Another Divisoria Adventure: My Search for Little Ahab’s Baptismal Souvenir

Divisoria, Philippines’ mecca of cheap things, is our most frequented place during our wedding preparations. This is where we got Lei’s wedding gown and my suits, and our wedding invitation cards. Divisoria was our “go to” place for all of our wedding needs.

Three particular areas: Tabora Street, Ylaya Street, and Yangco Market; are the wedding center of Divisoria. These places are also known for souvenir/gift items related to birthdays, baptism, and other milestones. So, for Little Ahab’s christening, I went to Divisoria again to search for the supplier for baptismal souvenirs.

Lei checking out some souvenir items at Tabora.

There’s a lot of souvenir items to choose from like glass figurines, tumblers, plates, pillows – all of them customized. We chose the customized mug because it can be used aside from being a souvenir for Little Ahab’s christening. We didn’t want to give away things that will just collect dust and then thrown away.

There are plenty shops along Tabora and in Yangco Market so I asked around for the best deal. The first shop offered customized mugs for 60 pesos apiece, which I found too expensive. The second shop offered it for 25 pesos, which is too cheap and suspicious. I might get low quality mugs that will surely disappoint us.

The last shop offered 45 pesos per customized mug that went down to 40 pesos after a little haggling. 40 pesos is reasonable price so I decided to order customized mugs from them.

I was told that I have to order at least 20 customized mugs. For the design of the mug, they told me that they can do the layout (for a additional fee of 50 pesos) or that I make my own and then give it them. I chose the latter option since I want to save some pesos and, also, I can have full control in making the design.

The supplier promised to give the customized mugs the day after I placed my order.

Well the supplier made good on their promise. They delivered all of the 25 customized mugs that we ordered the next day after I placed my order. My Beloved Wife Lei was pleased with the quality of the print so that’s a plus point for that supplier.

I’m proud to say that we designed the mug ourselves. Thus, we saved 50 pesos.

Little Ahab’s supplier of his souvenir mugs is Ken @ Amie. Their shop is located beside the former Divisoria Mall and in front of George Enterprises along Tabora Street, Divisoria. Contact them at mobile phone numbers: 0921-7639970 and 0977-2126400.

Tips when Ordering Souvenirs in Divisoria:

1. Take time to ask around for the best deal. Prices of the customized mugs (or other souvenir) vary per shop. Thus, it’s better to canvass first before deciding where to order your souvenirs.

2. Don’t make price as your only deciding factor. You should also check on the quality of the prints and the speed of delivery. Sometimes cheap price = cheap quality.

3. Always ask for receipt when making a payment. This will serve as your proof when something is wrong with your souvenirs.

4. Finally, check the items that you ordered before you make a full payment. You have the leverage over the supplier/vendor as long as your money is still in your hands.

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Divisoria Adventure: Wedding Souvenirs and Other Items along Tabora & Ylaya Streets

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Tabora Street and Ylaya Street are our most frequented place in Divisoria during our wedding preparations. These two streets have plenty of items that can catch the fancy of couples who are planning their wedding.

Just like other places in Divisoria, these two streets have stores that sell items at very low prices, especially when bought in bulk. These cheap prices attract plenty of shoppers, which in turn attract plenty of pickpockets and other petty criminals. Couples planning to go to Divisoria should be very careful.

Between Tabora and Ylaya Streets is the Yangco Market, known as the place where couples can find shops that sell affordable wedding gowns. We got Lei's wedding gown and the wedding entourage's attire in Yangco Market.

Where are Tabora and Ylaya Streets

These two streets are located at the heart of Divisoria. This means that you have to pass through a large crowd just to reach these streets. Walking along Divisoria is more difficult during the rainy season because of the slippery streets and the disgusting puddle and the stench and a host of other dirty things that Manila can offer.

The location of Tabora and Ylaya Streets may be seen in this map:

What We Saw in Tabora Street

I was delighted the first time that we reached Tabora Street. The place is filled with items that can be used as wedding souvenirs!

And not only wedding souvenirs, the shops along Tabora streets have souvenirs (or gift) items for other special events like christening and birthdays.



