Part 1: My Never Ending Prenup Photoshoot: US Version

Yeah, yeah, yeah I know this post is waaaay overdue but I just can't stop myself from featuring it so let's just consider this post like a throwback post (it's not even that long yet since we had these pic taken)! hehehe This is actually what happened. After going through my clutter in my bedroom I saw these piles of pictures in my closet. The sweet memories of my prenup pictorial all tucked away inside the box. I looked at the pictures and all I can say is, "wow!". I have absolutely evolved...weightwise! lol

One by one I flip through one picture to another and I couldn't help but smile on these precious memories we recreated for it to be captured on photos. Funny how these pictures create so much emotion between just me and my husband. I still remember the photoshoots we did and how me and surprisingly, Aaron, enjoyed it.

I scaled through the pile of photographs with the two of us smiling together, holding hands, kissing each other, looking at the same direction, walking along a trail, laughing and having a good time. Oh such a sweet phase in our life. :) 

Looking back, it was one of the best moment in our life together. Back then, everything seems so simple. We watch tv all night long, eat whenever we like, watch movies late at night in the cinema, shop til we drop, workout like there's no tomorrow, sleep as long as we like! Oh how truly simple life has been before. 

Now, I have a baby and a husband who supports me, I think I cannot ask for anything more (I can shed some extra weight though, lol). I still miss the times when we do not have to worry about feeding the baby and not getting enough sleep but I won't trade motherhood for anything else in the world. 

With that being said, I have to go back to the main reason why I posted this article. I want to post this because I feel like it deserves to have a debut on my blog. Sure, I was able to post it before in my social media accounts (FB and IG) but I never really got the chance to post the entire session of our photoshoots ever. 

So here it is! 

To begin with, let me tell you about a brief overview about the said pictorial that we did last year. There were 2 photoshoots that happened before our wedding. The first one was done in the US which was used for our wedding invitation and the second one was done in Cebu. 

The location for our very first photoshoot with my husband happened in Lorton, Va in a place called Mason Neck State Park. The original schedule was Friday but the makeup artist that I hired to do the job came in very late that in the end I have to do my own hair and makeup. Then we got caught on a huge traffic on the road and I felt like that day is not going well on our favor so I decided to move the schedule the next day. Fortunately, my photographer who was already on location at that time (indeed very professional!) agreed to reschedule. 

During our photoshoot, I was kind of anxious since I have never done photoshoots with my husband ever! I mean, if it was just me, I could probably nail it, ( ahem,lol) but my husband hates having photos taken and that really stresses me out. Good thing though our photographer makes us feel so at ease and was very encouraging that my husband and I warmed up with her immediately. The hourlong schedule turned into 3 to 4 hours but it's just because we had a lot of walking to do in the park!

The weather was great, the place was just perfect! :) There was a dock, a shoreline, beautiful trees and plenty of grass to walk on. I was glad we did this pictorial before our big day. It made me and Aaron more comfortable in front of the lens and Michelle Chu truly did a wonderful job in capturing our beautiful pictures! :)

On Wedding Shoes... To Splurge or to Purge?

You might be reading this post because you are a bride and in a dilemma if you will buy the shoes of your dreams that will cost you more than an arm and a leg or go economical by sticking to a generic brand. Or maybe you are just a regular reader curious about how much stress you have to go through when becoming a bride.

Whichever you are, this post will give you an insight about my own experience about choosing my wedding shoes. Being a bride in itself is stressful enough already and choosing every piece of your bridal wardrobe can sometimes become a tad bit overwhelming for a soon-to-be Mrs. So and so. 

When I had my wedding last year it took me a long time to decide which shoes I would wear  on my wedding day. I was caught inbetween getting the shoes of my dreams that will blow our budget out of proportion or keep it simple for us not to be robbing a bank! lol 

I was actally deciding between buying a Christian Louboutin vs a Badgley Mischka which was like comparing apples to oranges. Tsk tsk. There was absolutely no comparison to those two brands and of course the Louboutin hands down was my favorite. But buying it was just not practical... period. However, if you have an overflow of budget then why not? Unfortunately, I did not really have an unlimited budget, but the idea of wearing a red sole on my wedding day was just too much to pass. Anyway, where else can you get to have an excuse to wear an expensive pair of shoes but on a special day like your wedding where you feel the most beautiful! Right?!

To cut my story short I ended up with the red sole. Why? Because I simply cannot stop obsessing over it all through the night and day! lol. But did I regret it? Or was it really worth it? Honestly, I feel both. 

This is the actual Christian Louboutin shoes I wore during my wedding.

I regret buying the red sole simply because I felt guilty buying a very expensive piece on top of our overwhelming wedding expenses. At the same time, I feel like it was worth it because I know that never in my entire life will I ever buy that kind of shoes again (esp later when babies come and mortgage payment will become a part of our daily living) and it only reminds me that the event was special enough to wear a pair of shoes that can literally make you rob a bank.

The sad part was that I was not able to use that red sole at church because I just could not trust myself not to trip over my wedding dress. I just felt that those skyhigh heels just cannot support my wobbly legs during my bridal march so I decided to wear another pair, anyway, it won't be seen underneath my voluminous wedding skirt. Despite breaking in those shoes a couple of times, making sure I can rock those heels under my dress, in the end I got so anxious that I lost the confidence to wear it.  Why haven't I thought about it before deciding on my wedding shoes in the first place? Bummer! Oh well, at least I have the photos to prove that I wore it on my wedding day and I guess that should be enough (or is it, really?! lol).

             Shot with the red sole!

If I were to redo my wedding, I think I will go with the Badgley Mischka and save myself some money on other things for the wedding. But it all depends on the bride. If you feel that your dress will never be complete without that much coveted rob-the-bank kind of shoes and you have the budget for it, then I say go ahead girl and go splurge yourself with that dream pair of shoes. But if your budget is really tight, nothing could really go wrong if you get a pair that is just right on your budget. Anyway, that shoes will only be worn inside that wedding dress and nobody really can see it unless you pick up your skirt!

Whatever shoes you wear on your wedding always go back to why you have this celebration in the first place. It doesn't matter what shoes you wear, what dress you pick or what type of food you eat. What matters most will be the memory that you get to celebrate this wedding with the people you love and start your life with the man of your dreams. And if until this point you still  can't decide which shoes to wear, I say choose the shoes that would make you feel very comfortable and confident. Choose something that you can actually walk on, run with and dance the night away with a very reasonable pricetag!