Flower fever

I don't know if I was one of those kids conditioned to believe that flowers are beautiful things -- the way we're conditioned to believe that spiders are icky and snakes are dangerous and yet probably, if we were not warned so, we would still think of these creatures as beautiful things too.

But I digress.

As far as I can remember, I’ve always loved flowers. I am fascinated by flowers that grow wild, those found in our garden and especially those dressed up for special occasions such as weddings. I bow to the beauty of all flowers, from the sweet smelling sampaguita to towering birds of paradise to fast wilting tulips to forever living everlastings and statices. When I was a preteen, I would even talk to the flowers in my grandmother’s garden, pretending they were my playmates. I greeted them every morning when I watered them, even spoke to them. I even spoke Spanish to a particular variety, the Bandera Espanola fearing that they may not understand me if I spoke to them in Tagalog.

And so, this fondness for flowers is something I never outgrew. Every summer, I try to go to UP Diliman to look at the rows of sunflowers as we drive along University Avenue going towards the oblation.

When I was planning my wedding, I wanted to have tulips for my wedding bouquet for these were flowers I only read about in books when I was a little girl. They were rare, found only in Holland or in countries with colder climates but in recent years have been readily available. I still don't know if they are grown locally by some florists but it's nice to know you can always find some available in our local flower shops.

I wanted to have lots of flowers at my wedding and I wanted to make sure they were beautifully, professionally arranged so I searched for the florist who fit my style, personality and of course, budget. I ended up with a good florist who took into consideration all my requests and my wedding turned out beautiful. I loved flowers so much it didn’t even matter that my flowers for the entourage and church ended up more expensive than my wedding gown!

Aside from the staple roses and occasional casa blancas or stargazers, I have yet to personally witness a wedding that uses entirely local flowers like sampaguitas, ylang-ylangs, champacas, rosals even dama de noches which are coincidentally some of the most fragrant flowers in the country. More abundant are colorful varieties of mums, orchids, gerberas, tulips, hydrangeas and calla lilies. Some florists are more creative and come up with combinations of carnations, Queen Anne's lace, and button mums.

Above, a pink Gerbera. Below, a pink rose selling for 20 pesos for two dozens (short stemmed) at Dos Castillas street in Sampaloc, Manila. For more purchases, you can haggle for smaller fees per dozen. These flowers however still have to be rinsed and "beautified" by taking out loose or torn petals and leaves. The red roses usually have to be de-thorned thoroughly.

Below, a new find! I forgot what their real name is but the vendors at Dos Castillas call them "paper roses." They come in white, purple and pink versions and are seasonal. I bought purple ones and made an arrangement for my sister's surprise party at home.

I mixed pink and white roses over formosa ferns and topped them with purple paper roses. Below, I combined the paper roses with Azucenas, faintly fragrant white buds that are favorably used during weddings to add height for floral centerpieces and aisle decor.

Wouldn’t it be refreshing to have pots of flowers as centerpieces instead of the freshly cut blooms stuck on floral foam that would wilt as soon as your reception was over? Some guests become so enamored with the wedding flowers during wedding receptions that they even bring them home. My husband and I brought home some of our own centerpieces and offered them to our loved ones on their graves the day after our wedding.

Some brides actually do not pay much attention to the flowers for her wedding, knowing that they’ll only last for a few hours. My sister just concentrated on her bridal bouquet and gave everyone else dainty white orchid wristers.

Here's my sister holding her bouquet of mango calla lillies during her wedding.

In a recently concluded food expo at the World Trade Center, I took snapshots of white, blue and pink hydrangeas and plump orchids being sold at the lobby. See how much of a flower freak I am? :-)




Flowers have always been part of weddings partly because each kind symbolizes a trait or quality that we would want in our weddings -- loyalty, friendship, devotion, to name a few. It would be best to be careful as to how they are perceived in different countries since some flowers that may be popular at weddings symbolize or are associated with death in other nations.

Potted or not, bouquets or wristers, tall or low arrangements, I really can't imagine weddings without flowers. Some brides opt to go zen and some go full force with candelabras, drapes and colored lights but one thing's for sure, flowers will always be part of the celebration. Another reason why I love going to weddings!

Attack of the killer cupcakes!

We've all heard it. A couple on the eve of their wedding along with their sleepy relatives, are finishing their wedding souvenirs, making last minute alterations on their gowns or simply cramming something they should've done weeks ago. I myself had to do the same thing at my wedding -- asking help from my sisters to pack mint candies in the souvenir boxes and staple missalette covers.

