Advisory

Zandra Lim — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:39:51 +0000

Please be advised that the Sapphire package have been revised. I can no longer offer bridal gown under Sapphire package but the entourage rates may still be availed of if the order comes with a bridal gown order (from Alexandrite and above).

Sapphire

(entou only; can only be availed with a bridal order)

(Elegant designs with beadwork. Duchess satin, taffeta)

Female Entourage 4,000

(no beadwork, monotone or duotone; duchess satin, taffeta)

Mother 6,000

(beaded gown, fabric in chiffon)

Flowergirl 3,000

There will be no price increase for this year, save for the small change of the Sapphire package, everything else will be the same.

Thanks so much!!!

Happiness always,

Zandra

Happy New Year!

Zandra Lim — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:42:13 +0000

A Belated Happy New Year to all!!!

Let’s usher in hope for a bright future, courage to embrace the ambiguity of life, and seize the best moments that has yet to come.

I shall start with this quote from the Book of Romans:

Romans 5:2-5 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Let’s all have great expectations for God’s blessings will always be great!

Loving life,

Zandra

December Swoop

Zandra Lim — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 06:32:25 +0000

Heeelllo, brides! Before we embark on 2012, let me give you a swoop in the 2 remaining weeks of December! For bookings made these last 2 weeks of December (for bridal gown worth 50k), i’ll be giving away a mother’s gown (worth 7k)! For inquiries, you may email me at zdlim427@yahoo.com or leave a message [...] Read more »

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New Rates 2011

Zandra Lim — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 13:29:46 +0000

Effective September 2011

Individual Rate

Basic 6,000

Description of Packages

Sapphire 62,000

(1) Bride 30,000

(Elegant designs with beadwork. Duchess satin, taffeta)

(5) Female Entourage 4,000

(no beadwork, monotone or duotone; duchess satin, taffeta)

(2) Mother 6,000

(beaded gown, fabric in chiffon)

(1) Flowergirl 3,000

Alexandrite 74,000

(1) Bride 35,000

(Elegant designs with beadwork; duchess satin, taffeta, chiffon, organdy)

(5) Female Entourage 4,800

(Elegant designs with beadwork; monotone or duotone; fabric in taffeta, duchess satin, chiffon, charmeuse)

(2) Mother 7,000

(beaded gown; Fabric in chiffon,etc)

(1) Flowergirl 3,800

Diamond 84,000

(1)Bride 40,000

(Sophisticate designs with intricate beadwork. Duchess satin, taffeta, chiffon, organdy, Mikado silk)

(5) Female Entourage 5,500

(Elegant designs with beadwork, monotone, duotone, triatone; layering; duchess satin, taffeta, chiffon, chloe, etc)

(2) Mother 8,000

(beaded gown, more fabric choices, more fabric yardage or with lace)

(1) Flowergirl 4,500

Emerald 100,000

(1) Bride 50,000

(Glamorous designs with intricate beadwork; duchess satin, taffeta, chiffon, organdy, mikado silk)

(5) Female entourage 6,000

(Beaded gowns, 1-3 color combinations, layering, handpainting)

(2) Mothers 9,000

(beaded, more fabric choices/premium fabrics, lace)

(1) Flowergirl 5,000

Ruby 115,000

(1) Bride 60,000

(premium fabric and materials)

(5) Femme 7,000

(beaded gowns, premium materials)

(2) Mothers 10,000

(beaded , premium materials)

(1) Flowergirl 6,000

Yellow Label Bridal Gown

@ 80K

(PURE OPULENCE)

ACCESSORIES:

Headpiece, bridal veil, 2^nd veil, cord, garter, coin, pouch, 1 pair pillow, match

Shoes 3,800

*Packages may be customized according to numbers and may also be mixed together.

Happy “Ber” Months!

Zandra Lim — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 13:28:20 +0000

Rainy days gave me quite a headache. It caused the flu virus to proliferate and my staff weren’t immune to it. A handful of my staff got sick, including the driver and the kids’ nannies. Oh my! We could have been stockholders of New World Laboratory by now, having CBC done every time flu strike at them. Thankful though that my kids were spared. With my staff sick, back up plans thankfully got me covered.

