A Wedding Story

December 10, I woke up to fresh new day. Jumped off a king-sized bed, drew out heavy curtains and said ‘Good Morning’ to a perfect morning. I was as giddy as a child who got her Christmas wish. Then I said a silent prayer , 'Lord, I surrender this day to you. Stephen and I did all the best we can, You do the rest. Your will be done’. That was exactly 5 years and 3 days ago, the day of my wedding day.

from the candles, cord to the flower baskets, all were done by yours truly, with love :)

With my family before we headed off to Kasalikasan. My mom made my wedding gown and the entourage's gowns, from the petticoat to the bead works. My wedding was her last wedding project because she's (semi)retired now from sewing.

Preparations went well at the hotel and according to schedule. Everything was going perfectly well until I  reached Kasalikasan. As I was about to step out from my red bridal car, trickles of rain went down on our garden wedding/reception venue. Yes, we had (or supposed to have) a garden wedding with a blessing from the Archbishop’s Palace because the chapel we reserved did not finish construction in time for the wedding. It literally rained on my parade :(

At Linden Suites lobby

my husband was wet during the whole ceremony. Good thing he's wearing a Barong so it's not obvious

Our friends and relatives helped each other so that all will be safely relocated in the Navy gym which became the chapel’s makeshift prayer area. Good thing it was the holiday season then so the gym was kinda dressed up. The wedding got delayed for almost 2 hours because of the relocation. I was in my red bridal car that long a time. All the while I checked through my cellphone where my husband-to-be is, checked if so and so were safe and dry and if my makeup was still intact. Those were practically my thoughts at that time. Good thing I brought in great suppliers – John Ong and Imagine Nation team were the most professional and kept on doing what they do best despite the heavy rain. Uh huh, the rain got really heavy and didn’t stop until the whole reception finished. My caterers were alert and on their toes too, adjusted to the change in venue and everything. My makeup artist didn’t leave my side, made sure I was pretty all the time. We remained good friends until now. The best thing I guess was that I chose the best guy to marry. He made sure the wedding will push through, heavy rain or shine.

When it was my time to alight from the car, I was all smiles to see that most people I put on my guest list were still there in the gym waiting for the wedding to start. These people are the people that Stephen and I hold dear and I’m happy they thought we were special too to stay despite the mishap.Of course, I understood those who couldn't stay anymore. At the wedding march, I got a round of applause from all the guests. I guess they were just happy the ceremony finally started :) They say it's rare for a bride and groom to stay focused and calm even when things during their wedding go bad. The thing is, there was not a slight worry on my mind during that time. I was literally in cloud nine! Funny but after the wedding I just thought, well I surrendered everything to God, didn’t I? I know after that moment with Him, I just gave away all worries, all doubts, all concerns and surrendered my wedding day to Him. Que sera sera, according to God’s plan.

Mr. and Mrs. Garcia

During my husband’s speech, I remember him saying ‘this is the most perfect disaster ever happened to us’ while I said ‘God wants to tell me, here are your friends who will stick with you through thick or thin.’ I thank those who came and helped and celebrated with us during that non-stop rainy night.

After that mishap of a wedding (yeah, not until a few weeks after the wedding did I tink it was a mishap), our blessings just kept coming in – the kids, the house, the financial blessings, the car. I’m not saying you need a disastrous wedding to get a good life after. Maybe it was all because I learned the right way of surrendering everything to God and to trust in Him all your needs, worries and troubles. I felt an unexplainable kind of lightness in my heart, mind and spirit the day of December 10, 2005.