Cha & Marco's Batanes Save the Date

Marco and Cha Save The Date
from Joel Salindong on Vimeo.

HELLO DECEMBER! My, my, how time flies! Before you know it, we'd have to write our annual year-end feature! And for sure one of the things that will come out of that is our new found love for Batanes which we've featured several times this 2013. And here we are again with another feature on this majestic, memorable place. The bride already wrote a beautiful and inspiring story about their wedding so here it is! 

My Dream Wedding is a Logistical Nightmare: 

An Ode to Batanes by Cha

My heart knew it before my mind did. Even before my fiancé proposed, I knew I wanted to get married in Batanes. 

There are obvious reasons, of course. The sprawling hills, the regal lighthouses, the vast and timeless oceans. It is a postcard-perfect photographer’s paradise. The moment you land on its beautiful little stone airport, the first to welcome you is majestic Mount Irayat – tall, proud and ringed with clouds, come to life from a fairy tale. It is like a veil has lifted and you are filled with wonder again. Wonder is hard to come by in this day and age.

More than that, this little piece of paradise – like many places in the Philippines – only proves you that you do not have to go very far to be somewhere that will take your breath away.

Besides, the Ivatans will steal your heart. Despite their simple lifestyle, no one seems to be living in abject poverty and misery. They labor and love at a slower cadence than what I am used to in hectic Manila. The Ivatans are fluent in their own dialect, in Tagalog, and in English. Local artists are nurtured and showcase Filipino talent with that distinct Ivatan flair. The locals are proud of their hometown and history, welcome visitors warmly, and yet are protective of their land. Non-Ivatan, or Ipula, cannot own property here. Children run up to you grinning, saying “hi, what’s your name?” without fear of harm or rebuke. Strangers nod and smile at you on the street. There is zero percent crime rate. Police roving the streets do not even carry firearms. Even the animals are happy – dogs sprawl lazily on top of parked vehicles, free-ranging cows dawdle on the hilltops, chickens that leave their home come back eventually.

These days, when you are a Filipino, it is so easy to fall prey to despair, negativity and cynicism – especially if you have to deal with pollution, heavy traffic, crime, corruption and garden variety bad news on a daily basis. This place is a little ray that shows how the Philippines can shine – if we just try a little harder, and look beyond ourselves.

A few years ago, when Marco said he wanted to go to this little group of islands in the northernmost part of the country, I was hesitant. I thought it was a lonely, desolate place. It seemed like there was nothing to do except climb hills filled with cow dung. When we got there, I was partially right, and absolutely wrong. The hills were indeed filled with poop, and there really isn’t much to do except feast your eyes on the surreal scenery and drink in as much fresh air as you can. Needless to say, I never loved being proven so wrong.

This is becoming a hallmark of our relationship: Marco wanting to take me somewhere or do something I am not inclined to do. Then I end up having the time of my life. How did I ever get so lucky – that I am blessed to have a lifetime of this?

The magic of Batanes, for me personally, is that it made me fall in love with my country again. It made me see how wonderful and diverse Filipinos can be. More importantly, it made me fall in love with my husband-to-be again.

It is a place I want my family and good friends to experience. It is a place I would want my future children to see. It is a place that reminds me that there are still so many places out there to be explored.

But do not be fooled. Planning this is a lot of hard work. It entailed (and will probably entail even more) gnashing of teeth, pulling of hairs and shedding of tears. We only have one shot (due to time and budget constraints) of flying there before the wedding to have our ocular and meetings and food tasting. We were constantly at the mercy of the whimsical weather. We have to give up so many items that are too bulky or too expensive to fly there. Flights do not come cheaply, and we have to burden our families and friends to take leaves and spend more than they should just to attend a wedding.

Still, for us, there is no other place to get married. No trouble in the world is worth more than getting this one chance to exchange vows in the one place that you’ve always dreamed of, with the one person you want to spend your life with.

