A COUPLE, identified by the aliases Dan and Diane, had a wedding planner arrested after he allegedly failed to deliver on his commitments for their wedding ceremony on Thursday, July 31, 2025. The couple said they hired Dorethy (later identified as Elvin Linao Sagario), for a wedding package valued at P299,000, which was featured on the Facebook page “The Bliss Creation Wedding and Events Cebu.”
Dan and Diane said they made several payments to Dorethy, beginning with a P90,000 deposit on Feb. 25, 2024. The total amount they paid to him was P261,000. Dorethy reportedly assured the couple that this would cover all major wedding expenses, including the venue, food, attire for the couple and their entourage, a bridal car, a cake and makeup services.
However, the couple’s expenses began to pile up. They were allegedly charged an extra fee by the hotel they had booked, and Dorethy requested additional payments, bringing their total expenses to P361,000.
The wedding day disaster
On the night before their wedding, Dan and Diane realized something was wrong. When they contacted the wedding attire supplier, they were told that their coordinator hadn’t paid in full. Despite Dorethy’s assurance that the garments would be delivered to their hotel room, nothing arrived by the morning of the wedding.
With a 7 a.m. call time for preparations and the ceremony scheduled for 3:30 p.m., the couple was in a bind. A supplier later informed them that Sagario, the wedding coordinator, owed a significant debt and would not be given further credit. The couple ultimately had to pay P28,000 out of their own pocket to get their wedding dresses.
Despite the setbacks, the church ceremony went on as planned. However, the couple was forced to shoulder many expenses themselves that they believed were already covered.
After the ceremony, Sagario’s sibling visited the couple at their hotel and explained that he was reluctant to appear. The couple offered to drop the legal action if the money was returned. Sagario eventually met with them, but according to Dan, he “only laughed” at their questions and offered little in the way of an explanation.
Sagario attempted to leave the hotel through a fire exit, but security staff, alerted by the couple, detained him and turned him over to officers at the Abellana Police Station. Sagario’s sibling told a local radio station that the money had been used for a child’s surgery.
As of Friday, Aug. 1, Sagario remains in custody. The couple plans to file charges of estafa, or fraud, against her. / AYB