‘Precious Moments 6’: Looking at the bride side of life

It’s going to be a bride day when Mandarin Oriental, Manila stages "Precious Moments – Year 6," a one-day bridal mecca featuring the finest wedding wares and services, in cooperation with Gigi Bautista & Associates on Sunday, March 16, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the grand ballroom of the Mandarin.

Where can you find a place that’s got all the things you need (as well as things you never thought you needed) for your wedding – all under one roof?

"If you’re a bride who doesn’t know where to start, this bridal fair could be your guide," says eventologist Gigi Bautista with an ear-to-ear grin.

Now in its sixth year, the Precious Moments directory is, as usual, full of bride ideas. It’s got everything a girl needs to make her dream wedding come true, except perhaps a groom. The directory includes invitations, beauty products and services, bridal gowns and formal wear, men’s wear and barong, bridal specialty shops, decor, flowers, furniture, gifts and favors, photography, video, music and entertainment, and wedding coordinators or planners and consultants.

Wedding planner? Do you really need one?

"There are reasons when you’d need a wedding planner to take you by the hand all the way through your wedding, like if you’re a very busy professional and you have no time to attend to the thousand-and-one details of your wedding," Gigi replies. "Or if you’re always in and out of the country or you’re based abroad."

But how do you choose one when there are at least a thousand listed on the Internet?

"You have to go by reputation or referral," Gigi asserts. "Over the past two years, wedding planners have really mushroomed. Your best bet is to check if it’s legitimate or SEC-registered lest it may just be a back-of-the-house operation. Ask them to show you photos of jobs they have done. Ask them to refer you to three of their former clients whom you can talk to. If they did a good job, they will not hesitate to give you this information. Be very wary because there’s no take 2, di puedeng ulitin. The purpose of a wedding planner is that you can go to your wedding relaxed, without worrying about the details, like if the flowers are there, etc."

Certainly, you wouldn’t want to end up crying on your wedding day – not tears of joy but tears of regret and despair because the wedding planner ran off with your money and went on a honeymoon to Paris!

"It does cost a fortune to hire a wedding planner," says Gigi. "So pity the bride and groom if they don’t know who they’re getting."

You never really know. This very prominent couple did ask around, but still they ended up with a lemon. Apparently, this wedding planner – who previously did the wedding of a showbiz couple – was doing another wedding so everytime she was called by the parents of the groom for a meeting, she was a no-show. In the end, she was paid to stay away from the wedding.

Well, word does get around, doesn’t it?

Gigi gives this precious advice to couples planning to get married: "What you simply need – if you feel you have the time to attend to all the details – is a consultant whose service we also offer (call Events at 750-0314, 750-8888 local 2615 or 0917-7939084). This bridal consultant will suggest which service you should get based on your taste and budget. She’d teach you the ropes of planning your wedding. For only P8,000, she’ll spend two sessions with you: For the first session, she’ll give you a checklist. For the second session, which takes place usually a month before your wedding, she’ll check out what you have done and give you another set of recommendations for other things. That should be good enough. A lot of brides are taking advantage of this service vis-a-vis the more expensive wedding planner."

But if you have time on your hands, why not plan your own wedding?

"The best part of getting married is planning it," Gigi points out. "After all, the wedding is just one day and it’s over."

She stoutly swears, "You can do it. I planned my own wedding. I guess I’ve always been a planner long before I became an event planner. You should see my wedding pictures. So there I was on top of my wedding preparations, wielding the baton and giving instructions to everybody. There’s nothing like taking a personal hand in preparing for probably the biggest day of your life. With a little help, of course, from your supportive family who’s there to provide the extra hands and feet that will do the legwork. In fact, the wedding becomes doubly memorable for you and your family."

A bridal fair to remember is what Precious Moments – Year 6 promises to be – to have and to hold couples by the hand as they plan the beginning of the rest of their lives together.

So, what are some of the trends in weddings, which have spawned a profitable industry over the past many years?

"For flowers, it’s back to the very full, very colorful look," says Gigi. "Probably because of the looming war in Iraq, people want to see beautiful things, flowers they’ve never seen before, like hydrangeas and European flowers flown in from Holland. There’s also the lily of the valley, which is rarely seen but when seen, all eyes are on it. A bouquet could cost up to P30,000. Or one could opt for a simple one-stem arrangement, which will not overshadow the bridal gown."

For makeup, natural is in. "Which is why Patrick Rosas is preferred by brides," says Gigi. "He gives you a made-up look which is still you. He is able to enhance your features but you still look so natural. No more false eyelashes or dark makeup."

And here comes the bridal couturier. "My bridal gowns are not going to be traditional," says Rhett Eala, who designs for Rustan’s. "They’re very soft, somewhat casual but still elegant. I’ve done taupe, flesh, silver. A lot of brides want ecru or white wine."

According to Rhett, a bride needs three to four fittings. Happily, a lot of today’s brides are not superstitious – they don’t believe that it’s bad luck to fit the wedding gown. But then, there are still couturiers of the old school who will not let their clients fit their gowns until the day of the wedding – fact is, some will not even let the bride see her gown until the wedding day.

For the music, today’s hottest favorites are Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban. Their songs may well be the Asereje of church wedding music, according to Bernie Pasamba. "Other than selections from The Sound of Music, we’d like to introduce new songs from Broadway, like Sunset Boulevard," he says. "Of course, we’ll be happy to accommodate couples’ personal requests, like we did for the Escaler-Alunan wedding for which we made our own arrangement."

"Today, couples planning to get married could easily spend half a million," Gigi computes. "They’ll spend at least a quarter of a million for food and beverage if they go to a hotel. A lot of weddings are taking place in very exclusive resorts like Punta Fuego, Tagaytay Highlands, Plantation Bay. They’re very expensive because you have to have to provide accommodation for your guests. But now, couples really save up for their wedding so they get married in their 30s. And the bride and groom share in the expenses 50-50."

Gigi adds, "It’s also not unusual for couples, particularly those living abroad, to specify that they prefer cash gifts, or assign their ninongs and ninangs particular gifts, since the couple are close to them."

All brides (past, present and future) are invited to the bridal fair. Highlights include a food sampling of the highly favored wedding dishes deftly prepared by Mandarin Oriental’s award-winning culinary team (for more treats and discounts, call the hotel’s banqueting team at 750-8888 local 2217 or 2218); a panel discussion moderated by Ria Tanjuatco-Trillo with speakers Mary Prieto, Ianne Sison and Miguel Leyva; a bridal musical at 5:30 p.m. featuring Bernie Pasamba and his band and the 92 AD vocal group. To cap it all is a fashion show of the bridal creations of Rhett Eala with Ariel Rivera serenading brides-on-the-ramp and the audience at 6:30 p.m.

Yes – eat, drink and be married!