Saturday, November 22

Wedding 101: Securing the stylist


I have finally secured a stylist/florist for the wedding! Woopie! After three weeks of search – and at one time seriously considering the idea of working on it by myself (you know – be a SuperBride and act as my own stylist –stupid idea, really, it's just going to drive the fiance over the edge with my crazy antics) – We have finally found a stylist that we can work with and work with our budget as well.

First Meeting: Jen Hen of D’ Flower Facade 0920-9063503

She is the sister of Jun Hen – famed stylist, who came highly recommended by my sister. Everyone I knew who came to my sister's wedding had nothing but praises for the styling that he did. So even if my sister warned that Jen might not be as good as Jun, i told her it's ok so long as she is at least 75% as good. I wasn't able to see her portfolio – cause she brought Jun’s and a bunch of books about flowers. But being the Eager Beaver Bride-To-Be that I am I really wanted the meeting to work out. And despite my discomfort about not seeing her actual work – we pushed ahead. I showed her the pegs I had for the look I was going for – for the reception, church, entourage. Being completely taken over by the wedding bug, I had already printed out more than enough pages of wedding styling days ahead and even brought along trusty laptop – just in case she needed to see my other pegs. She was very amenable to the ideas, which is a good trait you should look for in a stylist. Better, by the way she was talking about it I believed that she can actually pull off the vision. Then again, the discomfort of not seeing her actual work sinks in hours after the meeting. Another factor to note – she had limited materials to pull off the dramatic flair I wanted to incorporate. No white carpet for the church, no tables, no Tiffany chairs. (sad face)

Cost: Php 130,000 - Php 150,000 (ouch - too rich for my blood)

Second Meeting: Joyce of 2171 Flower Creations

Her portfolio was impressive. And I was really excited when I was talking to her because I knew that she can execute our vision into close to perfection. She has done similar flower arrangements before against what I wanted. Another plus factor is that she is very accommodating as readily gave out contact numbers of other wedding suppliers (for Tiffany chairs, for the sound system) however I was already getting a feeling that she might be too expensive. She kept on mentioning that we wound be using around 20-25 dozen of roses per guest table – which let’s face it doesn’t sound cheap.

Cost: Php 201,000 (church, reception background not included) – (double ouch!!)

Third Meeting: Angel of Tropical Blooms 0919-443-3936

Bad start. We were supposed to meet up by 7, but was moved to 430 to 530 and finally to 630. He is the same stylist for two of my friends who are getting married (not to each other) and his latest claim to fame was that he did Cheska Garcia’s wedding. What I like about him is that – he will take your pegs as inspiration to draw out something new that would suit your theme. The best part – he threw in 20 Tiffany Chairs for free and all the table arrangements for the presidential and VIP tables. (which was something I was worried about – seeing that Gloria Mariz only has circular tables) He even invited me to take a peek on this December 20 wedding he will be styling at One Eesplanade. To see what really is possible and what's not given the venue. After sifting through one photo after the other, I was able to make my decision.

Cost: Php 112,000 - Php 120,000 (everything included! The white carpet, the chairs, the backdrop, the tables 35 guest table arrangement, cake table arrangement, 4 VIP tables, 1 presidential table plus 4 “special” arrangement for the dance floor) – A good deal indeed I must say!!

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