Stardust

By: Maritoni Alvarez
Yehey In-house Production

Summer is just around the corner and as early as now, June bridewannabes are already prepping up to find the perfect gown designers, photographer, reception venue and honeymoon destinations to make their dream fairytale wedding come true.

As everybody knows, planning and organizing a wedding is a really stressful and strenuous task. The hunt for the best people to help you with all the details needed is no walk in the park especially when you want everything to be as detailed and perfect as much as possible.

Good news is, MS Weddings already did the legwork for you. With a magazine rich in wedding contents, MS Weddings Magazine will also bring future brides and grooms closer to their dream wedding through the “Bridal Fair: Love is in the details” which will be happening on March 28-29 at the World Trade Center Tent Pavilion.

Pauline Chang, MS Weddings Managing Editor and Pauline Gonzales of Summit Live! talk about MS Weddings magazines, what to expect on the bridal fair, what makes a perfect wedding and how to make your wedding memorable without compromising your budget.

1. MS Weddings Magazine had its debut last September 2008. How was it in the market so far? How’s the reception towards the magazine?

Paulynn Chang: Very very good. From both readers and the suppliers. From readers, we a get lot of emails, letter, and verbal comments. They say na it has the best ideas and such beautiful pictures. They really appreciate all the ideas and all the inspirations. From the supplier as well, they say “Ay naku grabe, Martha Stewart Weddings is here na, I love the magazine.” People say that when you put the local edition and the US edition side by side, you can’t tell [the difference]. Overwhelming reception, and even the editors internationally, they say “You’ve done such a great job.”

2. Was there any pressure in launching the Philippine edition of the MS Weddings? If there’s any, what are those?

PC: Super! We have to please first and foremost the reader, the Filipina bride. We also have to please the international editors as well as Martha Stewart herself. We have to send each and every page to the US for approval prior to printing, even the layout [and] photos down to the last details and have Martha Stewart look at it as well.

3. What made you come up with the Martha Stewart Bridal Fair?

Pauline Gonzales: [Since] all the bridal fairs that we have is almost tiangge type and the Martha Stewart brand is very premium and elegant and there’s none at that level yet, so we were thinking to set a benchmark for this, that’s the start of the bridal fair.

PC: I think Summit, as whole, wants to ensure that we give brides the total wedding planning experience. If we give you a magazine which will supply the inspirations and ideas, we also wanted to have a bridal fair to connect the brides to the suppliers. It comes hand in hand. Your inspiration and you’re given access to the supplier who can help bring that inspiration to life.

4. Do you think it’s still practical to spend on lavish weddings especially nowadays when life is hard?

PC: Actually if you look at Martha Stewart the Magazine, it does not espouse elaborate and extravagant weddings, what Martha Stewart focuses on is personalization and how to make the wedding your own. If you think about it, you can hire the best suppliers, you can have it in a five star hotel but it’s possible that your wedding will not reflect your personality. But you can have a wedding with something very specific in mind, the theme and color palette in mind and then stick to your budget to come up with a wedding that is uniquely yours.

5. Do you have any tips on how to make a memorable but cost-efficient wedding?

PC: A lot actually. I think, for the readers, it’s one reason why they should get a copy… In the magazine we have two features that subtly talk about “Getting the biggest bang for your bucks.” So we have like an article about how to handle your budget, because ultimately when you’re planning a wedding, that is one of the first few things you’ll have to discuss with your husband to be. How much do you want to spend, how much will you allocate for certain elements. Another feature we have will be how to make use of the different elements in more than one way and we have lots of do-it-yourself project when you look into the magazine.

6. The bridal fair promises to give everyone lowdown on the latest wedding trends today. Can you give examples of the latest trends in wedding with regard to color motif, theme, etc.?

