Ready, Set...

A few more hours and this will be IT.

Just praying and hoping that everyone will be safe and enjoy the day.

Wala nang atrasan.

Hala Bira..!

The "F" Word

The preparations for our wedding, especially the part about choosing who to invite, aside from immediate family members, has inevitably led me to some deep examination of the relationships I`ve had with the people I met through the various periods of my life.

A married friend said that writing down your wedding guest list is one of the toughest things to do, and now I agree. Disregarding budget concerns, at some point, you are forced to decide who among those neighbors, classmates, colleagues, etc. would you really love to share your special day with, without any second thoughts or reservations, nor strings attached. At the same time, it behooves you to consider whether those persons whom you think have been special  enough in your life to invite, would reciprocate the same joy and warmth you will extend to them, regardless they could come or not (I`d rather people not come at all if they feel forced to, because that would be so sad, and unnecessary...). It goes the other way around; you also may be totally ignoring people who have considered you as somebody special in their lives, and would have loved to be informed, at the very at least.

There were a few disappointments, which drove me into this whole introspection thing in the first place. I kept asking myself why not-so-good things happen,  whether I have done something wrong along the way...why people I think of so dearly disappoint and hurt. With time I know, I`ll get over it...and learn, and move on.

I am happy to report,though, that for the most part the informing and inviting process was effortless, and the thought that I`d be seeing old friends from different walks of life flocking down  (flying straight!) to Laguna, taking some time off their busy lives just to be there with me already makes me beam. The super typhoon could possibly cut their numbers on Saturday, though, but, right now I`m  already thanking them :). Mwaah, mwaaah!

Some nice words of wisdom on the topic, from Cynthia Bourgeault: 

We can’t command the heart, of course. We can’t pre-screen our friends for potential “forever” status, or impose this expectation as a unilateral requirement. But paradoxically, perhaps, the best way to help all our friendships grow wisely and well is to take responsibility for our own aloneness.

         

Rain or Shine...

by damnednix on deviantart

Months ago we know we'd probably have a problem with the weather on our wedding day, the last week of May in Laguna being characterized by hot day time temperatures and sporadic thunderstorms in the afternoons, a welcome sign for farmers to start their planting. We tried to look for viable (indoor) alternatives to the venue, but the resort with the lovely lawn still ended up as the best option for us. It would have been more difficult to set the wedding on a different month, on the other hand. Thus we are pretty much letting Mother Nature decide whether we'll have a rain-free outdoor wedding party. Well, sort of...  

Just a few days ago I visited the Poor Clare Monastery in Cabuyao, Laguna and brought my prayer petition for fair weather and the safe travel of all the people who will be with us on the  28th, together with the traditional offering of a dozen eggs (yes,not only for fertility but apparently also for good weather) plus, laundry detergents! Gerry the make-up artist told me the nuns are now also accepting more practical stuff aside from the eggs, and when the sun is up they can use the detergents to do their laundry. :)

Another thing he's suggesting is that I hang the clothes that I'd slept in the night before just outside our house on the morning of our wedding day. He said  it works, but I don't know how this fares with the other counter-measure I heard from a veteran wedding caterer, who boiled stones on the day of a wedding to prevent a downpour. The hanging of the clothes- pretty harmless and easy to do, but the other one...uh, hmm...

Then, the researcher in me (the one who got into climate change adaptation, at that!) shrugs everything off and anticipates and plans for whatever happens on that day.

Realistic expectations, planning, and  faith that things will turn out well in the end. As that Crowded House song goes, "Everywhere you go, you always take the weather with you."

  

Weddings in Movies

"Love...love...love..." - All You Need is Love, The Beatles

Two wedding scenes from two different movies, memorable for different reasons.

Love Actually (2003, Dir. Richard Curtis)

I do suspect this scene helped spur the pre-nuptial videography/photography craze that we now have with weddings, and all the gimmicks that go with them. In the Philippines, it even became the inspiration for a TV advert for Smart Communications (remember the one with Kris Aquino, Jasmine Trias, etc. singing the lines of this song?)

Wouldn`t it be great to have a friend who would come up with something so creative and charming to make your wedding more special? I`d loved to be surprised this way, please. But then again, copy cat attempts will run the risk of being cheesy.  

It becomes all the more poignant if you have seen the entire movie and know the heart-wrenching twist to the story of the the groom, his bride, and his best friend. Simply unforgettable. 