Some brides, although I don't know anyone personally, have even thought of doing wedding flowers or their cakes themselves. Talk about trying to cut on costs or bridezillas on the loose.

Just last Sunday, Father's Day, I surprised our youngest sister with a debutante cupcake party. She didn't want to celebrate her debut with a real party because what she really wanted was a digital SLR camera. So, I asked all our relatives to come celebrate with us. My sister was so busy trying to make the chocolate fountain I bought run smoothly, she was oblivious to the fact that I was decorating our dinner table with flowers and cupcakes using her favorite colors of pink, purple and white. Using my mom's cake stands and glass coasters, I was able to make a nice setting for the party.

Here are the cupcakes I had made at the Shoppersville bakery (Katipunan Ave., Loyola Heights) across Miriam College, which only cost me 11 pesos per cupcake.


I would have to say they tasted ok. Not enough to make me say I've died and gone to cupcake heaven but they were decent cupcakes. Not too sweet icing, not too moist nor too dry cake.

After I tasted the cupcakes at Mom's and Tina's Bakery in Libis (across SM Hypermart), I thought of buying their cupcakes for my sister's party (averaging 25 pesos per flavor), but when I found out that Shoppersville sold less expensive cupcakes, I chose to order the latter. Don't get me wrong though, I'd still go back to Mom's and Tina's Bakery for their cupcakes since they taste real good too. Here are some of them:


I've tasted Sonja's Cupcakes at Serendra and although I'd say that their cupcakes are good and relatively larger than M&T's and Shoppersville, using only the finest ingredients in cupcakelandia with more flavors to choose from, I find the prices a little a bit exorbitant for something my hubby can gobble in 15 seconds flat. :-)

Below are some cupcake bouquets from Sonja's that you might like to use as centerpieces too!

Above, Sonja's colorful sprinkles for her cupcakes.

I actually wanted a cupcake tree for my own wedding, wanting to deviate from the usual tiered fondant cakes that are usually made of styrofoam. I wanted to make sure that unlike other wedding cakes that are just for show at the reception, my caterer can easily distribute the cupcakes to my guests so they can partake in what is known to be another symbol of fertility in weddings -- the cake. In the olden days, it used to be bread that was to be broken over the bride's head. Weird huh?

I went through the motions of looking for cupcake tree suppliers but back in 2004, there were still very few wedding cupcake bakers. I inquired with one baker who wanted to charge me 25,000 pesos for 150 pieces of cupcakes. It sounded outrageous. There were other bakers however who quoted me 30 pesos per cupcake but by then, I had decided on my caterer and they offered a three-tiered fondant cake as part of my package. And so, I ended up with a regular cake after all.

If you choose to have a cupcake tree though, all you need to do is find a good cupcake maker, rent a stand or stands in various heights since they don't need to be on top of one another, add a few flowers (you can buy nice and inexpensive ones in Dos Castillas st. in Manila -- but that deserves a whole new post) and voila! your own do-it-yourself wedding (cup) cake!

Virtual wedding planning

I haven't tried this game but when I found it on Yahoo Games, I was so thrilled! Imagine planning a wedding and having fun at the same time! This so reminds me of Jennifer Lopez in the movie, The Wedding Planner.

According to the game description:

Plan a Dream Day Wedding for your friend Jenny in this beautiful, fun, and romantic game. Use your keen eye and memory to find items at the flower shop, gown boutique, bakery, and other stylish shops to help make Jenny's special day a dream! Between shopping trips, play Perfect Match to help unlock the secret honeymoon level, or try Choose A Story – you'll decide what happened at Jenny and Robert's first meeting, on their first date, and of course the proposal! You'll encounter a wedding crisis or two along the way -- solve these challenging levels and you'll get to pick the flowers, cake and dress for Jenny's big day!

Game Features:
· 12 levels and 9 mini-games, with 16 unique backgrounds
· Crisis! Save Jenny's wedding from the brink of disaster
· Perfect Match – play this memory matching game to unlock a tropical honeymoon level!
· Choose A Story – it's up to you to decide how Jenny and Robert meet, fall in love, and get engaged in this unique game

Just imagine how you can actually plan a wedding again and again without paying real money or earning the ire of your bride and vendors. Doesn't sound like a lot of fun? I'm sure some brides can only wish they could do the same with their weddings. Try it out. Maybe we could all learn some planning tips from the game. Enjoy!

