LAUREL-VAZQUEZ
A Fiesta for the Ages
Paolo Laurel and Keena Vazquez met in Australia. Paolo was working in Melbourne while Keena was finishing her Architecture degree in Sydney. Denise, Paolo’s cousin, was also a friend of Keena’s and while visiting her decided to invite Keena to accompany her on her side trip to see Paolo in Melbourne. “Little did I know, Paolo had already planned to impress me with an MTV cribs style, fullystocked fridge, pulled all his favors at the clubs and schemed to spend the whole weekend with me,” says Keena, laughing at the memory.
“It was a success and we were back and forth between Sydney and Melbourne, Philippines and Australia, Quezon City and Alabang, ever since.”
Together for eight years (which Keena says was spent mostly in some degree of long distance), Paolo proposed in the Nezu Shrine in Tokyo, almost seven years to the day they first met. “I remember, unbeknownst to me, he was making me pick where I was going to be proposed to the night before,” says Keena.
In planning the wedding, Keena used the tools of the trade she had learned as an Architect. “Being an architect, the styling and space design was extremely important to me. Achieving the right ambiance and maximizing the beautiful venue was a big priority,” she says. “Early on I had even modeled the venue in 3-D, and prepared several design concepts, quite similar to the houses I would design for work.” Because Paolo is a member of the Department of Tourism as a Board Member of Nayong Filipino, it was important for the couple to include a fresh take on Filipino aesthetics for their guests, especially the foreign ones, to enjoy.
“We wanted to steer away from more literal iterations of the Filipino or tropical theme,” says Keena. She mentions that the affair took on the feel of a community event: They both spent a lot of time
sourcing suppliers and meeting weaving communities from all over the country to bring details to life. This included invites packaged in pandan envelopes woven in Palawan, custom Sa Wakas fans hand dyed and woven in Aurora, abaca pahiyas lanterns made in Quezon while the different mats and baskets were made by the talented weavers of Tacloban. These traditional design choices were combined with modern touches like neon lights, a jeepney photo booth, and piles of buko from the local fruit stand. “Combining both approaches, traditional and modern, was important for us to proudly showcase the beauty of our country in a unique and millennial-friendly way,” says Keena.
The wedding took place at Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel in Montecito, Nuvali, with Fr. Tito Caluag as the marriage officiant. Cocktails and reception at Angelfields Nature Sanctuary then followed this. Coming from a huge family with diverse interests, Paolo was able to tap some meaningful connections for elements of the wedding.
Cousin Rajo Laurel, who incorporated an anahaw insignia with modern, clean lines, made his barong. The wedding choir was the Lyceum of the Philippines (LPU) Concert Singers and Chef Abram Peralta of LPU made the wedding cake.
According to Keena, she and Paolo were equally hands-on in conceptualizing all the details in their wedding, making this a true partnership between them. “From the beginning, we were less drawn to typical wedding approaches and styles,” says Keena. A special treat during the night was watching Paolo sing Keena’s favorite Filipino love song “Ikaw” with the President of the Philippines. “It was a surprise for everyone,” she says.