Chinese Lunar Horoscope (Year of the Golden Tiger)

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

If you have already chosen a wedding date and it doesn’t appear on our auspicious list, don’t fret!

The ‘good’ dates indicated in our annual list are meant as general guide only.  Weekend dates are in boldface so they will be easier to spot.

Although those dates are based on tung shu (Chinese Almanac) and appeared in the list from at least three different sources, we do not claim that we have the final say on the matter.

We advise soon-to-weds who value feng shui to consult with a professional and trusted feng shui master by giving each of their birthdates and exact birth time (sometimes even birth information of the parents from both sides) for a more accurate analysis.

Head on to our list of Auspicious Wedding Dates for 2010!

(via Inquirer.net) MANILA, Philippines – It has been a practice of busy women preparing for their wedding to eat less and neglect exercise. If you resort to starvation, you’d regain the weight during honeymoon.

The best weight loss strategy combines regular physical activity and a sustainable eating plan even after the wedding.

Early preparations

Your wellness program should be planned at least four to six months before your wedding.

Set your lifestyle goals. How much weight do you want to lose? If you have 10 pounds to lose, you should target at least two pounds every month. If you have 30 pounds to lose, better start sweating it out as early as now so you can lose an average of five pounds per month. Avoid over-dieting and using weight loss pills.

Set a budget for wellness. Allocate at least five to 10 percent of your budget for your wedding wellness program. Enroll in a health club or buy exercise equipment which costs less than P5,000.

Hire a credible fitness/wellness professional to coach you every week or every two weeks on your six-month eating and exercise program so you can get faster results.

Spend time for exercise. Delegate the wedding tasks to your friends and family or get a wedding coordinator.

Start your weight training program so you can get a toned body, especially your arms and back. Full body weight training can be done 30-45 minutes two to three times a week. Include all exercises for the back, chest, shoulders, arms, core, buttocks and thighs.

Start a journal on your food intake and physical activities. Combine your wedding notebook with the wellness journal so you are always reminded about your commitment to health and fitness.

Two to four months before:

Ask your fiancé to exercise with you at least once a week so you will get the chance to talk more about your lifestyle goals. This fitness bonding is important so both of you will avoid the “after-wedding” weight gain.

Include fitness and wellness items in your wedding registry. This is a good idea for your outdoor getaway like a tent for hiking and camping.

One to two months before:

Shop for clothes in smaller sizes as reward. This will motivate you to continue your wellness program by moving more and eating healthy.

Treat yourself in the spa. Enroll in a yoga class with your fiancé to learn how to breathe properly.

A few days to two weeks before:

Do the easiest and most accessible type of physical activity you can do at home or around your village like walking or jogging.

Avoid saucy and fatty foods. Get enough rest so you can physically and mentally prepare yourself for your most-awaited day.

Benz recently got an email from Roanna (ni Jarwin), a former W@Wie.  She said she just wanted to talk to someone who belonged to the time when she was so happy.

(this and photo below by Nice Print)

Maan has been one of the 30 W@Wie brides who had an 08.08.08 wedding. But as the countdown to her first wedding anniversary begins, she is scared of the pain that might hit her. You see, Jarwin has passed on last May 2009 due to heart attack while swimming during a company outing. It was our first time to receive such an email from a beloved W@Wie.

Benz suggested for her to write everything down to flush a bit the sorrow out of her system, if that would help her. Maan thought long and hard about the suggestion. Eventually she did and told Benz that she actually got to smile at the end.  In Maan’s word: “the letter helped wonders.”

Hugs to Maan for the strength and courage for sharing her story with all of us. The W@W community has been her cyber family and always will be.

- - - - - - - - - -

Dear friends,

At this time last year, I was also an excited bride-to-be. My husband and I were keen on looking for ways to make sure that we will have the wedding of our dreams may it be by attending as much bridal fairs as we can, going to Divisoria on weekends and being as much hands-on as we can. We succeeded. On August 8, 2008, my husband and I were married in Antipolo Cathedral and it was the happiest day in our lives. After the wedding, we moved to an apartment immediately and experienced the independent and carefree life of a newlywed couple. We traveled, went to malls and enjoyed life’s simple pleasures like cuddling on DVD nights or doing the grocery on payday or eating burger at midnight or doing the house chores while playing loud music.

