DIY: Wedding Cord

After two days of cutting wires, stringing beads and creating loops, I have finally made our wedding cord. Grabe lang, ang sakit pala nito sa kamay. But after seeing the finished product, it was all worth it. :)

For our cord, I used turquoise, orange and white acrylic beads, all in different shapes and sizes. I also bought silver spacers (if that is the correct term) to add more texture to the cord. And of course, let's not forget the eyepins and the jumprings to connect all the beads.

Just a tip, if you're going to go to Wellmanson to buy all your materials, make sure to visualize your cord's design so that you would have an idea what materials to used and what beads to buy. I was so overwhelmed by the choices in Wellmanson that I just grabbed whatever eyepins and beads that I could find. Then when I had finally decided on a pattern, I found out that the eyepins that I got were too short for my chosen design. I had to go back to Wellmanson's to buy longer eyepins. Pfft. Sobrang hassle.

Anyway, here is the result of my hard work and creativity. Pwede na pala akong maging DIY queen. (Feelingeran lang noh? Haha.)

I didn't want to use the usual medallion that would connect the loops so I decided to look for a cute little brooch as an alternative. However, I couldn't find the right brooch that could hold all strings together. There was actually one heart brooch, but I thought it was too bulky and a bit expensive at P50 a piece. So I just bought a pair of his-and-hers keychains and decided to use one of them as a connector. The keychain was actually the perfect choice because it has holes where I could put the jumprings used to connect the loops. Plus, the crystal on its center matches our motif perfectly. Oh diba, meant to be.

To see the step-by-step process in making this cord, just visit Tine's blog. She gives much clearer instructions than I do, so you wouldn't have a hard time making your own cord. Take it from me, I just followed the tutorial that she did to make mine. Hehe. :)

Beads Galore

Since we have a five-day vacation (hurray for Sunday holidays!), I finally have the time to start my next DIY project: our wedding cord! :)

A few weeks ago, I went to Quiapo to buy all the materials we needed:

So now, all I have to do is to use my limited DIY skills and try to make a decent wedding cord. Good luck na lang sa akin. Haha. Will update you on this project soon! :)

Christmas Greetings

To my family, friends and all the readers of my blog, I just want to say...

Enjoy the holidays! :)

Prenup Stylist: Booked!

Before, I was dead set against hiring a prenup stylist because it was an added cost to our already growing wedding expenses.  I may not be a certified fashionista, but I believe that I have enough fashion sense to do my own styling for our official prenup with Osep&Mimi. I even made an excel sheet detailing the clothes that Mox and I would wear for each set. My MOH also offered to help as our “unofficial” stylist for free, so I didn’t have anything to worry about.

But suddenly the thought of doing an outdoor prenup crossed my mind. And not just any outdoor prenup, but an out-of-town prenup at a beach! After all, since I couldn’t have my dream beach wedding, might as well have my dream beach prenup diba? I just fell in love with the idea. Ang bongga ko lang eh. Haha.

But when I looked at my closet, I didn’t have the right clothes for the look that I wanted. The clothing guide that I made was for my previous prenup concept, which was supposed to be held at an indoor venue. And the only beach clothes that I have were a bathing suit and a sarong, and there is no way that I would pose for pictures wearing only those!

My budget for a prenup stylist is only P10,000 so I couldn’t afford those who offer pull-outs. I decided to just look for one who would provide me with lookbooks that would help me find the right clothes to wear for a beach prenup. And I found just the perfect one: Aira Franco.

 

Aira is one of the popular stylists in W@W and GirlTalk. Most of her clients have been raving about her, and after exchanging emails with her, I have the same sentiments. She is just so nice! And her rates are pretty affordable too!  I got her basic package, which costs lower than my proposed budget, so hurray for savings! While she wouldn’t provide the clothes, she will provide me lookbooks and lists of specific clothes and items to bring on our shoot. So all I have to do is search for these clothes, or at least those with a similar look to it, at different shops. Oh diba, parang scavenger hunt lang. Haha!

What’s different about Aira’s styling package is that it already includes hair and makeup. She has partner makeup artist, Fritz Mortel, who would accompany her to her styling gigs. And what's even better, she has no OOT charge as long as we would provide transportation for her. So in a way, she is more affordable than an ordinary makeup artist  who would charge extra for out of town trips. May HMUA na, may stylist pa! Oh diba, ang sulit?

Since we don't have a definite date for a prenup yet, I just had to pay 20% to lock in her rates, then the next 30% during our pre-prod meeting. Oooh, I can't wait to meet with her and discuss our concept! :)

AIRA FRANCO

0917-8310558
aira@airafranco.com

Kilig Moment # 1

Last night, Mox and I had one of our usual fights where I had an epic drama tantrum about something insignificant, which led to crying, crying and more crying. As Mox was trying to pacify me, he suddenly said, "Malapit na tayong ikasal, one year na lang."

