Weddings are festivities in nature. It groups people and allows
the people who have not seen each other to interact and build linkages after
years of separation. Hence, I always say, weddings are reunion of sorts.
However, as a child, I find weddings fashion show of sorts. When someone gets
married, I always hear the hush whispers among the family members trying to
guess what the principal sponsors, secondary sponsors and guests are going to
wear during wedding day. Of course, they do this to make sure that the bride
will not be upstaged during the ceremony.
I have always taken the stand that the bride should be the most
beautiful among the entourage. I have seen weddings that the bride is upstaged
by the Maid of Honor for using flamboyant gowns. In my experience where I was
asked to be the fashion director of the wedding, I made it a point that the
center of the attraction is the bride. And I have been congratulated and thanked
for my work during those days that I do weddings in the Philippines. I have
seen a lot of weddings in the country. And despite the fact that most weddings
are now conceptualized in the country, I still find it so traditional. Not in
my 15 years of experience of being a fashion director that brides veered away
from white, cream or beige gowns. The parents, sponsors, maid of honor and the
flower girls usually use the motif colors and the bride must use the white
derivative color. This attitude is based on tradition and superstition which
has been passed from one generation to generation and has been modified also
through the changing times. But as I said, I have never seen a bride to march
along the aisle with a different gown color.
I have seen and assisted different weddings. For those that were
part of the wedding ceremony, it is a dream wedding for them. But for the
changing time, would like also to conceptualize a dream wedding which would be
a suggestion to anyone out there planning a glorious wedding ceremony.
Now let us take the month.
 |
| It is not so rainy during the months of November to mid-May in the Philippines |
Now let us take the month.
I would choose between the months of November to mid-May. The last
two weeks of May till the end of October is very rainy. This is the reason why
June is being shunned as a marrying month nowadays. It smacks into the Typhoon
month and thus it will greatly affect the grandiosity of the wedding. I can
recall a wedding when Typhoon Signal Number 3 was raised up in Northern Luzon.
And the dams released the excess water and passages along the MacArthur Highway
were impassable. I really can’t remember anymore how the wedding gown was
delivered from Manila. The best months however would be December, mid-March and
April. These months commence different festivities and would allow more people
to join your wedding celebration. However, if you are into a budget wedding you
can always go for a simple but classy RSVP wedding. In my case, I would like a
wedding that would have the grand festivity aura.
MY DREAM GOWN: What about the wedding gown? I would like a wedding gown by
Michael Cinco. In a recent fashion shoot, I saw Michael Cinco’s elaborate pink
color-based gown. It was such a stunning wedding gown from his Fall-Winter
Collection 2011-2012 and part of a Fashion Shoot entitled “Impalpable Dream of
Madame Butterfly.” It is made up of lighter floaty fabric on the skirt and layered
till the lower portion which gives a bouncy and light feeling. This gown looks
very comfortable on weddings which extend to long hours. The bodice seemed like
it is made up of a corded lace and is adorned with beads and flowerettes. The
gown also connotes vibrancy, uniqueness and good tidings. It blends with the
fiesta feeling of everyone attending the wedding. Being a non-white in color, it
has the shock value but such awe of appreciation not of disdain. The gown
however could still be on the safe side because the pink color is interspersed
with the white color. Although Michael Cinco also did a white wedding gown but
I prefer this pink ensemble for all the reasons I gave.
What made white the staple color of weddings? Well they say that
Queen Victoria in 1840 balked at tradition preferring to wear a gown of pure
white not only to signify purity but also to indicate a new reign. Since then
color white became customary. However, color of the wedding gown depends on the
style and ceremonial importance and culture of the participants. Western
culture use white to symbolize purity of the soul while in Eastern culture, red
is usually used to symbolize auspiciousness.
WEDDING LOCATION: The location of the wedding maybe varied but I
am also a hopelessly romantic person and I want it to be at the Sta. Maria de
Assunta Church of Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur. It is one of the remaining baroque
churches in the Philippines and I have seen this church, it has the grandiosity
of history and the past. And it is located on a hill overlooking the Poblacion
of Sta. Maria. The church has a separate bell tower and strong buttress to
withstand the powers of earthquakes.
WEDDING RECEPTION: After the wedding, the reception would be held
at the plaza auditorium and will have a fiesta atmosphere. There would be
colorful displays and a presentation after the post-wedding ceremony. There
would be the usual fare of Philippine food plate and of course the lechon will
never be absent.
This is just wishful thinking. My dream wedding can be scaled down
because in the provinces, weddings in the barrios are always celebrated like
these. But as I have told you, any location or any celebration for a wedding is
fine as long as love and faithfulness is the message in the air.
Photo Credits: maloucastillejos.com,
colloidfarl.blogspot.com , taraletsphotography, s4.hubimg.com, Michael Cinco featured in weddinginspirasi.com
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