Vanessa Minnillo in a Monique Lhuillier

MANILA, Philippines - When Vanessa Minnillo tied the knot with Nick Lachey last July 15 at an exclusive wedding on an island in the British Virgin Islands, she wore a two-piece gown by Monique Lhuillier, the Hollywood-based Filipino designer who has done the wedding gowns of other celebrities, both Hollywood and Filipino (like Lea Salonga, Regine Velasquez and…Dr. Vicki Belo soon?). The wedding capped the couple’s five-year romance. Vanessa doesn’t usually mention in interviews that she’s half-Filipina. In fact, it was Lachey who was vocal about it. In an exclusive phone interview with The STAR a few years ago, when I mentioned the Philippines, Lacey laughed heartily and said, ‘My girlfriend comes from there,’ referring to Vanessa, of course.