Sorry it took me so long to send you these pictures. And it’s not because it took me too long to choose from J Lucas Reyes' six CDs (though admittedly, natagalan din ako run, hehehe), but more of because I wanted to take my time so I can write everything that I want and need to tell you, knowing that I can only give you ONE thank you letter :P
When I was starting my wedding preps, I held on to the belief that it doesn’t matter if I don’t establish any form of friendship with any of my suppliers. After all, a wedding is just an event that barely lasts for more than three to four hours tops. I just needed the best possible people I could find who would fit my taste as well as our budget. As I told you before, I wasn’t looking for “a shoulder to cry on.” At siyempre, alam mo na, snobbish din kasi ako. Hehehe! :-)
Admittedly, I was once one of those brides (you detest) who do not put much value on entourage flowers. And I partly attribute this to the fact that, during those times, I haven’t seen any florist whose flowers caught my fancy. I’ve attended more weddings than I can dare count, and all the bouquets just looked the same: a bunch of tulips tied together, or a bundle of bloody red/spray-painted bright blue roses. It didn’t seem to me like it required much effort or artistry to tie a bunch of flowers together.
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Then I met you. And this, I believe, is one of the best things I got out of being a w@wie, as it was through w@w that I discovered you. Your first ever bouquet that I saw was the arm sheaf (made of yellow Cymbidium orchids, wax flowers, and snapdragons) you made for Lem + Jordan. I remember thinking, “This is a bridal bouquet?! Kakaiba!” That single bouquet led me to browse your site and go through all your creations, and it has since changed the way I look at bridal bouquets.
I have spent the past few days thinking what make your bouquets special, and what makes you special as a florist. As I browsed through your blog and looked back at the days we shared, the texts we exchanged (I’m not a senti person, pero yuck, I still have all your messages na sobra akong natawa), and all the emails we sent na not at all wedding-related, I have come to one conclusion: you are a special florist, a special wedding supplier, because you genuinely want every wedding entrusted to you to be as beautiful and as reflective of a bride as it possibly could be. Your knowledge about flowers is amazing, and your artistry and “aesthetic” is drawn from a deep understanding of flowers, as well as a genuine desire to make every wedding meaningful, thus all the planning and conceptualization that is uniquely the mark of a Vatel Manila bouquet.
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Thank you D, for my wonderful flowers. They were more beautiful than I ever imagined they would be. Thank you, for taking extra time, extra effort and extra love to make all my entourage flowers as stunning as they were. My mom refused to believe that you used real flowers for her bouquet. My mother-in-law asked Chris thrice if she was given the wrong set of flowers (dahil mukhang pang-bride daw ang bouquet niya). My friends who got married before me remarked that my entourage’s flowers were more beautiful than their own bridal bouquets. People during preps kept asking if the flower girl headpieces were real (my sister-in-law touched them and STILL wouldn’t believe they were real, ano ba!). I found them funny, remembering all the stories you shared about how people were incredulous to find out that your bouquets were made of fresh flowers.
Please also extend my thanks to Mishi for the exquisite pillows and corsages. I don’t know if I’m just being biased, but I honestly think they were much, much, MUCH better looking than the link I sent you from Etsy. :-) Siguro, ang nakagawa ng difference, yung black hearts. Hahaha! Seriously though, siguro hindi rin ako biased, kasi one of my friends want to have the same corsages for their company awarding (na naisip ko, talaga bang sa wedding magtanong ng supplier for that?). At least four of my friends and three of Chris’ relatives asked if they can have the pillows (I mean seriously, who does that in other people’s weddings?!). Two of our ninangs thought the corsages were part of our wedding souvenirs, and thanked us for it (Again, who does that in other people’s weddings?!).
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Up to this day, after the wedding hullabaloo has died down, my friends and family still tease me for not crying on my wedding day. And up to now, I proudly tell them, that only three things made me cry on my wedding day: the father and daughter dance, the surprise appearance of one of my best friends from China, and the surprise visit from my florist and friend. And when they ask me why I didn’t cry, I always tell them, because I was able to condition myself to walk down that aisle to that song (yucky fact: I jogged to “Bless the Broken Road” just to get the emotion out of my system. Hahaha!). But seeing you on our wedding day, that, I just wasn’t prepared for. It was an amazing surprise though. :-)
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I was so happy that day, D. And I want to thank you from the deepest, innermost muscular layer of my heart, for being part of that happiness. Our wedding day was perfect. The weather was perfect. The flowers were perfect. Almost all the people I loved were there. It was a perfect, perfect day J I wish though, that you were there to see me walk down the aisle. You would have been proud of me! Pero okay na rin siguro, kasi kung hahawakan mo ang hand ko before ako mag-bridal march, malamang umiyak ako. Hahaha!
I want to apologize pala, for all the times na I was indecisive and fickle-minded. Alam ko may times siguro na gusto mo na lang magbasag ng plato sa mga sagot ko. Hahaha! I just never really thought I’d get married one day, so I was at a loss while planning our wedding. Thank you, for putting up with me, and for helping me come up with a wedding that Chris and I both deserve.
Chris has been scolding me the last few months leading to our wedding, because we went beyond the budget (mostly due to my doing). And when I saw your costing the last few days leading to the wedding, I automatically heard Chris whining in my head. Pero naisip ko, “Eh bakit ba, ang dami ko kayang pagod sa pagpa-plan ng wedding na ito! I deserve to be a VM bride!” Hahaha! And it was one of the best decisions I ever made! Nasa akin ang huling halakhak because when Chris saw the flowers, he whispered to me during the ceremony, “I-book mo na si Dylan for our renewal of vows!” Naisip ko nga, walanghiya, di man lang ako sinabihan na, “You look beautiful!” tulad ng sinabi ni William kay Kate! Bwiset! Hahaha!
I want to go on and on about how happy you’ve made us and how special you’ve made our wedding, but I guess words will never be enough to express how thankful I am to have you as a part of our wedding, and how lucky I feel to be given the privilege to make you a part of my life. I will forever cherish the memories and hold your friendship close to my heart. And, although I was not looking for a shoulder to cry on, or a friend to talk to when I decided to get you, that was what you have inevitably become. And that, for me, makes your bouquet, and the fact that you were part of our wedding day, priceless.
I love you D. Thank you for everything. :-)
Much love,
C
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