I'll tell you a secret: I was very apprehensive of getting a wedding coordinator at first. I was thinking that if we already have all the details smoothed out, then we won't need someone to become the conductor on our wedding day. I'll just have my mom talk to the suppliers and everything will fall into place. Besides, they probably cost a lot, and I didn't want to scrimp on the caterer or makeup artists just to get a coordinator. Boy, was I wrong! I can't imagine how our wedding would have been like if we didn't hire the team behind Just Like Ours. Tears would have been shed, wrinkles on my forehead would have taken permanent residence. But thank God we gave in to our cousins' and friends' incessant cajoling of "Get Queen David! Promise, you won't regret it," bit the bullet, and booked them for our July 18th wedding.
Queen and David (their last name, but also Queen's husband's nickname) named their events management team "Just Like Ours" to let clients and potential clients know that that's how they treat the weddings that they handle - they put their energy into them and treat them as their own. How fitting, because everything did fall into place with their help. Take into account too that Jomar and I were already stressed from all the overseas planning that we did (heck, we had to come back for a short trip last April just so we can get our wedding license, which wasn't the case a few years ago when we could have gotten it from the Philippine Embassy in DC) that we were just so thankful that we got to sit back and relax on our wedding and just truly live in the moment. They were very professional and ninja-like (in that they're very organized yet stealthy) and made sure that we were cared for :) Here are other reasons why I really, really like them:
1. Even if we hired them as on-the-day coordinators, they still helped us with things that we hadn't thought of or forgotten about, such as providing lunch for everyone at the hotel, helping with props for our wedding games, etc.
2. They made sure we were fed and hydrated. It was a bit hot when we were doing our after-wedding shoot with our entourage, and they had bottles of water on hand for us. We also requested that we be given time to eat our dinner, and even if my taste buds went kaput (I couldn't taste anything!) at least I wasn't hungry during the reception :)
3. I wasn't able to get my nails done the day before, which elicited one of my mini-breakdowns the next morning. Calmly, kuya Jun (Pimentel, who's also a designer!) called the concierge, and after an hour or so, two manicurists from a nearby nail salon came up to my room and worked on my nails while Alex Layson did my 'do. Crisis averted!
4. If they were stressed, they did not show it lest we become stressed too :) Thus, their expert handling of mini disasters (like the wedding before ours that overlapped with our schedule) made us feel like everything was going according to plan.
5. They assign members of their team to stay with you at different points of the wedding. Kuya Jun was with me during the morning preps (hair and makeup) until before my walk down the aisle, while Charm assisted me during our shoot after the wedding.
6. They stayed up late with us. I was still exchanging emails with Queen until the night before our wedding because of some tasks that Jomar and I forgot to do. Sorry, Queen!
7. Etc., etc.
So if you're still looking for a wedding coordinator, get Just Like Ours. All the 5-star reviews and declarations of "I love Queen and David!" from past clients definitely live up to the hype.
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| Jomar and me with Queen David and Jun Pimentel |
Here's an excerpt from an old blog post about the idea behind their name:
"Every event gives us something in return. It helps us cultivate friendships, it spices [up] our relationship, it makes us wonder and turn back to the time of our own wedding. It gives us an opportunity to grow and help others grow with us. It makes us believe that we can hold on to something more important than any form of success. It gives us a glimpse of a future we can never tell. It makes us human in this fast fast fast and quick quick quick world. It makes us one.
In return, we help them make it a celebration of love and life, because every wedding deserves to be. It is a union where my team members are not merely workers but a family. Where couples are more of PERSONS than brides and grooms who are shelling out some money from their pocket with minds filled with expectations.
We take it with equal passion, with equal focus, with equal belief. We dream with them, we spend sleepless nights with them, we pray with them.
We share their thoughts, their joys, their fears, their triumph. We help make their event something that would LINGER. Just Like Our own wedding, Just Like Our Lives, Just Like Ours."
In return, we help them make it a celebration of love and life, because every wedding deserves to be. It is a union where my team members are not merely workers but a family. Where couples are more of PERSONS than brides and grooms who are shelling out some money from their pocket with minds filled with expectations.
We take it with equal passion, with equal focus, with equal belief. We dream with them, we spend sleepless nights with them, we pray with them.
We share their thoughts, their joys, their fears, their triumph. We help make their event something that would LINGER. Just Like Our own wedding, Just Like Our Lives, Just Like Ours."
(taken from http://just-like-ours.blogspot.com/2006/06/name.html)
<3,
Julie B.P.
