Hi, I'm Francesca,
your Bridal Era bestie!
A little about me:
🇵🇭 I'm a 30-year-old Filipina-Canadian based in Toronto, ON.
💍 My fianće and I got engaged in May 2023, getting married November 2025!
🐶 We have a bichon-poodle mix named Archibald aka "Archie."
👜 I love the finer things in life, handbags, afternoon tea, luxury hotels, etc.
🩵 I love light, dusty shades of blue. I'd say it's my signature shade!
💄 My go-to red lip is Tom Ford Beauty Liquid Lip Luxe Matte in the shade "Secret Rendezvous."
I’ve been a social media content creator for over 4 years, creating luxury lifestyle, travel, and food content on Instagram and working with luxury hotel brands and fine-dining restaurants in Toronto.
I’d describe my content style & aesthetic as elegant, chic, and modern.
I’ve always loved capturing the finer details and have always been the content creator in my friends and family's lives, so when I saw the opportunity to do this for others as a living, I jumped on it!
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My Approach to Capturing Your Bridal Era
Every love story deserves to be told in a way that feels effortlessly beautiful and true to you.
At In Your Bridal Era, my signature style is rooted in capturing the real, unscripted moments — the quiet glances, the bursts of laughter, the celebrations that happen when no one’s looking.
I focus on blending soft, refined visuals with heartfelt authenticity, ensuring your memories feel as natural and vivid as they did in the moment.
Your content is delivered quickly, styled intentionally, and crafted to feel timeless, ready for you to relive and share, without losing the magic of how it all really happened.
Because your bridal era isn't just about one day, it's about the full, beautiful story you're creating.
"You're telling me I get to help capture and be a part of some of the most memorable and best days of people's lives as a job?! What a dream come true!"
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WE BOOKED OUR WEDDING VENUE!
When starting our hunt for reception venues we knew we wanted an estate look. The dream was Casa Loma or Graydon Hall Manor but after looking at their pricing, that dream was immediately brought to reality.
After a few days of looking around and seeing venues, my fiance and I chose to have our reception at The Arlington Estate!
We loved their sales process, how the price we locked in was an all-inclusive price with no hidden or added fees, and how beautiful the grounds are!
Tip: When assessing venues, have a budget and list of must haves that need to be included in the price for you to even consider it. It really helps with narrowing down potential venues as there are a TON out there and it does get overwhelming.
Booked on 06/04/2024
#TyingTheLok
WE BOOKED OUR PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM!
I inquired with 3 different photography studios,
Everlasting Moments, Purple Tree Photography, and Mango Studios.
We ultimately decided to work with Mango Studios and I'm BEYOND excited! My parents recommended them and through the sales process, we fell in love with their portfolio & team. I love how they edit photos in Black & White and how candidly they shoot weddings.
Tip: Have a tentative timeline ready when speaking with Photographers during the inquiry stage. Doesn't have to be set in stone but knowing how you want the day to flow will help them provide a package that suits your needs while making sure you get the coverage you're looking for!
Booked on 06/17/2024
WE BOOKED OUR DECOR / FLORIST!
We had looked at 2 vendors for this,
Vintage Bash and Royal Orchid Florist.
Vintage Bash, I saw their work on IG and liked how they had their inventory online. Royal Orchid Florist is a preferred vendor of our venue and seeing their work all over their IG page, I honestly thought that they'd be out of my budget.
After speaking with both, it was clear that we HAD to work with Lemis and Royal Orchid Florist! She's been in business for 32 years and made it easy for us to visualize how our reception could look like with the budget we had in mind.
Tip: Go on IG and look at the work they've done at your venue. It's the best way to gauge their experience with the space and what their capabilities are.
Booked on 7/22/2024
WE BOOKED A LIVE ILLUSTRATOR
My fiance and I have always loved art and wanted to find a way to incorporate that into our wedding day and when we saw Lauren (@bylaurenp) come through our TikTok feed we knew we had to have her at our wedding!
Her art style is exactly what we're looking for to entertain our guests. When I reached out to her I was lucky to find that my date was the last Saturday she had available that month! It was meant to be!
Tip: Book the vendors that you're set on as early as possible! Our date is in Fall 2025, and when I inquired in June 2024, she mentioned that she was already booked up over a year and a half in advance!
Booked on 07/11/2024
*photo taken from Lauren's IG!
I PROPOSED TO MY BRIDESMAIDS!
After months of planning, redoing our dining room, and finding the most amazing gifts, I proposed to my two bridesmaids and my Maid of Honor over Afternoon Tea at my house.
So much love and time went into planning and executing this Bridgerton themed Afternoon Tea. My fiance was such a big help because I wanted this to be a surprise for my girls so he helped me a ton throughout the whole planning process.
So excited to kick off the bridal festivities with these ladies! If you want to see all the details it'll be on my IG page! Up next is Wedding dress shopping at the end of September!
Tip: You don't have to have a large bridesmaids group, or bridesmaids at all. Do what feels best for you and your Bridal Era!
