JUN LANA and Perci Intalan are moved by friends’, and even strangers’, show of support. Facebook photo
Filmmaker Jun Robles Lana tied the knot with TV executive Perci Intalan in New York City on Oct. 14.
Intalan told the Inquirer that “the ceremony was simple and touching because our friends and loved ones flew all the way to the United States to join us.”
Paul Hertel officiated at the ceremony.
Hertel, Intalan explained, “is a registered officiant” who was referred by their wedding coordinators. (Same-sex unions are legal in New York.)
“Even random tourists in the area took our photos and went up to us to congratulate us. Nakakatuwa. (It was heartening),” Intalan said.
“We are moved by the amount of support we are getting, even from people we barely know,” Lana told the Inquirer. “Our marriage may not be legally recognized in the Philippines, but we did it for deeply personal reasons and for what it symbolizes in terms of equality and human rights.
The couple decided to exchange vows in front of the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park.
“We were in New York exactly a year ago and, as we walked through the park, we joked about getting married there,” Intalan recalled.
The timing was just perfect, Intalan said. “Autumn is lovely there … where better to capture fall’s beauty but there.”
From the United States, Intalan and Lana went straight to Japan, where the latter’s latest movie “Barber’s Tales” is competing in the Tokyo International Film Festival.