hitched and then some...

So I promised a couple of wedding kwentos before… so here goes…

En route to T
I was cramming for my missalletes; I had them DIY’d but then our printer ran out of ink. I was so confident that I could do it on my own. Waaah! I rushed to SM Taytay to look for a good quality printer who can deliver in four hours. Good thing I found one and had them printed out immediately. The girls were raving about how it looked and could not believe I did it on my own. I just wish I had done this sooner rather than later. Oh well.at around noon, I started my way to Tagaytay (yes, alone!). my car was packed with all my stuff – the gown, 1 box of accessories, my luggage, and fourteen bottles of wine. I picked up DJ at G4 at around 130pm then headed straight to T.

Arrival at T
When we arrived, I saw my cousin, Daniel. All he could say was “Rowena, this place is soooo UGLY!” he was speaking ironically though since he was smiling. I later learned that he asked the caretakers if he could buy it. Haha! (Go ahead and buy it and let me borrow it a couple of weekends a year!) My family was already there when we arrived (DJ and I made a couple of pit stops along the way and traffic was bad even on a Friday afternoon with the construction going on.)

The Night Before
Zayd and I went night swimming  haha! We figured tonight was our last night at T so might as well enjoy the pool. It was cold though! After that, Zayd, Beng, Neil, DJ, and I watched Ex-Men… Zayd was so addicted to those videos up on YouTube that he compiled everything into one movie! I was busy reading *work* emails and making audio cd copies of all the songs I want played during the reception. Oh, and did I mention we opened one bottle of wine that was meant for one of our ninongs? Hahaha! We knew he wasn’t showing up so we decided to take matters in our own hands 
When it was time for bed, zayd and I were texting each other pa. We were both so excited we could not sleep!

Wedding Day Morning
I was up really early. Di naman ako excited gaano no? I wanted to do a webcast of my wedding preps but the wifi signal was very weak in my room  I had a hearty breakfast, in anticipation of my loss of appetite in the next few hours.
Merlyn was the first to arrive among my suppliers. They had a good look around T and fell in love with it. By 11am, I was already being “detailed” on by her. “Detailed” was a term Zayd coined, which likened me to a car. Hmmft! 
My tita Bang kept on peeking inside my room and see how things were going. At one point, she just stared at me and then suddenly ran towards her room crying! My mom was alarmed so she immediately talked to me asked what happened. I did not have any clue! Later on, we discovered that tita Bang was having thoughts of: “Baby ko ikakasal na! and she looked really pretty!” Awww. *sweet*
I did not get to see much of Zayd that morning.

“Delubyo” at T
Two earthquakes hit Tagaytay on September 27, 2008 – while Merlyn was doing my make-up. I jokingly told everyone in the room that it was God’s way of asking me if I am really, really sure I wanted to go through with the wedding. Hahaha!
However, the real delubyo was when everybody who arrived Tagaytay early decided to stop by T to take a peek at me and Zayd! We almost ran out of food haha! and parking space!
My mom was nowhere to be found during my pictorials. She was running about errand after errand. Hay naku! She missed a lot of pictures and video shots when I finally saw her, her make-up was almost gone and she was sweating! Arrgh! My dad came in ready for the cameras when I noticed that he only buttoned the top button of his barong. Oh my :)

I’m off to get married!
Zayd’s family went to Caleruega at around 2pm as tradition dictates, the groom’s family should arrive the church first to meet and greet all the guests. My coordinator suggested we have some light snacks and refreshments ready for everybody who arrives at the church. It was a hit and everybody who got one was touched  buti daw naisip naming yun! Hehe.
I left with my bunch at around 230pm and yes, I did take the main entrance  it was quite a cardio activity, I tell you!
One of my flower girls, Bea, arrived just in the nick of time. Two weeks before the big day, Patty was not sure if Bea could walk down the aisle with me because of a sudden case of allergies and she had to be confined for *I think* more than a week. With God’s grace, she was able to make it! Yay!

Bless the Broken Road
As tita Beth began to sing my bridal march song by Rascal Flatts, a weird child’s voice suddenly filled the room:

“Daddy! May nagtetext sa yo! Daddy! Daddy! May nagtetext sa yo! Babasahin ko ba?”

Horror of horrors it was my dad’s message alert tone! He forgot to silence it and everyone was laughing! I did not know whether to laugh or cry but I laughed first! I was so tense and I really wanted to cry. I was thinking

“This is it! The moment I’ve been preparing for, in the past seventeen months! I hope I don’t trip! I hope Zayd is smiling!”

Though it was going to be a short walk, I took my time. I let my dad finish texting haha before I went on my way.
Caleruega was so crowded with family and friends who mattered to us. And ouf course with flowers hehe! I could not get a glimpse of Zayd as I was walking. When I finally arrived at my parents’ side, that’s when I saw him. He was smiling! Actually smiling! :)
Fr. Lolo Bobby was really cool. Everybody loved his homily. :)



We are hitched!
Heading out to Nurture Spa, Zayd and I could not believe we pulled it off. Now, we silently prayed that it does not rain.
The weather was typical Tagaytay – cool. The grounds at Nurture were damp though. The ambiance was very romantic and they did a great job playing around with my three-color motif.

Funny moments include:
Dove release. I am really freaked out with claws. I only held the dove in like 2 seconds and when it moved.. eeewww I had to let it go.. with a shrill shriek (yeah it’s redundant but this is the perfect description!) Zayd had no choice but to let his dove fly on haha!

Bouquet and Garter Game. One my my bridesmaids, Gayle, admitted to not listening to the instructions. So she ended up with the bouquet. Haha! It was a simple, Trip to Jerusalem-like game only that the bouquet and garter were being passed among the single ones.  Zayd’s cousin got the garter, who was up on stage, with his Chucks!

First Dance. Daniel sang our first dance, which was the song from Dreamgirls, When I First Saw You. It started to drizzle at this time.


Group Pictures. Zayd and I ran out of wacky poses :)

Crayola Mode


When the Niceprint team was ready for the on-site video, I held my breath. It was so fantastic! Not that because it was our wedding in it, but it did capture every moment, every emotion that happened that day.



Tita Bang prepared a really nice speech for us which ended up with me in tears. I love you Tita Bang!
Tita Leonie stressed how we both were blessed.
Mommy and Daddy gave short but sweet messages for us, also asking for a granddaughter.
Mom and Dad, told us about how Zayd was a miracle baby and to take care of each other and for a grandson.
(we’ll probably shoot for twins haha!)
The night ended with everybody posing for the cams.

More pictures are uploaded at http://wengerts.multiply.com