“We had always planned to keep this small and simple,” the bride tells Lifestyle Asia, adding that there will be a second wedding in the works.
Sunnies Face co-founder Jess Wilson and her beau Moritz Gastl have officially tied the knot in a civil wedding this past weekend at the Sunlight Island Resort in Coron, Palawan.
The intimate ceremony “with a small group of loved ones” comes almost two years after their engagement in Papua New Guinea.
“We had always planned to keep this small and simple,” Wilson-Gastl tells Lifestyle Asia. “It grew to a small group of friends and family that we wanted to celebrate our civil wedding with.”
Planned earlier in the year with the help of, as the bride says, “some of the best people in the industry,” here’s a look at some of the details of Mr. and Mrs. Gastl’s dream wedding come true.
Before the ceremony
Even before the ceremony, the fun has already started for the couple and their guests.
Commencing the weekend wedding is a welcome party on a sunset cruise on Friday.
Soon after, a Filipino fiesta-themed gathering, complete with colorful banderitas.
Wilson also sports the most fun party look possible—a Martin Bautista-designed outfit.
“Martin Bautista has always been one of my favorite designers when it comes to fun and whimsical dresses with the most flattering colors and fit,” the bride says. “He made this beautiful two piece ensemble, a bejewelled top and a satin skirt with fringe details, that moved so beautifully.”
Wedding look
For the special day, Wilson-Gastl opted for a custom white mini Filipiniana with a detachable column skirt by designer Vania Romanoff.
The bride describes it as her “dream gown,” which she “couldn’t be more grateful for.”
Romanoff, in an Instagram story, has shared the journey in creating Wilson’s dress from first fitting to its completion.
“She came in having no idea what her dress would look like. All she knew was that it was going to be a Filipiniana,” she writes, along with a video of Wilson-Gastl’s first time trying on the outfit and adding a previously absent fringe detail on the sleeve. ‘Thank you for being the most chill bride ever and for trusting me with everything. Your trust means everything to me and the team. You looked like a dream.”
For her jewelry, Wilson has chosen a JJ Jiao diamond earring.
Completing Wilson’s simple yet elegant beauty look—including subtle waves as well as glowy, sun-kissed skin—are artists for makeup, Robbie Pinera and for hair, Paul Nebres.
The bouquet
Gideon Hermosa, an international events stylist and florist, has created a meaningful bouquet of chamomile flowers to go with Wilson-Gastl’s wedding dress.
“The tiny blooms of chamomile do not only bring us to a place of calmness, it signifies growth against all odds. Apropos to our celebration today where our couple met challenges along the way,” he writes in an Instagram post. “It was a pleasure to create this charming bouquet for our alluring bride.”
The venue
Also the work of Hermosa, in cooperation with destination weddings planner Amanda Tirol, is the wedding venue’s setup by the beach. It features a stunning aisle with a cloud of dainty gypsophila, with the ocean’s blue waters and lush mountains as the backdrop. Working with nature and not against it seems to be the concept behind the florist’s decorative choice.
“Nature knows no competition. It simply stands out on its own,” he shares. “We framed this beautiful view with gypsophila as if they were snow eager to meet the sea.”
Wilson-Gastl, in two separate Instagram stories, thanks Hermosa for bringing her vision into reality.
“I have no words. Everything you did was breathtaking. You listened to my vision and took it to such great heights I could have never imagined,” she says. “Seeing this setup you did brought me to tears as I walked down hand in hand with Moritz.”
This choice of venue, says Wilson-Gastl, is also for the safety of the guests.
“Everything was kept to outdoor areas so people would feel safe,” she says. “That’s on top of multiple rounds of testing everyone had to go through before coming.”
A Promise of Love
Though the full exchange of wedding vows will be in a soon-to-be-released wedding video by Jason Magbanua, Wilson has shared the special reason behind their unconventional entrance to the ceremony venue.
Instead of just the bride, the couple have decided to walk down the aisle together.
“[It is] for a few reasons. [For] one, we wanted to keep the special solo walk,” she says.”[It is] also because Moritz has always been my strength and my equal, and me his, and [we] wanted to symbolize that [through the walk] in our little ceremony.”
Wedding photographers
Present to capture the memorable weekend wedding are photographers from Team Pat Dy
Wilson-Gastl thanks the people behind the cameras on the pair’s special day.
“Thank you for capturing every single smile, laugh, tear, hug perfectly and in the most genuine form,” she writes. “These are photos we will look back [on] for the rest of our lives.”
The Wedding Reception
The dinner reception that followed is just as dreamy.
The post-wedding celebration by the shore features a starry night sky-like path lit up by small yellow LED lights. It leads to an elegantly decorated and candle-lit dinner table.
The dinner menu includes a deconstructed salad, roasted pumpkin soup for starters, pan-seared tuna, and sorbet; a choice of risotto lobster pomodoro, red snapper fillet, or US Angus beef striploin for the main course; and chocolate mousse for dessert.
“This was straight out of a story book,” Wilson-Gastl later recounts in an Instagram story.
True enough, the two have also been pictured by guests in what looks like the happy ending of a fairy tale while cutting their three-layer wedding cake by the Naked Patisserie.
The partying continues after the reception, with sparkly disco balls and lots of dancing involved.
“For Saturday night’s party look, I changed into a Paco Rabanne dress,” she shares, along with a photo of a fringed paillette chainmail mini dress, which she also wore over a nude bodysuit. “[Then I] paired it with a silver crown that lit up with LED lights.”
Guests present include Georgina Wilson, her husband, Arthur Burnand, and their children, Archie, Charlotte, and Alfie as the ringbearer; Solenn Heusaff and her other half, Nico Bolzico with their flower girl daughter, Thylene; Gloria Diaz; and yoga instructor Valerie De Los Santos.
A second wedding
Another ceremony is in the works for The Gastls.
“The original date was September 2020, then moved to September 2021,” Wilson shares. “Now, it’s been decided that May 2022 will be the new date.”
The exact date has not been revealed yet, but the venue will be in Austria. Expected attendees are those who were not able to attend the Palawan weekend wedding.
“Many of our friends, family, and all of Moritz’s family couldn’t make it to the civil wedding,” Mrs. Gastl shares. “We will do our church wedding in Salzburg with about 100 guests if conditions allow.”
