Shanghai 1930's

Someone commented that my bridal look was Shanghai 1930's. And how right he was. Looked through some vintage posters from the era and surprise, surprise! The timeline was right and my chinita face brought in the Shanghai touch. I was just lacking that feather boa...

A smaller table arrangement & the menu

This is another example of how one of the smaller tables was set up (picture is of us with my dad, family friends from Cebu: Tita Jing, her daughters Mariles and Merche, my sister, my brother and my sister's boyfriend, Carl). One of the difficulties we had was putting together table arrangements. We had tables that were originally set for two (Cafe Ysabel is a date place after all) which we had to increase to three. We also had to put together tables downstairs to accommodate large groups of friends. If you notice, the menu (in beige colored paper) was simply propped against the centerpiece. Nothing fancy but it served its purpose. Our reception sit down dinner was lovely: lobster bisque, Ceasar salad, Chicken Alfonso (stuffed chicken) served with Fetuccine Alfredo and a hot & cold dessert (apple crisp and heavenly panna cotta).

Simple centerpieces and colorful plates

This is a picture of the lovely centerpieces that my florist came up with for the reception. He combined simple floral arrangements with candle lamps (here, elevated for the principal sponsors table) to highlight the antique feel of Cafe Ysabel. You will also notice that Cafe Ysabel made the table arrangements look appetizing already by pouring the olive oil and black vinegar dip for the appetizer bread on all the plates prior to any serving.

The Caramel Area

This is a picture with friends at the lower part of the restaurant. I wish we could have had the wedding in just one floor but we really needed the whole restaurant given the number of guests. We solved the problem by having all the traditionals (bouquet tossing, cake cutting, speeches, etc.) in the courtyard at the beginning of the reception so that everyone could be there (though, we had to serve pink lemonade to combat the heat). We then split our time after dinner visiting tables and having our pictures taken both upstairs in the Chocolate area and downstairs in the Caramel area.