#JomarAndJulie BTS: Wedding Photographer

Whoa, I can't believe it's been two and a half months since our whirlwind of a wedding! In between cooking and settling into our house, I've come to a point where I can finally post about our various wedding suppliers. First up is one of the most crucial elements to a wedding: the photographer.

 

Do you believe in kismet? Because I sincerely feel that that's how we found our photographer, Matt Lee (mattleeshoots.com).




Jomar and me with Matt Lee of Matt Lee Shoots

One of the things I had been stressed about during our wedding planning was finding the perfect photographer: he/she should be professional, easy to talk to, should deliver great results (after all, these photos will be cherished for a long time) and also has reasonably priced packages. I know for a fact that there are a lot of great photographers in the Philippines, we just had to wade through online forums and portfolios until we found one that fit our needs. After a lot of painstaking research and dead-end email exchanges, I was ready to give up when I remembered seeing a friend's (Cha's) beautiful pictures taken in NYC during a visit by her college friend, Matt. I was actually supposed to drive them around DC when he made a quick stop here, but alas my work schedule then did not allow me to do so. After a quick online search of his past work as one of Chestknot Studio's photogs, I hurriedly sent him an e-mail asking if he would be available on our wedding date. He promptly replied yes, and attached his portfolio which was filled with gorgeous photos. Jomar and I talked it over, and he also liked what he saw. After a couple of exchanges, we finally had a major supplier checked off our list!

 

Come the day of the wedding, we finally met Matt in person. He was very personable and energetic, and you can definitely tell that he harnessed this energy into the photos he took that day. Along with him were two fellow photographers, David Garmsen (http://davidgarmsen.com) and Bardo Wu (Bardo Wu Photography). I could tell they knew their stuff, and they made it a point to make us feel at ease. Jomar, they said, was a natural in front of the camera, while I eventually overcame my jitters once I was done with my solo shots and had pictures taken with my Maid of Honor, ate Liz, and my family :)

 

Before we head to some sample pictures from our wedding, let me leave you with a few tips:

 

1. If you have a lot of DIYs, don't forget to point them out to your photographer so that you'll have a remembrance of your hard work :)

2. If you have specific shots in mind (or have seen photos on Pinterest that you like), don't be shy to ask your photographer if he/she can replicate them for you.

3. If you feel like smiling, DO NOT HOLD BACK! This is one of the most important pieces of advice I received prior to our wedding. Smile, smile, smile :)

4. Make a list of what you want your photographer to capture (or not capture). Tell him/her if you want a lot of candid shots of your guests and family, if you don't like your bare feet seen, etc.

 

Without further ado, these are some of the lovely, vibrant pictures that Matt and co. took during our wedding. I feel like after 40 years, I will still feel giddy whenever I look through our album :) Thank you for the awesome job, Matt, David and Bardo! <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

<3,

Julie P.

Quick Meatball Stir Fry Dinner

Today's dinner was an easy to fix meal for 5. I had half a bag of frozen meatballs from IKEA, 2 large bell peppers and 1 large sweet onion, so I searched for a recipe with these ingredients. From the three recipes that I liked, I ended up using this one from Yummly (how can you go wrong when the site is named like that?):

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Garlic-Pork-Meatball-Stir-Fry-1046232

I did the following changes:

1. Halved the soy sauce and rice vinegar (to reduce sodium)

2. Used 1.5tbsp of cornstarch

3. No green onions on hand, so I used a whole giant sweet onion instead

4. No sesame seeds :(

5. 1.5tsp of hot chili oil for a tiny kick (which my husband did not detect, because he lives by sriracha)

6. Used 2 green bell peppers because those were what I had

Here's the end result:

Mmm :) next time I'll try a homemade chicken meatball recipe with this, and hopefully I'll have sesame seeds and green onions by then hehehe!

Happy cooking!

Lotsa love,

Julie P.

