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 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.

Dressmaker - Check!

Hello! It's been a while. So where have we been? Well life recently threw us for a loop, but we're all good and now really in the thick of wedding preparations. Just because nothing has been happening on this blog doesn't mean nothing has been happening in real life. We've managed to get stuff done, so finally, here's an update.

First of all finding a dressmaker for my entourage dresses and my reception dress: done. My awesome sister-in-law, Ate Weng, knew this guy, Edgar Basilan, who runs a dress shop called The Secret Creations. The fiance and I met up with my sis-in-law, brother, and nephew and paid the dressmaker a visit last December 23. 

It was a good first meeting. I showed him my peg for the entourage dress, and also my reception dress. We talked about the dress details and then we picked swatches. The fiance also looked at swatches for his suit, though he ended up not getting Edgar's services for it.