basketball / volleyball / swimming / baseball / tumbang preso)


(2) Think about your props - if you are not that imaginative on your theme, might as well step up on your props.

      - Balloons, Bubbles
      - Your pet
      - board games (chess / monopoly / scrabbles / poker )
      - party items (confetti / shout out / party hat)
      - Masquerade


Regardless of what you think your pre-nuptial inspiration would be the most important person to look for is your trustee photographer :). Well, my husband and I was very lucky to have Noel Salazar.

Here are my favorite engagement photos (in no particular order):

Couple: Mr and Mrs Babsy and Jerry Santander
Location: OMNI Aviation
Photographer: Paul Vincent Photography

Very imaginative indeed to use aircraft as your props! If you plan to do this then definitely you should work on your permit to shot in the area.

Couple: Mr and Mrs Angela and Joseph Paloma
Location: Philippine National Construction Corporation
Photographer: Jayson and Joanne Arquiza

Another good shot and you can see how creative the couple are! I liked the location and how they dressed up for it. Engagement shots does not need look cheerful all the time, sometime a little attitude works out well.

Photographer: Noel Salazar

Boy, this one is big! Getting this far to shoot with highly powerful equipment is very out of the box!  

Photographer: Jed Ray Calara

Nice car, nice place and in love couple! You can see from their red tops!

Couple: Mr and Mrs Raquel and Jonathan Tamayo
Location: Makati City
Photographer: Ralph Alejandrino

Very elegant indeed! Couple is showcasing their elegant style with a vintage car.  I particularly liked Raquel's dress and it matched with Jonathan's jeans and sneakers! Good twist.

 
Couple: Mr and Mrs Katrina and Emmanuel Kalaw
Location: La Luz Resort
Photographer: Eros Portrait

If you want a relaxing feel about your engagement shot then doing it in a beach resort will give you more photo opps and options.

Couple: Mr and Mrs Cecil and Armando Buen
Location: CCP Manila
Photographer: Angge Barcelona and Marco Quimson

Or simply a stroll in the bay walk holding hands, isn't sweet? Always remember that your outfit should match the location, or else it may not look very well in your photos.  Nevertheless, if you want to be outrageous and creative then that's another topic.

   
Couple: Mr and Mrs Carla Navarra
Location: Where else?!
Photographer: Daniel Lei Studio

Are you asking about being relaxed? Now this is my winner for that category!  Couple was very creative to choose this theme for their engagement shot!  Now who wants to snooze after this shot? :D

Location: Classroom in Xavier!
Photographer: Noel Salazar


Why not take the engagement shot where you and your fiance first met or studied?  It would be nice to go back to where you all started.

Couple: Mr and Mrs Joyce and Jasper Comia
Location: Canossa Academy
Photographer: Exige Photography and Rupert Ramos (Nice print)

It is always nice to reminisce about those days when you were at school, now you are about to go to church to exchange vows, that's sweet!

Location: Movie house
Photographer: Noel Salazar

Are you the type of couple who loves movies? Then this theme is applicable to you!

Location: Basketball court
Photographer: Noel Salazar

Not into movies huh? Maybe a sport?  Cool shots inside the basketball arena are fun to see!  You can see the playfulness in couples!

Location: Rapide
Photographer: Noel Salazar

This is another cute and creative theme! Of all places who would have thought about Rapide?  I particularly liked it when they used all the tools and cars in the place.

Photographer: Noel Salazar

This is to tell the world that you are marrying a super hero.  Spider Man for this matter!  Very inspiring because having this theme says a lot.

Location: Clark, Pampangga
Photographer: Imagine Nation

If you said "will you marry me" in a hot air balloon, then might as well do your engagement shot here. Memorable place isn't it.

Location: Operating Room
Photographer: Jayjay Lucas

Don't ask! This couple is both doctors and so I guess the perfect place to do your engagement shot is in an operating room!  After all, this is where they spend most of their time.

Photographer: Jayjay Lucas

Now this is one of my favorite!  I do not know this couple but I can say that they are a "perfect match". :D

There you go, these are my top favorites. There are a lot of inspiration to draw from the internet, friends, photographers and studios but I hope that I was able to make you smile.

Happy Shooting! 

Travel by Train

Everyday when I go to work, I ride the train.  It will only take me 10 minutes and I am already in KL Sentral.  I was not even tired of walking nor exposed in any pollution.  My commuter experience here in KL is very convenient.



When the time comes that I will be back in PH, this is one thing that I will surely miss.


I can say (comparing to PH) that MY has an established railway system (and still planning to improve it).  Majority of the commuters take the train and there are even some connecting trains that make travelling around KL even more convenient and hassle free.


This is how trains are connected.

There are many times where I chose train over cab. Aside from the fact that it is cheaper, it's an exercise for me and my husband to walk.


Cab "only if" I am so tired to walk. :D


One free weekend, my husband and I decided to ride the train without any destination in mind. Since we are just 10 minute walk from Kelana Jaya Line, we decided to visit all 24 stations!  From Gombak to Kelana Jaya. :D



Fun during free time! 