We wish you all the best Cha & Marco! And when the planning gets tough, always remember to just have fun and go with the flow! :)

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Rebellious Wedding Idea: How to Plan a Cost-Efficient Batanes Wedding

Photography by Jayson and Joanne Arquiza unless labeled otherwise 

Brace yourself for the most detailed Batanes Wedding Guide you'll read yet! When my husband and I went to Batanes last month, I was asked by a friend who is a soon-to-be-Batanes-bride to research for her on how she can efficiently plan her wedding. And because I'm just proactively dorky by nature, I took to heart my mission and even conceptualized an itinerary and budget for her (maybe it just feels natural since we've been doing The Wedding Agency Service for almost 2 years now).

We constantly get questions about Batanes weddings, so I decided to share here in the blog what I conceptualized for my friend (but with a few minor tweaks). Think of this as a free Wedding Agency consultancy write-up! To visualize this imaginary Batanes wedding, I'll be including here some of our Instagram photos from our own trip but we'd also like to feature a beautiful Batanes wedding as photographed by Jayson & Joanne Arquiza  because it's probably the most incredible Batanes wedding we've seen to date. 

John & Joyce

THE PROs and CONs

So are you toying with the idea of having a Batanes wedding? Let's do a quick PROs and CONs first, shall we? 

What are the PROs? Well....need we say more? 1) Batanes is one of the most beautiful places in the Philippines--it's so beautiful, you won't believe it's still part of our country!, 2) Locals are few, tourists are limited, weddings all the more rare--so if you are a stickler for privacy and the feeling of exclusivity then this is really the place for you!, 3) Being in Batanes is like being in a whole other world. And if you were the type to dream of getting married in a stone chapel on a hill, this is where you can fulfill that dream. 

What are the CONs? 1) The flights are expensive. As in roughly P17,000 per head during peak and around P11,000 per head during off-peak (via AirPhil), 2) It's also a remote location. You cannot create a big, lavish wedding here--so if that's what you want, maybe Batanes is not the venue for you. Batanes is more for an intimate wedding, with natural details. The ideal number of guests is only around 50, and note that guests will have to shoulder their airfares and hotels so it can get pretty expensive for everyone (unless you are willing to shoulder everyone's expenses, that's definitely not going to be budget-friendly anymore), 3) They say that Batanes weather is super unpredictable so it can get tricky to choose the perfect month. But we personally didn't experience this ourselves. I'm actually beginning to think that this is a misconception owing to my own experience and owing to what the Ivatans have told us. I say, wherever you go the weather can get tricky--even in Manila and even in Boracay. So just attract positivity and pray for good weather (pray to St. Medard, the patron saint of good weather!)

So how can you conceptualize a cost-efficient Batanes wedding? First of all, when we say cost-efficient we don't mean to say that you are totally going to scrimp on the wedding elements. For a budget of around P500,000 this is our concept for you--and it's a perfect balance between having the beautiful wedding details that you could possibly have given the remote location and given a reasonable budget. We also say that this is a reasonable budget because we know of previous Batanes weddings that costed millions to mount. So for this to be in the 500k range, is pretty amazing. So let's start!

PROPOSED WEDDING DAY FLOW

Ceremony at Tukon , 10:00AM – 11:00AM
The Tukon Chapel (Chapel on a Hill) has got to be one of the most beautiful churches I have seen in my life. It's quaint, it's made of stone, and there are wonderful frescoes on the ceiling and in the middle of the altar. The view here is breathtaking, it's the dreamiest possible wedding ceremony location made to come alive. 

Photos taken from my Blackberry

Pictorials after the Ceremony at Tukon & Fundacion, 11:00AM to 12:00NN, Lunch Reception at Fundacion, 12:00nn to 2:00PM

From my Instagram Account @rebelliousbridekai

Imagine having pictorials with this as your backdrop! Fundacion Pacita du Tukon is the best place to stay in Batanes, and it is also the best place to have your lunch reception. Why is it the best besides the fact that it is the only high-end lodging option in the island? Well, it is situated on a hill where it has a view of all the best landmarks of Batanes--including Rakuh aka Marlboro Country and the Lighthouse. It also has an open view of the Pacific Ocean. 

We recommend lunch just because that's when the views are absolutely gorgeous. You won't be able to take in the view in the evening so we have another suggestion for that later. The Fundacion is already very beautiful on its own. It has its own eclectic vibe contributing to the fact that it is home to the works of National Artist Pacita Abad, and also serves as a quasi workshop/school for Ivatan Artists. There really is literally no reason for you to style it any further.

