Ian Tiongson & Dianne dela Fuente: More than a telenovela romance
June 8, 2003 | 12:00am
Singer-actress Diana Manlosa, 21, aka Dianne de la Fuente (remember the kontrabida Maria Amor, whom people loved to hate in the once-upon-a-TV soap Pangako Sa ’Yo?) was teary-eyed as she walked down the yellow-orange flower-decked aisle of Santuario de San Jose Parish in Greenhills one balmy day in April to marry her leading man for life, the dashing 28-year-old businessman Ian Tiongson.
"I was crying, I was just so happy," declares the ecstatic bride. "My mom, Celia Manlosa, was crying, too."
The crying mom and daughter could have belted out a beautiful duet.
"We chose the eighth day of April to get married because the number 8 signifies infinity," Ian and Dianne declare. "We want our marriage to be forever."
"We’re certainly going to work hard to make this marriage last forever," asserts Dianne with stars in her eyes.
Ian and Dianne didn’t have to wait forever to find each other. They first met two years ago at the awarding of the Ten Most Outstanding Youths sponsored by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports and Procter & Gamble.
"She was the awardee in show business and I was the awardee in business," Ian relates. "She also sang – her voice was lovely!"
Do business and show business mix? Ian was struck by Dianne’s simplicity and lack of showbiz airs. A far-cry from the scheming Maria Amor she once portrayed on TV, Dianne, so Ian found out, was lovely inside out. Dianne fell for Ian’s kindness, his sense of responsibility and maturity. He was just too good to be true.
"I’ve always been attracted to mature guys more than the not-so-serious guys," Dianne describes her ideal man.
Through a friend of a common friend, Ian and Dianne got to know each other better. Whenever their erratic schedules permitted, Ian and Dianne would go on group gimmicks.
"We were always in a group, eating out and drinking," says Ian. "We never really dated alone."
Dianne was then a communication arts senior at Angelicum College. Ian, who graduated with a business degree from La Salle in 1997, was already running a bar-cum-billiards place called Loft on Katipunan with equally young and enterprising partners Lloyd Joven, Randy Cabangon and Vince Arellano.
After half a dozen group dates, Ian and Dianne started getting serious. According to the couple, their love just sort of developed as they – that is, Ian and Dianne with Dianne’s mom Celia as chaperone – were always going out.
Says Ian, "We loved (and still do) watching movies, both English and Tagalog, from comedy to drama to action. We loved window-shopping. We loved eating Japanese food."
Says Dianne, "We discovered we had a lot of things in common. And if there was something we did not agree on, we agreed to try to adjust to each other."
Dianne had more than her fair share of suitors. This did not faze the determined Ian who felt even more challenged to reach for his star.
A man of few (but sure) words, Ian prefers not to elaborate on how he proposed to Dianne. "We both just knew we were born for each other," he briefly explains.
No long engagement for this couple. Ian didn’t even buy Dianne an engagement ring. Instead, they went straightaway shopping for their wedding rings at the SM Megamall. It took them two weeks to find the rings of their dreams, whose price would not give them a nightmare. "We wanted something simple," Dianne points out, "and of course, something that our budget could afford."
Since both Ian and Dianne were earning well, the couple preferred not to ask help from their parents for their wedding even if Dianne’s parents Filemon and Celia Manlosa and Ian’s parents Edgardo Tiongson and Maritel Nievera-Shani would have been more than happy to shoulder the expenses.
"It was enough that our parents gave their blessings and moral support," says Dianne. "My dad likes Ian a lot. Malakas sya sa daddy ko."
Aside from her unflinching moral support, doting mom Maritel gifted her son Ian and new daughter-in-law Dianne with a condo unit at Pioneer Highlands in Mandaluyong City.
"It’s got three bedrooms – and a great view of EDSA," Ian describes in jest. "It’s really accessible to a lot of places."
But that’s getting ahead of our story. Flashback to the wedding: Dianne was a picture of amazing grace in her lace bridal gown with a short train and lace veil by Ariel Agasang, who also did Ian’s barong tagalog. She wore a simple pair of earrings and necklace in white gold.
