Featuring Thomas Alvino and Janis Contreras
Their love story began with a mistake that could only be described, in the bride’s own words, as “peak goldfish memory behavior.”
In 2017, she tried adding a European traveler she’d met on a trip, but ended up messaging the wrong Thomas on Snapchat. “I asked if he remembered me,” she shares, laughing. “He said no… and that he’d never even been to the Philippines. Then he sent a selfie. Yup—definitely not the guy I met. So embarrassing!”
Yet the wrong Thomas turned out to be the right one. He kept replying to her posts, and eventually, she replied back. They talked seriously for six months, broke up, tried again in 2018, and broke up once more. “We were young, broke, and dramatic,” she jokes. “Classic love story recipe.”
For four years, they had no communication, until February 26, 2022. “A familiar name popped up, and I honestly stared at it for hours,” she admits. “I was on my way to my brother’s surprise proposal, and suddenly I might have to deal with my own love life? Stress!”
One month later, Thomas bought a ticket to Manila. She still thought he was joking. “I asked for airport photos. He sent some. Still didn’t believe him. You can google anything nowadays,” she says. But at NAIA, there he was—real, smiling, and wearing a now-iconic shirt.
Their first hug felt like recognition, not introduction. “My heart nearly quit its job,” she laughs.
In 2023, in Bali, she thought he would propose, but instead, he gifted her a ring she loved and said, “I am not proposing.” “I smiled outside but died inside,” she jokes.
Back in their villa, he noticed her quiet tears and knelt with a carrot-shaped ring. “He asked, ‘Bunny, do you wanna become my wife?’ I cried because finally, this man was done joking!”
Their Escolta wedding was intimate, creative, and deeply personal. She carried a crocheted bouquet filled with symbols from their story; their barong and veil were embroidered with inside jokes and memories; airplanes, ferns, croissants, and their cat, Sky. “We wanted a wedding that felt like us, a little weird, very sincere,” she says.
They exchanged private vows, helped each other dress, and skipped the trends. “We’re clingy and awkward, so why pretend otherwise?” she laughs.
But beneath the humor lies something steadfast. “After breaking up twice, being long-distance for years, and reconnecting against all odds, this is proof that what’s meant for you will always find its way back,” she says. “Even if it starts with the wrong Thomas.”
Thomas and Janis’ Dream Team:
Ceremony: White Noise Creative Space
Coordinator: Imbitado Events
Invites: Janis Contreras-Alvino | Printed by Grapix Press
Photographer: Visual Folks
Videographer: Kreative Machines
Gown designer: Emil Ocampo
Barong & Veil designer: Lucas Lumban Barong
Crochet bridal bouquet: Love, Brisseis
Embroidered bouquet ribbon : Milcah makes Embroidery
Bridal HMUA: Ish Sison Make Up Artistry
Family HMUA: Glow by Gerly
Officiant: Rev. Jon Rovillos
Sound System in Ceremony: Ministry of Sound
Chair Rentals: Il Fiore by Bhem Meijer
