2009 may be considered the year of the most talked-about celebrity weddings — from the hush-hush (Ryan & Juday’s), to (what would have been) the grandest (Mar & Korina’s); and even to the widely email-forwarded, black ‘cemetery’ wedding of a front man of one of the country’s hottest rockbands.

But aside from the above mentioned, there were other beautiful weddings held last year which are also worth mentioning. These equally memorable celebrations were unions of regular couples. What made their wedding special hasn’t been covered by the media, nor has it been featured in glossy wedding magazines as of yet. Reason why we make our annual list every start of the year to inspire newly-engaged couples and other soon-to-weds early on.

Admittedly, a few of these weddings (celebrity or otherwise) have made an impression on us such that, we have previously blogged about them already. A number of those which made the list are destination weddings. We have decided to present them all in chronological order for a change. We’ll provide links to related W@W stories about some of these weddings whenever applicable. We’ll also provide crosslinks to suppliers’ blog, facebook albums, and the couple’s wedsite to bring you more images about a particular wedding and see what made it truly special.

As usual, the selection of weddings in this annual list were chosen by some of our friends from the wedding industry. They are the people who knew the each couple personally and witnessed first-hand each event as it transpired. They are the suppliers who helped shape the wedding that it was. They were part of the team which made the wedding, one of 2009’s best!

January to August

Jay Contreras & Sarah Jane Abad
27 January ‘09
Paco Park + Bali House

Our wedding of the year is the black wedding of Kamikazee’s Jay Contreras and former child actor Sarah Jane Abad last January. Everybody wore black, even the wedding suppliers. Worldwide visits were tremendous after I’ve uploaded their photos in my photoblog and my multiply account!

My son, Led Zeppelin, (groomsman and the band’s lead guitarist) had to miss Jay’s wedding though. He was released from Dubai two days after the ceremony.

- Edwin Tuyay, photographer

related W@W story: Rockstar wedding!

Banjo Albano & Sarah Meier
03 March ‘09
Caleruega + Hacienda Isabella

(photo by Mango Red)

Sarah wore a Rajo Laurel gown. In awesome purple. The gents came in sneakers. And us too.

A very cool couple who happened to have one of the coolest wedding we ever shot!

~Bong Sare, videographer
Threelogy

related W@W story: A Bohemian & purple wedding

Laszlo Lim & Kankan Ramos
28 March ‘09
Holy Rosary Parish + Seawind (Boracay)

Metrophoto’s wedding of the year is always a tough one to choose. I try to narrow them down with how beautiful the actual wedding was — the couple, the details, the styling, the who’s who in the guest list, and the other suppliers we worked with. But in the end, I was still left with a lot!

Thus similar to last year, we’re choosing a wedding doesn’t just meet all of the criteria above, but also the couple whom we have genuinely bonded with, the pair who treated us with utmost kindness, and whom we consider true friends even after their wedding. Incidentally, theirs was the only Boracay wedding we had in 2009 and the celebration was almost a week-long!

~Oly Ruiz, photographer
Metro Photo

related blog link: Boracay Modern Wedding Photography: Laszlo and Kankan

Ryan Agoncillio & Judy Ann Santos
28 April ‘09
San Juan Nepomuceno Parish Church + Balai Laiya + Balai Anilao

(photo by Patrick Uy)

My wedding of the year is the country’s wedding of the year.

Juday and Ryan basically read the ‘Official Guide to Staid Weddings’ and then broke every rule. It made the wedding so much more meaningful, memorable and fun!

~Jason Magbanua, videographer

related W@W stories: Tales about the Juday & Ryan wedding… | I was in on the year’s biggest secret! | First-hand account: Untold stories about the Juday-Ryan wedding | Old school’s cool!

John Mateos Ong & Monique Lopez
02 July ‘09
Seawind Boracay

(photo by Jayjay Lucas for ImagineNation)

I’ve shot over a hundred weddings in my life, both as lead and back-up for several photographers. I can confidently say that I am worth being paid for. However, things changed once I found out that I was assigned to shoot the wedding of my own mentor. It was Jong who taught me most of what I knew about photography. How do you ask someone to pose if he’s the one who actually taught you about posing in the first place? This shoot was probably my most tensed, and the fact that Jong constantly asked me what he should do next added more to the pressure.

~Arlene Briones, photographer
Imagine Nation Photography

related W@W stories: The Morning After | In Christ Alone - a pair of wedding rings in His honor | related blog link: Jong & Monique: God’s Faithfullness | couple’s wedsite: www.johnandmonique.com

Pocholo Lamson & Jinggay Aguiluz
18 July ‘09
Santuario de San Jose + Makati Shangri-La

(photo by Dino Lara)

With the daughter of the founder of AMA Computer University getting married, we knew we were in for a grand wedding… and what a GRAND wedding it was!

