Walking down the Aisle...

We are now preparing for a bridal fair. Of all the projects I get commissioned to do, working for a bridal collection is one of my favorites. There is something deeply magical and emotional about weddings and it is such a privilege to be part of one of the most important events in somebody’s life. Unless you are tying the knot under duress of no less than a high caliber shotgun, most marriages, as a lot of people say, is still made in heaven. I believe this because mine is. Ten years of marriage and I still believe I married a prince although there had been times when my prince charming has been a scrawny little frog himself. There is a lot of metamorphic process that a person goes through in marriage. You can turn a frog into a prince or from a frog, well, to a bull. And as for the brides, one starts out as a princess that will eventually turn into a queen or to that of an evil witch. What makes one instead of the other is an entire alchemy subject whose formula I don’t have. Sorry, but I am neither a self help guru nor do I pretend to be one.

While wedding ceremonies seemed celestial in nature, the whole preparation itself is more earth-bound than one starry-eyed bride might think. Often this involves a long, looong process. In fact, I have known of girl friends who dream of their wedding day since 5 years old. Others even keep clippings of wedding pictures to guide them through their final choices. While the entire ceremony in itself takes less than a day, the preparation in a lot of instances, takes more than a decade.

It is no surprise that one would go through all the lengths in order to make this one momentous event as perfect as it can possibly be. The details involved in the preparation starting with the theme, to the flowers, decors, gowns and what have you is just so dizzying. We rejoice with the many options available to the most discerning and even quirky, peculiar couples, yet at the same time, the endless choices can be too confusing.

How one finally decides getting a mint green motif instead of say, sage green is a long well thought of scientific or in large part “just because I want” process which sometimes entails a lot of heartaches, arguments, and disappointments.

And so, with this in mind, you can imagine how extra challenging designing for a wedding collection both for bridal accessories and keepsakes can be. Pleasing the couple as well as the extended families in tow is a major, major task. And that’s just the quest I and the rest of my team are currently engaged in. Talk about self-imposed stress.

A few weeks ago, we’ve met with no less than the force behind Mandarin Oriental’s “Our Wedding Proposals” bridal fair. It was a serendipitous engagement because we initially contacted them for our corporate giveaways and it just so happened that they were cooking up a bridal fair at that same time. After seeing some of our samples and understanding our capabilities, they gave our team the exclusive privilege to showcase the bridal accessories and giveaways.

Our task was to come up with bridal accessories and giveaways grouped into 4 themes. The themes are: Oriental, Filipiniana, Traditional and Modern. If I was asked to define what these were, 20 years ago, I would be dumbfounded. But now, I’m simply glad that my training and designing backgrounds are sufficient to give these themes a decent interpretation and distinction. I have attached here photos of some of our works.

One good feature we offer brides and grooms is our customized design capability. With a vertically integrated full manufacturing company backing us up, I must say that there is very little that we cannot possibly do. One has just to imagine it and we would most likely be able to execute it. One interesting project we did many years back was to replicate the exact same tiara worn by Ms. Victoria Beckham during her wedding. Of course, it was a one piece deal and we had to mobilize our most skilled artisans. Likewise, the cost of in-laid Swarovski crystals alone was astounding. But hey, one gets to marry only once (for most cases) right?

All in all, it was one of our grandest and most interesting projects we’ve ever had, likewise, we definitely had one happy bride walking down the aisle. I am not sure though if I can say the same for the groom who paid for the bill. Hopefully his little tiara investment is a good start to turn his princess into a queen.

If you are in the look out for wedding accessories and giveaways, you might want to check us out during the “Our Wedding Proposal” Bridal Fair at Mandarin Oriental Manila on March 20 to 21, 2010. Or call or email us to set an appointment with our ARTIZANS Bridal team at mobile no. 0922-8699911 or email info@artizans.bz