Best man was Ian’s younger brother Adji Tiongson III, who married ahead of his kuya. Maid of honor was Dianne’s sister Nonna Manlosa-Casis.
The principal sponsors – ninongs and ninangs – are all close friends of the couple’s families. It’s purely coincidental that some of them are big names in business and politics. There were Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, Ching Cruz, Senator Francis Pangilinan, Robina Gokongwei-Pe, Hans Sy, Millet M. Mananquil, Rikki Dee, Tina Maristela-Ocampo, Jose Mari Chan, Elvira Go, Wilbert Ong, and Cora Garwood.
The rest of the entourage included: Ronan Manlosa, Filemon Manlosa III, Marlowe Manlosa, bridesmen; Maria Frances Tanchanco, Aiko Regine Tiongson, junior bridesmaids; Stanley Toh, Nathaniel Tan, Rio Ana, Clarence Garcia, Francis Walter Reyes, Christopher Guerrero, Julius Caesar Platon II, Rolando Noel Joven, groomsmen; Benedict Francis Ochoa, Haidee dela Torre, candle; Albert Baba, Mikiela Gonzalez, veil; Aries Tiongson, Melissa Patricio, cord; Kyle Sebastian Casis, ring bearer; Karl Francis Manlosa, coin bearer; Michio Ochoa, bible bearer; Anna Dominique Tiongson, Maayan Shani, Ma. Candice Tiongson, Toni Rose Morales, flower girls.
Looking at this very radiant bride with a glow in her eyes that rivalled the flashing cameras, who would have suspected that only a week before her wedding, she was sick and bedridden?
"I got stressed out," says Dianne. "So during the wedding ceremonies, I felt like fainting and they had to turn on the electric fan to the max. We did get a wedding planner but there were things that Ian and I wanted to personally attend to."
One of these things was the food. Being a restaurateur (Ian is general manager of the Cabalen chain of restaurants owned by his mother Maritel), Ian was very particular about the menu that would be served to the 300 or so invited guests at the reception at the Grand Ballroom of Mandarin Oriental Manila. "There was a choice of steak or sea bass for the main course," says Ian.
To add a bit of spice to the reception, Dianne surprised everyone by getting somebody to sing for her at her wedding – for free. Guess who? The bridegroom, of course!
"I’m always the one singing, so I wanted somebody to sing for me for a change," Dianne explains. "Of course, Ian had to rehearse his number 20 times a day for three days. We got a song suited to the pitch of his voice."
The song was You’re the Inspiration. "You know our love was meant to be/A kind of love to last forever," Dianne sings a few lines from the song.
In return, Dianne sang Joe Mari Chan’s Please be Careful with my Heart. The evening turned into a little (make that great) night of music with the guests, some of them from showbiz (like Tonton Gutierrez, Evangeline Pascual, Karylle, Ciara Sotto and boyfriend John Lloyd Cruz, Tanya Garcia, RJ Rosales, and Audie Gemora), dishing out a song.
Ciara Sotto caught the bridal bouquet while John Lloyd Cruz got the garter – well, it was sort of handed to him. "Wala nang nakipag-agawan sa kanya."
The guests went home with miniature unity candles from Ian and Dianne.
The couple opted not to go on a honeymoon because of the SARS epidemic. Besides, Ian and Dianne believe that marriage should be a life-long honeymoon. Meanwhile, they had just moved into their new home and are expecting a baby soon.
"Dianne had an ultrasound but we chose not to be told what the sex of the baby is," says Ian.
"We want it to be a surprise," says Dianne. "But a lot of people are saying it’s a girl. Ian wants a boy and I want a girl. Whatever. The sex doesn’t really matter – we just want a healthy baby."
Dianne wants to have four kids at most. "I want to be a hands-on mom and not have to depend on a yaya to do the work. I want to see my child grow up before I go back to work – like coming up with my own album – full blast."
Even as their love for each other seems to grow each day, Dianne seems to be growing, too, literally. "I now weigh 125 lbs., from 98 lbs. I eat anything but not too much carbohydrates except rice. And no-no to soft drinks."
Dianne is a picture of domestic bliss as she tries her hand at cooking Ian’s favorite Filipino dishes. "So far, I know how to do fried eggs and instant noodles," she says with a laugh.
