Pretty Pretty

My church dress, and bridal shower was done by a seamstress/neighbor friend of my aunt's, Tita Josie, in manila. She does some great work just from her home! I also had her do the flowergirl's dresses as well as (Mr. Smallville's mom) Mama Smallville's dress.

THE BRIDAL SHOWER DRESS

so my idea was to get something similar to a dress i fell in love with at anthropologie a couple of years ago:
So here is how the dress came out:

Its Ivory Georgette with a chocolate sash and orange/brown floral embroidery.

im going to wear it with my franco sarto orange leather strappy pumps. So fun and flirty! i love it!


THE CHURCH CEREMONY DRESS

The idea behind my dress: a knee length lace dress with a sash, and hopefully a crystal brooch. I wanted it to look a lot like Monique Lhuillier's dresses. Since its for a church wedding, and i'm baring my legs, i figured it would be appropriate that i wear a bolero, so I wanted to get one done. Here are the photos I gave Tita Josie for my dress.


And here's the outcome:



It's cream charmeuse and off white beaded lace. The lace was uber reasonably priced at PHP450/yard which is about $9-10! Sure beats the alencon lace that my mom and I found in the store nearby. I know its not "french/alencon" but i think its just as pretty! A close up of the top w/ the bolero, sash and brooch.


I was lucky enough that my friend, Holly, who currently lives in Seoul, came to visit me all the way from korea while I was there. She was generous enough to gift me with two gorgeous brooches, this being one of them. The other brooch is the one you see on my bridal shower dress above. Thanks Holly!

Edward Teng, Part II

As i mentioned in a previous post, i was going to visit Edward Teng's shop in Santa Mesa, Metro Manila. In fact, it was my first stop the first morning that i was there, because I knew my gown would be a rush job (they usually request about 1-2 months for the dress, and i was only going to give them 3 weeks).

I don't have any images yet of Edward sketching my gown, but my friend will send them to me soon (I didn't have a camera, she did).

However, i was able to take a quick shot of the final sketch and a detail of the gown myself.

So here's the sketch of the gown. Its a semi-A line/princess cut, strapless, sweetheart neckline, with a 1 yard train. They're using ecru colored mikado silk, and it contains a built in bra/corsette. It has embroidery, glass beading, and floral embellishments. For easy adjustements, we chose a drawstring laced back, much like dresses of the early 1900s (and much earlier).

I went in another three times there to try on the dress. they rushed the production of the dress (without beading) for the first fitting. Second fitting ahd more adjustments, but it was to finetune it for my final fitting just this past tuesday.

On my third fitting, they were able to provide a sample of the embellishments for me to see. I took a close-up shot w/ my phone below:

So this will be done by April 30, and my mom will arrive with it May 2nd. I can't wait to pick her up from the airport!

Edward Teng

So i'm leaving for the Philippines tomorrow at noon! I can't believe it's already here! If this is how fast time is flying, the day will come and go faster than I could expect!

So of course you know i'm going to Manila to get my dress custom made. I have arrangments to visit Edward Teng, a Couturier in Manila who specializes in Wedding gowns. Below are a few of my favorite works of his.

If you go to his website, you'll see he has a fair share of scary to lovely selections. I will of course keep it to the lovely. I won't point out which is my favorite for fear that Mr. Smallville is lurking, lol.

Manila, Here I come!

A Visit to Manila

Going to Manila in April from the 8th to the 22nd.

I haven't been there since 2006, for my grandmother's funeral.

Happy to go back for a more joyful occasion.

Things I plan to do there:

Favors:

Ceramic Filigree Lace Candle holders, like i mentioned in a previous post. I plan on giving away about 90, but we're ordering 120-130 of them incase some break during our flight back.

Attire:

Labor and Fabric are cheap in the Philippines, so I am going there to get a bunch of gowns made for the wedding party and a few choice outfits for myself. Below are the things we're getting done

• Gown for Mother of The Bride
• Gown For Mother of the Groom
• Dresses For Flower Girls
• My Dress for the Catholic Ceremony (which will double for my rehearsal dinner dress)
• My Bridal Shower Dress

And last, but most important,

• MY WEDDING GOWN!

Decorations:

Colored Table Runners, because I dont feel like paying $12-20 per orange table clothes to rent them, when we can get them made for half of that price, and I'd OWN them, lol.

Invites?:

Well, I probably wont get them printed there, but i was contemplating getting my Folio Pockets done there with our Monogram embossed on the inner pocket. Maybe. I don't know.

And most important, I get to see my family. I have a slew of extended family in Manila, of all which I treasure dearly, and can't wait to see again!

Oh, Monique

Monique Lhuillier

I love her stuff. I've admired it for about 4 years now.

i think maybe since i saw "Swan lake" in a "Who's Wedding is it Anyway" episode.

Swan lake isnt' my stee though. I wouldnt do a tulle skirt, esp a ballroom/princess cut. At least i think i'd never. However i love the lace bodice, with the ribbon sash and brooch in the middle. LOVE it.

She takes some classic, traditional, luxurious fabrics and mixes them with some modern, sophisticated cuts.

One problem?

My budget.

I can't afford her.

But man, do I love her.

This post is just a dream post.

Sugar, Spice and everything LACE...

Alencon Lace...

Yesterday, my mom and I went to the local fabric store here, and I looked at their Alencon lace, which is imported from France, and used by people like Jim Hjelm, Monique Lhuillier, and etc. Anyway, i picked up a spool of it and tried pairing it with other slightly darker fabrics and fell in love.

But then my mom read the price tag... a small detail i wasnt paying attention to in all the "love" i was falling into over the delicate needlepoint work...

and guess how much it was?

179.95/yard!

YEESH!

*sigh*

Figures! Naturally i gravitate toward something that has a price tag that would give anyone a heart attack!

So pretty... but hopefully it'll be cheaper in manila

If i were to buy a dress in the U.S...

I was always pretty much set that i'd get my dress done in Manila, because of cost, the opportunity to control the design, and well, i'm a funny-figured girl. Custom would be the only way to go.

This was the dress that I ended up "liking" at David's that I tried on, or a detail of it:

Its pretty. Its got bling. and Lace, and it looked nice on me. However, I wasn't in love with the dress.

I didn't come prepared that night, because I was really just trying things on for fun. However I did go back to their site and look at their other gowns. especially the new arrivals.

I found something... interesting. Pretty. Lovely.

For fear that Mr Smallville might be lurking, I've posted only a detail of the dress that I fell in love with at David's Bridal.

Unfortunately they don't stock this in my size. Naturally.

And naturally, it costs twice as much as the one above. Naturally.

So now... what do I do? Do I still consider Manila? Or this dress?

Hmm...