Couple’s Pictorials at Boulder Bay, Marlboro Country, & Rolling Hills *Option for guests to join for tour & pictorials or option for guests to rest, 2:30PM to 4:30PM

Batanes has heavenly views, making it the most picture-prefect place to have your couple's photos. But since you are going to be busy with the wedding day, plus you need to save up your energy, and not to mention you are in your wedding outfits, you'll have to carefully select and limit the locations for your shoots. The Boulder Bay, The Marlboro Country (Rakuh) and the Rolling Hills will be your best options. 

From my Instagram account @rebelliousbridekai

Seafood Cocktail Party at the Lighthouse/Bunker *Sunset party, 5:00PM – onwards

Now this is why we moved cocktails/dinner to another venue besides Fundacion. Fundacion is perfect for lunch because the views there are perfect for daytime. Now to get the most breathtaking sunset and star-gazing experience in the island, we recommend heading on over the Lighthouse/Bunker.

From my Instagram @rebelliousbridekai

FARM-TO-TABLE IVATAN FARE

So now maybe you're wondering, what kind of food exactly is available in Batanes? Why, Ivatan food of course! And it's one of my absolute favorite foodie experiences (I miss it badly!). Ivatan food is naturally organic--all meats are free range and all the ingredients are incredibly fresh. It's a haven for food lovers! You cannot even begin to imagine how simple the food is but then every dish is just bursting with flavor! Here's our proposed menus:

Fundacion Lunch, Family Style (good for up to 80 servings)

Appetizer: Paco Salad served with Ivatan Kamote (40 orders per dish, for sharing) 

Main Courses: Lunis and Grilled Sirloin Steak w/ Rice (40 orders per dish, for sharing) 

--- Believe me when I say that this is a very heavy lunch and it's sooooooo good. I miss it already! Drinks & Desserts are quite limited, so you might have to bring. 

Total for Lunch Reception w/o Drinks & Desserts  + 5% Service Charge and 12% VAT = P49,842 **No other charges apply

Bunker Seafood Cocktails (good for up to 80 servings)

Dish 1: Tanigue Steak with Mango & Wasabi Mayo Sauce (40 orders, for sharing)

Dish 2: Milk Crab Dish (40 orders, for sharing)

Dish 3: Turon w/ Special Sauce (40 orders, for sharing) 

*Orders are inclusive of 1 round of soup & iced tea

*Serve Spanish Wine & Specialty Beers (you'll have to bring)

Total for Food  + 5% Service Charge and 12% VAT = P20,214

GRAND TOTAL FOR FOOD (LUNCH & COCKTAIL/DINNER): 
P70,056 ***No other charges apply, no venue fees, etc.

From my Instagram @rebelliousbridekai

THE P500,000 BATANES WEDDING 

Here’s a suggested supplier list that can give you the perfect balance of being cost-efficient but without compromising beautiful wedding elements. Again, we are not aiming to give you a low-cost wedding--which you can do if you take out some elements we've included here. But we are aiming for a beautiful balance. After all, it's still a once-in-a-lifetime wedding and you still deserve to work with some of the best in the industry. 

1. Reception (Food for Lunch at Fundacion, Seafood Cocktail Dinner at the Bunker)

2. Ceremony at the Tukon inclusive of Fees + Priest

3. Beverage Budget: Assuming Rene Barbier Spanish Wines, Katipunan Craft Beers, and   
    Bayani Brews Iced Tea (you'll have to ship this in advance)

4. Dessert Budget/Cake: Assuming Joy San Gabriel (you'll have to bring it with you)

5. Gown: Assuming Clayton of the Cecilio Abad Design Team

TIP! Batanes is a remote location and there's very limited dessert option. Consider commissioning Joy San Gabriel to create cupcakes and miniature cakes for your wedding. Just because you're on a budget doesn't mean you have to scrimp on desserts! / Get Vidal Clayton of the Cecilio Abad Design Team. Hyds Cecilio is donning a gorgeous bohemian-inspired wedding gown that has just the right hint of drama. (Photo by Jayjay Lucas)

6. Suit: Assuming Boy Kastner Santos or Linea Italia

7. Non-floral props: Assuming {etc} Handmade Goodness

8. Makeup Artist: Assuming The Makeup of Mica (Bride Only + Inclusive of Out-Town-Fee)

9. Wedding Coordinator: There's no need --
     Just get Fundacion or a local coordinator/project manager to help you for OTD.

