They say that getting married is every girl’s fairytale. Fairytales usually end with the prince marrying the princess. Well, marriage is never perfect. But at least I can say that mine started the way I wanted it to. I had the wedding that I envisioned. This is why I am taking this down. 50 years from now when I have a rusty memory, I would like to read this and remember that beautiful day of my wedding.
It happened on November 29, 2009. After 1 year and 4 months of preparation, it finally happened. I woke up early around 6:30am that day to check up on JP who was up at 5:30am to work (yah he still worked!). After talking with him and making sure he was safe and okay that early, I returned to bed and watched TV. It felt like one of my family’s vacations at Discovery Suites since we always stay there. I watched Mickey and Minnie Mouse, my favorite characters when I was a kid. Then, I watched Madeline’s episode on being short. It was funny because I was marrying a very tall man! Well, there was no rule that bride cannot watch cartoons, right? When I got tired of cartoons, I went to breakfast with my loving dad at the lounge to find my Tito Omy and Tita Kitty there. Going back to our suite after breakfast, I saw my grandparents, along with Tito Boy. My sweet mom stayed in the suite because she did not want a heavy breakfast. She was preparing things for the wedding. She was such a big help! I told myself I won’t worry myself with wedding preps on that day. I just let it go.
Once, back in the suite, I took a long hot bath and went back to bed to watch more TV where I watched The Soup! All of a sudden, my wedding flowers arrived. I told myself, “This is it. This is really my wedding day.” I remember falling in love with my beautiful bridal bouquet of white Ecuadorian roses. It was so beautiful I kept on practicing how to hold it. The entourage’s flowers were also lovely. They were a combination of calla lilies and carnation, all in yellow and red since I wanted consistency in the whole wedding.
It still felt surreal that I was getting married so I went to the other room of my suite to spend time with my three brothers only to find them all asleep. I lied down beside my brother Macky and got messages from my Maid of Honor, Kaye, and my very close friend and bridesmaid, Macy, who were wishing me good luck and who were also feeling that day was surreal. I fell into a nap. When I woke up and went to my bedroom, I saw my wedding coordinators, Events Manila led by Ms. Rose fixing my gown and wedding paraphernalia. Shortly after at around 10:30, my make-up artist, another Ms. Rose, came.
Ms. Rose started to do my make-up and I got a text from JP, saying “Meet you on the equinox!” It was a line from the Eclipse soundtrack. It was an inside joke as we were both fans of the Twilight Saga. While I was having my make-up done, my brother, Macky whispered to me that my mom was crying hard in the bathroom. When I tried to comfort her, she denied that she was crying. When I was done with my make-up, I started my shoot in my wedding robe. I felt like it was one of the shoots I was doing for some magazines so I was not so emotional about it. Then it was time for me to wear my bridal gown. It was a princess cut gown by Tita Mila Santiago-De Leon because I always wanted to feel like a princess in my weddinng. Up to this day, I do not know how my designer’s assistants put that gown on me. It was very complicated to wear. I do not know how to wear it up to this day! But it was very easy to carry, surprisingly. The moment I slipped into my gown, it felt real! I was really getting married! I was the bride! Then I felt emotional.
My whole family and relatives kept on peeking inside the room until it was time for our pictorial. My dad was extremely quiet because I knew he was about to burst into tears. His only baby girl was finally getting married. I knew there was a mixture of emotions. They were all happy that I would be marrying JP, but sad at the same time, because I was no longer their baby girl who would be living under the same roof as theirs. The pictorial went on til around quarter to three in the afternoon until it was time for me to leave for the church, Santuario De San Jose, Greenhills East. I was so happy see the wedding car waiting for me outside. It was a surprise car from JP and JP’s older brother, IQ. It was a silver car. I told JP that I did not like the usual old white car in weddings.
JP got to the church very early. While I was in the car with my parents, my bridal assistant, Sharon told me that JP was already there. I felt nervous when I saw the heavy traffic and it looked like it was about to drizzle. JP’s younger brother called to check where I was and gave my mom some tips on where to pass. I jokingly told my mom to tell Martin and JP not to worry and that I would show up! The coordinators at the church also called Sharon because they could not find the bearers which was funny! They were expecting kids to be the bearers. But we laughingly told them that they had been with the bearers all this time because my young adult brothers were the bearers and not some toddlers!
