Wedding Gowns & Bridal Gowns

Remember the Givenchy wedding dress Audrey Hepburn wore on the set of Sabrina? It turns out that the design of her real wedding dress was radically different from this one, and it has a rather touching story behind it that didn’t receive much publicity.

It is 1952, seven years after the devastation of World War II. Audrey Hepburn spent the last years of the second World War in the Netherlands, hoping she would survive the bombings from the Allied and the famine the Dutch endured as a result of Operation Market Garden. But the war is over and the budding actress was engaged for the first time to James Hanson. At the time of the engagement, Audrey Hepburn was in Italy filming the movie Roman Holiday with Gregory Peck – her first starring role. She was so excited about the wedding that she had her wedding dress fitted and made by the renowned Fontana sisters in the middle of filming the movie.

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A contribution from Annalyn Jusay-Zoglmann:

How do you find your ideal wedding gown, with less than three months to prepare for your wedding? I was the harried bride and desperate to find my perfect gown, but knew that I didn’t have the time for several fittings with a designer. The paperwork alone was taking so much of our time! Like any excited bride, I canvassed shops and emailed a few noted designers, only to be told that they had their schedules full. I worked on a budget given me by my groom as well.

At first, I wanted a Filipiniana motif and toyed with the idea of wearing a terno, or something like it. Then I said I also like a strapless gown… every bride seems to be wearing that style these days. My perfect wedding gown came to me as I was walking through Glorietta one day and chanced upon the Edgar Allan Boutique. Mr. Allan is one of the noted Filipino designers and his boutique is a showcase of his formal and semi-formal ready-to-wear pieces. Luckily for me, there was one wedding gown in the racks and it was being sold at a discount (they were transferring to another spot in Glorietta and was trying to dispose of old pieces).

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My second Philippine-made wedding dress
by Raquel

Let me tell you about my second wedding dress. Why the second? Because I have also introduced the first wedding dress which I wore in Germany; and nope, this is not a change of wardrobe for the same wedding date

Raq’s first wedding dress

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Mec looks so lovely in her wedding gown which was half-inspired by Kate Winslet. Just take a look…

My wedding gown was half-inspired by Kate Winslet’s sinking-ship attire. If anyone remembers, she had on this wonderful, floaty gown with a belt (much like an obi belt).

And I wanted two looks, a more demure one for the ceremony and a sexier one for the reception. I was big on flaunting my cleavage that time (I still am) but didn’t want to look inappropriate at the Church.

My couturier was a little conservative and was more worried about my sweetheart neckline. I actually wanted a more plunging one because I was going to be covered by the lace anyway. She put her foot down and I didn’t push the issue lest I come across as something other than tasteful on my wedding day.

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Gail shares her dream bridal gown without having to spend for a designer to make it for her. Just see for yourself…

Last November 25, 2007 marked the first year of my marriage to Marc, my best friend and boyfriend since college. Up to now, I still can’t get over the fact that it’s been a year already. It seems only like yesterday when I saw my dad’s jaw nearly fall to the ground in shock after my sister and I casually told him that Marc and I were planning to get married.

Since both of us already had our own income, Marc and I shouldered majority of the wedding costs. Although this gave my dad the perfect excuse whenever annoying relatives tried to intervene with the plans, it also posed a problem: a financial problem.

I had to make the most of our tight budget. I knew that hiring a popular designer would set me back big time, so I just did what I usually do in times like these—I researched and improvised. I grew up with a mom who believed that practically everything you’ll need can be found real cheap at Divisoria, and in this case, she was right.

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