Good news came quite earlier than expected. My web designer is redesigning my website…for free! Ain’t that great? Yeah! Good things come to those who wait, teehee! With my website undergoing redesigning and all, I won’t be posting the new rates in its page. Will just email the rates to Criselle, my heroine, to include it in my new re-designed website. Can’t wait! Excited to the hilt =)

For the new rates, please check the post “New Rates 2011”.

It’s September!!!!!! I’m screaming, can’t you hear me? Holy cow, we’re now working like there’s no tomorrow!!! I’m excited but a nerve-wrecked-talking to clients but thinking of production! In so many ways, I’m quite delirious with my production. So hold on tight, wedding pictures will unfold. Weddings just never cease to excite me.

Oh, by the way, my eldest son is going to be a bearer for a client! I agreed mainly because I believe we’ll be friends (client and i) in the process. Looking forward to see my son dapper in suit =)

Happy “ber” months, everyone!

Thanks for dropping by =)

Uber Details Exposed

Zandra Lim — Sat, 07 May 2011 05:35:35 +0000

Anyone lived under a rock last week and didn’t have a clue that there was a royal wedding? hehe

I waited a tad late to post this since I know everyone might have been overly fed with tidbits about the Duchess of Cambridge’s famous gown. And what do I have to write about it? Just reposting. It’s déjà vu for me, since this is the kind of writing and interest I’ve been exposed to courtesy of Mills and Boons when I was a kid dreaming and concocting of a fairytale of my own. It’s so Mills and Boons! The only thing missing I guess is the mention of the exact yardage of thread used in creating the royal bride’s gown…teehee!

From the Official Royal wedding Website:

Miss Catherine Middleton’s Wedding Dress has been designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen.

Miss Middleton chose British brand Alexander McQueen for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing. Miss Middleton wished for her dress to combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterises Alexander McQueen’s work. Miss Middleton worked closely with Sarah Burton in formulating the design of her dress.

The dress epitomises timeless British craftsmanship by drawing together talented and skilled workmanship from across the United Kingdom. The dress design pays tribute to the Arts and Crafts tradition, which advocated truth to materials and traditional craftsmanship using simple forms and often Romantic styles of decoration. Ms Burton’s design draws on this heritage, additionally giving the cut and the intricate embellishment a distinctive, contemporary and feminine character.

The design

The lace appliqué for the bodice and skirt was hand-made by the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace. The lace design was hand-engineered (appliquéd) using the Carrickmacross lace-making technique, which originated in Ireland in the 1820s. Individual flowers have been hand-cut from lace and hand-engineered onto ivory silk tulle to create a unique and organic design, which incorporates the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock.

Hand-cut English lace and French Chantilly lace has been used throughout the bodice and skirt, and has been used for the underskirt trim. With laces coming from different sources, much care was taken to ensure that each flower was the same colour. The whole process was overseen and put together by hand by Ms Burton and her team.

The dress is made with ivory and white satin gazar. The skirt echoes an opening flower, with white satin gazar arches and pleats. The train measures two metres 70 centimetres. The ivory satin bodice, which is narrowed at the waist and padded at the hips, draws on the Victorian tradition of corsetry and is a hallmark of Alexander McQueen’s designs. The back is finished with 58 gazar and organza covered buttons fastened by Rouleau loops. The underskirt is made of silk tulle trimmed with Cluny lace.

The Fabrics

French Chantilly lace was combined with English Cluny lace to be hand-worked in the Irish Carrickmacross needlework tradition.

All other fabrics used in the creation of the dress were sourced from and supplied by British companies. The choice of fabrics followed extensive research by Sarah Burton and her team.

The Royal School of Needlework

The Royal School of Needlework (RSN), based at Hampton Court Palace, assisted the Alexander McQueen team in accurately cutting out the delicate motifs from the lace fabrics and positioning the lace motifs with precision into the new design. The lace motifs were pinned, ‘framed up’ and applied with stab stitching every two to three millimetres around each lace motif. The workers washed their hands every thirty minutes to keep the lace and threads pristine, and the needles were renewed every three hours, to keep them sharp and clean.

The RSN workers included existing staff, former staff, tutors, graduates and students, with the youngest aged 19.

