GOKINGYOK-CARLOS

A Fine Vintage

C Chester Gokingyok and Georgianna Carlos met on Valentine's Day, at a get-together with common friends. As Carlos tells it, how they became acquainted with each other was happenstance. “It was a funny situation. There are these group of boys who I am friends with that I call the ‘Car Boys’ since they just love everything about, well, cars. One of them decided to host a Valentine’s Party for the single ones in the group, provided that each Car Boy brings food for the potluck and a single female friend to introduce to the others,” she says.

As luck would have it, Carlos was one of the single female friends of one of the boys, and as it turns out, none of the rest had brought any of their single female friends. “It ended up being just me and around a dozen other boys. That’s how I met my now-husband Chester," she says.

Together for eight years, Gokingyok proposed on the Day of Valor (April 9) because as he jokingly says, “[I] needed extra courage.” That day, they went to Tagaytay for a day trip and then dinner at Sta. Elena. Carlos woke up with a bad case of rhinitis and initially wanted to cancel, but Gokingyok insisted. Dressed in shorts, no makeup, and wrapped in a blanket-scarf hybrid, she explored Tagaytay with her beau-to-be.

At dinner in Sta. Elena, they went to the balcony for Gokingyok, who does landscape and nature photography, to take pictures of the sunset. “He was trying to set up the camera to be able to capture him proposing to me during the sunset. However, I ruined his plans and found a rocking chair at the corner of the balcony and sat there and didn’t want to get up. So, Chester had to improvise and found a way to propose to me while I was rocking on a rocking chair!” Carlos says. When he popped the question, she says her brain shut down and the first thing she asked was “Are you proposing?” followed by a “Wait… do my parents know?” Happily, her parents knew for two weeks leading up to the proposal. “Looking back, it was funny and very ‘us’ anyway,” she says.

The wedding was supposed to happen at the Santuario de San Antonio and the Manila Polo Club, but like all weddings planned for 2020, changes had to be made. But the couple was set on getting married last year. “So, once lockdown restrictions were eased and small celebrations were allowed, we re-started our paperwork and planned a wedding in more or less two weeks,” Carlos says. Luckily, the house they were building for their future finished construction so they decided to get married there. While they didn't have furniture yet and the garden was unfinished, their stylist helped transform the place into a suitable venue. During the event, the garden had vintage touches that are a nod to what the original wedding was going for. “It was a beautiful, simple ceremony, which was attended by immediate family members and a pair

of witnesses,” she says.

The marriage took place in the garden, followed by cocktails for their guests. The couple drank champagne and had their wedding portraits taken on the roof. They then enjoyed a meal catered by Bizu, which was followed by a small, socially distanced party while the 20s to 30s music played in the background.

Despite many changes, the newlyweds were happy they could still have a vintage theme as finding things from the past is a shared interest. An example of this is the groom's wedding gift, which is a matching vintage Cartier Santos watch. Another is the wedding arrhae, which is what the bride’s late grandmother used for her wedding.

One part of the plan the two happily kept was that they would be the ones to host the reception. “We believe that weddings are intimate affairs so we wanted to be the ones to greet the guests and be the ones to communicate with them,” Carlos says. This detail is in keeping with the personal touch the couple had both desired. “We wanted the wedding to feel like an intimate, family celebration.”

Wedding Dress ANN CUATICO

Wedding Shoes JIMMY CHOO

Bridal Makeup ARLENE BULACTIAL

Groom’s Suit KINGSMAN

Wedding Rings LA ELEGANCIA

Wedding Coordinator CHRISTINE ONG-TE EVENTS

Wedding Stylist/florist MARTINA BAUTISTA

Caterer BIZU

Wedding Cake BIZU

Giveaways GLASS OIL AND VINEGAR CRUET WITH BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE AND TRUFFLE OLIVE OIL SET

Text SARA SIGUION-REYNA Photos MATT LEE

3 1 The couple's matching Classic Cartier Santos Galbée XL and Vintage Cartier Santos Carrée LM 2 The groom stands at the entrance of their home while waiting for his bride 3 The bride loves all things vintage and wanted a Grace Kelly inspired look 4 The bride's engagement ring was designed by the groom, and all rings were created by La Elegancia, a jeweler owned by a good friend of the groom's mother 5 The bride's bouquet was made with white roses and fresh eucalpytus—a staple in her home growing up

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1 While not all of the bride's siblings were able to attend as they were based abroad, the family still enjoyed the festivities and being silly during the shoot 2 The couple had a simple, civil ceremony with their immediate family and a pair of witnesses in attendance 3 The father of the bride waits to walk her down the aisle 4 The groom with his parents Ben and Aida 5 The reception was held in the covered area by the garden of the couple's new home 6 Jose Benjamin, Juan Jacinto Jr, Carmelita, the bride, the groom, Aida, Dianneby, Ben, Margaux, and Benjamin

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7 "It made sense for us that we start our lives together in the home we will build together," the newlyweds say A garden themed wedding cake topped with a blooming peony by Bizu USDA Prime Beef Tenderloin with Truffle Butter and red wine demiglace on potato lyonnaise and vegetable mélange 10 A seven course meal was served during the reception 8 9 7 9

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