MANILA, Philippines?Simple, classic and elegant.

That was how actress Judy Ann Santos envisioned her wedding day with fiancé, TV host Ryan Agoncillo, in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer weeks before the wedding.

From all indications, Santos seemed to have gotten her wish when she tied the knot with Agoncillo in an early morning ceremony Tuesday at the San Juan Nepomuceno Church in San Juan, Batangas, a three-hour drive from Manila.

In an interview with Santos? mother, Carol, she said that Agoncillo?s parents were married in Rosario, near San Juan

The couple, ever mindful of the solemnity of the occasion, kept details under wraps until just a couple of days before the wedding.

Most of the guests learned of the final place, date and time of the nuptials only through text or e-mail, which the couple personally handled less than 48 hours before the event, recalled Agoncillo?s manager Noel Ferrer in a phone interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer Tuesday.

The couple?s goal was to have a ?non-traditional wedding.?

?We don?t want to spend too much on the ceremony,? Santos explained in an earlier interview. ?We?re just being practical. We want to focus on our life after the ceremony.?

Nontraditional sponsors

It?s non-traditional, Ferrer said, because two of the principal sponsors are the couple?s contemporaries: TV host Suzi Entrata-Abrera and Santos? road manager Jane Buencamino.

The rest of the principal sponsors are also close friends of the couple: Director Rory Quintos, photographer Bien Bautista and telecommunications executive Mon Isberto, along with businessman and Agoncillo?s uncle, Benjie Gonzales.

Best Man is Agoncillo?s brother Dondi Agoncillo. Matron of Honor is singer-actress Sharon Cuneta, one of the couple?s dearest friends from show business.

Few celebrities

Officiating at the wedding was Fr. Tito Caluag who worked closely with Agoncillo in the youth show ?Y Speak.?

Caluag told the Inquirer: ?Judai and Ryan were so happy. It was simple, solemn, beautiful ... it was exactly as they planned it.?

He noted that everyone in the church ?were family and friends ... people they wanted to share this day with.?

There were only a handful of celebrities in the crowd. ?I only saw Sharon and her husband Senator Francis Pangilinan and their daughter KC Concepcion. And the wedding singers: Agot Isidro, Ogie Alcasid and Regine Velasquez,? he said.

Ferrer added: ?Character actresses Ces Quesada and Mosang Baguio, Judai?s manager Alfie [Lorenzo], Suzi?s husband Paolo Abrera and Agot?s husband Manu Sandejas attended the church ceremony. The couple?s parents, Manuel and Carol Santos, Chito and Niña Agoncillo were present, along with Judai?s brother Jeffrey Santos.?

?Runaway? wedding march

Another unconventional touch was the wedding march ? The Corrs? pop hit ?Runaway,? which was sung by Isidro.

?Throughout the march, Judai shed tears of joy,? Ferrer recalled. ?She walked down the aisle after Sharon and Yohann [the Agoncillos? 4-year-old adopted daughter].?

Yohann was ?Judai?s mini-me that morning,? Ferrer said. ?Her gown was identical to the one worn by mom Judai.?

The tube dress with lace trimmings and a long train was done by the bride?s longtime designer Paul Cabral.

In an interview days before the ceremony, Agoncillo joked that he would wear ?a bikini in keeping with the wedding?s unconventional theme.?

Perfect day

Abrera related: ?When I heard it was going to be a non-traditional wedding, I thought Ryan would wear board shorts at the altar. Thankfully, he was in a three-piece gray and white suit.?

The groom?s outfit was made by Jerome Lorico.

Abrera noted that the ceremony was a ?wonderful gathering of family and friends.?

?There were only 80 to a hundred people in the church,? she said. ?It was a perfect day. It didn?t rain until after the ceremony.?

Real-life couple Alcasid and Velasquez sang the Offertory hymn, ?The Prayer,? while Alcasid and Isidro interpreted ?One Hand, One Heart? during Communion.

?These songs are the couple?s personal choices,? said Abrera.

Laughter and tears

Caluag said: ?It was a day of laughter and tears.?

Ferrer recalled that Agoncillo also shed a tear upon Santos? arrival at the altar.

Abrera recounted: ?The night before [the ceremony], Ryan told me he might cry buckets. Fortunately, he held his composure. His brother Dondi who was also his Best Man was ready with a handkerchief though.?

An evening reception was set at Balai Resort in Anilao, Batangas ? another two to three-hour drive from the San Juan church, said Ferrer.

The couple?s show biz friends were expected to attend, including ABS-CBN president Charo Santos and actress Gina Pareño, among others.

?Tsinelas? invite

Guests to the reception were given an invitation that came in a most unusual package: a box containing one-half of a pair of white slippers.

?The guests are supposed to get the other half at the reception,? Ferrer explained.

The unique invitation reflects the couple?s simple, no-fuss personalities, said filmmaker Jose Javier Reyes: ?I went crazy when I got the tsinelas (flip-flops).?

Abrera said: ?Judai is the perfect foil to Ryan. They?re easy-going. They?re not into show biz trappings. When I see them, they?re often wearing shorts.?

Filmmaker Dante Nico Garcia agreed: ?They?re very casual.?

No pre-nup

Garcia, who is also Santos? personal stylist, said the preparation for the nuptials was ?overwhelming.?

?I?m very tired, but this is the best gift I could give to Judai and Ryan,? he said.

True to their hearts? desire, the wedding ceremony itself was ?casual, easy-going and devoid of show biz trappings,? Ferrer said. ?It wasn?t a circus.?

Another unconventional touch, according to Ferrer: Unlike most show biz weddings, this union wasn?t preceded by a pre-nuptial agreement.