Finance professional Connor Wen and fashion designer Bianca Jimenez celebrated their wedding across the sun-drenched shores of Pearl Farm on Samal Island.
While a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, Bianca Jimenez applied to join CityStep, an organization that teaches dance to children in West Philadelphia. On initiation night, recruits were asked to bring an unlikely assortment of items, including an unboiled egg. Unable to find one, Bianca bravely asked another recruit if he happened to have an extra. He did. She asked what his name was. It was Connor Wen.
“From then on, we became good friends,” Bianca shares. “It wasn’t until three years later that we finally got together.”
Looking back, however, she believes the spark was always there. “It was an intangible feeling I couldn’t quite explain. Over time, that spark grew into love, and one day I simply woke up knowing he was the one.” Who knew that something as small as an egg would quietly mark the beginning of a lifetime together?
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Calcifier In The Air
For the proposal, everything that could go wrong did. But in hindsight, Connor believes that was precisely the point. After “three adventurous, chaotic, and deeply fun years together” in the US, Bianca was preparing to move back to Manila. Connor would be traveling with her, helping her settle into a new chapter. While plans for what came next were still up in the air, one thing was certain. “Spending the rest of my life with Bianca was crystal clear to me,” he says. He decided to propose during the trip.
The original plan was meticulously crafted. Connor would propose in Batanes. A friend would pilot a drone carrying a lantern painted to resemble Calcifer from Howl’s Moving Castle, a symbol woven deeply in their relationship. The lantern would “deliver” the ring. Connor would catch it, drop to one knee, and propose. Then reality bites.
Just as they were set to depart from the US, a massive global IT failure grounded flights around the world. Bianca’s flight took off. Connor’s didn’t. They were separated, losing a crucial day meant for the proposal.
When Connor managed to fly out a day later, more bad news followed. A typhoon was forming with a path cutting straight through Batanes. Refusing to let it end there, Connor searched weather forecasts for an island with even a chance of clear skies and found one: Dumaguete.
With Bianca’s mom’s help, flights were rerouted, plans rewritten, and Bianca, her friends, and family were redirected to Manjuyod Sandbar.
The moment they landed, they rushed straight to the sandbar, racing against the tide while it was still above the water. “We made it to the location. A sliver of sunshine pierced the clouds. Calcifer delivered the ring. And the rest is history,” Connor shares.
Gate Crashing
A year or so after the proposal, Bianca and Connor gathered their closest friends and family at Pearl Farm on Samal Island. From the moment guests arrived, the couple wanted the experience to feel magical, welcoming them with leis, a signature drink, and the rhythmic beats of drums.
The bride with her parents, Joel and Gidget Jimenez
The evening unfolded with a sunset cruise to Pearl Farm Parola, where Bianca wore a custom Martin Bautista dress. The boat later docked at a nearby island for a welcome party and a full tuna feast. After heartfelt speeches, guests were treated to a legendary fire dancer performance before dancing late into the night to sets by dear friends Diego and Wax.
The following morning began with “gate crashing,” a lively series of games and challenges led by the bridesmaids, which Connor had to complete to “win the bride.” “It was so much fun,” Bianca says. “And such a great way to shake off the nerves before the big day.”
Island Rollercoaster Ride
Every detail of the wedding was intentional, with a simple brief. “I just wanted everything to feel as if it was meant to be there… I wanted it to feel like the island was dusted with a little bit of magic,” Bianca shares. Working closely with Pierre Capati and Amakan Designs, she brought that vision to life, from the aisle to the reception.
The ceremony was held at the coconut grove, where the chapel sat open and expansive, framed by palm trees. Each bridesmaid walked down the aisle in dresses designed by Bianca herself (“It was so much fun to work with them as my muses.”) Meanwhile, the bride wore a Danielle Frankel, a dream for her.
The fashion moments were not yet over. For the reception, Bianca arrived in a design of her own creation, adorned with hand-embroidered sampaguitas that she traced alongside her mom and Connor in the months leading up to the wedding.
The rest of the evening was filled with music and revelry. Bianca and Connor hit the dance floor with a disco routine choreographed by Bianca’s high school dance teacher. Soon after, the celebration slipped into a spontaneous rockeoke session, with friends joining the band onstage. The couple cut the cake before fireworks, timed precisely to the beat drop of one of their favorite songs, lit the sky. Guests danced into the early hours in what became known as a full-blown jungle disco.
“I just felt like I was in one perfect and unbelievable dream in the best way possible. I was on a rollercoaster I never wanted to get off,” Bianca describes.
Photography by Joseph Pascual and Marlon Guilliano, courtesy of Connor and Bianca Wen
