Amanda’s Unicorn Themed Baptism and First Birthday [ Part 1 Suppliers]

Disclaimer: This is a long overdue post

Last April, we celebrated Amanda’s first birthday with immediate family and friends. Ironic that we do planning and styling events as a business, but our family and friends know that we do simple and intimate celebrations for our kids. So this post is best for those who wants to DIY (Do it yourself) your child’s intimate party. I will be sharing some tips here so read through guys!

Church: Holy Family Parish

Address: 2777 Faraday St. Makati

Telephone Number: 392 86 17

Requirements:

• Baptismal certificate with registry number or PSA copy

• Marriage certificate for married parents. If not married, do not worry, they will still accommodate you but of course, they will ask if you have plans of getting married in the future

• If you are not from San Isidro, you need to get an authorization letter from your Parish. In our case, we get one from San Ildefonso Parish.

Fee: DONATION ONLY. Yes, it is up to you how much are you giving the church. Like what their Parish priest says, Sacraments are free. But with this, you have to provide your own candles. The church will only cover the sacrament, priest, sound system and electricity.

Parking: There is a parking space! yehey! plus points talaga. Mass is at 10am. Everyone is encourage to attend the mass. Right after, Baptismal na agad.

Seminar: There is a short seminar less than 30 minutes. So for us, very convenient talaga. Some church requires a separare seminar date.

Overall: We love this church because it also near my mom’s place. The parish priest is very kind, considerate, caring. This is also where Arriana had her baptismal. There is a nice mini garden too. They also have a function room good for 200 guest. We did not book here because the venue is to big for us.

Tip: Check your local Parish if medyo budgeted tayo. some popular churches charge 3,000 to 8,000 for a baptismal. Like in Holy Family, 2 babies lang naman ang bininyagan.

Venue: The Columns Makati

Thank you Mama Eva for endorsing us.

Address: 6821 Ayala Avenue Makati

Fee: I like this venue because it is affordable. PHP 1,000 pesos per hour is not bad especially within Makati Area. So we booked 4 hours. 11am to 3pm. It comes with 2 hours ingress. They will turn on the AC at 11am. Though I expect the guest to arrive at 12 – 12:30 since our baptismal is at 11, okay lang, para malamig na since glass sides siya, and mainit pag tanghali. Overall, the price is still affordable. paid 4k for 8 hours in total including ingress and egress.

Parking: Guest can park in Alphaland which is just across. This location is very easy to go to and locate as well.

Cons: It needs an endorsement from a home owner. Thanks to Mama Eva from Feast Makati for loving our family always.

Overall: Overall, we love Columns Makati! Their staff and guards are very nice. We left a guest list in the lobby. This is a requirement, of course, for security purposes. There is also a playground on the same floor, so bigger kids like Kuya Addy and his classmates went there to play.

Caterer: Beyond The Plate

Email: beyondtheplateph@gmail.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/beyondtheplateph/

IG:BeyondThePlatePH

We’ve used several caterers from our past events but we want to keep on exploring other options too. JB’s good friends, Wale and Crisel has a catering business so it was a perfect time for us to try their food. Their package starts at PHP 280/head for lunch and dinner. You may also customized which viand do you like. They have a list of what can you choose from for PHP 280/ head but here is their signature buffet option:

Signature buffet

280/head (plus 10% service charge & 12% vat)

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Baby Potatoes in Herbed Garlic Sauce

Herb Crusted Fish Fillet with Mango Salsa

Chicken Florentine

Korean Pork Stew

Spaghetti with Spicy Oriental Sauce

Fruit Salad

Steamed Rice

1 Round of Iced Tea

We ended up with the following menu:

Adults:

Cream of Mushroom

Baby Potatoes

Chicken Florentine

Fish fillet with Mango Salsa

Korean Pork Ribs

Pasta Bolognese

Coffee jelly

Steamed Rice

1 round of Iced tea

Infused Water

Kids:

Chicken Tenders with honey mustard sauce

Baked macaroni

French fries

Double chocolate bar

Orange juice

Everything was a hit. Everyone loved our food. Kids food comes in bento box. The adults loved the kids menu as well.

Here is their set up which we really like. The table centerpieces are from Beyond The Plate. So that is one expense less of my list. Perfect for those who will DIY kasi you will only use it once, so no additional cost for it na.

Tip: Best to always look for a caterer who has a nice centerpiece na. Ask also if you can switch or choose a different viand than what they have as a set. Like Beyond The Plate they have several choices for chicken, beef, pork in the PHP 280/head category.

Photographer: Jay Carlo Photography

FB: Jay Carlo Olaguer Photography

Jay is one of our co-servant in the Feast. For our intimate gatherings, We try to get in our community. We were so thankful that Jay was available at that time because he normally serves even Sunday.

Fee: Rates vary depending on your requirement. Some needs album, printed copies etc. I just need Raw Files and Edited on CD plus coverage. I booked Jay for 3,500 pesos. Not bad at all.

Tip: Check you friends and other contacts. You might have a friend who is starting a photography business and it is nice to help him or her build also her portfolio.

Give Aways for Ninongs and Ninangs: Goodie Bag with Vpharma products and aromatherapy candle.

Because I am all for useful stuff, I want to make sure that my goodie bag for the second parents of Amanda is useful. Something that they will be happy to receive. There are endless options out there especially tthe personalized ones so I want to be extra unique.

• Pink paper Bag from SM Stationary is at 180 pesos per bundle of 20pcs. This comes in blue, pink and brown color.