Some of the wedding souvenir items that we saw are figurines (the usual bride and groom figurine), wine bottle holders, oil lamps, and chimes.

Aside from wedding souvenirs, shops along Tabora Street also sell decorative items that can be used for wedding reception venues. During one of our visits, I heard someone who I assume as a wedding planner buying a bulk of spherical lanterns made from abaca (similar to the ones in the image below from Rosey's Barn) for a garden wedding.

And since Tabora Street is the arts and crafts hub of Divisoria (according to Click the City), this is where you should go for ribbons, costumes (I've seen a Suma costume, complete with snakes), baskets, Christmas decors and other small items that you can use in decorating your wedding reception venue.

Baskets, plastic flowers, and many interesting items along Tabora Street.

What We Saw in Ylaya Street

If Tabora Street is the arts and crafts hub, then Ylaya Street is the fabric hub of Divisoria.

The shops along this street sell raw fabric, blankets, t-shirts, barongs, gowns, costumes, curtains and many more.

It is in Tabora Street where we bought the foam for our bed and the cloth cover for our Condura refrigerator. This where Lei's friend bought some curtains for her house.

If you can't find the fabric or gowns or barong that you want in Ylaya Street, I suggest that you search the shops in Yangco Market.

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Divisoria is a good place to buy wedding items because of cheap prices of the items. I suggest to all soon-to-be-wed couples to try Divisoria and particularly visit Tabora and Ylaya Streets for their wedding preparation needs.

If you are too afraid to go to Divisoria for wedding souvenirs, I suggest that you visit the shops under the Quezon Bridge located near Quiapo Church.
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Our Wedding Invitation Card from Divisoria

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My Beloved Wife Lei wanted to do some do-it-yourself (DIY) projects to reduce our wedding expenses. So, we did DIY props for our pre-nuptial photoshoot. Lei also attempted to create her own bouquet from palay (rice) stalks, which didn’t become successful.

Another DIY project that we tried was making our own wedding invitations. We believed that we can do it because designs are readily available in the Internet. Paper and other materials can easily be bought from stores.

We were not successful in this DIY project. One reason is that we couldn’t replicate the beautiful wedding invitation cards that we saw in the Internet. We also computed that DIY wedding invitation cards are more expensive than those that can be ordered in Divisoria.

In short, we decided to order wedding invitation cards in Divisoria.

Yangco Market and Tabora Street beside it is the wedding center of Divisoria. The market has shops that sell wedding gowns, wedding souvenirs, and wedding invitation cards. This made our search for invitation card supplier easy because their shop is located in the same area as our couturier.



There are plenty of suppliers to choose from but the styles of their invitation cards are almost the same. We’ve seen classic style invitation, booklet style, and even passport style.

Lei checking out the passport-style invitation card.

We booked MRD2 as our wedding invitation card supplier. We ordered 50 pieces of their invitation cards for 1,950 pesos.

MRD2’s invitation card is fine and Lei didn’t have any complaint about it. They gave us liberty to place the wordings in our invitation. They are also easy to work with because they’re easy to talk with.

My only problem is that they released our invitation cards after two weeks. That was just a minor problem, however, since we were not rushing our invitation cards.

Couples who are looking for invitation cards should try to check out the suppliers in Yangco Market and Tabora Street in Divisoria.

You may also try booking MRD2. Their shop is located along Pasilio G of Yangco Market. Contact them at mobile numbers: 0919-9935321 and 0917-8612213 or telephone number: 243-1296.
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Wedding Gowns in Divisoria and the Bad Experience with Our Couturier

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My Beloved Wife Lei saw a wedding gown during a wedding expo in World Trade Center. She immediately liked that wedding gown and wanted to wear it on the wedding day. Unfortunately, the gown was designed by Edward Teng and his price is way above our budget.

Online wedding forums directed us to Divisoria for affordable wedding couturiers. According to the forumers, there are plenty of affordable couturiers in Yangco Market, located between Tabora and Ylaya Streets.

We visited three places when we searched for a couturier for Lei's wedding gown, namely; 168 Shopping Mall, 999 Shopping Mall, and Yangco Market.

