A Special Mother's Day Surprise to My Lovely Mom

My mom's nice purple bouquet and granny's orange flowers

Planning stages and banquet event order

Cute pillow cake from Penk Ching of Pastry Bin

My outfit from Liz Claiborne

Negros hall function room at Sofitel

The dinner set up

The very talented violinist and pianist from Philharmonic

Nice cake presentation

Seared Scallop with Mexican Salsa and Tortilla dressing for appetizer

Oven Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Potato Bournoise and Grilled Vegetables for the main course

Baked Mango Cheese Cake with Chocolate Stick for dessert...Yummy!

And some lechon too

A memorable video presentation...

The night ended well...everybody went home teary eyed ;-)

   It was an extremely busy weekend as my fiancé and I planned a spur of the moment surprise mothers day celebration to my dearest mom. We just told her the venue is at Sofitel hotel, so she was just expecting an ordinary dinner. What she didn't know was we booked the Negros function room for an intimate, private dinner of 12 people. Complete with the works!

   Everything was executed in a span of 3 days as we only started planning last Thursday. Mr G which has the makings of party planner extraordinaire zeroed in on every minute details to make sure things will turn out perfectly. He even teased me that im the party pooper. Hehe! We ordered a pillow cake from Penk Ching of the Pastry Bin, good thing he knows her thus the super rush cake! We also tapped on the services of an event stylist for the decoration of the room. We wanted a dreamy set up complete with crystals and drapes to add drama to the whole set up. The floral arrangement was courtesy of Roberto Antonio. They were super helpful in accomodating us in such a short span of time.

  Then we asked a graphic designer to make special tarpaulins for both my mom and my grandma. After which we hired professional violinists to add music to this memorable event. Then we coordinated a videographer to make a special video presentation for my mom. Finally we bought new clothes. I got a simple tangerine dress at Liz Claiborne with accesories to match(but had to alter it last minute as the one my assistant got was tad too big for me). Had my hair dyed, nails, eyebrow threading and makeup done(plus a little spa on the side...hehe). Then we're all set! Whew! It was like preparing for a wedding!

   I called and greeted my mom around midnight. Then by morning we had 2 bouquets delivered to my mother and grandma's house. My mom liked the flowers we gave her because of it's purple color which is her favorite. For granny we opted for bright orange flowers to cheer her up.

   We heard mass at Sanctuario de San Antonio before heading off to Sofitel. Our dinner was supposed to start at 6:00 but we all arrived at around 8pm already. I told my family to wait awhile at the lobby since we needed to check how the room was coz we weren't able to supervise earlier as we were pressed for time. The arrangement was ok but we honestly expected more. But oh well too late already for some changes. There was only one minor glitch involving some technical problems with the video presentation. But twas all ironed out in the end.

   Upon entrance I instructed the violinist and the pianist to play "Tanging Yaman". Boy,the reaction of my mom and family were priceless! She was so touched that she cried. They were all surprised coz they only expected a casual dinner buffet at Spiral. They weren't even dressed formally. Haha! The food was great. We also ordered lechon for the event. My 3 tiny nephews were all over playing with the legos we brought them. The service was excellent as well.

   More tears were shed during the video presentation as we highlighted major family events and trips abroad. They were all crying. I hugged each and everyone of them. My dad was so cute coz he also cried like a baby. In the video I said I was very sorry for being the biggest monster and brat during my younger years. I thanked mom for all her undying love, patience and sacrifice for giving us all a comfortable life.

   In the end it was all worth it. I made sure it was a night they'd all remember for a long time. They didn't expect that spoiled and selfish li'l me is capable of doing that. My heart was bursting from too much happiness and joy. I gave her a nice bracelet. Even the waiters could attest to the flow of emotions running through the night. I'm sure they are so used to all that drama by now but seeing it again from a daughters point of view who badly wants to please her family must have meant something to them as well.

   Im still in a nostalgic mode reminiscing about last night. It was really a night to remember. I'd gladly do it all over again. And I'll never tire to make up for all those years when all I've caused them are heartaches, tears and troubles. Somehow they saw maturity and responsibility in me. Something they haven't seen before.

    A huge chunk of credit also goes out to my  fiancé who supported and helped me through it all. Thank you Mr G. I truly appreciate it! Mother's day 2010 was a blast! We are all still reeling over it. My mom truly deserves the best and I love her from the bottom of my heart...:-)