Celebrating 10 Years !!!
It was 1999 when we first opened our doors to brides looking for affordable wedding packages. Back then, there were very few one-stop bridal shops. My sisters and I decided to offer Gown Packages with coordination services, invitations and giveaways. We thought this will help couples save time in looking for these things as was my older sister’s dilemna when she was planning her wedding a year earlier.
As there were no shops offering the same (or none that we know of during those days), we don’t know if we were doing it right or wrong. We have very little money to begin with plus we have no model company to follow. It was a long shot but with the support of our parents especially our mom, we crossed the bridge. We joined our first Bridal Exhibit at Rituals Bridal Fair at Dusit Hotel in Makati (organized by World Exhibitions and Conventions Inc or WORLDEXCO), and we were surprised to get tons of inquiries for complete packages. Our exhibit display was a major hit with just one wedding gown, a few invitation cards and bridal bouquets by Tecson Flowers. The media covered us – TV, magazine and newspapers. The buzz went around about a small bridal shop in Quezon City. That’s where and when we met the father and mother of Philippine Online Wedding Networks, oh yeah, Papa John and Mama Benz Rana of www.weddingsatwork.com . They introduced the word “ONLINE” to us. They signed us for a free inclusion in their website (I don’t even know what a website is during those times : ( but it sure got us known in the outer parts of the earth. That was awesome!!!! To this amazing couple, we can’t thank you enough for bringing us to the world. (I have so many more happy side stories about them but that will be for another long blogging..he he he! ).
Below is our feature in Bride Philippines (the only wedding magazine prominently existing back then). And our feature in Manila Times.
And more….Village Times, Manila Standard, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Woman Today, Miscellaneous Magazine….etc. etc.
It was one of those overnight success stories. In 2 years, we were on the cover of Working Woman. We were sooooooo excited, we ordered 400 copies to distribute to our clients, relatives and friends. Why not, the magazine was selling for only P35 during that time ( ha ha ha!).
We joined several bridal shows therafter marking our name in the Philippine wedding industry which was not even considered an industry at that time. Some of the shows that we joined during our early years:
Rituals ’99 at Dusit Hotel Nikko
Bridal Fete ’99 at Shangri-la Hotel Makati
Weddings & Debutante’s Fair ’99 at Westin Philippine Plaza
Precious Moments at Mandarin Oriental
Hail to the Bride at Heritage Hotel
Breathless at Manila Galleria Suites
W at Hotel Intercontinental Hotel
Wedding Celebrations at EDSA Shangri-la Hotel
Debutante’s Fair at EDSA Shangri-la Hotel
Asian Pacific Bridal Summit, Century Park Hotel
Elegant Weddings at New World Hotel
May Kasal sa Forbes at Santuario de San Antonio Reception Hall
Weddings On-a-Budget at Bulwagang Bayani, Marikina City
Perfect Beginnings – SM Megatrade Hall
Kasalan – SM Megatrade Hall
Dream Weddings Top Wedding Suppliers’ Show – World Trade Center
Dream Weddings Magazine Launch – Shangri-la Makati
Bridal Extravaganza – San Jose, California
The Great Bridal Expo – Hilton Hotel, Universal City, Los Angeles
Pinoy Bridal Affair – San Francisco, California
Yup, we have reached as far as California to showcase our products and services. By the grace of the Lord, we made it all the way there. Praise the Lord!
We have had our share of learnings, mistakes we learned along the way that make us continue to improve even up to this time. It wasn’t all bed of roses for us..Somehow, there were also thorns that hurt us so badly. But I guess, roses won’t be as beautiful without its thorns, don’t you think?
Thank you sooooo much to all our past brides and grooms, debutantes, customers, suppliers, partners, friends, relatives and our family. Most importantly, we give the highest honor to God for allowing us to use our gifts for His greater glory!
We have new announcements coming up on our 11th year on April 5. Watch out for it !
God bless. : )
