From Singapore with Love
I had been living in Singapore for quite some time when I first met Joseph. There was an event in one of the hotels there when this Taiwanese celebrity Jay Chou-look-alike approached me and courageously introduced himself and outrightly asked me out in a note. I read the note out loud only to make him realize that it has my friend’s name on it, not mine. Right away he took it back and wrote the same note on a glass coaster, this time with my name on it. I thought that was hilarious and found him irresistibly cute. I went out with him since then. I got to know him more as we became closer.
Joseph is a romantic person. He has many endearing ways which truly set him apart. His patience and understanding are traits I am most grateful for as I saw him love me even for my imperfections.
Two years ago he proposed to me in Davao. We were there for a friend’s wedding when he surprised me with a present I thought was meant for my birthday. It was set in an island and my good friend took shots of the moment. That proposal video was one of the highlights during our wedding.
All the planning was done in Singapore and it took a lot from both of us to pull it through as we were coordinating with Manila suppliers from overseas. It really was a test on our relationship and I am very happy to note that we came out of the challenge with greater love for each other.
We only have very little time to reconfirm all arrangements with our local suppliers as we arrived Manila 3 days before the wedding. Joseph was not in his best shape and was really exhausted from the physical requirements of meeting and assisting incoming family members from the airport, not to mention the tedious task taking care of their accommodations during their stay. Joseph’s family are from Singapore. His relatives came in all the way from Malaysia and Hong Kong. My own, travelled from all points of Isabela and Bicol. We had 150 guests during our Singapore wedding and the same number of guests came to be with us in our celebration here in Manila. I believe that’s one for the books.
Getting married in San Agustin Church has been a dream since my senior years in UST. The dream-wedding book project we had that time had me take graphic photos from the internet and I had a picture of a wedding in San Agustin. Ten years after, I promised to get married in my dream church. So San Agustin it was.
EVENTSTYLING
2171 Floral Creations – Joyce Aguilar
PHOTOGRAPHY
Mayad Studios - Michael Gonzales
VIDEOGRAPHY
Mayad Studios - Carmela Hubag
GOWN&SUIT
Paolo Blanco
CHURCH
San Agustin Church
CEREMONY& CATERING
Conrad Hotel - Manila
COORDINATION
Rita Neri Event Planners
CAKE
Chef Kristian Kristoffer Roque – Baker’s Hub Meycauayan Bulacan
INVITATION
The Write Impression Paperie & Press, Inc.
HOST
Eri Neeman
PERFUMEBAR
Ever Afters by Acquasuisse Perfume Bar
MAKE UP& HAIR
Mickey See, Jay Wee
WEDDING E NTERTAINMENT
3rd Avenue
Joseph’s love for the vintage was very influential in our choice of Great Gatsby as our theme. We had timeless elegance with a little bit of glitz and glamour in gold, black and white. We accented some with flush of pink to add vibrancy to the sophistication of our motif. Nothing less than a vintage for my bridal car to match the overall look of the theme.
Emotions were truly high during the Mother-and-son dance. Joseph grew up in Singapore and is not familiar with our Filipino culture. But he went along with the traditional reception program and took that dance with his mom to heart. I need not say how my Father-daughter dance was equally tear-jerking. I feel so blessed with the presence of my whole family. Music from the 1920’s, personally selected by Joseph for the reception, complemented well to the whole Gatsby idea.
Probably the most unique element in this whole celebration was the fact that months before the wedding, we opted to sponsor an outreach program to the children of Bethany Orphanage in Bulacan instead of the traditional gifts to our wedding sponsors. We plan to extend more assistance even after the wedding.
We had bottles of perfume for our guests as we wanted them to remember us in the scents we personally picked out for each one. We still get messages of appreciation for the sweet tokens to date.
In reflection I thought, no waters, cultural differences or great distance can get in the way of a wedding preparation if two people in love would put their hearts to it. Everything just went well for us.