Sun up or sun down?

Some brides are morning people. Some are party people.

When I got married, the ceremony started at 10am followed by a lunch reception. I almost didn't make it to church on time because I called in the make-up artist and her team at 6am to fix up seven females. I realize now that we should have given an earlier call time. I have heard of make-up artists going to the bridal room as early as 3am and it's like preparing for simbang gabi :-)

One of my sisters and some of my cousins got married in the afternoon. This gave them more time to plan, re-plan, troubleshoot and revise anything from the wedding march to the reception program. True, afternoon weddings and dinner receptions are ideal, especially if you were up all night finishing your do-it-yourself souvenirs or rearranging your table assignments. Or if your groom was tempted by his barkada to do the stag party the night before your wedding. Poor, poor you.

In the afternoon, the pictures are usually more dramatic with the sun setting after the ceremony and having fireworks at night during the reception. But since I was to be wed in a no-so-lit church, I chose to get married late in the morning when the sun was at its peak. Also, I was getting married on a Saturday and on a rainy month so I chose a time when traffic was lightest and unfortunately, that was usually in the morning.

So, what are the benefits of holding your wedding in the morning?

• For one, more natural light, less flashbulbs.
• I haven't really attended a breakfast menu wedding but I've always heard people say that it's cheaper than a lunch or dinner reception
• To match the light food, no pressure to provide alcoholic beverages
• Your bridal gown and entourage dresses could be made of lighter fabric, pastel hues vs. nightime long gowns with lots of beads
• Less traffic (except if you're getting married on a school day)
• Some events venues even offer discounted prices for morning celebrations

How about afternoon/evening ceremonies and receptions?

• More time to prepare
• More people likely to attend especially if you're holding it on a working day
• A sunset shot
• Fireworks
• Party music
• Booze

How about not-so-nice things you'll have to deal with?

For morning weddings:

• Vendors late for their call time
• People late for the ceremony -- couldn't wake up early
• Can't do an outdoor reception because of the heat

For afternoon/evening weddings:

• People get really hungry because they skipped lunch getting ready for the ceremony
• People leave early to get ready for work if you marry on a working day or a Sunday, may waste the fact that you hired a band
• The elderly sleep during your ceremony
• Children will get fussy -- time for bed or skipped their afternoon nap
• Drunk and/or rowdy guests

Whatever time you choose, make sure it's the time that you and your groom are comfortable with so whatever happens, you enjoy your own wedding. :-)

Weddings in color

My family and I are probably a few of the people in this world who are really unconventional when it comes to weddings. My parents sired four girls and to date, three are already married. The oldest sister got married in the US in1996, in a traditional white gown with very few entourage members. I got married in 2004 wearing a red wedding gown. The sibling after me got married just last year with an off-white gown with red, yellow and orange ribbons and flowerettes.


Here she is.



Not so long ago, after seeing my older cousins get married and having so much trouble getting fittings for their big entourage, I always told everyone that I'd have my entourage in jeans to make life easier for everyone and make my wedding memorable. Of course, I didn't get married in jeans but I was the first bride in the family to wear red while my entourage wore white dresses. My husband wore a suit while the male entourage members wore barongs. We stood out as a couple and eventually made the wedding memorable.

In some wedding magazines I've read, I've seen a bride wear royal blue, or silver or even gold. I've seen designer wedding gowns with colored sashes, swarovskis, ribbons or embroidery. Locally, I've seen an entourage wearing beaded denim dresses. I even recently saw pictures of a bride from my wedding e-group wearing a blue-shaded gown and her entourage members were wearing white tops in blue jeans -- even the girls! Very brave and very unconventional indeed.

Cakes also used to be just white with ribbons matching the wedding motif. Now, cakes even set the tone for the reception -- lavish with swarovskis, playful with quirky toppers, festive with fruits, flirty with flowers.

This is just proof that weddings need not be all white afterall.

Tagaytay Treasures

Since the start of 2000, a lot of brides and grooms from Manila who want to have an elegant, relaxed but intimate wedding have opted to have their celebration in the coolest vacation spot next to (and closer to Manila than) Baguio, Tagaytay.

The most popular wedding destinations are the Caleruega Chapel and Sonya's but a lot of restaurants and private gardens have opened up for weddings as well in the past five years or so.

In the blog Our Awesome Planet by Anton Diaz, Anton visually entices readers on how some of these Tagaytay treasures can make your weddings beautiful, with menus you can delight your guests with. Some of Anton's recent posts include Balai Taal (www.balai-taal.com), Hacienda Isabela, Antonio's, Ville Sommet (www.villesommet.com.ph) and Balay Indang.

