What's a dude doing in a lingerie store, you ask? Well, for sure I wasn't there for myself. But as…read moreI write this, I have a friend who's about to get married civilly and he doesn't want to blow his and his fiancée's budget on an expensive gown. Nosing in and around Starmall EDSA-Shaw, I chanced upon this tiny shop selling women's undies. It's called Creem Lingerie. I swear, I wasn't lured in by the colorful, vibrant thingies hanging on the racks. I mean, being a married guy kinda makes me, uhm, knowledgeable and unmindful of women's underwear. Rather, what caught my eye was the row of white wedding gowns hanging by the wall. And I immediately remembered my abovementioned friend. I entered the boutique to check out the gowns. They all looked new and made of good quality fabric. Best of all, they were all reasonably priced - I know because when my wife and I got married, the price of her gown bore a huge hole in our budget. Indeed, if you are tight on cash or you simply do not want to spend big money on something that will only be worn once, then the gowns here at Creem Lingerie are good for the job. Lastly (and I'm going to say this just because I accidentally saw the price tags after I checked the gowns), Creem Lingerie has very affordable women's underwear. Some of them go as low as PHP 150.00 and they come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. This boutique is a must-visit when you're in Starmall EDSA-Shaw and if you're a woman, of course.

If you need fabric, be it for your school uniform, a barong for graduation, or for the suit you're…read moregoing to wear to your wedding, Kamuning Public Market is the place to be. There are cheaper alternative in Chinatown, but you'd have to contend with the hassle of going there, from the thick crowds, dodging snatchers, to finding decent parking. Kamuning Public Market is accessible by practically every mode of public transport and there's always a place to park. The best fabrics to get here are for suits. The stores inside the market carry all kinds of textiles of different colors and materials. If you've got the dough, go for Italian wool as it gives your suit a fine, smooth, and crisp appearance. For more modest budgets, they have good wool options as well. After you pick your fabric, you can have them sew your suit for you as well! It usually takes 2-3 weeks for them to finish a piece.

A few months ago, one of my good friends who's a stylist asked me to accompany her to Kamuning. I…read morewas planless and really curious so I went along for the adventure, it's also really near my house so why not! I ended up leaving the place with a huge smile on my face and a hole in my wallet! For those of you who didn't know, Kamuning market is like textile heaven. They have materials for everything from dresses to blinds to tablecloths. My friend needed to grab some chiffon for a shoot she was doing and my jaw dropped when I saw the colors, like you can't even imagine! I ended up grabbing a few yards for myself as well. We ended up staying longer than we planned while we bought everything we thought was pretty (and still most likely waiting in my closet for a dress to be made!). If you do plan to make a trip here just have the following in mind: 1. Wear comfy clothes, it gets quite stuffy especially when it's super hot out! 2. Know how to haggle, in my case I don't, so bring someone who knows how! 3. Have an open mind, ideas seem to be endless when it comes to textile. 4. but that said, also stay focused, you could end up buying everything except what you came for!

Aside from our Economic Mission, we were also on a mission to buy some wedding goodies. My cousins…read morealready pre-visited this place and took us here to buy supplies such as coins, rosary, veil, etc... Located in the SM mall on the 5th level is this tiny store. What I expected was a large store full of good, but this place is a hole in the wall with about 4 aisles of jam packed wedding stuff. I think it was a little too much for my fiancee so he patiently waited outside the store as I began making my selections. There are about 5 employees for this tiny store, and at times you feel kind of claustrophobic since the aisles are quite small to maneuver. By and large, we bought about $300 worth of wedding "stuff" and it's really good quality! Some of the items we purchased were: veil, coins, rosary, unity candles, sponsor candles, coin box, ring box, guest book, bible, and garter. The materials were pretty solid and not flimsy or cheap looking. We were happy to get those items squared away as it's one less item to worry about for our wedding!

From the owner: The Wedding Library's Bridal Fair is the country's most beloved bridal fair series held every…read moreFebruary and May. Meet over 350 wedding suppliers all under one roof and Win P100,000 for booking any supplier during our 3-day event!