It was the wedding of my dreams.... so surreal...
It was like a true fairy tale unfolding before my eyes... A very happy day for both Leih and me. I was the ever- relaxed bride. I 9didn't feel any nervous bone in my body. I was in good spirits all day long.
Today, the wedding coordinator herself walks down the aisle... How awesome, right?
Since everything had been well-prepared, I left no space for worry. A minor glitch with my late main photographer was all that I could remember, but then, even that didn't bother me much. Today was my day and I wasn't going to spoil it for the world.
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| DIY candle holders |
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Most brides feel nervous on their special day and could not hold anything to eat, but I am an exception. Leih and I, (upon arriving at the hotel early in the morning) had a wonderful breakfast at the Sky Bar buffet, a few floors above our rooms.
Since everything was properly prepared, everything went like clockwork. My do-it-yourself paraphernalias have all been brought early on at the hotel. My misalletes, candle holders & feathery kissing bells had been neatly arranged and prepared for turnover.
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| my very own bridal bouquet & flower girl's buckets... |
The flowers which we personally picked up on our way to the hotel were all so gorgeously done by my florist-friend, Martha Manalili... I felt so overjoyed seeing my flowergirl's buckets filled with gorgeous flowers, Martha even improvised by putting purple pearl handles to give off that perfect finish... Of course, my bridal bouquet was a winner... It was a lush combination of lavender Ecuadorian roses & tulips.
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| Ate Cita & Eric Locton attending to me... |
I got another team to supervise my event & follow my "blow by blow" reminders. Thankfully, they were dependable as the rest of my suppliers...Everyone in the room were in a light mood.
My hair & make up artist, Princess Misa Hernandez & Eric Locton started working on me and my mom as soon as they arrived.
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| my Renaissance - inspired wedding ball gown by Edward Teng.. |
My coordinators came in next, followed by my back up photographer "Marco Malaca" of BlackTie Project who eagerly started snapping photos to their liking.
Ate Cita along with another staff from Edward Teng's shop arrived next to press my gown and arrange my very long train... And then, Jason Magbanua's team followed next. I had to call my friend Hycinth abroad & email her a quick picture of Jason as she was a big fan herself. She was actually the one who first showed me Jason's work online.
I had the suppliers' foods prepared even before they arrived at the hotel and everyone had a hearty"Contis" lunch. Everything went well according to plan.
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| our rings.. |
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| my DIY candle holders.. |
As my dream team were buzzing around the room, Kaye, Love & and Beth started loading my boxes of DIY items onto the van which they will personally deliver to the venue. Our rings, arrhae & flower baskets were carefully photographed by Marco. I felt more excited knowing how beautiful these would look in the pictures..
When the time came for us to leave the hotel, I met a fellow Fernbrook Bride, Carisa Alparaque - Castro, who was also getting married today... Here's our picture...
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| December 5 Brides of Fernbrook... |
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| my gorgeous entourage... |
Emotions were racing as we approached Fernbrook. The parking lot was starting to fill up, I knew my guests have arrived, and my aunts and cousins were already waiting for me at the bridal suite. Our gorgeous entourage, ~ (my girls) were all radiant in their Edward Teng gowns.. Everyone dear to me came, anticipating our "special moment"....
My excitement grew as I stepped out of the van. I then saw my beautiful fairytale horse-drawn carriage waiting for me outside the bridal suite, man was I blown away.. It was just as I imagined.
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| my fairytale horse-drawn carriage .... |
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| I felt like a real princess on this day... |
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| on our way to the church... |
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| smoke swirls came out as the door opened for me... |
My short "trip" to the church was another fairytale. I was indeed a princess for a day. SO THIS WAS HOW CINDERELLA MUST HAVE FELT. All eyes were on me, waiting for the carriage to arrive... and just as I waited inside the carriage, I heard the faint sound of the orchestra playing "Canon in D", the cue for my entourage's march.
