Paolo Valderrama & Cris Villonco: All they knead is love

We were all fans of  Cris Villonco when she was a  teen pop star.  Her love for music, theater and the arts  was a given since she came from a line of noted performers and singers.  Foremost is her grandmother Armida Siguion-Reyna who greatly  influenced a generation of Filipinos with her weekly  TV show Aawitan Kita that popularized the kundiman, native songs and the Filipiniana attire.

Though Cris knew Paolo Valderrama as a brother of one of her co-performers in various stage plays, she never  realized that he could be her Prince Charming until  big sister Shiela played Cupid and  practically “forced” them to have a coffee date.   As Cris reminisces, “We were both so cautious that we wanted to make sure we took our time and got to know each other. We move in different circles, but our core values and devotion to work and family were at the center. It was also refreshing to date someone who shared the same religion, so we knew we were somehow on the right track.” 

Paolo knew he had found the woman of his dreams and wanted to surprise his love with a grand proposal, but her crazy schedule always seemed to be getting in the way.  Until one night, while hanging out with his family and with their new cell phones directed at the couple,  Paolo gets down on one knee and proposes — all the while Cris is thinking that this is all a big joke until she realizes the seriousness of the occasion and  finally says, “Yes!” to the delight of the Valderramas in attendance.

The wedding reception  this weekend at the Whitespace (which Cris manages) was a boisterious affair with Jon Santos emceeing the evening’s proceedings in his usual humorous way.  He explained that low-key and hardworking Paolo commutes regularly to the family-owned Marby’s in Bulacan, which has grown to be one of the country’s biggest bakeshops and that  the couple’s love should be kneaded lovingly so that it would rise and grow to be the perfect bread that should be eaten daily.

Mel Villena and his orchestra brought back memories of the elegant big bands of the ‘50s era, while Martin Nievera  serenaded the bride as she gamely joined him to everyone’s delight.

The happy father of the bride, renowned lawyer Opap Villonco,  shared a few words of wisdom as he reminded the couple that their daily wedded life should follow the golden rule: Treat each other as lovingly as they wish to be treated.

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