Jolina wants an Italian wedding just like in her favorite movies

ENGAGED: Mark Escueta and Jolina Magdangal

I’m in heaven.” Singer-actress Jolina Magdangal says she’s still on cloud nine, reeling in excitement after rock musician Mark Escueta popped the big question two weeks ago. “I get dizzy thinking of the things we have to do,” she says of the wedding preparations.

She recently caught Mark drafting a to-do list, Jolina says. “He’s so cute. We don’t have a date yet, but he said we should decide the theme, and everything would follow.”

Jolina dreams of a “European-inspired” nuptials and reception. “Remember the wedding scene in ‘Letters to Juliet,’ or that one in ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’? Very Italian—long table, lanterns and grapes.”

The ring

She’s brandishing an engagement ring that Mark had ordered from a jeweler-friend. “The inside is engraved with the words ‘Ikaw ang buhay ko (You are my life).’ When we feel romantic, we talk in Tagalog,” Jolina says.

She wept when he put the ring on her, she recounts. “He said, ‘Don’t worry, your parents already know.’ He had asked permission from my mom and dad.”

Mark went through the wringer, she relates. “He would drive all the way to our house in Tagaytay in the daytime, then go back to Manila at night. Mom said he’s the real deal.”

Jolina and Mark share other passions apart from music. “We love biking around Tagaytay or Alabang on weekends. We’re into photography. And we both love yogurt.”

To think, they almost didn’t meet. “I had a concert in Taiwan that was postponed because of a storm,” Jolina recalls. “When it finally pushed through, Mark was also there.”

As for that inevitable question: She’s not quitting show biz. “Life will go on,” Jolina says. “Only our priorities will change. My mom said she’s at peace because I found someone who will help me grow.”