LEONARD CO & DANIELLE YAP REAL WEDDINGS
Can’t Help Falling for You
How often does a person feel so certain about how a potential love story would unfold? It’s a once in a lifetime feeling so rare that mine happened 3 years back. The day
I met Den was the first time I felt that surreal feeling of assurance that this is actually it. That fateful day of April 3, 2016 everything changed.
Spud Buds Potato and Cotton Candies
Our food brands, Spud Buds Potato Company and Fluffed Cotton Candy Connoisseurs stood side by side as we were hired by a mom for her son’s birthday party at Metrotent, Pasig. That’s when we got to talk. The moment we spoke to each other, there was this lightness and connection I could not explain. It doesn’t happen very often and I knew I couldn’t afford to let that moment slip away. We exchanged business cards and I kept that exact business card she gave me up until our wedding day three years later.
“Will you marry me?”
I mustered the courage to pop the question on July 20, 2017 (our anniversary as an official couple) at her place. I chose the number 20 since it’s the summation of the letters of her future name to be: Danielle Kristen Yap Co (20 letters).
Initially, I wanted to propose in public and even planned to ask some of her friends to help me document it. Upon giving it much thought, I just then decided to do it alone and in private since I remembered Den didn’t want the idea of a public proposal where the girl is pressured to say yes as the crowd watches on. I knew she wanted to have when she’s really ready to make the most important decision of her life. On that quiet night of July 20 inside her house, I asked. And as you could probably tell by now, she said yes! Deciding on the Date
The time I asked her to be my girlfriend (July 20, 2016), the proposal (July 20, 2017), it was just fitting to have the wedding day on the same day of 2019.
I scoured the events calendar of 2019 and not only does it represent the number of letters in her future name but July 20 also falls on a Saturday. But as some things don’t go as planned sometimes, the date wasn’t as good for a wedding as we had our birth dates checked. It was not as auspicious as we were told so we had to decide to change it to July 6 instead. Still a Saturday though.
Enchanted Forest Wedding
The greenery theme has been one of the most pinned options for weddings with every couple joining the bandwagon, making variations on the level of production elements incorporated, wedding after wedding. Aesthetic-wise, we wanted to create our “Enchanted Forest” vision to be uniquely ours while keeping the charm and rustic vibe without going over the top. Indy Ycasiano, the brains behind She Dreams in Ink, served us a balance of everything we asked for and still keeping it within budget. This creative objective was reflected across our non-traditional preferences which translated on our multi-coloured but mute shades of motif: the nude toned wedding dress with a jumpsuit reception look to match; the switch from a white to midnight blue suit ensemble to the DIY entourage bouquet wreathes. Even our local and international prenup shoots grabbed unique pegs and locations to keep things out of the box.
Practice (for 6 months) Makes Perfect
We got in touch with Stefan Raymundo, a friend of ours, to choreograph our theme song. From the usual slow dance of “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur, we opted to mix it with an urban pop feel with “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” by Haley Reinhart.
Having no talent in dancing, we requested Stefan to teach us every weekend for 6 months to get as close to a respectable production. We started the night strong as we did the dance at the very beginning of the program to surprise the guests. This was the first time they ever saw us dance so it was really quite an exhilarating moment as we pulled it off perfectly. The Secret Insert in the Program: Meteor Garden Song In 2003, many were captured by the Meteor Garden fever. I was always fond of its opening theme song for its catchy tune and sweet and light lyrics. Entitled “Can’t Help Falling for You”, the lyrics of the song resembled the scenarios of meeting Den the first time. Even before I proposed I had already envisioned performing this song for her on our wedding day. I braved the crowd and it turned out to be a truly nice surprise. Faith, Right Time, and Gratefulness I believe I never met Den earlier than that fateful day because one gets to meet the right one at the right time according to God’s perfect timing. She is the best decision I made. I will forever be grateful to God who has given me someone I can call home. Den is my home, my own…my sweetest cotton candy.