Barong Tagalog

It pays to have a good researcher but it's another thing to have a good researcher AND a resourceful fiancée rolled into one. Kat has always been the workhorse when it comes to snooping around for wedding suppliers and pertinent information about them. She frequented wedding forums like W@W and Girl Talk and they proved to be a HUGE help for us to know who to sign up and have a sense of what to expect about their work. 

*end segue, start transition to main article*

Pero para sa barong ni Obi, we picked a different approach. We just followed our instincts. 

Early on, we have a lineup of prospective tailors but as we get constrained by budget due to more priority expenses, the list got thinner. Then we heard about Jacqueline's and scrapped the list altogether. 

Aside from a blog entry where we read about them, wala na kaming ibang info about Jacqueline's. Most couples from online forums don't know about them. Web searches did not come up with anything substantial. We communicated with the blog's author but the information she provided us is not unknown to us as it's the same thing she'd written.

So just knowing that they can work on Obi's barong within our budget, sumugod kami ng QC para mag-imbestiga. Tiwa-tiwala na lang!


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Hindi kami nahirapan makita sila. Eto yung address.

Jacqueline's Textile Store
Stall 166, Kamuning Market
Quezon City

different textile options for the pants

Pag dating ng Kamuning Market, we went straight to the textile section (nasa pinaka kaliwang part, kung nakaharap sa palengke) and asked for Jacqueline's. We expected a tailoring shop kaya nagulat kami na tindahan pala ito ng tela. Bale sa kanila ka lang pipili ng tela or pre-woven barong material tapos ipapayari nila sa affiliated nilang sastre.

pinipilit kong hindi makiliti

Nung pinakita nila sa amin yung mga designs ng burda ng mga barong nila, maganda naman ang yari. Madaming pagpipilian at ang pinakamahalaga sa lahat, mura! It's easily twice as cheap from the usual custom-made barongs that we inquired from in the past, including the labor fee.

the barong design we picked

We looked at their past works and they're not bad at all. Kaya itinuloy na ni Obi na dito magpagawa. We opted to have it made from pinya silk material with additional embroideries on the sleeves and collar. Gusto din ni Obi na siya lang ang naka Chinese-collared barong (kahit hindi siya Chinese) sa entourage. 

Sa kanila na din kami nagpagawa ng black pants. Andami pa palang klase ng tela na pagpipilian para dun (see earlier photo). In the end, the total cost for the barong material, textile for the pants, and the labor fee is way cheaper than we expected. It's worth our travel all the way North from Las Pinas just to check out the place based only on hearsay.

Sometimes it also pays to just believe.

*****

• Updated the "Bookmarks" section with a link to our shoe supplier.
• Updated the "Wedding Updates" page with recent information about our wedding.

Wedding Photos

A collection of our photos leading to the wedding.

Photo Credits:

* Jhoel Laureano (SST)

* Lightpost Studio

* Foreveryday Photography

Pre-wedding Photos

one of our earlier food trip (around 2011)

baguio tour (february 2011)

Wedding Photos

entrance of the bride (St. Ignatius Cathedral)

the groom with lolo and mommy (St. Ignatius Cathedral)

the bride's ride (courtesy of Arvin)

eagerly waiting for the bride (with the best man, mommy, and lolo)

married by Kat's cousin, Father RJ

 

How-How the Carabao

Our wedding is D.I.Y.-heavy and it is not uncommon that we get inquiries on how we did these things. To share our craft, we'll post instructional materials from time to time. In this case, we will demonstrate how we turned a simple wooden box from a thrift store into a decorative material for a vintage-whimsical themed wedding (like ours)!

The Project:

ornamental boxes

The Materials:

• Felt flowers (another DIY project na sana mapakita namin paano gawin in future articles)
• Wooden box (nabili sa isang Japanese thrift store na nakikita sa mga sikat na malls) 
• Styro ball (galing Divisoria)
• Glue gun (doh!)
• Metallic and pearl accessories (meron din sa malls, pero mas mura sa Divisoria)

halos meron sa Divisoria lahat neto

The Instructions:

Step 1: Cut a styro ball in half o kaya sa size na kasya sa wooden box.
Step 2: Glue one half of the styro ball inside it.