One glance at the wedding guests and you’d probably mistake it for an international meeting of leaders with PGMA, VP Noli de Castro and the Prime Minister of Bahrain. A peek at the reception and you’d think you’re in a concert with Gary V, Sarah Geronino and Side A taking turns performing. Sanctuario de San Jose was filled with flowers and Makati Shangri-la was decked with decors. The bride wore a Rajo. With all the glitz and glamor, it was easy to get star struck and lose focus.

But we did not… the guests did not. And that was what made Pocholo and Jinggay’s wedding ultra-memorable; that despite all the ‘distractions’, the couple stood out and shined the brightest.

Oh, and by the way, the brother in-law’s punchline regarding visiting pop and mom was also up there for 2009’s best speeches.

~Bob Nicolas, videographer

related blog link: Pocholo and Jinggay

Derrick Lee & Kathryn Tan
28 July ‘09
Shangri-La Hong Kong

(videograb)

Intimate wedding. Awesome couple. Unforgettable experience. Wedding of the year. I had sleepless nights looking forward for this to happen.

~Phoeben Teocson, videographer

related blog link: Derrick & Kathryn: Destination Wedding Videographer

Voltaire Wycoco & Nela San Jose
08 August ‘09
St. Alphonsus de Ligouri Church + North Forbes Clubhouse

(photo by Dino Lara)

In a nutshell… a class on its own.

No pretensions, simple program (short but sweet), but a very formal and elegant wedding. Details I love: the wedding gown, the entourage gowns, the guests all coming in black, and the super inspiring speech of the groom! I wish all grooms would know how to speak like Volts during their wedding day!

~Jody Liwanag, weddding planner
Events Experts

related blog link: Wycoco-San Jose Wedding (August 8, 2009)

Jay Jay Marcos & Gina Limpingco
15 August ‘09
Baguio Cathedral | Baguio Country Club

Destination weddings are always memorable. What made Jay Jay and Gina’s more special is that both Jo Anne and I became close friends with them. We picked them as our most memorable for 2009 because of the ceremony being so touching, so heartfelt, and overflowing with emotions. You may experience goosebumps thru Bob Nicolas’ onsite video and be moved by their wedding vows.

~Jayson Arquiza, photographer
Jayson & Joanne

related blog link: Destination Wedding: (Jayjay Marcos & Gina Limpinco) Baguio

‘Ondoy’ weddings

Eli JR Pablo & Kathryn Louise Yap
26 September ‘09
Notre Dame de Vie Chapel, Fernbrook Gardens
actually became Holy Family Parish Church, BF Almanza, Las Pinas City
Reception was held on 23rd October 2009 at Fernbrook Gardens

Ondoy had struck Manila. By 12pm, the couple knew that pushing through with the wedding was close to impossible because: (1) the roads to their church venue was impassable due to floods; (2) the officiating priest was stranded in Paco. As everyone knows, a wedding cannot be without a priest; (3) the groom’s father was stranded in the middle of stand-still traffic; (4) only 1 pair of godparents [out of 10] could make it to the hotel; (5) only 20 guests [out of 400] lived near the church venue and could attend.The couple went out to the hallway of their hotel room, sat down and prayed. They had a good cry for 20 minutes, then made a decision.

Eli entered the room and told everyone present, “As you know, Mother Nature has not cooperated with us. It is not as we had planned. But I just want to marry my best friend today, even if it will be at 11PM”. He then turned to the head wedding coordinator and instructed her to look for an alternative church venue and a substitute priest.

In the 100 or so shoots I had in the year 2009, I felt it was the most romantic thing I heard a groom say. That it was said in the midst of chaos reflects the groom’s love for his spouse. Indeed, love conquers all.

Raymond Fortun, photographer

related W@W story: My Ondoy Wedding Story | related blog link: Ondoy was no match for Eli & KY

Mon Gajete & Ericka Mangalile
26 September ‘09
NSDG + Tektite Towers

The date would go down in Philippine history as when Typhoon Ondoy brought furious rainfall which caused the worst flooding that hit Metro Manila in 40 years. Weddings were scheduled that day. Some were postponed, but a few persevered despite most of Manila were already underwater.

For Mon and Ericka, no typhoon was going to stop them from getting married. I really admire this couple’s strength and dependence on God as I witnessed how composed and positive they were amidst the chaos around them. Their parents were already advising them to postpone the wedding, but they have worked so hard in planning their big day that they didn’t want to give up and quit. To make things more challenging, I’ve learned that the couple’s homes from each side of the family were almost submerged underwater.

In the end, the Lord blessed their faithfulness and calmed the storm to give them one of the most heartfelt and intimate weddings I have covered. I also salute the other wedding photographers that day who covered weddings as they showed how committed we are to our couples. God bless!

