With each detail and element carefully curated by the couple, the Kifu Augousti-Patrick Coard wedding proved to be a celebration of love, nature, and artistry in all forms
In a most breathtaking ceremony, furniture designer Kifu Augousti and sculptural artist Patrick Coard tied the knot last weekend.
A celebration of both love and artistry, the Augousti-Coard wedding took place at the sprawling 10-hectare Leviste Equestrian Park in Batangas. Set against lush greenery, the intimate celebration was a union not just of the couple but also of their friends and family with nature.
The pair was intentional with every detail of the wedding, turning it into an event that celebrated not just the marriage between man and woman but also a marriage between artistic sensibilities, creative collaborations, and tradition and modernity.
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Both Augousti and Coard were hands-on in planning and executing their vision for the wedding.
“Patrick and I, probably even more so Patrick, really took the role of creative director of the wedding and sort of the vision of how it would be executed,” Augousti says. “We both had a lot of different ideas of what we wanted to create. We’re actually going to celebrate 10 years together, so the whole concept and emotion of the wedding was really like a reflection of our love, our journey together, and our life together.”
“It’s kind of like us displaying our best, best, best,” Augousti adds. “It was probably the most creatively challenging project we’ve ever done. We were so lucky to have it on the Leviste farm, and the Leviste family was so amazing to work with.”
“From the lighting to all these sculptures, everything was really built and created for the purpose of the wedding. So it was actually quite a huge production. It was months and months of hard work,” Augousti says.
The dinner was catered by Margarita Forés, while their wedding cake was crafted by Cakeshop by Sonja. Ballet Philippines and Paris-based live entertainment group Circus Music were among the artists who performed throughout the evening. Choreography for all dance pieces that evening was developed by Kare Adeya.
The bride and bridesmaids were dressed by Belgian fashion designer Olivier Theyskens, a long-time friend of Augousti’s. Meanwhile, former Prada menswear designer Neil Barrett, who is also Augousti’s godfather, created the suits for Coard and the groomsmen.
“I’ve known [Theyskens] for over 15 years now. He’s one of the most talented designers in the world, and it’s just so different when it’s somebody that you’re so close to, who you’ve worked with before, but just knows you on a personal level so well,” Augousti says.
“It’s funny because it’s always the first thing people ask. ‘My god, have you figured out your dress? Have you figured out what Patrick’s wearing?’ And I think those were the two things that were the least concern for us.”
“I knew that with [them] (Theyskens and Barrett), there was nothing to stress or worry about,” Augousti says. “With Olivier, it was just like the most easy and organic process. We’ve always talked about him doing my wedding dress one day. And he’s seen me when I was living in New York, he’s seen me pregnant. I even wore his clothes for my maternity shoot. He’s made so many black tie dresses and ready-to-wear pieces for me. So it was like a gift to each other, working on these pieces together. Olivier and I, whenever he makes a dress for me, we both have the ideas and it’s really this collaboration.”
The dress followed a specific shape Augousti already had in mind, constructed with a patchwork of various textiles. Theyskens added swatches of color, inspired by the paintings of Augousti and Coard’s daughter, River. “He was thinking of our kid, and he just knows so much about my life, so for him, this dress was a representation of who I am as a woman—from being a teenager to becoming a young business owner, to becoming a mom, to becoming a wife. It’s really like all facets of me.”
The groom’s and groomsmen’s suits, on the other hand, were made of ivory fabric specifically chosen by the couple and Barrett in Italy. “It was from a specific factory of a fifth generation of textile [makers]. The roll of fabric was made for Patrick and his groomsmen. They’ll never reproduce it, it was exclusive to them.”
For the after-party, Augousti donned a repurposed gown also by Theyskens, while Coard wore a barong designed by Barrett and created in collaboration with local designer Jun Escario.
“I also wanted a barong,” Coard shares. Having his own collection of barongs, it was a no-brainer that he also wanted one of his own specially made for the occasion. “It was very interesting to put a local and a foreign designer together on that process because the barong is very special to the Philippines, and it’s something I appreciate.”
Immersion into nature
The ceremony took place at the equestrian park’s acacia-lined lane. Augousti, who is no stranger to riding horses and whose mother’s side of the family being riders, arrived at the ceremony on horseback—on a 25-year-old horse fondly called Mr. G. This entrance, as well as a special dressage later that evening, were homages to this part of her history.
