Thr33sCompany: Off the market

[thr33scompany]

Hello All,

I\'ve been a member here for a while now but most of you may not know me. I just wanted to spread the news... On December 30th...I got engaged!

I\'ve been with my Fiance for 9 years straight now..(I\'m 27)... I know what you guys are thinking.. wtf took so damn long?!?!? In my defence, I wanted to be financially stable and we both had an understanding that we were both going to be together and we would only take the next step if we were both financially stable.

Another reason why I waited for a while is because my Fiance\'s parents are strict, traditional, Filipino parents... I took them to dinner and declared my intentions with their daughter and asked for their permission. I thought they were going to bust my balls and make it into an interview.. but surprisingly... they gave me nothing but support..

So far, we don\'t have a date yet... but it will be within the year.. Lucky for me..(being sarcastic).. the bridal show is in town and I\'m gonna have attend..

As for the ring.. the following are the specs:

round cut
.75 carats
vs1 clarity
F colour
14 kt white gold ring.

I know it\'s not a \"skating rink\" size but I think its good enough.. If any of you guys want to jump on the bandwagon and want to know more about the price or where I got it... email or pm me. Also, if anyone has any tips for me regarding wedding planning, it would be appreciated.

thanks

Don

[TheProfessor]

Congrats.....you\'ll love married life. I was with my wife for about nine years also before we got married, but we were just waiting to be done school and stuff before we \'took the plunge\'. As for wedding planning, expect everything to cost more than they quote you, and start looking for a hall now since they tend to be booked a few years in advance (the nicer ones anyways).

[majic]

congrats bro.. i feel like everyone is getting enagged/married this year.. i guess people around me are hitting that age now.. *sigh* good luck and have fun :D

[billyfo]

congrats man, 1 less free man on the world:D . enjoy your new life, too.

[Whos ur dadd]

Originally posted by thr33scompany

.75 carats

I know it\'s not a \"skating rink\" size but I think its good enough..

3/4 of a carat and in your heart of hearts you still don\'t think it\'s enuf for the lady? :sarc

It\'s people like you who raise the bar so fackin\' terribly high that the rest of us look like fools when we give \'em the ol\' cubic zirconia Hudson\'s Bay special. Facker.








Congrats!

BTW, 13 years with the wifey before we got hitched. She couldn\'t find someone else to settle down with so she finally relented after 13 years.

[Caz]

Another one bites the dust. LOL

Congrats and welcome to the club.

The best wedding advice I can give is to remember the wedding is for you guys not for everyone else. So make sure it is what you want.

[Cardinal Fang]

Congrats and please remember to have your leg fitted correctly for that ball and chain.

:D

[wtom]

Congrats, Don! The time just flies right by ...

[thr33scompany]

Originally posted by Whos ur dadd



Originally posted by thr33scompany

.75 carats

I know it\'s not a \"skating rink\" size but I think its good enough..

3/4 of a carat and in your heart of hearts you still don\'t think it\'s enuf for the lady? :sarc

It\'s people like you who raise the bar so fackin\' terribly high that the rest of us look like fools when we give \'em the ol\' cubic zirconia Hudson\'s Bay special. Facker.








Congrats!

BTW, 13 years with the wifey before we got hitched. She couldn\'t find someone else to settle down with so she finally relented after 13 years.

Buying retail (i.e. Spence, Peoples, Mappins, etc) is the worst place to buy bro.. that\'s where you went wrong. you gotta go to a wholesaler.. you\'ll be surprised on how much you can save. TRUST ME!!!

[Whos ur dadd]

Originally posted by thr33scompany

Buying retail (i.e. Spence, Peoples, Mappins, etc) is the worst place to buy bro.. that\'s where you went wrong. you gotta go to a wholesaler.. you\'ll be surprised on how much you can save. TRUST ME!!!

Bah, wholesale/retail/schmeetail. It\'s still gonna be more that the $199 1 carat cubic from The Bay.

[thr33scompany]

BTW.. are the bridal shows actually worth going to or is it just gonna make my legs feel like jello the next morning because of all the damn walking.

[Broli]

Congrats man

i imagine u will be having kids in . . .
15 years at the rate you guys move!!

lol


:p

[thr33scompany]

Originally posted by Broli


Congrats man

i imagine u will be having kids in . . .
15 years at the rate you guys move!!

lol


:p

Thanks bud.. not planning on having kids right after the wedding but it will be in the near future.

[Jeff-TheBiz]

Originally posted by thr33scompany

Buying retail (i.e. Spence, Peoples, Mappins, etc) is the worst place to buy bro.. that\'s where you went wrong. you gotta go to a wholesaler.. you\'ll be surprised on how much you can save. TRUST ME!!!

http://www.wackypackages.org/realproductsscans/crackerjack.jpg

99 cents.. and it looks fantastic...

