La Boda Horror (The Wedding Horror)

Dear Online Diary,

I am so ready to give the supplier’s rating so let’s get rid of the horror story first before we move on, shall we?

Many of you may know that the original “maker” (sorry, I can’t call him a designer after what he did) of my gown is Sohrab Arcega. He has a shop in Divisoria and a long time friend of tita (who’s my MoH), which basically the reason why we landed on getting him to make my gown. Everything was going fine until the first fitting.

I’ve shared on our e-group my horrible experience with him, rather too emotional. I never thought that it will blast like a bomb because as soon as I posted that particular message, complications happened.

So, you may be wondering, what’s the story? What really happened?

As promised, here's the story. Let me start by showing you my gown inspiration and his sketch (interpretation):

{The Inspiration: Christos}

{Sohrab's Sketch that I received via Email}

During our first meeting (Arvin is not yet with Sohrab at this time, explaining the quality of the sketch), I asked if he could use lace as the main material. He then said that the spanish lace that he ordered just arrived and showed it to me. He made a file for me containing our wedding details and a swatch of lace that he’ll use for his reference. After our short meeting and agreement, Sohrab and tita went on to catch up with each other. Let me also mentioned that he kept on “joking” about my gown by saying: “Hay naku (name of my tita)! Gagawin ko talagang bonggang bongga ang gown mo. Mas bongga pa sa bride! Hahaha!” Well, I know that it’s just a joke but we also know that jokes are half meant, right?

Anyhow, he did assure me that he’ll make my gown beautiful. I took his word for it, which I think is my biggest regret.

After a couple of months, it’s time for our second meeting. I went to his shop with my mother and tita so they could take our measurements. This time, he got Arvin to do the sketch for him.

{Gown's sketch by Arvin}

After Sohrab’s assistant took our measurements, mama and tita have to leave for a while so I was alone when Arvin and Sohrab talked about my gown aesthetics. Sohrab took out my file and Arvin was surpised to see that we will be using spanish lace. They talked using a different language (gay language or bading code or whatever). Since I do not understand them, I only got a hold of what they were talking about based on the key word – my budget – and their expression. In an instant, Sohrab exclaimed “Tama! Tulle na lang. Eto yung gagamitin natin… ” (showing me a tulle-kind of cloth that he grabbed from a corner). He then mentioned some things to convinced me but I kept a hold on what I want – lace. Because I won’t give in, Arvin stepped in by saying: “Neng, hindi maganda ang lace sa design na gusto mo. Mas maganda yung tulle… Hindi lalabas na maganda yan, bahala ka.”

I may be a big fan of Project Runway but they were the “expert” in what they do (gown design or whatever). Since I saw that they will be using glittery high-end tulle with small details and silver silk underneath it, I gave him a go signal. Again, I still trust them at this point (How I wish I took a photo of these materials).

We agreed that we will come back for our first fitting after one month…

On our third visit, I was way too excited to see the gown he promised to be elegant and stylish until:

{First fitting photos: The ill-fated gown}

What’s wrong with this gown:
Funky and pungent smell – We were having an issue putting the gown on me because it was too tight. All along, my head is “trapped” inside the bodice. I can’t be wrong by saying that the gown is pungent. I mean, really pungent. They say tulle has funky smell when new but it depends on the kind of tulle that you are going to use. The pungent type is OK if you’ll use it to make a petticoat BUT NOT when you’re using it to make the gown itself. Not cool. A professional designer should have known that the gown will be the bride’s “something new” (definitely not something pungent) so he should have chosen a different type of tulle.

The materials used –it’s not the same type of tulle that he showed me during the second visit. The tulle that he used is kind of off-white over a silver silk. And the way he made it, it’s totally off.

The beading was done on the FIRST fitting – Oh boy. I did not expect that the gown’s going to have beads already. They were able to make it in what, less than a month, and it’s NOT even a rush order. The time is on their side since it’s about 4 months before our wedding. When I asked Sohrab if that’s the beadwork, he said that’s about it.

The fit – He totally missed the mark on this one. The bust is too high and they were having some issue with the blush part.

From there on, I know that there’s something fishy going on. A lot of questions formed inside my head. Did they rush it? Did Sohrab pay close attention to it? I mean, the petticoat that they made for me was missing so they have to forced me into using another bride’s petticoat. To make matters worst, the bride is a co-W@Wie. I wonder if they let other brides use another bride’s petticoat, too. Did he supervise the creation of that gown or did he let his subordinate do it? Mukha talagang pinagpraktisan eh.

My speculations were validated when Sohrab’s assistant (I won’t disclose his/her name for some reasons) exclaimed that the business is doing great and said: “Minadali na namin yung sa iyo eh, para kapag may umorder for December wedding, matatanggap pa namin. O di ba? hahaha” to which I replied “A talaga po ba. Kaya pala may beads na kagad wala pang 1 buwan ginagawa. Tsaka, bakit ang baho?” He/She then replied, “Hindi naman.” After that, the assistant remained silent, possibly because he/she can’t believed what he/she just said.

A week later, the status of the gown bothered me so much. I just have to know what happened. I even had a dream of me walking down the aisle while the guests exclaimed: “Ang baho naman ng gown nya…”

I consulted my family and hubby’s opinion of what we can do about it because if I have a choice, I will definitely back out. My parents and hubby were with me in this. They, too, wouldn’t allow a beader with such reputation ruin my wedding after what he promised. I must admit that it created a stir within the family but it’s all under the bridge now.

Going back, I sent a text message to Sohrab saying that I will back out, to which he replied: “Y? Tapos na yung gown mo. Ok.” I replied with questions -- why it has a pungent smell, why they rushed it without my request (What will I do with a finished gown in 4 months? I have plans of losing weight within that period.) and I asked him if he did it or supervised it. The only reply I got from him is: “OK.”

What a disappointment. He did not even offer to make amendments. Maybe he thinks I’m nothing to him or maybe because all these shenanigans will be kept a secret. Maybe that’s the reason why even after what he did, he kept on telling his customers how grateful he is to me (for blogging about him). Well, he thought wrong. Totally wrong. I wouldn’t want any other bride experience even half of what I’ve experienced with him. He’s a waste of energy, money and a great source of stress.

But, we’re not yet done. He did the gowns of my mother and MoH. Thus, my rating. Let’s see the sketch, first fitting and the actual gowns.

{Arvin's Sketch for my Matron of Honor (left) and Mother (right)}

{First fitting: matron of honor and mother}

Can you notice something? The MoH and MoB sketches have swatches while my ill-fated gown don’t have any. Notice as well that their gowns do not have a single bead considering that we all fitted our gowns on the same day. After a couple of months, here's the finished mother's gown:

{The finished mother's gown when delivered}

The only addition that they did: the straps and the beads. The issue is, yet again, the fit is horrible. We can't close the zipper at the back. Instead of putting our money to waste, we became resourceful and "saved" the gown by ourselves.

{The alterations we made on mother's gown}

After cutting the straps off, we were able to close the zipper. I bought a crystal brooch and pinned it to where the rest of the beads are and to appear like it was holding the sheer fabric in place. At the back, Ms. Kaye, one of our coordinators, tied it like a ribbon. In the end, it looks like mama is wearing a sheer shawl over a tube dress.

{The gowns in action}

Despite what we went through with this person, my MoH and mama strutted with flare. Only because they are beautiful, inside-out. :))

Here's my rating:
Supplier: Sohrab Arcega
Stress Level: Stress to the highest level
Customer Service and Satisfaction: Super dissatisfied
Gown: Blah or so-so
Overall: SUPER NOT RECOMMENDED

X.O.X.O.,