Working with the horses, which Augousti also spent months forging a bond with as she practiced horseback riding leading up to the day of the ceremony, also added to the overall experience of immersing into nature.
“This wedding was a gift to Kifu, and also a gift to our guests. It’s something we wanted to share. It was a very unique experience to be able to work on a farm that’s normally very private. They’ve never had a wedding there before. There’s a very special vibe there: the horses and everything live in harmony. So it was also [a question of] how could we complement or amplify something that was already so beautiful?”
Along the lane of acacia trees, the couple had blocks made of mirrors set up as seats for the guests. The mirrors were chosen to reflect the greenery in their surroundings, ensuring that no element would look out of place.
The couple also opted not to use flowers in decorating the venue, a departure from what you might usually expect at weddings. “We didn’t see the logic of having a lot of flowers,” Coard says. “ We already had nature [because of our outdoor location]. So why take flowers and put something in when you already have all these beautiful trees?”
Instead, the floral elements were integrated into various other parts of the wedding. Coard himself created large sculptural flowers to decorate the space, while the flower girls’ dresses, made by Bea and Marga Valdes, also featured 3D flower motifs.
The couple’s Cakeshop by Sonja wedding cake captured Coard’s floral sculptures, condensed into miniature versions of art cascading down the cake.
A union between people, artistry
“The wedding was really special because we really saw so much of our life: There were all the people we’ve become close to living in Manila, recent people we became friends with, and then we had a lot of friends from abroad that came. It was so beautiful because I think sometimes in weddings or big events, people tend to—not in a bad way—just want to stick to their friends, or have their little groups. What Patrick and I loved seeing is that all of our friends were just mingling and everyone was talking to each other. Nobody was talking to the same person the whole night. We loved seeing that. It’s nice to share your different friends.”
The couple thoughtfully set up a welcome Filipino dinner by Forés for their foreign guests to not only get them acquainted with the country, but also with their closest friends in Manila.
“Patrick and I worked so hard at building what the energy would be, what the program would be at the wedding. It wasn’t an afterthought. We spent a lot of time with the team involved. It was something really curated. And I think that energy really allowed people to feel very comfortable with each other.”
“I think that [also] had a lot to do with all the different kinds of entertainment we had,” Augousti adds. From a live band performing not on a separate stage, but among the crowd, to the expressive choreography performed by Ballet Philippines throughout the night, it was a celebration and presentation of artistry in all forms. The couple also featured a Spanish flamenco dancer and a local soprano on top of the several guests and family who even read poetry.
“We’re still absorbing everything,” Coard says. His speech is measured, each word as thought-out as the details of the wedding they were trying to recount. “There were so many people involved and so many elements with so much meaning in every area. For me, it was very much a felt experience more than a thought experience, in certain ways.”
The care and hospitality that is natural in Filipinos was a special factor in making the wedding even more special. “This kind of wedding with this kind of sensitivity and this kind of complexity would have been very, very difficult anywhere around the world. And one of the unique things about the Philippines is the people. Tuning a lot of people in on an emotion, a state of experience is not easy. And I think my approach, and Kifu’s, was really to feel the area, our emotions. We were extremely invested in every single element. As a creative, as a designer, as an artistic creator, that aspect was very important.”
An ode to heritage, an exercise in innovation
The wedding was equally a celebration of traditions and heritage through the use of artisanal and locally made products and of forging new experiences.
During the ceremony, Augousti and Coard had tattoos made on the spot; a simple cross, inked on their ring fingers, right by their wedding bands.
“We wanted to do something different,” Augousti says. “The whole concept for us was to really make it permanent, you know. The forever aspect. And you can’t get more permanent than a tattoo.”
“We wanted to eternalize somehow what this special moment means to us,” Coard adds.
Their matching tattoos are reminders of faith, Augousti shares. “Patrick and I, even though we don’t go to church every day, we do believe in praying and in faith and manifestation. I always like to manifest and thank my angels for my family, for our health, and for everything. I think it just felt like the most appropriate and meaningful thing and connected with the whole ceremony.”
With every detail, design, and element packed with intention, it’s no surprise why every guest and even supplier and partner has come out of the wedding calling it the most immersive and seamless experience.
“What we’re saying here is just a drop in the ocean of what we’ve been … there’s been so many elements, so many stories, everything was unique, everything had a connection to us, it also had a connection to where we are. There was a lot of things,” Coard says.
“It was something quite unique to us, and hopefully to others as well.”
