2 nights ago, Dusit Thani Manila- one of our favorite hotels in Makati, treated esteemed wedding members of the wedding industry to a night in `Morocco`, complete with belly dancers, a python and delicious Middle Eastern fare that made our bellies dance.

And no, we didn`t dine on the python.

A beautiful Moroccan-themed set-up at Dusit Thani`S Grand Ballroom by event stylist Henry Pascual

The Dusit Thani Banquets team busy at work/play.

Happiness is a nice refreshing glass of delicious fruit punch

Pls. don`t say aaahh…

Nice work Henry! Love how the colors turned out in this level of lighting

PAWP`s Marex Gaba, Jody Liwanag, Liza Alviedo, Nenita Zagala , Ruby Ines, Celia Cunanan and Peaches Go- Tiu with cake designer to the stars (and the President!) Penk Ching and event stylists Joyce Aguilar and Teddy Manuel and Niceprint`s Charisse Tinio . Photo grabbed from Teddy Manuel`S FB album.

Bag ladies of the night: Make-up artist Madge Lejano and wedding planner Queen David. Photo grabbed from Teddy Manuel`S FB wall.

Dusit Thani General Manager (GM) Prateek Kumar is the man behind such great changes at the hotel, and one of the best hotel GMs I know. How good he is as a chief will need a separate post.

After hearing about Dusit Thani Manila`s wedding program, people went wild over belly dancing/dancers.

WE didn`t actually belly dance, but someone did…..

Photo grabbed from Teddy Manuel`S FB wall.

And this someone also won a two nights stay at Dusit Thani Resort in Hua Hin that night. Not for belly dancing though, he won it through the night`s raffle. =)

Teddy Manuel with PAWP founding member tita Celia Cunanan. Teddy, you are one lucky duck! Photo grabbed from Teddy Manuel`S FB wall.

and Teddy, this is Huan Hin, =)

Huan Hin, Thailand. Photo via www.tat.org

I heart these romantic Zuhair Murad gowns on singer Jewel and actress Nina Dobrev.

Jewel via

Nina Dobrev

If the name is familiar, it`s because a few months back, we blogged about Jennifer Lopez attending the Costume Institute Gala last May in a stunning Zuhair Murad creation.

Going back to the Emmy`s 2010, these gowns worn by Jewel and Nina Dobrev were from Murad`s Romantic Intimacy collection Fall Winter 2010/2011.

via www.zuhairmurad.com

Jewel and Nina Dobrev Emmy`s 2010 pictures via www.instyle.com

It`s red carpet fashion season again folks!
Because internet is rather really slow today, I`ll continue with a parts 2, 3 and 4 tomorrow or hopefully sooner.

One of my favorite`s in yesterday`s Emmy Awards, Kim Kardashian was a sight to behold in a white goddess Marchesa gown with a metallic gold accentuated collar neckline.

Photos via Just Jared.com

In light of recent events, I’d like to share this beautiful piece written by our good friend Bum Tenorio that came out today in the Philippine Star.

I still love the Philippines
NEW BEGINNINGS By Bum D. Tenorio, Jr. (The Philippine Star) Updated August 29,

One man can’t just simply take away the pride of this nation. What happened last Monday did not erase the fact that we still have good people in the country. I still love the Philippines.

Rolando Mendoza was just one Filipino. He was not the microcosm of the Philippines. His psyche did not represent the general consciousness of the Filipino people. He flew over the cuckoo’s nest. I didn’t. We didn’t.

But I will leave the discussion of his behavior to the psychiatrists. I will also relegate to the authorities the dissection of who was also to blame at the Aug. 23 hostage-taking drama. For now, let me just stick to my earlier assertion that it is unfair for the whole nation to suffer the consequences just because one man went berserk.

It will probably take a while for the world to see thanks to CNN and BBC and Al Jazeera that not everyone in the Philippines thinks and acts like Mendoza. The misconception is understandable because the international community is so far away from us, and I am only talking about physical distance here. But for shame to eat us up we, the Filipino people because of one isolated incident is something I do not understand.

Shame should not leave us covering our face with our two hands for the rest of our lives. It should make us open ourselves to change. Yes, what happened last Monday was shameful. We condemn the barbaric act that led to the loss of lives of eight Hong Kong nationals, a young bystander, even the life of Mendoza himself. Our personal and collective thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this tragedy and their respective loved ones.

What happened last Monday at the Quirino Grandstand is a national tragedy, and as Filipinos, we should be united in finding solutions to the backlash. Let us begin by taking off the two hands that have covered our faces because of shame. Let’s take the step of healing the wounds by highlighting who we are as Filipinos.

It’s painful enough that the world has cast a hasty misconception again on us because of one isolated event that was not handled well. It is more painful to think that even many of our kababayans have somehow become ashamed of our race. These are the Filipinos who focus too much on the negative because they prefer to cultivate the culture of hate.

The culture of hate can be traced in the Filipinos’ lack of pride of heritage. Government officials can just tear down buildings of national importance. Singers can just desecrate the interpretation of the National Anthem at the whip of their whims. Moviegoers remain plastered on their seats even when Lupang Hinirang is played during the first screening and last full show of a movie. Vehicles and people don’t stop anymore when the National Anthem is played. We have lost our sense of propriety for our native land.

