This couple has visited all 7 continents. Here’s why they chose the Philippines as their wedding destination
Interracial couple Drew Binsky and Deanna Sallao have been to every continent of the world, but they only had one wedding venue in mind—the Philippines—and not once did it change.
It’s a given that one of the factors in their decision was that Deanna was born and raised in the country. Both of them, however, fell in love with it even before they crossed paths as lovers of travel.
“The Philippines is where my heart is. Even way before we met, I knew that I was getting married on a beautiful island in the Philippines,” Deanna, who has set foot in over 70 countries and all seven continents, told PhilSTAR L!fe.
Drew, meanwhile, kept finding his way back to the Philippines since 2013. “I actually met Deanna in 2015 so I really fell in love with the country before we met and fell in love. There’s just so much to love about this country,” the American content creator said, pointing out its beautiful islands, beaches, food, people, their smiles and hospitality, among others. It’s worth noting that Drew has been to 197/197 countries recognized by the United Nations in the world.
The adventure-loving pair met eight years ago in Bangkok, Thailand at a travel expo, where Deanna recalled having eye contact with him for about six seconds during one of their coffee breaks. “Somehow, I had a gut feeling that I knew him from somewhere, and he felt the same way, too. Little did we know, he commented on one of my photos and I slid into his direct messages 76 weeks before our first actual encounter,” she said.
She offered to show him around Manila and other parts of the Philippines, but they had to be apart after a week of being together due to prior travel commitments. “I thought we would never see each other again,” Deanna said.
Taking a chance on love and its possibilities, Drew booked a one-way ticket back to Manila in 2016.
“That’s when we fell in love. We started traveling together in 2016. So, for a year, we traveled. In 2017, we moved to Vietnam, and then we moved to Bangkok, and then Manila, and we just kept traveling in between,” he said.
After more than half a decade of being together, Drew popped the question to Deanna in May 2021. While they got stuck and decided to get a place in Arizona due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they were certain about tying the knot in the Philippines no matter what.
Drew noted how hard it was to pick just one destination from more than the 7,000 islands that the Philippines boasts. Together, they sat down and laid out their best options—including Boracay, Palawan, and Balesin, which are all “beautiful in their own ways.” But the latter stood out among the rest as it’s one of the most exclusive islands in the country.
“There are many islands we had to choose from and all of them have pros and cons, but I think the privacy there and the exclusivity, knowing that nobody else could be there, there are no tourists there, we kind of felt like we had the whole island to ourselves, which was really cool. It’s really just a special place,” he said.
“Since there’s a lot of people flying out from thousands of miles away, we wanted our wedding to be an experience, that’s why we chose Balesin Island,” Deanna added.
“We thought it would be the perfect place and the perfect island to show not only for Deanna’s family but also for the international guests coming in. The Philippines, really, is one of the most beautiful countries in the world and that’s the reason why we had our wedding here,” Drew continued.
Drew and Deanna got hitched on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. Since they are based in Arizona, it took over a year for them to plan the whole wedding, with countless nights of dealing with time zone differences and “stressful days of organizing back-and-forth conversations” with their suppliers in the Philippines. “I’m a Virgo, so I was the one meticulously planning and checking each and every detail of the wedding. In the end, everything was worth it!” she said.
Drew revealed their plans of residing in their chosen wedding destination in the future, and he said it’s nothing short of exciting. “The Philippines has always been my home away from home. I think I’ve been in the country 50 times since 2013. Now, I can get permanent residency and it’s pretty awesome,” he said.
Drew is a documentary filmmaker who enjoys sharing stories about humanity and culture. Deanna, meanwhile, is a content creator and entrepreneur. They share glimpses of their lives and relationship as well as travel guides and resources on their official website Drew and Deanna.
