Monday, October 29, 2012

DIY #4: Rosaries for Our Principal Sponsors

After I've completed our DIY cord, I was a bit hung over from beading. I’m craving to work with my hands more. Question is what to do? That was when I thought of creating rosaries which will serve as our token to our principal sponsors. Adrin wasn’t convinced right away so I had to do some prodding and marketing. I thought that this will be a personal gift since it’s out of our own hard work. It’s also good to note that whenever they’ll use the rosary, Adrin and I will probably cross their minds.

Once he was sold with the idea, we scheduled for another trip to Wellmanson to stock up some raw materials. Not only that, I was also finally able to source for beads for the rosaries I promised a good friend. Moreover, we brought home some good finds which will serve as gifts for the upcoming yuletide season. But that's an entirely different story. :)



When I started beading again, I prioritized the rosaries for my friend since their wedding is sooner than ours and they’ll include the rosaries in the occasion. As soon as theirs were set into the cute boxes, I started the ones for our own. To date, I’ve managed to complete half of the lot. And with more than a year left before our big day, it is very unlikely that the rest will not make it in time.










Don't you find them classy and elegant? :)

Cheers!


Sunday, October 28, 2012

Designer Meeting #4: Elizabeth Hallie Vy

Onto my gown designer hunt, the last designer on my list is Elizabeth Hallie Vy. She's another W@W find, whose creations suited my taste. My inspirations are on the simple, classy, romantic designs with lace craftsmanship as the star of the dress. When I saw this designer's work, I just knew I gotta inquire with her to check if her price range is within what we're willing to spend.

As I wait for her response, I learnt that a friend of mine recently commissioned Hallie for a long dress she wore to a wedding. From what I saw from the pictures, the dress of my friend was lovely; and cleanly sewn too. Days after, the email I’ve been waiting for landed in my inbox, and she quoted me a reasonable price for the design I want. Soon, the consultation date and time has been smoothly arranged via email as she was quick to reply already after the initial lag. Presto, another designer meeting in Adrin’s and mine’s calendar.

Appointment day came and after meeting for lunch, Adrin and I headed to Hallie’s place in Urdaneta Village. Hers was an expansive abode, with house staffs greeting and leading clients to the actual office. Upon seeing us, it appears to me that she’s not expecting anyone at that time. I had to remind her a bit of the appointment we set thru mail. Not sure if she actually remembered it, but she shortly seated us on her desk and started on the agenda.

Her first question to me was whether I have pegs or sample gowns I want, which I quickly answered positively while simultaneously bringing out the printouts from my bag. She asked me what I liked about those dresses so I next pointed out the details that appealed to me. After which, Hallie began sketching for the dress quietly. It was only after she finished with both the front and back views did she explain her plan. As she tells us more about it, I’m not exactly charmed as what she drew is very similar to the designs I’ve shown her. Sharing that I want a “second look”, she proceeded to draw, and it was only then that I actually got excited as I got to see her own creativity manifest in that sheet of paper without veering much from my aesthetic preferences.




We discussed as well the kinds of fabrics she’ll use and requested to see some samples. Apparently there are no fabric swatches in her office, so she had to call a staff for the fabric to be brought in there. This is where I was truly turned off, because as she phoned her staff, her tone was quite harsh for my liking.

Last agenda for the meeting is the entourage dresses. She shared us the cost for those dresses and drafted a bridal package for us to ponder on. Aside from bridal dresses and entourage, she also creates barongs for grooms which she included in the package she printed out. Commissioning her for a bridal gown though would entitle you to the standard wedding accessories like pillows, cord, primary and secondary veil and pouch. The unique item in her freebies would be the customized shoes for the bride. After that, we quickly wrapped up and we’re led out of their place.

Getting in the car, Adrin’s first question was, “Ano, nakapili ka na?”. Instantly I know that he didn’t like how the meeting went. The whole thing only lasted 20mins., and this has been the shortest meeting we ever had for a designer. It’s mainly because Hallie was not much of a talker. She barely asked us about our preparations. Whenever we ask something, her responses are somewhat one-liners, and there was no small talk whatsoever. All three other designers we met before her were not as silent as she was.  Given that I’m new to this, and am not quite a talker myself, I feel that I’ll have a hard time working with her. Working out a bridal gown is not a once or twice meet-up with the couturier. I see it as a partnership between the bride and the designer. And in this flight, I know that she’s not the right partner for me. 


Elizabeth Hallie Vy
Elizabeth Vy Designs
Email: ehlvph@gmail.com


Cheers!