168 Shopping Mall

168 Shopping Mall, known for cheap items from China, has a wedding section at the 4th floor. The place have gowns, suits, barongs and attire for the whole wedding entourage. The shops have couturiers and they accept made to order wedding gowns.

We didn't hire any of the couturier in 168 Shopping Mall because their prices are more expensive as compared to other places. Despite of this, we keep on going back to 168 Shopping Mall to shop for other items like Lei's wedding shoes, the dresses for the flower girls, and her accessories.

168 Shopping Mall is very crowded due to the crowd and the habit of shop owners to place their goods on the already narrow corridor. When shopping for wedding supplies in this mall, you should bring patience, patience, and more patience. Of course you should also bring your expertise in haggling.

999 Shopping Mall

999 Shopping Mall, located just beside 168 Shopping Mall, has a wedding section at the basement. We only talked to Stephen of Jazz's Bridal Boutique. His frank way of talking almost convinced us to hire him as our couturier. Lei, however, decided to look for a better deal in Yangco Market.

Tutuban Center once has a wedding section that got burned around two years ago. I think that shops from Tutuban transferred to 168 and 999 Shopping Malls.



Yangco Market

Our final destination is the Yangco Market, located between Tabora and Ylaya Streets. This place surprised me because I never expected that there is a whole street in Divisoria dedicated to suppliers for weddings, birthdays, and baptism. Tabora Street have souvenirs, invitation cards, and accessories. The  Yangco Market, beside of it, has rows upon rows of wedding gowns.

Yangco Market is the bagsakan of various cloths. That's why mananahi from every part of Metro Manila visit this market. Those who want to make their own wedding gown can buy the cloths in this market. This market also has shops that sell lace.

Couturiers in Yangco Market are praised by many in online wedding forums because they can make quality wedding gown at affordable price. They can also sew based on the printed Internet image of the gown that the clients want.

We found our couturier in Yangco Market. Lei showed her Edward Teng's design and the couturier promised that she can make it. She offered 10,000 pesos for Lei's wedding gown. We also hired her to make bridesmaids' gowns, the dress of the flower girls, my suit, our fathers' barong, and our mothers' gown. She asked 5,000 down payment for the wedding gown.

The price is really cheap and so we expect that Lei's wedding gown will not be as grand as that of Edward Teng or other famous fashion designers. That mananahi, however, promised that she can make a good copy of the Edward Teng's wedding gown and the wedding gown will look fine. That mananahi broke her promise the wedding gown and other dresses were poorly made.

Lei's wedding gown.

After one month (and two fitting sessions) we picked-up Lei's wedding gown and my suit. I sensed that Lei didn't like her wedding gown. She had plenty of complaints about it. Even the gowns of the bridesmaids and mothers were poorly made. Unfortunately, the couturier avoided us and she suddenly stop answering my text messages.

I personally did not expect that the mananahi can copy Edward Teng's gown. My minimum expectation is that the gown will be of good quality because that's what the mananahi promised. What's worse is that the more simple dresses for our mothers and the bridesmaids were poorly made. We felt that the mananahi just tricked us with her sweet promises.

We were wrong in making full payment when we still have complaints for the wedding gown. We lose the leverage to force the couturier to fix her sloppy job. Lei couldn't do anything but fix the gowns by herself.

May our experience be a warning for those who are looking for couturiers in Yangco Market. Be very careful and don't be tricked by the low price. Low price usually means low quality.

Also, don't give the full payment when you're still not satisifed with your gown. Couturiers will not hide from you as long as the money is still in your hands.

What happened to us really sucks but we managed to rise from it. Lei's quick fix saved us from more tensions and stress. We also learned our lessons, especially when dealing with suppliers of any kind.

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Do you have questions about Lei's wedding gown? Or do you want to know the name of this dubious wedding gown supplier? Place your questions and comments at the comment section below or you may send a private message to my Facebook page.
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Frenzy Christmas Shopping in Divisoria

The Christmas Season is on. The people are frantic in shopping for gifts and Christmas decors. Divisoria, that area in Manila known for cheap products, are filled to the brim with these frantic shoppers.

People, people everywhere at Recto Avenue, Divisoria.

