I Am Bourgeois

Photo by Pau

Last Thursday, my friend Mikey finally tied the knot with his girlfriend/best friend Maffy. I actually have a memory of when they first became a couple: sometime June 2007, Mikey sent me a frantic YM telling me that he and his best friend ended the night by kissing passionately in his car. He was very freaked out by what happened and didn’t know what to do. I don’t remember what I said or if what I said made any difference, but there they were two years later, walking down the aisle with tears streaming down their cheeks. It was pretty sweet, actually.

The invitation to Mikey’s wedding made me panic a little because it specified that women had to wear long gowns. This wouldn’t have been a problem if I got the invite way in advance, but Mikey only formally invited us two weeks before the date itself! Where in the world am I going to find a long gown that I like? To me, long gowns tend to make women look like cheap lounge singers. I could already see myself walking for hours on end at various malls, trying different dresses on and wrinkling my nose at the design, the fit, or the price tag.

To save myself a trip to the mall (and maybe a couple of hundred bucks), I figured I might as well start the hunt by hitting the search button at eBay and Multiply and see what I could find. And I did eventually find something to wear!

Anne actually found the dress for me while she was looking through eBay for a long gown of her own – a gray/purple floor-length empire dress from US-based bridal shop Watters and Watters. It was only selling for 600 pesos, but I paid another 600 to get it altered to fit my diminutive size. Not a bad price for a long gown though, especially one as gorgeous as this! I love the way the fabric falls to the floor.

The simplicity of the dress gave me the perfect opportunity to have fun with accessories. I bought this feathered headband from Hot Topic several months ago and couldn’t find an opportunity to wear it before the wedding (for some reason, I’m not brave enough to wear outlandish accessories on a normal day). As for the necklace, I had such a tough time finding a statement necklace to my liking, so I borrowed one from my ultra-stylish friend Rica.

I did my makeup myself, using my Urban Decay Eyeshadow Ammo palette and Dollface 15-Piece Neutral Palette (Shimmer). I’m still pretty much a noob at doing eye makeup, and I’m relieved it turned out well. Palette reviews to come in the future!

Photo by Jayvee

One other thing I enjoyed about the wedding is that it was the perfect excuse to catch up with my friends from the now-defunct Man Blog. I loved seeing everyone all dressed up! Also, I doubt that I’ll ever see my guy friends in a barong again, unless one of us gets married soon and puts the barong in the dress code.

Photo by Fritz

Me and Liz looking like accidental bridesmaids (the wedding’s color scheme was purple and silver). In case you don’t know who we are, we’re the wimmin behind The Ukay Manila Store.

Photo by Luis

Penny, me, Anne, and Helga – third world Sex and the City. Instead of shopping at Saks, we shop at the ukays in Cubao. (I hate that show BTW.)

Photo by Jayvee

Guess who caught the bouquet?