Wedding day.
The day most girls dream of. I’ve been personally waiting for this since I was a child. I remember being a 10-year old girl pretending to walk along the aisle with blanket around her as if it is her wedding gown. And now it is here. I can’t believe this is the feeling when you finally reach your longtime dream.
I woke up at 7am to have our family breakfast. My family is complete that morning, from my nephew and niece to my grandparents. It was nice to wake up with these guys and feeling their support to this once in a lifetime event in my life.
The team of my make-up artists came first at 9am. They have to start early as they will be doing all of my entourages’ hair and makeup. The team is lead by Ms. Ehmjay Bornales. I just found Ehmjay online.I was amazed by her work based on her clients’ before and after pictures. Her work is very neat and clean. All of her clients look bright and fresh, and I want that on my wedding day. I want everything to look fresh, serene, and bright, in short “maaliwalas”. So anyway, I booked her without trial makeup because I can sense she is really good, which eventually came out to be true.
Next came our photographer/videographer, Santiago Alfonso Fotografia (SAF).These guys are very fun to be with. They make everything lighter. They joke around, making you comfortable so that they get nice shots. What I love about this P/V is they minimize filters and effects on their pictures. I don’t like P/Vs that rely on editing to make their photographs look nice to the point that you don’t even recognize yourself anymore. SAF’s pictures are realistic and very candid. They took shots of not just the couple but also the guests and their reactions. Additionally, I love the Same-Day-Edit they’ve prepared for us which you can watch below.
My parents had Jollibee deliver food for our lunch. They made sure everyone had their lunch before the wedding including our suppliers. I am truly blessed to have my sisters, Fatima and Faye, my bridesmaids, Zyna, Rochelle and Jade, my groomsman, Carlo, and my best friend, Apple, that day as they were the ones preparing everything and assisted some of my friends and family check-in and out of the hotel. I can’t do anything at that moment but to sit still because my hair and make-up had to be done. If you think a bride can still do a lot of stuff the morning before the wedding, you’re definitely wrong.
Time flies sooo sooo fast that an hour is like a minute in reality. The moment my hair and make-up is done, I had to rush with the photographers because they needed pictures of me getting ready. Then after that, I had to fit my dress as the tailor still needs to adjust some things to make it look better on me. The last thing I know, I am already at the lobby of the going to the bridal car.
But before I was able to reach the car, Ms. Mina, the account executive of Vivere Hotel assigned to me, interrupted me as she must relay a bad news to me. oh no! What could go wrong on a perfect day? Anyway, she said the mobile bar counter of my supplier did not pass their pest control. The counter is made of wood and a lot of pests came out the moment they sprayed some chemical. I understand Vivere Hotel won’t take the risk of letting pests enter theirhotel. Good thing, Ms. Mina offered their mobile bar counter to me, FREE OF CHARGE! Yes, you heard that right, it’s free. To think that most suppliers will take this opportunity to earn more, but instead they empathized with me. I thank and salute Vivere for this. Brides will definitely love you not just because of the great interiors of your hotel but because of your response to incidents like this.
And so, the day must go on, I entered my bridal car with my best friend and maid-of-honor, Apple, my sister, Faye, and my cousin, Eayah. Everything went smooth. No rain and no traffic.
We were able to get to the church early so I have to wait inside the car while everybody gathers inside. Then I heard Canon in D started to play. That was the song we’ve chosen for the entourage. I bet they started walking along the aisle. Does my nephew, Drake able to walk without crying? Do they all look good? And what is running inside Frank’s mind as of the moment? Is he as excited as I am?
The church coordinators opened the bridal car door and signal that I can already go down. Ate Irene, my couture, is already waiting for me to assist with my wedding dress.
This is it! This really is it. No turning back, well I had no plans of doing so anyway. I have waiting so long for this. Kuya Jhay-Ar, Frank’s college friend, started singing Forevermore. That’s my cue to start walking. I saw the faces of the people I love… smiling… crying… All eyes are on me. Then I saw my parents. Of course, my mom’s crying and as usual, my dad is teasing her. So happy they are both present on this day.
Then, I saw Frank, the main reason I was here. He was looking at me, smiling. I kissed my parents. My father shook Frank’s hands. Then Frank kissed my mother. And finally, we’re on our way to the altar.
The ceremony started. It was so solemn and quiet. What I loved about it is the homily. It was the best homily I’ve heard among all weddings I’ve attended to. To sum it up, the priest reminded us that “Love is not feelings. Love is a commitment. It is a decision because time will come that you don’t feel anything, but you will make a decision to forgive, to accept and to understand each other.” Anyway, you can watch the video below to hear more on this.
After the ceremony, everything was at ease. I can now breathe normally. Finally, we’re married! And that’s what matters most on this day. Who cares about the reception? Well, okay I am still a bit nervous but hey, not that much. Receptions are fun and supposed to be laid back.
When we arrived at Vivere Hotel, of course the P/V had our post-ceremony photo shoot. It’s not that long and tiring. After that, we went to our hotel room for our touch-ups. We were able to eat also because Vivere knew we won’t be able to eat much during the reception so they prepared us two plates of our menu.
Once we went down to the function hall, we saw our entourage practicing their dance entrance. It’s so much fun seeing them all laugh and getting along. You can also see on the video below, clips of this dance. Anyway, after the entrance is done, comes the prayer, games, dinner, speeches and traditions. Also, there were special song numbers rendered by Frank’s cousins, Ate Jocel, Meliza and Kevin, and Frank’s college friend Kuya Jhay-Ar.
