When they finally said, "I do"
through the years...
I remembered sharing happy times with her and her sisters. Playing along the same street in our village, which on that street only two houses exist at that time - their house and ours. Went to the same school and rode the same school bus. Our families attended the same church, her sisters and mine participated in Sunday School. Our families celebrated special occassions together. We shared a lot of things as we were growing up. And though we had to leave the village for several years, the good relationship between our families remained the same through the years. It's been a couple of decades that passed. The young girl I used to know has grown into a beautiful and responsible woman. And what great news to hear that my dear friend, Maricar (Car, as we fondly call her) is finally being married to the man she loves. Early this year, she just asked me to be the emcee for her wedding. She knows I'd be more than willing to do it as I share in rejoicing at the happiest moment of her life.
preparations
Jing (Car's sister), me and my sis took care of the preparation for the wedding reception. Though we thought we have covered everything, still we had to work double time especially when unexpected things came up with just several days left. A week before the wedding, the keyboardist they've talked to a couple of months ago, had to back out for some reason. Same is true with the male singer. And my sister who's supposed to be the program coordinator also informed us that she wouldn't be able to come on the wedding day because of a very important work reason. waaaahh... That left me and Jing with a really big problem to handle.
Good thing, James (our church's bandleader) gave a "yes" when I asked if he could play the keyboards for my friend's wedding. I also asked her sister, Carlyn to render a song for the reception. Jing and I found ourselves with no choice left but to sing as well, in the absence of the male singer. Unlike Jing, it'll be my first time as a wedding singer. Huwhatt?!?! Me?!Wedding singer? I somehow couldn't imagine that (hehe...) I could already feel my heart throbbing loudly even days before the wedding. I'm not sure if I could handle that pressure well. Hmmm...Ok, ok.. anything for my dear friend.
Aside from my emcee/program coordinator/wedding singer role, I also promised to make a flash presentation for the wedding. I could've finished it earlier but I still ended up as a professional crammer. hehe..Well partly it's not my fault since the scanned pics were handed to me just a week before the wedding. But that same week was a really "busy" (as in busy) week for me in the truest sense of the word. I was juggling between my work, school and wedding tasks.
wedding day
June 10 (Saturday) - I realized I was awake for almost 24 hours already. I woke up at 4:30 a.m of Friday and slept at 4:00 a.m. of Saturday. Nice! Looks like I'm more excited than the bride huh? hehe... not really. It's the flash presentation that I had to finish and polish that made me awake until those wee hours of the morning. Not to mention that I'm using my crawling PC at home and not Tabel's laptop which she willing lent me for the week (by the way, thanks Tabel for that!). Anyway, I was able to sleep for a good 4 hours still.
At around 10 a.m. Jaja (who slept over our house) accompanied me to church for the wedding song rehearsal. Yup, Jing and I only practiced on that day. Told you we're professional crammers. hehe... I realized how hard it is to sing when you still lack sleep. But thanks to James who's been very patient with me. We finished right before lunch.
We had to start preparing ourselves a little after lunch. Too bad, my sis wasn't around to do my make-up. huhu... So I had no other choice but to do it on my own. My mom was surprised when she saw me. I thought it was a ghastly surprise. hehe.. but no, she was surprised to see that I somehow know how to put make up on. nice! :)
in the garden
Jing and I went to the resort an hour before the call time just to make sure that everything is already arranged. The garden was even more beautiful with it's apple-green and tangerine motif and colorful fresh flowers all around. At 4:30 pm, the entourage started marching down the isle. I especially love the flower girls with their butterfly wings, and this super cute Bible-bearer. :)
The ceremony proceeded smoothly. As always, my favorite parts are the profession of vows and of course, the kiss. The first one never failed to bring tears to my eyes no matter how short and simple it may seem. The latter surely brought smiles and cheer to everyone's faces.
Then it was time for the most nerve-wracking part of the ceremony for me. I was tempted to ask James to just play the keyboards without me singing. But I had to keep my promise. So there, I sang "Panunumpa" with whatever confidence left in me at that moment. Even if I was trying my best to be as calm as possible, I know I'm still shaking. I somehow became a little relaxed towards the end of the song. And what a relief when the song ended! hehe.. It was quite an experience and until now I still can't believe I did that.
the reception
The reception proceeded smoothly as well, though we had to make some minor changes with the programme. Good thing, the flash presentation setup worked fine. I saw people smiling and giggling at the earlier parts of it, while turning serious and even quite teary-eyed at the latter part. The food was great but just as expected, I wasn't able to take much time eating as I'd like to. I guess that's one disadvantage of being the emcee. On the positive side, I was able to exempt myself from joining the bouquet toss. Of course, who'd stand as the emcee if I join the rest of the single ladies? Though I heard several objections from my friends in the audience. But just the same, I hold the mic so I can do whatever I want. hehe...
