I Just Opine

Finally, after years of togetherness, the love of Patrick Santillan (a high school friend) and Karen Paña was finally binded by a marriage on July 24, 2010 at Villa Escudero Tiaong, Quezon. All the important persons were around to witness how the couple vouched with each other, TILL DEATH DO US PART and exchanged the I DO. Finally…

The long wait was over, the groom entered with his parents waited for his bride in front of the altar. Primary sponsors, flower girls, ring and bible bearers, best man, maid of honor, secondary sponsors and the bridesmaids who were in violet combined with pink waistbands gowns, followed by the bride’s parents, entered too. Karen’s parents waited for her to enter, and then finally, stepping down from the calesa, the bride entered the church as the singer sang “How Did You Know” and as confetti showered upon as she entered, she might have been feeling as if she was walking in the cloud.  

Everyone’s eyes were staring at here, she was the prettiest (she should be, it was her moment, their moment hehehe). That was it, the bride’s hands finally handed to the groom, expressing “Hey you’ll be mine forever” The wedding ceremony has began, officiating priest was from Lusacan Tiaong, Quezon (sana naalala ko name nya no, but I do recognized him). The ceremony lasted for an hour. The newly wed was greeted by the fireworks outside the church afterward! Bonga!

We were fetched by a ride driven by carabaos going to the reception hall.

Bear, the symbol of the couple’s love, from the love story narrated by Martin, bear was the first gift given by Patrick to Karen and every morning, karen was always surprised to see bear in her table, when they were still in Hoya - this was the unforgettable company for them because their story began here. After the love story sharing, we were regaled by the Villa Escudero’s cultural presentation - Pandango sa Ilaw and Banga. All the other traditional wedding part followed including the bouquet and garter throwing.

Villa Escudero’s cultural presentaion - Pandango sa Ilaw

Villa Escudero’s cultural presentaion  - Banga

The most awaited to be served, dinner by buffet. Surfeit! After this, another traditional part was done, the couple danced at the middle of the reception and everyone pinned any amount, this will be the first hanapbuhay the couple will save.

And the gathering has ended, we left the couple at—-i wish I looked at my watch. The wedding that gone through an expensive efforts and presentation, the venue, the food the photographer and videographer, the fireworks, and all that. They say it’s the wedding of the year. Indeed! They both deserved it!

Congrats to the newly wed couple, may your marriage life will be forever, and I am sure it will be!

Till then,

Vongga! The first word i liked today Yes, bongga, grandiloquent, sosyal, extravagant, the upcoming wedding of a freind of mine will be done at Villa Escudero, the ceremony and reception. It will be this coming Saturday. Best wishes to the couple. (Don’t get mad at me, I did not asked permission from you for this post and photo) 

Villa Escudero is a plantation and resort on the border of Tiaong Quezon and San Pablo City Laguna. It accepts special occasion celebration like wedding and etc. It is one of the country’s tourist spots. I have never been there, and thanks to my friend, I will finally be entering the Villa Escudero on Saturday and will enjoy the beauty at its best. Please click here for some helpful tips.

More to come about Villa after the wedding watch out hehe.

Till then,

Tomorrow is Melanie’s wedding day, unfortunately, I have my class and I can’t attend to witness her once in a lifetime special event. Another sacrificed event, setting priorities, need to set aside some things for the fulfillment of my dreams. Nevertheless, bridesmaid gifts are waiting! I should have handed the couple gift in liue of my presence. I just wish them to live their lives happy together ever

The last time I saw her was November of 2005 during the wedding of my cousin and at the same time classmate Lea Celemen, it’s been five years since I last saw her. Miss her and all of them!

Till here,

December 12, 2008, it was Advantek’s Christmas Party, i wasn’t able to finish the whole program, i had to leave because of my friend Glenda’s wedding. We left Sto. Tomas Batangas at 8pm and headed our way to Lucena, we got to Wayne’s home at 11pm, long, tiring and sleepy drive.

December 13 is the slated wedding of Glen, Wayne is one of the bride’s maid, and i am one of the readers, we have to be at the church at an early time, no late.

The wedding ceremony was held in St. Michael Archangel in Tayabas, Quezon. Upon approaching the church, we already saw some of the couple’s “abay”, we rode off Wayne’s car and decided to sit inside the church while waiting for the ceremony to start. Then Nikkoshi people started to inform that they were already getting nearer in the place, few minutes later, they already arrived. Sir Lazaro, Mr. Shimazaki, Sir Jonathan, M’ Gie, M’ Michelle, Lani, Shei, Regz, Joan, Kulot, Kuya Leo and Kuya Neri.

