TALL AND SLIM BEAUTY Karla R. Atilano joined New York's Swissotel The Drake as sales manager, after leaving Makati's elegant Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Shortly after she arrived in the Big Apple, she met the debonair, princely looking and handsome Turk Alpan Keskin, who was also connected to The Drake, but on a different floor, palanggas.

Karla A. and Alpan K. bumped into each several times on the streets of Manhattan, and the latter became smitten. Alpan thought to himself, "That's the girl I'd like to marry." Après that, dahlings, it was a whirlwind romance, and on the sixth month they were engaged.

They held their wedding at one of New York's landmarks, the Gothic St. Patrick's Cathedral, and their reception at The Drake where they had first met, natch.

The wedding celebration was organized on short notice. Karla told moi, "The ensuing preparations were so hectic, with many of our guests flying in from Turkey, Los Angeles, Spain, Germany and Manila." Naturellement.

This wedding was a milestone for the Atilano famille because Karla's grandmother, Helen Orosa del Rosario, saw her first grandchild getting married. Karla's mother, Elizabeth "Liz" Atilano, aunts Chic R. Francisco and Elaine R. Lim, and cousins Ria Francisco and Alexa Lim, would not miss this Fil-Turkish wedding in the Big Apple, for the world, dahlings.

To be different, Karla decided on a black-and-white wedding motif, which she said, "spelled elegance."

For her bridal gown, she chose Carolina Herrera, no less, and for her shoes, Vera Wang.

"Alpan, decided on a tuxedo by Dolce & Gabanna and his shoes by Prada," she said.

The talented and gifted Dennis Lustico of Manille executed Karla's design of the bridesmaids' gowns. The bride's mother wore a stunning creation by Dennis, who else!

The superbly prepared dinner at the grand ballroom of The Drake (which had a distinctive Turkish ambience) consisted of fillet mignon and prawns and the traditional Turkish baklava dessert.

For extras, dahlings, the couple got an exotic belly dancer who performed and had the 200 invitees applauding, whistling and asking for more, more, more! Then it was rock-and-roll time as the fun invitees hit the dance floor and shock it to intensity 9, palanggas, till way past 3 a.m.

As the exhausted but happy guests left, the couple handed out personalized books wrapped in black and white in keeping with the motif.

Après their exotic honeymoon at the gorgeous Kahala Mandarin Oriental in romantic Hawaii, the two beautiful, cool hoteliers jetted back to Manhattan where Alpan K. is now the hotshot assistant director of food and beverage at the Mandarin Oriental, which just happens to be New York's newest awesome luxury hotel.

Hey, Karla and Alpan, here's to a happy marriage! Cheers!