Wedding Moments to Remember

“I will not remember what my wedding looked like. I will remember how it felt. Because at the end of the day, even really cool stuff is just that: stuff. It’s the love you share, the people who hold you up, and those precious moments of bliss and joy that you will remember for the rest of your life. And none of that is for sale.”

There are lots of moments but some are starting to fade. The wedding day was stress-free, thanks for my A-Class suppliers and the love of friends and families.  There are moments that I will forever remember, just want to share it here too. Honestly, I can’t remember the set-up, decors, or even the taste of the food anymore but until now I can still remember the smiling faces, unusual moments, and funny moments. True enough, it’s not the cool stuff that will stick to your mind but those precious moments of bliss and joy, and how I wish it's the same with my guests too. Here are the precious moments:

•  15 absentees out of my total 100 guest list. That's almost perfect anyway because all the most important people in my life are present. It's like a Family reunion. Special thanks to friends who came home from australia, hongkong and saudi just to attend my wedding, and friends who travelled from ilocos just to be with me also.
• When honey was playing/fidgeting with the arrhae and ring box while we were on our knees, facing the altar.
• When honey was making faces at me, trying to make me laugh while i was saying my wedding vow! Mischievous husband!
• When I was standing outside the church, waiting for my cue to enter, my friend's dad, Tito Willy, approached me, gave me a peck and his wedding wish. One of the sweetest gesture that day! 

Photo by Bryan Yap

• Our couple’s first dance, even without the mood lights, I find it romantic because honey was singing the song to me while we were dancing. Brings me back to our dating days, when he swayed me to dance in the privacy of our home while singing acapella of our love song.
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Photo by my bro-in-law

• The father-daughter’s dance to the tune of "Butterfly Kisses" that suddenly became a “family dance”. My papa who hates wearing barong, took off his barong as soon as he reach the reception venue, so he was feeling shy when we were dancing with his in-shirt on and no barong, so he decided to call my mom, and then my sisters to join the dance. If only the quartet played “sasara ang bulaklak, bubuka ang bulaklak, darating ang reyna, pakembot-kembot.”

• The prosperity dance because I want my husband and my in-laws to experience and witness one of the Filipino traditions. It was fun, and I actually advice my friends about it beforehand, and my friends are really cool, they pinned their money shaped into heart, sash and crown.
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Photo by Bryan Yap

•  I want my honey and his mom to have their moment too, so we added a mother-son dance.      

• W@W love was present that day too and I even heard from one supplier “having Benz as a guest means the w@wie couple are big time”. hahah! It’s just so happened that we became friends :-)

My husband's cousin got the garter, while my cousin lost the female's game.

• The single’s game. My wedding is the third in our family, but it’s a first time that we had the “single’s game” added in the program. It was fun and all my female cousins were game, too bad my male cousins went home with my grandfather before the game, thus we only had two bachelors left as all my friends are married too. It was an extra-ordinary experience for my husband's cousin, even if he was aware of this game, it is really his first time to be part of the game.

My High School friends with their respective families. I will have my own baby next time we see each other again.

• It’s like a highschool reunion with all my friends around and a family gathering will all my relatives around too. I’m glad that my family enjoyed the event too. Nakakataba ng puso when my sister said “it’s the best and most relaxing wedding she attended so far”.

• The night before, my in-laws surprised me with their traditional bengali way of "pamamanhikan" by giving me slippers in a tray with a lighted candle, gold jewelries - that i'm supposed to wear everyday, especially the bracelet as this is the symbol that you are a married woman, I can't be "bare" as the jewelries are symbol of abundance & prosperity in marriage, and things that I'm supposed to wear/use on the first night like toiletries, perfume and nightgown. Too bad, the bengali sweets were confiscated at KL Airport.

• And the wonderful speeches, from the best man, maid of honor, parents and friends. Awesome, witty, inspiring and very heartfelt :-)

       my mom's message: Peachy & Alvin, we are very happy for both of you. Alvin, welcome to our family. You have married a very unique girl - resourceful, cheerful, kind, creative & always willing to lend a hand. Peachy you are now a wife, a part of a unit & half of a couple. As a married couple you will have good days & bad days. Always celebrate the good days, and because you can't avoid the bad, learn from them. Find happiness in the simplest things & joy in being together. Respect each other & every now & then, give each other space. But always start & end your day with a kiss, a hug, & those three important words I LOVE YOU. We wish you all the happiness in the world. Congratulations!

Bride's friend's message:

Peach, Alvin, Congratulations again. 

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Mika. Peach and I have been friends for 16 years now. We’ve been through thick and thin together, or in our case, fat and thin. Sexy na kami ngayon!  

We passed college, thesis, practicum and the board exam together. We’ve even survived the floods of UST. One time, we got stuck in the car because of the rising flood, and someone stole my side mirrors. Peach freaked out on my behalf. If it weren’t gross and insanely dangerous to wade out, Peachy might have run out to catch the guy. She epitomizes the expression small but terrible. So Alvin, always stay on Peachy’s good side! 

Peach brought me to Vigan, my first out of town trip, ever. We got stuck in the bus for 13 hours . But Peach was there to liven things up. We even had a theme song for that trip. This guy’s in love with you pare. There is no one I’d rather be stuck with that long than Peach. (Pause) And then there was Cebu, Puerto Galera. We conquered the Angkor Wat! Peach, I hope your adventures with Alvin will be as fun and exciting as ours, and I look forward to hearing lots of kwentos from you. 

I have a huge library of stories, but I feel we might not have enough time and will just be repeating what others have or will share - that Peach is a wonderful friend. 

Even though distance made it difficult for us to remain involved in each other’s lives, Peach constantly makes an effort to keep in touch. She always takes the time to meet up whenever she’s here in Manila. 

So when I learned that Peachy and Alvin were getting married, I gave her the best advice I could think of: DON’T. Obviously, she didn’t listen to me. But kidding aside, I was very happy for my friend. I was even happier to have finally met Alvin when he was here last year to meet the family. 

Marriage and weddings were things we talked about before. To see her now, happy and be with someone she deeply loves, and loves her in return, I am truly blessed to be part of this celebration. 

Peach brought me to Vigan, my first out of town trip, ever. We got stuck in the bus for 13 hours . But Peach was there to liven things up. We even had a theme song for that trip. This guy’s in love with you pare. There is no one I’d rather be stuck with that long than Peach. (Pause) And then there was Cebu, Puerto Galera. We conquered the Angkor Wat! Peach, I hope your adventures with Alvin will be as fun and exciting as ours, and I look forward to hearing lots of kwentos from you. 

I have a huge library of stories, but I feel we might not have enough time and will just be repeating what others have or will share - that Peach is a wonderful friend. Even though distance made it difficult for us to remain involved in each other’s lives, Peach constantly makes an effort to keep in touch. She always takes the time to meet up whenever she’s here in Manila. So when I learned that Peachy and Alvin were getting married, I gave her the best advice I could think of: DON’T. Obviously, she didn’t listen to me. But kidding aside, I was very happy for my friend. I was even happier to have finally met Alvin when he was here last year to meet the family. Marriage and weddings were things we talked about before. To see her now, happy and be with someone she deeply loves, and loves her in return, I am truly blessed to be part of this celebration. Peach, good luck to you and Alvin. I hope your party never ends and wish you both all the best.