MANILA, Philippines - My sister just got married to her best friend. They have been friends since they were 14 years old. He was always around the house and keeping Gela company. I actually really like the guy, and his family is the bomb.

I needed a couple of days to ingest everything and to really take it all in. I mean, this is my baby sister we?re talking about!

I have been designing wedding gowns for more than 15 years now. It is what I love to do and arguably what I do best. Everyday I look forward to meeting my brides, discussing every minute detail of their big day?like the font to use in the invitation, the flowers they will carry down the aisle, the correct hue of the fabric for the entourage, even the color of the tablecloth at the reception.

I have developed a keen understanding of all these elements and how important they all are. When it comes to weddings, I am what you might call an interactive designer. I encourage and enjoy including the bride and groom in the design process. After all, it?s their wedding.

Full charge

However, this all changes if you?re my sister. When you?re my sister, I take full charge and everything begins to feel dictatorial?although I did ask her what she wanted and I did listen (a bit).

She wanted something Japanese-inspired, evocative of origami, the art of paper folding. I said, perfect! Your theme will be ?Elegant Anime!?

I asked trusted friends Anton Barretto and Judith Zapanta to create the space and the beautiful floral bouquets, and they did a fantastic job. Gilbert Pangilinan of Kai outdid himself by creating the most mouth-watering buffet spread filled with Kai specialties, such as the Tempura oysters, his deadly pork belly dish (slowly cooked for like 12 hours), and the most amazing sushi and sashimi spread that had the guests gushing both for its taste as well as its visual delight.

We commissioned Peachy Juban of Short Crust to do a revolving cake, since I wanted something really different that would be the focal point of the entire room! I was so happy that she was able to do it. The silver cake looked stunning, with Japanese-inspired graphics all over it.

For the dresses, I wanted playful and interesting pieces. I decided to do a black entourage. Black, after all, is the wedding color in Japan. I used bold and brilliant colors like red, hot pink, lime and orange as the ?origami? feature and highlighted this palette with my antique obi collection, which I?d been hoarding since I was 15 years old.

Strong colors

The members of my team said it felt as if we were on the set of Project Runway, as I was the one cutting and draping every single one of the gowns.

For the mothers and the ninangs, I opted to use strong colors to make the wedding really festive.

Gela?s wedding gown, on the other hand, was made of seven different materials: white Mikado silk, platinum gray Duchesse satin, ivory Abraham silk gazaar, silk satin organza in bisque, a striped piña silk weave, and two kinds of vintage Obi sashes I used for her train.

Her gown had a very simple square neckline and a draped skirt. But the piece de resistance was her train, which was an exaggerated obi.

Ace and Gela wanted a really fun wedding filled with family and friends. I believe they got the wedding of their dreams!