We patiently waited for the bride to get off the bridal car, as one of the wedding traditions, the bride is not allowed to get off until the ceremony is started. And then finally few minutes later, there came the beautiful and smiling, ever happy bride, walking down the long church’s alley in a red carpet, wearing the best dress she ever had in her life, don once in a lifetime. I was apart from her, but i can sensed and witnessed how happy she was that day, same with her groom Allen. Escorted by her parents while approaching Allen, i knew that Glen was teary that moment, isabay pa ang saliw ng musika habang lumalakad sa gitna ng altar. Lahat ng mga mata ay sa isang babaing naka-puti at napakaputi nakapukol ang mga paningin. Perhaps, a bit nervous, can’t avert this, kakambal na yata ito ng bawat yugto ng pagdiriwang at mahahalagang okasyon sa ating buhay. Marapat lang siguro na sa mga ganitong pagkakataon, tibay ng loob at kumpiyansa sa sarili ang ating kamkamin. The wedding cermony had started, solemn, the homily of the officiating priest had indeed touched everyone’s heart. Looking at the couple that time, i can see no smirk, grin and frown, all i saw were the smiles of both newly wed couple, the whole ceremony. Sabi siguro nila, “at last, after seven years, eto tayo ngayon, nakaharap sa dambana at nanumpa na habang-buhay na magsasama bilang mag-asawa”. Amazing right, trully meant for each other…

Reception followed at Kundiman Bar & Restaurant in Tayabas also. Here, the traditional wedding was the one I witnessed!! Ang saya and we really enjoyed seeing them dancing and having fun. There was this GALAHAN after the kainan - GALAHAN means, both of the newly wed brought bags and wine, prowling around the reception, approaching each guests, had them drink the wine and in return the guest must drop money to the bag, in this case, Allen was the one who approched me and Wayne. Not only the GALAHAN, kakapagod!! SABITAN followed, here, the newly wed invited their ninong and ninang and then their guest to dance with them and then pinned money in the bride’s gown and groom’s suit. Wow, dollars agad and thousands ang isinabit kay Glen,sabi ko tuloy kay Wayne, parang nakakahiyang magsabit ng maliit dun, nakakahiyang itabi yung isasabit namin…. This time, Glen was the one who invited me to dance, kahit parehong babae or lalaki ang pair na magsayaw, okay lang so long as sasabit ka.

Allen serenaded Glen with the song ALL MY LIFE that day but we’re not able to hear it.

Tiring yes, as Glen told me, ang saya saya daw nila that day!!

Their three or four months planning had ended a happy, entertaining and perfect wedding and worth to reminisce forever. This event of their lives had etched them a meaningful and tight bond that no one can untangle. The seven years of boyfriend-girlfriend relationship will reach five, ten, fifteen, silver and gold years as a husband and wife and soon enjoin with kids to take care with.

I am sure that the couple cannot forget this momentous  moment of their lives!!

Till then….

December 06, 2008, after the long wait, after the 30 minutes prowl around UP Los Baños Campus, finally, all visitors from NIPHCO (Nikkoshi) specifically admin people, had arrived at the church - St. Therese Child of Jesus, located just inside the campus, that was exactly 8:30, an hour before the bride and groom arrive. It was my first time to attend in a formal wedding wherein evebody is expected to don a dress, we looked great!, all the nikkoshians (and i still belong since i was once a nikkoshian). It was also the very first time to meet the admin people after my resignation, a year ago. All were in dresses, very feminine, we have to, as it is required and a must by the couple. The Japanese Officers were also there, Mr. Hisatomi, Mr. Shimazaki and Mr. Kameyama, then few minutes after, Mr. Lazaro arrived. This is one of the things I admire to the Nikkoshi’s Officers, they support their members and they reach out to their people in any way.

Going back to Miñoza and Manliclic wedding, we expected that the ceremony will start at exactly 9:30 am because that was what is stipulated in the invitation, but then we still waited for them until they came at 10:00 am.

Procession started, Jonas wearing black suit and then lastly came the stunning bride in a Filipiñana design wedding gown but still looking very sexy, with the background music from a band in the hymn of “I Do”. Very touching moment, we were even in tears as we saw our friend walking at the center of the church aisle and there Jonas in front waiting for Jen’s hands to be lent by her parents, one of the perfect moments to relish and reminisce forever, one of every woman’s dream. I am pretty sure that the bride was also in a teary moment that time, unexplainable her feeling perhaps, this is the most euphoric moment of her life, she was elated, she was as if walking in the clouds, though i haven’t experienced this yet, i can see it through Jen’s eyes.

