the gown

i have always said that all i want in my wedding is a gorgeous wedding gown and a delicious cake.

so one of the wedding details that occupied a lot of my time was my wedding gown. i saw my dream wedding gown at a bridal fair at the intercon hotel. it was very simple but the fabric looked so creamy. it was made by njork. when i asked the staff how much it cost, i was saddened to hear that it costs P100T.

i wanted a beautiful gown but i didn't want to spend so much on a dress that i would only wear once. so, i continued my search until i found fidel marquez.

ding made all the gowns for the wedding of my friend, k. rey and i loved her gown and that of her entourage. the designs were fresh, the colors were alive and the lines of the gowns looked so clean. when i asked k about the gowns, she said that she was happy with her gown, that her designer was so nice and more importantly, her gown, together with the gowns of the entourage, their immediate family, and all the barongs and pants cost her P70T. that was value for money!

when i visited ding's shop, i was armed with pictures of the gowns and the details that i wanted. after speaking with him, he made me a design which i fell in love with. it had all the details i wanted but the gown didn't look anywhere near cluttered. it also took into account my problem area - the non-existent waistline. he also drew gown designs for my 2 nieces. when we discussed the price, he gave me options - if i wanted a gown in a nice fabric and with cut beads, i'd have to pay a reasonable amount. but if i wanted swarovksi crystals on it, i'd have to pay an extra P5t. i got the cheaper package. on the same day, i handed his partner, tani, the downpayment for our gowns.

but when i got home and told rey about it, he said that we should get the higher package since he knew that i really wanted swarovski crystals. knowing how budget conscious he was, i felt a little tingle knowing that he was willing to spend P5t more on swarovski crystals that were really just a frivolous whim. we call it "luho" in filipino. of course, i capitalized on it and immediately went to the designer to give the additional P5t.

i was originally scheduled for a fitting in october. but i got a text message from tani a few weeks ago telling me that we can have our fitting scheduled within the month. when i mentioned that the entourage members are all kids, he said that they'll really have to be fitted in october but i can have my fitting scheduled in august. when i told him that i'd rather be fitted in october, he agreed.

last week, i called up their shop because i wanted them to make the gowns for my sisters and nanay, my nanny when i was a kid. the girl who answered said that both ding and tani were in the hospital because ding had to undergo a "little" treatment.

when i called up again a few days later and requested them to make the gowns for my sisters, tani apologized and said that they were no longer accepting orders for december, january, february and march. he explained that they only accepted work that they can focus on and joked that they have no plans of getting "too rich", "rich" is enough for them. and then he suggested that we schedule my fitting next month. while i was talking to him, i had a strong feeling that they were going through tough times but they were still determined to give me the gown that i wanted.

i didn't know what to do at that time but i'm calling them up to schedule my fitting next week.

i hope everything turns out well for them.

as for my gown, well, there are things that are worth more than fabrics and crystals. if they don't deliver, i still have time to have my gown made by another designer. but in the meantime, i'm sticking with ding and tani who have proven their talent, their skills and their dedication to making their customers happy.