Mar-Korina 'People's Wedding' set Oct. 23

Curtain-raisers:

• Text message from Rene Puno (reacting to yesterday’s item about DILG Sec. Ronnie Puno): Hi, Ricky. This is Atty. Rene Puno (brother of Sec. Ronnie Puno). Thank you for your kind mention of me in your Philippine STAR Funfare article today. I have been a practicing lawyer for the past 25 years, and am currently the managing partner of Zulueta, Puno and Ferrer Law Offices. I still get a nice, nostalgic feeling when I am remembered as a “singer” by good people like you. These days, I sing with the Praise Ministry of the St. James Catholic Renewal Movement in Alabang. I now sing for God and His infinite goodness.

• Due to some technical glitches, the live webcast of the 2009 Miss Universe preliminary competition yesterday morning was inaccessible for some users. Not to worry. Followers of the pageant still have a chance to view the recorded webcast by simply clicking the link: www.bbpilipinas.com.

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It’s confirmed: Sen. Mar Roxas and Korina Sanchez will (finally, finally!) get married in what they call a “People’s Wedding” on Oct. 23.

“It will be an afternoon wedding,” Korina said in an interview with Funfare.

The venue is a toss-up between Sto. Domingo Church and the Manila Cathedral. But the reception will definitely be held at Bahay na Puti (in Cubao, Quezon City), the home of Mar’s lolo and lola and the venue of the reception for the wedding of Mar’s parents, former Sen. Gerry Roxas and Judy Araneta, and his aunt Baby Araneta and Dr. Raul Fores.

“So,” said Korina, “in a big way, we are following tradition. There may be more than a thousand guests although we have yet to finalize the list. Mar has relatives in Negros, Iloilo, Capiz and Bulacan; while mine are from Pampanga. Some of my relatives will come from New York.”

There are not too many details as yet.

“Mar and I want to hold it at the Sto. Domingo Church which has a long walk and a beautiful entrance with beautiful stained glass all over it. There are wonderful, wide corridors and a garden in the middle,” added Korina. “The Manila Cathedral is also an old church which has beautifully gilded cornices and a beautiful ceiling and is very regal aside from it already being air-conditioned. There may be another church we are looking at, like San Sebastian Church and Quiapo Church. We will decide which one this week.”

What about the entourage?

“I think I will have 12 bridesmaids. I have called my best friends from my childhood until today. I’ve lost touch with some of them so I had to look them up and call them. They were all thrilled and so am I. These bridesmaids make this special event very real for me as these are women who had been there to share my lowest moments and my highest throughout my life so far. I will have six flower girls one of whom is my niece Saila. Of course, Baby James is our ring bearer, Dyan Castillejo’s son Matthew is the Bible bearer and I am hoping I can make my nephew Miguel walk as the coin bearer. My two nieces, Tyra and Maya, will be junior bridesmaids along with Mercedes, Mar’s niece.” 

She and Mar have yet to finalize the list of ninongs and ninangs and secondary sponsors.

Kris Aquino will anchor the ABS-CBN coverage of the Filipino wedding. Korina’s gown will be designed by Pepito Albert and those of the entourage by Patrice Ramos-Diaz and Randy Ortiz. Mar’s cousin Margarita Fores has drawn up the menu and, in fact, they have set up a mock of the reception dinner tables.

“Ang ganda!,” exclaimed Korina. “ It’s exactly how I would want a wedding dinner table to be. Beautiful! Mar keeps reminding me, ‘Not too much,’ so it’s great that my contacts all gave me discounts and friends lent me old things to use for the decor. It is turning out so well.”

Korina calls it a “People’s Wedding” because she and Mar are not keeping anything secret. Every detail will be documented and shown as a two-hour special on Channel 2.

“So, makikita ng tao ang lahat ng detalye ng kasal. We are thinking of a way to acommodate people who would like to be at the church and be part of this special moment between myself and Mar. Mar has helped so many people and everywhere I go, people ask, ‘Kailan ang kasal? Imbitado ba kami?’ They want to go. It is very heartwarming and I wish we could invite the whole country. Hahahaha! So I guess television is the best way to make them part of it.”

And what about the honeymoon?

Korina didn’t say where.

Hmmmm. Are we going to see that, too, in the TV coverage?

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After the mini-presscon yesterday for his new movie, Regal Films’ Tarot, at a function room of the Imperial Palace Suites, Dennis Trillo made Regal Matriarch Mother Lily Monteverde cry when he presented her with a chocolate cake with one candle on it.

“I’m touched,” said Mother Lily as she wiped a tear. She’s turning another year wiser tomorrow, Aug. 19, and the cake was the movie press’ little “surprise” for her. The idea came from Ethel Ramos and this columnist. It was Tarot line-producer Manny Valera who ordered the cake posthaste.

Not saying how young she is, Mother Lily is celebrating her special day with her family as she has been doing these past few years, for sure in keeping with hard times. That’s it: No more bongga parties.

Dennis himself has a lot to be thankful for, foremost of which is his mom’s successful heart surgery last week. His career is going great even if, he claimed, his love life is currently zero. He has just broken up with Cristine Reyes, his “secret” girlfriend of two years.

At yesterday’s presscon, Roselle Monteverde-Teo invited a tarot-card reader to tell Dennis’ past, present and future — you know, how a former girlfriend is hurting (we’ve read about it in movie columns, haven’t we?) and how he’ll meet Miss Right whom he will marry and who will give him two beautiful kids (didn’t we read that, too, also in movie columns?).

“If she could guess the color of Dennis’ briefs,” joked GMA reporter Nelson Canlas, “bibilib ako sa kanya.”

Asked about it, Dennis joked back.

“I’m not wearing briefs.”

(E-mail reactions at [email protected].ph or at [email protected])