She was even touched when Jonas wrote these lines;

Going back to their wedding, as the ceremony went on, we enjoyed by the exchanging of vows of the couple and regaled by the great singing voice of the band. After the wedding ceremony, there was this picture taking wherein everything was also organized, there was the chronological order to whom shall take pictures with the newly wed couple first, then came our turn, finally, we were able to get near to the married couple and had a chance to congratulate them both.

After this, we went to the reception area - at the Bulwagan Sarimanok (Clubhouse), same town. I think we were the first to leave the church. Since Wayne already visited the place once, we expected that we could get there that easy, following us were Sir Ed, Kuya Danny and Sir Lazaro’s cars. Along the way, Wayne was dubious as to the path she was taking, it should be an upward drive, she should be taking a higher road but she took the downward one, then we asked a man walking if we were taking the right way, and he said lampas na kami, we went back to the place where the man had directed us. Ayan, since sa halip mauna si wayne sa parking, no avail na, this is one of the funny traits of Wayne, she is sometimes scatty.

The reception was great, cold breeze of air started to hug our skin, taking the walk in a right composure otherwise you’ll get slither, the place overlooked the town of Los Baños and some of Calamba areas. Each guests were assigned in the tables correspondingly, we were at Table #7.

Then came the groom and bride, taking the ladder in a red carpet and they were guided by roughly 9 persons in an umbrella, showered with flowers as they took their stairs up. Afterwhich, the throwing of messages from the parents of both parties, from the bride’s bestfriend, Richard who happen to be the donee and designer of her gown, from her cousin, Jonas’ bestman, friends and message from the couple’s principal sponsors. Lastly they couple gave a message to everyone, in tears..

The foods were served and catered by Juan Carlo the Caterer, great food set up and arrangement, true to what they always say, “Where Catering Is An Art”.

Everything else was great, honestly speaking, it was my first time to attend a wedding like this, perfect, very organized and for this i give them the perfect score of 10!

After being surfeit by the food of Juan Carlo and regaled by the band, the couple just had a shots at the nearby and around the reception.

Till then..

Adding up with my post relative to “MY FRIENDS’ UPCOMING WEDDINGS”, Glen or Glenda, my friend from Nikkoshi will be wedded on December 13, just a sort of what i know about them.

The couple who’s been together as boyfriend-girlfriend for seven years and four months met each other at CAM Mechatronic, Light Industry and Science Park 2 Calamba Laguna, Glen was designated in HR by that time and Allen in (weeeee, i don’t know). As per story told to me, there were different gifts like mangoes to name one, given by Allen to Glen, and Glen was befuddled that time as to who sent her those.

Thinking who might have sent those, every documents she received from the employees were scrutinized, until finally, when Allen filed his VL (Vacation Leave) that’s the time she discovered na, ah sya pala yun. That was how their love story started and it ends with this, with picture below.

Pagkahaba-haba man ng posisyon, sa simbahan din ang tuloy

Best wishes and have lots of kids to take care of!!

Till then,

December 6 and 13, two consecutive Saturdays, two of my friends will be having their wedding vows, one in Los Baños and one in Tayabas Quezon.

December 06, 2008, Jonas Miñoza of Antipolo and my friend Jennifer Manliclic of Calamba Laguna, finally after three years of boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, after those LQ’s, sad, happy and sweet memories, they will now end this relationship and we’ll now call them as couple, married couple who will share the rest of their lives together as husband and wife.

Hmmm nice pictures right?? These were taken in Lakeshore Mexico, Pampanga. Want to see more of their photos, please click here.

Their love story, auhm, what i know about them is that they met at Link 2 Support, they were both working there as TSR. Jen caught the attention of Jonas (naku mukhang dapat si Jen na lang magkwento nito, pakwento ko na lang ulit sa kanya so as to complete this story ). All i know is that they have a sweet and cute love story.

December 13, 2008, after seven years of long boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, this is the trully FINALLY, this couple finally decided to make their lives as one. Allen and Glenda, Allen Unico of Tanauan Batangas and Glenda Abordo of Tayabas Quezon will aver their vows as husband and wife. After also seven years of memories worth relishing, reminiscing and treasuring, after those sweet moments and of course not to forget those petty (or huge) fight, they sticked together until they reached becoming a true couple for the rest of their lives.

Glen and Allens photos were shot at Graceland Estates and Country Club in Tayabas Quezon, a private and nice place.

Till then,