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

Divi Dum Divi Doo

Last weekend, we visited Divisoria for the third time since we started prepping up for the wedding. 

*insert dreamy flashback effect here*

We did the our first Divisoria run to buy DIY craft materials and paraphernalia. The second time (which, we realized just now, went undocumented) is to resupply those and check out prices for barongs and gowns. Bonus na lang na habang naglalakad kami pauwi noon, may nadaanan kaming Korean-owned store that sells very affordable faux flowers. Nagkaroon kami ng wedding giveaways ng de oras at sa halagang hindi lalampas ng isang libo... lahat lahat! Peksman!

instant kargador

*end of flashback*

For this trip, ang target namin ay bumili ng tela at magtingin ulit ng mga barong at gown. We were able to keep tabs on where to go and what to look for after thorough researching online, asking tips from our seamstress, and even questioning staffs of fabric stores in malls around Makati. In short, we are armed (if not well armed) with relevant information about textiles bago kami pumunta.

Nasobrahan kami ng aga. Wala pang alas-ocho ng umaga, nasa Divine Mart na kami (Obi, Kath, at sister ni Kath). Blessing in disguise ito dahil sa unang bukas na stall na napuntahan namin (wala pang masyadong bukas na stalls noon) ay nandoon na agad lahat ng kailangan naming tela.

selfie sa loob ng padyak
babala: huwag tularan, nakawawala ng cellphone

Nasa kahabaan ng Ilaya Street ang Divine Mart sa Divisoria. Ang entrance ng lugar ay nasa left side bago lang dumating ng Jollibee at Mang Inasal (na nasa right side). May malaking signage naman sa entrance na "Divine Mart" so madaling makita. Navigating inside is the tricky part. Parang maze sa loob at andaming tabi-tabing stalls ("pasilio" ang tawag nila).


View Larger Map

Yung napagbilhan namin ng tela para sa gown ng entourage ay TMC Commercial ang pangalan. Ayon sa naka-paskil sa kanilang signboard, sila ay nasa T63-S64. Not sure how do you locate them with those coordinates. I guess, mag tanong tanong na lang sa loob.

manang cely and manang kat, discussed fabric stuff

Accommodating yung staff na umasikaso sa amin. Si Manang Cely. Natuwa kami dahil lahat ng gusto naming kulay at uri ng tela ay meron sila and for cheaps! Ito yung mga nabili namin.

• lilac & african violet multi chiffon (outer layer ng adult gowns)
• lilac charmeuse (2nd layer ng adult gowns)
• lilac geena silk (inner layer ng adult gowns)
• cream satin (tops ng kiddie gowns)
• lavender organza (outer layer skirt ng kiddie gowns)
• lilac satin (inner layer skirt ng kiddie gowns)

tela-lalala! kalhati ng presyo ang tubo ng mga textile stores sa sikat na malls

Kinailangan pa namin bumalik after an hour dahil sarado pa ang bodega nila sa sobrang aga namin. Kaya nagtingin tingin na lang muna kami sa paligid ng mga supplies for our DIY crafts. The other side of Ilaya Street (Tabora Street) is known to have tons of items for weddings and similar events. Doon kami namalagi noong unang dalawang punta namin sa Divisoria para mamili. Here are the things that we got this time.

• assorted vintage buttons
• magic zipper na lilac
• sinulid na lilac
• brooch
• pearls
• headband
• white na lace

more vintage-y buttons for us!

Bitbit ang sandamakmak na tela, tinuloy namin ang pag-gagala sa katabing 168 Mall at 999 Mall. Dito kami nagtuloy maningin ng mga barong at gowns. Napaka intensive ng collection ng mga damit at tela dito, at sooobrang mura kumpara sa mga sikat na stores sa mga mall. Most likely bumalik kami doon para sa barong ng mga abay at gowns ng moms.

Wellmanson - Divisoria

At the end of the day, ang reward namin for ourselves for a job well done ay ang kumain sa Wai Ying in Binondo! Can't go wrong... yub yub! Dumaan din muna kami sa Eng Bee Tin para bumili ng pasalubong at sa Binondo Church para magpasalamat sa lahaaat ng blessings na natatanggap namin.

goodjob!

P.S.: Medyo may minor boo-boo lang dahil mali ang kulay ng nabili naming sinulid at zipper. Pero as of now, naghahanap na kami ng sinulid at zippers na kakulay ng mga tela namin.

Divisoria Attack!

We dropped by at Divisoria to buy some wedding stuff last weekend.

Prior to going, we already researched online about where best to look for such items in Divisoria. Ayon sa aming pananaliksik, madaming wedding anik-anik along Tabora Street (the part near Recto Avenue).

The place is a wedding shoppers' paradise with its plethora of useful bridal items and at discount prices. Syempre, that's not counting the fact that the place has regular cases of petty theft (merong nakawan nung araw mismo na pumunta kami). Basta ang usapan namin kapag pumunta dun, dapat muka kaming walang pera. And I think we pulled it off so well.

Wala naman kasi talaga kaming pera... haha! [obi]

Nakabili kami ng yarda yardang felt cloth, needlework threads, at iba pang tools para sa plano naming felt and buttons bouquet. Nakapag-tingin din kami ng prices ng mga raw materials for giveaways and souvenirs. May nakita kaming tabletop plant replica na gawa sa cables at crystal beads. Ang ganda, napaka whimsical! Kaso ang mahal. Pag-iisipan pa namin.

So far, wala pa kaming mapili na giveaway so kelangan pa magtingin ng iba't-ibang options. 

research muna.. para di magmukang thief-magnet

After Divisoria, dumaan kami ng Binondo for lunch. Wai Ying, yum yum yum! May nakita kaming nag-bebenta ng laser etched glass na paperweight. Mukang perfect siyang pang-giveaway kaso hindi kami nakapagtanong-tanong masyado dahil sinupladahan agad kami nung Chinese na mukang may-ari. Masyado ata convincing yung disguise namin na wala kaming pera. Haha!

Yun lang.