Wedding inspiration: inside the wedding of Madi Calleja and Anton Chiongbian in Spain

The creative direction was entrusted to Cordero Atelier, a studio known for its work at Mexico Art Week and for an installation at the Museo del Prado—not a wedding planning firm in the conventional sense, and that was precisely the point. “They move like art directors with a strong, deep creative vision that goes beyond simply following trends,” Calleja says. When the studio showed little interest in wedding pegs, she wasn’t unsettled but delighted. They asked instead for references from films, exhibitions, books, anything the couple had been obsessing over. What followed was months of deep conceptual work, with the entire visual language of the day built organically.

At the heart of that language was a colour: a striking pink, not plucked from any trend report but inspired by the place itself. “Mas de les Voltes is a place of green on green on green,” Calleja explains. “Colour from flowers is noticeably absent, so we wanted to pair that with something vibrant, because despite this vast venue, we wanted it to feel warm and familiar.” The shade recalls the work of Luis Barragán, the Mexican architect celebrated for his bold use of modernism pink and his philosophy that spaces should have elements of magic. Cordero Atelier constructed a towering pink wall at the end of an aisle of olive trees, minimalist yet dramatic. The ceremony area itself had been a pond, drained and transformed into a sunken stage, with guests seated in a semi-circle around the couple, who stood facing the guests throughout. The exchange felt less like a performance to be watched and more like an intimate, radical moment we were all part of.

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What made the day truly special was not just its grandeur, however spectacular, but its intentional intimacy. With 200 guests, the scale allowed each detail to stand out. We strolled through the grounds as the sun moved, starting in the higher parts of the garden and gradually descending toward the dinner tables set across the ponds, strategically positioned so the sunset illuminated the tables and the dinner lights reflected on the water. “We found it so poetic to be married on the longest day of the year,” Calleja explains. “The sunlight in the gardens would create such a striking effect.”

Between the ceremony and dinner came the pleasure of a great Spanish cocktail party: a jamón station, abundant tapas, and the particular joy of being well fed in Spain. Then pink smoke rose over the ponds, drawing everyone towards the four long tables arranged in a cross formation beside the water. The couple descended to the ponds alongside the guests. It is the moment Chiongbian returns to most: “Being surrounded by water and beautiful cypress trees, eating at sunset was lovely, with great food and honestly the most exceptional service.” After the overflow of tapas, Sibaris Catering kept the menu short but arresting: a seafood bouillabaisse with scarlet shrimp tartare and Iberian pork cheek with sweet potato ganache. The linen lantern installation connecting the tables gradually shifted from white to electric hot pink by dessert, a slow crescendo that mirrored the evening itself.

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The wedding’s name, La Última Sombra del Ciprés (The Last Shadow of the Cypress Tree), was embroidered on the back of Chiongbian’s barong, sewn on napkins, and printed on every piece of stationery. Its meaning was as layered as the day: the cypress trees at Mas de les Voltes, the last shadows they would cast on the year’s longest afternoon, and a personal detail that made it complete. During his time in Boston, Chiongbian had lived on Cypress Street. It was the end of a long engagement spent apart, and in the last shadow of the cypress, a farewell to all that distance.

For their attire, the couple looked proudly to the Philippines. Calleja wore a custom piña gown and lace mantilla veil by Vania Romoff; Chiongbian wore a piña barong by Galan Manila. She moved through the day in white Loewe pumps, changing into a silk-and-metal-threaded Paloma Wool dress for the after-party; he wore black cordovan oxfords from Carmina. Their wedding bands, yellow gold from Cartier’s 1985 collection, engraved with 21st June 2025, were paired with Calleja’s emerald-cut engagement ring, contemporary in feel, timeless in form.

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Guests went home with ceramic dishes by local potters from La Bisbal d’Empordà, a town with a protected designation of origin for its pottery. There were also black espadrilles for dancing, and Vogue cigarettes on silver platters, retro and glamorous. Later, when our dancing shoes had been adequately worn in, silver platters reappeared, bearing garlic rice, tapa and longganisa from the couple’s favourite Filipino restaurant in Barcelona. Even in the Empordà, home was present.

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When asked for advice, Calleja is characteristically direct. “Forget the trends and stay away from Pinterest. Go back to the things that interest you, outside what the industry tells you is ‘in’.” She adds, “Restraint is an art form.”

At Mas de les Voltes, as the sun finally set over the vast gardens on the longest day of the year, the last shadows of the cypress trees stretched long and golden across the ground. It was, by any measure, a beautiful wedding. But beyond that, it was a profoundly personal expression of art, of love, of two people who knew exactly what they wanted to say and found the most beautiful way to say it.

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