And with that, I just stopped crying and smiled. Wala lang, kinilig ako bigla eh. My seemingly unenthusiastic groom is already keeping tabs on our wedding countdown. It's just funny how one statement can make everything all right again. :)

The "No Look" First Look

I was actually all set to doing the first look with Mox because I wanted to have a private moment with him before all the chaos during our wedding day. But when I suggested this idea to him, he flatly refused to do it because he wanted to be surprised when he would see me in all my bridal glory at the church.

And while I felt kilig that he wanted to preserve that special moment, I also felt sad because I wouldn’t have any chance to be alone with him for a minute before we get married.

Then I suddenly had an inspiration when I saw what Patty Laurel did during her wedding. She and her then-fiance also had a “first look”, but with a twist! They didn’t actually see each other because they were hidden behind a big door. But they had a chance to exchange letters, talk and even hold hands! They had a private moment together without breaking tradition. Oh diba, it’s a win-win situation!

Photo grabbed from Patty Laurel's blog

I wanted the same thing for our wedding. And since Mox doesn’t want to see me before we get married, then I’d just find a way to hide myself from him and yet have a chance to hug, kiss and talk to him. I could do what Patty did—hide behind a door—or I could blindfold him! That way, I won't be too worried that he would get a glimpse of me wearing my bridal gown.

Here are some pictures of the "no look" first look that I got from the Internet.

Of course, if Mox still doesn't want to do this, then maybe we could just have breakfast together on that day. Hehe.

Boudoir Anyone?

Wedding photographers offer several services for couples who want to immortalize their wedding journey in thousands of photos. These shoots include prenups, post-nups and even trash-the-dress sessions. But now, a new genre of photography is slowly making waves in the wedding industry and is especially popular among brides: the boudoir session.

What exactly is a boudoir session? The term boudoir is derived from the French verb bouder, which means “to be sulky”. Literally, a boudoir is a women’s private bedroom or dressing room.  Now a boudoir shoot involves taking sensual or sexually suggestive photos of brides (or sometimes even couples) wearing lingerie or even nothing at all! This may seem scandalous for some, but more and more brides are warming up to the idea, which is why many photographers now offer this kind of service.

A boudoir shot

I have to admit, I used to frown on the thought of doing a boudoir session. No, I’m not being a conservative manang; I'm just not comfortable of bearing my skin in front of strangers. I have so many flabby body parts! Plus, I don't have any nice lingerie to wear. Batang Soen kasi ako eh.

But when Tine, a fellow bride, asked me and another friend if we wanted to do a group boudoir session with her, I just couldn’t resist. Sorry naman, mahilig ako sa pictures eh. Haha. Seriously, I guess deep down, I just wanted to experience it before I get married. Just so I can show my future kids that I was once a sexy, young woman. In short, may asim pa ang mudra nila. Hahaha!

So why the sudden interest in doing a boudoir session? Here are my reasons:

1. It can be a wedding gift for Mox. Most brides would do boudoir shoots so they can give the pictures to their grooms as a wedding present. Mox is not really a fan of the whole scrapbook thing, but maybe a photo album filled with pictures of me wearing lingerie would change his mind. Haha.
2. More pictures, more fun. I'd love to have more pictures durintig the whole wedding preps thing, and a boudoir photo shoot would be another remembrance of these stressful yet happy times.
3. It will give me the confidence that I badly need. This is actually the main reason why I decided to have one. I am not in love with the body that I have. In fact, there are times that I downright hate it. During my bouts with low self-esteem, I would wear frumpy clothes because I thought it would cover up my flaws. But I am amazed how women, sometimes even those who have a bigger frame than I do, can pose sexily without any inhibitions. I want that kind of confidence. I also want to feel sexy, and I want the whole world to know that I'm sexy! (Well, maybe not the whole world. Siguro si Mox na lang. Haha.)

And so I agreed to do the group boudoir shoot with my friends. And not only that, I even bid for a boudoir session with Mad Hatter Studios, which I won. Oh diba, aayaw ako kunwari tapos biglang dalawa pa lang boudoir shoots gagawin ko. Haha!

This was actually a surprise for Mox, but I couldn't help but tell him about my plan. At first, he was so against the idea. I guess he didn't want me to be posing around in lingerie, especially since Mad Hatter has a male photographer. He kept on telling me that I didn't have to do this for him. In reality, I'm actually doing this for myself. The gift to him is just an added bonus.

So now, I'm already searching for pegs and thinking of possible outfits to wear to my boudoir shoots. I'm feeling nervous yet excited about this! :)

Designer Meeting # 1: Garrey Garduque of Jose Domingo Bride

I have already booked my wedding gown couturier, but being a fickle-minded bride, I still toyed with the idea of having a designer-made gown. So I set up some meetings with other designers to see whether a custom-made creation would fit my bduget. This was also a good way to get a designer's point of view on my gown pegs. Baka nagmamaganda ako sa gown, yun pala chaka-ness siya. Haha.

