Manila, Philippines - THE GROOM: Albert “Bebong” Munoz, a former councilor of Caloocan, studied in Ateneo and finished his law degree in UP. He studied his master’s degree in public administration in Columbia University and later worked in St. Paul, Minneapolis from 2002-2006. Currently, he has his own company, Icons Celebrity Marketing and is a consultant in CFP for public private partnerships.
THE BRIDE: Carla Buan was a Povedan who finished college (AB European Studies) in Ateneo de Manila University. She was based in Boston 2006-2008 to study her masters in Business Administration in Suffolk University. She is currently an AVP in HSBC Premier Banking.
HOW THEY MET: Carla’s friend, RB Zalamea, celebrated his birthday by sponsoring a house for Gawad Kalinga in early 2009 through the help of friend Jonah de Lumen-Pernia. The couple was briefly introduced that day, but Bebong insisted on a group date that finally pushed through after a couple of months. They were quite shocked how immediately they were able to get along and laugh at each other’s corny jokes. After six months of dating, they got engaged. But the wedding took two years of preparation.
THE WEDDING DRAMA: Relatives and friends from the US and Asia flew in for the light, romantic, and sentimental event. All their close friends and relatives were teary eyed. Coordinator Chinky Agregado gave them a surprise by getting the original singer of their bridal march, Annie Quintos of The Company to sing Now That I Have You that day with the Tala choir. Florist Robert Blancaflor decorated the St. Alphonsus church in Magallanes and transformed the Manila Peninsula ballroom into a preppy-themed wedding using pink, green and blue as motif colors. Paul Cabral made Carla’s dream wedding gown that had a long trail with exquisite lace details. Carla was made up and hairstyled by Ricky Diokno and Claire Seelin-Diokno. Bebong wore a Paul Smith tuxedo. The mother of the bride, Angie Domingo Buan, wore a Rajo Laurel salmon pink gown. Emcee Atom Ungson did a good job hosting the program. The guests were entertained by Louie Reyes who sang the Dionne Warwick medley. The love story video was created by Paul and Caron Macasaet of 30FPS, while the photos were taken by Pat Dy.
Guests were dancing and showing off their groove, while the groom, Bebong sang his heart out by singing dance tunes with the Sound Salad band. The couple immediately flew to El Nido, Palawan for their honeymoon.