When we envisioned the people who we want to be there for our special day, we wanted you to be part of it. If you can't come, we would understand.  We wanted our good friends, loving families, and supportive relatives to celebrate with us on one of the most important days of our lives - and because of that, we know that your presence, prayers and your heartfelt greeting are more than enough. NO MATERIAL GIFT can EQUAL that.

Etiquette books will tell you though - that in someone's absence or non-attendance, it is polite to send a card of warm wishes to the couple.

For us though, your sincere thoughts and a short prayer wherever you are is the best gift that you can give us.

It's actually pretty simple to do. If you are shopping at either the Bay or Home Outfitters, you can do either of the following:

If you are shopping IN STORE:

1. Print the registry from their touchscreen computer by typing in our last names (you can either go for Nystrom or Tan - although we suggest you go by Branden's last name as there's a humungous number of TANS in Calgary... )

2. Shop on the floor and if you encounter some problems, ask the Sales Associate for help. There's always a few gals here and there who can answer your questions or point  you to the right directions.

3. Please DO NOT FORGET to have your gift ticked off the list after you made your purchase.  The reason for this is that, the store can mark it down as 'sold' - therefore, easing off the duplication of the item as available for sale and of course, so we can thank you for your generosity. 

If you are shopping ONLINE:

1. You can easily check the items online by checking our REGISTRY link (found at the left side of the wedsite), click on the store link and supply the registry numbers. 

2. Just like any online shopping, you check the item (it will go into the shopping cart) and you can pay thru your credit card.

3. Just like what we mentioned for IN STORE shopping, kindly advise the store (HBC or Home Outfitters) that you have purchased this 'gift' - because you have an option of having the gift picked up yourself OR you can advise the store that we or our designated person can pick up the gift you purchased for us. Of course, we want to make sure that we send our appreciation for your generosity by sending you a Thank You card after the wedding.

Thank you for asking. We hope this helps you. :)

We want a solemn (quite long, but not boring!) wedding ceremony and a fun party for our reception.  Afterall, marriage is a celebration and entering into a lifetime of covenanted love is something we take seriously (thus a solemn ceremony) and having fun is part and parcel of our personalities - thus, a dinner (buffet) and dance is what we have prepared for you.

We wish we can have a tent-type, outdoor wedding.  But we live in Alberta, and we all know how the weather can get - so, we chose a church and a hotel for our wedding. :)

We are guessing it will be from one to  two hours max.  As Catholics, we wanted to have  a full Mass and we are incorporating Filipino traditions to our ceremony - thus making it long-ish.    

Praying is universal.  Catholicism is another form of doing prayers - so we don't think you will feel out of place in the church.  Besides, we don't discriminate people according to faith.  We will be happy to see you during the ceremony - because for us, that is where MARRIAGE happens.  Of course, we will be equally happy to see you at the Reception - but really, we put more emphasis and lots of preparations in the process of marriage.  The ceremony is what seals that preparation - and it would be awesome, if you are there to witness that and also, to share with us your prayers and thoughts too. :)

We shall also be providing a misallette (this is a small booklet) that will serve as a guide to all guests - Catholics or not.

The wedding rehearsal is a very important event and we want you (in the wedding party) to be there so you know what needs to be done.

As we have mentioned, we are doing a traditional Filipino Catholic wedding ceremony.  By this, it's not just a matter of strolling down the aisle and saying our I DO's.  It's a Mass with Filipino wedding traditions in it. Thus, making it unique.

Thanks for noticing - at least, we know that you read the Wedding Events! :)

Tradition has it that it's wise if the bride and the groom don't see each other on the day itself before the ceremony starts.  We questioned this but opted to go with it still because we want to experience a great anticipation, some form of a longing and magic re-created for when the bride strolls down the aisle and see her groom.

Now, because the bride and groom will not meet till they see each other in the wedding ceremony - there is NO TIME to TAKE PICTURES before the ceremony.  And, because we have a bigger than normal number of wedding party, we opted to have the PHOTO SHOOT after the ceremony and  before the reception time.

Don't worry - we will give you some ACTIVITIES you can do to make your 'wait' productive. :) 

Ahhh... the time-old, sticky question on wedding receptions.

Liquors are on a cash bar basis but table wines are going to be provided by the hosts as well as juice and pop (softdrinks).  We love to party but getting drunk is not in our agenda. :) 

We appeal to your good sense and understand that the couple (who is hosting the reception) are non-alcoholics and we prefer to be sober than boozed-out so with your indulgence, we hope you appreciate our reason behind this.  There is a big responsibility on hosting an event (as drinking and driving - which we don't endorse at all!) and we would like to limit any possibilities of an unfortunate event by making sure that liquor and alcohol consumption is not excessive to the point of drunken-ness and inviting mishap for our guests.

Thanks for asking this - and whew, that was a tough one! :)

Yes.  We like that our guests and families enjoy themselves and not worry on not having the shots done.  We commissioned professionals to do our photo and video shoots because after all the hoopla, the only things that we will have are pictures and the video.

We waited for the right time and the right person before we decided that we'll take the plunge.  We want this special day captured by people who had the 'eye' and the training and experience for it.  Not to say that Uncle Joe or Aunt Rita can't do their own photo/videography - by all means, they can do that! :)  But, we don't want our guests to be 'working' or get 'pressured' for something they are not experienced in doing.

You are our guest.  We want you to be part of the fun. :)