So full of bride ideas

The future looks bride and beautiful, so declared Mandarin Oriental, Manila as it unwrapped a priceless wedding treat for all brides-to-be – Precious Moments, now in its seventh radiant year – in cooperation with Events by Gigi Bautista and Associates, and Metro Weddings I Do.

Nubile and dreamy-eyed women packed the ballroom of the Mandarin, impeccably decked out in tents and drapes, flowers and balloons, for this one-day bridal fair designed to help altar-bound couples plan the wedding of their dreams – from the grandest to the minutest details of getting married. They feasted their eyes on the themed wedding setups, which featured the hotel’s floral arrangements, table accents and assorted banquet fare. For the brides-to-be, they were a delight to have and to hold ...

Promising a great hair day, the "Perfect 10 Bride" treated prospective brides to a whole-day hair and makeup trial sitting at the Clipper Lounge. Some 30 lucky brides were given a complimentary trial makeup and hairdo by hairstylists and makeup artists from 10 participating salons – Ghia Sacare of Bambi Fuentes, Abbygale Arenas of Emphasis Salon, Audie Bermejo and Lea Pilongo of Fanny Serrano Salon, Paul Cuevas of Franck Provost, Rusty Ledesma and Rachelle Aguila of H Salon, Albert Solloso and Lydia Tanesa of Menage/Manila, Gerry Casil and Rose Macapagal of Piandre, Peddy Acebo and Bong Vicentico of Propaganda, Larry Assistin of Salon de Orient, and Leo Posadas and Kai Baltazar of Toni & Guy Essensuals.

And capping a perfect day was the "Perfect 10 Wedding" fashion show directed by Jackie Aquino and featuring simply exquisite bridal creations by 10 hot designers – Rhett Eala with his nontraditional off-white midi dress, Patrice Ramos Diaz with her über feminine gowns, Vittorio Barba with his champagne-colored strapless gowns, Randy Ortiz with his creations for the bride and groom, Tonichi Nocom with his grooms’ suits, Mel Vergel de Dios with his minimalist creations, Rajo Laurel with his summery short wedding outfits, Edwin Tan with his elaborate gowns, Jun Escario with his Egyptian-inspired creation, and Pepsi Herrera with his exquisitely crafted and seductive gowns.

"There were no colored gowns as in the past years and the designs were a lot simpler," says Gigi Bautista, events planner extraordinaire. "And a lot of them were not the traditional kind, with nice details at the back. Like there was a gown with a low back that had a lot of beadwork."

While some things never change – from something borrowed to something blue – certain wedding trends do come and go.

"At the fair, the color motif veered towards orange and green or citrus as well as turquoise," Gigi points out. "For instance, Robert Blancaflor of 1816 Flowers showed a setting in monochromatic shades of blue – from the deep blue roses from Holland to the aquamarine table linen."

She hastens to note, "The colors are more refreshing now maybe because they help lift people’s spirits, especially in these depressing times that we live in."

But then, says Gigi, about 90 percent of the brides she has met say that they have pictured their weddings in their minds since they were young girls – or since they met Mr. Right (hopefully, not just Mr. Right Now).

"Thus, we get requests like, ‘Give me a bouquet that has not been used by any bride before,’" says Gigi. "Nowadays, tall or short, brides like simple bouquets, like one stem of a lily, a small nosegay. Gone are the days of the big, flowing, cascading bouquets."

A lot of today’s couples like to customize their wedding – from the invites to the church rites to the cake. They create their own wedding websites, design their own invitations, write their own vows, and personalize their wedding cake. Take this couple, both book lovers, who had their cake designed to look like something that’s as good to read as to eat.

In deference to tradition, the newlyweds go through the ritual of cutting their cake – often a multi-tiered one, with only one layer of real cake while the rest is styrofoam. But these days, nobody really cares whether or not the cake is for real, as a good wedding menu always comes with a good dessert.

And weddings no longer come only in December, January and June – traditionally, the "marryest" months of the year. "All throughout the year, there are couples who marry," says Gigi. "Some couples go for feng shui-dictated dates."

Fact is, most couples are integrating their passions/interests/hobbies into their wedding plans. Which is probably why there are a lot of "destination weddings" now. Or weddings in the most unlikely places.

For instance, one "totally unique weddings" website offers to fly couples by a ski plane to a high mountain glacier for a wedding ceremony guaranteed to give everyone a real high. Or a couple can have their wedding in the air, while flying over the mountains. Or they can get married on a lake in a private yacht. Or on a hot-air balloon. Cool!

"Yes, there’s a trend towards off-premise weddings," says Gigi. "These days, among the favorite destination venues are Tagaytay, where there’s a small, quaint chapel with stained glass overlooking the Taal volcano; Peninsula de Punta Fuego in Nasugbu, Batangas; Amanpulo, if you have tons of money; Plantation Bay in Cebu; or even the NBC Tent at The Fort."

Couples are only too happy to fly in a lot of their guests, both family and friends for their wedding. Wedding experts say that with a lot of couples living together before marriage, "there’s no need to race off and lose their virginity. Couples are happy to spend more time with all their guests."

Gigi observes, "Most couples now marry in their 30s. Most are living in and have reached a certain degree of maturity in their relationship."

What about the music/entertainment at the church/reception?

"For both the church and reception, you could get a quartet for P20,000 to P25,000," says Gigi. "If you want a tenor or soprano, throw in an additional P10,000."

And the favors?

"The trend now is towards the utilitarian," says Gigi. "Brides would rather give away something that guests can use, like spa kits consisting of soap, foot scrub, aromatherapy oil, etc."

And friends of the bride would rather rent a whole spa room for a bridal shower (where the bride literally gets to shower) than throw a shower party.

Now, there are also online bridal registries that give guests a clue as to what to give the couple on their big day.

"Today, a hassle-free wedding is a reality," a reassuring Gigi says. "Even the undoable can be done, like what we did in Kota Kinabalu where we flew in 50 Pinoy stylists and hundreds of flowers from Holland to convert a nondescript chapel into an elaborate setting. The only thing the Malaysian bride and her German groom had to do was to come to their wedding."

Certainly, these people will never ever run out of bride ideas.

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For inquiries on the bridal source book – something brides-to-be ought to have and to hold – call the Mandarin’s banqueting team at 750-8888 local 2217 and 2218.