Step 3: Itusok ang mga felt flowers sa styro ball na parang hotdog at marshmallow sa pinya kapag may birthday... wow, 1980's na punchline [obi]. Simulan ang pag tusok ng felt flowers sa gilid ng styro ball hanggang sa makarating papuntang gitna. In this way, you can make sure that the flowers on the middle part of the arrangement are higher than those on the sides.

like marshmallow and hotdog in a pinya, y'know?

Step 4: Continue inserting felt flowers on the styro ball generously. Dapat hanggang sa wala nang makita sa styro ball beneath the arrangement.

flowers on the top should protrude higher than on the sides

Step 5: Put hot glue on smaller or softer flower designs (like the pompom flowers below) para mas secure kapag idinikit na sa arrangement. Target the part that will be glued on to the styro ball.

bang! bang! bang!

Step 6: It is advisable to alternate between big and small flowers to have an even look.

quirky!

The Parting Words
When setting it up for the occasion, put the accessories on the other half of the box. Dapat medyo overflowing. Metallic (lalo na yung medyo tarnished) and pearl accessories are perfect for that vintage touch.

The Wedding's Dress Code

What to wear and what not to wear on our wedding day?

The first thing to remember is that it is a formal event and you can't go wrong strutting around on your formal attire. In cases like this, it is always safer to leave the house feeling you are overdressed than under. To be more specific about it, we suggest to please consider the following compilations as a style guide.

Female Principal Sponsors

Para kay Ninang

1. Accessories - Silver, gold, and bronze accessories are fit to accentuate the vintage theme. It complements better if the metallics are tarnished or dull-colored with minimal gems (in the color of the motif, if you prefer) or pearls.

2. Purse - Any purse or bags that matches the gown will do. Keep it handy.

3. Gowns - Ladies of the principal sponsors should wear cream-colored long gowns with minimal embellishments. 

4. Shoes - Any dress shoes that matches the gown will do. Keep it comfortable. 

Male Principal Sponsors

Para kay Ninong

1. Barong Tagalog - Wear something with the usual collar please because Obi wants to be the only gentleman sporting a Chinese collar on our wedding... Kahit hindi siya Chinese [kat]. Also, it is appreciated if it is minimally embroidered. No colored barong other than the traditional hues. 

2. Pants - Keep it black.

3. Undershirt - A camisa de chino or any similar white undershirts will do.

4. Belt - Keep it formal and matching your attire.

5. Shoes - Black leather shoes please.

Female Guests

Para sa Babaeng Bisita

1. Cocktail dress - Simple pastel colored dress or in fun floral prints.

2. Shoes - Any flat shoes or classic pumps that matches the dress.

3. Accessories - Complete your look with subtle accessories.

4. Bags - Appropriate feminine clutches or bags.

Male Guests

Para sa Lalakeng Bisita

1. Polo - Long-sleeved polo with colors that are not so bold and loud. Avoid black and other similar hues.
2. Belt - Keep it formal and matching your attire.
3. Necktie - Optional. Stick to those with formal prints.
4. Pants - A pair of suit pants or slacks in neutral colors.
5. Shoes - Formal leather shoes.

AVOID WEARING THESE

Mga Hindi Dapat Suotin

1. Black or dark-colored tops and dress

2. T-shirt

3. Rubber shoes, slippers, or casual sandals

4. Jeans (maong pants)

Always remember, it is a FORMAL event.

Additional information that are relevant to the dress code.

Wedding Colors: african violet and tender shoots

Theme: vintage, rustic, whimsical

tender shoots and african violet

*****

* photos taken from the internet
* "Bookmarks" section updated with link for WINK 
* "Dress Code" button added in the header menu

Three Months to Go

It's about three months to go before we say "I do"! Here, have a chunk of updates from what we accomplished during the last month.

D.I.Y. Crafts

Creating our D.I.Y. stuff is now on full-scale. There's still a lot to do but it looks like finishing them before December is still a possibility so hala bira! Enjoy naman kami sa mga ginagawa namin kaya hindi namin namamalayan na nakakadami na kami ng nagagawa. Masaya din kami kapag may mga nakaka-appreciate ng mga gawa namin from friends and relatives. Good job kami! Fat in the back! LOL.

new and improved boutonniers 

potted paper flowers

These are done projects:

