By Vennette Lailani Seprado
Dakota and Myka, the owners of the highly instagrammable Happy Beach Cebu where they also shot their prenup photos (see article here), tied the knot in a winter ceremony in New Jersey last March 8, 2019. The affair was attended by an intimate gathering of friends and family, so the couple planned a bigger wedding party for 450 guests here in Manila with two things in mind: They wanted their Manila celebration to be festive and fun.
The couple chose a vibrant Spanish Fiesta themed wedding party held at the Manila Marriott Hotel, and based on the photos captured by Niceprint Photo, it was indeed a festive and fun fete complete with samba performers, a Latin band, a piñata and limbo dancing.
On picking their reception theme, Myka shares: “The process of picking a theme was difficult. We had to change the theme four times from
fairytale-magical to a Disney theme, to Havana and then finally Spanish Fiesta.”
The bride’s recent trip to Spain helped her lock in on their theme, “I fell in love with their rich culture. I love the people, the food, the music, their dances, and the parties. I had to convince my husband to change the theme to Spanish/Latin festival because I wanted everyone to experience how fun their culture is,” she adds.
Planning two events at two different locations is no easy feat, but the bride shares there weren’t any major issues or roadblocks in planning and execution.
“Planning was not as stressful as what I imagined it to be. There were so many people that helped us along the way that’s why it was easier for us to plan two weddings simultaneously. My cousin Lawrence Tan helped with the execution. My mom helped with our outfits. Our coordinator Christine Ong Te helped us visualize the program as well as Teddy Manuel who gave his ideas in the overall look of the place. Our sisters Crystal, Arbi and Kyna also helped a lot.”
Color was a major component in a Spanish Fiesta theme from the bride’s show-stopping red gown, to the colorful papel picado (a Mexican decorative paper craft) that lined the ballroom entrance.
For the Manila reception, the bride specifically wanted a celebration that was ultra-fun and lively just like her very character. With that in mind, the whole family decided to wear brightly colored evening wear making
sure everything else looked cohesive.
Aside from the expertise of Teddy Manuel and Christine Ong Te,
the event was dramatically styled with the help of High Impact Events and 4th Wall Production Design.
Making sure the event was not only memorable to the couple but to their guests, the interactive soiree had guests participating in a samba contest, a limbo rock contest and an after party dance off. Escola Samba de Manila and Guarana band kept the guests entertained and on their feet.
“My favorite part was our dance song rendition of Baliamos and both our family’s dance numbers including two of the grandmas.”
Of course, no fiesta would be complete without food and drinks! They had two grazing tables with cured meats, luxury cheeses, and premium dried fruits and nuts. Guests enjoyed a very fitting Sangria station and feasted on a sit-down dinner of courses including jumbo scallops, salmon fillet, US ribeye, and guava cheesecake.
