Original article courtesy of Metro Style
When fantasy and history cross over to the present world, magical things can happen.
The same can be said for newlyweds Anna Mabasa and AJ Muhlach on their wedding day. The prettiest elements of their big day were inspired by Greek mythology and their all-time favorite book series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians!
Wishing to translate the bigger-than-life aesthetics of ancient gods, Anna made sure to incorporate signature Greek goddess-inspired details in her dress, the décor, color scheme, and the symbols representing her union with AJ.
In the end, everything turned out exactly the way she envisioned her big day, and then some; this bride radiated with a glow that Aphrodite herself would have been happy to see and couldn’t be more pleased to get her finally ever after in such a beautiful ceremony.
About the couple
How did you and your husband meet?
“We met way back in August 15, 2010 during AJ’s mall show with his previous boyband, XLR8
“My cousin, who was their friend, invited me to support them since they were just starting out in the industry and could use a lot of support. He got my number from my cousin a month after that and started texting then calling me. It all happened so quickly! After a very short time, we were already officially dating!”
How long have you been together?
“We’ve been together for eight and a half years. Our relationship was about to turn eight when he popped the question.”
What are your current occupations?
“AJ is an actor, and I run our own cheesecake business called Sugar Baby.”
What do you enjoy doing together or bonding over?
“We are not very outgoing. AJ and I are both introverts so we mostly keep to ourselves. Although we enjoy going out sometimes, we prefer going to places which aren’t crowded. Most of the time, we just bond over binge watching movies and series, but nothing beats our love for reading and eating. Oh, and yes, we both live for iced coffee!”
Preparing for the wedding
Why did you choose a Grecian-inspired theme for your wedding?
“It was based on our most favorite book series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan. We are both fascinated by the books because they revolve around Greek mythology.”
How long did you prepare for your wedding?
“Nine months! We started preparing around August 2018, a month after he proposed to me.”
What were the challenges of organizing your wedding?
“I guess everyone would agree with me on this: the hardest part is the guest list! AJ and I both come from big families and with him being an actor, our network was just so big that it was so hard to shortlist who we both want to invite.”
What was the best part about getting ready to get married?
“The best part was spending a lot of time planning everything together. We were very hands-on when we were planning everything. It was fun for me that we both got to pitch our ideas and play around with them until we reached a decision.”
How did you decide on the wedding venue?
“I wasn’t very particular with the venue. AJ and I just both wanted it to be in Tagaytay. Ate Charisse (Tinio), the owner of NicePrint, suggested Club Ananda. AJ and I went to check it out and we just both got the ‘This is it’ feeling. It has lush greenery, a serene ambience, and our visitors didn’t have problems with the parking space.”
What were the highlights of the wedding ceremony and the reception?
“There’s too much that I want to say but I would say the best part was when I walked down the aisle and saw AJ looking so dashing in that all-white suit. He was smiling and crying at the same time!
“On our way to the reception, our energy was dropping. We stopped by Starbucks to buy our iced coffees first to give us more energy for the day!
“I also got goosebumps when I saw what FJ Sionson did to our reception area. It was just how we both wanted it to be. AJ and I, along with our best friends, also prepared a choreographed piece for our first dance. The food was amazing and the program flowed smoothly. The reception also ended with a bang as we had the screening of the final episode of Game of Thrones along with our guests who are also fans of the series.”
Share some tips for other couples preparing for their own big day.
“Set a budget and stick with it as much as you can. If you have to splurge on anything, splurge on your photographer or videographer because you will look back at these images in the future.
“Also, choose the best caterer because your guests will thank you for it, and they will all go home with happy tummies.
“You also should invest on a good on-the-day coordinator because they will make sure your program goes smoothly all throughout.
“The guests that you’ll invite should also be people who you want to be there—the ones who are really close to your heart. It’s your day and you have all the right to not invite the people who do not contribute to your lives as a couple.