10. Singer/Host: Just get friends to do it

11. Entourage Gowns: Just allow them to wear their own

TIP! Batanes is abundant with natural styling, including freshly picked flowers. But find the perfect balance between what's available in the island and what you can add to create personalized stylish details. Commission {etc} Handmade Goodness to create a non-floral bouquet for you. Add other props based on your personality such as: thumbprint guestbooks, ring pillow, flower girl basket, etc. etc. (Photo lifted from {etc}'s FB page) /Most Batanes brides have opted to do their own makeup since it's expensive to fly-in so many suppliers. But in case you have zero makeup know-how, consider getting RB Mica's team, The Makeup of Mica because we can always work out a flexible rate for you! (Photo by Pat Dy)

12. Hotel Accommodations for couple + suppliers for 2 nights  

       *Assuming you are staying in Fundacion Pacita du Tukon on an OFF-PEAK SEASON

13.  Airfare for couple + suppliers: Assuming via AirPhil  on an OFF-PEAK SEASON
       (for 8 pax only--note that suppliers have a full team but try to negotiate not having a     
        full team given the circumstances. It's an intimate wedding anyway so your 8 pax 
        consists of the couple + 6 heads from your wedding team)

14. Basic Basco Tour for 8 pax (for couple’s pictorial with wedding team) 

15. Photography: Assuming Jayson & Joanne Arquiza (Service Only Fee)

16. Videographer: Assuming Sequence by Sequence
17. Wedding Bands: Assuming Tungsten Carbide Rings
18. E-invite & Monogram Illustration: Assuming The Fozzy Book 
      (Go Green! No to paper invitations!)  
19. Miscellaneous Fees 

GRAND TOTAL SO FAR: P500,000*  

*Detailed budget breakdown is reserved for Wedding Agency Clients Only

Other expenses in case you want to add or in case you have extra budget to spare:

1. Souvenirs (Preferably local goodies that you can give to your guests)

2. Upgrade Videography with: Jason Magbanua (As my husband once said: "Every place in the world needs a Jason Magbanua video")

MORE CEREMONY OPTIONS! 


If you don't necessarily need to be married in a church, there are tons of picturesque backdrops to choose from in Batanes! Can you imagine saying your vows, professing your love in marriage at the Marlboro Country? Or how about in the Lighthouse? It might be difficult to mount though so consider just having a basic, simple ceremony--after all, what's the point of styling the place when you are already in Batanes?

OTHER NOTES:

1. Fundacion Pacita du Tukon does not have wedding packages, nor do they charge venue fees. They basically plan everything for you if your reception is going to be there. They can also help organize your wedding ceremony at Tukon (because they own this chapel). And if you stay there,  they can even be the one to organize your cocktails at Bunker and give you free shuttle services. Here’s the contact details: Proto (manager’s name) 09399016353 / 09382520942

2.  We don’t see a reason to pay for your guest’s tours and you are not required to do so anyway. We suggest for you to just think of a good souvenir for everyone. But if you really want to provide a tour, contact Dwight at 0908254321

3. Try to adjust your wedding date based on when you can get good airfare deals. Monitor airfares from AirPhil and Sky Jet. Peak seasons are from December to May. But consider the following off-peak months instead: Not a lot of people know this but the first week of June is still Summer, October is called "Little Summer" because it gets pretty hot before winter, November is actually the start of winter---

