A tastefully opulent feast for the eyes, the movie adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians remains a popular style peg for grand events, more than a year after its release. Just take it from Christine Lim Catacutan, who celebrated the big 1-8 with a swanky and sumptuous debut worthy of the film's title. "It took me a little time to pick a theme before finally settling down with a Kevin Kwan novel-inspired party. As any other debutante would have it, I wanted my party to look and feel like it has been directly lifted off a fairytale, but, at the same time, I wanted it to have a dash of spunk," Christine tells Preview.
To start off, it's not a Crazy Rich Asians party without a crazy lavish ball gown—and who better to trust for a grandiose frock than Mak Tumang?
According to Mak, Christine's tiered tiffany ball gown was mostly inspired by the movie's teal poster, while its multicolored background influenced the dress' embroidered feather details and floral appliques. "The peacock in the poster was reflected on the bodice of the gown through crystalized feather embroidery. The same thing goes for its beaded fan pleated details," Mak tells Preview.
Aside from her main gown, wardrobe stylist Jeff Galang also sought to make the most out of Christine's theme by giving her not one, not two, but a total of five outfit changes!
A standout, of course, was her red embroidered Michael Leyva ball gown with a sweetheart neckline.
Her prep gown, on the other hand, sported an emerald green color. "It represents the most iconic jewelry in the movie, the Young family's heirloom: the emerald ring." Jeff tells Preview.
"[She also had] an interchangeable outfit for her 18 grooves segment in rose gold. It was feminine and classy, which I think is the perfect representation of Astrid Leong. The color was inspired by the tea-length halter dress Astrid was wearing when we first laid our eyes on her in the movie."
Lastly, not pictured above are her two production number outfits by Blackcode Manila. "I was inspired by Araminta Lee’s wedding gown in gold and silver," Jeff says. "She did two production numbers; an upbeat dance in a gold sequined coordinates and a ballroom dance number in silver halter dress."
Of course, as far as iconic moments are concerned, the main style inspo for the venue takes its cue from Araminta's breathtaking botanical garden wedding.
Much like Araminta, Christine debuted with a picture perfect walk down the aisle, flanked by a kaleidescope of flora as styled by Michael Rueda. They even recreated the handheld light-up branches similar to the film.
Another crazy memorable moment for Christine? Joshua Garcia surprising the debutante while serenading her with her favorite songs.
"It still feels surreal! Joshua is a good friend of mine and despite his hectic schedule, he was able to come to my party and that meant the world to me! I wasn’t able to maintain my chill for a while. I mean, who would be? I was captivated by his charm!" Christine gushes.
Even Richard Poon joined in on the fun and sang Christine his version of Frank Sinatra's The Way You Look Tonight.
Once again taking from the movie's poster were Christine's elegant green and red invitation cards by Print Divas.
Naturally, the table setup followed suit with a similar thematic emerald color.
There's also no missing her towering rotating cake by Honey Glaze Cakes.
Congratulations and happy 18th birthday, Christine!
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