I started feeling nervous when I got off the carriage. Mommy kissed me goodbye and was ushered inside the church to be with my Dad... My knees instantly felt week...I knew this was my moment, different emotions washed over me... Just when I was about to do the "longest & most meaningful walk" of my life, the church's doors opened and the song "The Prayer" played softly... Swirls of smoke came out as I started to walk slowly, (one, two, one, two, just as Eric instructed) (For everyone's information, I walk three times the average walk of a normal person so this was the slowest walk of my life.)
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| the slowest walk of my life.... |
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| the most emotional moment in our wedding... |
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As I entered the church, everything seemed to stop. All I could ever see were my loving parents, waiting for me halfway to the altar... Tears started welling up at the corner of my eyes as I saw Daddy's face, a gentle loving look with a hint of sadness in his eyes. There was no need for words. I knew that he was starting to cry just like me... I was trembling as I held on to my dad's arm with my mom on my other side. The feeling was indescribable..
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| the very solemn ceremony officiated by Fr. Sel Hernandez... |
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| our first kiss as a couple... |
I hugged and kissed my mom and dad, and my in-laws next, before I finally joined Leihson in front. And from there, Fr. Rosell Hernandez started the very solemn ceremony. Every word was meaningful, every moment was unforgettable..
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| his second kiss... |
And just after Fr. Sel announced "You May Kiss The Bride," my husband Leih gave me our first kiss as a newly-married couple... He then kissed me again, this time on my forehead. I would like to think it was his kiss of respect for me. It was unexpectedly sweet...
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| the grand celebration followed at Byzantine Garden |
A beautiful and bountiful celebration greeted us at Byzantine Garden
after the ceremony. The venue was utterly grandiose, so magnificently
beautiful, much much more than I expected.
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| our personalized table napkins... |
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The venue was well-lighted,
with shades of pink and purple, the tiffany chairs were all adorned with
purple silk, with elegantly gorgeous centerpieces, candelabras,
apple-filled large vases and lavender paper roses.
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| our personalized wine bags... |
My DIY candle holders & feather kissing bells added to the glorious design of each table. Even the personalized napkins looked wonderfully in sync with our theme...
The food was great. Centertable did more than what was expected. They were fabulous.
The tower cake & cupcakes were also an added highlight. The cakes were moist and delicious, made of banana & chocolate...
We also provided all our principal sponsors a medium-sized cake each, along with our Papemelrotti box filled with yummy goods & special coffee beans...
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| one of our beautiful centerpieces... |
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| the couple's table... |
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| yummy!! |
It had been a great start for Leih and me. We had our first dance, funny thing that Leih had an instant bout of shyness, explaining the absence of ardor in his moves, but I give him due credit for trying.
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| our first dance... more known as "Leih's terrible nightmare..". LOL |
And there was the bouquet toss and garter toss, which my good friend Jofer Tan won, together with Abigail Nolasco, a good friend who became more of a little sister to me, brought about by inconsequential circumstances of my past. (^_^) I was just as happy to have her and her mom on my special day.
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my very good friend Jofer Tan & Abigail Nolasco, the winners of the game..
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The party ended with lots of pictures and greetings... And before leaving Fernbrook, our photographer took more photos of us at the garden, aboard the gondola, and at the connecting bridge... The place became more enchanting as night crept in... It was like being somewhere magical....
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| our romantic gondola ride... |
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| sharing a kiss while on the gondola... |
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| overlooking the river.... |
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| thankfully, the fairytale ceremony was a success... |
We arrived home very late but still very much awake, we managed to open most of our gifts until the long day finally wore us out...
Another fun-filled week is ahead of us, as we are going to Hongkong for our honeymoon....
Thank God for today... Thank God for this awesome fairy tale...
A beautiful and bountiful celebration greeted us at Byzantine Garden
after the ceremony. The venue was utterly grandiose, so magnificently
beautiful, much much more than I expected.
The food was great. Centertable did more than what was expected. They were fabulous. 
We arrived home very late but still very much awake, we managed to open most of our gifts until the long day finally wore us out...
