HOW TO ORDER
1. We are outside the Philippines, may we order your dresses?
Yes, we serve brides anywhere in the world.
2. I am based in the Philippines, are appointments necessary?
It is always best to meet with the designer personally. Malou prefers to meet with her brides to understand better their personal style preferences. However, if you are based overseas and doesn’t have the luxury of coming over to see Ms. Malou, correspondence with her by email will do. Ms. Malou personally replies to all your concerns prior to ordering your gown so you can be assured that your order will have the same guaranteed personalized service and quality whether you are based locally or overseas.
Should you wish to schedule an appointment with Ms. Malou, you may request for an appointment by email or for faster and immediate confirmation of your preferred schedule date, we suggest that you take time to call our office during our Shop Hours: Monday toFriday, 10AM to 7PM. Weekends are normally reserved to weddings as Ms. Malou personally assists her brides during the bridal preparations on the actual wedding day.
We do not accept any walk-in inquiries so please make an appointment prior to visiting us.
3. Can I try-on some gowns at your shop during my appointment?
Yes. We do have some sample gowns available for you to see and possibly fit (if the gown is in your size) at our shop.
4. Is picture taking allowed during gown appointments?
Unless you have confirmed your order for a gown from us, taking photos is not allowed.
5. Do you have dresses for rent?
Sorry, we do not have anything for rent. All orders are custom-made. But watch out for the opening of our Ready-to-Wed line in November 2011 which will be available for sale online. These are one-of-a-kind ready-made gowns designed by Malou Castillejos at much lower prices than having it custom-made.
6. Do you provide alterations and/or pressing on your gowns?
Yes. All gowns purchased from our shop are made-to-measure and already underwent necessary alterations if there are any and had been carefully pressed before they are delivered or shipped. When the gowns get to you through shipment, minimal and careful pressing may be needed. If you are afraid to do this by yourself, please send to a trusted dry-clean and laundry shop in your area with pressing services or steaming services. They are professionals in their field and would know how to do it.
7. How long does it take for a wedding gown to finish?
The standard production time to finish one gown can take 4 weeks to 24 weeks to finish depending on the style, embroidery, beadwork and other embellishments that will be added to your gown.
8. How soon should we place the order?
It is always best to order as far as in advance or at least 6 months prior to your wedding date to allow ample time for adjustments in case there will be any. Also, by booking ahead, you can be sure that your gown order is top priority and will not be rushed.
TIP: Book during the lean season (July to August) as prices tend to be more friendly as we don’t have to chase the high costs of labor and materials of the wedding peak season (please note that all other months except July and August are peak months).
9. What is the schedule of payment?
The payment of your order is due as soon as you have signed up for our services. Then the balance must be paid and remitted to us along with the shipping charges (if order will be shipped) before we can send-off your order. Any gown order cannot leave our shop until they are fully paid.
10. How do you keep track of the orders?
All order form has the bride’s name, phone number and the names of the members of the entourage if their dresses are also ordered from us. They are organized in one folder and details pertinent to your order are recorded in your file. So if you have questions with any of the gowns that you ordered under your name, it will be very easy for us to track it.
11. Should the bridesmaids order together or separately?
We always advise that all orders for your bridesmaids dresses be made by the bride and if possible, all at the same time and not separately. It is best then to collect all ideas from your bridesmaids first and put them altogether for easier and more convenient placing of order. This way, a Total Quote for all orders will be submitted to you at once. You may even enjoy big discounts for group order instead of doing the order separately.
12. Why do you have to wait for all the orders for a bridal party before counting down to a delivery date?
We cannot start with any of your ordered gowns if there are still lacking measurements from you or your bridesmaids. The dresses for your bridal party are normally cut from just one roll of fabric to ensure uniformity of shade or color. Even if the dresses are in different shades or color, we still have to wait for all measurements to come in and completed before we purchase the fabrics to be used for your bridal party’s dresses. The schedule of Delivery Date is determined only after all measurements have been submitted.
13. Do you offer discounts for quantity?
Yes. We offer Special Package rates for orders inclusive of a Bridal Gown and at least 8 formal gowns for the members of the entourage.
