Disclaimer: I would have read this during the wedding, but those close to me should know how terrified I am of public speaking — and besides, I write better than I speak (plus, my husband has more experience in this area). Haha.
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Love came to us in all forms from the moment we started planning for our wedding until this very moment, when I am writing my humble attempt to shower all the love back to you via this lengthy post.
To our families, parents, siblings, whom we have spent our entire lives with — you have pushed us, supported us to follow a road that in the end, led us to find each other. Thank you for understanding our physical and emotional absence during the past 6 months, we are now back to regular programming with our attention span at 100%. To the San Nicolas clan and to our Fernandez family, thank you for spending your precious weekend with us. To the Pamintuans, thank you for crossing all our national expressways from Pampanga all the way to Tagaytay for JP and I.
To our friends, both near and far — who are living testaments that God surrounds us with people who are likely to calm you down during your regular mental breakdowns and still be lovingly forced to wear coats and leather shoes, gowns and heels in the rocky mountain of Batulao. To those who have crossed international borders just to witness our vows, we can never thank you enough.
To our family and friends who were unable to come home, we still felt the love and the well wishes, and we only pray that we can see each other soon.
To our project teams, who have given us a chance to prioritize our lives (instead of the usual work > life arrangement haha), we owe you one. Balancing wedding duties with work is such a daunting task, it would have been impossible without your support.
To the entourage:
1. Our principal sponsors — we can only consider ourselves lucky if we get to live our marriage in your example. Thank you for giving us your blessing.
2. Our secondary sponsors — who, up to the very last minute set aside their inhibitions and powered through the photo shoots and their “dance” numbers. Thank you to the well-behaved and adorable little children (and one daddy) who walked down the aisle as well.
3. Our liturgical entourage — thank you for being a part of our solemn ceremony.
To our wedding partners:
1. Caleruega (Ms. Melda and the invisible people responding to our late-night e-mails and texts) — we will never forget that Saturday morning call that said 3:00 PM of January 23 is still open.
2. Taal Vista Hotel (Ms. Jo Novicio), who allowed us to execute our theme, serve sumptuous food and breeze through the event without breaking a sweat. Fun trivia #1: We were told that it’s the first time in TVH history (well, in Ms. Jo’s experience) that the booked headcount matched the actual number of attendees. Fun trivia #2: GM fell in love with our theme and wants to buy our bookshelf haha.
3. To Marc Parra Photography (Marc and Salie, Er and Ken, and the rest of the team), there are no words to describe how thankful we are to have met all of you. We laughed and posed through all harsh elements (sun and rain, dust and grass), and we couldn’t have asked for a better photo and video team. You are truly amazing and we pray that you continue to be entrusted by more people to document the most precious memories in their lives. We are looking forward to our next event with you.
4. To Zenith Events Management (Madocs and Kat, Kim and Chie, and everyone in your team), you have constantly reminded us that the wedding should be about us and not the guests. You have successfully kept an obsessive compulsive groom and an anxious bride calm throughout all these preparations. Your presence on our wedding day gave us a chance to savor every moment of this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Madocs, you have made our parents very happy people. Thank you. Zenith Events Management
5. RCJC Flowers (Tita Cora), we had zero idea on wrist corsages or any floral arrangements and we just knew we wanted fresh, white and red flowers. You made our Pinterest pegs come alive and we are very thankful for that.
6. Makeup by Georgia (Georgia Reyes), your magical hands erased all the stress away from our faces. Thank you for making me glow. Makeup by Georgia
7. Printcafe, Booked Prints and Bath Origins (Ms. Rose Manzano) for our printables and souvenirs — thank you for the smooth transactions.
8. Aling Sonia’s Art Team (Lals, Toffer, Jaq and Noemie) and Don Vic’s Engineering Team (Kuya Noel, Kuya Henry, Kuya Edwin and Kuya Jun) — Thank you for the endless paper-cutting, sticking and hammering that made our rustic library theme possible with all the handmade tags, souvenirs, the ladders and the bookshelf.
9. To my baby dragon Lals - Thank you for being the best matron of honor and for fighting my battles for me. Haha.
10. To the Fernandez creative/sexy/beautiful (pagbigyan na si Aling Sonia) genes and the Pamintuan logistics/math skills/good looks, thank you for being passed on to JP and I. Haha.
And finally to God, our Creator — who paved a path for us to strengthen our spiritual roots and be prepared to lead a life, a family that is centered in Him. Ours is not a perfect love story, it is one that speaks about how everything falls into place in His perfect time.
