To wed or not to wed: Hayden & Vicki, Junjun & Kris

If Hayden Kho had his way, he would like to have his wedding with Vicki Belo in Malibu. When? Hopefully in March 2012.

And, yes, he says he and Vicki would love to have children. Okay, that’s enough. No more details. You would have to get me drunk (which I will never allow, anyway) to spill the beans on what Hayden dreams for himself and his beloved Vicki.

Fact is, the Hayden Kho-Vicki Belo love story has become such a national melodrama, somewhat like a teleserye where people can’t wait to see what will happen next. The charismatic Vicki is not only the most popular beauty doctor in the country, she has also become a household name (Belo was named one of the most trusted brands by Reader’s Digest). Her every word and act — whether on her medical updates or her personal life — always makes news.

Nostalgic trip:Dr. Vicki Belo and Hayden Kho with Chef Freddie at the Cruz residence

Because she is one of the best people I know with such nobility of heart, and because her ex-husband Atom Henares and their children Quark and Cristalle are such lovable and kind people as well, I promised I would not write about her engagement last year after Hayden first talked about it in whispers over lunch with us, and  when it was a topic her children would not want to hear about. But now that Quark has expressed his feelings about it in public, I guess it is okay to move on to the next episode. (Abangan in Ricky Lo’s column!)

Hayden and Vicki attended the dinner last Tuesday hosted by Philip and Ching Cruz in their elegant home in honor of Paris-based Babette Aquino-Benoit who is a dear friend of Vicki’s. When in the Philippines, Babette loves bringing news about the latest beauty science breakthroughs by the French. But when in France, Babette, ever the nationalist, passionately promotes all things beautiful about the Philippines.

The dinner in the Cruz residence served as a nostalgic trip for Vicki, for it was the house originally owned by her biological parents, and where she spent some happy parts of her childhood. “This is where I would hang around,” Vicki pointed to a room which is now a lanai. Guests were however, looking at the beautiful engagement ring on Vicki’s finger, which was a wow.

“It was Pepito Albert who designed the ring, chose the diamond, and we had it made by Panlilio Jewellers,”  said Hayden.    

Three’s chic:Ching Cruz, Babette Aquino-Benoit and Therese Coronel-Santos

Speaking of weddings, I saw Makati Mayor Junjun Binay seated by himself at the wedding anniversary celebration of Jun Santiago and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago. Shame on me, right inside the church, I couldn’t resist asking: Was it true that he and Kris Aquino were dating?

“Yes, we are good friends. We saw the Justin Bieber concert together, and by gosh, when you’re with Kris, everybody wants to have a picture with her,” said the gracious Junjun when asked how their date turned out.

Is marriage a possibility for the recently widowed Junjun?

Here is Junjun’s answer: “Why do people marry? Because of lack of knowledge...Why do people separate? Because of lack of experience...Why do people remarry? Because of loss of memory.” Go figure.

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And more weddings: Our man at the permanent Philippine Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland — Consul Hendrik Garcia — is getting married on Oct. 8 to the pretty and brainy Marta Uglik in Lodz, Poland.

Hendrik is a wiz kid who was magna cum laude twice — at Loyola High School in California, and at Sophia University in Japan for college.  For his master’s degree, Hendrik received honors at the Vienna Diplomatic Academy. Hendrik is doing the Philippines proud as a human rights, migration and development expert.

Consul Hendrik Garcia and Marta Uglik

Hendrik is a third-generation diplomat who inherited extraordinary genes. His grandfather Enrique Garcia, a highly respected icon, was one of the pioneers in Philippine foreign service. His father is the brilliant Victor Garcia, who was conferred the Distinguished Service Award for his outstanding performance as envoy to New York, Rome, Osaka, Vienna and Rome. Victor is our current Ambassador to Russia.

Victor and his lovely wife Connie Guanzon-Garcia were recently honored by her St. Theresa’s College classmates over lunch at Paseo Uno in Mandarin Oriental Manila. “We miss Manila and we hope to be back here next year,” says Connie, whose family built the Lourdes Grotto in Novaliches when their mother, Anita Guidote-Guanzon, was miraculously healed of cancer in Lourdes, France in the 1960s.