Our Dream Wedding's Dream Team Part 3: Gina Bruce, Rey Casedo, Charmed, Information Society, Invitation Kitchen, Allan Ignacio

Hi Sisses! Finally this is our last, and final installment of our suppliers' ratings! Here I will review the following: 

Gina Bruce (Bridal Gown + Entourage gowns)

Rey Casedo (Male Ento Barongs, a w@w find!)

Charmed Clays (cake topper, a w@wie!)

Shakers Big Punch (mobile bar, a w@W find)

Information Society (Lights and Sounds)

Invitation Kitchen (invitation)

Allan Ignacio (flowers)

Photos are courtesy of Purple Kite Studios :)  

Gina Bruce (Bridal gown + Ento gowns)

10/10

Ate Gina is a Marikina-based dressmaker. Siya kinuha namin since we wanted all our suppliers to be near our residence pra mas madali. The dress is not a top priority for me since all of us will only wear it for 4 hours then sa box na sya ulit so i got someone na maganda gumawa but reasonable ang price. Here is a full-length pic of my bridal gown. :)

With Ate Gina, very reasonable ang price na nakuha ko (pm me for details if interested. Clue: parang divi price, much cheaper pa… at tipid ka pa sa pamasahe). She has the lowest rates na napagtanungan ko at magaganda ang gawa niya. She used to work for popular designers before like Rajo Laurel and make gowns for contests like beauty pageants but she stopped and decided to have her own business. She also made my entourage gowns:

And also the dresses of my flower girls and some of my female PS' gowns. Yes, I intentionally divided the colors of our PS' gowns based on our motif. It gave a refreshing feeling because of the variation. :)

She's very professional in all of our meetings and she delivered all gowns (including mine) 2 weeks before the event. Though may mga mali sa sukat nung una, lahat naman na-ayos agad (except sa sister ni Tom kasi mali ung ko endorsement ng size, our bad). You may PM me for her rates or reach her at +63 927 915 3725 :)

  

Mang Rey Casedo (a W@W find)

10/10

Oh Yes… Si Mang Rey na yata ang PINAKA maaga mong supplier! Super early as in we begin our transactions at 6 am and end by 7 am. By the time na sumikat ang araw, tapos na kami (ubos na rin ang budget namin ng wala pang sikat ng araw)!

Either nakapagdown na kami nun or na-deliver at pick na ung mga barong nila hubby and male ento. To think na from Laguna pa sya ha! We always meet at UP Diliman (kasi sa kanya kumukuha ang ibang UP prof ng barongs) at nasa likod ng Innova nya ang mahiwagang "closet of barongs".

Sa gawa, malinis at sobrang pulido ang gawa niya. Mabilis pa sya gumawa kasi 2 weeks before the wedding namin sya nakausap. Medyo tight na kami sa oras that time, kasi nagkagipitan kami sa isang barong supplier na #fail ang gawa at pakikipagusap. Mang Rey came to the rescue (tenenen!)… Then he delivered the barongs 1 week before the wedding. May hidden na usapan pa sila ni hubby dahil ayaw nya pakita sa akin yung design ng barong nya. At syempre, wow ang barong ni hubby, much better kaysa mag-tux sya. :)

Ang output nya ay sobrang galing, customer service lalo na sa mga masisikip at resize. instant! LBC lang bukas nasa iyo na. Nagorder pa nga si Tom ng extra barong para sa isang overseas Ninong a day before the wedding, umabot sya. Buzzer beater! 

Our male ento was so happy sa gawa ng mga barong, lalo na gift namin sa kanila ito. They said it’s worth a keep, marami pang kasal at events ang tatampukan ng mga barong na ginawa. Galing ni Mang Rey!

Sorry I wasn't able to take a photo of Mang Rey (or Ate Gina and some other suppliers). But I think his work can justify his good conduct and professionalism :) Here's our male entourage clad in Rey Casedo barongs :) 

Tip: If you're going to have barong as your male ento outfit, make sure your undershirt is long sleeves too. Notice in the picture the difference between a short sleeve and a long sleeve undershirt. Mas elegant pag long sleeves! :) 

Shakers Big Punch - Mobile Bar (a W@W find)

10/10

They are the most reasonable mobile bar that I have inquired to. With their package na unlimited drinks good for 150 pax, marami nang kasamang freebies and games. Masarap ung drinks nila. We even got 3 different bottles of liquors for our liquor tasting for free! Natuwa din ung mga guests with them kasi cocktails pa lang nagserserve na sila ng light alcoholic drinks. Tapos ung ibang waiter, nagseserve per table! Sila ung umiikot offering shots to guests! kaya na-appreciate sila ng mga guests namin. Ung mga ayaw uminom kasi tinatamad tumayo, nagkaron ng chance na makainom! hehe very pro din kausap ung owner, si Sir Ryan, kaya no hassle ang transaction namin. Some guests though said the drinks were quite overly sweet, but still okay sa panlasa due to the time of our reception. :)