The RSN’s work was used primarily for the train and skirt of the Bride’s dress, the bodice and sleeves, the Bride’s shoes and the Bride’s veil.

Veil and Jewellery

The veil is made of layers of soft, ivory silk tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers, which was embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework. The veil is held in place by a Cartier ‘halo’ tiara, lent to Miss Middleton by The Queen. The ‘halo’ tiara was made by Cartier in 1936 and was purchased by The Duke of York (later King George VI) for his Duchess (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother) three weeks before he succeeded his brother as King. The tiara was presented to Princess Elizabeth (now The Queen) by her mother on the occasion of her 18th birthday.

The Bride’s earrings, by Robinson Pelham, are diamond-set stylised oak leaves with a pear shaped diamond set drop and a pavé set diamond acorn suspended in the centre. Inspiration for the design comes from the Middleton family’s new coat of arms, which includes acorns and oak leaves. The earrings were made to echo the tiara. The earrings were a personal gift to the Bride from her parents for her Wedding Day.

Robinson Pelham have also designed and made a pair of diamond earrings for Miss Philippa Middleton. These earrings are more floral in nature to compliment the headpiece worn by Miss Philippa Middleton during the Service.

A tourmaline and diamond pendant and matching earrings have been designed and made for Mrs. Carole Middleton. Two gold stick pins, one with a single gold acorn at the head and the other with an oak leaf, are also worn respectively by the Father of the Bride, Mr. Michael Middleton, and the Bride’s brother, Mr. James Middleton.

Wedding Shoes

The wedding shoes have made hand-made by the team at Alexander McQueen and are made of ivory duchesse satin with lace hand-embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Zandra Lim — Sat, 07 May 2011 05:03:04 +0000

Hello! Happy mother’s day to all the mothers out there! Hope your kids are preparing something special for you! My kids, on the other hand, are still small to understand the importance of mother’s day. Although, my eldest son, told me he’ll help me with my chores on mother’s day…ain’t it sweet?

I’ve got a wedding on mother’s day and I can’t refuse to attend. Maybe even if I’m feeling sick, knock on wood, I just have to go.

And to my mother:

Dear Mama, there are not words sufficient enough

to describe the gratefulness in my heart for having you as a mother

God may have given me as a blessing to your life

but truth is I couldn’t be more blessed that God gave me to you.

To everyone, hope you all had a great week and an even greater weekend!

xo,

Zandra

11 Years After!

Zandra Lim — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:38:18 +0000

The bride: Leah Andrea Soriano

Wedding Date: May 23, 2010

I made her graduation ball gown in college back in 1999 while I was still tending a drugstore in Naga City. I still remember the gown I made for her, it was a purple silk full biased skirt with a black lace overlay for the top. Well, after 11 years, she made a comeback for her wedding gown! Of course, she won’t have fittings in my little pharmacy anymore but at my very own atelier. Oh boy, was the wedding grand! I couldn’t help but write about it even if it’s been almost a year now, the wedding , I mean.

All she wanted was a very loooong train but very lightweight! Uh-oh, simple wish as it was, that needed some ingenuity and magic!

The church look alone was very elegant. I swear, I’m imagining Elie Saab (one of my fave fashion designers) applauding at me for a job well done, lol! It exuded enchantment and very subtly interjecting opulence.

The reception look was altogether on a different note. Everyone thought the bride was wearing another bridal gown! Nope. Again, it just required some ingenuity and some magic!

Enjoy the photos!

They Did! (December 2010 Weddings)

Zandra Lim — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:52:47 +0000

Moving on to some weddings last December 2010.

December is undoubtedly the merriest season for us, suppliers. Hurray to that, we had a merry Christmas, too!

Bride: Fraida Oronce

Fraida was just too happy that I was able to create the wedding gown exactly how I sketched it. I remember her telling me she posted the sketch on her dressing cabinet. So, this girl knows by heart every detail of the gown! I’m just happy she loved it =)

Wedding Date: December 28, 2010

Bride: Natalie Koa

The bride is one of my favorite brides. She is just so sweet!

Wedding Date: December 4, 2010

Bridal, groom, and entourage gowns by yours truly.