But everything crashed on May 1 this year. Eight months through our marriage, my husband had a heart attack while swimming during our company outing. There was no premonition. We really didn’t expect it. Although he had a family history of heart conditions, he was so fit and healthy. I couldn’t find words to describe what I feel - anger, pain, guilt…. He passed away at the time when we were so in love and had so much hope for the future. We didn’t even have the chance to have kids together. I am still in pain. I am still grieving. I have my good days when I can appreciate the blessings in spite of the tragedy. But most of the time I have my bad days when I feel like tearing my hair out and just cry myself to sleep. It is especially difficult now because our first wedding anniversary is coming up. I keep remembering how my husband and I would talk about how we would spend it and where we would travel to celebrate it. Thinking about that day really scares me.

But I am writing not to paint a grim picture of my life. I am sharing this because I would like to point out five lessons in our love story which hopefully would do some good for married couples, even future ones too.

• Never waste your time with petty quarrels - Although our married life was happy, we were not a perfect couple. We also have our petty quarrels like tampuhan over who would prepare our meal or for not being able to text at the right time or for being 30 minutes late. We’d not talk for some time until during the wee hours in the morning when we were both in bed then he would reach out and hug me then say, “bati na tayo.” Oh how I wish I could bring back the time and not even bother with these petty things. Never ever let a day pass without patching things up and talking it over. Now I realize that I should have said sorry more often.

• Offer words of affirmation - I remember how we would often ask each other: do you love me or are you happy with me? It was good that we did this because right now, his words of affirmation keep me going whenever I am on the verge of depression. Besides, expressing your love and your happiness will add strength to your relationship.

• Find joy out of simple things - Always show your partner that you appreciate him — whether it’s a phone call during the day to say hello, or buying lugaw for pasalubong, or cooking his favorite meal. And when he does something for you, don’t forget to say thank you even for little things. As they say, familiarity breeds contempt  — don’t fall into that trap.

• Always make memories - Our time was short but for me, every minute was in color. Every word exchanged, every place we’ve been to and every restaurant we ate at were all deeply etched on my mind. It helped that we had our websites and albums to document our life together. Our first purchase as a couple was a digital camera and it was so well-used that we were able to build 6 albums of pictures in such a short time.

• Express your love - A hug, a touch in the head, a peck on the cheek — there are so many ways to express your love. But most importantly, verbalize it. Saying “I love you” as much as you can will not only make your partner feel good but will also inspire him.

We were married on 888 and spent 8 months together as husband and wife. Yes, I still feel rotten and empty at times. But I have hope in the future and trust in the Lord. I will survive this. My husband’s life was short but it was a life well-lived. But I believe in our love and I believe that we will see each other again – in God’s time. God bless all of you.

Roanna (ni Jarwin)
8-8-8 | Antipolo Cathedral
http://dacruzes.multiply.com

Traditionally, traffic in W@W tapers during the Christmas Season and zooms to an all-time high every January.  It’s also a time where a heavy influx of soon-to-weds subscribe to be a W@Wie.  Only goes to show that a lot of wedding proposals happen over the holidays.

It is only fitting that we suggest to couples, before booking suppliers for the wedding, to first give an equal attention to their impending marriage.  For starters, here’s a Marriage Reality Checklist that you and your finace(e) could check out.

Also, there are Marriage Preparation Programs which both partners should attend.  We have just posted the 2009 schedule for Discovery Weekend (DW) and Catholic Enganged Encounter (CEE) so that couples seriously considering marriage may truly reflect on the value of their relationship.

These programs are HIGHLY ROCOMMENDED by couples who’ve attended in the past.  Visit our DW and CEE pages so you may know more about these programs. 

Go Negosyo is an advocacy founded by Jose Ma. Concepcion III (RFM Corp.) that addresses poverty in our country by engaging Filipinos in entrepreneurship and development of an optimistic, passionate, creative and innovative, resourceful, diligent and persevering character. BigTime — Go Negosyo’s tele-magazine show — featured some wedding businesses in a recent episode.

The said segment featured short interviews of Mimi + Karl (photography), Threelogy (videography), Ms. Jet Versoza of Josiah’s Catering and Veluz (designer). It also included snippets of Benz & I for a little overview about the wedding industry.

Watch it here.