~Carlo Cecilio, photographer
Imagine Nation Photography

related blog link: Mon and Ericka Gajete : My Most Memorable Wedding for 2009

Mock gay wedding

Richard & Alexandra
15 October ‘09
La Castellana

It was a wedding, not so much as a sacrament, but more of a show! Their wedding invite described it best: “our wedding will be a fairytale, a dream with no end!”

~Dino Lara, photographer

related blog link: W@W 2009 Most Memorable Weddings

Post-Ondoy austerity

Mar Roxas & Korina Sanchez
27 October ‘09
Sto. Domingo Church + Bahay na Puti (Araneta Residence)

This is, hands down, the most attended wedding ever… ever! Guests inside the church were around 2000+, and 40,000 fans/general public outside. Wow! I cant believe I’m part of this wedding of the year 2009! So humbled by this.

~Pat Dy, photographer

related W@W stories: Mar & Korina trim wedding expenses for storm victims | Mar & Korina say their vows before thousands of guests | related blog link: Mar And Korina

Peak season’s top picks

Phoeben Teocson & Gen Briones
21 November ‘09
St. James the Great + Fernbrook Gardens

(photo by Paul Vincent)

The most talked about video prepared by the groom for his lovely bride was simple, straight-to-the-point, a bit cheesy, but got everyone teary eyed.

~Queen David, wedding planner
Just Like Ours

related W@W story: Orgasmic fun at Bim & Gen’s Pre-Marital Party! | related blog link: The Video

Susanto Widjaja & Dewi Lie
06 December ‘09
Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta

(photo by Merwin of Moreno Photography)

It was our first time to shoot a wedding with a groom who has the same line of work as ours (videographer/film maker | Paper Cranes Productions), and in fact, he’s really great at it! As proof, he even tried to shoot his own wedding with our equipment.

Their wedding was filled with mixed emotions as we witnessed a lot of traditions that really amazed us. There are so many praises that we can give to this wedding and why we chose them…but the real reason would simply be because of the couple themselves. The love that they show towards their guests, their family, to us and to each other was impeccable. What more can we say? These guys rock!

~ Sheena Caburog, videographer
Mayad Studios

related blog link: Santo, Dewi & a lot of Paper Cranes

Denzell Cham & Kathlyn Ong
19 December ‘09
Mary the Queen + Edsa Shangri-La

When I was starting out as a wedding photographer, my mentor, Jo Avila, referred me to a couple who were having their renewal of vows. Then just nineteen years old, their daughter Kathlyn was the contact and coordinator. What touched me then was amount of love I saw within this family. Because of this, and with my yearly bugging of selected pictures for her parents’ album, Kathlyn & I became friends. She eventually got a boyfriend and to my shock, last year called me to say she is already engaged. The day has finally come and this wedding reminds me of two things, how long I’ve gone and that real friendships can breed out of this kind of work. I was also shocked when I went to their house that her cute kid sisters have turned out to be now beautiful ladies.

~John Mateos Ong, photographer

related Facebook album: 12.19.09 Denzell & Kathlyn

Don Lim & Kate Natividad
19 December ‘09
Bellarocca Island, Marinduque

Of all the weddings that we have done in 2009, this really stands out, for one its the very first wedding in Bellarocca Island! I can attest to the beauty of this island, since I have been there last August to do an ocular before the weddings that we are set to cover there. The couple are both beautiful, inside and out! They opted to have a solemn and intimate wedding, away from the busy metropolis and just flew there 30 of their closest family and friends. The result: three days of pure bliss and relaxation with sumptuous meals prepared by the great chef of Bellarocca, amidst the relaxing seascape and mountain view of the island!

~Charisse Tinio, owner
Nice Print Photo

related blog link: Don & Kate Wedding (Bellarocca, Marinduque)

Boyito Dizon & Jeng Quiambao
21 December ‘09
Santuario de San Antonio + Manila Peninsula

(photo by Nelwin Uy)

Jeng is one of my most maarte brides! During our appointment with Veluz, she told her, “Hindi ako si simple but elegant ha. Ako si budburan mo ng Swarovski!” I loved her from that moment on; she knew what she wanted!

Working with her and her groom, Boyito, was a breeze. Our meetings were always fun and productive. Because I knew that having so many wedding details would super make Jeng happy, I volunteered to take care of all the details (read: design and produce). It made me realize again how much I love weddings and what I would do for a bride I love.

Come wedding day, working with the industry’s bests made our work super easy and fun. In spite the migraine-inducing guest list (haha!), their wedding was a testimony of their love for each other, for their families, and their friends. I seldom cry during weddings but I have to admit, seeing those two commit to a lifetime together made me shed a tear or two.

Clarice Aviñante, wedding planner
Events by Clarice

couple’s wedsite: When Boyito Weds Jeng