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August 2011, we learned of Mitch Desunia's Major, Major promo. Although still unsure of how they got our email address, M believes it was from when we joined a caterer's promo where Mitch Desunia was their couturier.
By that time, we were looking for a couturier or dressmaker (outside of Divisoria) within our price range, PhP1K for ento gowns. [The reason why we did not want to have the gowns made in Divi was because it was too far from where we live - Sauyo (M) and Frisco (R) and getting gowns from there would mean one has to travel to Divi just for the gowns. We are both based overseas, thus if we were to proceed with a Divi supplier, then we'd have to ask our family member/s to do it for us. We did not want to hassle them with such.]
As we were unsuccessful in our quest for someone to make the gowns within our allotted budget, we decided to go with the one who quoted us the cheapest - it was Mitch Desunia Haute Couture. Prior to booking them, M asked if they can execute 3 of the sketches we already have (which were done by M's friend) and if they can do the gowns without using satin. They were OK with that.
By 27 August 2011, we paid the required 50% downpayment. At that time, we promised to send them the sketch of the gowns via e-mail.
September 28, 2011 - we received the draft contract via e-mail. We were to avail the gowns of 2 Mothers, 1 Maid of Honor, 6 Bridesmaids, 3 Secondary Sponsors, 3 Flower Girls, and the Barong Tagalog of the Groom, Best Man and Ring Bearer, and 1 Jumpsuit.
We were told on December 16, 2011 that they usually conduct measurement taking first prior to sketching the gowns to make sure that the design/cut flatters the clients' silhouette. The measurement taking for our family members was scheduled for December 28, 2011. M requested for this date as that was the only time available from our busy schedules (R&M both arrived in the Philippines on December 21; M had to leave on January 1).
That day, there were 8 of us who went for measurement taking - our moms, groom, bride, and M's sisters. We decided we'd also get the bride's bolero, shoes, and long veil from them. We also ordered the secondary veil, cord, arrhae, 2 pillows, and body form. Because of the additional orders, we also paid the 50% downpayment for the additional items. That day as well, our MOH decided she wanted a different gown than what M's friend originally sketched, so we left the decision to Mitch. Our moms' gowns were to be sketched, same as the jumpsuit.
Mitch told us the flower girls and ring bearer's measurement can be taken a month before the wedding.
The rest of the entourage had their measurements taken (or sent via their website) sometime January to February of 2012.
February 6, 2012 - we received the updated contract which includes the accessories we ordered from our December 28 meet-up. [We just had to add a funny thing here - they tried to open the PDF file we sent using MS Word. Anuveh]
Sometime in February, R decided to don a suit instead, so we asked them how much it would cost for a suit instead of barong. After a few days, we told them we'd pull-out the order for the groom’s wear and just have it made outside to save cost.
March 12, 2012 - read here.
March 12, 2012 - read here.
March 13, 2012 - We asked for the sketches as they haven't sent them yet.
April 4, 2012 - They replied and promised to send the sketches "by Tuesday as soon as [we] resume [to] work".
April 10, 2012 - We sent an email again and told them we'll wait for the sketches. M’s mom said they don’t even answer her calls at times.
April 11, 2012 - We finally received the sketches. Sometime between April 4-11, we were told (when M's mom rang them) the gowns were already in production. [We haven't received any sketches yet, so how come they're already making the gowns!]
Click here to view some of the sketches we received.
The sketches were really nice, however Mitch sent us sketches for the SS and the BM when in fact we already told them beforehand to just copy the design we sent them. Although we knew that we booked a designer and not just a mere mananahi, we should've been told beforehand that they will change the designs. We replied that we'd like to stick with the previous sketches we sent them, and that we'd only choose a design for the MOH, MOB, MOG and FGs. We weren't given any sketch for the jumpsuit, the bolero and the shoes.
April 25, 2012 - We received an email from them asking for the designs (again), and told us they wanted to make sure that they got the correct designs prior to making them. We also sent the names of the entourage members.
April 26, 2012 - They sent an email telling us they did not have the measurements of 2 of our bridesmaids (Leah and Ianne). I replied with a rough estimate of when Ianne had her measurements taken, and sent a copy of Leah's measurements as she only sent it using the Mitch Desunia Haute Couture's website.
We did not receive any reply from them.
May 3, 2012 - M asked them about the time of the 1st fitting for May 6. They said it would be at 2PM, in their Shaw office.
May 5, 2012 - We sent them an email that we will replace one of our bridesmaids. That person (Teresa) will be at their Shaw office on May 6 as well. We also told them we’ll only have 2 FGs instead of 3, and that instead of 1 gown for the FG, we’d use that for R’s sister’s dress, who will also be at their office the next day.
May 6, 2012 - 1st fitting. We do not know much about what happened here, except that Neng (R's sister), Teresa and Ianne had their measurements taken, and there was no jumpsuit for Tini (M's sister) to fit. We were given 2 more schedules (2nd fitting-May20, 3rd fitting-May30). M's mom paid an additional 30% as per the contract.
