Post Nup Supplier Review: K by Cunanan

We chose our caterer because of two main reasons: we tagged along to our friends’ food tasting last year and we thought the food was great plus we’ve seen photos of their wedding setups and they were always classy, tasteful and elegant. Those two main reasons were enough to make us confident that things would turn out well food-wise and décor-wise for the wedding.

And we weren’t disappointed. So far, all of the feedback on the food is positive. In fact, I think it was just me that had a minor issue with the food --- the grilled lapu-lapu piece that I ended up with was not cooked enough. The upside to this is that none of the other guests seem to have had the same problem. As for the tables and the venue décor, when Allan and I first saw the centerpieces, we thought they were great. The flowers mixed with fruits and the cactus and yes, even lettuce had exactly the kind of colors and look that we wanted. Their idea of painting tin cans with copper instead of the original wooden box also was a success I think. It added to the “rustic” and homey feel as I didn’t really want the décor to be too stiff. I tend to think of high floral arrangements in glass as too formal --- so we wanted low, lush and approachable. Which is exactly what we got. If the number of people who brought home centrepieces are any indication, then I would say it was a success.


I only have two things that are not so positive (but not necessarily negative either) with K by C. First, during the planning process, my coordinator had a little communication problem with them. It took about two months from the time they met and discussed the layout and décor before I actually had the details on email (being overseas, I naturally had to rely on written descriptions and quotations). How it came about, I feel it really isn’t mine to say since all I have is second-hand information. Second, I was a little confused with some of the details for the décor. Specifically those that had to do with rental of Fiscus trees for the venue and whether or not we would have our dinner table separate from the sofa where we would have our photos taken with the guests. Our final contract, received a few days before the wedding (about a week maybe?) didn’t have the Fiscus trees and indicated that we’d have the couch first and then the table added later at the same spot after the photos were taken. Two days before the wedding I received a text saying that the trees should still be part of the décor. At that point, I didn’t want to change any of the plans anymore (primarily the Financial planning) so I asked if they were necessary. When I was told they were not, I decided to do away with them. If we didn’t need them, then why bother. They would be using the Top Shelf trees instead. I found out after the wedding that Ames had to have the Top Shelf trees switched out several times as she wasn’t happy with how things looked. Whether or not it was a major issue, I don’t know anymore. Maybe it’s also the reason why we had the couch separate from the dinner table, since they didn’t want the trees as backdrop for the photos? At this stage, I don’t think I’ll ever know. All I know is that I was very happy with the end result and I thought the venue looked intimate and cosy and wonderful --- just as I had hoped it would be.

Do I still have time to post?

Ok. A few more days before the wedding and we've got a lot of stuff done in the past few weeks, at the same time it feels that there's a lot more stuff to do!

Just a recap on what has transpired:

1. As soon as Socs got home we passed by Matus and got our actual wedding rings. These guys remembered us after all this time and we didn't even need to show them our receipts to get the rings! (although we did have to pay the remaining amount hehe). They also offered to refurbish our worn out silver mock rings free of charge (part of their service). We got them back over the weekend and they are like new. They have got excellent customer service and would recommend them without a pause.

2. A few days later Socs and I had our prenup shoot with MangoRed. This was quite stressing as the plans regarding the shoot location and the concept behind it all started disintegrate due to circumstances. Everything was back and forth but I eventually found a location near our house and we went with it. We were not really able to coordinate with the photographers regarding this so we just stuffed the car with stuff that might be useful and relied on the genius that is MangoRed to pull us through.

We were not disappointed. These guys have it. They simply blew us out of the water with how they easily rolled with it. And based on the few photos I saw, it is going to rock! To say that they are good photographers is a grave understatement.

3. Another SNAFU situation came about in getting our supply of wines. I thought I had it all planned out, get a whole bunch of wine (which I've already tried before) from Barcino. I even dropped by to confirm if they had stock and how much lead time I had to give them. Long story short, there was a miscommunication so I dropped that option immediately. Socs and I went around our neighborhood and visited wine depots and bought sampler wines for tasting. Our wine tasting with friends fell through due to scheduling, but we managed to choose a wine we liked (even the kids liked it.... yes Socs' nephew and nieces were our expert wine tasters). But as I said, situation: normal - all fucked up, the wine depot did not have enough of the wine we liked. They had another wine available (I made sure by counting the bottles) from the same winery so we bought one, opened it and tasted it right there. Luckily we liked it better than our first option. Sold. Done. Thank you!

4. One thing that was not so stressful was the final food tasting with K by Cunanan. Some minor discussion regarding the linen and centerpiece was involved but everything was in order. No hassle.

5. One current issue I have is with the suits from Kingsmen. I got mine done in around 2 weeks, from measurement to final fitting, with no problem. I even had 2 suits made. For some reason, the schedule all got mixed up so we are having to wait for a few items this late in the game. I would have preferred everything to have been done sooner as this has been in motion for months already but we dropped the ball so I really can't complain much. Kingsmen could improve on following up the status of the suits considering the amount of business their customers provide them.

I would just like to add though that the tailoring is quite good and that the cloth makes a lot of difference in how the suit looks. So investing in a good suit is always a good idea.

Details, details, details

I just made the necessary financial commitments to another one of our suppliers for the wedding yesterday. We've finally settled on booking K by Cunanan as our caterer after joining our friends Karlo and Mabelle for their food tasting.

I've seen sample setups and read good reviews about them on the net, and after tasting their food as well as seeing their setup first hand I knew we had to get them. Plus the fact that they fall right into our budget doesn't hurt.

Now comes the details...

Socs and I have only a vague idea of what our theme is and the inspiration for our reception. We are leaning towards a Mediterranean/Greek/Cyprus inspired reception from our time together in Cyprus. I definitely loved the ambience and food there (reached my goal of 150lbs with the help of good old Greek cuisine), I hope the caterer can help out in materializing our mental images.

It all seems to be getting pretty serious now and decisions have to be made. Up until now (or in the next few weeks) I have only reserved the necessary suppliers for our date. No discussions on anything yet. After talking stuff over with the caterer, I believe I need to coordinate with the venue as well. Then don't forget about the prenup... I need to gain 5lbs here (gym buddy anyone? ehehe).

Woohooo! Groomzilla on the way!