Most
of the suppliers I check out are W@W finds, including Gretchen Pichay. As
soon as I joined the group, I’ve been reading raves about her from satisfied
brides and current bride-to-be’s. And since I don’t have any trusted designer
or couturier, I made a mental note to check this lady designer once I start the
hunt for my wedding gown.
Not
long after, I came across W@W’s podcast called W@WChat and
learned that Gretchen has an episode there. Since she’s popular in the group, I
took interest listening to her episode to get to know more of her – like how
she relates (is she shy or outgoing based on the interview), how she started,
her expertise in wedding gowns, her signature style, etc. From there, I learned
that she’s a fairly new wedding gown designer and that her rates are within our
budget. I checked for her works online and they suited my taste. I found the
dresses really elegant, beautiful, and clean. To confirm that she can do
something like my pegs within the budget that we allotted, I decided to shoot
her an email and requested for a quotation. After a day or two, I got a reply
with a price range that I was happy to see. That’s the time that I seriously
considered her an option. The only downside with her is that she lives so far
from my place; coming from Cavite, it would take a lot of effort to go to her
place all the way in Quezon City.
Although
a bit hesitant, the distance did not hinder me from actually meeting up with
her. I know that if I scratch her off the list just because of that, I will
forever have “what-ifs” on my mind. Since I want my peace of mind while doing
this whole preparation, I’ve requested for a consultation appointment with
her.
And
that day was last Saturday. Our appointment was at 1PM. Since I will be coming
all the way from the South, I had to start my day really early. As it would be
impractical for Adrin to fetch me since he’ll be coming from the East of the
metro, we decided to just meet at Gilmore area before we headed to Gretchen’s
place at New Manila.We found her place at 12:30PM, yet with our rumbling
tummies, we decided to grab a quick lunch first and just return after.
Once
full from McDonald’s treats, we immediately headed back to Gretchen’s abode. We
were led by a staff to her small but cozy office. Just outside that is where
gown and dress production happens. Within minutes, Gretchen entered the
room with a beaming smile. We introduced ourselves of course, and she in turn
asked for our wedding details including our target budget for the gown. She
looked at the pegs I brought with me and in an instant she’s already armed with
a pencil and sketching some similar designs. With her hand at work, she is
simultaneously describing the details she’s trying to reflect on that sheet of
paper. We discussed her sketch, after which she moved to a clean sheet to draw
another design. That cycled repeated 2 more times. She even drew me a totally
different design from my pegs, which by the way I liked the best.
In
between those we interviewed her a bit as well. She mentioned that as much as
possible she only gets 1 wedding per day and that she prefers to have a 1st fitting a bit early than
most designers do. We also asked about the materials that she'll use and showed
us some samples. After 4 sketches, we agreed that we’ll think about things
first and just let her know as soon as we decide to get her.
Design #1
Design #2
Design #3
Design #4
In the car, Adrin and I discussed
our take with Gretchen. I told him I found her okay and nice but I don’t feel
convinced that she’s the designer for me. Probably because I’m not blown away
by the designs she did similar to my pegs. Although to be fair, her original design
looks really awesome and promising (I think that design is her forte), I just
feel that it’s not for me. On the other hand, Adrin found her a bit pushy, and
he feels that I will not be comfortable working with Gretchen. I agree with his
second point actually. I feel that with her I cannot really speak my mind and
share all my ideas and preferences. Not that she’s not pleasant, she actually
is. She’s just maybe in a different wavelength from me. Oh well, I’m not
completely closing my doors on her, decision comes after my meeting with
another designer.
Cheers,
Most
of the suppliers I check out are W@W finds, including Gretchen Pichay. As
soon as I joined the group, I’ve been reading raves about her from satisfied
brides and current bride-to-be’s. And since I don’t have any trusted designer
or couturier, I made a mental note to check this lady designer once I start the
hunt for my wedding gown.
Not
long after, I came across W@W’s podcast called W@WChat and
learned that Gretchen has an episode there. Since she’s popular in the group, I
took interest listening to her episode to get to know more of her – like how
she relates (is she shy or outgoing based on the interview), how she started,
her expertise in wedding gowns, her signature style, etc. From there, I learned
that she’s a fairly new wedding gown designer and that her rates are within our
budget. I checked for her works online and they suited my taste. I found the
dresses really elegant, beautiful, and clean. To confirm that she can do
something like my pegs within the budget that we allotted, I decided to shoot
her an email and requested for a quotation. After a day or two, I got a reply
with a price range that I was happy to see. That’s the time that I seriously
considered her an option. The only downside with her is that she lives so far
from my place; coming from Cavite, it would take a lot of effort to go to her
place all the way in Quezon City.
Although
a bit hesitant, the distance did not hinder me from actually meeting up with
her. I know that if I scratch her off the list just because of that, I will
forever have “what-ifs” on my mind. Since I want my peace of mind while doing
this whole preparation, I’ve requested for a consultation appointment with
her.
And
that day was last Saturday. Our appointment was at 1PM. Since I will be coming
all the way from the South, I had to start my day really early. As it would be
impractical for Adrin to fetch me since he’ll be coming from the East of the
metro, we decided to just meet at Gilmore area before we headed to Gretchen’s
place at New Manila.We found her place at 12:30PM, yet with our rumbling
tummies, we decided to grab a quick lunch first and just return after.
Once
full from McDonald’s treats, we immediately headed back to Gretchen’s abode. We
were led by a staff to her small but cozy office. Just outside that is where
gown and dress production happens. Within minutes, Gretchen entered the
room with a beaming smile. We introduced ourselves of course, and she in turn
asked for our wedding details including our target budget for the gown. She
looked at the pegs I brought with me and in an instant she’s already armed with
a pencil and sketching some similar designs. With her hand at work, she is
simultaneously describing the details she’s trying to reflect on that sheet of
paper. We discussed her sketch, after which she moved to a clean sheet to draw
another design. That cycled repeated 2 more times. She even drew me a totally
different design from my pegs, which by the way I liked the best.
In
between those we interviewed her a bit as well. She mentioned that as much as
possible she only gets 1 wedding per day and that she prefers to have a 1st fitting a bit early than
most designers do. We also asked about the materials that she'll use and showed
us some samples. After 4 sketches, we agreed that we’ll think about things
first and just let her know as soon as we decide to get her.
In the car, Adrin and I discussed
our take with Gretchen. I told him I found her okay and nice but I don’t feel
convinced that she’s the designer for me. Probably because I’m not blown away
by the designs she did similar to my pegs. Although to be fair, her original design
looks really awesome and promising (I think that design is her forte), I just
feel that it’s not for me. On the other hand, Adrin found her a bit pushy, and
he feels that I will not be comfortable working with Gretchen. I agree with his
second point actually. I feel that with her I cannot really speak my mind and
share all my ideas and preferences. Not that she’s not pleasant, she actually
is. She’s just maybe in a different wavelength from me. Oh well, I’m not
completely closing my doors on her, decision comes after my meeting with
another designer.
No comments:
Post a Comment