Dream Themes: A Mansion on the Hill

Villa Milagros Mansion and Gardens is the sprawling ancestral home of the Liamzon family. Tucked away in the outskirts of the city at the foothills of Sierra Madre in Rodriguez, Rizal, it was originally built in 1969 as a gift of Isidoro Liamzon to his wife, Ma. Milagros, for their 35^th anniversary. The Mansion has since been restored and converted into a wedding and events venue. Equipped with landscaped gardens, architectural fixtures, banquet halls and a hospitable staff, Villa Milagros is an elegant, flexible and private space for any type of celebration, especially with its guaranteed event exclusivity clause.

Event stylist Gary Dacanay designed a regal setup at The North Wing—Villa Milagros’ spacious banquet hall—taking his style cues from the surroundings. Predominantly done in a plush color scheme of royal blue and gold, Dacanay’s setup features a plethora of opulent element to achieve a lavish look.

Dacanay’s setup sits under a makeshift canopy garbed in midnight blue fabric. It features a grand ceiling comprised of inflated, giant gold spheres from Form Rentals and drop lights encased in rustic rattan lanterns with gold lace ribbon trimmings. Dacanay also strung some artificial gold leaves and dried leaves spray-painted with gold, and installed Christmas lights in the ceiling.

For the VIP area, Dacanay used the Paris yellow gold table, accompanied by Luna midnight blue sapphire chairs—all courtesy of Shop Rent Gala. Foregoing a tablecloth, the stylist opted to use white flowers instead, so as to not take attention away from the predominant blue-and-gold color scheme. A profusion of white gypsophilas, local roses, snapdragons and Ecuadorian roses in glass-and-gold vases adorn the table, forming the cascading floral arrangement in the middle of the tablescape. Spray-painted gold leaves and pine cones also embellish the space, while Lamontcandelabras and Capulet candleholders—courtesy of C&L Decors—provide mood and lighting.

Meanwhile, exquisite dinnerware and flatware—courtesy of Casa Luxia—make up the rest of the table setting. Constellation salad plates and Mosaique Au 24 Gold dinner plates sit on top of Florence Gold charger plates, paired with Opera Antique Gold cutlery. Casa Luxia also provided the glassware: marguerite white wine and red wine glasses, along with blue Bijoux water goblets by Shop Rent Gala.

For the guest tables, Dacanay used a midnight blue velvet overlay cloth accented with a gold beaded table runner, then used the same floral arrangement found on the VIP table. A towering Sommerset gold candlelabra from C&L Décor is placed in the middle, along with several, smaller gold candleholders. The same dinnerware, flatware, and glassware from Casa Luxia and Shop Rent Gala are also featured on the guest tables, except with a combination of Caskata Peony Gold salad plates and Caskata Peony Blue Met Gala dinner plates. Dacanay also prepared personalized napkin rings, which have been cut into round shapes.

The rest of the stationery is provided by Print Divas, featuring a starlit design of gold dots on a navy blue background with a white font. The menus feature a geometric cut and are printed on two 300gsm Bianco papers placed together, with the front containing the menu itself, while the back bears a personalized logo. The table cards and place cards are similarly cut and designed, with the latter embellished by a chic gold ribbon on the side. The matching table numbers are encased in ornate gold frames, while the invitation stands out because it comes inside its own customized box with battery-operated fairy lights to emphasize the luxe theme.

The wedding spread, courtesy of Banquets by VS&F, is equally sumptuous. The meal begins with mussel and clam bouillon accompanied by bouquet garni and creamed potatoes, followed by ensalada kesong puti: cherry tomatoes and fried kesong puti dressed with honey calamansi. For the main course, there’s grilled filet mignon, a bacon wrapped filet de bœuf, peppercorn sauce and herb lemon salt, served with cabbage and leek fondue, and roasted summer vegetables. For sweets, there’s a dessert sampler comprised of crème brûlée, vanilla panna cotta, and a tropical fruit medley.

Finally, the wedding cake—courtesy of Camille Gabriel of Sugarcrest—makes its own four-tiered statement. Airbrushed with gold and blue edible colors, the top three tiers of the cake feature a golden base of textured flakes, which pop on top of the plain blue bottom tier. Blue sugar rose flowers with gold embellishment round out the final look.