After 7/7/07 and 8/8/08.. they say the next big two dates are 9/9/09 and 10/10/10..

Just a piece of advice.. Dont get married on September 9 next year.. Why?? You wouldn't get married on 6/6/06 right?!

And.. oh yeah.. before I forget.. If you plan to get married on 10/10/10.. Start booking your suppliers as early as now.. Seriously I already know 3 couples getting married on that date.. And all three of them already booked their respective photographers and videographers.. :-)

Last May, we went back to Bacolod to look for possible venues. We checked out some hotels and resorts where we can have our dream wedding.

Quennie and I wanted a garden wedding. So we were looking for a place that have a nice garden and will have a provision when it rains. We need a place that can accommodate around 200-250 guests. We also wanted the place near a venue for the reception. Although if the wedding venue would have catering services also, then it will be much better.

After going around the city for 2 days, we have more or less have a decision. We decided to go for Palmas del Mar as our wedding venue. They have a nice garden. They have catering services so there is no need to transfer after the wedding. They have a good wedding package. We believe that this place best suited our needs for the wedding.

View more pictures of Palmas del Mar at our photo albums.

Other venues we have visited and considered are the following:

L' Fisher Hotel - No garden. Not big enough. Expensive.
Business Inn - No garden. Has a big ballroom. Reasonable.
Planta Centro Bacolod - Has a garden but very bare. Suite rooms are beautiful. We liked it. A bit expensive. We heard the food is not that good.

As we plan for the wedding, the details are starting to surface. One of the interesting question from the bride's family is "When is the pamanhikan?". I got blank upon hearing that. What is it anyway?

I have a very slight idea of what pamanhikan is. I just see them on TVs and movies. My cousins had that when they are about to get married. All I remember was I get to eat some food. I dont know what they really talked about. So I started searching for information in the internet.

Pamanhikan is an old Filipino tradition where the groom and his family formally asks the hand of the bride for marriage in front of the bride's family. Pamanhikan is called Pamalahi in Ilonggo. Im not sure if Pakagon is also the right term. It's like parents meeting the parents.

Oh that sounds easy until I read further.

Typically, the pamanhikan is held at the bride's house during lunch or dinner. It is also customary for the groom's family to bring is some food. Today, other couples have their pamanhikan in a neutral territory like restaurants. Or bring in a third person to facilitate in the discussion (parang retreat a!) or help ease the awkwardness in the meeting.

Now to the awkward part.

During the pamanhikan, the details of the wedding are discussed like wedding budget, expenses, guest lists, and more. Quennie and I struggle with those topics. How much more is this if discussed with our parents. I mean, we haven't finalized things yet. We get stressed when people ask us about the venue, the date, the motif. And putting more people in the planning might get more stressful.

And what if our plans get ruined. Our parents might thrown in ideas from their retro bauls making it look more like its their wedding and not ours. They could get bossy and think that we are still their six-year-olds where they can tell us what to do. Right now, I'm thinking of a subtle way to tear down their retro talks when they start talking.

And finally, when will the pamanhikan happen. Our schedules are bit tight. I know its still a year before the wedding but I might have a business trip from July to August and Quennie might be assigned offshore from October to March. The wedding will be around April. Cool.  So we thought it would be best if we do the pamanhikan when we go home to Bacolod this May.  But they said, it is traditionally (I'm starting to hate this word) done 3-4 months before the wedding.  Huh?!

And still more questions. Do I have to bring a dowry of fattened calves or native chickens from our farm? Do I have to chop firewood before the pamanhikan? Sing a harana?

Please help.