Buying Your Wedding Gown in Divisoria

It's 2017 and you can still just spend between PhP5,000 to 10,000 for your wedding and entourage gowns/attire. The Twisted Wedding Planner found time to visit Divisoria last January 3 to check what you can get for your wedding.

Here is a simple hand-drawn map of where I went around and what you can find around Divisoria.

Or better yet, refer to Google Maps.

I usually just walk around Tabora and Ylaya. In Tabora you can buy materials for your souvenir items, beads, crowns, lace etc. You will find the dress shops inside the building located between Tabora Street and Ylaya (they're in the middle of the building). Most of the shops have ready-to-wear gowns available. They only receive payment in cash.

At Morning Glory (Tabora Street) you can find materials for your souvenir items and for your wedding attire. There was an ongoing sale early this month and I got a lot of lace for my quilt projects.

Wedding Gowns in Divisoria

Divisoria offers a wide variety of gowns. You can select ready-to-wear gowns from their display, but you can also have one made for you. You can either select from available catalogues they have or you can bring your own design. Or you can have a design made by my niece, Patricia Apolo, who designed Martine  entourage gowns for my wedding.

Here are some photos from the different stalls in Tabora Street.

Gowns range from PhP1,000 and up (and even below when they have a sale). Groom barongs are also available and you can choose from different types of fabric.

Entourage Gowns in Divisoria

I found some entourage attire at Tabora that was on sale. You can get a simple dress for about PhP500. The price goes up based on the complexity of the design.

I went to Divisoria because I'm scheduled to be a godmother for two weddings this year and I remembered the many beautiful options available in Divisoria. I had a hard time choosing, but settled for a neutral color and a dress that would be easy to iron since there I will be traveling for the weddings. I also got hubby a new barong.

Make sure you ask for a discount when buying your items!

Wedding Attire at 168 Mall

168 Shopping Mall also has dedicated space for wedding attire. You can select from the many stores available in the mall. The gowns, barongs and suits are a bit more pricey than in Tabora, but you can enjoy hunting for your gown because the mall uses airconditioning.

Divisoria is a great place to find your wedding attire. I know they also have sections at Tutuban Mall dedicated for this but I didn't have the time to go there anymore. Tabora Street/Ylaya Street have a lot of options and I had a hard time choosing one for an upcoming wedding. 

Happy choosing and happy haggling! 

Ordering Wedding Gowns from Divisoria

So far there is no way online you can order wedding gowns/entourage gowns from Divisoria. You have to do it the old fashioned way -- go there!

Here are tips though to make things easy:

1. Make a list of all the gowns and barongs you need to have done. Bring several copies of this list so it would be easy to have the store keeper give you a quote.

2. Bring the design of the gowns you want made. They won't design it for you and will likely make you choose from a magazine.

3. Know what kind of clothe you want to use for the gowns and barongs.

4. Get their phone numbers, fax and email. (Note that they may have email addys, but they don't really check it). List down the name of the person you spoke with so it would be easy to call them back.

5. Measurements. It would be hard to haul your whole entourage to Divisoria, but you can request the store to send somebody to your home to do measurements. It would cost you an additional PhP500 per home visit.

6. For those with entourage based in other countries/regions, request them to send you their measurements (will make a how-to measure post soon).

For a short list of Divisoria wedding gown makers please refer to this post -
http://twistedweddingplanner.blogspot.com/2009/05/braving-divisoria-for-wedding-garments.html

Are you looking for a wedding gown/entourage gown designer? Inquire here.

Affordable Wedding and Entourage Gowns

One of the things that people usually ask me is where to get affordable wedding and entourage gowns. I personally wanted to wear an expensive gown for my wedding, so I went around town and met with several wedding designers. I went to see designers based in Makati, Paranaque and Marikina. Also scouted for some in nearby provinces and through wedding expos.

I was keen on getting a gown that cost at least PhP70,000. I wanted to use pinya as the cloth of my gown and PhP70,000 was the minimum amount we'd have to pay. Eventually though my practical side kicked in and refused to budge with the amount of money that needed to be shelled out for the wedding gown. I could not convince myself (being schizo here) to spend so much on something that I would wear for just one day. (My wedding gown has been neatly tucked away in its box and I haven't checked it since I kept it.)

My practical side won and I compromised by getting a designer that offered affordable wedding gowns. Here are some tips:

1. Have it made in nearby provinces - my cousin has a wedding shop in Quezon and she had very affordable packages, too bad she was out of the country when I was preparing for my wedding. My best friend had her gown made in Laguna and it just cost her around PhP7,000.

2. Affordable designers - I went to see quite a number of designers. I chose Amonn Velasco because he had good reviews and he was very accommodating. I had an unpleasant experience with a well-known designer based in Marikina so I told myself that the designer I would choose had to be someone I'd have good rapport with.

3. Divisioria - the most affordable wedding gowns are in Divi! You can either buy it ready made or you can have a design copied. One of my nieces designed all the gowns that the entourage wore and I just had it rendered in Divisoria. I have a rundown on how much gowns cost in Divisoria in this post.

4. Use your Mom's wedding gown - my Mom wanted me to wear her gown, too bad though I don't have an 18-inch waistline and my Mom wasn't sure if her 50-year old gown would stay up the whole day.

It's really up to you how much you want to spend on your gown. My practical side won out. Check out my wedding budget planner and think about it.