Sunday, October 07, 2012

DIY In Progress: Bride & Groom Signages

I'm sure you'd be shock that this early into our wedding preps, I'm already working on the signages that we'll hang outside our wedding preps hotel door. But hey, nothing wrong with it right? Who knows how heavy my work demand will be as we near the big day. That's why I want to tick off as much DIYs as I can while I still have the time.

When Adrin and I saw the stuffed felt letters in a store called EGG (Exciting Gifts and Goodies), I was instantly inspired to DIY the same letters and have them as our signages.

Something like this [Source: Etsy]

To be able to proceed with this DIY, I immediately sourced for the materials. Looking for felt cloth in the metro was quite a challenge. Nonetheless, I was able to find the right color in the small sewing/craft store at the 3rd floor of SM Makati.

As I start this project, I printed out block letters (Font used: Showcard Gothic) in a bond paper, cut them out, and used them as patterns. I carefully traced 2 pieces for each letter onto the felt cloth. I need two since I’ll be sewing them together and put some stuffing inside, just like how the letters are in the above photo.



I’ve completed cutting all the tracings out and now they are ready for stitching. It will be a tedious and time consuming task so I need to schedule this in one of the upcoming holidays. Of course I’ll update you as soon as I complete them, so watch out for it. :)





Cheers!







Our Story Won!


Won 3rd runner up that is, in The Wedding Library's Unique Love/Wedding/Proposal Story Contest. 

It was last August when I learned about this contest. I thought then that since we already wrote about our proposal story for this blog, might as well join the contest. Before sending our story, I first checked with Adrin if he's okay to have his blog entry submitted in a contest. I thought he'll be hesitant to join and submit his side of the story because of his booboo moment. I was wrong! Turns out he's perfectly okay with it since the story is already written and it'll just be minimal effort for us. Haha.

After seeking his approval, I tweaked the stories a bit and sent them by mid-August. When he asked me about the result 2 weeks after, I told him that the deadline for entry submission is until mid-September, and winners will be announced 2 weeks after that.

The month passed, and it was over last Thursday's dinner when Adrin remembered about this contest. I told him that I've yet to check if the winners are already out. As I checked the site of The Wedding Library that same night, I found the announcement for the contest's winners. Quickly skimming the page, it was sad not to our name in the list. BUT, after a thorough run through of the entire winners list, I FOUND OUR NAMES!!!

I hurriedly retracted to Adrin what I just reported regarding not winning. We were both really giddy and happy about it since it’s both our first time to join and win a story writing contest! Aside from the personal fulfillment (chos!) we got, we'll also get Php1,000 worth of products from The Wedding Library as our prize. Not bad right? 

I really think that this relationship, or partnership as I’d like to call it, really brings out the best in us. Read his and my side of the story and be amused. :))

Cheers!


Monday, October 01, 2012

A Gift For A Friend: Beaded Rosaries


Three months after Adrin and I got engaged, I and my college friends were surprised by another engagement announcement within our group. This time it was Aiza’s, who accepted the marriage proposal of her then boyfriend, Jeron. We were really amazed of the announcement because of two things; (1) Aiza has been really picky with boys in the past and Jeron is her first boyfriend; and (2) at that time, they haven’t even celebrated their first dating anniversary! Haha. Nonetheless, we were very happy for them of course, especially me since I am also a soon-to-wed. I’m excited to exchange stories with her as we plan for our own dream wedding.

Fast forward to August, while Aiz (as we fondly call her) and I were texting away about the wedding cord that I just completed, I told her we can also DIY theirs. She liked the idea but beneath the excitement, I sensed a hint of hesitation. So since I’d like to contribute in making her wedding special, unique, and personal – I offered her to do the job and give it to them as my personal gift for their upcoming union. The next reply I received was pure delight! Knowing how traditional their families are, I reminded her to check first if they’ll be allowed to use a beaded wedding cord.

Just this month, before going back to Wellmanson for additional materials, she asked me to make rosaries for them instead of wedding cord just to be on the safe side. She didn’t want me making something that they eventually will not use. I also noted of their color motif which is Aqua Blue and Navy Blue.



After a couple of nights spent beading, these are the rosaries (I made them each) I lovingly crafted for them. 





I haven't had the opportunity yet to hand these to the couple. They just saw pictures of these in Facebook, and both of them found them beautiful. I bet they're already thrilled to have it. How about you, what do think of these rosaries? 


Cheers!