Blue Sneakers, Bikes and Wedding Tattoos

You've heard about on-the-day wedding videos that it is almost such a common thing in weddings already. But have you ever heard of on-the-day tattoos in a wedding? Well, I've never seen anything like it! 

This is one wedding day that truly made their mark! Literally.

"We’ve never been particularly traditional so the standard wedding ceremony did not feel like it was enough.  We wanted a symbol of the wedding being forever, our version of a blood compact.  So beyond just rings, we asked Tattoo de Iloko owner Janer Santos to make our same day wedding tattoo during the reception, in front of all the guests.  We now each have a half of a heart – mine is Ateneo blue and his is La Salle green.  The tattoo symbolizes we are together, the other half of each other, but that we are still two unique individuals." 

Photography by Nelwin Uy

From the venue, to the bride's shoes, to the groom's ride and the flowergirls' dresses, the details of Nessa and Gil's wedding go against the usual. These two already knew themselves so well that they need not please anybody but themselves. This was a wedding that reeked of reality and rebellion. In fact, it dissolves the fairytale-ish type of weddings that instead of wearing some shimmery high heel, 

the bride wore blue sneakers.

"Don't be afraid to stand out. Don't be afraid to shake up peoples' expectations. 

Plan with your groom (not your girlfriends or your mom) because it’s his wedding as much as it is yours.   For your wedding, do what makes you both happy!" -Nessa

Here's more from the rebellious bride herself, Nessa:

We wanted an old world, intimate wedding that would still reflect that we’re both anti-establishment at heart.

Gil and I fell in love with this beautiful heritage village resort  -- Sitio Remedios in Currimao, Ilocos Norte –- where we could hold the wedding reception in a garden courtyard right beside the beach.  Near Sitio was the breathtaking Paoay Church – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Both of our grandmothers were originally from Ilocos Norte, too, so the setting was perfect. We made sure our reception fare was an Ilocano feast.    

Gil is 39 and I’m 40, we’re way too old to be affected by expectations or family pressure, so we just did what we wanted to do.  (And smiled at everyone offering advice.)

We did all the planning together.  Gil was as hands on as I was, he set meeting with suppliers, created our excel sheets and filed all the contracts. I learned from wedding planning with him that he's very organized and that I can count on him to get things done.  It made me love him even more, if that's possible.

My groom travelled all over the world in big bikes, so he rode a bike to church. 

I’ve travelled all over the world in blue sneakers, so I wanted to be wearing blue sneakers for the greatest journey of my life thus far.  The flower girls were also wearing blue sneakers underneath their petticoats. 

When I walked inside Paoay Church, there was a hush – partly from the surprise of my not wearing a veil.  I wanted to see everyone and everything clearly on our wedding day.

 

We wrote our own vows.  His was a poem.  Our friends and families were cheering when we read them out.

Instead of a bouquet toss and garter ceremony – we have very few friends who are single -  we got all our married and long time partnered friends to join a newspaper dance.  The winning couple won the bouquet and garter.

We got married on February 2, the Feast of Candlemas, so we used candles and lights as a theme ... from the invitation to the candles in the church aisle instead of flowers – to our candle holder giveaways and the sky lanterns and gorgeous fireworks at the reception. 

Credits:

Photographer	Nelwin Uy
Videographer	Coverlook
Ceremony Venue	Paoay Church, Ilocos Norte
Reception Venue	Sitio Remedios, Ilocos Norte
Bride's Wedding Dress	Mich Dulce
Bride's Reception Dress	Mi Sueno and Tina Basa Reyes
Bridesmaid Dresses	Tina Basa Reyes
Bride's Shoes	Lacoste Sneakers
Groom's Attire	Kingsmen
Groomsmen Attire	Exclusively His
Hairstylist and Makeup Artist	Avesta Abellera Uy
Bouquets	Kit Mandac
Flowers & Decor	Kit Mandac
Event Stylist	Kit Mandac
Cake Baker	Kit Mandac
Catering	Chef Nic of Bistro Candon
Choir	Philippine Sandalphon Singers
Band	Velvet Mood
Hosts	Love Anover and Betong Sumaya
Lights and Sounds	Peppermix
Parasol	Botafogo Inc.
Bridal Car	BMW 7 Series
On the Day Wedding Tattoo	Janer Santos of Tattoo De Iloko
Coordinator	Mara Manuel of Belladita Events

What unique thing would you do in the name of love? 

Share with us your own testament of love on your wedding day! 

Follow us on Twitter! @RebelliousBride

1 comment