Marriott Manila recently staged its latest “Marry Me at the Marriott.” Now on its sixth year, the day-long wedding fair culminated in a bridal fashion show featuring the to-die-for creations of Rosenthal Tee, Mak Tumang and Amir Sali.
cluster director of marketing Cristina Carreon and cluster director of marketing
communications Michelle Garcia thank with “Marry Me at the Marriott” designers Amir Sali, Rosenthal Tee and Mak Tumang.
By Alex Y. Vergara
With several ballrooms—including a grand ballroom that’s touted as the largest of its kind in the country today—as well as garden rooms and ceremonial halls to offer the public, it’s no wonder that the Manila Marriott has, over the years, become one of the most preferred venues for weddings, debuts, anniversaries and various milestone events in the country.
Aware of its strength and unique position in the market, Marriott Manila, under cluster GM Bruce Winton, one of PeopleAsia’s 2018 “Men Who Matter” awardees, and his collaborators have been staging one of the biggest bridal events in the country for six years now.
“Marry Me at the Marriott,” Manila Marriott’s annual wedding fair, which culminates in a sit-down dinner and bridal fashion show at the hotel’s grand ballroom, has become an annual tradition of sorts and must-go-to event not only for would-be brides and grooms, but also for their families as well as the country’s movers and shakers and people connected with the thriving wedding industry.
The recent edition, Marriott Manila’s sixth staging of the annual event (it started in 2012 at the hotel’s Manila Ballroom before the construction and opening of a new adjacent building housing its current grand ballroom and several function rooms), was no exception.
Apart from featuring such fashion designers as Mak Tumang, Rosenthal Tee and Amir Sali in a bridal fashion show, which capped off a formal sit-down dinner consisting of a four-course meal specially designed and prepared by Manila Marriott executive chef Meik Brammer and his team, the whole day event also doubled as a venue for wedding suppliers—from photographers to makeup artists and events stylists—to showcase their products and services.
“Obviously, weddings are a huge revenue driver for us,” Bruce shared with PeopleAsia soon after the bridal show. “It really drives our brand (out there) in the market. When you look at the kind of weddings we do and the type of customers they attract, weddings are really a brand-builder for us.”
In his opening remarks before the bridal show, Bruce wondered aloud how he and his team could top last year’s year edition. Of course, a lot of it also had to do with the caliber of partners they had tapped to collaborate with them this year. And the three featured designers, under the direction of veteran fashion show director Robby Carmano and stage design by leading events stylists Gideon Hermosa, Michael Ruiz and Teddy Manuel, didn’t disappoint.
It marked the first time the three—two relatively new industry names in the person of Mak and Rosenthal and former Middle East-based veteran Amir—participated in Marriott’s annual bridal show. Despite having participated in a number of solo and group shows in the past, the three designers still felt honored and excited to be part of Marriott Manila’s roster of featured designers.
Rosenthal Thee
Rosenthal opened the show with a collection inspired, she said, by Tinker Bell meets the Gatsby Girl. Her dresses were either noteworthy for their almost impeccable tailoring or labor-intensive beadwork and appliqué.
In keeping with the 1920s inspiration, the young designer showed a number of gowns embellished with hand-beaded tassels and strings of pearls. For her finale, she featured a classic wedding gown with a twist reserved mostly in the back in the form of a huge train made of French lace, crinoline, horsehair and boning that curled and looped every which way.
“I wanted to do something very clean, textured and playful,” said Rosenthal. “I don’t think anyone has seen me do these big wedding gowns that double as ballgowns before. It’s my way of playing with shapes and textures.”
Mak Tumang
Known for his romantic lines teeming with volume and labor-intensive embellishments, Mak drew inspiration from cherry blossoms and butterflies, which became recurring elements in some of his gowns, particularly the one Miss Universe Philippines 2018 Catriona Gray wore, as she closed the designer’s portion of the show.
In lieu of immaculate white, Mak opted for gradating “ombre gray to white” fabrics, which included tulle and lace. Embellishments confined mainly on skirts and part of the gowns’ bodices were made of laser-cut flowers and lace appliqué with hints of black embroidery.
Amir Sali
Finally, without completely abandoning his trademark bling, thanks to his generous use of Swarovski and Preciosa crystals, Amir experimented with different textures using light, almost transparent materials mixed with more conventional fabrics to provide his models with ample coverage.
The designer also played with a mix of hard and soft materials. For added visual impact, he made some of his models, including Binibining Pilipinas Grand International 2018 Eva Patalinjug, wear humungous Swarovski-encrusted earrings and headdresses. Instead of wearing them the usual way, models wore concealed headbands where the giant earrings were attached.
“Many of the lace dresses proved to be the most difficult to do because we had to reinvent the shapes of the flowers, which we use to embellish the looks,” he said. “Mixing fabrics like attaching velvet with tulle was also a bit challenging.”