But Ian isn’t complaining. After all, the guy owns a lot of restaurants and they can always eat out if Dianne happens to burn the rice.
This burning love story is certainly not your ordinary telenovela stuff.
"I was crying, I was just so happy," declares the ecstatic bride. "My mom, Celia Manlosa, was crying, too."
The crying mom and daughter could have belted out a beautiful duet.
"We chose the eighth day of April to get married because the number 8 signifies infinity," Ian and Dianne declare. "We want our marriage to be forever."
"We’re certainly going to work hard to make this marriage last forever," asserts Dianne with stars in her eyes.
Ian and Dianne didn’t have to wait forever to find each other. They first met two years ago at the awarding of the Ten Most Outstanding Youths sponsored by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports and Procter & Gamble.
"She was the awardee in show business and I was the awardee in business," Ian relates. "She also sang – her voice was lovely!"
Do business and show business mix? Ian was struck by Dianne’s simplicity and lack of showbiz airs. A far-cry from the scheming Maria Amor she once portrayed on TV, Dianne, so Ian found out, was lovely inside out. Dianne fell for Ian’s kindness, his sense of responsibility and maturity. He was just too good to be true.
"I’ve always been attracted to mature guys more than the not-so-serious guys," Dianne describes her ideal man.
Through a friend of a common friend, Ian and Dianne got to know each other better. Whenever their erratic schedules permitted, Ian and Dianne would go on group gimmicks.
"We were always in a group, eating out and drinking," says Ian. "We never really dated alone."
Dianne was then a communication arts senior at Angelicum College. Ian, who graduated with a business degree from La Salle in 1997, was already running a bar-cum-billiards place called Loft on Katipunan with equally young and enterprising partners Lloyd Joven, Randy Cabangon and Vince Arellano.
After half a dozen group dates, Ian and Dianne started getting serious. According to the couple, their love just sort of developed as they – that is, Ian and Dianne with Dianne’s mom Celia as chaperone – were always going out.
Says Ian, "We loved (and still do) watching movies, both English and Tagalog, from comedy to drama to action. We loved window-shopping. We loved eating Japanese food."
Says Dianne, "We discovered we had a lot of things in common. And if there was something we did not agree on, we agreed to try to adjust to each other."
Dianne had more than her fair share of suitors. This did not faze the determined Ian who felt even more challenged to reach for his star.
A man of few (but sure) words, Ian prefers not to elaborate on how he proposed to Dianne. "We both just knew we were born for each other," he briefly explains.
No long engagement for this couple. Ian didn’t even buy Dianne an engagement ring. Instead, they went straightaway shopping for their wedding rings at the SM Megamall. It took them two weeks to find the rings of their dreams, whose price would not give them a nightmare. "We wanted something simple," Dianne points out, "and of course, something that our budget could afford."
Since both Ian and Dianne were earning well, the couple preferred not to ask help from their parents for their wedding even if Dianne’s parents Filemon and Celia Manlosa and Ian’s parents Edgardo Tiongson and Maritel Nievera-Shani would have been more than happy to shoulder the expenses.
"It was enough that our parents gave their blessings and moral support," says Dianne. "My dad likes Ian a lot. Malakas sya sa daddy ko."
Aside from her unflinching moral support, doting mom Maritel gifted her son Ian and new daughter-in-law Dianne with a condo unit at Pioneer Highlands in Mandaluyong City.
"It’s got three bedrooms – and a great view of EDSA," Ian describes in jest. "It’s really accessible to a lot of places."
But that’s getting ahead of our story. Flashback to the wedding: Dianne was a picture of amazing grace in her lace bridal gown with a short train and lace veil by Ariel Agasang, who also did Ian’s barong tagalog. She wore a simple pair of earrings and necklace in white gold.
Best man was Ian’s younger brother Adji Tiongson III, who married ahead of his kuya. Maid of honor was Dianne’s sister Nonna Manlosa-Casis.
