A dream wedding... ...in The City of Lights
FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Some
stars get married on the beach (bad omen, foreboding an early
break-up). Others do so on highlands (like Claudine Barretto and
Raymart Santiago), at the seafront garden of a five-star hotel at
sunset (like Cesar Montano and Sunshine Cruz), at a sprawling resort
like Villa Escudero, or on a misty morning in the country’s summer
capital (like Aga Muhlach and Charlene Gonzalez).
ABS-CBN reporter Niña Corpuz and Studio
23’s news manager Vince Rodriguez did it in the City of Lights no less,
at the Eglise St. Severin in Paris, last May 20, with Ashley Razonable
singing Ave Maria in the background, making everybody cry. They spent
their honeymoon in France, Spain and Italy. Wow, isn’t it?
They first considered some of their favorite places in the Philippines, Asia and the US.
After they came up with a list of possible destinations, they felt
there was one place missing, a city they fell in love with, which they
vowed to return to — Paris.
They toyed with the idea, but decided that
it was impossible. It was too far, too expensive, too much of a dream.
But the more they thought about it, the more they fell in love with the
idea.
Vince was part of the ABS-CBN news team that covered the first Filipinos to climb Mt. Everest in 2006, and the Filipino women in 2007. As a mountaineer, it had been his dream to set foot on Mt. Everest , and he finally made it. He told Niña, if his dream could come true, why couldn’t theirs?
In October last year, Niña’s show on The Filipino Channel (TFC), Balitang Europe, went to Milan to conduct a seminar for ABS-CBN Europe correspondents. After the week-long seminar, she went on her third visit to Paris, and was again overwhelmed by how magical the city was. When she returned to Manila, she knew where her dream wedding was going to be.
But their dream wouldn’t have come true without the help of their relatives and friends in France. Niña’s cousin, Imee Wissler, and their ninong, John Franco, both residents of Paris,
helped look for the reception venue. They visited a number of
restaurants, took lots of pictures and sent them by e-mail so the
couple could choose which they liked best.
Then, the couple heard that the head of the Philippine chaplaincy in Paris, Fr. Gil Apuli, was in Manila for a vacation. The couple met with Fr. Gil who found for them the beautiful 15th century gothic-style church located in the Latin Quarter.
Another coincidence — or blessing for the two: While Niña was surfing the Internet looking for reception venues in Paris, she met through e-mail 22-year-old Melanie Razonable, a Filipina who was born and grew up in Paris.
The two hit it off, and Melanie volunteered to help coordinate Niña’s
wedding. Niña then found out that Melanie’s sister, 15-year-old Ashley,
was the champion in a Disney reality singing contest in France.
She had even been featured on Balitang Europe as a Pinoy achiever. Niña
asked if Ashley could sing at her wedding and the French-Pinay
chanteuse said she would love to.
Niña’s good friend Debbie Co made the gowns
for the bride and entourage. The couple also booked a photo studio,
Photos Du Monde, which has its main office in Paris. Fortunately — another blessing — the studio’s owners, Stephane and Chato Vivas, were visiting Manila, so the couple was able to talk to them about the wedding pictorial.Niña and Vince flew to Paris 10 days before the wedding, together with Niña’s cousin Divine and her husband Patrick Duran. Doing their errands in Paris
turned out to be a pleasure. Divine chose the bouquets for the bride
and entourage from Au Nom De La Rose, a Parisian flower shop that
specializes in Roses. For the wedding cake, Divine chose a tower of
macarons from the luxury cake and pastry shop Ladurée.
Most of the wedding guests flew in two days before the wedding. The couple’s relatives and friends in Paris made sure everything went smoothly, picked up guests at the airport, made hotel arrangements, toured and entertained them.
After the ceremony, the couple and the
guests proceeded to the garden behind the church for the pictorials.
Then, everyone walked just about 30 steps to Baladin Rive Gauche, a
French restaurant literally next door to the church, which was closed
specially for the reception. It was a melding of French and Pinoy
tradition at the reception. The guests enjoyed French food and wine as
a jazz pianist serenaded them. But after a few (or more) glasses of
champagne, some of the guests convinced the pianist to let them sing,
and the live piano karaoke session began! The food, wine and champagne
flowed until three in morning.
According to the bride’s cousin, Divine, it
was a wedding to remember, not because it was lavish or extravagant but
because it was so intimate. Everyone was surrounded by family and close
friends and, of course, because it took place in the most romantic city
in the world.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF PHOTOS DU MONDE
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Thank you Sir Ricky (for featuring pictures with me in it for the first time)! hehe 
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