Valeen Montenegro was a vision in white as she married Riel Manuel yesterday. The bride wore a beaded, off-shoulder column gown that featured a silk train. What made the look even more special was the fact that her college best friend Banggo Niu created the look for her. "Even before she got engaged, I already had a look in mind for her," the designer shared. "Ever since we were in college, we already started talking about her wedding/wedding gown (we took up Fashion Design and Merchandising in Benilde so we did talk about wedding dresses a lot!)"
"It was such a smooth collaboration with Valeen since we’ve know each other for more than a decade! She has seen my aesthetic grow, my style perfectly fits her, that Contemporary Romance look, and we have been working with her as our muse and have made so much dresses for her for bridal shows! I guess I can say it was a match made in heaven!
"We were in tears the moment she stepped out of the fitting room! More than the beautiful gown, it was the thought of the wedding happening, which we were talking about since 2008-2009. Valeen wearing the actual wedding dress we made with love and talked about for years, we were all so emotional! Our hearts were filled with nothing but joy and love," Banggo shared.
We especially loved how the gown sparkled with each step and sway. Plus, the addition of the train made it both scene-stealing and impactful without going too over the top. "It was multilayers of translucent fabric called matte organdy topped with an embellished fabric, fully beaded by our skilled beaders, lined with a nude solid fabric," Banggo said. "For the detachable train and off shoulder detail, we used a heavy fabric called Italian gazaar/Peau de Soie to contrast with the lightness of the main gown!"
To top everything off, she had makeup artist Toni Aviles create a soft, petal pink makeup look that paired so perfectly with the gown.
Congratulations, Valeen and Riel!
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