This wedding was straight out of a dream

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THE KISS Kifu Augousti and Patrick Coard

For a decade now, French-Filipina Kifu Augousti and half-Irish, half-Danish artist Patrick Coard have built a life together—one of love, art, and shared dreams. 

Jojie Dingcong and Anton San Diego

Ana Lorenzana de Ocampo

Kaye Tinga

Marilu Batchelor

Patti Grandidge Herrera, Xandra Rocha Araneta, Amanda Griffin Jacob, and Jessica Tan Gan

Their story began in Paris where, at first glance, Patrick knew he had met the one. On a sun-drenched terrace in Zakynthos, Greece, overlooking the Ionian Sea, Patrick soon proposed. It was a cinematic moment, just the two of them and a view of forever.

Their wedding, with their three-year-old daughter River Luna among the flower girls, was held 10 years later at Leviste Equestrian Farm in Lipa, Batangas. It was magical, with what Kifu described as “the wonderful circle of friends we have made since we came to Manila three years ago,” over 200 of them kindred spirits, along with family, including Patrick’s parents Gerald and Jytte Coard.

GRAND MARCH The bride arrives on horseback

Parents of the bride Yiouri and Ria Augousti

The groom and his parents Gerald and Jytte Coard

Kifu Augousti and Rocio Olbes

Olivier Theyskens and Patrick Coard

Mark Higgins, Trickie Lopa, and Jaime Ponce de Leon

Wendy Puyat and Ria Prieto

The bride, who marched to the altar on horseback, was stunning in custom Olivier Theyskens. Her mother, Ria Augousti, and the bridesmaids Ria Prieto, Wendy Puyat, and Giselle Yujuico wore bespoke creations also by Theyskens while the groom, his groomsmen Paolo Prieto, Jody Yujuico, Rally Martinez, and Antonio Ressano, and the father of the bride, Yiouri Augousti, looked impeccable in custom Neil Barrett.

True to their artistic sensibilities, the wedding was fully immersive. Every detail was meticulously curated to enable each guest to journey through the love that ties Patrick and Kifu together.

Champagne flowed endlessly. Caviar spilled like stardust. There were performances by artists flown in from France and even a ballet piece that Kifu and Patrick had spent nearly a year conceptualizing with Ballet Philippines, a breathtaking moment of movement and texture, performed with raffia as an extension of their vision.

Olivier Theyskens, the late Margarita Forés, and Kifu Augousti

POST WEDDING Late lunch the day after at a long table set up for 100 in the garden

ARTFUL WEDDING Ballet Philippines dancers line the walkway to the garden reception

At the elegantly set tables, a feast by the late Margarita Forés awaited—a masterpiece in every course. Ever fastidious, the late, great chef beamed with pride as she playfully told me, “Hoy ha, I wrote those name cards, each of your names, by hand.”

“Moving to the Philippines felt like coming home,” Kifu reflected. Having been civilly wed in Paris, they waited for the right moment for a true ceremony. “Being back in Manila, it felt perfect,” she said.

Tina Cuevas

The author with Ching Cruz

Ria Prieto, Bambina Wise, Lulu Tan Gan, Ching Cruz, Yiouri Augousti, and Marivic Vazquez

Tina Cuevas, Nikki Prieto, and Ching Cruz

Antonio Ressano and sons Alfonso and Federico

Flower girls River Luna Coard and Georgia Yujuico, daughter of the newlyweds

Sebastían Fernández, Monique Madsen, Jessica Shields, Daniel Obradó Calzado, and Fabricio Sordoni

At the heart of it all was Patrick, fine-tuning every last detail. “He was up until 3 a.m. before the wedding, adjusting the lighting,” Kifu laughed. “Down to the last spotlight angle—he wanted it all just right.”

The following day, a late lunch was set in the garden—a long table for 100, straight out of a period film. “We wanted our guests to see Leviste Farm in a different light,” Kifu said. With yet another exquisite meal by Margarita, the celebration lingered in the golden afternoon.

Sen. Mark Villar, Em Aglipay Villar, and Erica Concepcion Reyes

Tatiana Herschlikowicz and Neil Barrett

It was a wedding crafted with love, creativity, and the kind of attention to detail that turns anything into a masterpiece. “A wedding,” Kifu mused, “is a once-in-a-lifetime expression of love. For us, this was a dream come true.”