[MazdaTree]

congrats Don!

[thr33scompany]

Originally posted by TheBiz



Originally posted by thr33scompany

Buying retail (i.e. Spence, Peoples, Mappins, etc) is the worst place to buy bro.. that\'s where you went wrong. you gotta go to a wholesaler.. you\'ll be surprised on how much you can save. TRUST ME!!!

http://www.wackypackages.org/realproductsscans/crackerjack.jpg

99 cents.. and it looks fantastic...


I\'m sure the ring would smell fantastic too... Who doesn\'t like the smell of caramel on their jewellery? lol.. I was thinking of pulling off a prank like that when i proposed.. didn\'t want to taint the moment..lol

[firstmazda]

First and foremost, congratulations and welcome to the club!!
I\'m in the same boat. I got engaged in May \'05 and the wedding\'s
this Nov. 06.

You want a good piece of advice? get some comfortable shoes! be prepared
to do a LOT of legwork! We literally started researching stuff the day after
the engagement and are still looking around 9 months later. You really gotta shop around.

Remember, in the end, all photographers pretty much end up with the same picture.
Every DJ has access to the same songs, all florists get flowers, etc. etc.
It pretty much comes down to what extras they can throw in, and the final price.

and barter barter barter!! you\'d be surprised at how much they can drop prices for
your money!

so yeah, the bridal shows ARE tiring, boring,and FEMININE, but totally worth it.
make connections, talk with everyone, collect all the info, go home sort it out
and start makin appointments.

ie. I pretty much ended up paying less than half of what everyone charges for
the 67 Bentley and stretch Excursion i got. (i can send you the info for this
company that i met at the bridal show)

And don\'t forget, it\'s all about you and your future wife. Wether you spend
$100 or $100million, there\'s always gonna be people who will say $h!t or complain.
You can\'t make everyone happy.... but you can make each other happy!


Ray

P.S.
I know everyone says,\"my jeweler\'s the best. he\'ll save you a ton, blah blah blah\"
I\'m saying the same. when it comes time to look for wedding bands, get a quote from
your guy, and go see mine. A few of my buddies left the jeweler they got their engagement
rings from and found my guy was better! (ie. better diamond for cheaper price)

[TheProfessor]

Originally posted by firstmazda
Remember, in the end, all photographers pretty much end up with the same picture.
Every DJ has access to the same songs, all florists get flowers, etc. etc.
It pretty much comes down to what extras they can throw in, and the final price.


I completely disagree with that statement. Trust me, I\'ve seen what a cheap photographer can (and can\'t) do vs. a good one. Same goes for the cake, the decorations, the food, and pretty much everything else IMO. I\'m not saying you have to go top of the line on everything, but you do get what you pay for, especially during weddings.

[Whos ur dadd]

Originally posted by PSIVIC



Originally posted by firstmazda
Remember, in the end, all photographers pretty much end up with the same picture.
Every DJ has access to the same songs, all florists get flowers, etc. etc.
It pretty much comes down to what extras they can throw in, and the final price.


I completely disagree with that statement. Trust me, I\'ve seen what a cheap photographer can (and can\'t) do vs. a good one. Same goes for the cake, the decorations, the food, and pretty much everything else IMO. I\'m not saying you have to go top of the line on everything, but you do get what you pay for, especially during weddings.

yup. you can end up with some walmart photos if you pick the wrong person. we went with reportage. nice, but pricey, but well worth it IMHO.

[firstmazda]

Originally posted by PSIVIC

I completely disagree with that statement. Trust me, I\'ve seen what a cheap photographer can (and can\'t) do vs. a good one. Same goes for the cake, the decorations, the food, and pretty much everything else IMO. I\'m not saying you have to go top of the line on everything, but you do get what you pay for, especially during weddings.

Sorry, yeah. I aggree with you (and WUD). Yeah, you don\'t hafta go with the most expensive
guys, and we didn\'t even go see the cheap guys. I just meant that after going to sooo many
places you start to see all the same shots or poses and then you filter down to the few ppl
who\'s style you like (ie. traditional vs. modern photojournalistic style) and see what extras
they can throw in.

[Junior]

Congrats!

[SourcE]

I got married at The Old Mill in Etobicoke, it was v.nice pictoresque etc, excellant food etc, they have a chapel too if you want to do it all in one place.

Congrats btw, kids will be next.....just ask Joe or WuD :p

[FLIPDADY]

Congrats man!

