The Bride's Bouquet by Holland Tulips [Happy Details]

Now that we have finally posted about our happy day, it's time to talk about the details. If you've been following this blog since we got engaged, you probably noticed that though we had a ton of stories to tell, we didn't really post about the specifics. That's because we chose to keep it all to ourselves so our wedding could still have the element of surprise. Well, we can talk about everything now, yay! p.s. Please read our note about suppliers.

Our wedding flowers were some of the last things we booked, so we didn't get to talk about them in the blog. I'll start off with my bouquet, because it's dearest to me.

I am not a flower person. I don't really like getting flowers. I prefer chocolates, toys, books, music -- things that I can keep. The wedding was the one time I actually wanted flowers, so I chose my favorites, which are blue roses and orange tulips. 

Wedding Rings by Matus Jewellery [Happy Details]

Now that we have finally posted about our happy day, it's time to talk about the details. If you've been following this blog since we got engaged, you probably noticed that though we had a ton of stories to tell, we didn't really post about the specifics. That's because we chose to keep it all to ourselves so our wedding could still have the element of surprise. Well, we can talk about everything now, yay! p.s. Please read our note about suppliers.

It's time to talk about our rings. They're really simple white gold bands that look like our promise rings from 1999 and my engagement ring.

Our wedding rings

Matus Jewellery was our ring-maker. Almost all our transactions with them were done at bridal fairs, except for our final fitting and pick-up which happened at their store in Megamall. [See these posts for our Matus stories: Wedding Expo Philippines, The Weddings and Debuts Fair.] 

Like I said above, the wedding rings we chose were based on our promise rings from long ago, and my engagement ring. They're half-round, white gold bands with diamonds (a Matus trademark) plus our first names and wedding date engraved inside them. Mine also had a mini diamond because it's my birthstone. 

With the box

The rings

The Bride's Reception Dress by The Secret Creations by Edgar Basilan

Now that we have finally posted about our happy day, it's time to talk about the details. If you've been following this blog since we got engaged, you probably noticed that though we had a ton of stories to tell, we didn't really post about the specifics. That's because we chose to keep it all to ourselves so our wedding could still have the element of surprise. Well, we can talk about everything now, yay! p.s. Please read our note about suppliers.

I talked about it in my last post, but I just felt that my reception dress warranted a different entry. It's pretty special to me, and I love it as much as I love my gown. It was made by Edgar Basilan of The Secret Creations. Since I had a princess dress, I needed to change at the reception into something more comfortable that I can move around in.

 At our reception in the dress

It has a somewhat naughty back!

Entourage Dresses by The Secret Creations by Edgar Basilan [Happy Details]

Now that we have finally posted about our happy day, it's time to talk about the details. If you've been following this blog since we got engaged, you probably noticed that though we had a ton of stories to tell, we didn't really post about the specifics. That's because we chose to keep it all to ourselves so our wedding could still have the element of surprise. Well, we can talk about everything now, yay! p.s. Please read our note about suppliers.

First, an update. Okay so we didn't make our anniversary deadline -- no surprise there. It's all right though because our wedding photo album and our videos will only be coming in at the end of the month. That's the only time we can talk about our photographer and videographer because that will be the end of our experience with them. The good news is that this blog will remain active until then!

Today's post will be about our entourage dresses. Our dressmaker was Edgar Basilan of The Secret Creations. He has been making gowns for my sister-in-law for a long time, so he was highly recommended and trusted. I wrote about it a lot already in this blog so there really isn't much to write. [For our booking story, fabric swatches, dress sketches, dress pegs, etc. please see these posts: Dressmaker - Check!, A Day with My Girls, A Day with My Matron of Honor, Bridesmaids Day.]

Kuya Ed was tasked to make our bridesmaid and flower girl dresses, as well as the gowns for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. He also ended up making a couple of dark blue gowns for two of our principal sponsors, but those were done separately. That's a lot of dresses!

My main peg for my reception dress and entourage dresses was this Tibi dress. The bright orange and color-block design appealed to me, so I wanted something that looked like it, but isn't exactly it. Kuya Ed had to design different necklines for me and all my bridesmaids, as well as design the flower girl and junior bridesmaid dresses based on that design. I made my bridesmaids choose the design they wanted, and Kuya Ed adjusted the designs to fit their body type. The fabric had to be cut into different pieces and sewn together. The dresses had different-colored linings and petticoats with uneven hems.

My bridesmaids

With the groomsmen

Up close 1

Up close 2

One Year!

It wasn't the best of first years. It was actually a difficult one. The good part is that now we know that we're in it for the long haul. Being married to each other and the happiness it brings trumps everything else.    

