Kean & Chynna: A ‘chill’ kind of church wedding

Two years to the day they got married in civil rites, Kean Cipriano and Chynna Ortaleza again swapped “I do’s!” at a church wedding last Tuesday, Nov. 7, at Twin Hearts (on Examiner St., Quezon City, chosen because it was near the couple’s residence). Unlike the first one which was ordered “kept secret” by Kean’s former management (he’s now under Cornerstone, while Chynna is with the GMA Artist Center), the second one was made more public by the couple who promptly posted photos on social media.

“Since the start of our relationship in 2015,” Kean told Funfare, “we had really planned to have our church wedding at this time, which coincided with our second anniversary.”

Chynna wore a beautiful gown designed by Edwin Tan who also did Kean’s suit. Chynna originally requested Pepsi Herrera to design her gown but Pepsi passed away before he could even draw a sketch.

“Edwin executed the gown exactly how we wanted Pepsi to do it,” said Chynna. “Ang ganda-ganda!” 

Kean described the affair as “a chill kind of wedding,” so unlike other showbiz weddings which are heavily promoted (the better to lure sponsors, my dear?) and, in some which are solemnized abroad, calculated to tickle the public curiosity and kept under wraps (read: confidential daw!!!) as if the whole country will troop to wherever the wedding is and brazenly gatecrash. No way, Mang Jose. Would you, for example, fly to New Zealand on Nov. 12 at your own expense just to get a glimpse of the bride reported to be wearing a Monique Lhuillier no less? Pardon some showbiz denizens who suffer from…what did you say…paranoia?

“Ours was not the usual kind of (showbiz) wedding,” said Kean. “We just wanted our guests, mostly friends and family members, to have fun. Chynna and I wanted to be blessed by the Church after our civil wedding.”

The 80-plus guests included John Prats and wife Isabel Oli, Glaiza de Castro, Ryza Cenon and boyfriend Cholo Barretto, LJ Reyes, Paolo Contis and Kean’s Callalily band co-members. Almost all the guests came in black, some of them serving as secondary sponsors.

Asked why black, Kean explained, “The color reflects our personality.”

The couple has a daughter, Stellar, who is too young to have been a Flower Girl.

“She was there to ‘chill’ out with us, to enjoy the event,” said Kean.

To show what a “big chill” it was, as soon as they went out of the church, the newlyweds saw a fire truck nearby and asked their guests to line up beside it for a “family picture.”

They soon trooped to Pio’s Kitchen for the reception.

And the honeymoon?

“It was more of a ‘family moon,’” corrected Kean. “Chynna and I went to Boracay with Stellar.”

Aren’t they planning to have another child?

“We sure want to but it’s all up to what God wants for us,” said Kean.

Are they into, uhm, family planning?

“Not really.”

Any form of birth control they are practicing?

“None,” Kean laughed, “only self-control. Just good quality love-making.”

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)