The price of love and massive piece of cake

 

DID Dingdong Dantes pay for the 30-million-peso wedding with Marian Rivera? That is the big question.

Dingdong and Marian tied the knot in a lavish ceremony attended by high profile personalities in showbiz, business and politics on Dec. 30 last year. The nuptials gained both the attention of the local and international media not because of the attendees though. Basically, the whole world, at least those who were online, was baffled all because of a wedding cake.

Wedding cake of the hour: Dingdong and

Marian’s centerpiece, perhaps the biggest
in the world
The centerpiece of the grand reception, of what the couple’s mother network dubbed as the “Royal Wedding,” was a five-tiered cake standing over 12 feet tall and said to be worth P7 million (Seriously, for a cake? Meaning it’s even more expensive than the bride’s P2-million Michael Cinco haute couture Swarovski crystal-studded gown?).



Prominent news sites like the USA’s ABC and Britain’s Mirror queried if the massive sweet baked dessert is the world’s biggest cake made for a wedding. The 3D-mapped cake, which weighed 120 kilos, was also featured in Good Morning America and on Fox News.

Naturally, netizens would take it to social media to share this kind of stories saying how proud they are because a Filipino is being talked about by the whole world. And this was the same avenue that opened a lot of questions when people learned how much the wedding cost the couple. In fact, people were asking if indeed Dingdong paid for the wedding or if it was staged through ex-deals and through the proactive stance of sponsors who wanted to ride the bandwagon of the wedding of the year.



But while some reports state that the couple’s mother network funded the grandiose wedding for marketing and investment purposes, Teena Barretto, the couple’s wedding coordinator, came to the defense of the celebrity couple saying the groom paid for the whole wedding. She also said only less than five percent of the wedding budget was paid for by sponsors.

More than making an argument whether or not he has deep pocket and multiple bank accounts or that the wedding coordinator was just a dummy to shield the couple from unforgiving flak from critics, Dingdong, like any other groom, just wanted to give Marian the wedding she truly deserves.



There are absurd claims that say the wedding cost the ace actor P100 million. And this figure instantaneously got mixed reactions, criticizing the couple for extreme display of extravagance considering the recent calamities that hit the Philippines. They even went as far as discussing poverty relating it to the couple’s special day.

Whether it’s a fact or just a made up figure by their rabid fans, their wedding has already made its mark and it would take years for any celebrity weddings to top what this union has shown the world. Also, Dingdong is one of the highest paid and highest earning actors in the country. It’s a fact that he also has numerous business ventures and has been consistently part of the top tax-payers list of the Bureau of Internal Revenues. Hence, either 30 or 100 million pesos, he can definitely afford this lavish wedding and he or the couple for that matter, should not apologize for that. They can do whatever they please and resolving the issue on poverty in this country is not their responsibility—their happiness is.



Networks unveil shows for 2015

The year 2014 is over but there haven’t been a lot of great, innovative and break-out new series that graced local television except of course for the top-rating programs that TV executives raved about like The Legal Wife, for example.

This year though, local networks have prepared new programs to pump up life to their afternoon and primetime fare that’s obviously devoid of logic and creativity. Whether or not these shows would make waves and engage televiewers, only time can definitely tell.



The Kapamilya network banks on family drama this year, but romantic soaps will still be part of the line-up, not to mention showing off some skin on national TV.

One of the network’s opening salvo is FlordeLiza. The family drama helmed by Wenn V. Deramas stars new discoveries Ashley Sarmiento and Rhed Bustamante. It also marks the comeback and reunion of Jolina Magdangal-Marvin Agustin love team as returning Kapamilya stars.

Meanwhile, the most anticipated romantic drama of the year, at least in the Kapamilya lot, will soon hit the small screen on the first quarter of 2015. The love story of Yna Macaspac and Angelo Buenavista, the main characters in a top-rating Pangako Sa ‘Yo that aired between 2000 and 2002, will be revived by the popular love team of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla.

And like the skin fare Moon of Desire, the remake of Pasion de Amor will be placed in Kapamilya Gold to tease afternoon viewers with some sexy scene on broad daylight. The cast includes Ejay Falcon, Joseph Marco, Ellen Adarna, Coleen Garcia, Jake Cuenca and the newest addition to the Kapamilya network, Arci Muñoz.

Originally aired in 1994 in Columbia and broadcasted on ABS-CBN in 2005, the remake will hit the boob tube in the first quarter of the year as well.

On the other hand, bannering the Kapuso network line up is Once Upon a Kiss. The teen drama that premiered on Monday is top-billed by rising Kapuso talent Miguel Tanfelix and Bianca Umali. It replaced another team drama called Strawberry Lane.

It is said that Miguel and Bianca are being groomed to be the next big love team of the network and currently their best bet against the rival network’s more popular love teams.

Finally, Kapuso next big entry to the primetime block is another series called Second Chances. Starring Jennylyn Mercado, Camille Prats, Luis Alandy, Raymart Santiago and Rafael Rosell. It is set to premiere on Jan. 12 taking the timeslot to be vacated by Hiram na Alaala.