JOEL A. CRUZ & CHARMAINE DELOS REYES PANTALEON

The Power of Ten

Ten years ago on October 10, we got married at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish Church in Santa Maria, Bulacan.

I just turned 18 when we first met in 2003. A full-blooded Bulacuena and the only daughter of very protective parents, I was so sheltered that I never really had the chance to go out and meet new friends then. Except this one time when my best friend Jizelle asked me to chaperone her to a meet-up with her boyfriend, Joseph, who brought along this good-looking and funny friend. Conversations went well and the day was just full of wholesome exchanges. That foursome date started the gettingto-know-you-more with me and Joel.

A year after, I just knew he was the guy I would marry. Until the time we had to let my parents know about our wedding plans, Joel became my best friend, my shoulder to cry on, my strength, my music. He comes from a family of music lovers and singing was his second language. He serenaded me a lot of times with his guitar and so easily could turn a bad day to a funny moment with his antics and corny jokes.

Call it unfounded or even crazy but the reason for the choice of our wedding date was because we believed it was a lucky and a divine date to celebrate a union. October 10, 2010 (or 10/10/10) was set to be the day we will exchange vows and be married. Synchronicity and the power in the number 10 added to the excitement of planning the whole event.

The natural festive air of Bulacan’s customs and traditions set the rhythm of our plans. It was unthinkable to limit our guest list to 100 or 200. In a provincial setting, the whole town gets to be invited to celebrate the occasion with our family. Mostly mine, we had more than 500 guests, with less than 50 members from Joel’s side. So, a ballroom reception in a hotel was not an option.

We had the Falcon Crest Resort exclusively for us and guests were treated to a banquet table spilling over with food and an entire calf roasting on a spit, and everyone enjoying the crackling sound until it was golden brown.

Expectedly, music was provided by performances from Joel’s very own family. His dad brought his band to play a variety of songs from every era, his uncle Paul did a duet with Tita Anne and cousin Miguel, who was also

Joel’s Best Man, rendered a song and offered a toast to everyone’s cheer. Warm messages on video from cousins who were out of the country that time left most of us with teary eyes. It was a fiesta that lasted us dancing and singing till the wee hours of the morning.

Then, the following year took us to a series of challenges. Joel’s dad was taken by a sudden heart attack in early February of 2011. We were still in mourn when Joel was rushed to the Philippine Heart Center for an infract cerebellum with obstructive hydrocephalus which put him in a comma for several days. This was happening in October 2011. I began questioning

the magic behind the luck and the mystery hidden in the number 10 which we held as true for a time.

Everyone in the family came to be with us in prayer for Joel’s life. Then I saw the work of the Great Love embracing the moment in fires of hope that all of us were just in submission to the will of God. Miraculously, Joel came back after a week. The date: October 10, 2011 – the exact date of our First Wedding Anniversary and my 26th birthday! Speaking of God’s impeccable timing. We were all there to welcome Joel’s new life and celebrate the many firsts in our marriage…our first year and our first son, Baby Romoel! That moment answered all my questionings… the Power of 10 and all other superstitious numerologies can never ever surpass the Power of God. Truly and amazingly, it was a grand show of His Mercy and Love.

Ten years back, I walked down the aisle in my white laced gown and bouquet of red roses, Joel singing “I Don’t Want To

Miss A Thing” right from the steps of the altar front. This October 10, 2020, we celebrate our 10th Anniversary with so much gratefulness in our hearts for the blessings given to our family. Together we walk down the Aisle of Life, this time with a stronger faith in the One who gave it all…hand in hand with three of our most precious blessings – Kuya Rommuel, Princess Coliene and Baby Jullian. And that’s a “Perfect 10” to my record!