The Godfather

No, this isn't a post about the Marlon Brando film.

It's about...

Me!

Yup, after many, many outings as a godfather to my friends' kids, I'm now - and for the first time - a godfather at a wedding!

Last Sunday was my first foray as a wedding godfather, and the lovely couple is my art director - Kat, and her new hubby, Laurence!

It's a different feeling when you're now acting as a second parent to a married couple. While I'm not equipped to give them marriage advice, I'd probably give out sound and good relationship advice.

Better get ready for this new responsibility.

Shy boy

Unearthed this very old photo of me and my cousin, Maricel.

This was taken during the wedding of Tito Tony and Auntie Eden. To make their wedding different, they asked their young nephews and nieces (including me and Maricel) to be the secondary sponsors. This was novel because boys and girls were usually relegated to flower girls and the bearer boys. But they gave us "adult" responsibilities.

It's easy to see my shyness in this photo. Looking at this made me smile and reminded me of how shy I was as a kid.

Then again, I'm still a shy kid now. Albeit inside.

The Fil-Jap connection

Facebook reminded me that it's been 7 years since Kris and Mike's wedding.

That was a fun wedding to organise. And what made it even more fun was the fact that Kris gave me a lot of free rein in a lot of things - including her wedding gown and the attire of the entire entourage! Plus the fact that she was in Tokyo when we were organising this. 

Speaking of Tokyo, this was also the time that we got together with our JPN based friends, including Shinji who wore a barong to celebrate the occasion.

It's these types of connections that never fail to put a smile on my face.

Putting the "Wed" in "Wednesday."

Further proof that "time flies so fast."

It's been 8 years since we went to GA to attend the wedding of Jul. His wedding was the first of his generation, so we made sure not to miss it.

Happy Anniversary, Jul and Jen! 

Boys on Film

One of the nice touches at Kevin’s wedding was when they gave our film cameras to the guests so they can also take their own version of the festivities.

This has actually been done since the 2000s, and it’s nice to see it back during this digital age.

Thanks to the film camera - and Errol’s hooting skills - we have a photo like this:

Mark and I in an old school shot!

Film really has an element of magic.

FMM: Love Offering

If there was one moment during Kevin's wedding that left everyone grabbing tissues, it was the Son-Mother dance.

While this is a usual sight during weddings, this one was special and heartfelt. What made it even more so was the song choice of Kevin for their dance.

It's a hit song from Florante from 1978, and it's going to be today's Friday Magic Madness song.

"Handog" is such a beautiful song. The lyrics are so poignant and captures the story perfectly. And the melody, it's something that's going to make a tear roll down your cheek. It's a song about love and gratitude, and those are the 2 things that Kevin and Ate Bullet passed on to each other that night.

Trivia: I sang this song for a school program when I was in 1st year High School in LSQC. Not sure how I got talked into it, but yes, one time, I performed this song on stage.

Almost Complete

If Javi's passport made it on time, the whole fam would have been complete for Kvin's wedding.

But 6 our of 7 ain't bad.

I'm so glad that we were able to share this moment together as a family.

Persuading

Whilst this isn't the first wedding of the 2nd generation of the Morales kids, this is the first wedding that was held in the country.

The official first wedding was Jul, but he got married in the U.S. While most of us were able to attend, Dad and Ate Bullet weren't there during the wedding.

Yesterday, it was Kevin's wedding! 

We feel so honoured and blessed that we were able to be part of this special day. And you don't need to persuade us to be there for this event. And you also don't need to persuade me to skip my birthday festivities for this wedding. 

We'll be there in a heartbeat. And we were!

(And yes, it's my birthday today.)

Get me to the Chapel

Chapel of Transfiguration, to be exact.

After more than 5 years, we were finally able to go back to Calaruega in Batangas. A number of my friends got married here, and we'd often go here when we just want a quiet retreat.

Today, it's more special because we're here for a wedding in the family. 

This makes coming back a lot more meaningful.

Sketchy Stories: Blank canvas

One of my friends had a dilemma. (Nope, not the Nelly and Kelly Rowland type. Harhar!)