I\'ve been married for 5 years to a sexy Filipina.:D

[thr33scompany]

Originally posted by SourcE


I got married at The Old Mill in Etobicoke, it was v.nice pictoresque etc, excellant food etc, they have a chapel too if you want to do it all in one place.

Congrats btw, kids will be next.....just ask Joe or WuD :p

Old mill huh?? I heard that is crazy expensive. I\'ve been there a few times.. Its REALLY REALLY nice.. do they have affordable rates there or what?

[thr33scompany]

Originally posted by FLIPSPEED


Congrats man!

I\'ve been married for 5 years to a sexy Filipna.:D

Did you do all the crazy traditional stuff (i.e. Bring lechon *roasted baby pig* to the parent\'s house..etc) or is your wife\'s parents \"new age\"??

[thr33scompany]

For the people that are married already... How did you guys decide on a finalized guest list without hurting the other\'s feelings or the feelings of the ones that got left out of the list?

[firstmazda]

Originally posted by thr33scompany


For the people that are married already... How did you guys decide on a finalized guest list without hurting the other\'s feelings or the feelings of the ones that got left out of the list?

Yeah!! help me too... right now our list is at 300+ and each time we sit to cut it down,
it just gets bigger!! HELP!

(BTW are you filipino too thr33sCompany?)

[SourcE]

Originally posted by thr33scompany


How did you guys decide on a finalized guest list without hurting the other\'s feelings or the feelings of the ones that got left out of the list?

If you haven\'t talked to them in the last 2 months, don\'t invite \'em. Weddings can get crazy expensive, The Old Mill wasn\'t too bad, cost us about $90 p/p, that said, would you rather have a really nice location, or an \"OK\" location with a load of people you know you won\'t see again for an age?

IMO, do what YOU both want and don\'t get swayed by family.....cause we all know family can be a PITA..! :p :sarc

Also, you don\'t have to invite everyone to the chapel and meal, just the \"Special\" people. Invite the rest to turn up for drinkies and dancing.....keeps the cost down :D

[wtom]

Originally posted by FLIPSPEED

I\'ve been married for 5 years to a sexy Filipna.:D

+1 ... :D

When I ran into you guys, I saw her first and I couldn\'t stop staring. Then she sat down with some bald dude. I did a double take before realizing it\'s JOE!!!!!! LOL :p j/k

[thr33scompany]

(BTW are you filipino too thr33sCompany?)

Yes I am. I was born here in Canada though.. I understand the language..but unable to speak it.

[firstmazda]

Originally posted by thr33scompany

Yes I am. I was born here in Canada though.. I understand the language..but unable to speak it.

cool. I\'m one of the few who were born and raised here but can speak fluently.
is your wifey filipino too? mine is.

[FLIPDADY]

I was born in Manila and raised in the states. My wife was born here but went back to the Phillipines for a few years.

For the wedding no lechon or pancit. Just some good ol\' fashion North American food and a lot of booze. I think my tab at the LCBO and the Beer Store was close to $5000.

[thr33scompany]

Originally posted by firstmazda



Originally posted by thr33scompany

Yes I am. I was born here in Canada though.. I understand the language..but unable to speak it.

cool. I\'m one of the few who were born and raised here but can speak fluently.
is your wifey filipino too? mine is.

Yeah dude.. she was born in the Philippines.. moved here when she was 5 or 6... so she fluently speaks 3 languages.. English, Tagalog and French.. so she is tri-sex....err.. lingual... ;)

[Cardinal Fang]

Originally posted by thr33scompany
Yeah dude.. she was born in the Philippines.. moved here when she was 5 or 6... so she fluently speaks 3 languages.. English, Tagalog and French.. so she is tri-sex....err.. lingual... ;)

You lucky bastard.

;)

[firstmazda]

Originally posted by FLIPSPEED
For the wedding no lechon or pancit. Just some good ol\' fashion North American food and a lot of booze. I think my tab at the LCBO and the Beer Store was close to $5000.

Hey Thr33.... I say we go full out FOB wedding!! it\'d be unique here in T.O.!!
Guys can wear Barong with tsinelas (those rubber slippers) and have lumpia (eggrolls) at the
receiving line. For appetizers, San Miguel (beer) and Chicharon(pork rinds)!! First dance will be
the Tinikling (the stick dance). Lechepan and Casava cake for dessert!
We\'ll even cover the chairs with clear plastic instead of slipcovers! LOL

[thr33scompany]

Originally posted by firstmazda



Originally posted by FLIPSPEED
For the wedding no lechon or pancit. Just some good ol\' fashion North American food and a lot of booze. I think my tab at the LCBO and the Beer Store was close to $5000.

