Wedding Preps Series: Divisoria Finds Part 1

It's our first trip for our wedding needs to the wonderland you'll hate and love at the same time - Divisoria. It was exhausting as much as fulfilling and exciting.

Some of our finds today:

In Juan Luna St., I got some art supplies that I need for DIY-ing. You can't get them in retail, only wholesale.  The Japanese paper (for the paper poms) was P25 per pack of 24 pcs. I also got some coloring and activity books for our kids entourage for P78 per dozen - what a steal! I wasn't able to buy crayons,  but they were priced at P90 per dozen (packs of 8).  I was supposed to buy some illustration boards and brown folders, but minimum purchase requirement was too many for my needs. 

Aside from school/office supplies, you can also find some clothes shops along Juan Luna. I felt such a luckbox because I found the right color of infinity dresses for our female entourage! Even before I learned that many brides use infinity or multi-wat dresses for entourage, it was my original plan. I was thinking then of a way I can get RTW dresses for the entourage because I wanted to skip the dreadful entourage dress tailoring part. And infinity dress was my solution! It's freesize, can be worn in about a hundred ways (entourage members can have a unique dress style), and it's cheap!  How practical! I'm sure my bridesmaids and female secondary sponsors will like it. Will write more about the entourage outfits soon. I only got 3 pcs, but Diana, the friendly Chinese store owner, promised there will be stock on Monday, so we'll have to comeback, whew. Roslim is located along Juan LunaSt., opposite One Stop Shirt Prinitng shop.

Infinity dress for entourage in Teal from Roslim Enterprise in Juan LunaSt., Binondo
One of the many styles you can do with it.
(Take inside their stock room, which doubles as fitting room :p)

The part Im excited about was Tabora. It was my first time to brave this part of Binondo. It was so crowded, but it is indeed the haven for party needs. My fiancé was a bit culture shocked, by the way. We were supposed to buy the mason jars with handle for our guest giveaways, but weren't able to. We'll keep looking for cheaper ones since we need a lot. Back in December a friend told me she was able to buy one for P20 (retail), but the ones we found ranged from P45 - P80. I was a bit sad that we weren't able to check this off the list today.

But we got these papermaché letters anyway,  so it's ok

Papermache letters

We also were able to get black slim clip-on neckties (matte) for our male entourage there for only P50 each, we got 8 pcs. Where else can you find a 50-buck tie!
I was also supposed to buy some paper lanterns in Tabora, but decided to just DIY paper poms which I found fun and easy to do. I will write about it when I get to do some actual samples. Paper lanterns are priced at P35 - 10", P45 - 12", P55 - 14". I need a lot of these too, so it'll be cheaper to just DIY paper poms. And I also want to have a personal touch in our venues.

I will buy the fabric for the flower girls' s dresses in Yangco market, so I canvassed the cost. Satin costs P50/yard, but I prefer something else, not too shiny. I still need to get a proper estimate of the amount of fabric needed per dress, so that would have to wait. Rolls of ribbons were also abundant and cheap at P20 / roll (50 yards) for 1/4".

In 168 mall where we parked our vehicle, I was able to buy aqua rose brooch accents for the flower girls' dresses. I was looking for this in Tabora and Yangco markets, but couldn't find what I exactly wanted. The ones I found in Yangco were flimsy, small roses with no pins attached, and cost P70 for wholesale! Glad I found these glittered big aqua roses in 168 which measure about 4-5 inches in diameter, with pins and scrungies attached (double purpose) - so they can still use it to tie their hair after the wedding! 

Also got some paper doilies which I'm so fond of - can be used for buntings, tags, etc. for a feminine touch.

Rose brooch/ponytail in 168 mall P60 each (tawad from P80)

Round paper doilies 4.5 inches

Some blogs I've read really helped me in getting ideas and useful information in exploring Divisoria. So I'd like to pay it forward by sharing my own experiences to other bride to be's. It's what this Wedding Preps Series is all about anyway. Stay tuned for more Divisora finds in my upcoming posts. That means more Divi trips to come before the wedding! Well, that's how you save mullah! :) ♡

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UPDATES:  

November 5, 2015

You can find different shapes and sizes of paper doilies, as well as jute string, abaca string, satin ribbons in different colors, at Party Central Manila on Facebook.

I am selling the C & M papermache letters, we've spray painted it white. Just send me an email at niquedejesus-blog@yahoo.com if interested. I am de-cluttering.

See all wedding preps series posts.

See also posts from travel, food and health & beauty. Enjoy!