II. Wedding Dress: White Lily Bridal by Patty Valle

If I'm not mistaken, ito ang pinakaunang wedding supplier na na-book namin. 

Even before the church and reception. 

I was thinking kasi na if ito ang inuna ko and tagilid yung dress, I would have plenty of time to fix it or look for another.

As you may have already read from my previous blog post, I tried different wedding dresses from Divisoria na nakatulong sa aking makapagdecide kung anong dress ang gusto ko talaga.

Convenient and comfortable. Yun ang naisip ko.

Sa design, I had these specifics in mind: high collar, cap sleeves, tea length, lace detail, with pocket, corset-type.

Yup, I wrote it down in my notes para di ko makalimutan.

1. High collar.

Because simply that's what I like. 

Kahit dito sa pinas na mainit ang weather, gusto ko talaga ng ganun. I remember, turtleneck pa yung nilagay ko sa wishlist ko for the Christmas party when I was still working in the corporate world. 😆

2. Cap sleeve. 

My neck can deal with the heat, but my arms can't. So high collar is enough. Long sleeves would be uncomfortable for me. I can't choose sleeveless din because my armpit is not that great. So cap sleeves it is.

3. Tea length. 

This was my initial idea because we were going for a homey kind of wedding. Sobrang simple lang and restaurant ang reception. But I scrapped this from my ideal design kalaunan dahil I realized mataba nga pala ang paa at binti ko, and hindi ako ganun katangkaran. I don't think I can pull it off.

4. Lace detail. 

Yesss, I really want this, but not for the whole dress. Gusto ko siya sa top part for an elegant look and then free flowing naman na kind of cloth sa bottom ang naiimagine kong gusto ko.

5. With pocket. 

Definitely! I don't have a maid of honor who would carry my stuff during the wedding so I was hoping I could find a dress na may pocket para paglagyan ko ng phone and hanky. I don't want to carry a pouch or anything kaya ibubulsa ko na lang sana. 

6. Corset-type. 

This was optional for me, but it would be great kung makahanap ako ng ganito that would go well with the above specifics. Kasi at least, kung mag-gain man ako ng weight on the wedding itself, the fitting would not be a problem dahil adjustable sa likod. Too bad I didn't push this. This was one of my mistake, I guess. 🤦‍♀️ If you are still undecided with your wedding dress, I highly recommend you consider the corset-type para tinatali na lang sa likod and hindi mo na poproblemahin kung tumaba o pumayat ka man sa wedding mo, you can easily adjust it.

Sooo, yun ang mga nasa isip ko na hahanapin ko sa isang dress, except the tea-length.

And guess what? I found it!

After ng di ko mabilang na pagsisearch sa net gabi-gabi, I finally found it. Medyo naging emotional pa ako on the inside because I didn't expect na mahahanap ko yung dress na nasa isip ko. 🥲

It's this one!

Hindi man siya super high collar, but it's perfect for me!

This was a dress from Rosa Clara, named Benin, a part of their Bridal 2022 collection.

I inquired kung available siya dito sa Philippines.

It wasn't available for fitting, but it was available for order.

Considering the price of the dress (Php 344,000), I wouldn't take the risk though.

Kasi paano kung hindi pala bagay sa akin? Or paano kung hindi ko pala magustuhan in person?

Gusto ko muna sanang maisukat to see.

But I wouldn't spend that much for a one-time dress.

Forever na lang siya sa puso ko, ang aking TDTGA. The dress that got away. 😆

At least I know my idea existed.

I would just have to find another one na pasok pa rin sa criteria ko.

Bakit hindi ko na lang ipagaya o ipatahi, you might ask.

Madali magpatahi, pero mahirap manggaya.

Kaya I was searching for a RTW dress para gawa na mismo and I can manage my expectations, and at least siya mismo ang nagdesign.

After nights of searching again, I found this dress from Patty Valle's White Lily Bridal RTW collection.

Medyo hawig sa Benin dress in a sense na high-neck siya, lace ang top at free flowing ang bottom.

Dalawa na lang ang kulang sa naiisip ko: ang gawin siyang cap sleeve at lagyan ng pocket.

I sent an inquiry sa kanilang Facebook page to ask kung possible na magawang cap sleeve at malagyan ng pocket yung dress and they said yes!

It would be for a Php 5,000 modification fee.

The Svetlana was priced at Php 13,500 back then.

I was so happy and booked an appointment with them para matingnan at maisukat yung dress.

FYI, it is made to order.

I would fit the dress from their wardrobe just to see kung bagay ba sa akin, but they will sew a new dress my size.

Appointment fee was Php650 which would be deducted from the price of the dress.

The dress for fitting was what their model actually wore kaya medyo mahaba at malaki sa akin, but boy, I fell in love with the dress I even cried! 😭

Thankful to Rara for accommodating me and helping me fit the dress.

