10 things you didn’t know about Bianca Gonzalez’s wedding

1 Of course you know that TV host/ STAR columnist/book author Bianca Gonzalez is getting married to basketball star JC Intal, don’t you? But did you know that Bianca and JC had a really big fight (with matching walkout drama) prior to JC’s proposal that Bianca thought it was the beginning of the end of the relationship?

With a scant few weeks to go before the big day, Bianca, looking radiant as ever and every bit a bride-chilla (as she describes herself), shares intimate details of her wedding with a small group of lifestyle writers at Facial Care Centre’s bridal launch over a fabulous lunch at Chef Jessie Sincioco’s 100 Revolving Restaurant in Eastwood, Libis.

First off, we ask Bianca what the big fight was about and she confesses it was so petty she can’t even remember what it was. The only thing she knows is that it was her fault. And that it was then that JC knew for sure that “she was the one”!

Bianca relates with a twinkle in her eyes, “He realized that kaya nya ang topak ko (he could deal with my craziness). ‘Kaya ko ’tong girl na ’to. Sya na talaga!’”

So, here comes Bianca’s top tip to frustrated brides or women who’ve tried every trick in the book but still

2 Did you know that both JC and Bianca went to Ateneo (Bianca was two batches ahead of JC; both were born in 1983, a few months apart), but never really met on campus?  Bianca traces how they met: “I was always watching the UAAP, he was a varsity player, but I don’t remember watching him, which he sort of felt bad about. I remember Doug Kramer, LA Tenorio, but not him. We met four years ago while watching a UAAP game. He wasn’t playing anymore. He was with his friends and I was with mine. He asked somebody if I was single and how he could get my number.”

Event host Riki Flo, herself a bride-to-be, asks Bianca if she was overwhelmed by the presence of the six-foot-five hardcourt hottie, and Bianca quickly replies, “Not at all! My first impression was, ‘Ay, basketball player sya! Cute naman, but I stereotyped him. Ever since I was younger, I thought I’d end up with a banker or typically with a businessman, but never an athlete.”

3 Did you know that after they met, it took two weeks before Bianca said yes to JC’s invitation to meet up?  “He got my number from a common tita,” she relates how it all began. “He texted me and wanted a meet-up kaagad. Ayoko naman na agad-agad na makipag-date. So, we got to texting and talking on the phone for two weeks until he asked me if I wanted to meet up. Naawa naman ako so I said yes. I had errands at Alabang Town Center and

I asked him if he wanted to accompany me. He came all the way from Quezon City and we had lunch and did my errands together. It was already midnight when we parted. From then on, we kept seeing each other every day after lunch.”  

Bianca hastens to add, “Our story is really nothing grand. Yung parang may moment, walang ganon. It’s an ordinary story.”

4 Of course, you already know how JC proposed to Bianca (it was a trending topic on social media). But to refresh your memory, it happened at Terminal 2 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, after the big fight. Bianca was flying to London to visit her sister and take a short course. Bianca relates, “The night before, I passed by JC’s house to say goodbye, that I won’t be seeing him for two-and-a-half weeks. Normal lang sya. The next morning, everything was normal until I got to the airport and started to get flowers and saw a streamer saying, ‘Bianca, please say yes.’ (I didn’t say yes; I said,‘Of course!’). I was super shocked! Anybody who knows JC knows he’s super private and quiet, especially when there are people around. That he was able to pull this and put it all together was the shock of my life! And this was NAIA, right? He got one of our closest friends to help him get permits to get inside the airport.”

A lot of people know about this much-talked-about proposal, but did you know that the famous couple almost shied away from doing a prenup shoot? “We really didn’t want a prenup shoot — dyahe, where will we use these photos?” Bianca asked herself. “As a couple, we’re not comfortable being shot in formal wear with makeup on, looking into each other’s eyes with the horizon in the background.  We didn’t want something manucured or set up. But Pat Dy, with whom I’ve worked since I started modeling at 17, sent me a picture of a couple on a staycation. The idea was it was the last day of the couple on a trip and they decided to stay in. So I said maybe we could rent a hotel room, JC and I love to travel together. JC is very camera-shy, but he was at ease with Pat and videographer Jason Magbanua. Gets ko na why couples love prenups — it’s something to go back to when you’re old and grey.”

5 Did you know that Bianca and JC only started planning their wedding last May? “We only have half a year to prepare, but we’re very hands-on, and very specific and clear about what we want,” Bianca shares this previous tip with all the stressed, distressed brides-to-be out there. “My dream wedding is just a small one with only the family attending. For JC, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime occasion so he wants a big celebration with family and a lot of friends. So, we came up with a compromise: a private ceremony with just the members of both of our families, followed by a reception, which is bigger. How big? Again, we had to make a compromise. I had 200 on my list and he had 200 on his — we belong to different worlds so we have very few common friends. We met halfway at 300 guests for the reception on Dec. 10.”

Bianca gives this tip: “My Kuya JC (that’s Juan Carlos; JC is John Christopher) advises me that when it comes to the guest list, I should not to think of the Pinoy culture, na may magtatampo if we don’t invite them. We can’t invite the whole world; otherwise, we’d be bankrupt even before we start our life together.”

