Take inspiration from Filipino fashion
Florals wound their way into another visual component: Erika’s wedding dress, which eschewed the typical beach wedding slip dress vibe with a dramatic skirt featuring oversized, sculptural flowers. To Erika, the blooms resembled camellias, which are ubiquitous in the Philippines, as well as the crinkling petals of the marigold, which are significant for Hindu weddings.
“I always knew I wanted to wear something by a Filipino designer, but a lot of them take your measurements and design something custom for you and you have to come back [to complete the dress],” a process that would be too difficult to pull off from New York,” Erika says. After trying on loads of dresses in New York, the bride was thrilled to find the dress on a trip to the Philippines, at the boutique of celebrated designer Francis Libiran. “I just fell in love with it,” she says. “It meant so much to me that it was designed by a Filipino designer.”
After the couple’s first dance at the reception, Erika changed into a Filipiniana dress, which has a leaner silhouette and puffed sleeves, to get into party mode. The garment belonged to her grandmother, who was unable to attend the wedding due to her health. “It was a beautiful nod, to incorporate her and her story,” says Erika.
Maulik, too, wore a ceremony look with roots in the destination: a barong, an embroidered dress shirt that is the traditional outfit for Filipino grooms. “I thought it was really important to wear, as opposed to something more Western, and I really did like my outfit!” he says. He also had barongs made for his father and groomsmen as gifts. The custom work was done in Manila, with communication completely remote until the couple arrived in the Philippines in December before the wedding for final tailoring.