• Sea Salt Aromatherapy Candle at 45 per piece – Since wala candle na kasama sa church, we used this for the baptismal candle na. I know uso yung personalized candles but after kasi, can’t use it na. I was looking for a candle na nasa glass container but wala ako nakita na simple one on my budget. Upon giving their goodie bag sa church, ang happy naman ng sponsors to see the candle. Lakas maka Titos and Titas of Manila, It comes with a ribbon na talaga by the way.

• Mega Ampalaya from Vpharma because #HealthisForEveryFamily and we really love and use this product, I want to share it to Amanda’s second parents. This has a lot of benefits kasi. Not just for sugar control but also for cholesterol and even for skin care. This is PHP 360 per box of 30 pieces.

• Mega Mangosteen from Vpharma This is one product that gives me #momsanitysaver. It is a good anti oxidant and energy booster. Sine I always get the question, “Ley how ddo you guys do it with 3 kids and no yaya?” This product is one of those brands that really helped our family a lot. This is PHP 550 per box of 30 pieces.

If you are interested to buy Vpharma products, here are your options:

1. You may go to their website at www.vpharma.ph and then once you reached 3k minimum purchase, you can use my code LEYLOVESVPHARMA for a one time 500 pesos discount.

2. On your next purchase, you can buy from me and get the same discount.

Tip: check also what can you give that will be beneficial for them. So We wanted to give health as a gift because they will stand as Amand’s second parent, kaya dapat live a long and healthy life.

Give Aways for Kids: Art Kit

We don’t do programs on First birthdays. Weird diba? But our main reason for this is, we want kasi the program to be something that our celebrant would really like. So in case of Amanda, we do not know yet. Normally, we have more specific programs on their second and seventh birthday. That’s the time also na mas na appreciate na nila yung party. So with Amanda, I bought art kit from SM lang. Placed it on top of the table for each kid. They can either use it there or use it at home na. It is so nice because for PHP 150 pesos it come with:

• crayons

• color pencil

• color pens

• half size sketch pad

• It comes with a plastic pouch

Tip: Explore SM ( This is not a sponsored post from SM) but minsan kasi they also have affordable items. For a mom of 3 kids like me, it is very challenging to go to Divisoria. I can try Shopee or Lazada but you know, it give me the satisfying feeling if I can see the products first before ebuying it. Mind you, it took us 1 hour before I finally purchased this.

Food Cart: Fiorgelato

Website: www.fiorgelato.com

Email: kiosk1263@yahoo.com

This was a gift for Amanda by our previous client Mr and Mrs Richie and Jantzen Cuna. My kids and guest loves it. We had 3 flavors: Fragola (Strawberry), Cioccolato (Chocolate), and Pistaccio. These are their best sellers. They have different packages ranging from PHP 6,500 to PHP 10,000

Package 1 PHP 6,500 100 pax 4 flavors

Package 2 PHP 7,500 150 pax 6 flavors

Package 3 PHP 8,500 200 pax 8 flavors

Package 4 PHP 10,000 250 pax 10 flavors

Every package includes the following:

• Free use of freezer with scooper

• 4 hours duration

• Free cone and cups

• For low fat or no added sugar – they charge a minimal amount of 200 per tub but applicable to Flavors: Cappuccino, Pistaccio and Strawberry

Cake: Goldilocks

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. Goldilocks Mocha cake is so far the favorite of Amanda, Arriana and Addy. Very convenient because you can order online, pay online using credit card or cash on delivery. They can deliver on the day of the event.

Tip: They also have the fondant cakes but you need to order 5 days in advance.

Invitation: Mommy Planner Ley

I layout the invitation, save the date and will you be my godparent in the Canva App. Thanks to Mommy Pehpot kasi sa kanya ko talaga ito nadiscover! It is free! then JB just sent it thru viber groups. No need to print because, hindi naman itatago ito. Additional kalat lang sa bahay and if they throw it naman, ayoko naman Amanda’s face is there, so E-invite it is!

Party Planner and Stylist: Mommy Planner Ley of JBL Events Management and Creative Styling By JBL

Of course, the planner and stylist is ME. hahaha

Okay, Our Main registered business name is JBL Events Management Services Co but for our styling we used to use the brand Creative Styling By JBL. for past events, you may check our hashtags #JBLEventsManagementServicesCo and #CreativeStylingByJBL

Okay, going back. I check what I currently have before deciding on the theme. So with this, I just bought the mylars at Divisoria. You can also try online stores if you plan do DIY. We can’t do heavy ceiling treatment because of the lamps. Check my next post for more detailed photos. For the stage, we use white curtain ut for a more polished look we did not use tarpaulin stand. We use wood / plywood as our backdrop stand. If you want detailed instructions, comment down below your questions. Will try to make a tutorial for DIY mommies.

For package inquiry, please click on services on my home page and choose Event Styling. or click here for the inquiry form.

Play Area: Do It Yourself (DIY)

Since we have a lot o toys at home, I decided to just bring them. There are several shops who offers rental that will cost you around PHP 5,000 to 12,000 depending on the number of toys and activities.

We have the following:

• Floor mats

• Bowling Set

• Wooden toys and alphabets

• Clay

• Kuya Addy’s Mega Blocks –

• Soccer goalie sets

• Vtech toys

• Mini basketball hoops

• Puzzles

• Horsey

I did not bring the slide of my cousin because it is too big for the elevator plus there is a playground on the same floor.

Tip: You can do this too. Bring the toys in your house or take advantage of the nearby playgrounds.