Bride: Analyn Ramos

I met Ana during my trip to New York. We took measurements inside the bathroom of The Muse Hotel in Time Square! She was already pregnant and civilly married at that time. When she came to Manila for the wedding, Aiden, her cute baby, is already in tow also donning a barong tagalong ala little president on her wedding =)

Wedding Date: December 6, 2010

Bridal, groom, and entourage gowns by yours truly.

Bride: Rachel Ramos

Rachel is FAB! She exudes elegance even in simple and normal days. Naturally, it was a challenge that what she wears on her BIG day would not in any way drab down her aura. Thankfully, my hands were in sync with my creative juices. Rachel just looked ravishing on her wedding day. Thanks to her gracious Mom for sharing very heartwarming message to me after the wedding, expressing her gratitude for making them looked especially fabulous on Rachel’s big day.

Wedding Date: December 10, 2010

Bridal and entourage gowns by yours truly.

Bride: Stella Deang

So fun working with Stella. Probably because we’re two artistic individuals. A very unique wedding: groomsmen in black suit and wore red converse shoes, flowergirls in black and white printed skirts, and female entourage in black and red =) It was retro!

Wedding Date: December 11, 2011

Bridal and entourage gowns by yours truly.

xo,

zandra

They Did! (October-November 2010 Weddings)

Zandra Lim — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:23:50 +0000

This is long overdue! Thank goodness for this long holiday, I am now catching up on my otherwise obliterated blog and updates. Guess what? My kids are on vacay, too, on a different geographical location than mine. So, without the adorable laughter or whines (not adorable) to distract me, expect successive entries of blogs until my mind and my hands refuse to cooperate =)

My last entry for weddings was a promise of something more to post. So here we go now with some of my October-November weddings of 2010.

Jaecelle Chavez, married to Jay Concepcion.

I just love Jaecelle! She’s so trusting on my take of the design of her gown. One of the brides who fell in love at first sight with the first sketch!

Wedding date: October 2, 2010.

Bridal and entourage gowns by yours truly.

Make-up by: Cel Sabile

Photos by: Smartshots

Bridal preps: Oakwood Hotel, Ortigas

Jenny Chuatoco, married to George Clemente, Jr.

I have blogged about Jenny’s wedding already but i just can’t help to include her again in this entry. Now, Jen and Jun is a couple to reckon with. They definitely belong to a class of their own! Both are so hands-on, you would think they are the “-zilla” kind…not!!! They are so fun to be with I didn’t mind spending some of my family time with them. And of course, I’m just so happy that they chose one of my 2010 designs as the bride’s gown design. Happiness!

Wedding Date: October 9, 2010.

Bridal, Groom, and entourage gowns by yours truly.

Make up by: Paolo Maranan

Photos by: Nice print

Bridal preps: Manila Peninsula

Marnelie Chua, married to Joseph Santos.

Marns is a very relaxed bride. Her gown was very simple but exudes elegance. I miss the coffee-less chats when the couple would visit my shop. Learned so much from Joseph: Australia trips and touring economically, haha! I have yet to try it =)

Wedding Date: October 3, 2010.

Bridal and entourage gowns by yours truly.

Photos by: Tope Crisostomo

Bridal Preps: Oakwood Hotel, Ortigas

Terry Falcon, married Brian Lee.

Some of my upcoming weddings were networked from this wedding =) yippee!

Wedding Date: October 3, 2010.

Bridal and entourage gowns by yours truly.

Make up by: Dior co

Photos by: Nice print

Bridal Preps: Makati Shangrila

Janet Gan, married to Jefferson Lim.

Lovely, lovely bride! She’s so warm, sweet, and very gracious. She automatically agreed to whatever I suggest to, ain’t it wonderful?

Wedding Date: November 28, 2010.

Bridal and entourage gowns by yours truly.

Shoes by yours truly.

Make up by: Irene Sy

Bridal preps: Hyatt Hotel, Manila

Ena Ang married Dhinno Tiu on November 20, 2010.

discharge effect

Another surreal creation for me. The bridal gown looks simple but it ain’t so! Lace skirt with embroidered ribbon in organdy. I just love the detail of the skirt! The entourage gown is my first batch I made with discharge effects.

Bridal and entourage gowns by your truly.

Bridal preps: Diamond Hotel

December weddings on another entry =)

A blessed Good Friday to you all!

XO,

Zandra