She was going to be a godmother at my nephew's wedding. Her designer friend who initially told her that he'd do her gown was suddenly busy. So, she was left looking for something to wear.

The wedding theme was "Modern Filipiniana" and she was planning to wear a traditional butterfly-sleeved terno with ethnic beading. 

After talking to her designer friend, he said that he could "possibly" do the beadwork if she could provide the dress. This is when she came to me and asked if we could whip up a dress in a week. Our reply - Challenge Accepted.

Since it was a base for beadwork, the terno should be simple, but with an interesting silhouette. The dress should be a blank canvas, but should be beautiful on its own. And this is the sketch that I came up with:

It's a straight dress with godet panels, and a vertical seam to make the wearer look more long and lean. The sketch, along with thee materials, were sent to our new go-to modista, who came up with this:

With or without beading, this terno will surely rock!

Sketchy Stories: Twice the glam

Now that events are back, my sister is back in her groove of attending weddings and other events. Which means that she has more opportunities to bring out her old gowns, as well as have new ones made.

Her nephew is getting married this May, and asked her to be one of the godmothers. Naturally, she said yes, and asked me what she could wear for the event. After telling me that the motif was silver, the thing that immediately popped in my head was a few yards of silver lace that was in my “stash.”

Incidentally, there were also a few yards of gray tulle left behind from another wedding, and it looked good on top of the silver lace. With twice the number of fabrics on hand, the possibility of creating something wedding-worthy also doubled.

Which led me to this sketch:

It’s a lace column gown with a tulle overlay. The overlay had a deep v-neck and flutter sleeves. Then, a jeweled belt to tie the look together.

For the reception, the overlay can be removed and the lace gown can be worn in its own. To add interesting details to the gown, it’s designed to have peekaboo details in the bodice and the back.

After sharing the sketch with the dressmaker, she worked her magic and came up with this.

Glam-godmother, here she comes!

Candid Camera part deux

Turns out, there are other candid photos from Keith's wedding in Boracay.

Here's a photo of when the newlyweds were dancing on the beach with the sunset as a backdrop. We were given sparklers to illuminate the event.

It was one of those moments that we didn't know that the photographer was taking photos of us. On hindsight, the photographer was good because I don't even remember seeing him around that area.

Candid is cool!

FMM: Maneuvering

Once again, a real-life item is the inspiration for today's Friday Magic Madness song.

It's this beautiful Inabel blanket that was given to us by Keith as a wedding souvenir.

Yes, you might think: "He's gong to play "Souvenirs" by Voyage.”

Close. But not quite. Since that song has already been an FMM song a few years back. Today's song is a lesser known souvenir-themed song from 1981. 

"Souvenir" is one of the songs of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, or OMD. Although it's not as popular as their huge hit "Enola Gay," this is a song that fans of New Wave would know.

This song and the Inabel blanket. Both souvenirs that bring back great memories.

Candid Camera

No, this isn’t about the iconic 70s show. But admittedly, i’m a huge fan of that.

This is about the fact that candid photos look way, way better and more authentic and heartfelt than staged ones. It’s something I’ve always believed in, and seeing this photo that was shared to me by Keith made me believe in it even more.

If a picture paints a thousand words, a candid photo paints hundreds of thousands. Or maybe more!

FMM: At last!

It was in 2019 when Keith told me about her wedding in the Philippines. They were planning to have a beach wedding in Bohol, and she invited me to attend. Immediately, I said yes.

The wedding was supposed to be in March 2020. Prichy and I were all set to go, even planning to be there a few days earlier. But of course, we know what happened on the 15th of March, 2020. Needless to say, the wedding didn't push through.

Fast forward 3 years later. It's March 2023, and Keith's wedding finally pushed through in Boracay! Still a beach, still has the same carefree and tropical vibe, still the same first letter of the island, still the same wonderful couple.

In celebration of this wonderful wedding, today's Friday Magic Madness is Etta James' 1960s classic, "At last."

At last! Keith and Kirby are married. Congratulations to the wonderful couple.

Club wed part 2!

The last time Mark and I set foot on San Sebastian Cathedral in Lipa was during Rona's wedding.

