The fairy godmother of Philippine weddings

More than a thousand and one details go into planning a wedding. Rita Neri, being the fairy godmother of Philippine weddings, makes sure every detail is scrutinized by her wizardry and implemented with fairy-tale accuracy. When she casts her imaginary magic wand, the cathedral’s doors open to reveal a radiant bride. Rita, so to speak, hovers around and showers powder dusts as the bride walks down the aisle to guarantee a perfect wedding moment.

It’s been 18 years since Rita first cast her magic spell on a couple who wanted, ehem, a third party in their relationship. For the succeeding many couples whose weddings Rita helped plan, they couldn’t argue more that Rita was the most-welcome third party.

“I am not only a wedding coordinator. Because planning for a wedding entails a lot of work, I also act as the couple’s secretary, psychiatrist and mediator. Once, I became a nurse to a mother of the bride who fainted inside the church. Oh, I can also be a German Shepherd during the wedding day itself when I protect my couple from gate-crashing guests,” Rita muses.

Many times, she also acts as the couple’s accountant while checking the bill and counting empty bottles at the end of the wedding reception in a hotel. That may not be part of her job anymore but it has been this third party’s extra service for the couple.

Hers is a stressful job. She’s known in the industry as the coordinator who can handle “even the most difficult weddings” where there are emotional intramurals taking place between the couple and their relatives. But she breezes through her work like a beautiful swan that shows a majestic aura while its webbed feet paddle vigorously under the water to keep afloat.

“With regards to difficult clients, I just pray. I also call on my guardian angels,” she says with a smile. And as always, her prayers are answered the moment the bride melts in the arms of his groom when they meet at the altar on their wedding day.

As a wedding planner, Rita leaves no stones unturned so the event will be foolproof. She carries her plans with military precision, replete with a Plan B or a Plan C. Many times up to Plans D, E and F. She even knows Malacañang protocol by heart that the President’s close-in aides always have a field day working with her for any wedding the President is attending. 

“Events, especially weddings, are ‘take one’ moments. There are no take two’s or repeats. You have to try your hardest to get it right from start to finish because you owe it to your client and to yourself. I guess I am a perfectionist and because of this I prefer to anticipate possible problems,” she says.

Rita Neri helped plan the highly secret wedding of Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo in Batangas. Photo by PATRICK UY.

She adds with confident laughter, “But I can only make a perfect wedding, not a perfect marriage.”

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If she were not in the events business, Rita could have been an archeologist. She taught World History to high school and college students of Assumption College where she also earned a degree in Education with double major in English and History. She minored in Philosophy, Theology and Psychology.

“I thank my Assumption education for my deep faith and lasting friendships,” she says.

Instead of becoming “like an Indiana Jones,” Rita ended up doing special projects for Ayala Corp. in the malls, such as Easter Egg hunts, Chinese New Year celebrations, and even the gigs of Big Bird and other Sesame Street characters for children.

She also worked for the marketing icon Virgie Ramos at Gift Gate. Rita considers her work with Ramos as career-defining stance for she learned a lot from the “workaholic Ramos,” including the latter’s “fastidious attention to detail and penchant to do everything now, not tomorrow.”

In 1993, with the able help of her beloved late sister Chit Luz, she dabbled into wedding coordination when a flight stewardess and a pilot went to their house in Makati and asked for their help to plan for their wedding. With that experience as their launching pad, the sisters also turbo-propped their wedding coordination business in 1994 by opening The Wedding Store in Glorietta 3. In 2006, it was renamed Rita Neri Events Planner because the company also does corporate events, birthdays, anniversaries, debut, even baptismal events.

Some of the prominent celebrity events Rita handled included the super secret altar date of Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo in Batangas, the Baguio wedding of Charlene Gonzales and Aga Muhlach and the elegant debut of KC Concepcion.

For the many movers and shakers of the Philippine economy, they only entrust the wedding coordination of their children to Rita. And to some of them, Rita ventures into business even without a contract. “That’s how trusting we have become of each other. Yes, palabra de honor still exists,” she says.

Recently, Rita just formally launched her satellite offices in the US and Canada. Her advocacies include sharing her knowledge of the business by training new talents and making the Philippines a destination wedding.

Rita says she had a happy childhood  “I was a spoiled child.” The youngest in the brood of six, Rita says with a naughty grin, “At an early age I knew what I wanted to do and would do it even if it ran counter to what my parents dictated. I came late in their life and I really tested their patience.”

Rita’s father (Felino Neri) was a career diplomat who served as an Ambassador to Japan. Her mother (Carmen Neri nee Mosquera), who will celebrate her 99th birthday in July, was a homemaker. “I credit the example of my parents in giving me structure and discipline in my life,” she says.

Part of the discipline she learned from her parents is finding out what she really wants to do in life. Once found, she never lets go of it.

“I am a trailblazer. As much as possible, I don’t follow trends; instead, I lead,” she says.

Being a trailblazer, Rita, to mark the 18th anniversary celebration of her events firm, will bring international celebrity event stylist and planner Preston Bailey from the US on May 30 at The Peninsula Manila. Bailey will give a talk and do book-signings. Bailey’s books, magazines, TV appearances and interviews comprise the bible of most event planners. His clientele ranges from showbiz  Oprah, Donald Trump, Michael Douglas  to royalty (Saudi and Brunei). It will be his first time to visit Manila.

Rita has been trailblazing early on when she launched in 1998 The Essential Wedding Workbook for the Filipina, which became a bible for Filipino brides. It was revised in 2006 and soon an e-book version of it will hit the net. She adds her book on Philippine destination weddings is in the works, too.

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Turning 18 is a milestone in a woman’s life. For Rita’s events-planning career, turning 18 is only the start. “At this point, it seems like ‘life begins at 18’ because there are still so many things to do and accomplish. The event business, especially the wedding industry, is just hitting its stride and I love being on the ride and being able to spearhead so many projects,” she says.

Stressful as her job is, Rita maintains a positive outlook in life. Every day that she lives and every deal that she closes, she is guided by her mantra of “No regrets.” She says, “Regrets are for losers. It’s a negative attitude and doesn’t promote a healthy mindset.”

She factors in “word of honor” as a secret to her success. “I learned to value my word from my late father. He taught me that one should not give one’s word if one can’t keep it.”

Rita knows, too, that the greatest stress-buster is not a pill that one can pop but a grateful heart that one uses to count one’s everyday miracles and blessings.

“I never end the day without thanking the Lord for the small and big things that happened during the day. Especially if a prayer was answered or I saw something beautiful like a rainbow, a sunset or an inspiring artwork,” she says.

No wonder Rita is a fairy godmother. Only those who have a thankful heart can grant wishes to come true.

(For your new beginnings, please e-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com. You may want to follow me on Twitter @bum_tenorio. Have a blessed Sunday.)