Orj and Len: Hippie love

Let’s just think of this as the prequel to a box-office hit. Except that, well, it’s a pre-nup that’s being shown after this creative couple’s big project –  their 1920s flapper-themed wedding in Tagaytay on Jan. 2, 2010. Instead of going far, Orj and Len decided to bring their engagement shoot to Tagaytay as well.

This is, hands down, my favorite engagement shoot last year. Very happy and hippie and heartfelt! It didn’t look too composed or you know, themed. It’s just effortlessly gorgeous. See what two people in love and one photographer in love with his craft can do with a yellow van, a parking space, some balloons, hoops and signs. Oh and a lot of styling by Len, the bride.

If you say so…

I totally dig this van! The couple searched for a LONG time before they found this perfect little moving thing.

A kiss for luck and they’re on their way…

If, like me, you just want to stay a little longer with these two on their hippie shoot, head over here for more photos from Joey Boquiren

Orj and Len: DIY sophistication

She wanted a 1920s flapper themed wedding; she had it. She wanted a frou-frou bag, she made it. Yup, she made it — her bridal bag. And her birdcage veil. And the entourage’s headpieces. And the centerpieces. And the invites, and…

Just looking at the bride’s list of DIY projects for the Jan. 2 vintage-themed wedding makes me exhausted and nervous that if the projects didn’t work out, well, you know… But no one else can pull it off like Len, who shared with us one of her first DIYs — these telegram save-the-dates last year. The moment I saw Orj and Len’s wedding photos by Joey Boquiren, I knew it all worked out. Perfectly.

Enjoy Orj and Len’s so un-DIY-looking DIY wedding at Splendido, Tagaytay!

Check out that veil. No wonder the girl is called DIY queen.

Legs, legs, legs… I wonder where Joey was exactly when he took these two shots below. =P

For some reason, this photo reminds me of Napa Valley in California, one of my fave places ever…

Orj and Len, if you guys can work this hard for a great wedding, I bet you can work as hard to make a very good marriage! Cheers!

Our precious

I don’t usually get too personal here, as I do have my wedding blog, but choosing our wedding rings was so… educational… and freaking tedious that there must be someone apart from us who will benefit from it. 8 )

See, my groom and I have completely different tastes in jewelry and the search for the bands was marked by a lot of negotiations and arguments. How very… “marriage.” LOL. He wanted a plain and functional titanium ring; I wanted a vintage white gold or glitzy diamond ring. At first we agreed to disagree and go noir et rouge: he would get a black titanium, I would get a red gold vintage vine.

But alas, the pair just didn’t look right to me so I told him I’d agree to wear titanium if and only if he could find a VERY cool one with diamond. Well, what do you know, he did. Here’s what he got me:

And this is what I found for him:

So what is the point of all this? Titanium rocks! Because…

• it’s seven times stronger than platinum but probably as many times cheaper
• it’s super light, you barely know it’s there, so perfect for active people
• it’s neutral and won’t irritate even the most sensitive skin
• it will NEVER rust or tarnish and could barely be scratched; also heat-resistant
• it’s used to replace human heart valves (I just had to relate it to hearts! LOL)
• it’s the metal of choice in the aerospace industry and is used to build space capsules and supersonic airliners
• it comes in black, which makes for a rare wedding ring and a cool conversation piece

Oh, in case you’re interested, we got our rings from here which carries pieces from Edward Mirell, who owns the patent to black titanium (they developed the technology to create black-ti. Coolness).

P.S. To reward myself for being such a nice, compromising bride, I got me this from the Zales Prestige Collection:

…a GIA-certified G-H, VS1-VS2 diamond seven stone band in 14K white gold. End of discussion. 8 )