Caleruega remains a crowd favorite because of its quaint interiors and the dramatic (but somehow tiring) bridal ascent to the chapel. It is not a popular wedding destination at night and during the rainy season because the road going to the chapel is not well-lit. The little chapel is just right for about 150 guests and for those brides who don't care much for long aisles. Also, in choosing your wedding ceremony/reception location, it would be a nice thing to consider if the venue is accessible for elderly guests.

As for a reception venue, Sonya's continues its passion of providing comfort food -- something you can always come back to whenever you want to take a break from all the fastfood and oil-loving dishes we Filipinos are fond of. Having all-you-can eat salad, pasta and dalandan juice is a refreshing change from usual hotel (even catered) food amidst natural surroundings and cool weather. The nice thing about Sonya's is that they don't charge corkage fee for additional food and beverage you may want to bring in.

Also, since you're already in a garden venue, you need not spend more for flowers since Sonya's provides garden-fresh flowers. When we went there, the tables had my favorite fragrant flower of all time -- gardenias!

And since it was summer, Sonya's offers a summer photo opportunity in her very own sunflower farm. What more can you ask for wedding photos?


Sonya's also offers a charming Bed and Breakfast that brides can use for their preps and where the newlyweds may want to stay on their 1st honeymoon night. Some of the different rooms can accommodate as much as 13 persons inclusive of breakfast. And if that's not enough, Sonya's also has a delightful spa to ease those wedding jitters.



Here's a shot of the "waterfalls" outside the Conservatory. This cools the interiors and adds to the peaceful ambiance while dining. For extra comfort, Sonya's added big evaporating airconditioners in the Conservatory and in the Greenhouse venue.

Sonya's recently converted their big greenhouse into an additional ceremony/reception venue, providing restrooms, tiled and pebbled floors among colorful chandeliers and blooms. Their signature mismatched furniture and china completes the rustic feel of Sonya's.
Since most wedding vendors based in Manila request for additional out-of-town fees for Tagaytay weddings, soon-to-weds really have to look for Tagaytay-based suppliers or those from Manila who charge the least out-of-town fees. I really hope the Taal volcano doesn't errupt in my lifetime. I'd hate to see what kind of damage it may do to Tagaytay and its lovely wedding venues. Sniff...


I would like to thank my officemates, Pinky and Brenda and my sister Mixie for the additional photos of Sonya's.

My (wedding) fair lady

I just love going to bridal fairs. For wedding buffs like me, it's like wedding heaven filled with flowers, reception decor, sumptuous food, beautiful gowns, jewelry, great music, lovely photographs and videos, sugar-filled treats and wines. You come home with delight, suddenly hyper or possibly intoxicated from all that cake and alcohol. If you're diabetic or allergic to alcohol, this could be a depressing place for you.

Once in a while, I drop by the bigger wedding fairs that happen every year in the metro. It's the ideal place to spot new trends and possible suppliers not just for weddings and debuts but for corporate parties and events, even children's parties! And usually during bridal fairs, the exhibitors offer discounts and freebies for those who book on the spot.

For soon-to-weds, going to bridal fairs is the perfect venue to interview possible suppliers. In one big event, you can sample their work (food, wines, cakes) , see their portfolio (flowers, reception set-ups, photographs/video, gowns, event coordination) and find out if you "click" with a particular supplier.

If it's your first time to go to a bridal fair, I would caution you into booking on the spot just because there are discounts or freebies being offered by a supplier. Chances are, you may not even need the freebies. Going to the fair is the perfect opportunity to test your emotional quotient by examining if a certain exhibitor is really worth having at your wedding or what they have is just a whim. Do you really need those fireworks? Or the vintage car for just 3 hours? If not, it would be best to simply collect then select. By "collecting", we mean being nice enough to collect all the leaflets, calling cards, pamphlets and other marketing materials that each supplier hands out as you comb the aisles. See anything you like? Make a mental note. NEVER take photos of an exhibit. You may also leave your contact numbers with them and await invitations to a food tasting or a sample concert. Then, after the fair, you can trim down your choices to your top three and give them a call based on your vision of your perfect day.

In doing a little bit of research and pinning down exactly what you want for your wedding, it will help you to decide the kind of look and feel you would expect from your potential suppliers. For inspiration, you may want to look at marthastewart.com or brides.com.

