When we were planning for the wedding, we pondered about the location of the reception. It was obvious that we wouldn't want to hold it in a hotel or resort so our two best options back then was my grandmother's frontyard and my husband's aunt's house including the yard. But sadly after we got the estimated number of guests which was around 300 people, his aunt's house and yard was rather too small for the event and my grandmother's frontyard is good enough but will look very packed. It was my husband's brilliant idea to use my parents' very barren frontyard which totally got out of my mind. Who would have ever thought that we will do the reception in our own frontyard?
We are blessed to have a very big open area BUT I don't think it is ready yet to cater 300 guests. So, we started the renovation since March 2018. My main assistants were my 2 brothers: Stein & Rock (for decision making and communication), my personal architect: Kaye (my only sister), my BEST contractor and overall facilitator: Franz (my dad) and later on my mom (Best Jo) joined the team as the final decision maker and interior designer.
Concrete driveway & house entrance
It was the simplest project that's why we started it first and doesn't need much research on the plan.
Fireplace
We dreamt about having guests seated in the fireplace, some are talking and some are eating their meals. And later on, we can use it for future gatherings.
Plants
These plants were handpicked by me and my family from Iloilo. We bought them from a young entrepreneur:
I only searched and contacted her through facebook. I was glad that she responded well to my queries and then we met each other when I went to Philippines on June 2018.
My dad and sister also added some Bermuda grass in areas were soil are more visible.
L-shaped seat
Due to the large number of guests, we wanted to add more seating options. We really don't want them to sit in the same area during the whole reception.
Gazebo
It was one of the challenging and most stressful project that we had. I really do thank my dad a lot for giving his best in managing all of this while I'm working abroad and was not able to oversee the construction.
Vertical wooden fence
I was so inspired with the design that I saw in the internet that's why the fence was unlike the common ones in our place.
Pergola
We all decided to go for the modern style pergola. Its main purpose is to connect the guests from the gazebo to the front of the house with a little bit of shade.
Washrooms
We had one washroom for public use and another one in the master's bedroom. We had to fix both as the one in the master's bedroom wasn't completely tiled up and we have many guests to accomodate.
Painting the house
The entrance of the house, kitchen area and the outside of the house were all painted in order to achieve a complete "look".
We still had lots of projects in our mind but due to financial and time constraints, we were not able to start those. But I am happy that we did a lot of changes in our house and in the yard for the upcoming wedding. The money spent for these projects wasn't meant only for the wedding but for my family (who were all there during the renovation) to enjoy our home years after the wedding.
*Kindly wait for my detailed blog on some of these projects. 😊
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