SPEAKING of winter, how amazingly odd is it that you can actually have a winter wedding in the Philippines? Sounds unheard of right? But you actually can in Batanes! Because it is closer to Taiwan and because of its location, it is the only place in the Philippines that has winter. It doesn't snow but the temperature goes below zero so Fall or Winter Wedding Ideas are actually doable in Batanes! Here are some pegs from my uber fave blog, Green Wedding Shoes! :)

http://greenweddingshoes.com/winter-wedding-inspiration-with-pink-gold/ Photography by Gabe McConick

http://greenweddingshoes.com/inspiration-board-50-glamorous-dark-purple/

Deciding to have a Batanes wedding is definitely not for the faint of heart--just because the venue itself kind of forces you to accept non-traditional wedding rules. But we are finding it quite refreshing to know that more and more brides are exploring this option and that's why we thought of creating this special feature for you. May you find this useful! Batanes may be quite on the difficult and pricey side--but it's worth it. Very, very worth it. 

"Javid sawen, nu Vatan!" 

(So beautiful, our Batanes!)

To see more of John & Joyce's Batanes wedding, CLICK HERE

Follow us on Twitter! @RebelliousBride

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Raschella & Vince's Secret Batanes Wedding

Photography by Aaron Ebio

This month is really turning out to be all about Batanes. We started the month with a Batanes DIY Wedding of an ex-officemate, I myself went to Batanes this month (and fell in love with it to bits), I'm also helping another officemate plan for her own Batanes wedding, and then another good friend just had her Secret Wedding in Batanes.

There's a saying in Batanes that goes "Javid sawen nu Vatan" which means "So beautiful, our Batanes". Raschella & Vince's wedding was a no frills, no fuss kind of wedding. And yeah, why would you want to add frou frou if your wedding is in Batanes? Every turn, every blink, every sight is an experience...and a rebellious bride would be wise enough to recognize that.

Writing this blog feature brings me back to high school days--organizing soirees with Raschella haha! My how far we've come! So I pay tribute to one of the most beautiful (inside and out) women I know. A woman who's always had a secret rebellious spirit of her own ;)

Congratulations Raschella & Vince! May you have a beautiful marriage and a beautiful family. My only wish is that someday, you'll also be able to fulfill your dream Prague wedding. After all, you can never have too many weddings! *Wink*

CREDITS:
Flowers : Vatel Manila
Event Styling : Raffy Tesoro
Gown : Patricia Santos
Photography : Ebioguapo
assisted by: Terence Ver S. Angsioco
Hair & Makeup by Raschella Velayo (the bride is a makeup artist)

Follow us on Twitter! @RebelliousBride

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Em + Eugene's DIY Batanes Wedding

 Photos by Jasmin Santoyo 

A couple of weeks ago, we showed you the wedding trailer of Em and Eugene's Batanes Wedding. This time around, we are happy to share with you all the personal details of the wedding as written by the bride herself.  Em & Eugene's wedding was an unbelievable DIY customized experience for her guests--and she wants the RB readers to have that kind of intimate experience. 

Photo by the Bride & Groom

Em gave us the honor of going into every love-filled detail of her wedding. And when we say 'love-filled', as in down to the ingredients of their food kind of detail. That's how personal their wedding was. Each and every aspect was a labor of love from the couple, their friends, and their family. 

Photo by the Bride & Groom

I've known the bride for about seven years now. We met from our previous jobs--and I've known Em to be a wonderful, creative, positive soul. It's not a surprise that their wedding had all these wonderful details--I can still remember how she would carefully design her own office cube with so much handcrafted decors. I still bumped into her before the big day--she was looking for an off-the-rack gown and it was like the last thing on her to-do list. In that sense, she is a no-frills type of girl, but she has that innate style and uniqueness about her that doesn't need any couture gown anyway. 

Enough of the intros, let's move on to Pocoy Calvento's behind-the-scenes video and Em's write-up :)





----

The 'rebellious' planning as written by the bride herself:

Why Batanes?

Euge and I got engaged in December 2012 and were supposed to get married in January 2014. We weren’t in a rush with the wedding planning but we had already chosen the small egg-shaped chapel at Paco Park, and had our eyes on a reception venue in Intramuros.

At Christmas dinner with my college friends, after telling our engagement story, Pocoy, one of my good friends, kept asking about our plans. Is there a theme? What’s the motif? How do you really want to get married?

