A destination wedding prove to be more demanding than a wedding done in Manila. In addition, with the bride and the groom based abroad (in this case, Austria), it can be a daunting task. But it is always considered as a welcome challenge for any events coordinator.

Jojo and Weng wanted to showcase their own personalities in their wedding. The bride was very particular with the shade of green she wanted for her color motif. In fact, she brought along a meter long-ribbon with the exact shade of green during her first round meetings with the suppliers when the couple visited Manila a few months before their wedding.

A special monogram that carried their initials and a graphic with a vintage look became the running elements for the event. Guests who checked in at the Subic Bay Yacht Club the day before the wedding were greeted with welcome baskets beautifully done by the sister of the bride and maid of honor, Robee Bautista. These baskets contained hand towels and coffee mugs with the couple’s monogram, bottled water, green jello (pandan flavor), green apples, pear, and a pocket diary (since it was the first week of the New Year).

The bride was effortlessly stunning in her Enan Almando creation with a specially designed arm accessory to complete the look. The bridal gown featured a detachable train which carried the same appliqués found on the bodice. Her hair and make-up done by the make-up artist for the discerning brides, Madge Lejano, complemented her true Filipina features.

The members of the entourage were regal in their ivory gowns accentuated with green ribbons done by Almando as well. Carrying an all-white bouquet, the bride posed for her formal portraits with the docked private yachts as perfect backdrop.

After the wedding ceremony, guests had cocktails at the board walk of Subic Bay Yacht Club which served the famous pritson and other local delicacies from Subic. Then, they were ushered into the Piano Bar adorned with elegant white arrangements accentuated with green crystals, green apples, green grapes and capiz votive candles.

Table numbers which also served as programme cards reflected the color motif. Ditto with the vintage graphic which was used in the gift tags, welcome baskets and thank-you notes to name a few. While waiting for the arrival of the newlyweds, the guests were treated to the soothing music of The String Minstrels.

As to the major highlight of the wedding, one could choose from this list: the opening audio-visual presentation featuring the prenuptial pictorials by Karl and Mimi; the surprise song number of Jojo to her bride; the touching speeches of the brothers of the groom (James Dungca) and of the bride (Ralph); the choreographed father and daughter dance; and the poignant onsite audio-visual presentation of multi-awarded Jason Magbanua featuring the heart wrenching, “The Blower’s Daughter” as performed by Damien Rice.

After a hundred e-mails (or even more) and countless hours on the phone, this wedding could be considered as one of our more successful destination weddings.

Special Touches:

1. For that vintage look, specially designed trinkets were added on the bouquets used.

2. To make the presence of the groom’s father (who passed away a few years ago) felt during the wedding, the old man’s car was restored and used as the bridal car. Similarly, coins collected by the bride’s late grandmother since 1914 were used as the arrhae.

3. An oil burner with the couple’s monogram served as functional and decorative wedding souvenir.

4. A series of surprises made the wedding more memorable. To wit: the bride’s mother surprised the couple by getting a chocolate fondue served at the dessert table; a song number from the groom; and the father-daughter dance.

5. The use of consistent fonts, colors and design elements gave the wedding a unified look which was kind to the eyes.