The wedding ended with a special "thank-you" message from the lovely couple followed by a fireworks display. Though exhausted, Jhing and I felt a wonderful sense of fulfillment after the event. Nothing could compare to the genuine gladness we saw in the eyes of the couple for their successful wedding celebration that evening. Mama Virgie (as I fondly call their mom) approached us afterwards for a photo, and to express her gratitude as well. "Thank you so much, Doths. This wouldn't be possible without you.", were the words she uttered while holding my hand, almost teary-eyed. She knows I would do anything I could to make my friend's wedding a really memorable one.
never waited in vain
8 years - that's how long it took before Raini and Car could finally utter the words, "I do". But they never regretted the long wait. They know how important it is to be prepared in every aspect before embarking on this new journey in their lives. And surely, their patience had been enormously rewarded.
In our "fast-paced-almost-everything-is-instant world", how many of us even like the idea of waiting? How prompt it is for us to utter, "I want it! Right here, right now!"? Most of the time, we choose to settle with just whatever is available or currently possible. But isn't it an insult to God who wanted to give us His very best at the right place and time, when we grab just the "second, third or fouth" best for the sake of instant gratification?
Sometimes, we mistook God for saying "no", when what He's actually telling us is to "wait". He would surely know when we're already prepared to receive what we have been asking. He might have a different time table but one thing's for sure - He's never early and definitely never late. His timing is always perfect and indeed, He makes all things beautiful in His time.
Waiting doesn't have to be tiring and boring as how we perceive it to be. If we would only realize that the journey of waiting is as sweet as the attainment itself. So, whatever/whoever it is that you're waiting for right now, have faith that at the right moment, God will grant it to you when He sees you're ready. And I'm sure, when that moment comes, you could only say to yourself...
"It's definitely worth the wait." (",)
I remembered sharing happy times with her and her sisters. Playing along the same street in our village, which on that street only two houses exist at that time - their house and ours. Went to the same school and rode the same school bus. Our families attended the same church, her sisters and mine participated in Sunday School. Our families celebrated special occassions together. We shared a lot of things as we were growing up. And though we had to leave the village for several years, the good relationship between our families remained the same through the years. It's been a couple of decades that passed. The young girl I used to know has grown into a beautiful and responsible woman. And what great news to hear that my dear friend, Maricar (Car, as we fondly call her) is finally being married to the man she loves. Early this year, she just asked me to be the emcee for her wedding. She knows I'd be more than willing to do it as I share in rejoicing at the happiest moment of her life.
preparations
Jing (Car's sister), me and my sis took care of the preparation for the wedding reception. Though we thought we have covered everything, still we had to work double time especially when unexpected things came up with just several days left. A week before the wedding, the keyboardist they've talked to a couple of months ago, had to back out for some reason. Same is true with the male singer. And my sister who's supposed to be the program coordinator also informed us that she wouldn't be able to come on the wedding day because of a very important work reason. waaaahh... That left me and Jing with a really big problem to handle.
Good thing, James (our church's bandleader) gave a "yes" when I asked if he could play the keyboards for my friend's wedding. I also asked her sister, Carlyn to render a song for the reception. Jing and I found ourselves with no choice left but to sing as well, in the absence of the male singer. Unlike Jing, it'll be my first time as a wedding singer. Huwhatt?!?! Me?!Wedding singer? I somehow couldn't imagine that (hehe...) I could already feel my heart throbbing loudly even days before the wedding. I'm not sure if I could handle that pressure well. Hmmm...Ok, ok.. anything for my dear friend.
Aside from my emcee/program coordinator/wedding singer role, I also promised to make a flash presentation for the wedding. I could've finished it earlier but I still ended up as a professional crammer. hehe..Well partly it's not my fault since the scanned pics were handed to me just a week before the wedding. But that same week was a really "busy" (as in busy) week for me in the truest sense of the word. I was juggling between my work, school and wedding tasks.
wedding day
June 10 (Saturday) - I realized I was awake for almost 24 hours already. I woke up at 4:30 a.m of Friday and slept at 4:00 a.m. of Saturday. Nice! Looks like I'm more excited than the bride huh? hehe... not really. It's the flash presentation that I had to finish and polish that made me awake until those wee hours of the morning. Not to mention that I'm using my crawling PC at home and not Tabel's laptop which she willing lent me for the week (by the way, thanks Tabel for that!). Anyway, I was able to sleep for a good 4 hours still.