PC: A lot of brides pick up on the season, so if they’re having a summer wedding, it’s normally in a beach, or they would have light, bright, citrusy colors or like a pastel palette, so that’s one season. And the other season, since we don’t have winter in the Philippines, the season is like holiday, so then your  color palette there would be more jewel tones, like emeralds, aquas, reds. Another trend would be, we’re seeing more and more these days that brides want to personalize everything. Versus before, when bride would focus on colors, what they focus on now would be the themes. In the magazine, we feature four real weddings, each with different themes. That’s another thing that readers should watch out for. (March issue)

7. Do you think it’s still practical to get a wedding organizer/planner?

PC: Yes! I would say as a bride, yes. You don’t have to get a coordinator to do full coordination, meaning from start to end, sila magpaplan. But I think for the day itself it’s important because on the day itself, your only job as a bride is to have fun, enjoy your wedding, to look as gorgeous and as splendid as you possibly can and forget about the little things that could go wrong. Taking care of the little things that could go wrong should be the job of your coordinator. Kung may naiwan in your house, if the reception set up isn’t what you agreed upon, the coordinator should be the one fixing that. Now, that being said, you don’t need to hire a coordinator if you have someone close to you who’s willing to work, that person can also help on your wedding day.

8. You mentioned a while ago that you featured in your March issue four real weddings in different themes. In your honest opinion, whose wedding, among our local and international celebrities, is the best and why?

PC: Actually all eh, me personally, and I’m sure everyone in our staff would agree [that] there’s no one best theme, no one best location or color palette, it really depends on the couple. As we say, your wedding should always reflect who you are as a couple more than anything else, that’s the most important thing.

9. Can you please describe a dream/perfect wedding?

PC: When I think of a dream wedding, it’s more than all the wedding elements. It’s more than your dress, your food and venue. It’s really wanting to enjoy every single minute of your wedding and making sure that everyone in your wedding also has a good time. Everyone should be well taken care of. It should be as meaningful and personal as possible.

10. For a Paullyne Chan, who’s the best fashion designer, photographer, videographer, where’s the perfect church to get wed and honeymoon destination?

PC: Actually it really depends because different designers have different strengths. You can’t say that there’s one best designer because they all specialize in different things and it all depends on how you relate with the designer. As a bride you should pick someone that you have rapport with, that you can communicate with well. Same with the photographer and videographer. We have a directory at the end of the magazine which lists down photographers, designers, florist that talks about what their fortes are.

11. What is the highlight of this two-day Bridal Fair?

PG: The raffles, where readers can win lots of prizes. Two tickets to anywhere in the US by North West, gown from Frederick Peralta and dream cake from Goldilocks. From Cebu Pacific, they’re giving two tickets to Cebu, Davao and Dakak. One of our partners will be giving out a bridal package. Gift certificates and overnight accommodation for two from Makati Shangri-la. Food and beverage certificates from Peninsula Manila and Crowne Plaza, Galleria Manila. That’s only the major raffle prizes. Other highlights are the fashion show, they will be having a pavilion so you can see how we can incorporate the Martha Stewart ideas. Talks from Rajo Laurel, Margarita Fores, Barbie Chan and Makati Shangri-la will talk about Ting Hun or Chinese wedding.

12. Is there any entrance fee for this event? If yes, how much?

PG: Yes, it’s Php 50.00 per person, but if you register online www.summitmedia.com.ph/mswbridalfair, you’ll get a complimentary ticket and when you have the March issue, you get free entrance.

13. What else is there to see on the event?

PG: For the bridal fair, we want to have the look and feel of a premium wedding reception, it will not be very industrial. Our caterers will be sampling their items, we also have a juice bar, free flowing for the opening ceremony and during the fashion show, inclusive of the Php50.00. We also have the “Groom’s Room” where the male guests can just tambay where they can play Wii and we have massage chairs there. We also have the “Fitting Room” where guests can check out and fit different gowns depending on their body types.

14. Any plans in bringing in Martha Stewart here in the Philippines?

PC: We tried to bring her in but she’s actually very busy. Hopefully one day she’ll come but at this point she’s just too busy.

15. Do we expect a Martha Stewart Weddings Bridal Fair 2010?

PC: Yes, but on 2010, it’s going to be on September naman, kasabay ng magazine. So it’s alternating. (MS Weddings Magazine comes out twice a year, March and September)