Rebellious Bride - Didi

All Photos by Toto Villaruel

"If you really want the license to do what you want with your wedding, pay for your own wedding 100%. I hate to say this but, really: "Money is power"."

Didi Paterno-Magpali, on one of her tips for the Rebellious Brides

Last week, we featured Rebellious Groom Duane. This time around, we present to you his equally Rebellious Bride, Didi, creator of the blog Loving the Distance.


Left to do all the legwork for the wedding (because the groom-to-be worked abroad), this didn't tie Didi down from making sure their wedding was very personal and customized. It was so personal that she even sourced out the fabrics for their entourage and did the calligraphy for the invites on her own (among other DIY projects).


Here are some of the awesome, and not the usual ideas that Didi executed for their wedding:

The Eyelet Bridal Gown

The Bride's Eyelet Gown was designed by MICHI CALICA

How cute is a gown with eyelet details from head to toe? Didi had a white bridal gown but made sure it was still very different. She let her own personal style and her priorities, guide her in her wedding gown creation. She also started with a peg, BUT she still made it her own.


Didi shares: "I stumbled upon an eyelet gown on the internet and showed it to Michi during our planning sessions. She is just a genius in envisioning the entire gown: the eyelet, the lace, the beading. I just wanted a VERY SIMPLE (no frou frou, bling bling, princess gown), but she gave me more than what I did hope for. She made me pretty on our wedding day. Simple AND pretty."


"My sisters told me and Michi I was the most simple bride in the whole wide world, but I didn't mind. I was a simple bride getting married to the love of my life and I couldn't care any less."

A Refreshing Take on the Entourage

Didi and Duane's ideas for their entourage outfits were just as interesting. Simple, practical, but out of the ordinary. The female principal sponsors donned spunky denim outfits---which really is a very clever idea because principal sponsors are sometimes allergic to accepting being a principal sponsor because of the stigma that they are "old"--so to make them feel young is such an awesome idea. The couple's secondary sponsors and the maid-of-honor were in quirky dainty clothes, perfect for a picnic, and the mothers were in the cutest pink dresses inspired by Mad Men.


Didi explains: "I just wanted my entourage to be able to use their dresses again. I did not want their outfits to be a once in a lifetime use as well. So I worked with Michi to make them functional as well. Since it was a more casual wedding, I wanted to keep the dresses short...rather I required them to be short. Another reason was for my long gown to stand out, to be the star of the day so to say. So at least ONCE in my life I get to be the star. I'm more of a behind the scenes person kasi."

"The outfits of the secondary sponsors were Lily Pulitzer inspired as per recommendation of Michi. A splash of color and a bit of eyelet trimming to tie-in the entire theme together. While the outfits of the mothers were Mad Men inspired, also as per Michi's recommendation. I just made sure that the color of tela was according to theme."


"For the principal sponsors, I just gave them the dark denim tela (which I love and would wear too) and told them to to just keep it short. I shared with them design pegs and that was it. They had a free rein on the dresses. I guess they were just surprised that I did not dictate anything. A nice surprise for them."

"It was important that the entire entourage got to choose a design that they were comfortable with. If I wanted to be comfortable, I made sure they would be comfortable too. Oh yes, I sourced all the tela and trimmings all by myself. I consider myself lucky at the same time very masipag in going around all the shops."

Cute and Fun

It was raining during their wedding but this did not dampen the couple's spirits. The wedding was colorful and fun--and it made the perfect irony--perhaps a sign to keep things light and fun despite all the problems in this world? One of the cutest details of the wedding was the bridal car itself. A Mini Cooper!

Didi says: "It was my idea to have the mini cooper. And we didn't know anybody else who used a mini cooper for their bridal car. Besides it was in with the theme. Cute and fun."

http://nicolaimelicor.wordpress.com/

Here are more tips and advice from Didi:


1) I would always say: do what you are COMFORTABLE with. Stick to your own personalities and don't just do things because it's been done by celebrities or it's trendy. If you AND your husband-to-be are not comfortable with the idea, ditch it.


2) Just make sure that the photobooth will stay until the end. We missed taking our photobooth pics.


3) Collaborate with your groom. it's not just the bride's wedding anyway. It's a bride AND groom show.

http://nicolaimelicor.wordpress.com/

4) And more importantly, just do what you can AFFORD to do. Yes the wedding is once-in-a-lifetime, but, for me, what is more important is the life AFTER the wedding. If you want a bongga wedding with all the big supplier names, make sure you save up for it. Pls pls pls do not loan just for the wedding. I am just not a believer of super spending for your wedding. The wedding is just the beginning of your life together and you would not want to start that life in debt. Bow.

5) Being rebellious doesn't mean you have the license to do everything and anything that you want without thinking of your guests. At the end of the day, they are still your guests. It is an honor for you (the couple) to have the guests at your wedding. So I think that it is important for couples to still think of how the guests would also have hassle-free fun on that special day. So for me, we did what we wanted (be comfortable and all), but we also did make sure that the guests were well taken care of too. We wanted them to be comfortable as well. Quite a number of guests (guys) even thanked us for not requiring them to wear suits in the tropical weather. I think, at the end of the day, like all other guests, they want to be able to enjoy the wedding too.

Are you a Rebellious Bride? Or do you know of a Rebellious Bride? Join in our Rebellious Cause! Find out how to contribute by visiting out Submissions Page!

XOXO,

Kai

http://www.twitter.com/RebelliousBride

***RELATED ARTICLE: REBELLIOUS GROOM - DUANE

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