To be honest, it really felt like we were in uncharted territory (because of the many things that we did differently). We reformulated and readjusted so many times that we learned to be adaptive. While that made preparations challenging, it also made it thrilling (and sometimes as nerve-wracking too). For every expected wedding tradition that we’ve successfully countered, we took small pleasure in knowing that we might actually be the first. This was evidenced by supplier’s frequent responses of: “No, ma’m, we don’t have this, and no, we also don’t have that.” Frustrating as these road blocks were, we did—with stubborn determination and a blind refusal to accept no for an answer—bring our concept to life. And we’re happy to share that here.
I must have heard “You’re the most non-stressed bride ever!” a million times while we were planning our wedding, when in fact I was. It’s just that in my line of work, my stress tolerance has been honed to high, what with having to produce fashion editorials and cover shoots monthly that involve managing people, talents, locations—and sometimes even the weather. Planning a wedding naturally just became a version of that on a bigger scale. The key to an almost problem free fashion editorial is in trusting in a good team that will execute your vision with the least amount of micro managing and drama—the same held true for my wedding. My planner, Stanz Catalan, made magic happen in Cebu while I was busy working in Manila. My two event stylists, each with their own strengths made beautiful visual stories, Debbie Huang of Simple Wishes Events for the dining area, and Mabelle Lequin of Wild Reverie for the cake station and food hall. I have to thank Derek Dytian of Creative Cuisine not just for taking charge of the catering, but also for his openness to have other restaurants come in for a very modern way of feasting and enjoying food.
I’ll let the photographs give you a better glimpse of our wedding and I really hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed the event itself. And know that above everything else, beyond the thought process, artistry and creativity, it was really a day for celebrating love, actually. I’m so happy you’ve RSVP’ed.
Left: This minimal but beautifully sculpted gown by Cary Santiago brought out my softer side more than any embellishment—beads, appliqués or lace—will ever do. As for my hair and makeup: subdued freshness by Omar Ermita, and a decorative braid by Mark Familara.
Left: Denim over a delicate silk gown felt rightfully rebellious. My Lee Jeans family (I worked there before joining Preview) gifted us with these personalized jean jackets that put a bit of grit (always a preference) in the glamour. My fiancé and I got two jackets each, one that says our own name and another with our significant other’s. I like that it’s a pretty clever take on the usual his and hers statement.
Right (inset): Even before my editor-in-chief Isha Valles, asked if they could publish my wedding in Preview, I already planned this product shoot—a sort of moody, surrealist snap of our sartorial wedding essentials. Shot on the day of the wedding, the vignette was styled by my brother and man-of-honor Andre Chang, the props set up by production designer Mabelle Lequin of Wild Reverie and the creative direction was by Vince Uy.
Lower right (inset): We believe that receiving an invitation with your name beautifully written in calligraphy is one of life’s simplest pleasures. Our envelopes were handwritten by Fozzy Castro-Dayrit (thefozzybook.com), all 300 of them.
Portrait of a Lady
“She was such an easy bride. In fact, I was the one who was having difficulties because Daryl herself is such a fashionable lady,” my wedding gown designer, Cary Santiago, explains. “The fabric I used was imported from London: It’s silk gazar, which is quite difficult to manipulate. There was really no room for error.” A fabric fact: Silk Gazar was created in the 1960s by a Swiss textile company in collaboration with Cristobal Balenciaga. The pared-down and sculptural look of my dress is reminiscent of old-world Balenciaga and the choice of the silk gazar a rather fortuitous circumstance.
Left: Clockwise from top left:
- My bridesmaids: Vivien Ramsay and Pauline Juan. My bridesmen: Vince Uy, my co-creative director; man of honor Andre Chang, all-around best support ever; and Epoy Arcino, the man behind my “cheese cake”, all wearing tuxes by M Barretto. Makeup and grooming was done by Don de Jesus and Byron Velasquez for MAC Cosmetics and hair by Ethan David.
- Getting ready in a Natori robe.
- My husband, Mano Lotho, in a Lanvin suit and Jil Sander button-down shirt.
- “Brides tend to stay away from anything black in their bouquet” my florist said, but it was the complete opposite for me, I was immediately drawn to these dark-centered Anemones.
- My bespoke 6 inch Casadeis that truly captured my personality. Sharp minimalist lines that was neither overtly girlish nor off the extreme edge—it was just perfect. A gift from Ben Chan and hand carried all the way from Italy by Patrick Ty of Bench global brands.
- Our wedding rings were designed by my husband (smooth finish on mine to contrast the hammered texture of my engagement ring, and a brushed matte finish on his) and executed by Janina Dizon-Hoschka.
- I wanted a hairstyle that wasn’t uptight and didn’t take itself too seriously. This grosgrain band woven into a loose braid was my ideal of pretty, done by Mark Familara, of course.
