Wine, Magic, and Song
Our story all started with wine. Date upon date, we discovered new appellations and vintages together, and this we paired with our passion for cooking. I would hold wine and cheese classes, and Happy would be there. Naturally, for our wedding, we wanted to go for a rustic winery theme.
Walking into our reception, we had a pergola with our photos at the entrance, and had grapes on the tables to recreate the atmosphere. Our “cake” was even a huge tower made of cheese.
We wanted our wedding to be full of surprises, just like that. And to put the guests in the mood, we had our grand entrance made by a fake bride and groom.
The guests thought they had entered the wrong ballroom, until the host announced our real entrance, and we went through a giant screen. Then the bridesmaids and groomsmen gathered in the middle for a showdown, led by us!
As an opening gift to our family and friends, we sang “Lucky” while I played on the keyboard. Happy being a fashion designer, it was really important for us to showcase her art to our guests. This is why we started with traditional barongs, with a gown for her—our his and hers barongs.
Happy even changed into two more gowns for the reception: a laser-cut, embellished, floral beaded gown as well as a beaded lace golden gown, embellished with beaded 3D appliqué. I, on the other hand, wore a gray suit with wooden bow tie.
Our prenup video was a cooking show, sharing our passion for cooking and introducing each other while making a special stuffed turkey.
For the prenup photos, since we love to travel, we had shoots in London, Amsterdam, Monaco, Alsace, and Tokyo. For the others shot in Manila, one had us going to a supermarket (we like to do the groceries), and the other one was a fairy tale with the wolf and Red Riding Hood, and Hansel and Gretel with a unicorn. For our first dance, we didn’t want to go for common stepby-step choreography, we chose to stage a magic show instead, both of us being fans of magic tricks. We did a quick flurry of wardrobe changes, showing six outfits for Happy and two for me. That wowed the guests.
The next phase was a surprise from Happy to me. She made a special video with the song Dear Future Husband—one of my faves, as it was played to me by Happy once. At the end of the video, Happy appeared from the middle of the screen with a ukulele, serenading me. It was a wonderful moment for both of us. But then it was my turn to surprise her.
RECEPTION
Sofitel
STYLISTS HOME
Amante Fleurs
RECEPTION& COCKTAILS
Gary Dacanay
MAIN RECEPTION
Teddy Manuel
PHOTOGRAPHY
Toto Villaruel, Mango Red
VIDEOGRAPHY
Mayad
BAND
Bloomfields
CHOIR
UPLB Los Banos
STRINGS
Manila String Machine
HAIR & MAKEUP OF ENTOURAGE
Maquillage professionnel
As she sat down in the middle of the stage, I went to the keyboard and serenaded her with a Tagalog song that I composed for her: “Mahal Kita Happy.” At the end of the celebration, and to get people in a dancing mood, we prepared a dance lesson—similar to Zumba—and invited everyone to stand up and follow.
And for our feast, we a had a menu and music pairing, which further showed how much we loved both music and food.
These surprises, the elements of decor, and all the uncommon things made our wedding the way we wanted it—makulit, magical, and wonderful.