We haven’t stopped saying “Only in the Philippines” in a pejorative way. When something goes wrong in this country, we sigh, “Only in the Philippines.” I can go on and on citing all the beautiful things that will highlight the places, things and moments that can be found or happen “only in the Philippines.” But the most significant that comes to mind my sense of history may be wrong is that it’s “only the Philippines” that people both rich and poor came together to thwart a dictator in a bloodless revolution that has become a benchmark around the world to win a revolution the peaceful way. If we were able to rise above the grime of dictatorship and embrace democracy again, we will also be able to rise above this national humiliation by cultivating in us the pride of the Filipino people.

Have we forgotten how Filipinos here and abroad became one almost a year ago when typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng wrought havoc in Manila and Luzon? Why can’t we become one again in rising above this tragedy brought about by one man who held hostage a bus full of foreign tourists to telegraph his needs that he wanted his job back, the source of his dignity?

Filipinos, as of this writing, are getting busy again gathering strength and resources to help thousands of residents of Navotas who lost their homes and dreams to a fire Thursday night. We gather again as one. Can’t we become one as a people with or without calamity manmade or otherwise?

So, instead of saying “parang wala ka sa Pilipinas” upon seeing a beautiful place in the country that reminds you of something you’ve seen abroad, why can’t we just say “Ang ganda talaga ng Pilipinas.” Period. Because that’s the truth. No matter what you say and what one loony man does, the Philippines remains incomparably beautiful its people, its scenery.

The culture of hate surfaced again when many questioned the intellect of Maria Venus Raj for not bringing home the Miss Universe crown. Why can’t we just thank her for winning fourth runner-up? She did her best. She made us proud of ourselves. In a competition, as Mitch Albom said in Tuesdays with Morrie, “What’s wrong with being No. 2?” In Venus’ case, what’s wrong with being fourth runner-up?

I read somewhere that the Philippines is a major force in the Twitter world. We can use the same force to tweet to the whole world who we are as a people. If Venus Raj’s “major, major” quip made it to Twitter trending, why can’t we do the same for “I love the Philippines”?

I love the Philippines even if the tourists from Hong Kong and some parts of the world have cancelled their flights to Manila. As I said, one man can’t just simply take away the pride of this nation. The isolated incident did not take away the truth that we still have many good people in the country like an honest president or an honest taxi driver who returns to his passenger a wad of money left in his car. We have countless heroes and heroines in this country most are unsung.

I love the Philippines and this should be the same spirit the Filipinos around the world should feel even if the Philippine consulate in Hong Kong gets warnings of more rallies as backlash of the hostage-taking incident last Monday. We pray for the wounds to heal fast.

Yes, I love the Philippines. The last time I checked, I am still very much in love with it. And I will remain in love with my country for the rest of my life. After all, there’s no “major, major” place like home.

(For your new beginnings, please e-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com or my.new.beginnings@gmail.com. You may want to follow me at www.twitter.com/bum_tenorio. Have a blessed Sunday.)

WE heart the Philippines, our local wedding industry, our readers all over the world who may or may not be Pinoy, our country’s beautiful resorts, our 7, 107 islands, and Venus Raj, among the many other sundry things that make this country unique, maybe even a little peculiar, but unforgettable.

….its romantic sunsets,its colorful and diverse people, our warm laughter that rivals only our tropical sun.
… its myriad cuisines and dialects- the Philippines may be small, but it’s bursting with joyful experiences and histories that anyone-visitor, or native-can claim as his or her very own. All you have to do is allow it, diba Gina Abuyuan? =P

The first time I heard of the name Teena Barretto was when my friend, designer Michelle Lim talked to me about suppliers she gathered to be part of her store Okasyon`s project with Citibank.

I personally knew, or have worked with all of the names on her list, except for Teena Barretto. So I asked one of the most popular questions we Pinoys like to ask. `Sino sya?` (in English `Who is she?` or in industry talk `Cyncha`)

Michelle: She`s a wedding planner
Me: How did you meet her? Have you worked with her? Is she good?
Michelle: Ok sya. You`ll meet her tomorrow at the meeting, I asked all of the prospective partners to come.

Being 40% shyer then, I told Michelle I`d just watch them from 15 meters away, or to be exact, from the coffee shop next to her store.

Michelle: Ano ka ba?! Pumunta ka na, she`s very nice.

The next day, my `anti-socialness` overcame and I ended up really watching them from the coffee shop beside Michelle`s store.

Fast forward to 2 years after, I received a call from event stylist Badang Rueda one early morning, early as in 2am.

Badang, who considers me as his guidance counselor cum phone pal, usually calls me during the wee hours of the morning to tell me about his weddings, musings, learnings and wala lang.

Badang: Ate,ang ganda ganda ganda ng wedding ko sa xxxx! Ang saya talaga ka-work itong si Teena. Nakakawala ng pagod pero adik sya!

