The day we have prepared for, the
day we have waited for. It has finally
arrived! …and ended. Sorry. I would
usually post pictures, but we haven’t really taken pictures ourselves. And I
can’t wait for the pictures. I want to do this post now…this morning after the
wedding when memories are fresh and while we are still in a state of bliss =). Oh by the way, photoslide is at the end of the post =)
Preparations at the Crosswinds
Both of us woke
up early that morning mainly because Jen had to be made up. I, on the other hand,
needed to make sure I would be able to welcome all the guests who arrived. Many
of the guests went to Crosswinds and hopefully some of them had the time to go
around. As the day progressed, the suppliers came. While we were busy prepping
up, the photographers came – the team of Daniel Lei. We requested them to focus on many details,
and focus they did. Later on, we will see the logic of all the weird poses and
angles! A few minutes later, the team of Anna Sotto arrived. The coordinators
immediately organized everybody and assisted all our guests consistently. Kris
Bacani and her hair stylist Alex arrived at almost the same time and started to
do their magic to Jen immediately. RCJC
then arrived with the bouquet. We were really surprised with the flowers of the
entourage because they consisted of Gerberas that had black centers. They
really blended in with our theme. The bride however had a bouquet of red
Ecuadorian Roses. The bride’s room was all busy and crowded, like a mall on a
Sunday morning. My room was like the Christmas village in April. =)
When
we were all ready, just in time, the vintage cars arrived -- a muscled white
Buick and a slick & sexy Jaguar Mark V from Don Robert. Me and my family
immediately went inside the Buick and led the convoy to the church. On the
other end of the convoy was the Jaguar. Onboard was the most beautiful
passenger it had ever seen.
Ceremony at the San Antonio de
Padua Parish
As
we arrived at the church, the parking lot immediately became jam packed! As I
entered the church, I tried to welcome everybody as much as I could. The church
became immediately filled with guests and it soon became impossible to shake
hands with everybody. As we lined up the entourage, I was so proud because we
were able to complete it just in time as the march started.
The
view of entourage coming in was really amazing. It was one of the few
privileges of being a groom! I got to see them and the bride didn’t. So I could
only share to her how amazing her whole entourage looked. As the last of them reached their seats, the
crowd went quiet. Libante ensemble started to sing a beautiful rendition of the
Promise then the church door opened. Everybody saw the person that they had all
been waiting for – the my bride.
She
was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. At that moment, to me the church
was empty. Just me and her. Her long sparkling gown, her red bouquet, every
small step she took on the aisle was like a beautiful dream. She was met by her
parents halfway and as they reached the end of the aisle, her parents handed
her over to me. I held her hand and looked at her. The dream. It was now real.
We walked up the stairs and faced the altar. In front of God, and in front of
everybody, we were ready to make the covenant.
Father
Joseph administered the mass with so much solemnity. The mass was so serene
from the ceremony itself to the nuptial rites – the veil, the cords, the
candles, the exchange of the rings, and the exchange of vows. They all went
smoothly. The only downfall was that I was sweating so profusely the whole
time! I thought I’d lose half my weight back there. Yes, I’ll mention it here
because it’s not like nobody noticed. For the record, it’s not that I was
scared. It’s a medical condition. =)
Then
the mass ended and the priest announced that I could now kiss the bride. We
faced each other, I lifted her veil. And in front of all the people close to us,
we sealed our commitment to each other and our commitment to God – with a kiss.
For about five seconds there, we were the only people in the world. The sight
of all our guests smiling warmly, hearing them clap made us appreciate all the
support they had given us. The photo ops followed and we had the opportunity to
thank everybody as they approached us. The exit from the church, seeing all the
people waiting outside for us was a sight we would never forget. After a few
photo ops on the church belfry, we then went inside the Jaguar Mark V on our
way to the reception.
The Reception – Collosian Gardens
As
we arrived at Collosian Gardens, I was so surprised to see how many cars were
parked. We thought the space was already big enough but there were just too many.
I secretly worried if I could actually feed of all them. =) But that was just a
thought, what mattered was that they all came. We waited for our queue at the
end of the bridge to the reception venue.
When the music started, we just walked our way towards the cheering
crowd. We were so happy that 1) they all had seats… and 2) despite the travel
time, they all looked so happy.
Town’s
Delight served good food and did a good job in decorating the whole place. The
program started immediately. The whole reception lasted for about 2 hours only
– which was exactly how long we wanted it to be. It was a brief but fun
evening. We slashed out the traditional rites like the flower toss and the
garter game and replaced them with games. In between games, we personally prepared
several AVP’s to keep their attention glued – such as grow up pictures and
tribute to parents. Anna, the host, did a good job in engaging the guests. We were
also proud of the magnetic cards by Partyshots and the digital photo frame by
Frame Up. At the end of the program, we gave away the centerpieces and as a
final act of gratitude, we flashed an AVP (in rolling credits as seen at the
end of a movie) showing names and pictures (of those who have FB accounts) of
our guests. As it flashed, we went
around to thank everybody.
End of Reception
As
everybody started to leave, we tried our best to show all the suppliers and all
the guests how grateful we were for making our wedding day wonderful. All our
hardships, all the planning, all the time spent they were all worth it.
Later
that evening, all the suppliers and all the guests have left. The parking lot
was suddenly empty. There was only my car in a windy Tagaytay night. Then we
were back in the car again… the two of us alone – only this time we were filled
with so many memories.
Watch the photoslide show here!
Watch the photoslide show here!
