Judy Ann Santos & Ryan Agoncillo’s hush-hush & low-key Batangas wedding

The Inquirer’s breaking news as of 9:35 a.m. today: Juday and Ryan Agoncillo say ‘I do’ today – no other details given.

Abs-cbnnews.com also put it as happening “somewhere in Luzon.”

It was a wedding that was kept under wraps up to the last hour, and known only to their closest family and friends. They were celebrities, but looks like they succeeded in making their wedding a very solemn, touching affair. As of early morning today, young superstar Judy Ann Santos married her sweetheart of four years Ryan Agoncillo in a private, out-of-town ceremony – somewhere in Batangas province to be exact.

Although the “unimpeachable sources” of Inquirer showbiz columnist Dolly Ann Carvajal says the wedding will take place May 2 in Tagaytay, our own sources said the wedding already took place today in a church in Laiya in the beach town of San Juan, Batangas. And the guest list was kept to less than 100.

Some important details: Judy Ann wore a Paul Cabral gown and megastar actress Sharon Cuneta was reported to be the matron of honor (or at least an important part of the entourage). Reception was breakfast, not lunch.D

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Visiting the Wedding Expo Philippines

One month and one week after getting married, the wedding hangover is still upon me. So I took time to visit the 14th edition of the Wedding Expo Philippines which ended yesterday at the PICC Forum. It was full of people and couples! You wouldn’t believe the number of lovebirds engaged or about to be wed in this part of the world. It proves a number of things: love rules and 2) weddings remain a big business in the country, which also assures that it’s as expensive as ever. Each move will cost you thousands, and that’s why it’s always advised to scout for the best, most reasonably-priced supplier. I can tell you it’s possible with a little bit of research and sleuthing.

In fact, I would tell my fellow brides out there not to limit themselves to these expos because not all suppliers join them. So it’s also good to depend on word-of-mouth, Googling and visiting your locality’s bargain havens.

What’s great about wedding fairs like W.E.P. is that the exhibitors really try to court you in terms of freebies and discounts just for booking them on your special day. We had fun munching on cake samples. There were also food tastings, free make-up sessions and the like.

Here are some pictures I took of the wedding fair:

A bridal car with Mickey and Minnie Mouse in it adds a unique touch from the usual bouquet of flowers pinned to the front of the car.

This is me playing around with the free photobooth from this company called Pose n’ Print. Photobooths are getting to be in-demand wedding souvenirs or reception fixtures….. obviously because guests love seeing their happy, funny faces.

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Planning a wedding online (Blog-O-Rama)

Hubby and I have a nifty picture in today’s issue of my blogging column in the Manila Bulletin. I’ve come back to writing it after an absence of three weeks!! Good thing my editor forgives me. The caption reads:

” A love that was Made in the Internet, and a wedding that was made possible by the Wonders of the Internet.”

I thought this was apt for my article entitled Planning a Wedding Online which is what happens when you can’t be physically present in a given place every single frickin’ time. In this digital age, this is the easiest way to do it.

Complete text follows:

A wedding can be a very stressful occasion to prepare, most especially if it’s your own.I found out that accomplishing paperwork is crucial, as much as canvassing suppliers that will comprise your Dream Team.

For someone like me who was based in Manila, preparing for the big day meant making the computer our best friend. It helped us save time doing errands, wasting it on traffic and gasoline money. In the case of my then-fiance, doing things online simply made the impossible possible for him, as he tried to find documents in two countries. Luckily, some state agencies, and even the Catholic Church, now have websites to make it easier for the public to gather documents, even while away.
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