Now before anyone calls 911, or our friendly neighborhood police station, `adik` is a street term for `career`, which is another street term for `someone who works like there`s no tomorrow, or something like that`.

Me: Talaga? Introduce me naman to her.

Badang: DI MO PA SYA KILALA?
*Since it was a phone conservation, all caps on print more or less means exaggerated questioning in a falsetto voice.

Me: Nope.

After that conversation, the rest, as they say, is history.

I finally met Teena through Badang the next day, worked with her on several, big production projects- meeting her assistant, her driver, her team, her friends, her mom, her brother, and her, er, other loved ones.

Now before I go off and babble more about Teena, because there`s just so much to say about her (peace Teens!), this post is really about the launch of her new office, showroom and new production company in Brgy. Kapitolyo in Pasig which she formed with some other fantastic suppliers in the industry some moons ago…

Cool interiors styled by Beth Amat

Red gown by now internet sensation Veejay Floresca, and cake by Joy San Gabriel.

The launch of Remiks Productions House was hosted by Teena`s friend and client Rica Peralejo- Bonifacio.

What`s with a wedding planner having a production company you may ask. Teena you see, is a production diva. Before you think this is a paid post, which it isn`t. I say this because one of the best WE parties we had was planned by her (launch of our Beautiful Weddings 2009 issue at the Blue Leaf and hosted by Boys Night Out)

We just told her our budget, and that we wanted drama to excite people. She gave us pumping drama that rocked even us, because pang-concert ang heart-pumping sounds that she had installed for our event. This is part of what I meant by `production`

Teena has since planned the weddings of other celebrities/personalities like Roselle Nava, award-winning DJ Nicolehyala and is currently planning the upcoming wedding of actress Jenny Miller and other TV personalities which WE cannot divulge just yet…

Award-winning DJ Nicolehyala and husband Renly Tinana with their event stylist Badang Rueda and photographer Wally Gonzales

So to Teena and her dynamic team (special mention to Dyanna, =)
Congratulations! Here`s to more beautiful weddings!

Cheers!

…

Congratulations Mae, M, Carl Anne, Glaiza, Tina, Laine, Mai and Hazel! Each of you get this AXE gift pack for your man, =)

Thanks also to Ron and Christian for your insights! WE heart you guys!

AXE Dark Temptation 150 ml body spray with FREE Axe boxers

Thanks to Unilever and Alma B. for sponsoring this contest. More contests in the coming days here at www.weheartweddings.com

Incidentally, check out this cute TVC of AXE Dark Temptation. This TVC actually won a Gold Lion at the 2008 Cannes International Advertising Festival. And remember girls, when he sprays this on, lock the doors =P

Bling it on! Michael Buble shows off his sparkling engagement ring
By Daily Mail Reporter

Normally it’s the woman who proudly shows off her ring after her engagement is announced. But the tables have been turned as far as singer Michael Buble is concerned.

He has been engaged to Argentine actress Luisana Loreley Lopilato de la Torre since November. However, he has made the announcement official by revealing an engagement ring on his finger.

Officially taken: Michael Buble shows off his engagement ring as he boards his tour bus in Toronto. According to his fiancee Luisana Loreley Lopilato de la Torre, the boys wear engagement rings too in Argentina

The 34-year-old singer was happy to flash the ring for photographers as he boarded his tour bus in Toronto, wearing a dark jacket, dark sunglasses and a black hat.

Currently on tour in his home country of Canada, he told the audience during a concert on Monday night in Ontario that his 23-year-old fiancée assured him this is the custom in Argentina.

He said: ‘The boy also wears the engagement ring (in Argentina). That’s what she tells me anyway.’

Apparently she also told him she wants to name their future children after characters in the Twilight saga.

‘I came up with some hypothetical names and I didn’t like the names, but she came up with… Bella Buble,’ Buble revealed in an interview with Entertainment Canada.

‘I swear…, she kept coming up with these names, and she kept saying: ‘Bella [or] I like Edward. I think she wants me to name the kids after the Twilight characters, which is not going to happen.’

Buble also revealed that his fiancée had some interesting ideas about their wedding plans, saying he had to put his foot down when she wanted a white horse at the wedding ceremony.

‘I said if you’re having a white horse, I’m putting down ice and skating,’ Buble told the Ottowa Citizen newspaper.

Photo and text via www.dailymail.co.uk

So glad to be back!

Will post something about Michael Buble in a bit. =) Will he be humming a wedding tune soon?

Photo via www.masterclasslady.com

Maybe, =P

Greetings from Shanghai!

Tonight, WE go back to the World Expo to check out more fascinating pavilions. 1st stop is the French Pavilion.

The beautiful French Pavilion, designed by Jacques Ferrier, is said to have a romantic classical French-style garden inside that is perfect wedding ceremonies. Yes, you read it correctly. Wedding ceremonies.

In fact, the French pavilion officials are gave soon-to-weds the chance to be married inside the French Pavilion since it opened to the public May of this year. Cool, =)

Here`s how it looks…

The French Pavilion romantic wedding theme song was sung by China-born, Paris-raised singer Beilei (who sings in English, Chinese and French). Watching this video made me want to go back to Paris all the more.