{ weddings by vatel manila }

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

WORKSHOP: { FIRESTARTER YEAR 2 }

There's something about learning sessions that attract us, much like a moth to the flame (sans the disastrous end, of course). Growing up in a household where Mom was an English Literature teacher who was known to have lovingly terrorized her students back in her heydays made us appreciate continuing education more, and now that we move within the wedding industry, it's not a surprise that we'd end up supporting awesome learning activities like the Firestarter.

Lisa of Jeff & Lisa Photography, co-founder of this endeavor, first broached this idea to us last year and now that we're on our second year together with other partners & sponsors, we're very happy to know that this activity continues to inspire so many young people to keep doing what they're doing, not because they need to, but because they want to. Inspiration is a wonderful thing. As Eleanor Roosevelt puts it, it's doing one thing that scares you - every day. It truly is a leap of faith.

We at Vatel Manila are proud to be a part of this wonderful workshop. Here's to more years of rekindling flames & starting fires!

Much Love, Dylan

SPONSORS // VSCO Film X ProPhoto Blogs X Weddings@Work X The Peninsula Manila

PARTNERS // Veluz X Chichi Sotomil X Vatel Manila

SPEAKERS // Jason Magbanua X Nelwin Uy X Benz Co-Rana

PARTICIPANTS //

Enshong Miranda // Rubber Duckie Photography

Eric Santos // Caslow Photography

Burtz Rolian // Blink Box Photos

Lianne Bacorro // Lianne Bacorro Photography

Kate dela Cruz // Kate dela Cruz Photography

April Cabigao-Pulido // April & Manny Photography

Rich Martinez // Bing Bang Weddings & Events

Lloyd Valenzuela // Lloyd Valenzuela Photography

Nikk & Aia // Nikk & Aia Photography

Read more about the first Firestarter HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Monday, June 17, 2013

REAL WEDDING: { KENNETH ROY & PAULA VANESSA }

To be honest, we've never seen a wedding so wonderfully photographed as that of Kenneth & Paula's. There's a certain sheen, a soft light that pervades the entire set of photos - very feminine, very elegant, very detail oriented, very young. The subjects seem to glow from within - something we rarely see in this day and age of extreme digital manipulation. Of course it wouldn't come as a surprise that the creatives behind Sunday Morning Studios are young and lovers of natural light. Although we have yet to meet them, we actually love them already and can't wait to work with them again! ^_^

And as we always say here or on our Facebook page, a great photographer is rendered useless if there's nothing nice to shoot. Given that we have a pretty couple - and in this case, it's obviously the case! - nothing absolutely compares to having lots of pretty details for photographers to swoon over. For this wedding, we had the chance to work on a Summer / Pastel palette, and Bride Paula's bridal bouquet was literally a burst of color: pinks, yellows, ombre Orange, and greens. This was, however, tempered by laid-back and elegant composites of Million Stars for the rest of the female entourage. We're so happy that everything just went really well against their beautiful gowns! We just LOVE how this wedding looks so polished & well put together! ^_^

What got us really excited was the couple's request to have miniature tattoo machines recreated for their customized boutonnieres and our craft team, {etc} Handmade Goodness, didn't disappoint. Ah, details! We love how weddings nowadays live and breathe details. It makes everything all the more special. You should consider giving your own wedding that extra special attention, too! ^_^

Much Love, Dylan

{ SUPPLIERS }

Main Photographer X Nice Print

Auxiliary Photographer X Sunday Morning Studios (used in this set)

Planner X Epic Events

Gown X Carina Canlas-Villaluz

MUA X Jigs Mayuga

Catering X K. by Cunanan

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGN

REFINED SIMPLICITY. This is something we work hard to perfect. While we may have differing views on what is "elegant", we humbly present here our guiding principles in design.

1.) Simple and tasteful. The Filipino's current penchant for the "production number-act" is something we have discussed and studied thoroughly among ourselves.

This may be something we have acquired from television and from our increasing buying power. In the end, our homes end up being filled - to every crook and cranny - with things: huge aparadors and dividers go side by side with knick-knacks from our travels, as well as with our seeming fetish for souvenirs from just about any event and place. In short, horror vacui. However, Filipino design as gleaned from our history and traditions, hardly border on the loud and boorish.

The work of our indigineous peoples and local weavers attest to the beauty of our artwork. This concept - simple and tasteful - is at the core our design sensibility.

2.) Conversation-friendly and comfortable arrangements. Although the aim to make our designs conversation pieces in themselves is already a given, VATEL MANILA draws the line on the theatricality that pervades the current design concepts of many catering and event firms in Manila.

In our review of current practices, many design firms resort to the "shock policy" - that is, they capitalize on their ability to shock guests with venues teeming with flowers, lights and other pompous what-nots like employing yards upon yards of fabric, supposedly to make it "an event like no other" or "an event to be remembered".

Sometimes, even tables - from the main sponsors to the guests tables in a wedding setting, for example - are filled to the brim with flowers designed to block guests from seeing each other thus impeding conversation; tables are bathed in silk or organza, apparently designed to astound the visitor BUT without consideration of their comfort or safety.

The end result: uncomfortable and crampy arrangements. While we only suggest and can provide suggestions as to how to put life into your own concepts, the overall idea, really, is to effortlessly evoke images of the grand and the sophisticated without being distracting and obstrusive.

In the end, the true winners will be you and your guests - with the reward of pleasant memories arising from the things your ideas and our guidance / expertise can do together.