A sun-kissed wedding in Toulouse

Ah, young love! The world looks at you in wonderment when you are young and in love.

It was a coup de foudre (love at first sight) between 21-year-old gamine beauty Stefanie Zubiri, and 27-year-old Victor Delfour, a handsome Frenchman from Toulouse. They met in 2004 at a small gathering in Paris, where Stefanie was enrolled as a student. From the moment their eyes locked in each other’s gaze, Victor and Stefanie did not leave each other’s side. One year after, Victor asked for her hand in marriage.

I remember having lunch in Paris with Stefanie’s mom, fashion icon Vicky Zubiri. and a few other friends, that summer of 2004. She proudly announced to us that her daughter Stefanie had a kind and gentle French boyfriend whom she liked very, very much. She added, "I would not mind having him for my son-in-law!" Well, Mommy Vicky got her wish for one year after, in 2005, Stefanie and Victor got engaged. They could not get married that year because brother Miguel was getting married. So the wedding date had to be moved to the summer of 2006 in Toulouse, Victor’s hometown.

Friends on both sides flew in from all over the world to attend this very romantic wedding. The Filipino community was well represented by the many friends of popular couple Vicky and Joe Zubiri.

The irrepressible Joe was heard saying, "After this wedding, Toulouse will never be the same again!"

The quaint Hotel Grand Opera, where the wedding entourage and most of the guests stayed, never saw the likes of such a wedding production. Vicky designed a Filipino motif for Stefanie’s wedding. The bride wore a hand-embroidered Maria Clara with a very long train and matching vintage Filipiniana jewelry. For the bridesmaids, Vicky designed different Filipiniana costumes in shades of green, to match the foliage of summer. The hotel guests of Hotel Grand Opera watched in awe as the beautiful Filipinas, all bejeweled to the nines, trooped out to go to the Vielle-Toulouse church for the wedding. "Tres belle! " gushed the many onlookers. I am very objective in saying that every one looked spectacularly gorgeous!

The French guests witnessed a different wedding ceremony. Stefanie insisted on putting that Filipino touch of veil, cord, and candle ceremonies, which do not exist in French weddings. Cris Villonco and Antoine Lafitte were the veil sponsors, Camille Villar and Alexandre Jentes for the cord, Rosanna Ocampo and Luca Roscetti for the candle. KC Concepcion and Cris Villonco sang the wedding arias to the delight of the guests, while an impressive rendition of the Lord’s Prayer was given by brother Joey Zubiri, accompanied by Jong Park on the piano. The ever-emotional Joe Zubiri, who was in tears, remarked, "I never heard Joey sing with so much fervor as today!"

The reception was held at the sprawling gardens of the groom’s father’s house. At 6.30 p.m., the sun was brightly shining, but there was a cool breeze that made everything just perfect. Champagne was overflowing, and there was a gourmet feast of French delicacies. We all feasted on fresh foie gras, oysters, smoked salmon, and the different cheeses and pastries that France is famous for.

Of course, a wedding is never complete without a few words from the couples’ parents. Jacques Delfour and Joe Zubiri capped the sumptuous dinner with their touching speeches, complete with videos of the bride and groom during their childhood, all the way to adulthood. We all toasted the couple and wished them everlasting happiness before we started to dance till dawn. Stefanie and Victor flew to Cuba for their honeymoon the next day.