SCENE IT.: A DREAM COME TRUE: TE-MENDOZA NUPTIALS

Almost every girl dreams of a perfect wedding --- a touch of pink, 3-tiered cake, some sparkle, and a princess-cut wedding dress. This dream came true for Melissa Mendoza-Te.

“Ritchie and I met in 2005. He is 3 years older than me and he’s pretty much the old fashioned type,” shares the new bride.

“I grew up in Fairfield, California and he grew up in Davao. Moving to Davao for college was quite an adjustment for me but I was lucky that Ritche was there to guide me through. He taught me how to speak the native language and he made it easier to adapt to the culture here. He was very patient with me. After college, Ritchie had to oversee family business outside Davao and while I stayed and worked here. We only saw each other on weekends. It was hard but, somehow, we managed.”

“We've been planning our wedding since February 2012. We wanted to polish all the details as early as possible, in hopes that the last 2 months before the big day would have be easy on us. But then again, not everything goes as planned. There were a lot of changes made in terms of logistics and suppliers. Good thing that Noel Tanza, our wedding coordinator, already have so much experience in dealing with these kinds of problems. He handled everything from top to bottom.”

“My wedding gown was designed by Erwin Lee Tan. I’ve always loved his work. Aside from my bridal gown, he also made Ritche's suit and all the dresses for the entourage. Erwin made a very edgy yet sexy kind of dress for my mom, which was she really wanted. Our trip to Erwin's shop was always a pleasant one. I was so touched because on my wedding day, he also gave me a hair piece to go with my gown as a gift.”

“All the suppliers I worked with were just amazing. Noel Tanza did an amazing job on transforming the reception venue a Modern Victorian-themed setting. Working with Noel and his team, we knew that all our wedding needs would be taken care of and that we were in good hands.”