The Wedding Fact Sheet

At the just concluded Martha Stewart Bridal Fair, the audience had a chance to listen to the talk of Rajo Laurel, one of Manila’s in-demand designers. Would-be brides learned a lot about what wedding gown styles would flatter them the most, with the prime consideration being knowledge about one’s body type.

In the latter part of the talk, Rajo was asked about wedding trends for 2009 and his answer opened up our eyes to reality. We can’t disagree with these trends because they’re good!

The shift to “non-colors” for the wedding motif. Whereas in the previous years, motif colors were sunny and bright (think about lime green or even fuschchia), this year it’s going to be all tame. Gray and champagne, here you go!

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Aranaz bags are distinctive and proudly Philippine-made. The line, created by Ms. Amina Aranaz who graduated from a design school in MIlan, supplies to international labels like Rafe (also a Filipino), Kate Spade and Nine West.

I admire their line-up, season after season. Just one look from afar and you know it’s an Aranaz bag. The look is classy, the embellishments are feminine and the use of indigenous materials makes it stand out from the rest. Most notable are the intricate beadwork and the inclusion of delicate materials like mother-of-pearl shells. If you’re after Swarovski crystals, they have it too.
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If you’re based in Manila, Baclaran should be a familiar name. The Redemptorist Church is the refuge of faithful devotees of the Our Lady of the Most Perpetual Help. This place is also the ultimate bargain shopper’s haven. Its market is not only the ordinary fashionista, but people looking for costumes, members of the entourage of the yearly May Santacruzan, and yes…. brides and the whole wedding party!

There are a number of wedding stores in Baclaran but the most established is Rosy’s Bridal Center. So popular is Manang Rosy that her clients include some of the Philippines’ actors and actresses. She is assisted in the store by her son Ogie and a number of helpers.

I visited this store during the wedding preps and the prices were simply unbelievable. There was a sale during that time and I even tried on a wedding gown for P2,000, LOL.

What’s amazing about Rosy’s is that you can have a new gown made and buy it, or have a new gown made and charge it as “rental.” Obviously with the latter, you cannot keep the gown but you will be charged cheaper. Prices at Rosy’s start at 2K and as low as P500 for the entourage dresses.
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If you’re an excited bride-to-be, going to wedding exhibits and bridal fairs is not only a must, it is also a happy moment. The event will enable you to talk to potential suppliers, sample their offerings or see their products up close. That’s what happened to me when I visited the Wedding Expo Philippines recently.

Now, another event is upon us. It’s the Martha Stewart Bridal Fair, brought to us by Martha Stewart Weddings (Philippines). I like this magazine by Summit Media, and I actually bought one to guide me before the Big Day. The future bride shouldn’t be able to live without at least one resource publication. We simply like to have it with us to show us the way in the difficult business of wedding preparations.
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It’s only the first quarter of the year and we’re already seeing a lot of engagements and weddings from celebrity couples.

What more ordinary mortals like you and me? Oh well, I got married in January this year myself! What is it with 2009, and what luck does it hold for us?

After the Harrison Ford-Calista Flockhart hush-hush engagement, here’s a short list of famous people who tied the knot and who’s set to walk down the aisle soon. Pardon me, am star-struck!

Christina Ricci and Owen Benjamin, both actors. She’s 5′1″ and he’s 6′6″, but that hasn’t kept them from playing perfect music together. We just hope they’ll not have their own Addams Family in the works, or else….

Danica McKellar, who played Winnie Cooper in The Wonder Years, married her long time beau, musician Mike Verta, in an ocean-side ceremony in La Jolla, California. She’s a brilliant mathematician, but one plus one isn’t really hard to add up, this case

Statuesque singer Mandy Moore and Ryan Adams of the country rock band The Cardinals got hitched in a simple courthouse ceremony, after an on-and-off relationship. He’s 34 and she’s 24.

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This is such a good piece of news: Harrison Ford (of ‘Indiana Jones’ fame) and Calista Flockhart (formerly of ‘Ally McBeal’) are now engaged. The two have been together for more than seven years. They certainly disprove the so-called “seven-year itch,” viewed by some as a couple growing apart after seven years of being together.

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Before the Wedding Proper, wedding proposals are the most-awaited. It seems the rule of thumb for most couples is: the more romantic, the better. It should be something couples and their family or friends will remember for long. And if dramatic enough, it can even land you a spot in the newspapers!

One of the proposals that caught my eye recently was the case of this young man who put the engagement ring he intended to give his girlfriend in a cup of Wendy’s Frosty. Everything wen’t awry when she ended up swallowing the ring without knowing it! The picture, and full story, in this American girl’s blog

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I have to admit we chose our wedding date because I read somewhere in the internet that it was a lucky day to get married. Unlike most couples, we also didn’t have a choice since it was a marathon wedding, in a sense of the word. While others ideally prepare a year ahead, we planned two months ahead and got approval to wed in church two weeks before. What a terrible time it was!

So yes, the only luxury we had was choosing a date that was considered lucky. It was only my second choice because it was a Friday and I would have loved a weekend wedding. However, it seems most churches are booked on weekends and I wasn’t able to get it on the day we were ready to get hitched.

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How can a wedding non-believer change into a wedding lover overnight?

Am surprised myself.

But I have to say that no amount of denial and protestation can belie the fact that every decent girl dreams of a fairy tale wedding. We’ve always fantasized about walking down the aisle, holding a dainty bouquet and wearing the most captivating gown, complete with tears in our eyes and the sweetest smile on our face.

I found out that a wedding can be one of the most nerve-wracking moments in a woman’s life, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Not to be lost in the hoopla is the real meaning of this day – to share a once-in-a-lifetime milestone with family and friends while sealing our love with the man we’ve chosen to spend an eternity with.

To prepare for a wedding, knowledge is power. Sure, a wedding planner can do it all us but before we can even hire one, we need to check out places, read magazines, browse the web and canvass for the best supplier. No way can a would-be bride dissociate herself from the joy and madness of wedding preparations!

This is the reason why I gave birth to this blog. In the course of preparing for our wedding, I accumulated a lot of materials which would be a waste not to share with excited brides out there.

Come ride with me, and let’s enjoy the journey ahead! <3