Right: The cool draw of white always will be irresistible to me. It has this understated luxury that’s disciplined, elegant and powerful all at the same time. My entourage designer (for the ladies) Jerome Salaya Ang and I made it the canvas for all the voluminous and geometric silhouettes of my attendants. While white kept my entourage dresses in order, there was deliberate disorder with the designs for each person, done in different lengths and shapes, and paired with my entourage’s footwear of choice. A focus on the feet is important to me because shoes have the power to turn fashion clichés into a style hit. Take it from shoe-lover and former Preview Editor-in-Chief Pauline Juan: “But my shoes can’t be seen!” she said when I first showed her the floor-length tunic I wanted her to wear. We ended up cropping her trousers so she could debut her Fendi Bug flats, giving her almost monastic-looking dress a cute and stylish punctuation.
6 quick facts about our reception:
- We reverted to the old way of doing things and welcomed our guests as they arrived instead of our guests receiving us as a couple. The upside to that was having a quiet moment to breathe and relax (as when this photo was taken) before the festivities started.
- Location was key in planning our after-wedding party. We were dead-set on having it in an industrial warehouse with concrete floors, high ceiling and exposed beams. The problem was that no such place with the proper amenties (airconditioning, clean toilets), seemed to exist in Cebu. We thoroughly searched empty commercial buildings, film studios and art galleries, but found nothing that fit the requirements. My planner, Stanz Catalan, was the one who found IEC (International Eucharistic Congress) Pavilion—it ticked off everything on our list, with room to spare (the capacity to fit 7,000 people, to be exact). We probably curtained off only a fourteenth of the space and it was still massive.
- We wanted strings and strings and strings of bulbs! Lighting sets the overall mood and we wanted an intimate, casual and warm atmosphere. To achieve that, everything in the setup had to be custom-made by Debbie Huang of Simple Wishes Events, including the lights draped overhead, the suspended flora with bulbs, and all the tables and benches because there weren’t enough available for rent to create the three long tables that could each seat 72 persons. The metal chairs in the center were an afterthought because we thought the titas would appreciate not having to step over benches in their gowns in order to sit down.
- The floral centerpieces and leafy chandeliers gave a lush and cosy atmosphere, exactly the feeling that we were aiming for. While we wanted it to be festive, we also wanted it to be intimate. Wild, undone and raw best describe the mix of amaryllis, lisanthius, cabbage roses, carnations and eucalyptus leaves that lined the tables.
- The attention to detail also trickled down to the table settings. Each charger had a napkin that was hand-tied with twine and lovingly accented with a small bunch of grapes.
- The only program in our reception was my Dad’s welcome address and Mano’s parents’ closing speech. That, and a quick “cheese cake”-cutting ceremony in between, which drew the attention of friends and family to the fact that we were formally opening the food hall for dinner, yay!
Left:
The Ultimate Tiered Tower for Turophiles
I love cheese, but that’s probably an understatement, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that we had massive wheels of it as our wedding cake. I trusted no one else other than my best friend, creative director of Lee Jeans and sometimes a genius cake maker, (Remember Liz Uy’s giant Louboutin-shaped birthday cake? Yup, that was his), Epoy Arcino (cel. no. 0917 882 3769) He shipped to Cebu 38 kilos of unpasteurized and artisanal cheeses, excluding condiments, cheese-cutters and knives and constructed this tower of cheeses in less than an hour on the day of the wedding because he was also my bridesman. Stress, I know. But the time constraint didn’t show at all—look at this golden gourmet marvel! What magnificence. Epoy says: “My goal was to create a tall enough tower (with the best selection of cheeses), taking into consideration the visual appearance and size of the wheels so that it stacked correctly and was dramatic enough to be the center of attention. It took me 4 months of planning, researching, tasting and advanced ordering from different suppliers to finally confirm and be confident that this nine-tier ‘cheese cake’ from my drawing board will come to life.” Rundown of cheeses from the top: Tête de Moine (Switzerland), Brillat – Savarin (France), Ossou – Iraty (France), Manchego (Spain), Truffle Noire Gouda (Amsterdam), Vintage Cheddar (United Kingdom), Cambozola (Germany), Pecorino Romano (Italy) and Parmigiano Reggiano (Italy).
Right: Clockwise from top left:
- As much as I like indie music, pop hits were the go-to on the big day. It got the people dancing—voluntarily and involuntarily. Xtina Superstar, our DJ, mixed pop, anthems and classics in an irresistible dance party playlist.
- Celebrations are never complete without champagne!
- And did I mention aside from the “cheese cake” tower, Epoy also curated a side table of cheese wedges in even more varieties with wood-carved names that he had custom-made?
- The other point of us wanting an industrial warehouse as the location for our reception was that it set off our food hall concept perfectly. We brought in food from six of our favorite restaurants from Cebu, and made it a smorgasbord for feasting.
- Dancing outfit on: a feather-trimmed dress by Jun Escario and comfortable wedges from 3.1 Phillip Lim.
- Undone in an atypical bouquet—just my kind of arrangement. The flowers in the food hall were arranged by Mabelle Lequin of Wild Reverie.
- We thought it would be fun to make the guests find their own name cards. There was no strict seating. You could just pluck your name off the board and seat yourself anywhere.
Love and Light
This photograph captures my husband and I in a quiet and just-us moment. But in planning our wedding it was never just us. Thank you to our parents and the whole village that made this dream wedding of ours a fantastic reality. We will be forever grateful.