Tuesday 5 June 2007

The Wedding of the Year

June 02, I witnessed the Wedding of the Year... Ria and Dan tied the knot.

Lizette and I stayed with Ria the night before at Marco Polo. Due to lack of time, I wasn't able to fit my gown again that afternoon. I just claimed it from Dong (the designer) at Glorietta and hopped on the plane. The first time I tried it on was when Lizette and I arrived at Marco Polo. To our great disappointment, we both had to make adjustments to our gowns. Mine was too loose at the middle, it didn't accentuate what little curves I had (darn!). Lizette also had to tighten the strap of her halter gown. So while Ria was sleeping soundly, Lizette and I were trying to tap what little sewing talent we had to remedy our dresses. Fortunately, the makeup artist Ria hired was so skilled. He was able to hide under layers of foundation my terrible eyebags due to lack of sleep.

The wedding took place at St. Paul's, the church Ria attended since she was a little girl. The ceremony started almost promptly around 9am (I meant almost because the bridesmaids were a bit late.. just a bit.. hehehe =p)

I can still remember the moment Ria walked on the aisle. At first, she was smiling, almost goofing around. But when she saw her Dad, she suddenly sobbed and rushed to embrace him. The music, the church - the solemnity of it all touched her to the core. And she wasn't alone. Her mom, Tita Arlene, as well as her aunt were dabbing the sides of their eyes.

Good to see these guys again after NEC (esp. Otep, Ma'am Ana and Lizette)


The newlyweds with the family of the bride

The reception was held at the Grand Tulip ballroom, just a few minutes away from the church. The place was transformed beautifully. It was so pink, so Ria :) It was Japanese themed. Little pink umbrellas hung on the ceiling. Pink fans decorated the back of chairs. There was even a Sakura (Cherry blossoms) tree standing proud at the stage. It was every bit how Ria dreamed it to be. It was perfect.

The reception

Although obscured by the flowers, Sir Gonz and Ma'am Ana were ninong and ninang, respectively.


Looks like a real Sakura. Kawaii desu ne!


The maid of honor (the one with the tiara, hehehe) and the bridesmaid (bridesmaid ka lang!)
a.k.a... receptionists


The masters of ceremony were a deejay of Davao's local radio station and Petite, Ria's bridesmaid and was crowned Mutya ng Davao in the past (she's now a lawyer... grr! how can anyone be so blessed?!). Their tandem was good, there was never a dull moment. The deejay even brought his own mic. Well, he didn't disappoint us, his mic wasn't just for a show.


The wedding singers (from the Ateneo choir) entertained us with their own rendition of famous love songs while we had our fill of lunch.

Oh diba.. naka-pink din sila!

Instead of the traditional Money dance, Ria and Dan opted for the wishing well, where every guest could just drop their monetary gifts discreetly. Nice idea right?

We had no choice though but to give our gift to Ria personally, we just couldn't fit it in that one those small envelopes... We're able to pool around 30k and since tig-500 hundred, ang kapal! Thanks to Ria and Dan's friends from other parts of the world... Hahahaha, taray ang rich nyo! :)

The speeches given by Dan's parents and Ria's Mom were so surprisingly entertaining. Here's the following quotes that almost made us gag with laughter:

Dan's Mom: We have five children. The eldest is Christine, she's over there.. (napalingon kami kung nasan si Christine). She's a doctor, by the way! And (after a long pause)... she's still single! (Wahhh poor Christine, yumuko na lang, hehehe)

Dan's Dad: Cedric brought home a girl two years ago. (Mau then asked me, Diba geng wala pa maabot sila ni Ria og two years? Hala so ang ex niya?) We waited for the engagement but it didn't come. When Cedric told us they broke up, we were shocked when he said that he already had another girlfriend...(Nakow! Naparami yata inom Papa ni Dan. Rule #1 in a wedding, never talk about an ex :p )

Dan's Dad: We asked Cedric what will be our participation for the wedding. He told us that we will just have to attend. That's how prepared he was. He didn't ask for a single centavo. So kayong mga kapatid ni Cedric, gayahin nyo kapatid nyo! Your Mom and I are not saving money for your wedding... (Toink!)

The beauteous mother of the bride, Tita Arlene, entertained us with her meaty speech.

Ria and Dan also veered away from the throwing of rice tradition. Instead they had a big balloon tied at the ceiling, gathered all the kids around it and they popped the balloon (palo sebo style). The kids then excitedly scrambled to get the goodies.

See, not only the grown-ups enjoyed, but also the kids.

