Valeen Montenegro is now Mrs. Riel Manuel. The actress exchanged “I dos” with her longtime beau at the Sanctuario de San Antonio Parish in Forbes Park, Makati City, on Friday, 12 January.
Montenegro, who’s in the cast of GMA-7’s new drama series Love. Die. Repeat, shared the good news by reposting some clips from the wedding ceremony on her Instagram stories.
Wedding guests, such as the bride’s fellow Kapuso artists Carla Abellana and Chariz Solomon, also uploaded photos. Abellana chose a black-and-white snap of Montenegro taken at the reception and wrote this caption, “Seriously, one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen.”
The couple got engaged in November 2022, with Montenegro sharing their special moment through an Instagram post
“What seemed to be an ordinary Thursday, unexpectedly turned into my favorite day… Ladies and Gentlemen.. my Beyoncé!” she said in the caption.
Before Montenegro announced her engagement, she joined in entertainment Nelson Canlas’ podcast and teased that she was waiting for her then-boyfriend, Manuel, to propose marriage to her.
“So parang nandoon na, pa-climb na kayo ng stairs na alam n’yo kung saan din naman papunta. So, I’m waiting, charot! Waiting (It’s like getting there, on the way to climbing the stairs that we already knew where we’re headed),” she pointed out.
Solomon, who was with Montenegro in the podcast, said she kept tagging her colleague and friend in proposal posts online. The two actresses used to be partners in the hilarious “Balitang Ina” segment of the gag show, Bubble Gang.
Just before Montenegro’s wedding day, she had a bachelorette party held at the famous Motel Mexicola bar in the island of Bali in Indonesia.
Bridal look
Montenegro wore an elegant wedding gown that has a special significance for her because it was made by her college best friend, Banggo Niu.
“I will never forget the time I told you back in university that I would make your wedding gown! And now, the time has come! It’s an honor to be part of this new chapter in your life, Vee! Love you!” Niu said in an IG post.
The designer and his muse both took up Fashion Design and Merchandising at the College of Saint Benilde. Niu said he’s ecstatic to see his “aesthetic grow” as his design perfectly fits Montenegro’s style.
Niu created Montenegro’s off-shoulder gown with a train that made the bride look like floating while walking down the aisle. “It was multilayers of translucent fabric called matte organdy topped with an embellished fabric,” he said via Preview.
The designer added that he used Peau de Soie, a heavy Italian fabric on the off-shoulder part of the gown. Meanwhile, the artist Toni Aviles created the petal pink makeup for the bride to glow more radiantly.