Hey Thr33.... I say we go full out FOB wedding!! it\'d be unique here in T.O.!!
Guys can wear Barong with tsinelas (those rubber slippers) and have lumpia (eggrolls) at the
receiving line. For appetizers, San Miguel (beer) and Chicharon(pork rinds)!! First dance will be
the Tinikling (the stick dance). Lechepan and Casava cake for dessert!
We\'ll even cover the chairs with clear plastic instead of slipcovers! LOL


LMAO!!!! don\'t forget the candle dance and if there is leftover lechon after dinner.. we can cut it up and place it on all the tables for pulutan with the lechon!! If there are still leftovers of lechon.. we\'ll have it for the next 2 weeks as paksew! hahahah

[Jeff-TheBiz]

Wow... so many details...

All I can say is don\'t lose focus of why and what you are celebrating. the day will go by quicker than any other day of your life and can cause so much stress up to it...

Regardless of how you do it, the result will be the same..

Destination Wedding at Lake Louise (could be soming soon for me) or Shotgun Wedding at \'Our Lady of the 2 drink minimum\' in Vegas.

Best of wishes..

[Upyerkilt]

Originally posted by thr33scompany


BTW.. are the bridal shows actually worth going to or is it just gonna make my legs feel like jello the next morning because of all the damn walking.

from What I remember (6 years ago), the walkings a bitch, but the brochures, catalogs, paperwork free shit you\'ll never use was a bitch to carry around, I couldn\'t understand when I got there why these people were walking around with backpacks on looking like the first day of school, or they were hiking, until I started to accumulate all the damn wedding magazines etc. so a tip from me: bring a backpack or something to cart all that crap around, unless they offer all the catalogues on CDROMS now!

[firstmazda]

Originally posted by Upyerkilt
...bring a backpack or something to cart all that crap around, unless they offer all the catalogues on CDROMS now!

yeah, a couple CDs and such, but still a TON of heavy stuff to carry. The backpack is a
good tip. Another good tip is to pre-print sticky labels with your name/contact info \'cause
by the end of the day you\'ll get carpal tunnel from filling out contest forms, and all
those little cards that ask for your info.

(and it can be worth it to fill that stuff out. most of it is crap but a friend of ours won her
wedding dress and saved her $2000, and we won free stuff from our DJ. Every little bit helps)

[Upyerkilt]

yikes!
be careful filling out too much when they ask for your info, they keep that stuff forever, pass it on to other companies and the phone never stops ringing. Once they find out you are married, then in a while they call about a mortgage, life insurance for your unborn unthought of child, then they wait a couple years dig out your info again, assume you\'ve had a child and then pressure you on RESP\'s while they ask you if you\'d like to visit the timeshare they are offering you for free!
I almost never fill out those ballots now because the phone calls are a pain!

[majic]

Originally posted by Upyerkilt


yikes!
be careful filling out too much when they ask for your info, they keep that stuff forever, pass it on to other companies and the phone never stops ringing. Once they find out you are married, then in a while they call about a mortgage, life insurance for your unborn unthought of child, then they wait a couple years dig out your info again, assume you\'ve had a child and then pressure you on RESP\'s while they ask you if you\'d like to visit the timeshare they are offering you for free!
I almost never fill out those ballots now because the phone calls are a pain!

1) you can be asked to put on a \'do-not-call-list\' (or whatever they call it) i\'m pretty sure it\'s the law but not sure who it shields you from..
2) give them your cellie and ditch it once your contract is up

yah i know not an ideal situation but if it can save you a bundle that\'s all the better

[thr33scompany]

Originally posted by SourcE


If you haven\'t talked to them in the last 2 months, don\'t invite \'em. Weddings can get crazy expensive, The Old Mill wasn\'t too bad, cost us about $90 p/p, that said, would you rather have a really nice location, or an \"OK\" location with a load of people you know you won\'t see again for an age?

IMO, do what YOU both want and don\'t get swayed by family.....cause we all know family can be a PITA..! :p :sarc

Also, you don\'t have to invite everyone to the chapel and meal, just the \"Special\" people. Invite the rest to turn up for drinkies and dancing.....keeps the cost down :D

would you know the rate for open bar? or does this include the open bar? The fiance is really leaning towards Old Mill because thats where she had her debut(aka 18th birthday party, aka coutillion) as well.

[firstmazda]

Originally posted by thr33scompany

would you know the rate for open bar? or does this include the open bar? The fiance is really leaning towards Old Mill because thats where she had her debut(aka 18th birthday party, aka coutillion) as well.