Medyo kita yung flabs ko, but good thing is sa mismong dress ko ay tataasan nila ng konti sa likod para hindi masyadong revealing at pwede pang bawasan kung gusto ko pang magpakita ng more skin.

Binigyan din niya ako ng option na tela para sa bottom which was a beautiful one too, kaso hindi na siya free-flowing at madali magusot, so I sticked to the original cloth.

This was from the first fitting of my dress:

Hindi pa muna nila ginawang cap sleeve to check kung okay na sa akin yung short sleeve. And yes, okay na okay na sa akin itong short sleeve.

Rara would cut the length of my dress while I was wearing my wedding shoes para saktong sakto ang haba and para hindi na ako hahawak hawak pa sa dress habang naglalakad. Iwas-talisod na rin and it looks nice.

One issue na I wasn't ready to compromise yet was the pocket.

They did it as I requested, kaso it wasn't flattering to look at. 😔

Obvious siya and lalong magbubulk kapag nilagyan ko na ng phone at hanky.

Rara was telling me lots of reasonable reasons to go with no pocket, but I was stubborn, hindi ko pa ma-let go ang idea ko ng pocket.

So susubukan daw nila ng mas manipis na tela ang gamitin dun for my next fitting.

Ang consequence though is kapag sa next fitting pa ako magdedecide na tanggalin, may fee na for the adjustment.

But masyadong closed ang isip ko sa panahong ito and I was really in for the pocket so I proceeded.

Come my next fitting, medyo hindi na nga halata ang pocket.

Pero magbubulk talaga kapag nilagyan ko na ng gamit. 😔

Kung alam ko lang na ganito, I would have gone sa other cloth that was offered to me from day one, yung madali magusot but I bet hindi magiging problem ang pocket doon. 

Although that would compromise yung flowy effect, at least I have the pocket that I really wanted.

But we've come this far and it was already June and ayaw ko ng pasamain ang loob ng gumagawa ng dress ko kung papapalitan ko pa ng tela at baka may additional fee pa rin yun, so mabigat man sa loob ko, I finally gave in to removing the pocket.

Good bye, my pocket..

What I appreciate though is naglagay si Rara ng loops sa train ng dress which I can tie sa lace na tinahi niya sa loob para I have the option na paiklihin ito.

That way, pwede kong itali yung train kapag nasa reception na para mas makagalaw galaw ako (kaso hindi ko nagawa sa actual day! 😅 Everything happened so fast I wasn't able to process it. Sayang yung pagpapractice ko. Haha)

I also bought a veil similar to what I wore from my first fitting.

Sabay ko na yung makukuha sa next na pagpunta ko dahil removal na lang ng pocket ang adjustment na gagawin.

I finally met Ms. Patty when I went to get my dress and veil.

I did the final fitting with the veil, and yes, I cried again. 🤣

Kahit wala na akong picture dito, I am really thankful to Rara for accommodating me from the first day until my final fitting.

Ang dami niyang suggestions and advices, mga do's and don'ts.

Ang haba rin ng patience niya sa akin at hindi ko siya kinakitaan ng pagkairita. 

Ipinaramdam niya sa akin na this is my day and I have the right na makuha yung gusto ko for my day. First time ko ma-spoil ng ganito kaya medyo nahihiya ako. 🫣

Back to my dress, it came with bag/cover and also a free mask na similar ang cloth sa aking dress.

Naitutupi siya in half tulad ng nasa above photo.

Fast forward sa wedding day, dahil naaligaga ako and nakalimutang ibalik sa ayos ng photographers yung dress ko after nilang gamitin for photoshoot, I forgot to wear the lace dahil wala na siya sa hanger.

Inilaglag na lang pala basta sa dress bag kaya nawala na rin sa isip ko. 😓

But nonetheless, the dress was really beautiful!

Ang fault ko nga lang ay, like I previously said, I haven't opted in a corset-type.

Akala ko mas makakapagpapayat ako until the wedding day, kaso kabaligtaran ang nangyari. 

Medyo tumaba ako kaya nahirapan akong isara yung zipper.

Nagpatulong pa ako sa friend ko. 😅

Kahit inapply na yung turo ni Rara kung paano isara sa likod ng hindi nagmumukhang cleavage yung likod, ramdam ko ang mga taba kong lumalaban. 🤣

Pati ang puson ko sa harapan gusto ring maghello. Haha

So for the future brides, you can avoid this kung de tali ang likod ng dress niyo.

Save yourselves from that kind of mishap. Corset back is a must! Para hindi niyo na problemahin kung pumayat o tumaba man kayo sa araw ng kasal niyo. 😉

But nonetheless, I am very happy with my dress and am fortunate na nakita ko ito. 😊

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