Steve Dorotan

Now's the time to start writing about the recommended suppliers! Okay, I know I should have done this DURING our wedding preps ...but I was too O.C. then -- I kept on postponing my writeups, thinking that these suppliers should first be tested in our own wedding! haha! So, here we go...

Supplier Story #1: Steve Dorotan the Florist!

Getting a florist was our least priority. Lou and I agreed that for the wedding, we will use do-it-yourself (DIY) items to replace flowers, as much as we can (rafia fans instead of bridesmaids' bouquets, for example), simply coz we didn't want to spend for anything that will just rot!

But... in the end, it was a tie between fresh flowers and non-floral DIY! And it's all because we found that small unnoticeable flower shop situated just beside St. Joseph the Worker parish - San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. It's owned by Steve Dorotan, who offered REALLY affordable packages. Why: (did a bit of chikachika, LOL) The stall rental is free of charge because he provides flowers for the church in all events, and he gets flowers not only from a single supplier. When needed, or when more practical, he gets flowers near client venues.

To give you an idea on his price range: our entourage package included  wrist corsages for ninangs, boutonnieres for ninongs, groomsmen and Lou, flowers for flowergirl baskets (baskets not included because we provided that), bouquets for moms, and bridal car flowers (basically everything for the entourage except bouquets for me and my bridesmaids). He charged us Php 2,500. My jaw dropped. At that time, Lou had no idea what's cheap nor expensive when it comes to florists. All he knew was that we should book him immediately because the way I reacted was so priceless. hahaha!

And so we booked him. The catch: we had no past recommendations of him. We solely relied on his old clearbook/binder of portfolio. He has no website, nor even facebook. "Tiwala nalang!" -- that's what I thought, as I didn't care how the flowers will look anyway. I just had just 2 requirements - color combinations must look good with the blue and green motif (I gave him gown fabric swatches by the way), and flower girls must have loose petals instead of flower arrangements. And the output is this...

long stemmed mini bouquets with loose petals for the flower girls!

I LOVED those rich colors of blue, green and orange.

beautiful bouquets for the moms, and boutonnieres for men all in strictly blue and green!

Right after we settled with our contract, I asked him  -- in behalf of my co-bridezilla girlfriends (haha!) -- WHAT IF I get an entire entourage package from him, including the bride's bouquet, how much would that be? His answer was "aah.. mahal e.. mga 5k... pero pag mahal na klaseng bulaklak gaya ng tulips.. siguro aabot ng 6k." ... OMG! Does he know that the cheapest in Manila is at around 10k?! haha!

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The story didn't end there. Sometime in mid 2012, we asked him if he could do the styling of our stage (couple's stage), because the caterer's offer was double of our budget! He asked how much our budget was, and in a snap he said, "kayang kaya, sige ako na bahala sa stage nyo." Again, I didn't give so much requirements. I just showed him a peg of a stage having capiz dividers behind the table, plus some flowers on the table, plus some lights here and there. I told him, I know that renting dividers would be too pricey, so if he has any alternative in mind, I'll be ok with it ...as long as his work has a filipiniana feel just like in my peg.

So... ta-dah!

He tied up with his nephew who was a Lights & Sounds supplier. And so we had a colorful and well lit up stage when the main lights were out! Then, he replicated the capiz divider I wanted, by using some woodwork, and thin cloth! But hey, let us not forget that Steve is originally a florist. That's why our table was also filled with vibrant, fresh, beautiful flowers with some draping burlap cloth, giving the entire stage a filipiniana aura!

His works are so amazing! I am so so sooo happy we discovered him! What's actually amazing is that, it ironically started with our plan to ditch anything that will just rot. In the end we appreciated everything we purchased from him! Yes, the flowers didn't last for a week ...but everything he made lasted beautifully in photos. Most importantly, he had really low rates making us feel that we didn't impractically splurge after all!

Sooo there! In case you're interested, here's his contact #:
Steve Dorotan - 0919 527 9404
He accepts clients from other parts of luzon, and can do meetups in Makati!

note: photos above are from our photographer, Alvin Guevara.