The wedding will be catered by Gaita Fores and the menu will include the couple’s personal favorites from Gaita’s restaurants.

Very hands-on with her wedding preps, this DIY indefatigable bride is even handwriting the guests’ names on the invites. She’s also doing the wedding favors — boxes containing a surprise gift. She has two Manila papers in her room on which is written her to-do list for the day.  “I’ve become addicted and I’m sad that the prepartions will soon be over,” she sighs.

6 Did you know that JC and Bianca will have 14 principal sponsors for their wedding? “But they’re not pairs,” Bianca tells us. “We chose people who are either close to us, whom we met as a couple, or people who are important in our lives. His is sports-related, mine is industry-related, like Tito Boy Abunda, Ate Kris Aquino, Karen Davila who is like a mentor to me, Direk Laurenti Dyogi, and Senator Alan Cayetano and his wife Lani.”

7 Did you know that Atenean priest Fr. Tito Caluag is officiating the wedding ceremony? “I met Fr. Tito when I was in second or third year college and JC met him before college,” Bianca recounts. “So he has seen all my past relationships (I had four) and heartbreaks as well as JC’s (I know a few of his relationships, but sometimes, I discover, ‘Ay, naging girlfriend pala nya yon!’).”

8 Did you know that Bianca will wear an RTW wedding gown?  “Growing up, I never had a dream wedding,” she reveals. “I didn’t have a sketch for my wedding dress. I have a friend, Michaela Martinez, who got married 10 years ago and she just got a makeup artist and her wedding dress was parang patahi lang. If I could have that, I really would. It’s hard for me to pick a designer because in my line of work, I have a lot of designer friends, all of whom I love with all my heart. I was looking for RTW and found the Spanish label Rosa Clara, and that was it!”

She shares this tip when shopping for an RTW wedding gown, “Don’t try too many as you may just end up confused. I tried a few until I found the one — ganon pala ang feeling, when you put it on, you really feel, ‘Oh, my God, eto na yon!’ I’m not saying don’t get custom-made, but the thing with RTW is, when you wear it, you see right away if it fits.”

Bianca adds, “I want to be comfortable in my gown. I’ve been to weddings where the bride had a hard time moving around. I want to be able to move, to dance, to enjoy the evening with my friends at my wedding.”

Did you know that Bianca doesn’t have her wedding shoes yet? “Yes, I don’t have shoes yet and I’m a shoe person!” she whines. “I don’t want anything sparkly so I can wear it after the wedding,” says the practical bride. And maybe something to give her some height — she’s 5’5” tall, a foot shorter than JC.

9 Did you know that celebrity stylist Liz Uy is styling this wedding?  “She’s getting into weddings, too, and mine is the first one she’s styling,” says the happy bride.

Well-loved makeup artist Lala Flores, a former supermodel, is doing Bianca’s makeup. “I showed pictures of me in makeup by different artists to JC and he chose Lala,” says Bianca. “Here’s another tip: Show your makeup to your groom and ask him where you look the most beautiful — after all, it’s your husband-to-be you want to look good for.”

Alex Carbonell, who’s been doing Bianca’s hair for 14 years now, will do her hair for the wedding.

Robert Blancaflor is doing the flowers. “I just told him I wanted white flowers; he’s such a respected name in the business I won’t even dare tell him what flowers to use.”

The wedding’s color motif is blue, and not just because they’re both true-blue Ateneans. “JC and I both like blue — a classic kind of blue like navy blue.”

10 Of course, you know that all brides are beautiful. But did you know what’s making this very busy bride even more glowingly beautiful? “Facial Care Centre has definitely taken care of my skin,” Bianca reveals. “I love that you just go there, you lie down, and they’ll take care of the rest. The first time I tried their facials, I was so impressed that I instantly posted a selfie and even tagged it, ‘No makeup, just skin.’ My skin looked so refreshed! I was so used to the idea that facials will make your skin red, swollen, and oily afterwards. But not with FCC! Their facials really gave me bare-faced confidence.”

Jackie Share, executive vice president, Facial Care Centre, says, “We started this campaign with Shamcey Supsup who married Lloyd Lee last years. The brides come for regular cleaning and maintenance. If they look stressed, we give them treatments to relax them. We relax the skin if it’s tight.”

Very low-key with her skincare regimen and with just a few weeks to her wedding, Bianca knows the stress of the wedding preparations can take a toll on the skin. Her favorite facial at FCC is the Collagen Mask with Kojic — “It’s so soothing and my skin instantly feels moisturized,” she gushes.

Before she says “I do,” Bianca is saying yes to the Advanced Lasertone, which stimulates collagen and elastin production to improve the skin’s texture, and RevLite, which rejuvenates the skin as it corrects pigmentation.

Bianca has also invited JC to try the facials at FCC and he loves ’em, too, and has been going for facials even more regularly than Bianca.

Surely, Bianca and JC will both be glowing on their wedding day that promises to be full of love and laughter.