Among the many challenges that the 4th wall team unfazingly embrace is the translation of the mood of their drawings to actual units with the aide of lighting. (Photo courtesy of 4TH WALL PRODUCTIONS)

MANILA, Philippines - If there’s anything about weddings these days, it would have to be the obvious departure from the bygone white-colored theme towards the colorful and personalized ceremonies. In the essence of making their wedding truly their own, far more couples look into thematic weddings to let their personalities shine through.

 With a team dedicated to personalizing weddings, 4th Wall headed by production designer Ronald Correos thrived on infinite imagination and constant creation.  “Honestly, I am no communication major, in short, wala talaga akong formal education when it comes to the technicalities of set design. The only reason or perhaps, the only person who sparked my interest into this business would have to be my dad,” Ronald narrated in between laughs over being called the pioneer of thematic weddings here in the Philippines.

 “I got into this business because my dad used to be a contractor,” Ronald proudly recalls. “being in the construction industry, nakikita ko sa kanya na gumagawa ng bagay bagay and that’s when I also started with my own version of pagbubutingting.”

From a P 2,000 capital 14 years ago, Ronald still fondly remembers that the very reason he decided to jump into the business was his drive to prove himself capable of set designs better than the ones he saw on TV. “I remember seeing a set na naramdaman ko na kaya ko rin naming gawin yun.”

A heart for weddings

Innovative and versatile, 4th Wall shuffles between social, corporate, network, theater fields  gracefully. Despite all this, thematic weddings for Ronald would always have an extraordinary spot in their business venture.  What’s actually good about weddings is that it goes beyond the usual of  pushing boundaries for the sake of saying that your wedding was different but about giving the couple a way to express their personalities. The 4th wall main man believes that, “Guests should have fun; it’s a celebration, after all. Thematic weddings create visual feasts to excite the guests’ senses, putting them in the mood for celebrating.”

Unlike other production design teams, 4th Wall does not have fixed wedding packages. Ronald says that has been their signature, in order for the couple to enjoy more flexibility and not to feel bound to only a few choices. Because every setup is custom-designed for each couple, Ronald and his team enthusiastically takes every wedding as a welcome challenge to up their ante.

 Each new project starts with a casual chat. Ronald always tries to get to know the couple – their work, their hobbies, their likes and dislikes, and most importantly, their love story. From there, the planning and designing becomes a shared journey to making their dream wedding a reality.

"Working with couples and their families is always a learning experience for me.  Looking back, our past clients' keen attention to details pushed us to create designs we didn’t know we were capable of doing," Ronald shared.