Rebellious Bride Johann's Crafty Wedding

Photos by J Lucas Reyes in FILMTATSIC

"Probably the hardest part in doing DIYs is knowing the reason why you are doing it in the first place. Yes, it’s time consuming. Yes, it can be hard. It can sometimes blow your budget even. But you know in the end, it will be all worth it. You’ll know that you have made something out of your own creativity to bring a certain uniqueness to your own wedding. You’ll look back and say your wedding is inspired and totally reflected who you and your hubby are. So keep at it and don’t falter with your visions and inspirations."

Rebellious Bride Johann Lopez - Torres' advice on going DIY 

 

Rebellious Bride Johann's DIY wedding, is the best example of perfect "editing". Sometimes, we got so lost in all the details that we tend to hoard a lot of ideas to the point that the initial wedding concept gets lost....I call this, the "wedding hoarder bride" (watch out for a future article on this).

Johann & Ian's wedding had a lot of beautiful DIY details but what I like about how they executed it, is the fact that everything looked so delicate and effortlessly chic. Johann's crafty ideas were so impressive that it caught the eye of Rebellious Bunch Vatel {etc}. Now, Johann also contributes to the creative team that is Vatel.

Another thing to note about this couple is that they had a lot of crazy challenges during planning their wedding. Apart from the usual stress that comes with wedding preps, they even got mugged and a friend borrowed money from them and never paid them. But the couple had a positive disposition--and for that I truly admire them. Here's a closer look at the minimalist yet crafty details of Johann and Ian's wedding: 

Johann: My absolute favourite was the cake and the cake table setup. 

Armed with my cake mood board, we met the beautiful Ms. Baba Ibazeta-Benedicto of Classic Confections. We wanted a butter cream cake. We told her we wanted a simple non-fondant cake and showed her our pegs. Ms. Baba made us a 3-satellite butter cream cake with flavours of apple walnut, chocolate, and butter. 

True to our theme, we used wooden cake stands cut from a log. For the cake topper, we used wooden peg dolls and made it ourselves, inspired by cake toppers I saw on Etsy. It was fun making it into our own likeness – I did the bride while Ian did the groom. I fell in love with it that now, I offer it to other couples interested in DIY cake toppers like ours. 

 Rebellious Brides: Since you had a creative wedding, what were the challenges that you had to face and how did you overcome it?

Johann: Prior to our preparation, I didn’t know how tedious planning a themed wedding can be as I found out that we have to decide everything – from the overall look we want to achieve and even to the minutest details as the match to be used in lighting the wedding candles. It was a bit overwhelming at first because everything was just too much! But being the rebellious bride that I was, I knew we can accomplish everything we planned. All it took was the idea that we will be having the wedding we wanted and the idea that we get to exploit our creativity and resourcefulness, and I became motivated and inspired. It also helped that I got a very supportive groom.  

Challenges that we encountered were mostly on how to execute everything and how to source the materials given that our budget and time is limited. Ian and I both have full time jobs and trips to a lot of places were limited to the weekends. A challenge is also where to source the materials – I had one experience when I didn’t know where to get the jute sacks. I saw one on the internet and asked the supplier if he can sell me jute sacks – he gave it for free when he found out it’s for a wedding – when I went to their place and got the sacks, I proceeded going home – only to get mugged by three teenagers along the way. They took my favourite necklace away. 

Another challenge that happened during our preps was the time when a friend of mine borrowed some money from us, promising us that she will pay, but sadly, she never did. Owing to the fact that we had a limited budget, it worried us that we won’t be able to meet all of our payments with our suppliers. Luckily, we were still able to save enough and we were also greatly overwhelmed with gratitude for our families and friends who helped and contributed. We were still fortunate, above all, to have our families and friends help us execute the wedding of our dreams. 

RB: Any shout-outs to your suppliers who helped you implement your creative wedding? 

Johann: We couldn’t possibly thank our suppliers enough for the fantastic job they did on our wedding. Everything was perfect! Everyone was attentive, came on time, and did their job amazingly! We are glad that we were able to meet and befriend them. 

OTD COORDINATOR: Blissfully Hitched (they were so helpful from start to finish and we know we wouldn’t be able to do everything without their help) 

MUSIC (QUARTET): Manila Philharmonic Orchestra (they played so beautifully and made everything romantic. MPO was the first supplier we booked because of how much we wanted them to play on our wedding) 

PHOTOGRAPHER: J Lucas Reyes Photography (we are such a fan of his FILMTASTIC style and we are forever grateful for capturing the love and happiness that day brought all of us on film) 

VIDEOGRAPHER: Shierdan Pamintuan (thank you so much that you imparted your creativity and time to shoot our wedding day. it was a pleasure to be able to work with you and your team) 

COUTURIER (BRIDE): Ms. Gretchen Pichay (who accommodated me and created my beautiful gown. It was definitely one of the highlights of our wedding) 

HMUA: Pia Reyes (makeup) and Dave Lopez (hair) (thank you so much for making me feel beautiful that day and I will definitely miss the laughs, kwentuhan and the makeup sessions!) 

BRIDAL SHOES: Perfect Match Shoes and Ties (thank you for creating such comfortable and beautiful shoes) 

HAIR ACCESSORIES: Princess Weds (thank you for doing a fantastic job on my hair accessories) ENTOURAGE FLOWERS/RECEPTION STYLING 

CONSULTANT: Vatel Manila (we are forever grateful that Dylan Gozum shared his fantastic eye on styling details and provided the gorgeous entourage flowers) 

WEDDING RINGS: V-Gem Jewelry (Mr. Ver was very accommodating and helpful in providing us our wedding rings) 

CATERER: Josiah’s Catering (our guests absolutely love the food and the setup done during the reception) 

CAKE: Baba-Ibazeta Benedicto of Classic Confections (it was a pleasure meeting with Baba who was kind enough to agree with the setup and the cake design that we wanted) 

FAVORS: Candy Buffet by BOX OF SWEETS (thank you for creating our cute rustic candy table setup) FAVORS: Takeone Photobooth (the owner is Ian’s cousin and he setup the booth as his wedding gift. Thank you so much – our guests enjoyed getting their photos taken)

 FAVORS: Starbucks Coffeebooth (this was also given by a good friend of ours and we are very thankful) 

LIGHTS AND SOUNDS: REJECTKREW (thank you for providing us good music throughout the party) 

RB: Any advice you can give to brides who probably want to have DIY details in their weddings but are intimidated with the idea? 

Johann: A practical tip would probably to think big first – visualize your inspirations as a whole (a mood board will help) – and then break it down and make it little by little within your time frame. Know your limitations on your capabilities, your budget, and your time constraint. Assess what you love (and can do) and start from there. Of course, don’t forget to employ your hubby too! You might be surprise how hands-on he can be. 

RB: What is your definition of a Rebellious Bride? 

Johann: Being a rebellious bride is not limiting the creativity and resourcefulness the wedding preparations might bring. Making weddings special and unique can push even the most uninspired brides and grooms to be imaginative in creating their own wedding fantasies. I say go and make it happen (even with the borderline of the impossible and the crazy sometimes)! When you think of it, who says we are limited to the traditional? It is making these fantasies true, after all, that will definitely be the most memorable of weddings (aside from marrying your husband/wife of course :P) 

Congratulations to Johann and Ian and thank you for sharing your wedding with us! 

XOXO,

Kai 

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