Netizens criticize Dingdong-Marian wedding as being “too lavish”

In a contrast to their highly publicized wedding last December 30, Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera enjoyed a quiet honeymoon in an undisclosed location on New Year. Little did they know that even after they exchanged their “I Do's,” the online world would still be abuzz with contrasting views on how they went about with their big day. From the pre-nuptial video which they shot all the way in Dubai to the rumored Guiness World Record-breaking P7M 12-foot-high wedding cake, it seems no expenses were spared so that Dingdong can give his ladylove her dream wedding. It was even reported that expenses went past the P100M mark (which Dingdong shouldered, contrary to the notion that most of their expenses were shouldered by sponsors or “x-deals.” The couple even declined material gifts and opted for donations to their chosen charity instead.

Even before the set date, the nuptials were already being dubbed as the grandest celebrity wedding of the year, with their hashtag #DongYanWedding even becoming top trending topics on various social media platforms for several hours and with guests of the couple even sharing blow-by-blow accounts of the event as it was happening. In the website GetRealPhilippines.com, author Ilda brought up the subject of “thoughtless extravagance” specifically Article 25, Chapter 2: Human Relations under the Philippine Civil Code, which states: “Thoughtless extravagance in expenses for pleasure or display during a period of acute public want or emergency may be stopped by order of the courts at the instance of any government or private charitable institutions.” She further wrote: “While a lot of people were excited about the wedding celebration, I couldn’t help but feel a bit turned-off by the blatant display of decadence... (excerpt) I thought I was the only one who felt the wedding was over the top, but a lot of folks on Twitter agreed with my view that the excessive display of wealth left a bad taste in the mouth particularly since millions of Filipinos struggle to find their next meal everyday.”

In what their fans the Dongyanatics (as well as some foreign news outlets) have dubbed as “The Royal Wedding of 2014,” it was not without reason with its grand list of VIPs, eight bishops, major celebrities, politicians, as well as having no less than President Benigno Aquino III who served as Witness of Honor in front of over a thousand guests. The reception was held at one Philippines’s largest indoor stadium, the Mall of Asia Arena, which was decorated by local and imported flowers which supposedly cost around P2M. But the main subject of debate seems to be the 12-foot high, 120 kilo cake from Goldilocks which took over a month to make and was reportedly decorated with Swarovski crystals and was rumored to be worth P7M. Online users showed their displeasure by commenting on the ABS-CBN accounts.

Facebook user

Thein Ellie Nelle
“...no doubt they had a grand wedding kc mka-afford nmn cla..from wedding dress,wedding cake,wedding guests they have it all..but the marriage is not about how grand or super bigatin na mga ninongs at ninangs..all of that will be meaningless kung in the end hiwalayan lng..best wishes to them though.

Youtube member

Hondou James 3 days ago

“Extravagant weddings are such a big waste of money. After the ceremony all that decoration just go in the trash.”

YouTube member

archer datan

“not so practical wedding ... publicity para maka bawi sa gastos... hahhaha sorry to say”

In their official wedding video, Marian sent Dingdong a gift, a Rolex watch which their fans posted as being worth approximately P2M (the same reported value as Marian's wedding dress by Dubai-based designer Michael Cinco). Even that small gesture did not go unnoticed as various anonymous netizens aired their contrsting different opinions on the matter on the Fashionpulis blog.

“Though we love seeing expensive gifts that we can't afford as a regular citizen in a third world country It's quite insulting. It's like saying, who cares! We do what we want and spend as much as we can afford! Lol! Only few people in showbiz remain humble and live simply despite of all the fame, popularity and influx of money, still managed to stay the way they are from the beginning.“

“Bakit pa ba qinuequestion ang mga expenses...as long as sariling pera nila pinagastos at di pera ng bayan walang problema“

”Can't we just be happy for the couple? they have the means to pull off a lavish wedding like this. I'm not a dongyan fan but just like everyone who marries, I'm hoping for a lifetime of happiness for them.”

Both Dingdong and Marian have yet to air their side on the issue but needless to say, with their fans and critics keeping the internet abuzz with their varying post-wedding opinions, the “Dongyan” nuptials might just go down as the most talked about celebrity wedding yet.