DIY Invitation and Program Stamps [Happy Details]

Now that we have finally posted about our happy day, it's time to talk about the details. If you've been following this blog since we got engaged, you probably noticed that though we had a ton of stories to tell, we didn't really post about the specifics. That's because we chose to keep it all to ourselves so our wedding could still have the element of surprise. Well, we can talk about everything now, yay! p.s. Please read our note about suppliers.

I am just blasting through these posts because, well, I'm on a deadline! Heh. I thought I'd take a break from supplier stories and talk about our wedding DIYs. We had quite a few, simply because it was much easier to do things ourselves. More importantly, we had our Wedding Fairies, who went above and beyond their creative duties. Everything we thought wasn't doable was totally possible for them!

One of the things we wanted was a personalized stamp for our invitation envelopes and our misalettes. We simply thought it was a cute idea, and it's easy to achieve anyway. The little details make all the difference, so we made it happen.

We knew that it would take time to make the stamps ourselves (we're not that talented), so we first inquired at the personalized stamp stalls at the mall. They were ridiculously expensive! We knew that there were stamp-makers out on the streets selling stamps for a fraction of the prices at the mall, so we decided to go that route. We first made the design on the computer to print out. We just wanted the venues and the date on it for a sort of instant reminder. 

The design

Wedding Fairy Clang likes going on solo field trips. She came across this guy on the street making wooden stamps and luckily, she had the design with her. After a quick BBM exchange with me to confirm and some waiting time, the stamps were done. A and I picked up a large blue ink pad at National Bookstore, and we were good to go.

Stamps!

Bride's Wedding Shoes by Vivienne Westwood + Melissa c/o Geleia [Happy Details]

Now that we have finally posted about our happy day, it's time to talk about the details. If you've been following this blog since we got engaged, you probably noticed that though we had a ton of stories to tell, we didn't really post about the specifics. That's because we chose to keep it all to ourselves so our wedding could still have the element of surprise. Well, we can talk about everything now, yay! p.s. Please read our note about suppliers.

My wedding shoes caused so much excitement during our preparations. They were almost impossible to find, and I was close to giving up on them. I'm glad I didn't, and I was able to wear my dream wedding shoes on that happy day. Here's the long story behind the shoes: My Wedding Shoes.   

At the time, I kept the shoes a secret. I only posted a picture of the box here. I did tell a few of my friends about them when I was still on the hunt because I needed help finding them, but that was it. These shoes were so special to me that I wanted them to show up on that happy day and not before. 

 

The shoes are Vivienne Westwood + Melissa Lady Dragon Heart in Dove Grey and Blue. I got them at Geleia. Like all Melissa shoes, they're an updated version of the jelly shoes, and are made of a really fragrant kind of rubber/plastic. They're part of a collaboration between the Brazilian shoe brand and the British designer.

The Bridal Gown by Edwin Uy [Happy Details]

Now that we have finally posted about our happy day, it's time to talk about the details. If you've been following this blog since we got engaged, you probably noticed that though we had a ton of stories to tell, we didn't really post about the specifics. That's because we chose to keep it all to ourselves so our wedding could still have the element of surprise. Well, we can talk about everything now, yay! p.s. Please read our note about suppliers.

Hello! We're trying very hard to get all our Happy Day documentation done before our anniversary, and hopefully we'll be able to.

The husband has written about his suit (see The Groom's Suit by Edwin Uy), so now is the time to write about my gown. We chose the same designer -- Edwin Uy -- for our wedding attire. I was actually able to document almost all the details regarding the making of my dress here. [See Gown Designer - Check!, Gown Design Presentation, First Wedding Gown Fitting.] What I didn't really blog about was the final fitting (which was done the morning of my bachelorette party), the finished gown, and our experience with the designer and his team.

The dress!

Wedding Coordination by The Best-Case Scenario Events [Happy Details]

Now that we have finally posted about our happy day, it's time to talk about the details. If you've been following this blog since we got engaged, you probably noticed that though we had a ton of stories to tell, we didn't really post about the specifics. That's because we chose to keep it all to ourselves so our wedding could still have the element of surprise. Well, we can talk about everything now, yay! p.s. Please read our note about suppliers.

Since my husband and I started this blog, quite a bit of the inquiries we've gotten from brides-to-be have been about our coordinator, The Best-Case Scenario Events. Last night, I got another email from a soon-to-be bride saying that she read my post about booking with the owner, Camille Vivas, [see Wedding Coordinator - Check!] but she would really like to know how the entire coordination team did at our actual wedding. I gave her a brief overview on Best-Case, but I also promised her I would finally do this post, so here it is! Brace yourself though, because since the coordinator is the only supplier that dealt with every part of the wedding, this is going to be a long one.

Camille (in metallic gray), just looking after things at our reception. (Photo by 4play Band)