Mice 💕 Mike

despite everything i’ve faced these past few months, i can finally say i’m ready to start a new chapter of my life. work has pushed me to my limits, and there were personal issues that tested me in ways i never expected. i didn’t handle everything perfectly, and not every problem was solved overnight. but i found ways to work through them, one step at a time. i’m still learning. i’m still growing. but i’m no longer carrying the same version of myself that started this journey.

and i think that’s enough. here’s to new beginnings. 🤍

grabe, the closer it gets, the more i realize how many small expenses keep adding up. yung tipong you think it's just a few hundred pesos here and there, but once you total everything, mapapa, "hala, dito pala napunta yung pera." hahaha.

honestly, we kept our vendors to a minimum.

reception styling

church styling and décor

photographer (₱4k, unlimited photos)

cake and dessert buffet

tesda (for the glasses, utensils, food warmers, servers, etc.)

that's honestly it. as much as possible, mike and i wanted to keep everything practical. if there was a way for us to save money without sacrificing the experience, we chose that option.

we only rented barongs for the groom, best man, groomsmen, bearer, and flower boys. we also saved a lot on the entourage outfits. i bought the bridesmaids' dresses from shein, while the flower girls' dresses came from the orange app. honestly, the quality is pretty decent if you know how to read reviews and choose carefully. my sister also paid for her own dress as my moh, which was a huge help.

all of our giveaways came from the orange app too. our invitation cards were basically free because my cousin offered to print them for us. we only paid for the logo printing, which was ₱50 per page, with around 20 logos on each page, so that wasn't bad at all. every little thing we managed to save on really made a difference.

we also had additional expenses at home. we had two basic toilet and bath areas built, plus a cooking area since all the food will be prepared at our house. thankfully, mike's side will be covering all the food expenses, including the lechon. i'm really grateful because that's such a big help.

my wedding gown was a gift from my sister, who's also my moh, and my veil was gifted too. i'm really thankful for that. as for the wedding essentials, mike and i just bought them little by little whenever we'd go out. we never bought everything all at once. we just kept checking things off the list until one day we realized we were almost done.

it's also more expensive because we're preparing for two events. my birthday is on july 17, then our wedding is on july 18.

my parents insisted on celebrating my birthday separately. i honestly think papa just really wants to prepare something for me this year because it's actually pretty rare for me to have a birthday celebration. then it hit me... maybe he also wants to celebrate me while i'm still "decierdo." hahaha. after the wedding, i won't officially be under them anymore.

it's funny when i think about it, but it's also enough to make me emotional. as a daughter, you really feel your parents' love through the simplest things. they may not always say it out loud, but their actions speak so much.

then there are the travel expenses and all the miscellaneous costs that you never really think about in the beginning. i even have to ask my cousin to pick me up with a car when i arrive in cdo this july 13 because i'll be bringing so many things with me. traveling from cebu to cdo is already expensive, and it's even more expensive when you're basically bringing your whole life with you. hahaha.

thankfully, mike and i were able to save enough, so we're not really worried about the major expenses anymore. those are already covered. but wow, miscellaneous expenses are on a different level. they're the kind that seem harmless. ₱200 here. ₱500 there. ₱1,000 somewhere else. you barely notice them until you look at the total and realize how much you've actually spent.

and there are things you simply can't say "never mind" to because you genuinely need them. so you just laugh, pay for them, and move on. hahaha.

but if i'm being completely honest, work has been way more exhausting than wedding planning. i've been absolutely flooded with tasks before my leave. it's like they're trying to squeeze every single assignment they can into my schedule before i'm gone for two weeks. 😭

there are moments when i catch myself thinking, "i just want the wedding day to come already." not only because i can't wait to marry mike, but also because i seriously need those two weeks off. hahaha.

people keep asking me if i'm stressed about the wedding. honestly? i'm more stressed about work. our guest count is already around 180 people, and somehow, work is still more stressful than planning a wedding. my gosh. i honestly think the wedding planning has been easier than dealing with everything that's been thrown at me at work before my leave. 😂

despite everything though, i don't regret any of it.

is it exhausting? very.

is it stressful? absolutely.

is it worth it? without a doubt.

whenever i start feeling overwhelmed, i remind myself that this only happens once. planning is exhausting. budgeting is exhausting. tracking payments, deliveries, and every tiny detail is exhausting. but at the end of all this, i get to marry the man i've been praying for.

just a few more days. it's still surreal to think that after years of praying, waiting, growing, and preparing, i'm finally here.

i'm going to be someone's wife in just a few days.

lupigan pa si taylor swift sa 13 dish uy.

we’ll be having a pre wedding party here in cebu for the people who won’t be able to join us in mindanao for the wedding.

it was supposed to be more of a bachelorette kind of day, but my sister thought it would be better to celebrate it with the people who can’t be there on the big day, and honestly, i love that idea.

But also me: Kaya ba nila sa work na wala ako 2 weeks for my wedding?

me and my siblings are currently finalizing the program flow and order of events for the day, with guidance from both families and the reception coordinator. i even made my own shot list of the moments i really want captured.

is it stressful? surprisingly, no.

if anything, i’m way more stressed at work than planning a wedding. wedding planning feels like a project i actually enjoy building.

and i’m okay with that.

still, i won’t lie — i felt happy watching my cousin’s prenup video. we even share the same wedding date. theirs looked so beautiful and cinematic, probably because bukidnon itself already feels like a movie backdrop.

but i think i’m slowly learning that love doesn’t become more real depending on how grand the presentation is. sometimes it’s just two people doing what they can, making memories in ways that fit their life, their capacity, and their kind of love.

Romanticizes life like it’s a slow-burn novel but will also choose chaos just to feel something. Has the emotional depth of a tragic backstory character but the decision-making skills of someone who says “it’ll be fine” right before it absolutely isn’t.

Simultaneously intimidating and soft—like you could ruin someone emotionally and then bake them cookies after. Knows exactly what they want… except when they don’t… which is often, but somehow still feels intentional.

Low tolerance for nonsense, high tolerance for overthinking. Will overanalyze a single text message like it’s a thesis defense, then reply with “haha okay.”

Somehow both the problem and the solution.

10/10 would make life interesting.