The bouquet toss was different. Single ladies were gathered at the middle and instead of trying to get the bride's bouquet, Ria threw single-stemmed flowers. Each flower tied with a ribbon. The one tied with the special ribbon was said to be the "next" bride. Petite got it.

The garter toss was also different. Single men were each given a plastic balloon. They were told that whoever managed to create the biggest balloon would "win" the garter. During the judging, they were told that the rules changed - that instead of the biggest balloon, it became the smallest balloon. It was so obvious that Bani, one of Dan's close friends, had the smallest balloon, so he got the garter and earned himself three kisses on Petite's neck. Swerte! Ang pretty pa naman ni Petite...

Ria had a surprise in store for Dan. She wrote a poem and asked Cathy (her singer-composer friend) compose a song using it as lyrics. Dan was obviously touched when Cathy sang it during the reception. They had the song recorded into a CD (one of the giveaways, limited copies only, too bad I didn't get one). "I can't wait for my happy ever after with you", was the song's last line... truly the sentiment of the bride and groom as they didn't waste time to tie the knot.

Taking advantage of Otep's photography skills


The newlyweds with their parents


Sinira ang decor... tsk tsk!


Mas malala si Ma'am Ana, pinatanggal yung payong from the ceiling. Sumbong nga natin kay Ma'am G...


My only solo pic with the newlyweds.. sayang naman o, bakit parang overexposed, digicam naman to? :(
Sige lang, obvious pa rin naman ganda ko :D

Parang gutom yata ang bride? Hehehehe

To date, it was the best wedding I have attended. Even if the preparation was just 1 and a half months, everything flowed flawlessly: from the ceremony, the pictorials after the wedding and the reception. It was made possible by ONeil (Ria's wedding planner). He was like a master puppeteer at the background, making sure everything went perfectly. And it did! He even took care of our breakfast that morning, personally went to Jollibee for breakfast meals takeout! Oh ONeil, I wish there's someone like you in Cebu.. (sa Davao na lang kaya ako pakasal?)

Presenting, Mr. and Mrs. Dan Cedric Delima! We're so happy for you guys :)

Here are more pics by me and Otep.

12 comments:

lizette said...

hala.. so dili gyud diay ko pwede magpakasal this year, para di matalbog ang "wedding of the year" ni ria .. heheheheh wish ko lang :p

lgeorgia said...

oi.. paging.. (kinsa gani to ngalan sa imo uyab 'zette? hahaha)

dapat yung kasal mo Singapore-inspired, instead of Sakura .. dapat meron malaking Merlion statue sa stage .. wehehehehe

Ria May said...

pwede man zet. kung magpakasal ka jul-sept, magiging wedding of the 3rd quarter of the year yung sa iyo, then kung musunod nimo si georgia, wedding of the last quarter of the year sya hehehe

Anonymous said...

hi. do you know ceds mobile number or email add? i hope natatandaan pa nya ako.

i'm one of his college buddies. sorry to use your blog to reach him.

anyway, this is alvin alquiza. if ever he'll give his number or email add, please let me know.

my email add: alvin.alquiza@ncr.com
mobile number: 0915 881 1142

and i'm currently working here in cebu. :D

congratulations to the newly wed couples!

cheers! :D

lgeorgia said...

Hello Alvin,

It's ok :)
I gave your contact details to Dan. He'll probably contact you soon.

cheers din!

Delboy said...

Hi there, just wondering where you got your wishing well from, am looking for one at the moment and am not having much luck, your help would be much appreciated

thanks

Dale

Delboy said...

hi there, i was wondering where you got your wishing well from, have been looking for one but had no luck, your help would be much appreciated

Thanks

Dale

Daddy and Mommy said...

hi! u dont personally know me (or i you, lol) but feel ko magcomment coz ang ganda talaga ng setup sa reception!!! =) if you dont mind me asking, may contact # ka kay ONeil (the wedding planner)? im getting married later this year in davao & im looking for wedding people & stuff right now. thanks in advance! =)

Unknown said...

Hi,

I would like to ask who was the florist on this wedding and how can I we get the same wishing well?

I hope you send an email to am_amante@yahoo.com for details. We are also having a wishing well for our wedding this year but don't know where to rent or buy.

Thanks much!

Anonymous said...

i would like to ask wheres did u get the ur wishing well?

I hope you send an email to benedict0510@yahoo.com for details.

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

hi, pwd mahingi ung number ni Oneil? Thank you.

reign

lgeorgia said...

Hello Oniel's number is 09175591641. Just tell him u got the number from me na friend ni Ria :) Good luck!