It is almost customary to include an RSVP card in wedding invitations nowadays. Actually, it is customary already, in addition to the Bridal Entourage insert. Those, plus a location map, are what you typically get when you receive a wedding invitation.

Yep, RSVP cards weren’t the usual during the time of my parents. I’ve taken a look at my parents’ and my uncle’s wedding invitations (for research when I was doing my own), and they didn’t include inserts other than the Bridal Entourage.

The RSVP card was actually one of the issues my dad and I had when I was planning my own wedding. He said that he understood why we wanted to specify the reserved seats for each guest, but we do have some old-fashioned relatives who would actually find it offensive. Weird? Yeah, I thought so too. But I guess you really can’t blame them. It’s not something that they’re used to. Read more »

I was looking through my parent’s old photo albums (no, not the online kind), and had the pleasure of seeing their wedding pictures. Aside from amusing myself with my dad’s pointy collar and my mom’s ruffles, I can’t help but notice how elaborate her wedding was compared to mine.

What I mean by elaborate is, well, everything just seemed so… Fussy. The flowers (geez, her bridal bouquet looked like it weighed a ton), the gowns, the make-up, the headdress.

I’m not a fashion expert or anything, but it really seems that “simple and minimal” is the “in” style nowadays.

I couldn’t help but put my bridal photo and my mom’s side by side to compare. I’ve seen gowns with ruffles (you know, the more daring designs) and brides who actually wore them (they don’t look bad anyway if not overdone), but I’ve been seeing floral crowns less and less. The only time I’ve seen one is probably at my friend’s parent’s silver anniversary sans renewal of vows. Other than that, I haven’t been to a wedding or encountered a bride who told me they’d wear an elaborate floral crown.

Nowadays, I’ve been seeing a lot of brides who would opt for a simple flower on their hair (like, just one or two), beads, Swarovski accessories, or little tiaras. I, for one, had a tiara when I got married. I’m not really into the “princess look,” but my hair and make-up artist advised me that it would look nice (and it actually turned out quite pretty). If I had a Christmas-themed wedding, I’d probably want to put something a bit more unique, like a Poinsettia perhaps But our theme was modern Filipiniana, so the tiara worked just fine.

How about you? What would you like to put on your hair when you get married?

CREDITS: Photo by Tri-Color Studio.

Prior to her stroke, my mom had been a rabid shopper. She wasn’t a spend-thrift, mind you. She was smart. She bought our clothes and what-have-you’s in Divisoria at really low prices. I guess that’s why I always think that if you need to get something cheap, you can get it at Divisoria.

Nothing changed when I was searching for the perfect gown. Although some of my high society relatives insisted on it, I didn’t really see the need for having a designer gown. Besides, my budget couldn’t afford it.

Being the artist that I am, you really couldn’t help but want to have your entourage’s gowns be color-coordinated—and the same. My husband-to-be and I at that time didn’t have much to spend with. I was about to accept the fact that my entourage’s gowns will probably just be similarly colored (but not uniformed), until an aunt reminded me of the gowns in Divisoria. Read more »

It’s common practice that the addressing an invitation be done in calligraphy. I don’t think I’ve ever received a wedding invite that didn’t have calligraphy on the envelope. But you know what? My own wedding invitation didn’t make use of calligraphy.

Maybe it’s because weddings are usually grand affairs here in the country; the perfect excuse to dress up and experience the “elegant, high society” life (at least for one day). They usually brought to mind chandeliers, crystal goblets, and expensive china. Not to mention extravagant flower arrangements at every nook and canny of the room. With that grand a wedding, I would say it’s an insult to your invitations if the envelopes weren’t addressed using calligraphy. Read more »

This is probably one of the most exciting part of wedding planning: ring shopping! But, to be totally honest, this was the “most painful” for our pockets. Face it, rings don’t come in pancake packages—these babies aren’t cheap. But then again, I guess it will all depend on where you get the rings.

My husband, Marc, and I spent around P13,000 for our rings. Yes, P13k for both them already. And they weren’t made of silver, mind you. White gold! With a tiny, teeny weeny diamond on encrusted on each. We were on a tight budget, but we didn’t want the “symbols of our unending love” be as cheap as those things you’ll find in sterling silver shop. We wanted it to be worth something, but still within our reach. Read more »