They said YES! on 08/18/2024
#Francesca'sRoyalCourt
OUR PARENTS MET
FOR THE FIRST TIME
My fiancé and I have been together for 7 years, and due to COVID and a lot of other things, our parents hadn't met yet. We figured that it was time for that to happen, so when my family came up to Toronto for a wedding dress shopping, we figured it was a good time for them to meet.
We had them over for dinner at our house, my fiancé cooked dinner, and I took care of the tablescape. It was a great evening, and it seemed like our parents enjoyed each other's company.
A bit more pressure to host the parents' meeting at home, but I feel like it was the best way for our parents to socialize and for us not to have to pay for a crazy expensive meal at a restaurant.
Our Parents Met
09/27/2024
I SAID YES TO THE DRESS!
I spent a whole weekend going to 4 different bridal stores in the GTA with my mom, dad, and sister at the end of September. I didn't think I would find the dress that weekend, I had tried on at least 35 gowns before I found the one.
I'm not gonna lie, there was one dress I couldn't get my mind off of for a few weeks after, and to be honest, I had some dress regret. I was looking for a couture look, something very fashion forward, and I had initially found this blue dress that I had loved, but ultimately, my family convinced me that a white dress was more classic and fit our church wedding setting. I know I can achieve a dramatic, high-fashion look with a dramatic veil, some accessories, and the bouquet!
My parents graciously paid for the dress, and I was so happy to have worked with Mona at Mona Richie Boutique. Excited to share more about the process in a future post.
Tip: Only go with a small group of people to dress shop. If you don't want to take a dress off, that's a sign you dont want to ignore.
I said yes to the dress on 09/29/2024
WE HAD OUR MENU TASTING!
At Arlington the Menu Tastings for couples start at the beginning of the year so this was our first official wedding event of 2025! What we loved about the experience is that we were able to sample 2 menus, the one we had chosen when we booked with them, and then another menu option to try. So in total we got to try 2 apps, 2 mains, and 2 desserts.
We paid an extra fee to include both of our parents in this experience and used this opportunity to show them the venue as well. Overall, the experience was amazing, they served the food in the same way that guests would have received it so it was a ton of food. The experience made us excited for everything that was to come and the kind of hospitality that our venue offered.
Tip: When going through your menu selections, really think about ALL the food you're offering throughout out day. That helped us narrow down our menu!
Tasting on 02/23/2025
WE BOOKED AV, LIGHTING, & ENTERTAINMENT
As we are having our wedding at the Arlington Estate, they have a partnership with bb Blanc, an Audio Visual Production company, where their technology has been integrated within the space. This is an additional price to use, but we figured that if we don't go with the,m we would have to work with another AV company anyway so we figured to make the experience seamless, we would hire them for those services.
Outside of standard AV and Lighting, we also booked Cold Sparklers, our DJ, and a cocktail hour violinist through bb Blanc, all under one contract. When we went to their showroom, they were able to show us everything they could offer at our venue, which was amazing to see in person, so we could really feel how our guests would experience it the day of!
Tip: Even if your venue doesn't offer something similar, I would look into hiring a DJ that can offer AV enhancements like uplighting, as that will help with photography and help set the mood/tone of your evening!
Booked on 03/04/2025
*their mascot is called bb Bear!
I BOOKED MY HAIR & MAKEUP TEAM!
For the longest time, I had thought I would be doing my makeup and that I would just hire a hair artist for my big day, but after thinking about it, I'm a crier and I KNOW I'll need touch-ups throughout the day, and so would my girls and our moms.
I had been following Makeup by Jem Roberts for a few months, as he had come up on my fyp as a Filipino MUA. He specializes in soft asian glam, which is what I was looking for.
We also ended up hiring him for the full day so that he and his team could do touch-ups on the group throughout the day. We're also doing a second look for my reception!
Tip: Pay for the hair/makeup trial, and after the trial, give your HMUA feedback on what you like, what you don't like, what you want more of, and what you want less of! Don't feel shy, honest feedback will help them in making sure you feel your most beautiful on your big day!
Booked on 03/05/2025
*at my makeup & hair trial
WE BOOKED OUR WEDDING DAY TRANSPORTATION!
We had met Just For U Limo Bus at the Canada Bridal Show. They were 4 booths from our own, and after walking around the show ourselves, we realized they had the kind of vehicle we were looking for at the price that we were comfortable with.
I had actually inquired with 2 other limo bus services, and they weren't as responsive and willing to work within my budget like the owner Andrew Davids did. We really only needed a Limo Bus for a little over 3hrs and when I had inquired and asked if he could do within a certain budget, I heard back within 15 mins of reaching out! I'm looking forward to using his services for our big day!
Tip: Share as much as you can about the number of hours you actually need a limo/limo bus for when you are inquiring with vendors. It helps if you have your timeline figured out as well!
Booked on 03/11/2025
*photo from Just4U Limo on WeddingWire