P&D wedding at Antonio's Tagaytay
Our wedding fell on a beautiful December day. The sun wasn't too hot, there was a nice, cool breeze blowing through the trees, and while the pastor was speaking---I kid you not---birds were chirping.
No one knew where I'd be walking from. Surprise, I'm up here!
See, this is why you need a rehearsal dinner. You don't want to bare all 72 of your teeth on your walk down the aisle. I mean, I'm practically Jaws in a dress.
We talked about trimming the guest list down to 50-60, and here's what it looks like! A small wedding with our favorite people.
Our wedding motif was "pastel colors", but we really didn't mind if guests came in whatever they were comfortable in. We were just happy to see them there. Antonio's Tagaytay is not an easy place to get in to or out of, and it was Monday the next day, so whatever considerations we could extend, we did.
I probably looked at hundreds of Pinterest photos of outdoor weddings to get an idea of decorating this small garden, but it clearly wasn't necessary. Deen did a great job of lining the aisle with petals from Dangwa and tying dahlias to the chairs. The property was already so beautiful and well-maintained. We didn't even decorate the cocktail area anymore.
Dinner starts at 7PM, so while waiting guests crossed the cobblestone road to the Lanai Lounge where we served cocktails, juices, and snacks. Paolo and I bought the snacks ourselves, so I picked my favorites. Of course, all the Rold Gold pretzels were gone by the time I got there.
Saying hello to handsome little Casey, Paolo's cousin's son. He kept pointing to his clothes as if to say, "I dressed up for this, lady. This better be entertaining."
My boss and mentor/selfie king Mon Isberto with his wife, Paolo's bosses from The Inquirer---Tina Dumlao, Corrie Narisma, Raul Marcelo---and Mon Lozano of the BSP.
I wanted the ceremony to be at the Lanai, but there was no way a proper aisle could fit in it. Sophia is in a rush here, trying to get signatures for the wedding certificate and then wrangle everyone to the Cabana where dinner would be served.
We made our entrance to applause and apparently Vanna White gestures of Psyche Calypso, Michelle's daughter. What a ham.
Paolo and I both have uncles who have passed away. Weddings are about forming new families from old families, and even though we would have wanted our families to be physically complete today, we did our best to honor them in spirit.
All the people we love in one room. It's so amazing.
THIS IS THE UGLIEST CAKE I HAVE EVER SEEN. It's a Pinterest Fail, real-life Expectation vs. Reality meme. My baker is a charlatan! But if this was the worst I had to worry about, I think I convinced myself to find the humor in it. IT'S SO UGLY.
Embarrassing speeches full of love. It was a great way to end the night. Paolo and I are filled with joy and gratitude towards our families---for raising us, guiding us, and instilling in us important values to make us the people we are now. Hopefully, they'll also be generous with parenting advice. We're going to need a lot of it when the little girl arrives.