EXCLUSIVE: Bride-To-Be Vern Enciso Talks About Her And Fiancé Ben Lim's Wedding Plans
Find out who her designer of choice is for her wedding gown
Good things come in small packages. But did you know that great things can come disguised in unfortunate events, too?
That pretty much sums up Metro Chats guest Vern Enciso's take on her 2020, a year that's been tragic in so many ways but for her, personally, one she describes as a blessing in disguise.
It was a terrible start to 2020, but unbeknownst to her were two surprises coming her way: an engagement, and a permanent move to Cebu where she would be with her husband-to-be, right in the city where they first met about seven years ago.
On Kumu's FYE channel, Metro Chats guest Vern Enciso gushes about all the things that turned her 2020 around and everything she hopes 2021 will be for her as a married woman—including her wedding dress, moving into her first home as a wife, and what quarantine has taught her.
Check out the highlights of our conversation with her in the gallery below:
Vern Enciso on Metro chats
Vern Enciso on Metro chats
Vern Enciso on Metro Chats
Vern Enciso is a name that many young women will recognize as one synonymous with the earliest days of blogging a decade ago! That's because she's one of Manila's OG fashion and beauty influencers, already being one even before the term "influencer" was officially born and became part of 21st Internet lingo. Catching up with her on Metro Chats, we learned about all the ways she's come so far from her beginnings as a blogger (figuratively and literally), to her current status as an Internet personality and social media maven.
Life in Cebu
Extended quarantine made her decide to move to Cebu, where her fiancé Ben Lim is based, for good in July. That makes two big events for Vern this year: first, the big move after the summer and second, her engagement in September! "I think I'll just be going to Manila for work," she smiles. Speaking of her engagement, did you know that it happened over laundry? As the story goes, she and Ben were folding clothes, and that was that. He popped the question, and although she thought it was a total joke at firs, it turned out to be real!
No-fuss proposal
"During the lockdown, I discovered the art of wearing 'dasters...' I was wearing that and I feel like I looked like my worst!" she shares about her engagement's timing. "But I was really happy that he did it at that time because it made it so much more memorable for me," she continues. Behind the scenes, Ben told Vern that he'd originally planned on proposing to her in a closet—only because Vern had taking a liking to a "Sex in the City" moment where Carrie expressed wanting a fashion-focused proposal instead of a traditional engagement ring.
A new chapter for Vern and Verniece
Vern's proposal was definitely a moment for her and her sister and fellow influencer, Verniece, who she'd shared countless conversations about future married life with growing up. "I was so excited to really call her... And we really cried together!" Vern shares. The proposal, and Vern's move to Cebu, marks the start of her and Verniece being apart after essentially spending all their lives together doing everything together, traveling side by side, dressing alike, shooting each other's OOTDs, and all the things sisters like to do with and for each other. It'll be a whole new chapter for them both now.
Social media presence
Quarantine was tough on Vern for two major reasons: she was away from her own family for months on end and had no "sense of home" for much of the year, and at the same time, she'd been stuck in the same place for so long after being used to a life where she would be away for around 250 days a year. "I think I only got back to my old self and my groove maybe two, three months ago. I was really slacking off, really trying to absorb everything," she reveals, while also sharing that she's grappled with anxiety in the past and that these experiences had spurred old feelings. As an influencer, it was also difficult for her to find the balance between posting about her love for beauty and fashion and being sensitive to real-world issues. She didn't want to appear oblivious and superficial, in other words, which caused her to post much less on her social media and be less active online for some time.
A crash course on being a wife
London ad Paris are on her travel agenda—at least, when international travel returns to the picture. It's the thing she misses the most from pre-pandemic living. In the meantime, Vern is perfectly okay living a life at home where's getting a crash course on "how to be a wife," she says. For the first time, she has the time to master basic life skills like doing the laundry, cleaning rooms properly, cooking, and all these basic things. "I really love doing the laundry," she jokes, but cooking is still not her thing, despite learning how to fry an egg and making a meal or two.
Self-care
Self-care has also been on the agenda for Vern. In the past, she would be too tired to do things as simple as making sure her night skincare was followed, but in the last few weeks, she's realized the value of taking time to do these small favors for herself. "Do everything as slowly as you can," she advises. Also, self-care includes making sure that your heart gets what it needs, too, and for Vern, that meant hanging out with her family (and her dog!), even just virtually.
Wedding plans
Vern and Ben's civil wedding is scheduled for January. "It makes everyone happy that way. We get to celebrate our love, even if it's just a small celebration. It's just going to be family. We're going to be around 20 or 25," she shares. She doesn't mind that her guest list and venue will have to adhere to restrictions, but what she wants to be extra particular about is her dress! She's so worried that her church wedding might have to wait for two or even three years that she wants her civil wedding dress to be as close to her "real" wedding dress as much as possible. Next to her dress is a decadent menu curated by her and Ben (and containing all their favorite Cebu fare)!
Wedding suppliers
She already has her wedding day look in mind, but she's keeping that a secret from everyone. She is, however, flying in her makeup artist Memay Francisco, photog team My Metro Photo, and the rest has yet to follow. She'll have one outfit change for her civil wedding, and she's incredibly excited to share that she'll be wearing Mark Bumgarner for the first time for her special day. According to Vern, she wanted to "reserve" Mark Bumgarner for her wedding and abstained from wearing him to any other occasion, until her wedding. Next to Mark, Vern hopes to wear a Monique Lhuillier piece, too!
2020 vs 2021
Vern's 2020 is summed up in three words: "blessing in disguise." "All the things that I actually prayed for, for all the things to [come] at the right timing actually happened this year," Vern says. It was answered prayer for her, for sure, in every way, as she had not been expecting any of the year's best moments to happen. In the next year, Vern definitely hopes that it'll finally be the time that all her plans push through! "Ben and I have so much exciting plans together," she beams. She definitely has her fingers crossed that it'll be a good experience staying home, as she promised her husband-to-be that they will have a grand time making a home together.
Message for Ben
Vern's Metro Chats interview ended with a message from her to Ben: "I'm so excited for January!" she giggles. After seven years together, Vern says that quarantine has been good for them both and it almost feels like they're getting to know each other all over again like he did all those years ago.
Watch our exclusive Metro in Love feature with newly-engaged couple Vern Enciso and Ben Lim:
Photos from @vernenciso
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