An August weekend: Bridal Bliss at the Taal Market

Hu--whaat?!?

That was my initial reaction when I 'inquired' about made-to-order bridal gowns at the Taal Market.

A short walk after the Taal Basilica, passing through th municipal hall is the Taal Market.  Here, we walked around to see what they have to offer.  After buying purong tsokolateng tableas we decided to check the shops.. a colorful array of gowns made of pina cloth, or pineapple fiber.

Out of curiosity, after pulling a reluctant Abner to one of the shops (as if!), I went on to admire the workmanship and embroidery on one of the bridal gowns displayed (ibang klase talaga!).  You'll never believe what I found out:

For 10,000 php, you'll get a hand-embroidered piña bridal gown with complete accessories, plus a  hand-embroidered piña barong for the groom -- your design.  You'll also get to spend between 850php to 1,000php each for the bridal ensemble, your own design, rented out.  Meaning, after the ceremony, your bridesmaids and sponsors will return the gowns.  Renting ready-made bridesmaids gowns fetch between 250php to 400php depending on the design (of course you'll have to consider if it matches your motiff).  Geezz.. and to think more than 10 years ago, my sister-in-law's beautiful bridal gown cost almost 8,000php.  And that's not even piña!  Hmmm....

It's 9:30am, and Abner is now itching to go to the Our Lady of Caysasay.

An August weekend: Taal Basilica

Aug. 4, 2012. We found a parking space at the nearby Taal Market and walked to the Basilica de San Martin de Tours,considered to be the largest church in the Philippines and in Asia, standing 96 meters(315ft) long and 45 meters (148ft) wide.

Its history tells if the church and the old town of Taal relocated after the massive volcanic eruption in 1754 to higher grounds, now its current location, leaving its old location, where the municipality of San Nicholas now lies.

And as practiced, everytime we enter a church the first time, we went on to offer a prayer, and say a wish before we head out.   Outside is what looked like a replica of its bell, said to be the largest in the country. History tells that during the earthquake of 1942, the belfry collapsed, damaging the bell and silencing it. They say that it is now hanging silently on the restored dome.

Beside it is Escuela Pia, established by the Augustinian priests in 1839, and served as a school during the American colonization.

In front of Taal Basilica is the Taal Municipal Hall.  Its facade shows the year the town was officially founded by the Agustinians.

An August weekend: Taal Heritage Town

Aug 4, 2012. After a wonderful breakfast at the Mahogany Market, we went back on Aguinaldo highway en route to Diokno Highway.  The drizzling stopped and we had our windows down to enjoy the cool morning air.  For us, it was a delight when we saw this at 7:32 am:

Whoa! We were like kids-- but only, we were two full grown adults gawking at the sight! Matutuwa ang mga bata nito. We had to drive slow because we don't have fog lights, and we were the only ones on the highway.

I've read so much about the Taal Heritage Town and I admit I'm excited about it.  (I've been wanting to visit Ilocos too).  We reached the town after an hour.  There are several museums that we didn't get the chance to visit, and I made a mental note to come back.

 

There's so much to see.  Coming back to explore will definitely be on our bucket list!