• felt bouquet for bride (added brooches and improved aesthetics)
• colored tin pails for the flower girls (added laces around the pail)
• boutonniere for the entourage (wrapped the wires with ribbons)
• headbands for the flower girls (decorated with felt flowers)
• vessels for the rings and arrhae
• menu card design (printed in kraft paper)
• match box design (printed in kraft paper)
• handmade stamps for the... uhmm... we still need to think where to use these. LOL. (with help from Kaye)

"pillow" for our rings

"pillow" for our arrhae

headbands for the flower girls

These projects are still in progress:

• tags for the wishing tree (need to do about 40 pieces more)
• tags for the give-aways (have to attach it to the give-aways)
• ornamental board with our monogram (monogram is done, just need to decorate the board)
• boutonniere for the groom (boutonniere needs to stand out from others)

for the entourage

write something for us

handmade stamps (obi and kat caricatures)

Projects that are not started yet:

• wishing tree (bought the twigs in Divisoria yesterday)
• cake topper

flower pails

table ornaments

Big thanks goes to Sara Kim for giving us permission to use her designs for the wishing tag!

Bridal Gown

This month, we visited Roxy Bagano (our gown designer) for Kath's measurements. She's also a B2B (bride-to-be) o-ha, andami kong natututunang wedding acronyms [obi] and so we shared things about suppliers and other wedding stories. Kat is very happy that Roxy liked her DIY's. She left some of her flower templates with Roxy so she can try to craft her own. We are always glad to help out other couples on their preparations so imagine how happy we are to be of help to our own supplier. Apir! Haypayb!

Invitation

We almost missed where Wink is along Mayapis Street in Makati due to heavy rains heralding the typhoon Maring. Wink (or Written in Ink) will provide the invitations for our wedding. They have tons of very creative designs at affordable prices. Salamat sa malupit na pagsasaliksik ni Kath.

mas madali pa pumili ng design kesa sa kulay ng design #colorBlinding

We picked a cute and unconventional design for our invitation. It will be in a two-page loose format, inclusive of a small card where the map will be printed. May binabalak kaming gawing chechebureche para malagyan ng rustic feel yung invitations (since mostly whimsical ang datingan niya). Tignan naten.

Attire

Our moms will wear green gowns on the occasion. That will serve to bring back green on a majority violet hue of the entourage's dress and hand-carried items. A subtle way to pronounce that the motif is not just violet. 

Lahat na lang kasi ako ang itinuturong pumili ng kulay porke madaming violet. AMP! Guilty. [obi] 

peg ng mommy ni obi

We went to Divisoria on separate dates to have our moms select their gown designs and be measured for fitting. Wedding Collections by Lilia Bonaobra is the name of the store and it's conveniently inside the 168 Shopping Mall (Basement Level at LGF 07-08, to be exact). Kahilera nito yung mga iba pang pagawaan ng gowns at barong kaya madaming mapag-pipilian within the area. We picked Bonaobra's among them since nakita na namin yung mga gawa nila in the past from Kath's researches online kaya at least may references na kami.

Sa kanila na din nagpagawa ng barong si Long (my brother and a secondary sponsor) at si Tita Angie (my aunt and a principal sponsor).

mommy ni obi and kat (miss lilia, looking by)
this is NOT our gown, but the green should be the same

Shoes
Matagal na kaming may idea kung ano ang gusto naming design na swak sa vintage feel ng kasal. Pero lately lang namin nalaman na may tawag pala sa ganung klaseng style ng sapatoses!

Ladies and gents, meet the "brogue".

eto mismo ang trip ni obi (an oxford, wingtip brogue)

eto naman ang trip ni kat (a single monk, quarter brogue)

Brogues pala ang tawag sa mga multi-piece leather shoes na may decorative perforations. Ganitong klaseng sapatos ang unang pumasok sa isip namin since we decided to scratch the idea of wearing skate shoes (andami nang nagpapakasal nang naka rubbershoes) and look for alternatives.

We are looking at having our shoes custom-made in Marikina this weekend. Hoping everything goes well.

Others
We went to Divisoria yesterday and we were able to buy the following items.

• secondary veil
• dried twigs for our wishing tree
• additional DIY materials

Bibili din sana kami ng photo frames para may mapaglagyan ng social media notices kaso yung napuntahan naming store ayaw magbenta ng panay puting frames lang. Ang gusto assorted colors. Marunong pa sa amin. Eh di wag!

Kumain na lang kami sa Wai Ying, Binondo... as usual! Reward for a job well done!

pabili po ng lace