Bride Of The Week: Mica Javier
Written By Kaileah Christine
August 3, 2020
Our #GLBride of the week is the gorgeous Mica Javier, who said “I Do” to her fiancé JayR in our GALA 1003 gown. The couple tied-the-knot in front of family and friends on the beautiful sandy white shores of Boracay Island. In the following interview, Mica shares with us the wedding moments she will cherish forever and her unique GL experience. As told by Mica:
"Once I put on the Gala 1003, I didn’t want to take it off."
How did you meet your husband? Tell us a little bit about your relationship.
I met my husband JayR at an Apl de Ap (from Black Eyed Peas) fundraiser in Manila. I was a guest of Apl’s and JayR was one of the performers — I actually said hi to him first, thinking that I knew him when I realized I didn’t know him, he just looked familiar because he was a big R&B star in the Philippines. I had been living in NYC for years prior to that time so I didn’t know.
We ended up exchanging info as we were both artists that were keen on working on music together — we collaborated, wrote a duet called “Tonight” which became a hit in the Philippine radio and TV charts, and we got to perform it while opening for JLO during her Dance Again Concert Tour in Manila. This became the beginning of my career in the Philippines, and we ended up supporting each other in everything, falling in love, and the rest is history.
How did you find your perfect dress?
I was on a trip to LA in April 2019, and at the time I hadn’t begun my search for my wedding dress yet. I had saved some dress ideas on Pinterest, not realizing most of the designs I saved were Galia Lahav. I found out Galia had just opened their flagship store in LA, so since I was already in town, I popped in for a quick visit, not knowing it was by appointment only.
I rang the bell anyway and was greeted by the amazing Anthony Beltran, who proceeded to welcome me in despite not having an appointment. He asked for what I was looking for, showed me some dresses that I had saved on my phone, and then helped me book a private appointment the next day (urgent because I was leaving back for the Philippines soon after).
When I came back for my appointment, I tried on around 12 dresses from the Gala line—my wedding was going to be by the beach, hot and tropical, so Gala’s lighter fabrics suited me best. Once I put on the Gala 1003, I didn’t want to take it off, I got emotional (which I never thought would ever happen to me over a dress), and I remember saying to Anthony, “I could walk out of this store right now in this dress and marry my man and be happy.”
Anthony was so helpful, he was sincere with his approach, fun, excited, and asked all the right questions to help me find my dress! In fact, when I had already decided on the dress, he told me that it was one of the first ones he pulled out and quickly showed me on a hanger the first day he let me into the store, and I didn’t even notice.
"I could walk out of this store right now in this dress and marry my man and be happy.”
How was your experience with the Galia Lahav brand?
My experience with the Galia Lahav brand has been exceptional. Living in the Philippines, halfway across the globe from where I purchased my wedding dress, it would be daunting to think of the process of coordinating with my designer, being so physically far away. One, it isn’t cheap to travel for all the fittings, and two, my schedule was tight and I only had a small window of time to fly back for fittings. Team Galia was so helpful even via email or over the phone. All my questions and concerns were answered and I felt the care that they put into their brides from start to finish. We encountered a major hurdle, 2 months prior to my wedding, where I was supposed to fly in for my final fitting where they needed to hem my dress to my final wedding shoe height.
When news of the Coronavirus hit in in January, I was unable to fly to LA for my final fitting as a safety precaution, and I was forced to coordinate with the Galia staff via email to figure out the measurements to hem my dress properly — I was so nervous for this because I wasn’t going to be physically there to have them hem perfectly, and we were going to have to ship my dress over to make it in time for my wedding. I had to put my faith in Galia’s team to make sure the dress would be okay. They treated me so well from the beginning that I knew they wouldn’t let me down — their seamstress Gabby took care of it, and she totally nailed it. It was absolutely perfect.
What moment from your wedding will you never forget?
Too many unforgettable moments, but one of the highlights for me was when my dad did his speech—it was so full of heart, grit, and realness. Then we proceeded to do our father-daughter dance, for which I asked my planner to project a photo of me and my mom (it was a photo of me as a little ballerina hugged by my mom) on the giant LED screen, as our backdrop, as my dad and I danced hugged up. I lost my mom when I was only 13 and for my wedding wanted to honour her, and have a moment shared with just me, my mom and my dad—it was that moment. It was beautiful and there was not a dry eyeball in the room.
"It was absolutely perfect."
Wedding Planner: @eventsbyamandatirol | @amandagtirol
Event Stylist: @teddymanuel | @tmboracay
Video: @bobnicolas
Photo: @mayadstudios | @mchlgonzales
Wedding Rings: @jsdiamondjewellery
Wedding Cake and Grazing Table: @nakedpatisserie
Entourage Robes: @laterceraonline
Bridal Make Up: @effieinigo
Bridal Hair: @jingmonis