It has been quite a long time since my last blog post. It feels good that I have found time to compose this one. And I hope that I could keep this going .. again.
I can think of no better way for my comeback than to reminisce my wedding last July 2015. Yes, my husband and I will be celebrating our wedding anniversary this Friday and I thought .. why not make this by comeback post. Let me take you to a flashback ...
THE PROPOSAL
Allan and I have been together
for more than 5 years. And the concept
of marriage has been part of our discussions every now and then. Both of us have been saving not just for the
wedding but for our marriage as well. If
being together forever was not our goal, then being together at the moment was
useless. So, yes – we have been looking
towards a future together. We just
waited for the right moment.
I mentioned to Allan before that
I do not need an elaborate wedding proposal and that what is more important is that
we could ask permission from my parents.
Allan’s plan was to surprise me
on that Saturday when I was supposed to go on a trip with college friends,
while he will ask from my parents for my hand in marriage. However, just the day before Saturday, the
trip did not push through. On Saturday
morning, I was still contemplating if I would go out with my high school
friends, who also planned to go out for lunch on that day. When I told Allan about it, he confessed to
me that I should go out with my friends as he plans to go to my parents, first
to my father, and yes, to ask for my hand in marriage.
I was supposed to be on my way to
lunch with my friends when Allan informed me to stay at home as he was on his
way. He told me that he already went to
my father’s office and my father said that we will have lunch at home (and also
to ask permission from my mother). And
so I stayed home and informed my friends that I would just catch up with them
after lunch.
And so we had lunch. I guess Allan was quite nervous. And I just had to break the ice and said “Mom, may sabihin daw si Allan”. And that was it! My mom and dad were very happy and supportive
J
So, that was how the proposal
went. Compared to the engagement
proposals nowadays, we are aware that it was quite something different. But I would not want it any other way J
I guess that was just the first
step to getting married.
Technically, I don't have an engagement ring. But we consider the ring that Allan gave to me on our 5th anniversary as my engagement ring, as it was given around two weeks before "the proposal".
HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE (WEDDING PREPARATIONS)
The proposal happened last
December 2015. Thereafter, our family went to
Singapore for the holidays.
We arrived on January 1, 2016 and the
next day, Allan and I immediately went to see The View, as a possible venue for
the reception.
It was a first for both of us
when we got there. And we really liked
the place. Admittedly, it was expensive
to hold the reception at The View as compared to a hotel. But we really liked the place and it was
still within our budget. The next day, we brought my mom and dad there and they really liked the place as well. It turns out that my dad also knew the owners of the place.
I suggested to Allan that we get
married in July since that would be summer in the US and my niece and cousins
would be on a summer break. We first
chose the 18th of July since it is a Saturday, but it turned out
that The View was already booked on that day.
And it was also booked on the 11th and 25th, both
Saturdays. We decided to consult my
mother first (Mother Knows Best!)
The 4th of July would
be too early for my relatives from the US and August 1 would be too late
already. So, we had to choose a week
day, which was still okay for us. I
think July 15 was also booked and the next possible date for us was July 8,
which is actually a nice date. Allan and
I became a couple on the 8th of December and having the wedding on
the 8th of July would be nice as well. And it turned out to be auspicious date for
wedding as well. (Try to google it ..
there’s no harm in trying)
We then went to San Pablo Church
in Juna Subdivision for a possible schedule of our wedding ceremony.
As far as I know, I belonged to
that parish until 2009 when we changed residence. The reason I chose San Pablo Church for the
wedding ceremony is because I grew up in that church having resided in Ecoland
before and having spent my elementary and high school at PWC, which was just at
the back of San Pablo Chruch. So, my
first Friday masses were held there. And
if I choose The View as the place for reception, the nearer churches were St.
Francis and San Pablo (a 20-minute drive with no traffic). St. Francis was nearer to The View. But I chose San Pablo for sentimental and
practical reasons. It has a wide space
for parking and more solemn for me. And
yes, Allan agreed with my choice.
So when we went to San Pablo, we
asked for the requirement. After being
interviewed from a Parish representative, we then booked the big day.
For those who are getting
married, first choose the date. Then,
book the church and reception venues of your choice. The rest will follow.
The next few months before the wedding went by with a blur. After we booked the church and the reception venues, we looked for wedding gown and entourage gowns to rent. By the end of January, my mom and I chose a wedding gown to rent and made a downpayment for it. But I was still searching for gown to rent for my entourage. It was quite hard as my entourage is not that common with 2 bridesmaids, 4 junior bridesmaids and 4 flower girls.
However, I was still trying to look around for other options for my wedding gown. Allan and I then went to Kasuotan of Erwin Tan and I found out what I was really looking for. My mom then offered that she will shoulder the gowns of my entourage. I decided to forfeit my downpayment with the other gown. It was worth it!
For Allan's suit, we just waited for the perfect time when the suit we were eyeing was at a discount. And yes, we were able to buy it at a discount.
Of course, we then booked for our food with Chippens We were able to book it early and we had food tasting twice. We then made a separate arrangement for our wedding cake with Sweet Advocate.
We then made arrangement for our florist and wedding organizer with FPD. Our photographer and videographer was the Richard Padillo Photography team. We were also able to contact my make-up artist, emcee and band as well. We then had our invitations and give-aways made.
I think 6 months to prepare for a wedding was just right. If it were less than that, we would have panicked and would have probably been more absent at work. If it were more than that, we would be more anxious. We were not too busy with the preparations for our wedding. We were quite laid back with our preparations, if may say so. Just imagine, I was only absent from my work (both in the office and at school) a day before my wedding. Yes, I still conducted classes on Monday and my wedding was on Wednesday, hehe.
There were little things that we had to arrange and do along the way. But we were okay. We tried to put everything in order for the wedding and we were prepared to accept little mishaps along the way. Allan and I believed that the most important is that we get married and that the people we love will celebrate it with us.