The Graduate (1967, Dir. Mike Nichols)

The long, final scene from The Graduate is memorable in many ways: the melancholic soundtrack (Simon and Garfunkel);  Dustin Hoffman`s mad dash to the church to stop the wedding of his true love to another man; the histrionics that ensue afterwards ("Elaaaaaiiiiinnneee..!!!";  "Beeennnnnn..!!!", sampalan!... suntukan! ...hampasan ng krus?), and of course,  the hero and heroine`s quirky escape via a commuter bus.        

What gets me all the time is that look that Elaine (Katharine Ross) gives after the smile fades on her face. As if she`s saying, "So we`re together now... but what happens next? Where do we go from here?"

Scary.

The Biggest Gig Yet

http://www.davidairey.com/audio-cassette-tape-nostalgia

As a child there were a few things in my life that I was already so sure about, and one of them is my love for the radio and music. Weeknights after studying, weekdays early in the morning before going to school, weekends, and vacations are spent mostly at home, my ears glued to my favorite station-of-the-moment, my mind trying to remember all those new tunes the DJ`s playing... just being happy by my lonesome, unmindful of the classmates and other kids in the neighborhood who played out in the sun, gained socialization skills and had a normal childhood in the process. I even dreamt of becoming a DJ, a record producer, and a writer for Rolling Stone...even until now I think they`re still the coolest jobs.

And how I loved making mix tapes..! I`d patiently wait for the DJ`s cue so I could hit the "record" button of my cassette player at the exact time that a song that I like is starting to play, then make compilations which I sometimes give out to friends, complete with the handwritten playlist on the sleeves of the tape case. I was doing this since I was eight, and with time, the mix tapes were replaced by compact disks.Much later on, collecting and giving out songs as MP3/MP4 files have become so easy and commonplace. The technology`s fail-safe, fast, convenient...but, heck, I miss my tapes, especially those rare finds in music stores that my sister and I used to haunt. I wished I had them converted as e-files before most of them got moldy and cracked.

All this nostalgia-tripping because I`m building a playlist for zee wedding party. I admit, more than the dress, the makeup, the flowers and decor, this is the one that`s making me excited. 

It`s like being eight again. :)  

Hail thee boom box, a.k.a. cassette player here in the PH...I had three.

What's with 2011?!!

 ~lucky-April on deviantart

Today I just received an email invitation to attend a good, good friend's wedding, to be held sometime this year. It was like a blast of sunshine to get that kind of news so early in the morning...

I'm making a head count of all the people I know who got/ are getting hitched this year, and within my little circle, looks like 2011 is set to be the marry-est year, ever.

First Photos

The very first time we were photographed together. I went to this apartment, straight from watching a concert (John Mayer!) and pitched in to organize for a student festival.

                                                                                                                    November 10, 2006

I don't remember talking to him at all, except on our way back to the station to catch the last train to our respective dorms. It was past midnight and a friend told us we might as well walk together since I was still not familiar with that neighborhood (having been in Japan for only two months).  But he was such in a hurry that he suddenly ran and left me in the middle of the road. As in, kumaripas nang takbo at iniwan akong mag-isa.
  


First meeting with his family. This was actually taken a few hours after I met them in the place where they stayed. I read somewhere that couples out on their first date should do something or go somewhere exhilarating to give them that feverish, joyous, adrenaline(?) rush that guarantees instant bonding.

With Jon's uncle, mom and dad, on the way to a Spiderman ride

  


First meeting with Jyn, shortly after arrival at the airport.

Dear Jyn, we're gonna miss you on the 28th... :(

Jon's first meeting with my family. I told them if they wanted to see him, they should go to Manila to fetch me after we arrive.

Isinama ang  buong barangay. Hindi naman excited...

Ginkgo Loco

It all started with this logo which I saw on FB, which shows a couple`s names- both starting with the letter "P"- intertwined, with a single "P" for both their names formed into the shape of a seahorse.How cute, I thought. Might as well get one for ourselves, by ourselves, with a symbol or object that is a nod to our common interest or past. 

So that`s how the ginkgo leaf idea came in. In Japan, the ginkgo tree is a symbol of  longevity, hope, and resilience.   Each autumn sees the university awash with its vibrant, yellow-gold leaves...

This yearly phenomenon sends the students, especially the Pinoys, in a picture-taking frenzy. I can`t explain it.

Anyway, here are some designs we came up with (technically it was the G who drew them).

First version. I didn`t like the fonts, the leaves I thought too curly, and why so many?

Other versions:

And still another one. 

The Todai reference on this one is too obvious, we could get sued, hehe. I like its simplicity, though.

In the end we had to let go of the idea. But it was fun for the most part.