“Dare to Be Different”: How Bride Ehya Created the First Full Anime-Themed Wedding in the Philippines
An anime-themed wedding in the Philippines can mean anything from a few anime-inspired decorations to a celebration where every detail reflects the couple’s favorite anime universe. For Bride Ehya and her French-Canadian husband, Gilles, it was the latter. From her bridal gown and heels to the wedding cake, bouquet, souvenirs, guest dress code, and live music, they designed every element of their June 2026 wedding around their shared love of anime. The couple spent ₱1.5 million to bring their vision to life, paying for everything without debt, sponsorships, or loans.
If you have ever been told that your wedding ideas are “too much” or “too weird,” Ehya’s story is worth reading. Rather than scaling back her vision to fit other people’s expectations, she embraced what made their wedding uniquely theirs. The result was a celebration she describes as a dream come true and a gift to her younger self, proving that a wedding can be deeply personal, unapologetically unconventional, and still financially intentional.
Who Is Bride Ehya, and What Was Her Wedding?
Ehya proudly identifies as an otaku, with a passion for cosplay, anime figurine collecting, and all things anime. She met her husband on a dating app, where she asked any potential boyfriend two questions: “Do you like One Piece?” and “What are your top three favorite anime?”
Her now-husband immediately answered yes to One Piece, which also ranked second on his list of top three favorite anime. Ehya knew she had found someone worth getting to know. In her own words:
“THIS ONE! THIS GUY! I’m willing to give this guy a chance! I LIKE THIS GUY!”
The couple married twice, with their second wedding giving them the freedom to fully express their personalities and shared interests. As Ehya explained, “No one could stop us from choosing exactly the kind of wedding we wanted.”
And they made the most of that freedom.
What Made It a “Full” Anime-Themed Wedding?
The key difference between an anime-inspired wedding and a full anime-themed wedding lies in the extent of the customization. Ehya had seen couples incorporate anime songs into their wedding entrances or wear anime-inspired outfits for their prenuptial photoshoots, but she wanted to take the concept much further. She and her husband built their entire celebration around their shared love of One Piece, incorporating anime references into nearly every aspect of the wedding.
Bride Ehya described some of the personalized details:
“My wedding gown featured Robin’s Devil Fruit, my heels were inspired by One Piece and Nico Robin, our wedding cake was designed after the Thousand Sunny, and my nails represented the entire Straw Hat crew. Even my veil, music, LED background video, bridal robes, and bridal bouquet — which was inspired by Robin’s Hana Hana no Mi, with a touch of spider lily — were customized.”
The couple extended the theme beyond their attire and decorations to their wedding ceremony and reception traditions. Their officiant, a pastor, cosplayed as Borsalino, also known as Kizaru. During the money dance, guests placed cash inside a treasure chest to match the couple’s pirate theme. They served wine in barrel mugs instead of champagne flutes and wrote their wedding vows on paper designed to resemble pirate scrolls. Even the RSVP cards reinforced the theme with a playful but firm message: “Cosplay Is Needed for Entry!”
Their guests embraced the request wholeheartedly. Grandparents, parents, relatives, and even the wedding staff joined in, turning the couple’s vision into a celebration that everyone helped bring to life.
The Zoro and Robin Love Story Behind the Theme
The One Piece theme carried a deeply personal meaning for the couple beyond its visual appeal. Ehya’s ultimate anime crush is Roronoa Zoro, while her husband adores Nico Robin. To incorporate their favorite characters into the celebration, they playfully swapped their choices and, in a sense, married their respective anime crushes.
Ehya captured their approach in a line she included in their RSVP cards and wedding invitations:
“If Oda can’t, we can!”
The playful reference to One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda perfectly captured the couple’s approach to wedding planning. They embraced their shared interests, made choices that reflected their personalities, and designed a celebration entirely on their own terms.
Their first dance added another meaningful anime reference to the evening. The couple chose “Kamado Tanjirō no Uta” from Demon Slayer, performed live by Japanese singer Yukan Omura. Ehya explained that she selected the song because “its beautiful melody represents love, sacrifice, and the strength to keep moving forward for the person you love.”
Yukan performed four songs throughout the reception, drawing from One Piece, Demon Slayer, and Naruto. He shared that it was his first time attending a Filipino wedding, and he stayed until the very end.
She Planned It All While Working Full-Time
Ehya managed every supplier inquiry, developed each creative concept, and attended every coordination meeting while maintaining a full-time job. She took charge of the planning because she had a clear vision for their wedding.Aand her French-Canadian husband could not communicate directly with their Filipino suppliers.
She began contacting suppliers in July 2025, and the couple held their first coordination meeting on August 2, 2025. They married on June 20, 2026, which also happened to be Ehya’s birthday.
Although she had nearly a year to prepare, Ehya still struggled to keep up with her plans and deadlines. She reflected on the experience:
“Looking back, even a year of preparation didn’t feel like enough for me! I often felt like I was rushing because I had so many ideas and wanted to do everything and finish everything as early as possible. It wasn’t the budget that stressed me out; it was the deadlines.”
That is one of the most common challenges I hear from couples: the more unique and customized your wedding is, the more time you need to plan it. When you create something beyond a supplier’s standard packages, you must explain your vision, and make sure every supplier understands how their part fits into the bigger picture. As a couple, you also have to keep all those moving pieces aligned.
This is exactly why the first five decisions you make as a newly engaged couple matter so much, so you can make informed decisions, avoid unnecessary backtracking, and spend more time bringing your vision to life.
