Bianca @ 18

The lovely debutante wore four outfits, all in shades of blue. She made her grand entrance in this first outfit, a glow-in-the-dark gown by Liza Padilla of the Elize Bride fashion brand.

Bianca’s fashion stylist John Paul Dizon told YES! at the party that the actress requested for such a gown as early as last year. He made his research, and instead of the expensive fiber optics that were used in the pegs that he had seen, he opted for cheaper light-emitting diode (LED) lights.

“Merong malaking switch sa likod, kaya siya super ball gown,” he explained. “Kaya no’ng pagkabihis kaagad namin no’ng first gown, nakatayo na siya the whole time. Sabi ko, ‘Hindi mo puwedeng iupo ’yan dahil ’yong mga ilaw, mawawala.’”

- Jocelyn T. Valle

Fifteen days after she turned 18 years old, Bianca Umali had a grand debut party that was attended by members of her family and by friends in and out of showbiz.

“I’m happy, very happy, and also thankful na nakita ko kung sino ’yong mga nagmamahal talaga sa akin,” the visibly thrilled debutante tells YES! at the party.

Bianca—who lost her mother Estrella May Soler to breast cancer in 2005 and her father Jose Vicente Umali to a heart attack in 2010—gives special credit to her two grandmothers, Bebiana Soler and Victorina Umali, for taking over in caring for her, an orphaned girl who’s an only child with half-siblings.