For engaged couple Iza and Ben, planning their wedding not yet a priority

Iza Calzado (right) and Ben Wintle

I wanted to say, ‘I’m still busy trying to save the world. Can I get back to you on that?’”

That’s what actress Iza Calzado would like to say to people who keep asking her specific details about her wedding to British fiancé Ben Wintle.

“It gets annoying sometimes,” admitted Iza at a recent media gathering to promote the 2nd Women Leadership Conference on March 10 at the Blue Leaf Events Place in McKinley Hill, Taguig City. The event is organized by She Talks Asia, of which Iza is a cofounder.

“I want to tell people that ‘maybe I’m just not that kind of woman; maybe I’ve always been career-driven.’ We’ve been looking for a wedding planner for the longest time. Of course, I’d still be involved, but I want March to finish first. Everything is hectic,” the award-winning actress and wellness advocate shared with the Inquirer.

“I understand that people are excited for us, but Ben and I are both busy right now. Sometimes, we just want to elope and get this over and done with, but we know that we deserve to have that party,” she pointed out. “There are a lot of considerations, and writing the guest list is the toughest. My dad used to say, ‘You have to be a mercenary,’ so that would be a big problem, because I’m Miss Congeniality.”

Iza said she has always been a practical girl. “You can’t spend all your money just so you could have a party, but at the same time, you want to give people an amazing time. They say it’s not the wedding that you prepare for, but the marriage,” she declared.

Iza’s involvement with She Talks Asia began in 2017 while she was working on her ABS-CBN series, “A Love to Last.”

“I saw posts about a conference on women and later learned that (magazine editor and model) Sarah Meier was behind it. When she reached out to me to ask for a video message for the participants, I said, ‘Why am I not part of this?’ I’ve been wanting to do something on body love and body positivity for two years now.”

The actress said the plan would be to eventually bring the concept to schools. “For me, the formative years are between 13 and 17. It’s the perfect time for one to be able to make a difference in anyone’s life, be it a man or a woman,” she explained.

“If at that age I had a big sister or an aunt, who isn’t really family but someone who is more compassionate toward what I was going through, then I would probably have less issues to sift through. I’m grateful to be where I am now, but not everybody gets to turn his life around. Some get stuck and end up not knowing what to do.”

Iza, who struggled with obesity when she was a teenager, said that while the event was meant for the young, “it is also for the 35-year-old me. It resonates with different generations. Every human being can find value in this, as long as they seek to improve and heal themselves. We also want to help men in some ways, like educating them on how to better understand their partners and women in general,” she said.

The conference, titled “She is Self-Made,” will feature 30 speakers including broadcast journalist Ces Drilon, New York-based finance guru Tonya Rapley-Flash, and LM10 Corporation founder/president Nico Bolzico in the “He for She Panel Discussion.”

The Summit is copresented by Avon and YSEALI Seeds for the Future. Proceeds from the event will go to Mano Amiga, a nonprofit group that provides high-quality education and sustainable livelihood to low-income communities.