Lay's Do Us A Flavor 2015 Finalists: A Review

Hi, everyone! I still have to finish moving into our house and also get my PC from my family's place, so I'll post about food (which is easier to talk about, am I right?). Hopefully this will be enough to tide you over and give me adequate time to write a well-thought out series of posts about our suppliers and our whirlwind of a wedding :)

Lay's potato chips. I grew up being deprived of snacks when I was a kid, being sickly and all, so you can imagine how fast I scarfed down junk food whenever I had the chance! Growing up I tried to be on the healthier side of life by allowing myself to snack in small portions, and trained myself not to indulge in one of God's greatest creations: the fried potato. Fries and chips are my Achilles' heel, especially if the fries are made fresh (bonus: a sprinkle of Old Bay seasoning) and the chips are the sweet barbeque kind. Enter the Lay's "Do Us A Flavor" contest that began to run yearly since 2013. These days my kryptonite is Wasabi Ginger, the winner of their 2014 contest, which perfectly balanced the kick of wasabi, ginger and soy sauce onto thick, kettle cooked chips. Thank goodness their large bags aren't as large as their normal ones, or else that one time I ate a whole bag for dinner would have ended in disaster (don't worry, I ate healthy afterwards). Lay's, stop stocking Safeway! (Not really, no, I just have to learn to eat this in moderation).

This year's flavor finalists are as diverse as the previous years'. Needless to say, my coworkers and I (no, they're not chip connoiseurs, just your average chip-loving Americans) have mostly the same views on each flavor. They'll never top my love for Wasabi Ginger chips, though!

1. Kettle Cooked Greektown Gyro

This was the least favorite. It didn't conjure images of the beloved gyro for us, instead it was the last one to be finished, if someone did finish the last few chips it had when I last saw it in our break room. It was tangy and the smell was not appetizing at all - you're better off just eating the real thing at your favorite Greek place even if it's a couple of miles away. We're still boggled by the fact that this was a finalist, much like when we scratched our heads at how Mango Salsa and Cappuccino were able to get through the internal voting process at Lay's. Ick, such a waste of potatoes.

Score: 1 out of 5

2. Wavy West Coast Truffle Fries

Ever since truffle oil started popping up everywhere (if it's cheap then it's most probably faux/synthetic), I've been wanting to try the expensive French variety that sells for $100/1oz at Amazon (but of course I can never bring myself to buy those as-expensive-as-gold slivers of mushroom). Quite honestly, I felt that this flavor was a bit of a cheat since it's already originally on another version/cut/form of fried potato. I didn't get the truffle at all, and we all agreed that it actually tasted vaguely of sour cream and onion, albeit a lighter version of the much-loved flavor. We did manage to finish the bag, but it's nothing I would buy again when I go to the grocery store.

Score: 3 out of 5

3. New York Reuben

This was one of the office favorites, they said that it had all the notes of the Reuben down pat. Some have said that the sauerkraut flavor is too overwhelming and lingers on your palate, but since I haven't had the chance to try the real sandwich, I'm left with the option of just going with what everyone had to say. I can definitely taste the corned beef and the tanginess of the sauerkraut, with just a hint of cheese.

Score: 4 out of 5

4. Southern Biscuits and Gravy

This was also a crowd favorite, invoking memories of big family dinners, or for immigrants like me, road trip lunches at the nearest Cracker Barrel. The thin chips carried a perfect balance of the smoky and peppery flavor of sausages (one of the key ingredients in white gravy), the creaminess of gravy, and a hint of buttery biscuit (side note: biscuits, which in the Philippines/UK means the harder version of cookies/digestives, while in the US the term is used for buttery, crumbly and savory confections usually paired with fried chicken). This was a win-win: someone forgot they were eating the last 1/4 of the bag until he demolished it.

Score: 4 out of 5

There you have it, I hope you get to enjoy the newest batch of Lay's chips (and sneak a lap or two around your neighborhood while you're at it)! As always, eat in moderation :)

P.S.

Wasabi Ginger is love!

Love lots,

Julie P.