Ahhh!! The countdown officially starts today!! What a memorable day this is for us.

Today we start our Marriage Preparation course. A 2hrs per week for 6 weeks required course for us to be married at a Catholic church.

Feelings? Pretty excited! =) LOL!

Accomplished so far:

1. Church
2. Hall/Caterer
3. Photographer
4. Videographer
5. Dress
6. DJ

I guess we're doing pretty good! =) Next project in the works: Save the Dates and Wedding Website. Eeeee!! So excited! Ha! Ha!

-Lene

So here I am, about 8 months into my wedding planning. I have to say that I have done pretty well so far. Since last Monday I have 1 year, 2 months, 1 week and 6 days to go before my wedding. Ha ha! I know it seems far, but that's what I was thinking 8 months ago, and look - it's here!! >_<

 Here are the items that I've been able to check off my list so far:

• Church
• Reception
• Photographer
• Videographer
• Dress

With that said, I thought I would share a few of the tips and resources that I have found useful thus far. I'll start of with the first thing that you should be crossing off your list ...

the Church!
Why is it the first item that needs to be taken cared of? Well, everything will depend on this decision. Your wedding date will determine everything else about your wedding. Therefore, you need to make sure that it's available. If you don't have a specific church that you have your heart set on, make sure to "shop around" and start visiting other churches. Most churches will have specific requirements for you to get married there. For some of the requirements, check out this post: "To the Altar We Go."

Last Saturday, I went to Mississauga with my mom and my sister Catherine to help her look for her prom dress. Unfortunately we didn't have much luck! Oh well, we're going out again tonight to keep looking! He he ...

After shopping, I took my mom and Catherine to Merciful Redeemer so that they can see the church.

Just wanted to write about my mom's first impression when she saw the church...

From the outside, my mom comments that's it's really pretty.

Then, we went inside ... my mom's first reaction ...TEARS! =)

She loved how it's simplicity really accented it's beauty.

Then I started tearing up too! LOL! ... fast forward a year and a half from now, I can just see how much tears will be flowing when I walk down the aisle with my parents ... *tear*

*happy sigh* =)

As we were leaving, my mom comments ... "Ang ganda ng napili mong church anak. Ang ganda talaga ..." (You picked a beautiful church my daughter, it really is beautiful.")

I couldn't post an update with regards to our church selection because we couldn't finalize our date with the church until yesterday when we had our first meeting with the Father who will be marrying us.

Questions, questions, questions. We were both pretty surprised at all the questions we were asked by the Priest at our meeting yesterday. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty nerve wrecking! LOL! It just reiterates the importance of the sacrament of marriage and how it is a lifelong commitment that cannot be taken lightly.

BIG "sigh*! This is REAL! Oh man! This is REALLY real!! >_<

O2NE (2in1)

Mark and I are finally going to check out some churches this weekend. It actually seems like we're working backwards because choosing a church should have been the first thing we should have done. With that said, we're hoping and praying that our date does not change, but if it does, it's God's will. =)

Who would have thought?
If any of you thought that choosing a church is as easy as "1-2-3 and voila!", well, you're in for a big surprise. There are a lot of things to take into consideration. For example, the requirements:

• You have to register to be a parishioner at that church at least 1 year in advance and attend masses there.
• You need to attend a marriage preparation course.
• Some churches sometimes also has a boundary line, so you would have to speak to the priest if they will let you get married at that church.

On top of that, some things to also consider are:

• How is the priest? Is he personable, audible and will he be open to performing our Filipino wedding traditions? How are his sermons, would you enjoy going to this church after you are married?
• Where is the church located? Is it accessible to all your guest?
• This one may be a bit shallow, but what is the church ambiance/architecture? Remember, pretty churches looks pretty in wedding pictures! Ha ha!

Narrowing it down ...
Phew! This is a lot to think about! Well, Mark and I have finally narrowed it down to 4 possible churches. All of these churches are located in Mississauga.

Christ The King-Roman Catholic Cristo Rei

 Christ the King was the first church that I have ever attended in Mississauga when I first started attending the Light of Jesus Community (LOJC) when I was 15 years old. We use to host our Youth Prayer Meetings at this place.

Merciful Redeemer Parish

Mark and I attended a wedding here about 2 years ago and the place is beautiful.






St. Francis Xavier

It's funny because you never would have thought that this was a church if it wasn't for the cross on the top. He he ... it looks like a very modern office building from the outside. Apparently, the inside is beautiful and the priests gives really good homilies.



St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church

 Mark and his family has been attending St. Patrick's since they came here to Canada. It's a parish that they have grown very fondly of because of the priest. I've also attended a few masses here myself and the priest's homilies are something that you can relate to.

So it looks like we will be attending more than one mass this Sunday! =)