The Events! Events! Blog: Empire State of Romance

Jasper and Karen Fernandez
Santuario de San Antonio
The Peninsula Manila

The wedding of Jasper and Karen was inspiring, chic, and well-thought-out.

It was during my trip to New York when I first met Jasper and Karen. They are both working as doctors in the US and were then planning their wedding. As fate would have it, they got news from their fellow UP Zoology Club members Mimi and Karl that I was in the area for a quick visit. And the rest, as they say, was history.

Wedding planning for an overseas couple was no piece of cake – e-mails and phone calls peppered the coordination and preparations. The zonal time difference of 12 hours was no joke but with Karen – ever so diplomatic and attentive to what you were saying – the moment or situation was made light and bearable.

The nuptial theme revolved around two elements – cherry blossoms and the pink-brown color combination.

Starting off with the letterpressed invitations by The Write Impression, Karen opted for a classic design with a non-traditional layout. The flushed-left wedding details highlighted the iconic representation of a cherry blossom bud.

Reflecting the wedding colors, the invitation suite came bundled with a bronze band bearing the couple’s gold-stamped monogram.

With a team of talented, time-tested great suppliers – Mimi and Karl, Veluz, Threelogy Video and Madge – this lovely wedding was a walk in the park.

Veluz was inspired by the romantic side of Karen – who brought pegs of how she envisioned her wedding gown to be. Veluz thought of doing something different this time – corded lace, seed pearls, lace cutouts and silk flowers strategically framing the gown’s hemline – with a continuation at the back that revealed an all-tulle skirt. Genius indeed!

Karen was ecstatic with her matte gold Jimmy Choo shoes – Killer!

Madge perfected the make-up of the bride without making her a totally different person. She merely enhanced the bride's natural beauty.

And what a true artist she was – she used the excess materials from Karen’s gown and creatively crafted out of them the bride's hair accessory.

Truly, Karen was transformed into a wonderful bride – with Veluz gushingly describing her as “such a delight to work with, mild-mannered, proper, no-fuss, and just pleasant, not an ounce of bridezilla genes in her blood.”

Now, on with more details.

The rings were placed inside a silver-cast fortune cookie – an Internet find.

The bride carried an all-blush pink hyacinth bouquet - by Royal Flower Shoppe the handle of which was painstakingly covered with a 1/16-inch cord and made more eye-catching with a vintage brooch.

The white bag and other wedding accessories were, of course, designed and made by Niko for Veluz.

Flowergirls carried teddy bears placed in tin cans personally painted in pink by the bride.

The misalettes by Amis Print mirrored the same graphic floral icon used in the invitation. To make it subtler, a gradient pink and white paper covered the misalette. A pink tassel accentuated the Asian theme.

The wedding entourage wore brown gowns and clutched pink bouquets. They looked stunning as they walked down the aisle.

After the ceremony, guests proceeded to the Upper Lobby of The Peninsula Manila for cocktails, while the newlyweds had their portraits taken at the Santuario’s courtyard under the glorious sun – it was a great day for pictures and the couple gamely posed for the cam.

The Vintage Jaguar Mark II was a nice prop for the shoot.

At the registration, pink Chinese takeout boxes were lined up bearing the guests’ names. These boxes contained fortune cookies which became a hit among the guests.

Guests were also given handmade soaps placed on top of wooden soap dishes.

Instead of the regular guest book, the couple’s pictures from their New York prenuptial pictorial were placed on 3” x 3” boards scattered on a cocktail table.

Guests scribbled their wishes for the couple and hung them on a wish tree placed in a Shoji (Japanese screen)-inspired container.

Square tables were festooned with pink flowers on gold-painted pots. White flowers seemed to float when hung on dried twigs.

Brown napkins were tied with brown lace and finished off with a haiku printed on a board.

Steel fortune cookie place card holders cast in silver were used to sit the guests on the VIP tables. Shogun-inspired candle holders from IKEA were used as well.

Groupings of pink flowers adorned the long table for the VIP guests.

The cake was another masterpiece by cake artist Judy Uson. I could not help but stare at how gorgeous and real-looking the gumpaste flowers were.

The couple thought of something useful and practical to give to their wedding guests – social cards bearing the principal sponsor’s and their spouse’s names accentuated with cherry blossoms and placed in neat gold box.

Having lived in New York for much of their time in the US, the couple named each table after famous landmarks of the city. Each table name was printed using the same fonts as those in the invitations.The menu labels for the buffet reflected the wedding motif and colors.

Several highlights of the wedding program included the audio-visual presentation which featured the prenup photos taken in New York with the song “Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys – a bride’s request – as background music. This set the mood for a lot of partying that ensued.

Host Cristina Canada-Lazo conducted the fun couple’s game with some familiar faces becoming winners.

Lastly, Karen surprised her groom with a special AVP on Jasper’s dad who passed away not so long before the wedding. In addition, the couple paid tribute to their moms by giving them special bouquets.

Mimi and Karl prepared a surprise slideshow presentation of the wedding photos as a special gift to the newlyweds.

The night ended with a romantic foxtrot number from the bride and the groom.

Thank you, Karen and Jasper, for the wonderful New York experience. My trip would not have been great and worthwhile if I had not met you. I was deeply touched and humbled by the superlatives you so generously showered me with in your speech. Til our next meeting in NYC? Again, my sincerest thanks to both of you!