To Have and To Hold
July 2014. Me and my teammates were casually eating dinner in the cafeteria minutes before our company’s big migration project began. Then I saw this girl falling in line to buy food, and I knew it was love at first sight. No one from my team knew her. Later that day, I learned that her team was connected with our team because of this newly migrated project. I immediately volunteered to be the point person for our team.
So, one day, we had a critical issue that needed to be resolved immediately. Of course, my team and hers were involved, and she happened to be the point person as well for their team. We worked closely together, exchanging emails, going on conference calls, back-to-back meetings. After everything was settled, and probably out of excitement and joy, we started messaging each other. The exchange instantly turned to non-work related stuff. And yeah, she asked me to have a celebratory drink. Yes, you read that right: she asked for a date!
During our night out, we started sharing stories about our work experiences, our college lives, our friends from work, until it became personal. At that moment, talking to her just became very normal. I shared personal stories unfiltered, and she shared hers as well. We started having dinner that night at around nine in the evening, and we parted ways at seven in the morning. I dropped her off at her apartment, and gave her a kiss. Fortunately, she kissed me back. Still, it was just a kiss on the cheeks. From then on, we started seeing each other twice a week, then three times a week, to almost everyday, until we decided to exclusively date each other.
On our first few months, of course I made sure to drop her off to her apartment everyday. At that time I still didn’t have a car and at some point, it was no longer practical. So I talked to her about this, and her response was very surprising: she suggested to buy a car. Okay, so I was thinking that my salary and credit ratings may not be enough, but she said: “That would be a very good investment for us.” So it was a done deal. We named it Mimi.
We were very much happy with our car, and always headed to Tagaytay every weekend. One time, while in Tagaytay, we saw a poster of a newly built hotel, so we made a turn and went to see it. We were both amazed by the breathtaking view overlooking Taal lake and volcano. This was the Escala. And at that moment, we both knew that was the place where we would want to exchange our vows.
It was August of 2016 when I decided I wanted her to be my wife. I secretly talked to her parents as well and asked for her hand. Her mom cried when I talked about my plan of proposing, while her dad just said he’ll talk to me in person when he goes home (he works abroad).
CEREMONY Escala Tagaytay
CATERING Escala Tagaytay
COORDINATION Ideas, Etc.
CAKE Tourist Cake By Ana Go
INVITATIONS Neonovelties
EVENT STYLING Ceremony (Amelia Blossoms); Reception (Blooming Hobby)
PHOTOGRAPHY Camzar Photography
VIDEOGRAPHY Kreative Machines
GOWN Beyond White
SUIT Macaso
HAIR & MAKEUP Eds Go Make Up Studio
S HOES Jefferson Si
So come December 2016, nearly two years into the relationship and the ring already in my hands, I proposed to her. I made sure to do this in Tagaytay during breakfast. As the food were being served, I casually brought out the ring, and asked her to marry me. I don’t remember the rest anymore. She was so surprised, she said: “Really? During breakfast?” Then she said yes.
After we got engaged, we started planning. The wedding venue: Tagaytay. And so the big day would soon come.
However, the day before our wedding, we got into an accident. A 14-wheeler truck accidentally hit our car. Fortunately we were both okay, and surprisingly, none of the items for the wedding got damaged. We felt that Mimi, our car, had taken the worst of it for us. We tried not to let it shake us, but imagine spending half the day at a police station on the day before your wedding. Still, we pushed through.
Our ceremony was filled with things that we love: a heart-shaped bouquet, a donut wall, mocktails, cocktails, flavored beer, fresh flowers, a cake topper that was an exact replica of our prenup photos. She DIY-ED the decorations of our candles, rings holder, and the Bible. My collar had “just married’ written into it and our ambigram/monogram was engraved into my shoes. We even had photos of our car, Mimi, at the wedding.