Ever since I scouted for wedding gowns, I wasn’t looking for a “gown”, I was looking for a more informal dress. I would have loved a chantilly laced gown, but I would have to be realistic and practical that given my built, chantilly lace would cost about what would be my entire gown budget c”,). No duchess satin, no heavy fabric, no petticoat, no loooooooong train. Just chiffon. Flowing. Simple. Ganun lang requirements ko. I also was very specific with it having layers, the problem is, since I’m built big, having layers would only make me bigger. But I so wanted to have a layered gown. I came upon this gown while browsing EdenBridals.com. This is it, I told myself. It took me 25 bridal magazines, 7 wedding websites and thousands of gowns stored in my USB drive to decide. Two seconds after seeing it, I erased every gown I’ve saved and printed it out.

Now, looking for a gown maker was hard. I was just searching for her/in-between/him around last week of April na. My original choice was very accomodating but charged me 18K. Since I was confident in him, I was about to bite into his offer when my Mom (who was going to pay for my gown as a gift) told me it was quite expensive given my gown had no beads, just layers. Makain sa tela, oo, pero kami naman sagot sa fabric. So for the first time in my gown making quest, I was frustrated. San kami kukuha ng gown maker na pulido gumawa na di pagtatawanan budget namin (10-12K)?

I found mine in Lulu del Rosario. Mrs. del Rosario will be making my cousin’s gown and their entourage for her wedding in the US this October, and since Abbie, one of my sisters, was going to be part of the entourage, she was the guinea pig - she was the first to be made a gown out of. She had 4-5 fittings each lasting around 30-45 minutes each. I saw the gown, and the stitches were neat, pulido and the fit exact. I was afraid of the price though (coz my cousin’s price was steep) pero sige na nga…..30 minutes after talking to her, we closed the deal. Wala pang downpayment un ha. The price? Exacto sa budget. She even gave my name to Fabric Warehouse so I would be given the wholesale price on fabrics. I didnt go to Divi but got Divi price with aircon in a mall. Yay!

Yesterday was my final fitting and though there was no beadwork yet, I felt like a bride already. I saw what she intends to use - glass cut beads, some crystals and flowerettes and I just know the effect would be beautiful. Now, I only need to treat my discolored arms.

The Make-up Artist / Hairstylist.

To complete the look, SHOES!

Since my feet are a 10, there was no way I was going to find what I want in stores. I was about to have mine made at Solea or Lila Almario, but when they quoted me 5-6K, I changed my mind. I wanted to go to Marikina or Cubao but was too tamad until my Dad told me to go to his shoemaker. My Dad is a 12 and an EEE (his feet are wide due to edema) and all his shoes came from Mr. Romy Gomez. Plus factor: his house was only 5 mins. away. Another plus: He gave us (because Edil and Matthew got his shoes from him as well) around a pair of shoes’ worth of discount. My shoes? 1,500. Worth it na since 1) For a 10, it was cheap, 2) For a rush job, it’s cheaper, I only ordered the shoes from him last weekend. Im getting them on the 20th. Now, Edil and Matthew are going to get matching shoes and matching everything else which makes me feel left out. Im sure they would stand out — paano na ako?! Hehehe. No bother. Im the bride. And I would stand out. Im going to be the only one wearing white, that’s why
The crystal accent was also made by Tita Baby, and after the wedding, I will knock them off and use them as brooches If my shoes would not be peeking, I would have a better brooch made for my gown! ROFL.

That’s it. Just need a beauty/all-over makeover c”,)