May 8, 2012 - They sent us an email asking for Teresa's measurements at which we replied that Teresa just had her measurements on May 6. They were also looking for the flower girls' measurements - something M's mom brought with her on May 6.
May 16, 2012 – Because we did not receive any reply from our last email, we double-checked the dates of the 2nd&3rd fitting that they gave us. On May 17, they replied with "i apologize for the confusion, ..i had the chance to talk to your mom during our first fitting...that was the original date, kaya lang sabi nya you'll arrive daw on the 25th so i made a suggestion, why not pagdating muh nalang, at least makikita muh din sila sa fitting....and we both agreed to that...hihi..."
So anyway, we decided on May 27, Sunday.
May 26, 2012 - They said the gowns were ready. Whilst on M's cousin's wedding reception, they rang us and asked if we were still coming for the appointment as they were waiting for us. Note: We did not make an appointment for May 26.
May 27, 2012 - Early in the morning, they sent us a message asking if we could change the time of the fitting. We told them we can't as we already told all of our ento members about the date and time.
We arrived at their Shaw branch a little bit earlier than most of our family members. There still wasn't any jumpsuit to fit. Leah and Ianne's measurements were still missing. R's sister's gown was missing. M's mom's gown was still unfinished. That's after they told us way before that we can already collect the gowns on the second fitting. [Leah had to skip a family gathering in Batangas just to be able to attend what was supposed to be her fitting appt.]
They reasoned out that the 2nd fitting was supposed to be for May 26 (which we never attended because there was no appt made for that day anyway as we had to attend a wedding) and the gowns could've been ready by May27 if we were there on May26. They also told us that when they said the gowns were complete, they meant the gowns "in the list". Mind you, their list was lacking 6 names - 2 BMs, ring bearer, bestman, jumpsuit and bolero. They also told us that the reason some measurements were missing was because some of the items were made in Shaw, while the other items were (to be) made in Las Pinas.
A few phone calls and email checks and a lot of tears from M, they were finally able to get the full list of their entourage (from who knows who's Android).
3 BMs collected their gowns. We were told they will deliver the remainder of the gowns to 4 addresses - 1 gown to Makati, 1 gown to Taytay, 4 gowns & 1 jumpsuit to Sauyo, and 4 gowns and 2 barongs to Frisco. They also re-took measurements of Leah (BM), Neng (R’s sister), and Tini (M’s sister). That day, they also sketched the bride's bolero, M's sister's jumpsuit, and R's sister's dress.
The following day, they told us they located the missing measurements.
On the day of the delivery, oh please we cannot remember when exactly, we were told they can only deliver to one place. If we insisted on having the items delivered to 4 different addresses, then they'd charge us for transportation allowance. We agreed to having all the items delivered to Sauyo.
The MOB's gown had to be adjusted as it was too loose and too long. The jumpsuit that we ordered turned out to be blouse and pants, so we returned that as well. The flower girls' gowns were of a different design: we sent them back too.
The next day, we went back to their shop - collected the 3 gowns and the jumpsuit. We were supposed to pick up the shoes as well, however the color was not the same as what we initially talked about. The shoes fitted well – they were comfy and of the right size. They said they will deliver the shoes (and the cord that they failed to include in the contract) the following day.
Whilst on a jeepney on our way to MRT that same night, they rang us and were demanding for the full payment for the gowns. They said we could deduct the amount for the items which they haven't delivered yet, but insisted we needed to pay for the gowns. We did not succumb this time, and claimed that if we do so, then we do not have anything to use against them to make sure they do deliver the remaining items.
2 days after, they did deliver the shoes. When M tried them on, they were too tight. We decided not to get the shoe from them because M would not be able to walk in those shoes even for a minute - they were that tight. We even showed Mang Boy one of my shoes just to prove to him that the shoes he brought over were too small.
The same day, they already also brought the 2 bodyforms with them - that of the female had heaps of holes. We did not argue, M was too tired to argue with them anymore.
Because at that time, all the items were already delivered, we paid them in full for all the items we received (including the bolero that M never got to use), except for a few hundred pesos, which we believe was still not enough for all the hassles that we went through with them.
Here are the photos of the barongs & the gowns:
Ring Bearer / Best Man
Maid of Honor
Secondary Sponsors
Bridesmaids
Flower Girls
Mother of the Bride (&sketch) / Mother of the Groom
Package Inclusion: Gowns (1 MOG, 1 MOB, 1 MOH, 3 SS, 6 BM, 2 FG), 2 Barong Tagalog (1 BM, 1 RB), 1 Dress (Sister), 1 Jumpsuit (Sister), 2 Body forms, Accessories (Long veil, Secondary veil, 2 pillows, Arrhae, Garter, Bride’s bolero).
Freebie: Wedding cord.
R&M’s rating: 1
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