He believed in love; she had her doubts

Nature framed the lovely couple as they posed for photos lakeside at Nena’s Sanctuary, a beautiful naturescape “with a lot of soul.” —CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Months after their church wedding, dream couple Christian Tantoco and Siobhan Moylan are still the talk of the town. From the picturesque reception venue at the Tantoco-owned Nena’s Sanctuary in Santa Rosa, Laguna, to their unorthodox wedding attire by Carl Jan Cruz that turned the idea of bridal fashion on its head, the husband and wife ended up having their dream wedding—even though they never even had one to begin with.

The couple had their church wedding ceremony at nearby St. James the Great in Ayala Alabang before heading to the Tantoco-owned Nena’s Sanctuary in Laguna for the rest of the festivities.

“We went into it so blindly. I just hadn’t thought about it,” Moylan told Lifestyle after things had settled down. The pair answered “no” in unison when asked if they had a dream wedding. “But it was a really fun process,” they added.

Tantoco himself only had one idea: “I wanted it to feel like the Manila that I fell in love with when I came back home in 2018 up until the pandemic hit, with Siobhan obviously being the center of that, because she was the center of the Manila that I fell in love with.”

Newlyweds Christian Tantoco and Siobhan Moylan

When Tantoco and Moylan came back to the Philippines after each graduating from their respective universities abroad, they found themselves in each other’s orbit in the fashion world—one in marketing, the other in modeling.

“We were always invited to the same events, we were at the same parties, we had mutual friends who kept introducing us to each other,” said Tantoco. When he turned 25, he decided to find someone that he could spend his life with. “When I thought about it, Siobhan was the only person that honestly made sense to me.”

Guests experienced the best of Sta. Elena, nature cultivated by Christian Tantoco’s grandparents Rico and Nena Tantoco.

Eyes wide open

The courtship lasted from 2019 to 2020, a year marked by a lot of rejection amid a growing friendship, but it ultimately led the pair down the aisle—first at New York City Hall during a civil ceremony in February 2024, then at St. James the Great Parish in Ayala Alabang back in April.

While they may have gone into their wedding planning blindly, they entered their marriage with eyes wide open.

The groom’s family dressed in contemporary Filipino interpreted by Carl Jan Cruz and Jo Ann Bitagcol. “The most important thing, because of who we are, were the outfits. We wanted everyone fabulous and spectacular,” said Christian Tantoco.

Growing up exposed to drastically different realities with regard to relationships—Moylan’s parents had separated, while Tantoco’s parents are still lovey-dovey after all these years—the two met somewhere in the middle, learning to see things from each other’s contrasting perspectives.

“I feel like I had a very cynical view of love and marriage. I honestly didn’t even really believe in marriage before I dated Christian,” said Moylan, adding that a lot of relationships in her family are broken, as well.

International model Siobhan Moylan is breathtaking in her edgy Filipiniana bridal wear by Carl Jan Cruz, known for his edgy take on heritage designs.

“But then I met his family, and his family is the complete opposite. His parents are so in love and they’ve been together since they were 19. And I’d never seen anything like that. And I was like, ‘Oh my god, this exists.’”

“I was definitely on the opposite side of the spectrum,” said Tantoco. “I think that was mostly related to seeing my parents and their relationship, and my grandparents and their relationship.”

The theme of the wedding was modern Filipino through the lens of Siobhan Moylan and Christian Tantoco’s world. In photo, the couple wears designs by Isabel Sicat of Toqa to the after-party.

Doing the hard work

Despite their conflicting views on love and marriage, Moylan said she realized early on in their relationship that “it was just so easy for us to be together. Everything just fell into place perfectly,” she said.

“We want to spend so much time together. I couldn’t imagine not spending time with him pretty early on in our relationship,” she added. (The couple mixes work with play all the time due to Moylan’s need to travel constantly for work; they even squeezed in their honeymoon amid her stint in Paris soon after their wedding.) “And then I met his family, and they’re so nice, and they’re so welcoming, and they were always so kind to me, and I got along with them really well.”

For the couple at the intersection of the creative and retail industries, the outfits were a big part of the wedding, crafted by their personal list of the Philippines’ best designers like Carl Jan Cruz (who made the bride’s dress, center), Joey Samson, Dennis Lustico, Jo Ann Bitagcol, and Toqa, among others.

That said, the couple are strong believers in working hard on their relationship, and good communication.

Of course, no relationship is ever devoid of ups and downs, and there was a point when Moylan pushed back hard against Tantoco. However, she said, her now-husband never gave up.

The entirety of Nena’s Sanctuary property was used for the celebration, including Lakehall and the newly opened Rico’s Cafe—and all the green spaces in between.

For Tantoco, he knew that despite Moylan’s resistance, they were in it together. “You have to do the hard work. You just have to put a lot into a relationship in order for it to be good,” he said.

It also helped that he felt Moylan never gave him the impression that she didn’t want to be there with him.

One of the highlights of the celebration was catering by Cibo.

Having started out as friends, the couple said that equality is a big part of their value system. “I feel like the best way to start a relationship is to be friends first. We took our time getting to know each other,” said Moylan.

Tantoco agreed: “The fact that we became friends, I think, is a huge reason we ended up marrying each other after all these years.”