 Invitation Kitchen - Invitation

10/10

We wanted a unique, non-traditional, modern invitation and Invitation Kitchen did not fail us. This was one of our earliest suppliers – 2010 palang we decided na they’ll be our invitation makers. :)

The pop-up invitation that we have was a hit with all our guests. Natuwa sila kasi unique daw at hindi common. Nakakatuwa kasi we never saw Ms. Honey, the designer/artist for the design of the invitation. All communication was done via email and she got each and every detail that we wanted. No hassle sa byahe and meet-ups. The only time we spent gas on them was during the pick-up of the finished invites. Super smooth, and hassle-free ng transaction namin with them. Definitely recommended? Oh yes! 

Information Society - Lights and Sounds

10/10

Now this gets to the technical part. Knowing hubby Tom – a tech boody (buddah? Haha!), he has been working since he’s a little kid on lights and sounds, naku kahit san kami magpunta, unang pupunahin nyan, speakers, sounds, haaay! So simula pa lang, di na naming kinuha yung free na sound system ng Oasis…

Well, IS has been his family’s friend since he was a kid and also has worked with them for several times. Sabi nya, if he gets wed, he would like to have IS to be his dream L&S supplier. So then I let him be… (and because of that I got Rae Venturanza! haha call it quits!) He talked to Tita Espie and Tito Boy (owners of IS) with his intended setup. I let him do the meetings and talking kasi O.P. ako! Pricing wise, they were a great deal, dahil nga kakilala, we got the setup for really low price!

Tom admits to it that he doesn’t know what it’ll look like on the reception… When we entered, it was a big Wow! (lalo na kay Tom!)… everything was great, from the sounds to the light setup and even sa linis ng cabling (yes napansin pa ni hubby). It was a truly great experience with them (check out the pics nung mood lights, matching our wedding theme).

We also got the LCD projectors from their from their partner and because sa setup ng Verandah na pahaba, we spent a good fortune on it but it was way worth it.

Tip for Oasis Brides: Again, Beware of the electrical charges of Oasis, they’re worth a fortune! Better get a generator set (we got one) so you can save at least 3,000 bucks on it and have your lights & sounds supplier go grand. :)

 Charmed Clays (Cake Topper)

10/10 +++++++

First of all, she is a w@wie!! I got to know here sa w@w and I know that she's done toppers for fellow w@wie friends, as a gift first then later on she decided to make it as a business since her clay toppers are really a hit to all brides! I have always admired how intricate her work is - very detailed to think that most of the pieces are just a size of a 25 centavo coin or even smaller pa!! Her passion to her work is just commendable :)

I inquired with her barely 2 weeks before the wedding. By this time we're trying to save as much as we can na with our budget kaya sabi namin we'll just get the regular topper from our caterer. Pero iba pa din pag may personalized topper ka! May memorabilia ka na maiuuwi from your wedding that can last a lifetime. So I contacted her. I was just so happy na kahit limited na yung time niya to make ours, she still accommodated us!! ang saya ko lang! :) we just sent her the specific details that we want on it and she did it as instructed! Look at how cute it is! 

She made it according to our invitation. The lamp post was a challenge for her! :) 

Right now our topper stays on top of the cabinet as a display. Pero plan ko sya paglagyan ng wedding rings soon! :) You may visit her FB page here. Definitely recommended!! 

Allan Ignacio – Perfect Petals

10/10

Allan is a florist recommended by Tom's officemate, Ems. In fact, di niya tlga super expertise ang weddings kasi he does floral arrangements for churches and parades. Pero when we saw his works, aba’y bongga, we saw a great potential to be the same and even succeed sa mga Floral suppliers (common dito)… Kinuha na din namin siya kasi ok at reaasonable ang rates niya. And yet, di niya kami dinisappoint. He's the one responsible for the trees sa aisle namin which was transferred sa reception afterwards. Smooth din ang transactions namin with him. He’s not a W@W supplier and we hope he gets more clients here. Super nice ang flowers, my boquet matches my personality which he designed, arranged without me knowing what flowers will there be. Win!

w@wies

10/10

I owe part of our wedding success to this online community. If not for w@w, my knowledge about weddings would not be as diverse as it is now. I also found great friends in this group: Shine (ni Gray), Anne (ni Mark), Lalie (ni Bryan), and Kate (ni Ryan). I am happy i found you girls! :) mwaaah!!

Btw, they set up the candy buffet on our wedding!! Sayang lang the photogs weren't able to take a picture of it nung buo pa sya (meaning di pa nagagalaw ang food) dahil in matter of 30 minutes or less, naubos na lahat ng food and cookies (cookies baked by Lalie!). Thank you sisses!! :) Here's the only thing that our photog was able to capture: 

Finally I'm done!! I hope you had fun and learned a lot in reading my ratings. Happy preps future brides! :)