crazy mama » Getting Married

a wedding/reunion

alaherrera — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 03:21:02 +0000

Ramil and I attended one of my former officemate’s wedding last April 19. Both the bride (my former officemate) and the groom are Chinese so it was a church-full and ballroom-full of Chinese or at least Chinese-speaking people. There were even parts of the wedding when we could only guess what it was being said because the host was speaking in Chinese. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful wedding and I had fun catching up with my former officemates. We has a fun conversation about our wedding gifts for the couple since one of my former officemates bought a lingerie. According to her, they’ll both enjoy it anyway. Hehe! Some of them will also be getting married in the next few months so I guess I’ll be seeing them again soon.

saying thanks

alaherrera — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:22:57 +0000

My friend is getting married this April. Their wedding is a big one and I’m excited about it. It will be a big chinese wedding and I heard that they will be spending a lot on it. They have almost everything ready already except for some little minor details. She’s also asking for help on their Thank you Cards. I think sending them is a really thoughtful gesture. Unfortunately, Ramil and I weren’t able to send out any of these when we got married. Since we got married a week before Christmas, we got caught up in getting settled in our place and for the holidays. We weren’t able to think about it before the wedding because we thought we’ll just think about it after. I guess we thought wrong. That’s why my friend wants their thank you cards almost ready even before the wedding. They’ve already thought about what it will look like and they just plan to put a picture of them from the wedding. She’s even asking some of her friends to get their cameras ready just in case the photos take a long time from the photographer they hired. With how she’s planning her wedding, I’m really excited for it. I just know that hers will be one of the best weddings I will ever go to.

the story of us

alaherrera — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:25:14 +0000

I came across Noemi Dado’s Love Struck Writing Contest. I didn’t really plan on joining but then I thought, who knows, I might win $50 If you have a love struck story too, you might want to join too. My entry below was originally written and posted while we were in the midst of our wedding preparations.

Before the wedding, there’s the couple. Before any girl dreams of the perfect wedding, she dreams of finding THE ONE. Finding the right person can be taxing, nerve-wracking, time-consuming, exhausting, and emotionally-draining. Especially if you have to go through deep shit mud before you hit gold. There are also lucky ones.

For Ramil and me, finding each other is like my mom looking for her eyeglasses when she was wearing them all along. We were classmates from grades 3 to 6. We played patintero, chinese garter, agawan base, and even piko! As fate would have it, we got accepted to the same high school and university. We were again classmates in 4th year HS and since I’m in the same barkada as his crush, we became better friends…hehe! It was inevitable that we continued to be friends in college. And in our 2nd year in UP, something beautiful crept its way between us.

Our time together as a couple hasn’t always been smooth. We argued. We fought. He made me cry lots of times. I made him cry sometimes (i’m not sure i’m allowed to divulge that info). We were hostile. We dared each other with cool offs and breaks but neither has the guts to risk losing the other. Despite these, we are a perfect fit. We are inseparable. We are bestfriends. We are madly in love with each other. We are meant to be.

I learned that love is not about finding the perfect person because there is none. It’s about seeing an imperfect person perfectly. Fights are as much a part of it as sweet nothings whispered in each other’s ears. So how do I know he’s THE ONE? I feel it deep in my gut. Because after more than 5 years of seeing each other almost every single day, there hasn’t been a time when we got tired of each other. Funny, what sealed it for me was our biggest fight ever. After the fight, I felt so drained that I told God… “if he’s not the one for me, it’s ok. I’m letting go”. That same night, lo and behold, he texted me the sweetest and most sincere message he ever made. Then I knew…

a wedding date

alaherrera — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:09:24 +0000

Ramil and I were able to go on a date last January 2. We attended Leo and Dawn’s wedding and it made for a really good date for us. It was held in a beautiful outdoor venue by the bay, the food was great and there was dancing! We definitely had fun.