Finally, we got to the church at around 3:45. My parents went down and I was left alone with the driver. I saw my friends, godparents and other guests going inside the church. I was watching the people from the outside of the mosaic door to see if they had already started their march. It seemed such a long time to wait until finally, I heard JP’s march, Canon in D which I particularly chose! I felt my heart beat faster and stronger. JP was already walking. A bit later, Sharon helped me out of the car and positioned me outside the church door. I could not feel my legs. I was so nervous and happy at the same time. What if I trip? How would I react when the doors open? These were some of the thoughts that came into my mind until I heard my bridal march, Kissing and saw the church doors opened. I was overwhelmed with all the people I saw, the lights and all the cameras focused on me. I did not start walking immediately just to absorb everything. Then, I started my walk. As I walked, I could not find JP because my parents blocked the view. Apparently, they misinterpreted the coordinators who told them to face me when I walked. They thought they would have to stay at the center of the aisle while facing me. It was funny because the whole time I was walking, I was searching for JP. I saw the smiling faces of people who were special to me and JP. I saw the many white flowers which I envisioned for that day too. I held my tears though I wanted so hard to cry. (It turned out that JP wanted to cry too. But he held back his tears because he thought that there might be a bet among the guests if he would cry or not!) I was able to hold my tears and give my widest smile. I was very happy while I was walking. Finally, I reached my parents. My daddy was crying so hard. I kissed them and felt their love. I love them so much too and I would not be there if not for them. Finally, I saw JP and I felt so much happier. I felt I had finally reached home – the feeling I always get when I see him. He kissed my parents. His parents kissed me and whispered to me, “welcome.” My parents handed me to JP and there we were at the altar.
Our wedding priest was just amazing. Fr. Mar gave us a beautiful homily. I remember him saying, “Fifty years from now, I would like you to look back to this day and say that this was the day we loved each other the least because fifty years from now, I would like you to love each other more that you love each other today.”
The mass for me was the most important part of the wedding. JP and I prayed hard to God. It was heartwarming. We followed all the wedding traditions at the mass until we heard Fr. Mar utter the words, “You may now kiss the bride!” JP held my chin and gave me a soft loving kiss. And we looked at the cheering crowd happily! Of course, there were more pictorials with our guests. As we exited the church, we were greeted by our families and friends with a shower of petals. Then, we were off to Wackwack Country Club for our reception.
We had more shoots there. We released the doves by the fountain area with JP being captured in candid funny stances. Hungry, we headed to the lobby to be greeted by our caterer’s account manager, Val. He had the waiter serve us some soup and bread at the lobby. We ate there quickly while Sharon replaced my looong veil with a shorter veil and pinned my long train to make it shorter for the party.
After our quick meal, we went inside the reception as we were introduced by our emcee and JP’s good friend, Paulo. My grandfather led the prayer. Then, we went straight to the dinner and pictorial with me and JP and went through with the short program. We had messages from Kaye, IQ, JP’s mama, my mom and Tito Boy. We also had a fun game for the couples. I gave my speech which got me hosting jobs after the wedding! We served Tartitas, the food that brought us together. We had the beautiful wedding cake – my dream wedding cake full of red roses. It was a very fun night full of love!
After the program, we had a party! There, I took off the sleeves of my gown to turn it to a tube. We were able to party hard thanks to Iya’s dad who brought his professional band! It kept the party alive along with the alcohol. Many people danced all night including JP and me until it was time to leave the reception.
JP and I kissed our families good night. I remember feeling both sad and happy – sad for being away from family especially my parents, but happy because I finally married the man I love so much.
We arrived at my bridal suite and it still felt surreal. That morning, it was so busy with all my family and people preparing for the wedding. But after the wedding, it was so quiet and there was a meal, a surprise from the hotel, waiting for us and there I was with my husband.
Finally, before going to bed, I thanked God for giving us a beautiful and organized wedding, our dream wedding. But more than that, I thanked God for giving us each other. After all that JP and I had gone through, I finally reached my new home in the arms of the right man at the right time… and everything just felt right…
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