My Beloved and I are unfortunate because some of our suppliers for the wedding are located in Divisoria. We were forced to dive in Divisoria's sea of humanity everytime we visit the place.

Last week, we visited our mananahi for the second fitting of my Beloved's wedding gown. We took the opportunity to do some Christmas shopping.

My Beloved made the first buy. She bought earrings for her nieces and goddaughters in a stall in 168 Mall. Each earring costs 35 pesos but we got them in wholesale price of 20 pesos because we bought 7 pieces.

The earrings are definitely cheap but they look elegant enough. I bet that my Beloved's nieces and goddaughters will like them.

Divisoria is the place to go to for cheap Christmas items. People know this that's why they flock to 168 Mall, 999 Mall and the streets of Divisoria. It is so crowded that I got irritated because we couldn't get a seat in McDonalds. We waited for a long time before we got a space to eat in that fastfood joint.

My Beloved enjoyed our many trips to Divisoria despite the crowd. There are so many things that she can buy cheaply. I think that Divisoria has the power to unleash the shopaholic tendencies of my Beloved. She always have something to bring home everytime we visit Divisoria.

Another item that she bought is a bag that costs 50 pesos.

Since we are going to Divisoria, my Mom asked us to buy a Christmas tree and Christmas lanterns. Well, we did what she commanded. We bought her Christmas trees and lanterns and of course some Christmas decors like balls and lights.

The Christmas tree costs 350 pesos. The big balls are 100 pesos for 20 pieces while the small balls are 25 pesos for 12 pieces. 5-meter long LED Christmas lights costs 120 pesos. The star costs 25 pesos. All in all, we spent 620 pesos which is cheap especially if it is compared with the prices in the malls.

If your going to Divisoria to buy Christmas gifts, I suggest that you increase your patience because you will experience colliding with many people or will be crushed by the crowd or your feet trampled upon or talking to exhausted (ill-tempered) vendors.

There is no respite even in the evening. Hordes of shoppers flock Divisoria for the night market.

Divisoria is so crowded this Christmas Season so be prepared when you go to Divisoria. Increase your patience, be alert to the pickpockets, hone your haggling skills and then dive to the sea of shoppers. Of course, don't forget to enjoy Christmas shopping in Divisoria.

Christmas Shopping at Divisoria

The only thing that I can never forget in my first visit to Divisoria is the stench. Recto Avenue, within the Divisoria, is one of the smelliest areas that I ever visited in my whole life. I believe that the smell emanates from the decades-long accumulation of odor that was never removed because Recto Avenue never got the chance to be cleaned by street sweepers of Manila. But don’t let the stench of Divisoria turn you off because this is still the best place to go to for affordable Christmas items.

I recently visited Divisoria to look items that I can buy for my godchildren. Fortunately, it was not my first time to visit Divisoria so I know what to experience in that place. An American visitor of our office commented that Divisoria is worse than the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. He had a hard time navigating Divisoria because the streets are too crowded. He had no choice but to give up his comfort zone and walk side by side with buyers and vendors in Divisoria.

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Vendors hogging the streets of Divisoria.

My first stop is Divisoria Mall, which is located at the corner of Commercio and Tabora Streets. The mall is just an oversized Raon or the common palengke. The corridors are too crowded and some of the vendors placed their merchandise outside their booths. It is in this mall where I discovered that Divisoria is the place where tons of the cheap toys from China are delivered. The toys will then be bought and brought by retailers to different markets all around the Philippines. Now I know where to go if I want to buy toys for my godchildren.

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The next mall that I visited is the 168 Mall, which is the most popular mall in Divisoria. This mall is less crowded that Divisoria Mall. Near this mall are the 999 Mall and other malls that are named after lucky numbers. I went to 168 Mall to look for an affordable DVD player with TV.

Divisoria is one chaotic place. I always get lost whenever I visit the place. One time, I reached Andres Bonifacio’s monument in Tutuban while I was looking for a way out of Divisoria. This time, I reached Ongpin Street while I was looking for a way out of Divisoria. Well, getting lost is the reward for those people, like me, who doesn’t ask for directions.

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