With only eight months left before our wedding, I had another change of heart with one of our booked suppliers. This is actually one of the disadvantages of having long wedding preparations; I am often tempted to change suppliers whenever I'd see someone who tickles my fancy. Of course, I must resist the temptation to do so because of budget issues, but this time, I had to give in to my urges. This is my dream gown that we're talking about, people!
You see, I only set a maximum budget of P20,000 for my wedding gown since I was not comfortable to spending too much for a dress that I will wear for one day. And yet, I still dreamed of wearing a designer-made wedding gown. Ang labo ko diba? I know my budget is not enough for a designer gown so I settled for a well-known couturier that can copy my peg. I've heard great reviews about Jeff House of Fashion so I decided to book them.
But then Mox decided to increase our budget for my wedding gown as his gift to me. He allowed me to look for designers who are willing to make my gown for P30,000; P35,000 at the maximum. One of my W@Wie friends recommended her designer, Gretchen Pichay. Gretchen is actually one of the more famous gown designers, which was why I hesitated to inquire with her. I thought her starting price would be too much for me, but surprisingly, her minimum rate is actually very affordable. My friend has the same budget that I have, and Gretchen was able to sketch a design for her that was within her budget. And so I decided to set a meeting with her to see whether she could do the same for me.
Together with other W@Wie brides, I went to Gretchen's house in New Manila. Upon entering her house, we immediately saw her production area, where ladies were sewing and working on different wedding gowns. That was a plus point for me because I can immediately sense that she's very hands-on with every wedding gown: from the design to the production.
We were starstruck when we first saw Gretchen. Ang ganda niya promise! She was all smiles as we all sat down to discuss my pegs. She was able to give out suggestions on how my dream gown would look, but I had to let go of my dream ruffled skirt because it would cost at a minimum of P45,000. So I asked Gretchen to sketch a new design that has a simpler skirt but with a more detailed top. The new design must also fit my budget! And she gave me these two sketches.
Her sketches may seem simple, but that is actually Gretchen's style. She's more into the elegant, clean aesthetics of the gown, making the silhouette its focal point. She suggested to use Mikado Silk as the base of my skirt and then Taiwan Jusi over it to make the skirt look softer. She also plans to put in lot of lace appliques on my top. Here are some of the laces that she can use for my top.
I am not a fan of lace but I fell in love with Gretchen's lace swatches! Look how pretty they are! Some laces look as if they were used to make my grandmother's veil, but not this one. Pang-mayaman ata ito! Tignan mo, may bling-bling ang lace. Haha! The materials definitely do not look cheap. Even if her design is simple, my gown will still look classy and elegant because of the materials and laces that she will use.
Her quote for me is P35,000, which is higher than the rest of the designers' quotes but at least it is still within our budget. Her package includes all bridal accessories, the body form and free on-the-day assistance. However, I'm her second bride on our wedding date so she won't be able to personally assist me during that day because she would have to attend to the first bride. But she assured me that it wouldn't be too much of a downside because her staff is capable enough to dress me up even without her there supervising. I trust her naman so I quickly gave her my downpayment to reserve my date. Excited lang. Haha.
So there, I am now officially a Gretchen Pichay bride! Yey! Yung lace talaga niya ang humuli sa kiliti ko. I My measurement-taking is set in November so now I have roughly two months left to "try" (keyword is TRY) to lose some weight. I still have to let Anna of Jeff House of Fashion know about this though. I'll probably get them to do my prep dress so that my downpayment would not go to waste. Okay, time to search for prep dress pegs!
GRETCHEN PICHAY
6 Sunset Hill, New Rolling Hills Subd., New Manila, QC
0917-5349135
gretchen_diane@yahoo.com
You see, I only set a maximum budget of P20,000 for my wedding gown since I was not comfortable to spending too much for a dress that I will wear for one day. And yet, I still dreamed of wearing a designer-made wedding gown. Ang labo ko diba? I know my budget is not enough for a designer gown so I settled for a well-known couturier that can copy my peg. I've heard great reviews about Jeff House of Fashion so I decided to book them.
But then Mox decided to increase our budget for my wedding gown as his gift to me. He allowed me to look for designers who are willing to make my gown for P30,000; P35,000 at the maximum. One of my W@Wie friends recommended her designer, Gretchen Pichay. Gretchen is actually one of the more famous gown designers, which was why I hesitated to inquire with her. I thought her starting price would be too much for me, but surprisingly, her minimum rate is actually very affordable. My friend has the same budget that I have, and Gretchen was able to sketch a design for her that was within her budget. And so I decided to set a meeting with her to see whether she could do the same for me.
Together with other W@Wie brides, I went to Gretchen's house in New Manila. Upon entering her house, we immediately saw her production area, where ladies were sewing and working on different wedding gowns. That was a plus point for me because I can immediately sense that she's very hands-on with every wedding gown: from the design to the production.
We were starstruck when we first saw Gretchen. Ang ganda niya promise! She was all smiles as we all sat down to discuss my pegs. She was able to give out suggestions on how my dream gown would look, but I had to let go of my dream ruffled skirt because it would cost at a minimum of P45,000. So I asked Gretchen to sketch a new design that has a simpler skirt but with a more detailed top. The new design must also fit my budget! And she gave me these two sketches.
Her sketches may seem simple, but that is actually Gretchen's style. She's more into the elegant, clean aesthetics of the gown, making the silhouette its focal point. She suggested to use Mikado Silk as the base of my skirt and then Taiwan Jusi over it to make the skirt look softer. She also plans to put in lot of lace appliques on my top. Here are some of the laces that she can use for my top.
I am not a fan of lace but I fell in love with Gretchen's lace swatches! Look how pretty they are! Some laces look as if they were used to make my grandmother's veil, but not this one. Pang-mayaman ata ito! Tignan mo, may bling-bling ang lace. Haha! The materials definitely do not look cheap. Even if her design is simple, my gown will still look classy and elegant because of the materials and laces that she will use.
Her quote for me is P35,000, which is higher than the rest of the designers' quotes but at least it is still within our budget. Her package includes all bridal accessories, the body form and free on-the-day assistance. However, I'm her second bride on our wedding date so she won't be able to personally assist me during that day because she would have to attend to the first bride. But she assured me that it wouldn't be too much of a downside because her staff is capable enough to dress me up even without her there supervising. I trust her naman so I quickly gave her my downpayment to reserve my date. Excited lang. Haha.
So there, I am now officially a Gretchen Pichay bride! Yey! Yung lace talaga niya ang humuli sa kiliti ko. I My measurement-taking is set in November so now I have roughly two months left to "try" (keyword is TRY) to lose some weight. I still have to let Anna of Jeff House of Fashion know about this though. I'll probably get them to do my prep dress so that my downpayment would not go to waste. Okay, time to search for prep dress pegs!
GRETCHEN PICHAY
6 Sunset Hill, New Rolling Hills Subd., New Manila, QC
0917-5349135
gretchen_diane@yahoo.com
I wish my H2B will also allow me to have a budget of 20-30k wedding gown. Medyo kuripot kasi and he wants me to just look for something on the 10k range. AIGOOO!!!
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