I\'ll see if my fiancee remembers the price quotes we got from them and what they included.
Mine was hearset on Casa Loma , Liberty Grand, and Old Mill BUT we couldn\'t fit our big a$$
filipino families in!! Any idea what your guest list is gonna be?

Our reception is gonna be held at the Mississauga Convention Centre. Any reviews from
anyone?

[firstmazda]

OH OH OH!! I thought of a cool idea yesterday!
I should get you guys to set up a cruise and lead my limos from the church or
photo shoot site to the hall!! like a presidential convoy! LOL

wiked photo op!

[Upyerkilt]

the convention centre is a nice hall, my buddy has Dj\'d there before and went to a wedding it was pretty good.

oh and if you need a DJ let me know my buddy is really good, decent rates and great selection of music he\'s been doing weddings for over 14 years

[thr33scompany]

Ok.. this is stressing me out already!! I decided to talk to my Fiance last night to briefly talk about our ideas and what our budget was going to be..... After 2 hours.... I ended the conversation because it just drained the crap outta me!!! Did we make any progress??? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.... did we even decide on any particulars??? NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo... DAMN!!! I just feel like i\'m playing double dutch and not knowing when to jump in or wait.... I don\'t know where to start... We don\'t have a date set. We don\'t know which church to get married in..:sarc

[firstmazda]

Originally posted by thr33scompany
Ok.. this is stressing me out already!! I decided to talk to my Fiance last night to briefly talk about our ideas and what our budget was going to be..... After 2 hours.... I ended the conversation because it just drained the crap outta me!!! Did we make any progress??? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.... did we even decide on any particulars??? NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo... DAMN!!! I just feel like i\'m playing double dutch and not knowing when to jump in or wait.... I don\'t know where to start... We don\'t have a date set. We don\'t know which church to get married in..:sarc

Ha! That\'s just the START of it buddy! We been bouncin back and forth on all sots of topics
since May and I still got 11 months to go!!

Do you know how soon you guys want to get married in? or at least what season?
If you get a rough idea of how many ppl, and start off with a few halls you\'re particularly
interested in, see what dates they have available, and make sure the church is available
for the same date. Some halls are booking up to 1 1/2 yrs - 2 yrs in advance.
When we first went to Miss. Conv. Ctr. back in May, dates in May 2007 were already booked!

As for budget, can\'t help you there man. With our upcoming house, we have no idea how much
we\'ll be left with to spend on the wedding. That\'s all up in the air. All I know is
all the weddings I\'d been to last year were in the $40-60k range! I sure hope we don\'t
hit that! All for one night!

[firstmazda]

Originally posted by Upyerkilt


the convention centre is a nice hall, my buddy has Dj\'d there before and went to a wedding it was pretty good.

Thanks, that\'s good to hear. I\'ve heard good things too, but you know, with soooo much money
being put into it you wanna make sure.


Originally posted by Upyerkilt
oh and if you need a DJ let me know my buddy is really good, decent rates and great selection of music he\'s been doing weddings for over 14 years

We just booked a DJ but thanks, maybe other ppl will be looking soon.
*nods at Thr33*:D

[SourcE]

I seem to remember it including an open bar.....I\'ll check with the missus and find out.

[rsquared]

Congrats pare! I\'m a Canadian born Filipino. I can\'t speak Tagalog very well without sounding like an idiot, but I do understand pretty much everything.

I\'ve been married for a year and a half now. I married my wife after 6 years of dating, I was 27 at the time too. :D Unlike the rest of the Filipino TM3ers, I married a non-Filipina, it was a Big Fat Greekapino Wedding!

Married life is better than I ever thought it could be.

A few tips:

-Wedding rings: As others have said, stay away from big dealers, like Spence Diamonds, and I say that from experience. You can get better deals at wholesalers.

-The actual wedding goes by fast, really fast, so enjoy it!

-In the wedding planning, whenever something/someone gets on your nerves, just take a deep breath and ask yourself if it really matters. Stress tends to build up a lot, so make sure you don\'t sweat the little details.

-Reception venue: Since I had a lot of guests coming from out of town, including the Philippines, I wanted to impress everyone by having the reception at the Marriott hotel at the SkyDome. Picture perfect scenery with the SkyDome and CN tower in the heart of downtown Toronto. When I came to my senses, I managed to get a hall in Mississauga which included everything including sweet table and open bar for much much cheaper.

-Wedding video: hire me! :D Lol, I work in tv/film financing, but studied tv production as well. I\'ve done several different videos (weddings, vacation, corporate) and will begin doing more wedding videos this summer (already have a few gigs booked). If you\'re on a budget and want some quality work, send me a message.