And that’s when I remembered that I once wrote a wedding story for Pocoy. He needed to make invitation designs for a Fine Arts subject (way back in our UP days) and needed inspiration. He wanted a story, my story, on how I envision my hypothetical future wedding will be. I remember him telling me he submitted the story I wrote along with his designs and got a good grade for that project, with the prof saying he liked the visualization.

I tried to find it but I don’t think I kept a copy of that story. I don’t remember everything I wrote except that supposedly, I got married on top of a hill, with mountains and fresh air and sunshine and just a handful of my closest friends and family around.

Photo by the Bride & Groom

I felt like I wanted to make it happen.

As I recounted the Christmas dinner encounter to Euge, I strongly felt that I really never saw myself getting married in a big way. I told him it would be fantastic if we can have a very small wedding in a far-flung place like Batanes.

Photo by the Bride & Groom

Three weeks later, one morning near the end of January, he sent me a message. “Do you think we can get married this March or April?”

I jumped at the chance and again suggested Batanes. I figured it would be like taking our closet few on a quick getaway this summer—how exciting! I spent that day on the phone hunting down the right people to talk to so I could inquire about the small stone chapel on top of Tukon hill, checking airline rates and schedules, collecting photos of Fundacion Pacita where I imagined the reception will take place, creating a mock itinerary and timeline, and drafting budget options. At 2am the next day I had put together “my wedding proposal” to Euge. The following day, he said yes, we picked a date, and Batanes was a go.

Photo by Carlo Calvento

Photos by the Bride & Groom

Non-traditional creative ideas for the wedding?

Our wedding party was so small; I wanted to make every effort possible to make the guests feel special. Some of our family and friends flew from overseas, and everyone had to take a leave from work for two days to make it to our wedding – I wanted them to feel how grateful we were for that.

Photos by the Bride & Groom

Each guest got a “care package” upon check-in at their hotel rooms—it had our wedding guide that had the itinerary for the next two days, important numbers, reminders, people to call for assistance; packets of my favorite hot chocolate and fruit tea, even a small medicine kit with band-aids.

Photo by the Bride & Groom

Instead of spending a lot of money on souvenirs, we customized a half-day tour the day before the wedding. We wanted our guests to enjoy and take home beautiful memories of Batanes, not just of our wedding. I asked Pocoy to be the official behind-the-scenes photographer and he put together an awesome video of everyone just so happy and having fun.

Photos by the Bride & Groom

We had to bring in so many things from Manila that I didn’t want to be bothered by flowers. Aside from my bouquet (Dylan Gozum of Vatel Manila suggested dried lavender so it wouldn’t wilt), Euge’s boutonniere, the flower girl’s basket and wreaths for the church aisle, all other flowers were picked off the roadside in Batanes the morning of the wedding. Alessa and my girls stuck flowers on pins for the gentlemen’s boutonnieres, and wove them in native fans to serve as non-traditional bouquets for the ladies.

Photos by Pocoy Calvento

A monogram is pretty traditional, but we used it in non-traditional ways. My good friend Alessa crafted a rubber stamp of our monogram and it was too pretty I wanted to use it everywhere. My mom had it embroidered white on navy blue napkins, my sister had it printed on sunset-colored m&ms and hershey’s bars, I had it laser-cut on a piece of oak for the cover of our guestbook (which my friend Darlyn designed with rubber-cut stamps and distressed ink in sunset colors), and we even had it as our cake-topper.

Photos by the Bride & Groom

Every wedding you go to these days is sure to have a photo booth, and in Batanes we had to DIY one. Armed with two Instax cameras borrowed from Alessa and Ann, my friend PJ stationed himself at the entrance of Fundacion Pacita and took two photos of each guest as they came in – one to stick on our guestbook, one for the guests to keep. PJ has great handwriting, and he was also the one who wrote out a poem I love on poster boards, which we lined up on the walls to decorate the reception area.

Photo by Pocoy Calvento

My girls helped put together a stationery stamp station where guests can pick a set of blank notecards and envelopes (which my sister and I handmade), choose stamps (made by Alessa, Dar and Jean) and ink, and decorate and personalize their own notecards. Notecards were the perfect giveaways for me, as I love to write, and want to encourage other people to develop the habit.

