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

Bridesmaids Day

Last March 24 was my Bridesmaids Day. It was the day when they tried their gowns on for alternations. Our dressmaker had to cut sections of the dresses so they were still far from finished. Like last time, it was held at my brother and sis-in-law's other house in Marikina. The dresses were actually a nice surprise. We didn't think the color combo would work - it was such a risk - but it turned out great. The dresses look so summery! My cousin Lek says they're mannequin dresses - they look pretty normal on the hanger but they magically morph into something else when worn. Here go the pics!

My girls' frocks!

A Day with my Matron of Honor

Last Friday was spent with my Matron of Honor. Hazel is my best friend and our friendship goes all the way back to high school. She had a prior commitment and couldn't make it to the bridesmaids' dress fitting last Sunday, so we did her fitting in advance.

She picked me up bright and early at my apartment and we hied off to Dapitan. We met up with my sis-in-law Ate Weng, and we went over to The Secret Creations for her fitting.

She asked for a lower back! Haha. Kuya Edgar obliged.

We were there about 30 minutes flat, but a ridiculously heavy downpour suddenly happened just as we were leaving. We dropped off my sis-in-law at UST Grad School and then went on our way. We got to Espana and it was flooded like hell after only just 15 minutes of rain! We spent an hour there because traffic was slow-going and we just couldn't get to Welcome Rotonda no matter how hard we tried. We were worried that her car was going to stall the entire time! Thankfully some people on the street gave us directions to an alternative route and the rain had stopped by the time we got to E. Rodriguez. Then we encountered more traffic around Greenhills. We ended up having an adventure on the road for about two and a half hours! 

Really heavy downpour at UST

Wow UST solid ka talaga sa baha. Ang bilis lang, grabe na tubig agad kanina.

Hazel and I held our breaths every time we went through a flooded area! 

Final Food Tasting and Dress Check

Last February 10 was yet another busy Sunday for me and the fiance. We were all over Manila, but we were just glad we were getting things done.

The first order of business that day was our final food tasting at our caterer, Josiah's. We already had a general food tasting last August, but this one was the part where we got to choose from their menu items and make our own menu for our wedding. We found out that their office is in alien Marikina, and luckily, my brother and sis-in-law live just a block away from their office - they could show us the way and we wouldn't get lost. We met up with my sis-in-law Ate Weng at SM Marikina, and she was only supposed to show us the way to the place, but we ended up taking her along because we were almost late and we didn't have the time to drop her off at her house. We were actually glad she came with us because she's such a picky eater that there were actually weddings that she attended where she only ate bread and soup because she didn't like the food. She was our impromptu tie-breaker.

So Aleq, Ate Weng, and I got there, met up with our banquet and events consultant Karla, and she had the food served to us immediately. We were served small portions since it was just a food tasting and we brought an unannounced person with us, heh. Still, we were all pretty stuffed afterwards and couldn't finish the food! Friends, because of this, we're pretty sure you won't go hungry at our wedding.

Raspberry iced tea. Aleq likes it, I like dalandan juice, so we got both. 

A Day with My Girls

Last January 20, I spent a day with my girls - specifically, my bridesmaids, junior bridesmaid, flower girl, and my future mother-in-law. The dressmaker had to take their measurements, and my brilliant sis-in-law, Ate Weng, thought of inviting them over to her and my brother's house in Marikina. We all met up at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Araneta and convoyed to the house.

It was a lot of fun having everyone there! Most of my girls actually know each other already (they somehow met at my Yellow Pad and my parties over the years), but I'm glad the ones who didn't know each other do now. Ate Weng and Kuya Manny prepared a feast for us. There was baked mac, bopis, sweet and sour fish, laing, gising gising, sinigang na hipon, and fruit salad. It was funny because we were going to get measured for our dresses, and our tummies were so full! I also gave them my Will You Be My cards that day and we discussed what shoes they needed to get, what kind of jewelry, how their hair should look, etc. The meetup was a really great idea because I got to address everyone's questions in one go. Oh and our junior groomsman and ring bearer were there too, so that was really cool as well.

Thank you so much to my girls (aka my official beeyatches haha) Lek, Hazel, Sheva, Cielo, Mel, also to Aleq's mom Tita Inty and cousin Aielle, plus my cousin Ate Bing and kids Cyrene, Kyle, Carlos for giving me a bit of their time today. Thanks as well to my friends' hubbies JP and Felix, and also to Kuya Edgar, my dressmaker, for going all the way to Marikina. Most of all, thanks to my sis-in-law Ate Weng, my bro Kuya Manny, and nephew Rein for organizing and hosting this mini-party - they're the best! We missed you, Sheila, Emz, and Hilda!

Aielle, our Junior Bridesmaid and Aleq's cousin, in front of the food smorgasbord, heh.