Weddings by Vatel Manila

Sunday, April 11, 2010

REAL WEDDING: NAT + GRACE (April 2010)

I was recommended to Nat & Grace by a friend of the bride, a Vatel Manila client-to-be (for November 2010). I met them on a Maundy Thursday, signed the contract on the same week of their wedding, and saw them again on the wedding day. That's just a week of preps for me, but who am I to buckle down to a challenge like this? I had free reign over the design and the choices of flowers and with a theme like Old World Vibe and with venues to match (San Agustin Church & the adjoining Museum's Inner Courtyard - acknowledged as a UNESCO World Heritage Site), it jived pretty much with our sensibility & aesthetic. We love anything vintage & Old World! I have been visiting this church & the museum since I was 7 years old and it means a great deal to me, too. :-)

The bridal bouquet is made up of 12 large peonies, all half open to reveal the paper-thin details that characterize this amazing bloom. We also added white wax flowers for texture and as a filler as well. The handle is covered in antique lace appliqué, and a vintage pendant (a gift from the groom to the bride) was added later on. The flowers for the bridal bouquet are imported from Holland.

We created these bouquets for the Moms & the Maid of Honor. The concept was to make arrangements that look "old". Yes, it's possible! It's really just a play of colors. The secret is to blot out the large flowers with lots of small ones for that added texture. See how the small and large flowers play a part in creating this look? One doesn't overwhelm the other; they complement. It also helped that we used a neutral palette. We also didn't use leaves and made sure the stems are long enough to register well on the photos.

For these bouquets, we used roses (baby pink & peach), Queen Anne's Lace, rice flowers that are multi-colored (pinks, peaches, rusty yellows) and two-toned pink Carnations. All flowers were locally sourced. No need to break the bank to create these beauties. :-)

The handles were wrapped in satin ribbons first, then a lace overlay was added. Incidentally, all the gifts of the couple were also wrapped in this manner (no, we didn't even discuss it!) so imagine the pleasant surprise the next day! Cute! :-)

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. In this case, the proof is in the overall look as captured in this (not so good) photo of the two Maids of Honor. The bouquets are not so small nor too big. Our contention has always been that if we do not get to appreciate your flowers in pictures (or video), then we've failed as a florist. We have to see things in various perspectives, not just from our own. This explains why we make large bouquets. Because they, too, deserve their own 15 minutes of fame.

Will post official photos soon. :-)

SUPPLIERS//

Entourage Flowers//

Photographer//
Dino Lara
9186 Balagtas St., Guadalupe, Makati City, Metro Manila
Numbers: 883.4408 / 0920.912.5069
Email Address: dinolaraphotography@gmail.com

Videographer//
Jason Magbanua
Unit 23 Star Centrum Condominium, 317 Gil Puyat Ave. Makati City
Numbers: 817.1989 /0920.960.2127

Caterer//
Center Table

Saturday, March 13, 2010

REAL WEDDING: ANDRE + ANGEL (March 13, 2010)

How the heck does one photograph an arm sheaf? Ha ha! Anyhow, the bridal bouquet made several changes until the gown design finally came out and we thought that an arm sheaf would be just perfect! For this, we used Cymbidium orchids, Lilac (there should be more of these now that it's Spring, but see you again in Winter anyway!), and Holland Matthiola. Black satin ribbons, white ostrich feathers, and a brooch with pendant adorn the handle. Very light, very easy to carry. I can't wait for the official photos! :-)

As most of the accessories for this wedding were fabric, including the chest corsages of the Moms & Principal Sponsors, we were able to make only four hand-tied bouquets. To compliment the scheme of deep plum & cream, we used rose cabbages, roses and berries to soften the overall look. The dresses were fitted and pleated so the pinks and the feather wisps were the perfect foil for the structured dresses, adding a soft feminine dimension.

These were last-minute changes to what originally were flower baskets. We made use of vine balls and inserted pink carnations, succulent shoots, ostrich wisps and a single black satin flower for a lite-weight, unusual accessory for the flowers girls. Oh, you should see their super cute dresses!