Yesterday, we were back! This time for Jocie's big day!

Best wishes to the lovely couple!

Let's get ready to RomPol!

It was a wedding that people waited a decade for. That's why when it happened, everyone had to be there to witness as Apol and Romeo sealed the deal with the sacrament of marriage.

The ceremony and reception was very intimate, light, heartfelt and authentic. Pretty much like the couple.

Congratulations, RomPol!

Sketchy Stories: You've got it Maid

Aside from her wedding gown, Kris also asked me to design looks for her entourage. She had a maid-of-honor and 4 bridesmaids, and she wanted their dresses to be cohesive, yet individual enough to fit their personalities.

The fabric I chose for them was neoprene, so I wanted the dresses to be flowy, but still have a sense of structure. My solution, make the skirts full and flowy, and make the top portions of the dresses more structured and architectural. This was my mindset when I sketched these for the bridesmaids:

One had an athletic, halter and racerback top.

The second had a raglan sleeve with cutouts.

Third, capelet sleeves.

And fourth, an off-shoulder band.

For the maid of honor, I wanted her dress to be close to Kris' look. So, I went for a bustier top with lace covering the top until the 2nd hip. The skirt had an umbrella cut to mimic the fullness of Kris' skirt. To add an accent - I also added a belt.

Looking at them while they were being constructed, I was very satisfied. And when I saw them all together during the wedding - and this photo - I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.

It's nice to be able to stretch my creativity into other things as well.

Sketchy Stories: The Grace of Audrey

When we found out that Kris was getting married and that she needed some help in her preps, I immediately raised my hand and volunteered. And when I asked her where I could help, the first thing she mentioned was her wedding trousseau.

She asked if I could help design her wedding gown. And as a creative person looking for creative things to do, this was an exciting prospect. Long story short, the answer was "heck yeah!"

For people who know my aesthetic (more of just one person, Ate Bullet. Harhar) I'm the type who doesn't like trends. Now, there are a lot of trends in wedding gowns today - the illusion neckline, Lesage embroidery, etc. - and these were the items I struck off my list of design considerations.

Then, the personality of the bride. Kris is very cool and carefree. She's funny, easy breezy, and this innate joie de vivre. She's also someone with a classic sense of style, which is great because we're on the same wavelength.

Those taken into consideration, I imagined her wedding gown as a combination of the classic simplicity of Audry Hepburn and the unabashed femininity of Grace Kelley. And after presenting her with 4 sketches, she eventually went with this:

It's an embroidered lace gown with a mikado silk skirt. The silhouette is a classic mermaid, but the skirt has a full bias cut to make it more circular and voluminous. Since Kris is very slim and petite, this silhouette is perfect for highlighting her assets.

Speaking of slim, during our 2nd fitting, her waistline whittled down to 23 inches! That's supermodel-esque. I thought it would be great to highlight that, so there was a last minute addition of a bejeweled belt.

After the design was completed, it was time to look for the materials. It actually took me a couple of months and several back-and-forths at my fabric haunts before I found the perfect fabrics. I wanted the lace to be dainty yet textured. The appliques had to have that 3D effect. The stones had to be matte and had to blend with the embroidery. And the Swarovski shouldn't be too flashy.

Once everything was gathered, it was off to Joy who made sure that the sketch came to life accurately and as I envisioned it. After about 4 months, the wedding gown was done, and it was just as I saw it in my mind.

Kris was a vision of classic glamour, as well as delicate femininity. Her hairstyle was very apt for the gown since it had that Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelley classicism to it.

It also fit her personality a lot - particularly her joie de vivre. It was something that she radiated with during the entire wedding.

I definitely don't sketch that well and don't do it often. But when you work with friends like Kris and see the result, it makes me both glad and gratified that I do.

Club Wed

Sometime last year, Mark, Kris and I were in Nakano - IH2 in particular - talking about Kris' recent engagement and her wedding plans.

And yesterday, all the months of preparation led to Narra Hill in Tagaytay for the wedding day. It was one of the most heartfelt and genuine weddings I've been to.

It was a fitting culmination to a journey that started in Japan more than a year ago.