At the end of the day, choosing a good supplier needs enough discernment. Like choosing your life time partner, your suppliers should be those that you've chosen with both your mind and your heart (and possibly your wallet). Choose the ones that feel right and you can't go wrong.

On to the next fair!

Wedding Reality

In a few weeks, a local channel, QTV-11 will be launching a reality tv show about soon-to-wed couples. The groom and bride to bes will be subjected to several relationship tests and the winning couple will be awarded with the wedding of their dreams, including the honeymoon. Cool huh? In a country like the Philippines where soon-to-weds are usually economically-challenged (and wanting lots of frills that don't really make a wedding, just some nice-to-haves that vendors lure couples into), a wedding contest can be a good thing.

I once joined one. I even got the 1st runner up title. And just like Ms. Universe, if the winner would forfeit her prize for any reason, the prize will be given to the 1st runner up. The contest was in June 2004 and I still had my dream wedding in August of the same year. After taking so long to decide, the winner did eventually forfeit the prize but since the sponsoring vendors already backed out, I only got the honeymoon prize -- a 3-day-2 nights accommodation package in a posh Palawan resort. Not bad at all.

I never thought reality TV shows about weddings would click but I found myself hooked on three shows on the Lifestyle Channel: Whose Wedding Is It anyway?, For Better or For Worse and The I Do Diaries. The first one is about real weddings from a wedding planner's point of view. The second one is about the families of the bride and groom who will plan and execute the wedding without consulting the bride and groom all within a budget of $5,000. The last one is about two brides-to-be planning each others' wedding. Like any reality show, there are usually glitches but the wedding usually turns out okay, some better than the others.

Can't wait to watch the local version airing in March I think.

Seeing stars (and finding wedding dresses for pregnant women)

It's been an eventful week right after I attended an old college friends' wedding last January 7. I was 9 months pregnant and I had initially picked a Caesarian schedule, January 6 but my husband wanted to make it January 12 so that our baby girl could have the same birthday as his mom who passed away when he was still a teenager.

Unfortunately, I developed a fever on the evening of January 9 and was rushed to the hospital early morning of January 11 and moved the CS schedule to January 15. It's been a blur since then, my days now filled with motherly joy while taking care of our little angel, Beniya Manna whom we fondly call "Iya".

Back to January 7. My friend Ruey, who I never thought would ever marry, got married at Santuario de San Antonio and had an afternoon reception at the Hotel Intercontinental. It was the earliest (or should I say oddest) wedding hour I have ever attended at 2pm but since SSA was airconditioned, guests didn't mind dressing up for the occasion.




I, on the other hand, initially had a difficult time looking for an appropriate wedding guest dress fit for a pregnant woman that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg. I was, after all, giving birth in a week's time and I didn't want to splurge on a dress I wouldn't be using again for a long while -- if ever I get pregnant again.

Imagine how relieved I was to find not just one but two steals at a maternity store near my place -- Great Expectations. I used the other dress when I escorted my husband in attending an awards night and the other dress, I used for Ruey's wedding. And, with a bag, shoes and shawl I already had to match (plus my mom's gorgeous jewelry), I was all set. I just had to reconcile with the thought that I would be forever immortalized as a pregnant woman at this wedding.

I also bought my wedding gift at the last minute, deciding whether I should give a cheese set (couldn't remember if Ruey was the cheese and wine type since we had barely seen each other in the last 5 years or so except when he attended my wedding in 2004) or a set of fluffy pillows. I opted for the pillows and lovingly wrapped and beribboned two big boxes the night before the wedding. Whew. I must say that I now have more respect for all those department store people who are assigned to the giftwrapping section.



It was truly one of those weddings I enjoyed going to as it was really an occasion for friends and family to witness wedding vows of two people in love. The theme was celestial and SSA was still decorated with paper star lanterns from Christmas. Tiffany Blue and silvery white was the color of the day and you would see the theme and colors in the flowers, invites, entourage dresses, guest table (there were star-shaped paper "coasters" on the tables) and the couple backdrop set-up had cut-out star-shaped paper lanterns and snowflakes. The cake frosting was silvery white and my husband loved the personalized m&m souvenirs in tin cans. The m&m's had the words "joy," "love," "kiss," "ruey and joysie, " also drawings of a wedding cake, a bell and a heart.



