I can't believe time flew that quickly. Just like that and my little one (LO) JEEA is one year old. Her birthday falls on a February and I started planning by December. I was thinking that after the holiday festivities, I would run out of time to prepare for her birthday.
I was googling a lot of venues and checking reviews. I had a lot of considerations:
Shall we hold it in Makati? We live in Muntinlupa but we have visitors who would be coming from the north.
- Who would style the venue?
- Which caterer?
- What style of cake? I have a baker in mind already. And a design based on my theme
- Kaya ko ba mag DIY?
- Literally, hay. Ang daming kailangan isipin.
Finally, following the advise of my friends and my husband, I settled on the clubhouse of the condominium of where we live. That would be most convenient for us since we can just go to our unit in case we need something. Plus, its the most practical of all options.
Second is the caterer. I already have a caterer in mind and it's just a matter of choosing the menu.
Third, the event stylist or at least who would decorate the venue. I had my eyes on an events company and already approached them for their quotation. My only concern is they would be coming from Manila. @jie_golo cautioned me that since they would be coming from afar, it might stress me out if they would be late. But I so wanted thema sana. Hay.
So I googled again for a nearby supplier, read reviews, joined supplier groups. Of all those I checked, NicPatJan seemed interesting. I asked for a quotation and agreed to meet one Saturday.
My chosen theme is "You are my sunshine" as we feel that JEEA has actually filled our lives with so much sun and laughter. I informed NicPatJan about this and we were pleasantly surprised that Ma'am Gina, the owner, showed some ideas when we first met. She also informed me that they can do catering, tables and chairs, photobooth, the works!
@jie_golo and I decided to try them out and ask for a package quotation for the whole event. I just chose which ones I wanted and this included the following:
- catering + kiddie meal
- decor
- magician / host
- photo booth rental
- candy buffet
- chocolate fountain
- tokens
- photo coverage
- 2 layer fondant cake
For the food, we had a food tasting of 2 of the dishes two weeks prior to the party. We paid the downpayment, and the full payment one day before the party.
On the day of the party, they started their set-up at 9 am, the party was scheduled at 3 pm.
I would let the pictures speak for them for their set-up.
 |
| My first year frame provided by JEEA's godmother when she was born |
For the cake, I already have a baker in mind but she was due for a trip on the week prior to the party and would be back a day or two before the party. She declined as she might not be able to finish it. Fortunately, NicPatJan can also provide cakes. Mam Gina mentioned that her daughter can bake it. This is what I showed them to try to copy. It was a design from Delana's cakes. For the sun topper, we told them to just use whatever sun they would be using for the decor so it would be consistent. They can also simplify the details.
This is what they came out with. I was actually pretty impressed. For the cake itself, it was very moist with caramel inside. I loved it as it tasted like dark chocolate, which I love, and was very rich! Siksik. The sun though was just printed on thick paper. But we were okay with that.
For the food, I have to be honest but it was simple. Lutong bahay. I did not hear super great raves. But I did hear that their caldereta, relyenong bangus and chicken teriyaki were good. I also noticed that their mixed veggies contained a lot of quail eggs LOL!
 |
| Bami - combination of canton and bihon |
 |
| Beef caldereta |
 |
| chicken teriyaki |
 |
| releyenong bangus |
 |
| mixed vegetables |
 |
| buko pandan |
They had a different set for the kiddos: I chose spaghetti, chicken lollipop and puto for them.
 |
| kiddie spaghetti |
 |
| puto |
 |
| chicken lollipop |
We briefed the magician that there were only a few kids. And there were more seniors in the audience than kids haha! So his jokes and games should cut across. We think he did a good job considering all the laughter we heard for his performance especially the puppet show.
My verdict with all these? Over all good party
But the important thing for me is to make the event memorable. And it is. Because we were surrounded with the people we love, all there for JEEA's first birthday :)
