Tessa prieto valdes sons wedding day funny

If you are the general public, chances are you are familiar with our movie stars but not with our socialites.

Tessa Prieto defies the odds. She is a legitimate socialite, comes from a family belonging to the country's elite, has her own home in Forbes Park—but the public is familiar with her.

You might even say she is, among socialites hereabouts, the most relatable, never distant or snooty in a crowd, forever smiling in fact, and always witty and funny.

Tessa, at 61, still keeps a high profile.

Plays bubbly host at events. Writes for the business and lifestyle sections of the family-owned Philippine Daily Inquirer. Maintains relations with showbiz personalities and sundry celebrity. Graces television shows like Family Feud,Drag Race Philippines, andCelebrity Duets, whose 2007 Philippine edition she ended up winning. And while her FB is on personal, she is in IG as seaprincess888 with 110,000 followers.

Her branding cannot be missed: showroom outfits that are striking, maximalist, over the top, one of a kind. Not to forget those matching headpieces, which are also just out there.

But beyond the colorful and the outlandish and the pattern-upon-pattern that announce her coming, who is Tessa Prieto, really?

PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) takes a closer look at the life of this legit socialite with the many hats.

BORN to the rufino-prieto clan

Maria Theresa Isabel Prieto Valdes—addressed as Tessa—is the eldest daughter of Marixi Rufino-Prieto, herself a socialite and a philanthropist, and Alex “Poplex” Prieto, a well-known businessman who passed away in November 2024.

Tessa's Rufino-Prieto clan is an influential one with business interests in real estate, wholesale and retail, freight forwarding

Without a doubt, destination weddings are romantic, unique and truly memorable, especially when the locations are exotic and faraway islands.

With over 7,000 islands to choose from, the Philippines is one of the best places to have an unforgettable beach wedding. For their insanely fun, intimate wedding, our son Bryan Prieto and Tinkay Soler Crespo chose the incomparable Balesin.

Described as a destination of unmatched natural beauty located off the eastern coast of Luzon, Balesin Island Club (www.balesin.com) is Alphaland Corp.’s flagship project, a 500-hectare tropical island paradise ringed by over 7 kilometers of pristine, white-sand beaches.

The club has its own 1.55 km-long concrete airstrip, and is just a 20-minute flight from Manila using one of Alphaland’s private fleet of airplanes.

Bryan and Tinkay loved the months-long planning process for their wedding, involving a few island visits to make sure everything would be perfect.

June weather can be unpredictable, but the reverse weather patterns of our eastern seaboard prevailed and the couple had a sunny wedding day, exactly the generous sprinkle of love and sunshine every wedding needs.

Tessa Alindogan, Pixie Rufino, Sallie Lopez,
Mary de Leon, Myda Prieto, Sandy Prieto-Romualdez,
Bon Soler, bride Tinkay Soler Crespo, groom Bryan Prieto,
Philip Romualdez, Roberto Ongpin, Alex Lopez,
Jaco Soler, Carlo Tanseco, Chun-Chi Soler,
Raymond Rufino, Jasen Ko

Great speeches

The three-day wedding weekend with just family and close friends was marked with great speeches and a lot of dancing, plus loads of The Botanist Gin, generously arranged for the couple by Sunny Ku of Mastermind Asia.

Roberto V. Ongpin a.k.a. RVO, Alphaland chair and one of the principal sponsors, hosted an all-white, welcome cocktail party at his newly built Private Villa on the first night of the festivities.

During cocktails, the island’s Prince of

Through the years, the Prietos have made it a point to give back, prioritizing the value and importance of charity. Here, we feature four generations of this respected clan, their views on the changing roles of women in society, their hopes for the future, and how the love of family is their true treasure. 

Hailing from one of the country’s most prominent families, she’s a dazzling figure in Manila’s social scene, both literally and figuratively. Often garbed in showstopping couture gowns, paired with an equally intricate coterie of headpieces and accessories, Tessa Prieto has been making the world her runway for as long as we all can remember. And yet the real treasure lies within this self-confessed maximalist and co-founder of the Red Charity Gala – a heart of gold committed to helping others. 

It is something Tessa shares was imparted to her by her parents, and are values she endeavors to pass on to her children. “Everything that I’ve learned as far as like giving back and charities, that’s my mom’s side. And then my generosity with other people, and my social being is I think from my dad. So I’m like a happy combination of both of them. And I’m hopefully passing it on to my kids,” Tessa says. 

Hailing from the respected Rufino-Prieto clan, Tessa is the daughter of Marixi Rufino-Prieto, and Alex “Poplex” Prieto, who turns 88 this year. She has two daughters who join her in this shoot with Lifestyle Asia, Jordan, 26, and Athena, 19. She likewise has two sons, Tyrone, 28 and her eldest Bryan, 38, who is married to Tinkay Crespo with whom he has two children, Louie and Naiara. Their family has long been active in both philanthropy and in business, with interests in real estate, paper milling, as well media and publishing, among others. 

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