The principal sponsors – ninongs and ninangs – are all close friends of the couple’s families. It’s purely coincidental that some of them are big names in business and politics. There were Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, Ching Cruz, Senator Francis Pangilinan, Robina Gokongwei-Pe, Hans Sy, Millet M. Mananquil, Rikki Dee, Tina Maristela-Ocampo, Jose Mari Chan, Elvira Go, Wilbert Ong, and Cora Garwood.
The rest of the entourage included: Ronan Manlosa, Filemon Manlosa III, Marlowe Manlosa, bridesmen; Maria Frances Tanchanco, Aiko Regine Tiongson, junior bridesmaids; Stanley Toh, Nathaniel Tan, Rio Ana, Clarence Garcia, Francis Walter Reyes, Christopher Guerrero, Julius Caesar Platon II, Rolando Noel Joven, groomsmen; Benedict Francis Ochoa, Haidee dela Torre, candle; Albert Baba, Mikiela Gonzalez, veil; Aries Tiongson, Melissa Patricio, cord; Kyle Sebastian Casis, ring bearer; Karl Francis Manlosa, coin bearer; Michio Ochoa, bible bearer; Anna Dominique Tiongson, Maayan Shani, Ma. Candice Tiongson, Toni Rose Morales, flower girls.
Looking at this very radiant bride with a glow in her eyes that rivalled the flashing cameras, who would have suspected that only a week before her wedding, she was sick and bedridden?
"I got stressed out," says Dianne. "So during the wedding ceremonies, I felt like fainting and they had to turn on the electric fan to the max. We did get a wedding planner but there were things that Ian and I wanted to personally attend to."
One of these things was the food. Being a restaurateur (Ian is general manager of the Cabalen chain of restaurants owned by his mother Maritel), Ian was very particular about the menu that would be served to the 300 or so invited guests at the reception at the Grand Ballroom of Mandarin Oriental Manila. "There was a choice of steak or sea bass for the main course," says Ian.
To add a bit of spice to the reception, Dianne surprised everyone by getting somebody to sing for her at her wedding – for free. Guess who? The bridegroom, of course!
"I’m always the one singing, so I wanted somebody to sing for me for a change," Dianne explains. "Of course, Ian had to rehearse his number 20 times a day for three days. We got a song suited to the pitch of his voice."
The song was You’re the Inspiration. "You know our love was meant to be/A kind of love to last forever," Dianne sings a few lines from the song.
In return, Dianne sang Joe Mari Chan’s Please be Careful with my Heart. The evening turned into a little (make that great) night of music with the guests, some of them from showbiz (like Tonton Gutierrez, Evangeline Pascual, Karylle, Ciara Sotto and boyfriend John Lloyd Cruz, Tanya Garcia, RJ Rosales, and Audie Gemora), dishing out a song.
Ciara Sotto caught the bridal bouquet while John Lloyd Cruz got the garter – well, it was sort of handed to him. "Wala nang nakipag-agawan sa kanya."
The guests went home with miniature unity candles from Ian and Dianne.
The couple opted not to go on a honeymoon because of the SARS epidemic. Besides, Ian and Dianne believe that marriage should be a life-long honeymoon. Meanwhile, they had just moved into their new home and are expecting a baby soon.
"Dianne had an ultrasound but we chose not to be told what the sex of the baby is," says Ian.
"We want it to be a surprise," says Dianne. "But a lot of people are saying it’s a girl. Ian wants a boy and I want a girl. Whatever. The sex doesn’t really matter – we just want a healthy baby."
Dianne wants to have four kids at most. "I want to be a hands-on mom and not have to depend on a yaya to do the work. I want to see my child grow up before I go back to work – like coming up with my own album – full blast."
Even as their love for each other seems to grow each day, Dianne seems to be growing, too, literally. "I now weigh 125 lbs., from 98 lbs. I eat anything but not too much carbohydrates except rice. And no-no to soft drinks."
Dianne is a picture of domestic bliss as she tries her hand at cooking Ian’s favorite Filipino dishes. "So far, I know how to do fried eggs and instant noodles," she says with a laugh.
But Ian isn’t complaining. After all, the guy owns a lot of restaurants and they can always eat out if Dianne happens to burn the rice.
This burning love story is certainly not your ordinary telenovela stuff.
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