My first meeting was with Garrey Garduque of Jose Domingo Bride. He has just started his own clothing line after working with Religioso for about 10 years (if I heard him right). So his rates are still pretty affordable. He initially quoted me P30,000 for my peg, but agreed to lower it to P25,000. Hurray for my haggling skills! Haha. :)

His shop is located in David Building along Shaw Boulevard. The building is a bit scary, parang abandoned building ang drama. Once you enter Garrey's shop, you can see his sewers making some of the dresses. There are also some finished gowns hanging on the side and even some barongs too. I particularly liked the flower girl dresses. They were all so cute! :)

Garrey's style was all about the bride's back. He loves showing it off in his designs, leaving it bare or sometimes covering it up with illusion tulle with embroidery as seen below:

Photo from his website

Photo from his website

This was a plus point for me because this is what I wanted for my wedding gown. During our meeting, he showed me a gown top with tulle overlay and lace appliqués. In fairness, ang ganda nung damit!

I then showed him my chosen peg to get his inputs about it. He liked the design, but he said that a  gown with a drop waist would not look good on me. A natural waist would look better on my frame since it would give me longer legs. He also didn’t like the corset back because he said it was appropriate for a debutante dress, not for my wedding gown. Instead, he suggested a zipper back and pearl buttons. I'll take a note of that. Hehe.

The meeting lasted only about 20 minutes because he was busy finishing all the gowns, especially since it is already the peak season for weddings. He wasn't able to sketch a design though, so I really couldn’t visualize what he wanted for my gown. Sayang!

JOSE DOMINGO BRIDE
Rm 106 David Building, Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong
josedomingobride@gmail.com

Wedding Gown Pegs Part 2: Maggie Sotero

When I started searching for gown pegs, I fell in love with chiffon gowns because I love how flowy and soft they are—perfect for my beach-themed wedding. But when I fitted one chiffon gown in Ivory and White, I didn't like how the gown made me looked like a frumpy little bride. :( It turned out that gowns with a fitted bodice and a slim A-line or semi-serpentine silhouette look better on my body. Ruchings and pleats on the bodice are a plus because they would hide my flabby tummy. Hehe.

And so I had to search for new gown pegs with that design in mind. Here are some of the gown pegs that I found, which are all from Maggie Sotero's collections.

Debbie

Belize

Melissa Brooch

Coco

 

Kailani

Bianca

Dixie

These are all strapless gowns, but I'll ask my couturier to create a tulle or lace illusion neckline to cover up my pimply back. I'm so excited. I can definitely imagine myself wearing one of these gowns! :)

The Road to 25

I'm feeling a bit sentimental right now because today's my 25th birthday. Wow, I can't believe that I'm already part of the mid-20's group. Ang tanda ko na! Simula na ba ito ng quarter-life crisis?

When I was younger, I thought that by the time I turn 25, I would already: 1) marry my high school crush; 2) live in a mansion in Forbes Park; 3) be a famous TV reporter; and 4) travel around the world. Oh diba, ang taas ng pangarap ko! But come to think of it, none of my childish dreams came true. My life is practically the same, only I have more responsibilities and less money. Haha!

But still, there were a lot of unforgettable moments during my 25 years here on Earth. While I didn't travel all around the world, I was still able to visit countries in Southeast Asia, and even the Middle East!

Family bonding in Hong Kong

With the giant Buddha in Thailand

Pictorial at the Angkor Wat in Cambodia

Hanging out at Sentosa in Singapore

Visited Burj al Arab in Dubai

I was also fortunate enough to tour some of the provinces in the Philippines. Iba talaga ang ganda ng Pinas. 

Shopping in Vigan, Ilocos Sur

At the Bangui Windmills in Ilocos Norte

Jump shot on the sand dunes of Ilocos Norte

Camwhoring in Cal-lao Cave in Cagayan

Emo moment in Siquijor

With the BIG fishies in Gen San

Wearing a native costume in Saranggani

Zipline in Lake Sebu

The city hall of Sultan Kudarat

Swimming in Samal Island, Davao

Skywalk in Cebu

Soul searching at the Chocolate Hills in Bohol

Sunbathing in Bantayan Island, Cebu

There were also a lots of firsts, which were things that I thought I would never do.

First time to go white water rafting

First time to swim with the dolphins

First time to eat something that is alive

First time to sleep in an airport

First time to go rappeling

First time to watch hot, naked men model

First time to ski (in artificial snow)

Best of all, I met the two new loves of my life.

My dog, Bacon

My fiance, Mox

Thank you Lord for 25 wonderful years! :) I look forward to the new adventures that the next 25 years would bring!