When I joined WE in the latter part of 2005, I embarked on my journey in the wedding industry. It was during this time that I had the privilege of encountering the dynamic duo behind Weddings At Work, John Rana and Benz Co-Rana (whom I affectionately refer to as Mimma). Eager to immerse myself in this community, I approached Mimma Benz, expressing my interest in joining their Yahoo group, only to realize that technically, I wasn’t yet considered a supplier. Despite this setback, Mimma warmly welcomed me and expressed her delight at the emergence of a wedding magazine.
Her generosity didn’t end there. Mimma extended an invitation for WE to participate in a podcast session, ensuring that we remained informed of the latest developments and emerging suppliers. Through her guidance and the platform provided by W@W, I had the pleasure of meeting numerous suppliers who have since become cherished friends. The impact of W@W in the wedding industry cannot be overstated, and WE will forever remain grateful for the pivotal role it played in reshaping our industry landscape.
Mimma’s post about W@W at 25
This is the part I love most. My Thank You post, always done when party is over and am left with this overwhelming feeling of love and warmth. Body dead tired but heart and mind still on overdrive wanting to savor everything… rehashing what happened and on some occasion regretting what I wasn’t able to do.
This party is one of the more difficult one for me. I knew its a must coz 25 years is 25 years. But I really didn’t want to just throw a party and invite everyone, aside from am not ready for the expense, am also not in the mood for a BIG party since we don’t have a lot of time. It was only after Feb 11 when I knew if I can do a party or not… and when I knew I can… the next question was what kind of party? Thanks to a zoom call with Tisha my mind got clearer. I know na, it will be a reunion of the old days, the theme is reunion, I wanna see the faces of suppliers we saw year 1999-2016 mainly. And because my main invites are the people from wayback, where the bond and ties are strong, there’s no need to impress or put on a show, just have a venue and have food, it will be the company that will be the highlight… it felt easy coz it feels like home and it felt intimate. Kaya in my mind it is a cozy and intimate party. Even our program walang laman, a bit of kwento sa mga events na napag daanan then photo of suppliers by batch, then raffle na lang ng raffle para people can mingle and chika with long lost friends. Nag umpisa lang basta may venue, sound system food, alak… ok na yan. But as invites were send, most guests want to participate so pahaba na ng pahaba ang suppliers list!
Before I list down the looong list of thank you. Let me share muna my party highlights. Parang ito yata ang party na super dami kong kapicture. Normal ang picture pero this one extra dami… and I know na why. Kasi nga walang program at di ako busy kaya this time I was able to mingle and I feel like I was able to talk to or at least say hi to 85% of the guests. Kaya laking pasalamant ko talaga kay Joanna Marie Liwag at maayos itsura ko. Ilang make up artist na nag ask if gusto ko pa make up for today, I said no na kasi tayo tayo lang and friends ko halos, no need na. Buti na lang Joanna arrived early and said the right words… mabilis lang ako mag make up, sige na may gamit akong dala, maaga pa. So glad talaga.
Next highlight is seeing friends from the industry who we rarely see na, my heart my heart so happy kasi I was worried if they will attend. Yung happiness of seeing them see who else is there, reunion feel, homecoming feel talaga. Everytime may ka picture ako, my mind would automatically go back to when did I first met them, and grabe the feeling na wow we go way back, wow ito na tayo ngayon. A lot of the people I saw today, saw us when we were green and raw pa… to see them again now as we celebrate 25 years is major. Nothing tells you how far you have come better than meeting people you have with you when you were beginning. Am in awe how a lot of them are still my very very good friends up to today. Yung friend friend mo in real life truly, na transcend na ng friendship na WaW kami at supplier sila… wala na yun…. friends na lang and all these history between us. Ang rich rich ng relationships I have with so many of them. Halos puro low maintenance or no maintenance even. We just reconnected and go on as if there was no time in between na we lost touch. Am so happy today so so happy.
Thank you to all who came, lalong lalo na sa mga halos bihira nang umattend in industry party, thank you you came out of your lungga (cave) for WaW Anniv!
And now the long list of suppliers for making this happen. All we can give is our thank you thank you and thank you! Wag kayong magsawa please.
The Glass Garden Events Place | Josiah’s Catering | Bingo Crew- Ayie Contreras-Tuates Thoffy |Consulta Full Anton Sarcia Daday Limjuco | Bong Sare Cj Lagman | Anchormix Light And Sounds Rentals | Ryan S. Fortaleza of Appetite Band | Uno Ritmo | Richgold Weddings Juan Carlo The Caterer Wedding Catering by Hizon’s Ibarra’s Catering | Booth Park Mnl Candy rush by Ken Caffeined Coffee Sent Studios Nice Print Photography & Exige Weddings | NAM Digital | GQ Mobile Bar Ivee – Ice Cream Fairy | House of Li – The Kakanin Buffet of the Stars | Milkteavents | Schatgies | Candid Closet Photobooth | Paparazzzzzi | Bezalel’s Floral Designs | Stat Events And Trends | Virtual Tours Asia | JustBees DigitalVisuals | Beads Be With You by Mrs. G | Toy Cakes & Pastries | Caricatures by Krystina Bogus | Paper Works PH | Pocketfilms.MOV | The Film Collective | Joy Bakes | Ding Dong and Happy Peanuts | Fly Ace | Tough Mama | Monday Hair Care | MamaChows | Bespoke Manila | Make Up By Miss Jho | Limeworks Life-Size Letters | VoiceBank | Jenki Galindo-Fernando
Will now savor these messages written at the party, and the voice message left at the party. Again thank to everyone who came, meant so much to have you come spend time celebrating with us!
Missed you so much Jason Magbanua huhuhu
Words KITTEN ZAPATA | Photography NIKKO QUIOGUE
