It was not a hard decision for me to decide on this matter. For a clearer explanation, I will detail here my personal “battle” with choosing between custom-made or RTW gown.
In 2012, I had this idea I wanted to plan out a wedding, even without getting engaged. I know it’s silly but I’ve never had dreams of getting married ever since I was a little girl. I had no “dream wedding” so to speak. So there I was, I was scouring through blogs and forums about weddings, how much they cost, and the top wedding suppliers.
No doubt, for wedding dresses and gowns, one name stood out: Veluz. I looked through her portfolio and every dress was just dreamy and amazing. Then you dig and dig for more dresses, and your “ooohhhhs” and “ahhhhhhs” would never run out. This woman is simply talented!
I sent her an email, just wanting to know how much it would cost for her to design a wedding gown. At that time, her going rate for something custom-made would start at 200K pesos. Then I researched with some brides-to-be under Veluz how much their gowns were and it was about 240K.
I was stunned.
How in the world would one dress cost that much?
My mind went through a purging stage of varied thoughts:
What material do they use?
You know how much 240K is? I can buy a second-hand car with that!
That’s a down payment for a condo!
That is about 2 Macbook Pros with Retina display!
Now, I have nothing against those who opt to get Veluz. In fact, I tell them, if they can afford it, and it’s really one of their non-negotiables, then go. Why not? It’s just one day in their life they get to be a princess.
As for me, it just did not feel right for me to spend so much for a dress. I was not even close to half-convinced. It’s just plain no.
Next, I went through David’s bridal gowns. I mainly wanted to know what styles there are. I know my shape and body type so I also know which cuts suit me best. I wanted to get pegs to send to designers in Manila.
This is where I found the White by Vera Wang line. I fell in love with her work. Who wouldn’t? See, my style is always, classic, simple and I’d like to think, elegant. I was never a fan of flamboyant and outrageous clothing, nor frilly. Granted, I love color, and I mainly stand out sometimes because of my choice of cuts and colors. I am very girly; I like lace but I am not a fan of beadwork and embroidery. Well, not absolutely, totally no beadwork but, I can go without it. That’s all. Vera Wang’s designs were superb and breathtaking. They are classy and elegant without being too much.
I inquired with various designers based in Manila: Cecilio Abad, Gretchen Pitchay, Mel Orlina, Debbie Co—these were the ones I read about on the various wedding forums. I attached my peg, which was one of the Vera Wang gowns. The lowest quote I got was 40K. The most I got was 85K. I guess these were more reasonably priced and reachable for me than Veluz. But, I was still not convinced.
The dress was to be worn for one day. Never to be worn again ever ever. That amount could be put into more investments, and I didn’t need a very intricate wedding gown. Fittings are a trouble as I was based overseas. I cannot always go home to meet the designer. Again, I was not satisfied.
So I went back to the dress. Did the math.
You know how much the gown cost including everything (sash / accessories / shipping)? A little under 30K pesos. For a VERA WANG.
Then thoughts flooded me again. In ten, twenty years’ time, when I look back and talk about our wedding, I can always say, “I wore a Vera.” J It just doesn’t work when I say “I wore Mel Orlina.” I mean, Mel is pretty talented, okay! Hahaha. But yeah. I know you get what I mean as a girl. It’s just not the same!
I wore a Vera Wang.
I’m just also lucky my size is not very difficult to find a size for. I’m not stick thin nor am I a heavy weight. I’m just regular sized. I am true to fit with my sizes in Mango, Topshop, Zara. H&M, so it was quite easy to know my size for David’s bridal too.
So there. Do I even need to say it? With the help of my best friend who is based in the US, I went with the RTW wedding gown on David’s bridal. :)
I cannot wait!