To the fans' delight, Can't Buy Me Love concluded its eight-month run with a grand wedding between Caroline Tiu (Belle Mariano) and Bingo Mariano (Donny Pangilinan). In the teleserye's finale, the two tied the knot in an intimate al fresco ceremony attended by their closest kin. The episode ended with a cherry on top, with #DonBelle having their first-ever on-screen kiss.
Fashion played a crucial role in bringing the romantic scene to life. In fact, it was actually tied together with other similar sequences that occurred earlier in the series. To get the full scoop, Preview got in touch with Can't Buy Me Love's head stylist Rodel Brinas.
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Rodel Brinas on Fashion Direction for the Wedding Scenes in "Can't Buy Me Love"
According to Rodel, the "Bing-Ling" matrimony cascaded in three major parts, all with different approaches to styling
1. Stephen and Caroline's wedding was deliberately extravagant.
Things began when Caroline was coerced to marry Stephen Tanhueco (Darren Espanto) in an effort to save her family's company. In this ceremony, the bride was in an extravagant ball gown that had floral embroidery running through the bustier and skirt. Such a show-stopper was crafted by none other than Francis Libiran.
Rodel explains that their choice to have Caroline in Francis Libiran was to show how luxurious and opulent the Tiu family is. Even Stephen was dressed in a black-and-white suit by the famed Filipino designer.
The stylist adds that their director, Mae Cruz-Alviar, wanted the guests to be dressed in more "mysterious" colors such as maroon and wine red. This alluded to the unresolved conflicts surrounding the Tius.
2. The small "wedding" in Batanes after Bingo and Caroline eloped was simple and straightforward.
The union between Caroline and Stephen was not meant to be, as she eventually eloped with Bingo. The couple fled to Batanes for a few days, where they had a small, unofficial "wedding" of their own. In this scene, the leading lady was dressed simply in a dress from Just Love by Jot Losa, while her groom was clad in a linen shirt.
3. In the finale, Bingo wore a barong inspired by the Filipino-Chinese community.
In the last episode, Bingo looked his most dapper in barong tagalog and a pair of tailored trousers. The look was made by Marlon Tuazon, a designer known for elevating heritage garments.
It was Rodel's suggestion to hold a Filipiniana-themed wedding for the finale. "Since this was also Bingo's wedding, who grew up in Binondo, [I still wanted to show that] this was a Filipino wedding," he said.
The barongs worn by Bingo and all of the male characters had Mandarin-style collars, which was an homage to the Filipino-Chinese roots of Caroline's family.
Marlon also designed the Filipiniana frocks worn by cast members Agot Isidro and Ruffa Guttierez. Other female characters were spotted in blush pink terno dresses, all sourced from various designers.
4. A Filipiniana dress was still made for Bettina Tiu.
In the penultimate episode, it was revealed that Bettina Tiu (Kaila Estrada) was the murderer of Caroline's mom. However, this piece of information wasn't revealed to Rodel or anyone who wasn't part of the cast or shooting crew. "It was a closed-door location. We couldn't find out who the killer was," he said.
Because of this, they still had a wedding entourage dress made for Kaila. "[We didn't know] who was going to be taken out [of the scene], kasi ang daming suspects e," Rodel adds. She can be seen wearing it alongside the entire cast in a BTS photo shared by Belle.
5. There's a sentimental meaning behind Caroline's simple wedding gown.
While all the ladies were in Filipiniana attire, the bride herself kept it simple and pared down in a sleeveless tulle gown by Neric Beltran. "We thought it would [fit the scene better] because we wanted a very simple wedding. The wedding was [supposed to be] intimate, between close friends and family only," Rodel states.
At this point in the story, Caroline finally attained justice for her mom's death, which was the overarching mystery of the teleserye. Not to mention, she was walking down the aisle towards the love of her life. Rodel cites an "emotional continuity" when choosing the character's bridal dress.
"We wanted Caroline to serve as a classic bride in a simple silhouette. 'BingLing' was already going through so much pain," he shared. "We wanted this Ling to be on the softer side. She was free of all of her worries, like thinking about who killed her mom. The reason why we wanted a simple silhouette was so we could show that Ling was free of everything already. She was finally happy."
Now that's a fairytale ending we can all agree on!
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