We cannot put into words how excited and honored we are, to have had the opportunity to do this destination elopement collaboration. For one thing, we love beach weddings. We've always been partial to it, we have numerous clients who have hired us to conceptualize beach weddings for them, and to do a full-on beach editorial has been a long time fantasy. Of course, it is not that easy to execute a destination shoot so that's why when BW Ivywall in Panglao Bohol gave us the creative freedom to do this beach elopement editorial, we could not resist and flew to the island in a heartbeat.
One look at this editorial and our "OG" readers will know we are in our element here. An anti-white gown, a rebellious venue (not a lot of couples do a Bohol wedding, and even more rare is to have it right in front of Alona Beach), understated styling, oh we can go on and on. Let's get to it, shall we?
Why an Elopement and Why Bohol?
There is nothing more absolutely romantic than an elopement. There's a reason why this concept has never lost its appeal, and there's a reason why some celebrities and other A-listers opt to have one--it has that "you and me against the world", passionate energy. It leaves out all the wedding prep noise, all the "frou frou" and it forces you to focus on just the two of you and nobody else. The "Elopement Concept" in recent years has also changed, it no longer has that negative connotation of keeping your love a secret. It has a lot more to do with keeping things private and authentic, and some millennial couples have re-defined it as simply wanting to use their wedding budget to travel, whilst doing an intimate ceremony away from home. Sometimes, couples even include a few key people during their elopement whether it's just their best friends or their parents.
Once you have decided that maybe an elopement is right for you, the exciting part would be to figure out where to do it. When you think of a beach wedding/elopement, the initial mainstream locations include Hawaii, Maldives, Greece, and in the Philippines that would be Boracay. But why not expand your options and look at other unique islands as well?
Bohol is an island province in the Central Visayas Region of the Philippines. What makes it unique from all the other 7,000++ islands of the country--and unique to other destinations in the world for that matter, is that Bohol is home to some of the most beautiful virgin beaches with the most bio diverse marine life. And on land, it is home to one of the natural wonders of the world, the Chocolate Hills and home to the smallest primates of the world, the tarsiers.
We are quite familiar with Bohol because we have done a series of editorials here before--but we've never done one in Alona Beach. Alona Beach is probably the most popular white sand beach in all of Panglao Island Bohol. But even if it is popular, it is not as busy as some of the more mainstream destinations are, which makes it perfect for an elopement. We love that BW Ivywall Panglao, the hottest and newest resort in Bohol, is the one and only International resort that is actually located right smack in the center of Alona Beach so we got to do this elopement when it couldn't have been possible before.
The Styling.
We loved the color story that Flora & Fern came-up with for this editorial. Grays, blacks, reds, wheat, golds, and old rose were used on the flowers, cake, ceremony arch, and even on the cutlery. It is one of those color stories that you wouldn't think would work on a beach, but it definitely did. The combination of Scandinavian design paired with Boho elements are also not something you think would work--but this combination was simply chic and stunning.
The Bridal Look.
RB Mica (The Makeup of Mica) has always been known for a more natural approach to bridal beauty. Her "barely-there" look for this elopement editorial made the entire story organic and authentic. We collaborated with designer Zandra Lim to come-up with a non-white bridal gown and she created this breathtaking dove gray off-shoulder piece in pure silk brocade. We particularly loved that the off-shouldered-dropped bell sleeves was accentuated with gray floral embroidery. It made the look so laid back, like you didn't try too hard, but then if you look at the gown details, they were really masterfully crafted.
Local Island Flair.
I think my most favorite part of this editorial is that we actually got to highlight things that are local to Bohol, even if it's not that obvious. For instance, the bouquet featured local red weeds that the dynamic duo from Flora & Fern, Jamie and Love, simply gathered from the side of the road. The ceremony styling showcased local bamboos that were assembled into this triangular teepee-like arch and we also used local banig (native floor mats)--and all these materials were gathered right there and there at Alona Beach. The food that BW Ivywall Panglao's restaurant Alon prepared, are all seafood concoctions highlighting a tropical island cuisine. It's really these micro, thoughtful details that made this elopement story even more unique than it already is.
We hope you enjoyed daydreaming as you went through this blog post. If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read, and we hope this inspires you on your wedding preps. We loved every detail from this collaboration shoot and we hope that it radiated all throughout this piece.
A shout out to everyone who worked on this editorial, you guys are AMAZING :)
We've got one more set, so don't forget to watch out for that!
Credits:
Photography by: Jamie Mapagu
(click here for Jamie's instagram link)
Event Styling by: Flora and Fern PH
(click here for Flora and Fern's instagram link)
Makeup and Modeling by: The Makeup of Mica
(click here for Mica's instagram link)
Gowns by: Zandra Lim Designs
(click here for Zandra's instagram link)
Shoot Location: BW Plus - The Ivywall Panglao
(click here for Ivywall Panglao's instagram link)
Wedding Cake by Amia's Confections / Maria Melissa Lalong-isip
Calligraphy by Louisiana Espadrilles
Special thanks to Marc Fuentes for modeling
and special thanks to my husband Cy, who worked on this shoot with me :)
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