₱1.5 Million, Zero Debt: How They Made It Happen
Ehya is transparent about the cost of their wedding. She and her husband spent ₱1.5 million, funding the entire celebration without sponsorships, debt, or loans. Her husband managed the finances, while she brought their creative vision to life.
Some couples may consider ₱1.5 million a substantial budget, while others may find it modest for their plans. What matters most is how the couple approached their spending: they worked within their available funds and refused to let external expectations push them into expenses they could not afford. If you want a reference point for what weddings cost in the Philippines right now, the 2026 Philippine wedding cost breakdown is a good place to start building your own target number.
One particularly telling detail is that the couple spent hundreds of thousands of pesos on anime figurines alone. They deliberately allocated that amount because collecting these figures and incorporating them into their celebration mattered deeply to them. Their decision illustrates an important budgeting principle: a successful wedding budget is about allocating your money to the things that matter most to you as a couple. Identify your non-negotiables, prioritize them, and make sure your spending reflects your shared values rather than other people’s expectations.s
What She Did When People Had Opinions
Not everyone gets it when you choose an unconventional wedding. Ehya was ready for that. Her advice to couples who want something different but are afraid of judgment:
“Your wedding, your rules! Ordinary fades, but extraordinary stays. Don’t be afraid to be different just because some people might judge you. You can’t please everyone, especially those who are close-minded about your vision.”
She also gave a very practical tip that I want to highlight: take your RSVP seriously.
“For couples planning an unconventional wedding, it helps you identify who genuinely wants to celebrate with you and is willing to respect your choices. Don’t exhaust yourself trying to invite people who don’t truly support you or care about your happiness.”
This is a powerful version of “your wedding, your rules.” It is a filter for your guest list, your energy, and your peace of mind. If you are navigating opinions from people who were not invited to weigh in, this guide on handling unsolicited opinions during wedding planning will help you.
What Her Wedding Meant to Her, Beyond the Day Itself
When Ehya reflected on what it felt like to have a wedding that genuinely reflected who she is, she did not talk about the photos or the guest count. She said this:
“It feels incredibly satisfying. I feel like I’ve achieved something truly big for myself, something that goes beyond just having a wedding. It feels like I’ve fulfilled a lifelong dream and allowed myself to experience something my heart has always wanted. Most of all, I feel complete, knowing that a big part of my inner child is finally healing.”
And then:
“We didn’t follow the norm; we created our own fairytale. And to me, that’s the beauty of it all: being unapologetically different and having the courage to create a life that genuinely reflects who we are.”
That is what a wedding on your own terms looks like. Not a performance for other people but a gift to yourself and to the person you are choosing.
If Ehya’s story is the push you needed to stop apologizing for your vision, the next step is getting the foundation right before the opinions start rolling in. Grab the free guide, Your First 30 Days as a Bride-to-Be, so your first decisions as a newly engaged couple are yours, made before anyone else gets to weigh in.
And if you want a step-by-step system to plan the whole thing yourself, from budget to booking, the Wedding Planning Guide for the Clueless Bride-to-Be is where brides like Ehya start building their vision into an actual plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pwede bang mag-anime themed wedding sa Pilipinas?
Yes, and Bride Ehya’s wedding proves that it is possible. However, one important detail made her celebration easier to plan: it was the couple’s second wedding, which gave them more freedom to express their personalities through their wedding ceremony and reception.
If you want to have an anime-themed wedding for your first wedding, start by checking with your church or wedding officiant which elements you can customize, especially if you belong to a religious denomination with strict ceremony requirements. You may have more flexibility with your reception, attire, music, and decorations, but it is best to clarify the rules before finalizing your plans. This way, you can bring your anime-inspired vision to life while respecting the requirements of your chosen ceremony.
How much does an unconventional or themed wedding cost in the Philippines?
It varies widely depending on how deep the customization goes. Ehya’s full anime-themed wedding cost ₱1.5 million, funded entirely without debt or sponsorships. For a general reference on what Philippine weddings cost across different budget ranges, this 2026 cost breakdown is a useful starting point.
Paano ko makukuha ang support ng pamilya ko for a non-traditional wedding?
Ehya’s advice is to let your RSVP do the filtering. Invite people who genuinely want to celebrate you, and do not exhaust yourself chasing approval from those who are not open to your vision. Open, early communication with close family also helps, but at the end of the day, the wedding is yours. You can read more on setting those expectations in this guide on handling unsolicited wedding opinions.
How long should I plan for a heavily customized wedding?
Ehya had almost a year and still felt it was not quite enough, mostly because of the volume of customization involved. For a themed wedding where suppliers need to create bespoke items, build in more runway than you think you need. Starting with the five foundational decisions early will prevent a lot of last-minute rushing.
Do I need a wedding planner for a themed or unconventional wedding?
Not necessarily, but you do need a coordination team for the wedding day itself, and you need to be very hands-on with every supplier if the vision is uniquely yours. Ehya handled all the planning and creative direction herself. What matters is that whoever is in the room on the day understands your concept in full. Check out the difference between all-in packages and individual suppliers to decide which setup gives you more creative control.
Ano ang pinakamahirap sa pag-plan ng unconventional wedding?
For Ehya, it was not the budget. It was the deadlines and the sheer volume of ideas she wanted to bring to life while working a full-time job. If you are in the same boat, the most important thing you can do is decide your non-negotiables early and book those first, so the details that matter most to you are secured before time runs out.