1st Birthday Supplier Ratings

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THEME: Carebears Festival of Fun
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Initially, i was opting for Carnival hence the "Festival of Fun" but as I was talking to Apple about my plans I keep on mentioning Tenderheart's name. Later on I gave up on the carnival idea kasi lack of manpower and funds to execute planned booths. I guess ang mas nakarelate sa theme ay ang mga Mothers and you can see some kids have question mark on their faces as to who the carebears are hehe

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VENUE: Artist Pavillion, Makati Park & Garden
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Cost: 7K rental fee from 1PM to 6PM
+ no corkage fee
+ no additional cost for electicity
+ aircon, great for 200pax guest
+ great location for guests coming from south and north (meet halfway kumbaga)
* no sound system
* reservation is done sa makati city hall pa and bring confirmation sheet to venue for actual scheduling
* short setup time kung may kasabay na event before your slot

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FOOD: Blue Petals Catering & Jollibee
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Blue Petals (Adults)
Contract Details
Cost: P180/pax for 130 pax
+ Good feedback from N@W
+ Reasonably priced
+ no charge for different colors for table top
+ waiters are courteous and attentive
* ok lang customer service, jonalyn was easy to talk to. i just have to call like 3 times to follow up email of floor plan and twice for for the revised final contract. but they gave us snacks when they were preparing our contract (brownies and coke) to dani's delight hehe.
* didn't get to taste the food pero acceptable naman. some say masarap, most say ok naman. we didnt experience shortage in food since around 100+ pax lang dumating so others were able to get second helping pa and we get to take home what's left. Pinamigay na lang namin sa relatives nung uwian na. up to now and hindi ko lang malaman eh kung kanino napunta ang ulo ng lechon hihi.

Jollibee (Kids)
Cost: P88 for Chicken and Spaghetti Meal w/ Softdrinks
+ Reliable delivery, no problem encountered
* their crew came in as scheduled 1:30pm kaso he had to wait pa kasi hindi ko makabayad agad, yung wallet ko kasi nasa car eh bumili pala ng ice si garry, medyo nakakahiya lang on my part hihi

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CAKE: Cake Avenue
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10" round chocolate cake with 3D customized cake topper
Cost: P1870 for the cake and P10 for the candle
+ good customer service, fast reply via email
+ caramel filling not to sweet :D cake itself was better than goldilocks or red ribbon :)
* for pickup nga lang but accessible location naman

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Photographer: Jeff Lopez
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Cost: P4000 for Labor only
+ prompt reply to inquiry
+ arrived early
+ patient to kids (and guests)
+ awesome captures, more so with candid pics
+ free enhanced ready to print 5Rs
* you'll have to wait for a couple of days though for the cd. no biggie for me since i have my photos naman and i was hoping he will tweak some :)
* recieved about 600 files, i told jeff i wanted more but then i was just kidding kasi nga he'll have to have three of him to produce the number of photos i want hihi but the ones he got are quality shots and covered almost everything naman. pero duda ako kay jeff, kasi dami pics ni wizzo hmm.. may HD kaya sya dun.. jowk!

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PARTY ORGANIZER: Yan-Ple's Balloons & Party Needs
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FOOD CARTS: c/o Yan-Ple
Cost: Hotdogs - P1700 and Sorbetero - P1800 (ube, cheese & rockyroad)
+ more affordable than other party supplier
+ themed at no extra cost
* just provided a pack of marshmallows for the hotdogs para mas complete :D

HOST: Wizzo c/o Yan-Ple
+ kids and adults alike were impressed by his show
+ great costume, realistic props and animals seemed quite healthy hehe

Other items:
3x2 Standee
Decors (Personalized Balloon, Centerpiece, Ceiling, Pillars, Balloon Burst)
Cupcakes, Cookies and Lollies
Giant Playhouse w/ slide, Merry-Go-Round and Basketball Set

+ helped me finalize my theme and items, provides suggestions
+ prompt reply on q's
+ works within budget, sometimes may bonus pa :)
+ great editing and vibrant color printing for the standee

*when i was planning dani's birthday, nasa isip ko na talaga to get apple's services. minsan nagca-canvass pa rin ako sa ibang party suppliers pero hindi ko na masyado pinagtutuunan ng pansin. we'd communicate via text or email nage-gets naman na nya ung gusto ko by sending out pics or links or vice versa.
*couple of days after i still recieve feedback either from conversation or text that the party was "engrande" parang debut. not the kind of feedback i was hoping for kasi i was aiming sana for "fun". i still take it in though kasi some did say it was indeed fun :D i guess the overall effect of apple's team output impressed most of my guest resulting such comments.

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Map & Invites: DIY - National Bookstore Glorietta
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StarPaper Pearl Board Paper - about P33 for 10pcs
Pastelle 3.5x5 envelopes - about P14 for 5pcs
Epson Printer 990(?) - P4999 at Electroworld, SM Dasma

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Guestbook: Picturebooks
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Cost: P789 for Medium size Hard bound Cover
+ ready for pickup as indicated in the job order
+ quality binding
* color hue & saturation will vary but they do have disclaimer for this but still good printing.
* other page layouts was cropped/resized even after following the specified size, binding allowance. it was my first time to avail of their services so will have to adjust next time based on the current album on hand :)

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Projector: Arnold Projector
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Cost: P1500 w/ white screen (tripod) for 5hrs
+ relatively cheap
+ prompt reply
+ arrived early for setup
* i just googled "projector rent makati" and got three possible suppliers, all of which are of the same price. The first one is no longer available on my date. After texting arnold, he replied immediately and when he asked for directions i just emailed him the map and pray he'll show up :) no deposit was required so i just prepared myself for the worst and accepted the possiblity na masayang ang AVP.

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Dani's Gown & Shoes:
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Gown (SM Nova) - P600
Silver shoes (Landmark) - P250
Casual white dress - (gift)
White shoes (Rustans) - P300+
*for the shoes, i was battling whether to get a bigger size or ung tamang fit lang kasi baka sumakit paa ni dani or baka naman matanggal kung maluwang. in the end ung one size bigger ang binili ko kasi sakto lang din pag may socks na.
*i was planning to have dani's gown custom tailored tapos sasabay na din ako ng pang dress ko para terno kami. yung pinakamalapit saming patahian nagquote ng P1K for her gown and P1.5K nman for mine (no beads ha). Unsure ako kung magkaparehas kami ng wavelength nung "designer" so nagtyaga kami maghanap ng RTW.

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Other DIY Projects
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AVP using ProShow
*tatlong magkakasunod na gabi puyat ako sa AVP. Like what aggie mentioned when she was preparing to do sana for her daughter, I kept staring at her photos and getting sentimental kaya bagal ng progress.

Lootbags and Goodies c/o Divisoria
*as blogged here

Tarp Design - Printing cost: P1200 for 8ftx6ft
*note to self: time and again sabi nga iproofread ng 10x tapos ipa-proofread sa iba kasi chances are may mali. basahin mo cge nga.. anong mali?

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Leave a message if you want a copy of our budget sheet. Just to give you an idea of transparent expenses .. about P85K :) [EDIT: recomputed expenses and arrived at P79K+ now where's the 6K gone?!]

was it all worth it, the stress and everything.. to be with all of our guests who came and celebrated with us our daughter's first birthday, memories are priceless! sana nga lang dani can appreciate this event more when she's older na.