S is for Singapore, Day 1

Four hours drive or one hour via plane from MY is Singapore.  Last April, when my brother and father in law visited us here in MY, my husband and I decided to go to Singapore to visit our friend and take a tour.


We were very lucky to have our friend Liza, accommodate us in Singapore. :)


With no more time to waste, our first day in SG was the city tour.

We took the Original Tour from the Duck and Hippo Tours.

I am not good in directions but getting this package made me an expert in maps and locations.  They gave us all the information that we need for the tour, they gave us a very helpful map of the tour's destinations.

See the bigger map in this site -->  http://www.ducktours.com.sg/pdfs/map_hippo.pdf

This tour has 22 destinations.  Even if we were very excited to visit each pit stop, we decided to visit the most recommended places only.

One good point about this tour was, we had the option to visit any place for as long as we liked.  Skipping those that we believed is good to see while we were on board the bus saved a lot of time to spend more time in the locations that we really wanted to visit.

One of the pit stops was Fountain of Wealth.

In 1998, this fountain was named as the largest fountain in the world.

When we were there, they opened the fountain at the middle, we were asked to touch the water while we circle around the fountain.  We need to do this three times while saying our wish, they say it's for Good Luck.  We did completed the routing nonetheless, there was no harm in trying..

The fountain was surrounded by the four towers of Suntec.

Our next destination was in China Town.  This is were we bought our souvenirs and ate lunch.

While we were waiting for the next bus (at the designated bus stop), I can't stop but to look at these colorful stores just within China Town.  Their colors were so refreshing (the sun helped in the colors' brightness).

Our next stop was in Clark Quay, this was a historical riverside quay in Singapore, located within the Singapore River Planning Area.

We also had the opportunity to see how G-Max worked.

We just took photos because I did not have any plans to shock myself and be thrown into the air with a speed of 200km/hr.

If you want to see how it is, then watch this video below. :)

After waiting for the next bus to arrive, our next stop was our second most anticipated.  It was our visit to the Singapore Flyer.  The Singapore Flyer is a giant Ferris Wheel that was constructed in 2005 - 2008.  It reaches 42 stories high, with a total height of 165 m (541 ft), making it the tallest Ferris Wheel in the world.  

Source: Wikipedia

The Flyer offers you breathtaking, panoramic views of the Marina Bay, the island city and beyond.  There's also a wide range of shops, restaurants, activities and facilities.  Click on Singapore Flyer to learn more about it. 


Here were some of the scenery while on the flyer.

Singapore Sea Shell Green House

Marina Bay Sands

High rise buildings and Art Science Museum

We were at the Flyer for approximately 30 minutes and we enjoyed it a lot.  The view was very refreshing and it really felt as if we were on top of the world!  Well not as much as Titanic but we were literally on top of majority of the people there. :)

After a lot of photo opportunities and some refreshments, we waited for the bus to head to our last destination.  We decided that Merlion would be the perfect ending for our city tour and thus we did.

The Merlion (Malay: Singa-Laut) is a mythical creature with the head of a lion and body of a fish, used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore.  Its name combines "mer" meaning sea and "lion".  The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village and lion's head represents Singapore's original name - Singapura - meaning "lion city". 

Source: Wikipedia

There were many tourists when we were there and we stayed there for at least an hour.  We seated and waited until the sunsets, my feeling was very relaxing as I sit and look at the people around while listening to the water coming out from Merlion's mouth.

After some time, we walked our way to the nearest food court to have some noodles and pork.

Yes, this day was one busy, walking, eating, laughing, tiring but worth it day.

Travel Sunday

Coron Palawan, 2009

Who does not want to travel, visit places and explore and learn new things?
I love to travel and I am travelling within my means and I enjoy every bit second of it.  Every place is not just a place but a journey from where I learned and experienced the happiness of LIFE!

Happy travelling to all of us! =)

Happy Friday: Looking for a squirrel?

Photograph from onebigphoto.com

We live for a  purpose and everyday is a constant journey that we need to take and ENJOY! Sometimes we are very busy looking at the perfection that we want in our lives that we forget about the things that we already have.


Again, it is always about perspective on how we see things.  It is not those who have everything that are happy; it is those who are happy who sees everything.


My mantra would be always be to appreciate each tiny thing that I have.  It will always be where my happiness will come from.

4th of July

4th of July is not just the Independence Day of USA.  
It is my husband's birthday!








See how happy the birthday boy was!!!!  Life is always good especially if you are with the special people in your life!



Thank you to our dear friends who celebrated with us!! Noel and I love you all!

My Inspiration!

This is my 100th post and thus a milestone in my writing career! (Naks!)


Though I am not a professional writer, the fact that I was able to share my experiences, reflections and activities is really a thing to be proud of.


I may not have the grandest experience nor the most tragic ones but I hope in my own simple way, I was able to touch lives and give inspiration to people like me who seeks to always be Happy and In-love.


Like in most of the posts, I always say that I am very thankful for the things that I have now.  Everything I have is from HIM no way to be thankful for but to share the LOVE and HAPPINESS that I have.

I pledge to be more active in my writing as well as with my thoughts!  I hope that I will continue to inspire (if I did) and challenge people who are at their tough times.  At the same time for the happy people to continue to spread their happiness to all.