COVER STORY: Filipino-inspired wedding in Colorado

Kaylah Malillos and her husband Alex Medlock celebrated their wedding this past July in Colorado with Filipino influences inspired by Malillos’ heritage.

Born in California, Malillos moved to the Philippines when she was three in 1996. She learned Tagalog and remains fluent today. Her grandparents on her father’s side helped raise her while her parents worked. She grew up very close with them, her aunts, and her cousins. Just before turning seven in 1999, she moved to Colorado to reunite with her parents. Her family would continue to visit the Philippines in the summers; visiting the Philippines always felt like returning home for her.

She and Medlock met in college at the University of Denver. They both enjoyed traveling and learning about cultures. He embraced her Filipino culture quickly, especially loving Filipino food. “For one of my birthdays, while I was busy with school, he made me sinigang, which meant a lot.”

Sinigang and tinola are their favorite dishes that they often make for dinner. During the holidays, they also love rolling “lumpia” with her family.

During their engagement party, her aunt or ”ninang” (godmother) said: “Alex, we welcome you to our family. The first time you went to visit us in the Philippines, we knew you would be the one for Kaylah.”

In 2019, the couple returned to the Philippines for Malillos’ cousin’s wedding, where they were both involved in the wedding party.

After they got engaged in June 2021, Malillos knew she wanted to incorporate her culture in her wedding.

In March 2022, they celebrated their engagement party at the Sonya’s Garden Bed and Breakfast in the Philippines, where they stayed in a traditional cottage. Since Filipinos love to dance, they brought in a dance instructor during the reception. “Dancing with my grandmother was one of my favorite parts of that celebration,” she said.

Even though I grew up in Colorado, I’ve always felt strongly connected to my Filipino roots and I wanted my wedding to reflect that. Colorado is such a beautiful backdrop for any wedding, but I wanted to add Filipino touches as a nod to my ethnic background.

While we were in the Philippines in March, we brought back items for our July wedding.

We got personalized embroidered handkerchiefs or “panyos” as a small detail to remember the Philippines during our special day. The art of intricate embroidery in the Philippines dates back since the Spanish colonial period.

To keep our guests cool during the ceremony, we got “pamaypays,” a traditional handheld fan from the Philippines, made from woven palm leaves in a technique known as sawali (twilled).

The men and boys wore “Barong Tagalogs,” commonly known as barongs, an embroidered long-sleeved formal shirt for men and a national dress of the Philippines. Barong tagalog combines elements from both the precolonial native Filipino and colonial Spanish clothing styles.

The barongs were from my aunt and uncle’s small business, Barongs ‘R Us, and I wore my mom’s wedding dress that was designed by Lou Razon.

During the cocktail hour, fresh coconuts were served to give guests a taste of the tropics.

Our decor included tropical foliage and “capiz” (windowpane oyster) shells, which are found abundantly in the Philippines and are harvested and transformed into various decorative products.

For gifts for our parents, we gave them “parols,” a Filipino ornamental lantern displayed during the Christmas season.