For the first time, we made flower pillows using all-white cluster Carnations, broken by randomly placed succulent shoots & Cattleya orchids (from Cavite). These were for the Ring & Coin Bearers. Lush & plush! :-)

ACCESSORIES by Cholo Ayuyao

Vatel Manila is happy to finally work with Cholo Ayuyao, the costume jeweler and accessories designer from Angeles City. He was featured in Wedding Essentials magazine last year. For this wedding, we contracted Cholo to make fascinators with cage veils & fabric corsages for the Moms, the Principal Sponsors, and all the rest of the ladies in the entourage. Left: The bride's fascinator / cage veil. Right: The corsages for the Moms. Everything has been meticulously hand-painted & assembled in Cholo's shop in Angeles City.

Left: The fascinator / cage veil for the Maid of Honor. Yes, compared to other weddings we see where only the bride was wearing a fascinator / cage veil, this wedding saw everyone dressed to the nines. All the ladies in the entourage either had a fabric corsage or a fascinator / cage veil. Right: The fabric corsage for the Principal Sponsors.

Left: Fascinator / cage veil for the bride's maids. Right: Detailing.

RECEPTION at the Glass Pavilion (Styling by Kaye Cunanan)

Left: Yet again, we had the chance to dress up a white cake. We rummaged through the bag of goodies the bride left with the caterer and saw strands and strands of faux pearls and tons of feathers. I mean, what's a mafia-inspired wedding without the glam? Here's our little tribute to Belle Époque (1930's version). The topper is all-black feathers that's why we can't see it, ha ha! Right: This event will be the first time, too, for the caterer to incorporate damask in their setups. This was a bolt of cloth that I bought in 2009 without no particular event in mind until I was told of this one. All coordinated - from chairs to the tables, cream / black damask on gun metal fabric with plum napkins.

Left: Couple's chairs covered in the same damask fabric. Right: Table names were from Mafia Wars, the couple's favorite online game on Facebook.

Thank you so much, Andre and Angel, for making us part of your SUPER FUN wedding! :-)

SUPPLIERS//

Entourage Flowers//

Accessories//
Cholo Ayuyao
Angeles City
Mobile: 0921.810.5538
Email: d_jeweler@yahoo.com

Caterer//

K by Cunanan Catering
c/o Kaye Cunanan
Tel. Nos. 711.0940 (look for Meg)

Friday, February 26, 2010

REAL WEDDING: LEO + MITCH (February 26, 2010)

ENTOURAGE FLOWERS BY DYLAN GOZUM

I am happy to finally make this one-of-a-kind bouquet. I must admit that I had trouble conceptualizing flowers for a black-yellow color scheme without resorting to the usual (i.e. roses / tulips). For this project, we made use of two species of succulents: the Haworthia attenuata & the Echeveria elagans (a.k.a. rose cactus). Inserted in between these two are random placements of the über cute Craspedia globosa (from New Zealand). At the base, a wrap of Cypress leaves. For the handle, a diamond brooch on a cream & black damask fabric ribbon, reflecting the couple's leitmotif. I admit this kind of bouquet has very limited appeal. It's definitely not for everyone. But, really, would you rather have a bouquet you wouldn't want to rave about to friends? *winks*

Left: The bouquets for the mothers & the Maid of Honor were composed of yellow pompon mums of the Chrysanthemum family. These are from South Cotabato (sold only in one shop in Sampaloc and planted by only one family, wow! Not available all the time though, which is good!). Inserted are random rose succulents and to top it off (quite literally) are mini Cymbidium orchids (from Holland), reflecting the couple's secondary color which is Chartreuse. Right: For the rest of the entourage, we mixed a single large rose succulent (on one side only) and pompon mums with black crystals as accessories to reflect the couple's other primary color, which is black.

Left: For the groom, we made use of a rose succulent shoot and two pieces of Craspedia. A strip of damask covers the lower portion.

RECEPTION SETUP BY K. BY CUNANAN CATERING (Styling by Lace Tan)

I am loving the black-yellow combination! Lace Tan did a great job at making this setup really come alive! Couples need not worry about using a lot of black. Just make sure to choose one (and I mean only ONE) solid color to break the monotony and you'd be fine. :-)

We had the chance to prettify the cake again that came with the package. For this one, the bride chose an all-white cake and we used black satin ribbons for the borders. We also used these nice pompon mums to brighten it up and inserted dried branches (from the Balimbing tree) and wisps of white ostrich feathers on the flower topper. I also lent a piece of damask for the cake stand.

A most beautiful wedding. We'd remember this for a long, long time. Can't wait to see the official photos! :-)

SUPPLIERS//

Entourage Flowers//

Caterer//