Kim and Ryan's Grand Wedding - Wedding Essentials

By Vennette Lailani Seprado

Kim and Ryan’s love story has all the trappings of a romantic Asianovela. The photogenic couple met serendipitously with the involvement of – shoes! Unlike Cinderella who lost a shoe, Kim gained a few pairs and a partner for life.

Ryan, who owns a shoe business, got in touch with Kim who at that time was working full time but also dabbled in freelance modeling. He offered her a deal to model shoes for his social media platforms and eventually became friends. Finding out how much they had in common, their partnership clicked. The friendship blossomed into romance leading up to Ryan’s romantic proposal playing the ukulele and singing their theme song, “Can’t Help Falling In Love”. Shortly after getting engaged, the couple dove into wedding planning almost immediately.

“Overall, wedding planning was really fun, especially that both of us were very hands-on. We both took leaves from work just to personally meet with suppliers. We started planning right away after being engaged so we could get our non-negotiables.”

The wedding ceremony was held at the historic San Agustin Church in Manila. Its massive antique carved doors opened up to Kim looking ethereal in her custom made Hannah Kong creation. “For my gown, I requested a sparkly ballgown style since this was the only time I could wear one and like every other girl, I wanted to have my Cinderella moment,” she shares.

Kim’s wedding gown was a corseted bustier with a mesh overlay, embroidered with delicate scroll and lattice patterns that hugged her svelte figure. She clutched a beautiful bouquet of fresh cream and pale pink peonies to complete her bridal look.

The bridesmaids and the flower girls wore blush frocks with a subtle metallic sheen clutching bouquets of white gypsophila.

Ryan, on the other hand, looked timeless in his classic black and white tuxedo, while the groomsmen donned black and white suits and matching watches.

After the ceremony, the wedding party headed to the spacious ballroom of Conrad Hotel Manila for the reception. For the décor, the couple wanted a predominantly white and gold motif. To achieve the classic and elegant vibe they were going for, Christine Ong Te Events helped them bring their vision to life. The venue was bathed in rose-hued lights adding a dreamy quality to the space decorated with sparkling chandeliers, overhanging wintery foliage and long strings of clear crystal beads.

According to Kim, they wanted the theme to be elegant and romantic with a color motif of white, gold and hints of blush. Kim relates, “Our wedding vision was always for our love to shine above all the elaborate decors and fancy dresses.”

A luxurious mirrored table paired with gilded ivory oval-back chairs were reserved for the VIPs and principal sponsors. The table was beautifully decorated with flowers such as tulips and roses, crystals accents, candelabras, and candles.

Rivaling the beautifully set up VIP table is the stunning six-tier wedding cake by Penk Ching. The picture-perfect cake is decorated with golden baroque accents, the couple’s monogram, sugar peonies, and edible pearl beads. Guests were entertained by a string quartet with a performance by singer Renee Dominique who serenaded the newlyweds with a few of their favorite songs. The guests also participated in an interactive game guessing the price of an item dear to the couple. The couple also gave away pairs of shoes as a homage to the very item that brought them together.

Like an Asianovela romcom finale where all the characters come together to watch the main characters live happily ever after, Kim says “We actually loved how everything fell into place and went well together from the dress to the flowers and decor, the cake, our host, the output of our photo and video teams! But I would say that our favorite moment was still seeing our family and relatives present during our special day. Some even flew over the country just to celebrate with us, and some friends that we’ve never seen in a long time also came. We really felt so loved and so blessed.”