14. What forms of payment do you accept ?
A. Bank Transfer
* Security Bank
* Union Bank
* Banco de Oro
B. Door-to-door Money Remittance
C. Local Clearing Checks
D. Cash
15. Can I pay personally in your shop for the remaining balance ?
Yes. Payment can be made personally in our shop or may be done through a representative. We accept cash or check payments (local clearing only). We will not release any gown without full payment. Checks must clear first before we release the gown.
16. What is your return/exchange policy?
Sorry, as all orders are highly personalized and custom made, we cannot refund any portion of your payment or accommodate any exchanges once the order has been confirmed and finalized.
17. I will pay for my gown and my bridesmaids will pay for their gowns, is this possible?
We will only accept a single payment for a group order. Please have someone collect from all the bridesmaids and remit the payment to us as a single payment. Also, for security and your convenience, we will ship out your gown orders to only one address.
18. I saw a gown I liked in one of the bridal magazines, can you make a dress from a picture ?
Yes, we welcome pictures from magazines or links from the internet as a basis for the style that you want. However, Malou doesn’t copy a gown designed by another designer as she views this to be unethical. If you prefer to have a gown that is EXACTLY as something designed by a certain designer, we of course recommend that you just purchase your gown from that designer instead of asking someone to copy it for you.
Since all our gowns are custom-made to every bride’s specific body type, style and preference, you can be assured that the gown you will order from us is the Perfect Gown for your Wedding Day. To achieve this, we hope that you will allow Malou to submit her OWN VERSION and recommendation based from what you have in mind or what you are presently looking at without having to copy someone else’s design.
19. Do you offer accessories to match my dress?
Yes. We have a complete line of matching accessories from the veil, bags, headdress, shoes, etc. for any type of dress or gown ordered from us. Please check available designs from our website for regular updates.
20. Can you send me a catalog?
Sorry, we do not have printed catalogs to send but we do have our Online Look Books that you can browse.
21. How many years have you been in business?
12 years this year since April 1999.
22. Do you meet clients abroad?
As of now, we only do annual bridal appointments in the US.
For FREE CONSULTATIONS and current schedule, please request for an exclusive appointment at info@maloucastillejos.com
23. How do we order ?
- Get a quote or price estimate for your desired gown by sending an inquiry through the contact form below. If you are in Manila, we invite you to sit down with the designer to discuss your gown preference. Meetings are strictly By Appointment. Please call us at Tel. Nos. 9138993 or 9138936 to request for an exclusive appointment with Ms. Malou.
2. Upon your acceptance of the price and agree on a design, we shall request for a 50% downpayment based on the price quoted. Balance payable upon completion of your order before pick up or delivery. Schedule of delivery will depend on the date you submitted your measurements. The sooner we receive your measurements, the earlier we can start production and the earlier we can finish your gown order.
3. Upon our receipt of your downpayment, you will now be requested to submit your EXACT MEASUREMENTS.
Have your measurements taken by a professional seamstress in your area or someone who can follow our guide correctly (based on our Measurement Guide). If you are available for an actual taking of measurements at our shop, please request for a schedule at 9138993 or 9138936.
4. This item is optional and may be skipped if you are comfortable with the measurements you submitted to us. If you are not sure you have submitted the correct measurements, you may request to have your gown’s underlining be mailed to you for fitting (just pay for the cost of shipment using DHL or Fedex). You should mail it back to us after you have fitted the underling. It should be appropriately labeled with the necessary adjustments if any, with your photos wearing the underlining (if possible) for easy reference.
5. We skip No. 4 and we proceed with the production of your gown. We may require for you to give us an update of your measurements before the final phase of your gown.
If you are in Manila, you may be requested to come for at least 2 fittings so you can also see the progress of your gown.
6. If your wedding is to be held outside the Philippines, we recommend shipment of your gown at least one month before the wedding to give you time for some adjustments if necessary.
7. Pick up or delivery of your gown. Final payment due by this time.
NOTE: All sales are final and cannot be cancelled after submission of your Exact Measurements. For obvious reasons, we cannot start with your gown without any measurement even if payment has been made. It is then important to submit your exact measurements immediately upon signing the Gown Service Contract.
24. What if I have other questions that are not answered here?
Simply send an email to info@PerfectGownDepot.com or to info@maloucastillejos.com.
You may also call us at Tel. Nos. 9138993 or 9138936 for more information.
Cheers!
