Peso Power: Php 53,000 – bridal gown with free reception dress, 2
mothers, 3 SS, 4 FG. Php 5000 one pina-jusi barong set for papa
Recommendable
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| with Jef: our first meeting, during one of the fittings and on the wedding day |
He was referred by Anna Mexicana,
and since his shop then was near our place, I decided to set a meeting with
him. Honestly, I never felt a “this-is-it” feeling to him or to any of my
suppliers. I believe my process of choosing my suppliers is way different from
all the other brides, I always think of my budget first – if it is affordable
or within my budget, then I will set a meeting. 2nd and 3rd
will be the chemistry between me and the supplier based on our meetings or exchanges
of correspondence, and the service, craftsmanship, creativity, talent and
performance. Usually this one will be base on recommendations and portfolio, so
it’s not always 100% sure that it will work for you too. So I will always rely
to my gut feel and the chemistry we have.
Jef seems to know his craft. The
design sketches he made for me on the spot were pretty. He came up with a
design that I have in my mind but didn’t mention it to him but I just told him
that the dress should create an illusion of height and svelte body as much as
possible. He was able to give me a discount so that I can afford him base on my
budget, and he is good-looking (did I mentioned about my “thing” for suppliers
who are good looking or presentable?), he was nice, and his shop is near my
place it will be convenient for my sister to do some follow ups if required, so
I booked him.
I paid the 50% DP before going
back to Bangladesh. And then after a few weeks, I heard a negative story about
him. But I really don’t want to dwell on it, and I want to keep my trust on
him. After all, I don’t know the real story from both sides and I believe there
are different experiences for different people and different chemistry too.
And I prefer to believe Jef’s side of the story. It got me worried too
especially that I’m an overseas bride; I can’t just throw-away the DP just
because “someone I don’t know personally had a bad experience with him”. I just
really have to have trust and faith in him that he will be able to deliver what
is required and expected from him, so I still push through with him.
It was easy transacting with him.
I have a total of 5 fittings with him and the fun part is, every time I had a
fitting, there are changes. My gown design which has a modified a-line
silhouette is continuously changing to suit me well, because during the last 3
months prior to my wedding date, I enrolled in Gold’s Gym to help me lose
weight and to tone my body.
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| the evolution of my bridal gown and me |
An endless revision – from the original tulle long
sleeves because I want to hide my big arms, to quarter sleeves because I heard
Joed saying that long sleeves will make someone who is already petite looks more smaller in a
bad taste and because I notice all the Bangladeshi relatives had a long-sleeves
bridal gown, and finally to off-shoulder – low back – plunging neckline gown. And the final fitting, I was with my mom and
mom-in-law and we were all awed with the gown and how it suited me well.
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| Back details: before and after |
Pro:
- My gown is beautiful, it fits me
well. My honey loves it too. I feel like a princess in my gown.
- His shop is near my place - first it was in V.Luna and now, it's in Scout borromeo cor. Sct Ybardolaza.
- Easy to talk with regarding
changes, he is open to suggestions and opinions too. He will not impose on you
what he wants but rather he will give you advice and enlighten you to help you
decide with what you really want. He was supportive also especially when I was
trying to lose weight. And keeps on reminding me that I need to have confidence
to make justice to the gown.
- My 2nd gown, which was
supposed to be my reception dress, looks elegant even if it is made entirely of
a tulle-like material. I wore it on in our reception here in Bangladesh.
- He was able to deliver according
to our schedule, and even finalize the dresses of my mom, mom-in-law and sister
after their first and final fitting which was 5 days before the wedding day.
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| My mom's gown and my papa's barong |
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| Mom-in-law's gown |
Con:
- There are times that he does not reply to your emails simply because according to him, there’s nothing to say anyway. As for me, if you really value your client or respect them, you should still reply just to acknowledge that you did read the email and got the message.
- Sometimes, it’s tough to fix the fitting schedule but he can be flexible with the timings. I just don’t like it when he tries to change the timing a few hours before the said schedule. If it is just me, it’s ok because I can easily adjust my timings since I’m at home most of the time but for my FG’s moms it is not easy or acceptable.
- And, he made a mistake with the color of the fabric. Our original colors were the violet and green of Barney. My sister told me that I’m a “nice bride” because I didn’t require Jef to change all 4 dresses. I just told him to change the MOH’s dress and use the original color that we agreed and just retained the SS dresses as it is. And, this mistake turns out to be a good one because on the wedding day, all my female entourages look good in their dresses. And all my SS prefers the lilac shade over the Barney shade, it's a good thing then that Jef made a mistake and I didn't require him to change it.
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| Our entourage |
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| MOH's gown: the first picture with the wrong color of fabric and the final output. |
Except for my gown, my MOH’s and
3 FG’s, the rest of the female entourages has to send their measurements since
they’re not base in manila. I don’t know if this is the reason why some of the dresses
are ill-fitting. The bust padding of my sister’s gown was not right on the spot,
though it isn’t noticeable. The candle sponsor’s
gown looks short and the top part looks too-low that anytime her twins will be
exposed, I’m just glad she wore it with confidence. One of the little girls
dress was too short and tight for her. The neckline of my mom-in-law’s dress
doesn’t look straight also. And, I don’t know why all zippers are visible.
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| Secondary sponsors gowns |
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| Flower Girls |
- I just notice it now, the final reception dress was not according to what he told me, it should be in jersey fabric with gold accent but the final output, he used a tulle-like or maybe that is a tulle material without any gold accent. I forgot about the original design too, as a matter of fact , i wouldn't realized about the mistake if I'm not writing this review, I found out about the mistake when I was editing the pictures. It is okay if I was informed about the changes, but he didn't mention that he will change anything. The only thing I asked him to change when I had my fitting was the skirt, I want it full fabric instead of the layered skirt.
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| My reception dress: the original sketch and the final output |
Even with these minor glitches, I
will still recommend him with a bit of advice: work closely with him, be
friendly with him but be firm. He delivered on time even with our hectic
schedule a few days before the wedding.
I love my gown; I’m happy with it
and satisfied with it. Every time I had my fitting, there’s always a new and
different feeling. Even on the wedding day itself, when I wore it on, there’s a
different “wow” effect. It’s simply the perfect gown for me. And yeah, the
tiis-ganda part, I had to wear a 5 inches platform heels to compliment the
look. Generally, I liked all the dresses, that's why I still recommend him for bride's looking for affordable with quality gowns.
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