“Aesthetics will only come after these. Enjoy the process no matter how tiring it gets because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
The wedding outfit
Tell us something about your wedding gown.
“I actually had a design in mind when I came to Vee Tan. When I saw her work years ago, I already had my mind made up that she would make my wedding gown. She helped me with the details and made my dream gown come to life.”
What were other noteworthy details about your wedding look?
“I didn’t have many accessories for the wedding because I wanted the dress to stand out on its own.
“I just wore simple teardrop-shaped faux diamond earrings that my sister, who was my maid of honor, bought for me. AJ gave me a bangle a day before our wedding.
“The look that I had was simple; I just told my best friend and makeup artist, Hernan Soriano, to try and make me look like a Greek goddess and trusted him to do the magic.
“AJ wore anchor and helm cufflinks from Rodel Briñas and a customized gold handmade trident pin made of wires by Macky Combe.”
Details
Number of guests: “Originally, the plan was to have only 80 guests but since we both came from big families, the number shot up to 150.”
Church: “Our wedding ceremony was held at Iglesia Ni Cristo Lokal ng EVM at Tagaytay, while the reception was at Club Ananda, Sandari Batulao.”
Wedding date: “May 20, 2019. It also happened to be AJ’s 27th birthday!”
Wedding coordinator: “Events Embassy was the one responsible for the smooth-sailing program.”
Photographer: “Only the best, NicePrint Photo!”
Invitations and other printed materials: “We picked Print Divas for our invitations. They also designed our wedding monogram.”
Entourage’s outfits: “I let my maid of honor and bridesmaids decide on whatever design they wanted. My only instruction was that they look for flowy dresses because I wanted them to look like Greek goddesses as well. I helped them by adding a few details here and there to go with our theme. We had it made at Mercy Tongol’s dress shop. The best man’s and the groomsmen’s outfits were decided by me and AJ. We didn’t want it to be too complicated but wanted them to look clean, simple but still crisp. Gladly, we found the linen shirts at Uniqlo and asked them to bring any cream-colored pants that they own.”
Groom’s suit: “The suit was made by Rodel Briñas. He was very easy to work with and helped us find the best materials for AJ’s suit since he’s very particular when it comes to the fabric and the fit. Rodel also had the monogram embroidered in gold at the back of the suit.”
Bridal shoes: “The design of the bridal shoes was simple; I was very particular with finding a pair of gold gladiator heels to go with our theme. I couldn’t find any so I sought the help of Raymond Bragais.”
Florist: “The bridal and entourage bouquets, plus the boutonnières, were made by Dusty Rose Florals. They were handmade using faux flowers. The set designer, on the other hand, was FJ Sionson. He did a very beautiful job and even added Greek pillars and statues to go with our theme.”
Host: “Two of our friends, Algerome Asuncion and Ton Soriano, served as the hosts. Together, they balanced the reception from the solemn parts to the fun and entertaining ones.”
Entertainment: “There wasn’t a dull moment as we had performances from Mark Mabasa (a grand finalist of X Factor), our friends the Magno Twins and Sam Mangubat (Tawag ng Tanghalan first runner-up), Alyssa Muhlach, and Alonzo Muhlach. We also hired the band Shades of Revery to play for us.”
Officiator: “The wedding ceremony was officiated by Ka Herbert Bolaños.”
Caterer: “The guests enjoyed our mini cocktail area prepared by Dirty Dogs while the scrumptious dinner was prepared by Juan Carlo the Caterer. The beautiful cake was made by Honey Glaze Cakes.”
Giveaways: “Linen sprays that come in two scents. For our male visitors, we chose the Sea Breeze scent to symbolize the god of the sea, Poseidon. For our female visitors, we opted for Olive scent to symbolize the goddess of wisdom, Athena. These were handmade by Rej Aquino.”
Hairstylist and makeup artist: Hernan Soriano
Wedding hashtag: #AM2AM
Original article courtesy of Metro Style