Photo by Pocoy Calvento

Probably the last thing on my list of non-traditional ideas is my wedding dress.  I prefer to call it a dress, not a gown, because it was exactly that – when you say “gown” it connotes something stiff and contrived; my dress was comfortable enough to wear the entire day, and worked well with both heels and flats. When I met with my designer Jot Losa, I said my requirement was simple – I wanted a simple white dress that moves. With no lace, no beadwork, no extra-long train, he made it work. My dress allowed me to breathe and to feel free on my big day.

Challenges and how you overcame them?

Photo by the Bride & Groom

I was told that in a wedding, the food is usually what the guests really remember. The biggest challenge then was to design a menu for two whole days – 6 meals total – and not just the wedding lunch.

Photo by the Bride & Groom

I worked closely with the staff of Fundacion Pacita because I wanted to highlight locally available ingredients and native dishes. We had a welcome lunch on the first day featuring native Ivatan fare like lunis (their version of adobo), coconut crab, turmeric rice, and Ivatan salad (which is the most perfect salad I’ve ever had in my whole life). We arranged for the tour to end at the Naidi Lighthouse, so guests could enjoy the sunset view during an al fresco dinner of grilled fresh catch, grilled meat and fresh vegetables.

My friend Chef Edward Bugia (of Pino, Pipino and Brgr Project restaurants) created a colorful wedding lunch starting with lobster bisque made from locally sourced lobsters, pako salad with chicharon and flowers, kinilaw na tanigue, seafood paella with lobster and slow-cooked baby back ribs. We had cheese platters and bite-sized cakes laid out on the tables, and we served the wedding cake for dessert.

Photo by Pocoy Calvento

The availability of ingredients and some equipment and services was a real challenge. I went to Batanes a month before the wedding and had with me a list of ingredients Ed needed, and I checked with the cook one by one which ingredients could be sourced in Batanes, and which I needed to bring from Manila. The lobster makes for an interesting story. Up until dinner time the day before the wedding, we didn’t know if weather would be good enough for fishermen to head out and catch lobsters for the wedding lunch! Euge would have loved to have lechon, but no one makes lechon in Batanes, and after asking so many people I found that the closest they could offer was to bake the pig in a bakery oven downtown, which we agreed was way too much trouble. There are no wedding cake suppliers in Batanes, and I had to ask my sister to hand-carry the cake as well as some desserts. We brought in the cheese and chopping boards they were served in, as well as the wine, and even the paelleras.

Photo by the Bride & Groom

I think another main challenge was deciding what was truly important and what was unnecessary. I didn’t have a bridal car, because a van was more cost-efficient and could fit more people. I didn’t have a choir because I had two friends who were willing to sing for my walk down the aisle, and the few songs in the mass. 

Photo by the Bride & Groom

I did not spend much on my dress and flowers because I wanted to focus more on the guest experience, and invested more on the food, the tour, the special touches to make the guests remember and enjoy our small but meaningful wedding.

Photos by the Bride & Groom

So much love and beauty in Em & Eugene's wedding! Just goes to show how wonderful an "un-templated" wedding could be. 

Congratulations to Em & Eugene! May your marriage be filled with so much wonderful adventures as your wedding :)

The couple would like to credit and thank the following wedding artists & loved ones for helping them DIY their wedding:

Event Stylist: Alessandra Lanot 

Music: Jean Madrid, Ryan Madrid, PJ Lanot

Bridal Dress: Jot Losa

Flowers:Vatel Manila for bouquet, boutonniere, flower girl bouquet; church wreaths

Alessandra Lanot for entourage flowers

Photographers: Pocoy Calvento, Jasmine Santoyo, Photos by the Bride & Groom

Videographer: Steven Flor, Louie Miguel de Leon, Rommel Lopena 

Wedding Day Coordinators: Darlyn Ty, Jean Madrid, Ann Gacutan, Jaz Santoyo

Cake: Joy San Gabriel

Caterer: Chef Edward Bugia of Pino, Pipino and Brgr Project Restaurants

Invitation: Pocoy Calvento

Hair & Make-Up: Meg Lachica

Follow us on Twitter! @RebelliousBride

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