Wedding
Gown Designer becomes the Princess Bride by
Jett Pe Benito
Designer
bride, Merlene Marcelo.
Photo by Raymund Marcelo.
Merlene
Marcelo has been in the business of creating beautiful
wedding gowns for fifteen years now and has built her
business to include 60 workers.
To
Merlene, "The wedding gown has the power of imbuing
the woman who wears it with a magical allure. Perhaps
this is because it is an image tied to the most unique
of traditions, or because it is truly difficult to resist
its romantic charm. Wearing it on that big day, which
should be a once-in-a lifetime event, is like entering
a marvelous fairytale.
Last
April 10, 2005, it was Merlene's turn to become the
bride.
Merlene
saw herself as the “princess” for that once-in-a-lifetime
event, the concept of which was reflected in the gown,
the entourage, the flowergirls, even the venue with
its cascading flowers and draperies.
Merlene
recounts that designing a bridal gown for herself
is not easy because her imagination cannot have the
free rein she had with all the other gowns she has
made. “As a rule, I wanted my gown to be unique,
not ordinary. I wanted to emphasize my assets and
hide my flaws. Creating, at the very end, the 'perfect
gown' that I would be proud to wear and 'show-off'."
True
enough, the color by itself is completely unique:
champagne organdy with duchess silk backing, with 3
dimensional artwork designs with exquisite details
which she got as an inspiration from her recent trip
to Rome, Italy.
As
for an entourage fit for a princess, she had one matron
of honor, one maid of honor, three secondary sponsors
and...eleven flower girls and ring
bearers. Yes,
that's right...all because she wanted the
little
princes' and princess' look for all the kids in different
sizes, ages, and heights. "I had a flower girl
as small as six months old, up to 12 years old...all
the kids were connected either to me or to Willy, my
husband. The girls were nieces, cousins, daughters of
good friends, so it was fun."
The girls' motif was in different shades of pink. The
artwork used for her wedding was reflected on her whole
entourage. The men wore barongs. The little boys got
the small version of the Mao collar barong of the groom,
while the rest wore standard collar barong. She also
made the wedding clothes of her family, her close friends,
some relatives on Willy's side, and even her office
staff.
"It
was a fashion show of the 'Merlene Look'. It was my way
of saying thank you, too for helping me prepare for my
special day."
Once
Upon a Time...
Merlene
met Willy (William R. Veto, Jr.) during college at
the debut of her cousin. They kept in touch after
and became good friends.
Willy
left the country for the U.S. to take his MBA at NYU
then his law degree at Fordham University. Eventually,
he settled in New York and worked there. Through the
years, however, they kept in touch through emails,
phone calls, and he even made a trip to Manila to
visit her.
William
and Merlene. Photo
by Raymund Marcelo.
"Two
years ago, he proposed to me and we got married on
April 10, 2005 at Our Lady of Transfiguration, Caleruega
in Tagaytay."
Pixie Dust for Problems
Through
her years in the wedding industry, she made new friends
with co-suppliers. They share booth space in fairs
and refer clients to each other. It is no surprise
then she would trust these same suppliers for her
big day.
"We
have to this very day maintained good friendships
and even became godparents to their newly born kids.
Ours is a bridal network where professionalism and
respect for each other is maintained."
With good supplier friends at the helm, her wedding
became her fairy tale come true.
Happily Ever After
For
now, since the wedding, Merlene and Willy get to see
each other every three months. She would stay in the
U.S. for 3 weeks, then come home to Manila to continue
her work. "Willy knows how passionate I am with
my craft and I'm very blessed to have continuous work,
even getting clients in New York from my last trip.”
Her
tips to brides-to-be? "I guess, looking back at
it, we just have to
get things organized. The bottom line
is to delegate to have a
relatively
stress-free wedding. Final word of advice is to have
fun and enjoy
the whole event."