At around 10 a.m. Jaja (who slept over our house) accompanied me to church for the wedding song rehearsal. Yup, Jing and I only practiced on that day. Told you we're professional crammers. hehe... I realized how hard it is to sing when you still lack sleep. But thanks to James who's been very patient with me. We finished right before lunch.
We had to start preparing ourselves a little after lunch. Too bad, my sis wasn't around to do my make-up. huhu... So I had no other choice but to do it on my own. My mom was surprised when she saw me. I thought it was a ghastly surprise. hehe.. but no, she was surprised to see that I somehow know how to put make up on. nice! :)
in the garden
Jing and I went to the resort an hour before the call time just to make sure that everything is already arranged. The garden was even more beautiful with it's apple-green and tangerine motif and colorful fresh flowers all around. At 4:30 pm, the entourage started marching down the isle. I especially love the flower girls with their butterfly wings, and this super cute Bible-bearer. :)
The ceremony proceeded smoothly. As always, my favorite parts are the profession of vows and of course, the kiss. The first one never failed to bring tears to my eyes no matter how short and simple it may seem. The latter surely brought smiles and cheer to everyone's faces.
Then it was time for the most nerve-wracking part of the ceremony for me. I was tempted to ask James to just play the keyboards without me singing. But I had to keep my promise. So there, I sang "Panunumpa" with whatever confidence left in me at that moment. Even if I was trying my best to be as calm as possible, I know I'm still shaking. I somehow became a little relaxed towards the end of the song. And what a relief when the song ended! hehe.. It was quite an experience and until now I still can't believe I did that.
the reception
The reception proceeded smoothly as well, though we had to make some minor changes with the programme. Good thing, the flash presentation setup worked fine. I saw people smiling and giggling at the earlier parts of it, while turning serious and even quite teary-eyed at the latter part. The food was great but just as expected, I wasn't able to take much time eating as I'd like to. I guess that's one disadvantage of being the emcee. On the positive side, I was able to exempt myself from joining the bouquet toss. Of course, who'd stand as the emcee if I join the rest of the single ladies? Though I heard several objections from my friends in the audience. But just the same, I hold the mic so I can do whatever I want. hehe...
The wedding ended with a special "thank-you" message from the lovely couple followed by a fireworks display. Though exhausted, Jhing and I felt a wonderful sense of fulfillment after the event. Nothing could compare to the genuine gladness we saw in the eyes of the couple for their successful wedding celebration that evening. Mama Virgie (as I fondly call their mom) approached us afterwards for a photo, and to express her gratitude as well. "Thank you so much, Doths. This wouldn't be possible without you.", were the words she uttered while holding my hand, almost teary-eyed. She knows I would do anything I could to make my friend's wedding a really memorable one.
never waited in vain
8 years - that's how long it took before Raini and Car could finally utter the words, "I do". But they never regretted the long wait. They know how important it is to be prepared in every aspect before embarking on this new journey in their lives. And surely, their patience had been enormously rewarded.
In our "fast-paced-almost-everything-is-instant world", how many of us even like the idea of waiting? How prompt it is for us to utter, "I want it! Right here, right now!"? Most of the time, we choose to settle with just whatever is available or currently possible. But isn't it an insult to God who wanted to give us His very best at the right place and time, when we grab just the "second, third or fouth" best for the sake of instant gratification?
Sometimes, we mistook God for saying "no", when what He's actually telling us is to "wait". He would surely know when we're already prepared to receive what we have been asking. He might have a different time table but one thing's for sure - He's never early and definitely never late. His timing is always perfect and indeed, He makes all things beautiful in His time.
Waiting doesn't have to be tiring and boring as how we perceive it to be. If we would only realize that the journey of waiting is as sweet as the attainment itself. So, whatever/whoever it is that you're waiting for right now, have faith that at the right moment, God will grant it to you when He sees you're ready. And I'm sure, when that moment comes, you could only say to yourself...
"It's definitely worth the wait." (",)
posted by Doths at
6:08 PM
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