TAOJO-MAGAT
Childhood Friends to Lifetime Partners
Iñigo Taojo and Mika Magat have known each other since they were children. “Our grandparents are the best of friends. Eventually during our high school and college days, we lost contact but reconnected last 2017 after seeing each other again during a dinner hosted by Iñigo's family," says Mika. When Iñigo decided to court Mika, he asked for the blessing of her father. Several months later, they were an official couple. “I knew in my heart, he was the one for me,” says Mika. Seven months into the relationship, Batso proposed during a vacation with friends in Siargao. “He carved a space in a book where he put the ring, on the first page he wrote, “Empires rise empires fall, will you be my constant through it all?” A line from a song we really like,” she says.
“In planning the wedding, the goal was to show all our guests who we are as a couple, and at the same time ensure everybody will have a great, unforgettable experience,” says Mika. The first day was a welcome party for all their friends and family that flew over to Davao to celebrate. The second day was the wedding and the third was a thanksgiving party intended for the people who work in their companies, their second family.
The food was catered by Dusit Thani. Cockails and Dreamsz provided the drinks. “Everyone loved their drinks. Maybe a little too much,” says Mika, laughing.
Mika reflects that while she and Iñigo had not really planned anything to make the wedding different, it was special for them because of the hard work they poured into it. “We enjoyed a 13-month engagement which gave us time to prepare and plan this 3 day wedding celebration that best reflect our personalities." says Mika. Contrary to most grooms, Iñigo was very much involved. "We would sit for hours in coffee shops thinking of details that we wanted," he says. Each song choice for a particular part of the day, the suppliers, the wedding emblems, invites, photo booth print layouts, food and drink menu layouts and the lighting for the event were thoughtfully chosen. “We had long strings of emails of design revisions. Guests were served with food and drinks we personally chose and tasted beforehand. Most of the wedding we personally checked,” Iñigo says.
For the celebration, because they had thoroughly planned everything they were able to entrust to the coordinator and have fun. “It was not stressful, but it took a lot of hard work, from us, our families, and our suppliers,” says Iñigo, “and seeing all those hard work come into fruition, and hearing people appreciating every detail made every effort worth it.”