Traditional Filipino Wedding Gowns Go Modern

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Like many brides-to-be, Jessica Louise Balanban turned to social media to jump-start preparations for her Feb. 22, 2022, wedding in Los Gatos, Calif.
In lieu of hiring a planner, Ms. Balanban, 31, a registered nurse at the UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay in San Francisco who lives in San Leandro, Calif., relied on Instagram. Late-night scrolling helped her secure a photographer, videographer, makeup artist and hair stylist. But what she would wear at the reception remained a mystery.
Ms. Balaban had already selected a white fit-and-flare dress for the ceremony, with 3-D florals from top to bottom and off-the-shoulder, tulle sleeves. And after giving it some thought, she realized her reception dress presented an opportunity to honor her Filipino heritage.
Born in the Philippines in 1991 to parents from Kiangan, Ifugao, Ms. Balanban and her family relocated to Vancouver, Canada, when she was an infant. They returned to the Philippines in 1999 before eventually settling in Northern California’s Bay Area. She still has relatives in the Philippines.
On the wedding day, the groom, Johnson Cheung, also 31 and a registered nurse at the UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion in San Francisco, wanted to honor his Chinese heritage by having a traditional tea ceremony with both sets of parents and family members to symbolize the two sides coming together. So, Ms. Balanban said: “It made me want to add a little bit of my heritage. That’s when I was like, You know what, this is the perfect opportunity to do a Filipiniana dress as my reception dress.”
The term Filipiniana can include a variety of styles. There’s the form-fitting terno dress, which is known for its tall, visually striking butterfly sleeves. It is partly derived from the baro’t saya, or “blouse and skirt,” style. Indigenous women wore the baro’t saya before Spain colonized the Philippines in 1521. During the Spanish colonial rule, the traje de mestiza, a.k.a. the María Clara gown, became popular among the aristocracy. Today, the terno outfit is an evolution of both styles and is just one example of Filipiniana attire.

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