I also appreciated that my friend, truly nontraditional as I am, did not include some of the frou-frou wedding traditions that most people area used to. The cake was cut right after they came in (I attended a wedding last May 2006 and they also cut the cake right after they were introduced as Mr and Mrs) and to that I say: "yes, have your cake and eat it right away." They also did not have a 1st dance nor a bouquet and garter toss which I suppose comes from the fact that most young Filipino bachelors and bachelorettes aren't excited about these days no matter how creative the "toss" has become over the years. In most weddings, people are more excited going to the chocolate fountain. I am. :-)

Congratulations Ruey and Joysie!

Some things never change

I like the fact that weddings seem to reinvent themselves over the years. The wedding gown and entourage fashion, the cake flavors, changing doves to butterflies, changing cords to crystals. It just speaks of how we can all make wedding celebrations personalized and more special depending on how adventurous the couple can be.

Who would've thought that flower girls can sprout angel or butterfly wings as they march down the aisle? That your cake's height could match your bridal gown train's length?

I like the idea that a lot of new designers, younger photographers and stylists are coming out of the woodwork. They incorporate a lot of new trends but still manage to stick to some classical pieces that won't make your grandchildren say "Lola, ang baduy naman ng pose niyo" when they come across your wedding pictures someday.

Here are some pics during my parents' wedding.
Still the same types of poses, right? Mother and maid of honor helping the bride in her preps, father taking bride to aisle. I do like the thought that photoshop can now make wedding albums more dramatic by manipulating colors, even focusing on details like the rings, flower petals, the shimmer of the arrhae and even beads on the bridal gown.












I know that most photographers have the usual shots but I admire more the photographers who are able to capture moments that are not staged. These are photographers who really "capture moments," unlike others who "shoot poses." These are the same photographers who work on what's available rather than moving heaven and earth (consequently barking orders and stressing everyone) to achieve the poses that they have in mind -- chances are, these are poses that they've seen other photographers do hoping that if they duplicate them, they'd be regarded as avant-garde or cool too. NOT.

Some of the wedding photographer sites I like looking at are the following:

www.dinolara.com by Dino Lara
www.fotogra.ph by Mimi and Karl Abesamis
http://www.photonski.com/paulvincent/weddings

See for yourself the kind of photos that make you go "awwww..."

All that matters

Last night, hubby and I went to the wedding of our best man, JB. JB and his now wife, LZ were so excited like most couples, about this wedding. It was, after all, the culmination of their boyfriend-girlfriend relationship and the beginning of their life as husband and wife.

Since both are Christians, they decided to hold it late in the afternoon at the gardens of the Church of the Risen Lord in UP Campus, Diliman. The ceremony was supposed to start at 5pm but when we got there, all the tables and chairs and food stations were moved up to a cramped room beside the garden. We got word that the set-up was beautifully done by Batis Asul (good food by the way) by 4pm but then it started to rain. Since there were no provisions made for tents, everything had to be moved indoors and there was an hour or so delay to the ceremony.




By the time the ceremony started, it was already dark. I kept on thinking, what a waste of natural light -- the garden could've been perfect -- there were wild white lillies and hanging flowers perfect for the backdrop of the ceremony but they were not seen due to lack of lights. Since the main sound system was moved upstairs for the reception, we only had to settle for a karaoke machine that didn't give justice to the wonderful intro for the entourage and the live guitar music.

Would people consider the wedding a disaster? I personally think not.

It was because this intimate gathering was focused on the ceremony, the real reason for the event, not the frills of the celebration. I didn't see an agitated coordinator, a complaining or whining parent or flowergirl -- everyone was so composed, even the bride and groom. Everything and everyone that mattered most was there. All the guests were saying that the rainshowers should be thought of as a blessing, not a party pooper.

One of the reasons I enjoy going to weddings nowadays is because it reminds me of the reasons why my hubby Rahyan and I got married, why we should stay married, why we should continuously work on being married. Weddings remind me again of the symbols and the responsibilities of husband and wife, as God planned it to be.

The pastor also recounted one of the most celebrated unions in the 1980's -- that of Prince Charles and Lady Diana -- where millions all over the world watched as the royal couple pledged their love for each other. Who could forget the beautiful dress, the horse-drawn carriage, the hundreds of potted flowers, the smiles and waves on the balcony of the newlyweds. Well, we all know what happened to that pledge.

Seeing JB and LZ get married reminds all of us that even with all the preparations, sometimes , we still don't get the wedding of our dreams -- but I guess what is more important is to get the MARRIAGE of our dreams. After all, at the end of the day, that's what really matters.