The ceremony was short and sweet. Ramil and I helped with the usual shower of fresh rose petals and bubbles at the end of the ceremony. I sure hope it looked great in the photos. The reception started earlier than planned. Good thing the couple was able to get a really good caterer. The place was almost ready by the time people got there. Everyone had only nice things to say about the wedding and we’re happy for the newlyweds. We wish them all the best

old engagement

alaherrera — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 14:13:55 +0000

My generation is slowly entering that time in our lives when almost everyone we know is getting engaged. I still remember last year when my male officemate was asking around about diamonds. It seems that he and his girlfriend of almost 10 years were finally planning to get married. Little did I know that I will be walking down the aisle just a few months after them. Everyone in our office then were really surprised, being the youngest among the single women there then. Looks like there will be a lot of girls I know who might be flashing something like these in the next few months. Some would even sport some antique jewelry since some families have this tradition of passing on engagement rings. It would be nice to symbolize your engagement with something that has years of history in it.

saying thanks

alaherrera — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 02:33:37 +0000

Now that I am married, I don’t expect to be included in a wedding’s entourage list. It seems though that some people don’t care whether their entourage are married or not. I still remember when we were planning our wedding. We had some difficulty finalizing our entourage list because some people we wanted to include are either away or won’t be able to make it. We initially didn’t think of getting them a gift but when I was a maid of honor for my cousin’s wedding, I got a really nice gift. That’s how we learned all about bridesmaid gifts . It’s the couples way of saying special thanks to people who have accepted special roles on their wedding day. Sounds right to me, eh?

the wedding month

alaherrera — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:22:08 +0000

For several years now, December has become the wedding month. Ramil and I got married in December 2005 and at that time, we already experienced difficulty in booking some suppliers because they’d usually be fully-booked by December. Nevertheless, we wanted December because it’s our favorite time of the year, Christmas! Everything is well-decorated and well-lighted. Not to mention that weather is usually very nice at this time of the year. It really takes careful Wedding Planning if you’d like to have your wedding on a December. My bestfriend, who’s a coordinator, has three weddings this month, which means three weddings for Ramil and me too! Well, we’re going to need the extra money anyway

marriage made online?

alaherrera — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:38:49 +0000

Is it possible?

I used to be skeptical about online relationships, especially those that involve romantic love. My skepticism diminished as I spent more and more time online. I started forming online relationships of my own, none of them romantic. I was able to meet a lot of people online whom I now consider friends. I learned of a lot of stories wherein they found love and Mr/Ms Right in the internet.

Nowadays, dating sites are not the only option for those seriously looking for their partners in life. People looking for marriage may have their option of more than one matrimonial site. Gone are the days when the decision for matrimony is reserved for the parents. Even cultures that used to have strong inclinations towards arranged marriages have moved towards making marriages online while keeping traditional values intact. An indian matrimonial site is just one of these. Specific sites like these keep online dating realistic. It makes sure that you will find a person that would have a better chance of a match to them.

So how about you, have you found love in the internet? Share your thoughts on online relationships.

time for weddings

alaherrera — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 05:09:09 +0000

I recently received not one, but two, save the date cards (or in this case save the date email?). It seems that several of my friends and ex-officemates are now engaged and plan to get married next year. I guess the year 2008 will see a lot of weddings since it has the number 8. Hehe! Two years ago, a lot of people were a bit surprised when Ramil and I announced that we're getting married. More than a few people wondered whether I'm pregnant (ha!) but since we announced it some time February and the wedding was December, that concern was immediately erased from their minds.

I guess our generation is entering that wedding time. The time when a lot of people you know are getting married and/or having babies. I can still remember our own excitement at the big leap we've decided to take. Having already experienced preparing a wedding, I would often inquire about my friends' progress at their own plannings.

Couples nowadays are more hands-on when it comes to their wedding, mostly because it's their own money that they spend also. A lot of couples also like to do some DIY stuff or do-it-yourself stuff. Ramil and I even planned on making our own wedding invitations! It's one of the easiest items in your wedding preparations that you can do yourself. Although Ramil and I planned to make our own wedding invites, the busy life of a teacher didn't permit us. We went as far as making our own mock-ups but decided that it would be too much time to make at least 80 pieces of it. Several weddings I've attended also had DIY wedding invites. Although the invites look really good, they look like just the type of invite you can order from those who really make them. For me, the purpose of doing some stuff yourself is to make them a bit more personal and unique.

I'm pretty excited with the next few months. I can't wait to know who will be making their big announcement soon. It will be great to have our friends join us in the crazy world of married life and parenthood.

renewal

alaherrera — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 15:29:00 +0000

“Ramil, I still can’t believe we’re here now. Everything that we’ve planned and wished for are already happening. We’ve been through a lot, I never would have thought 15 years ago that you would be the man God wants me to be with. You’ve changed from being my classmate to being my best friend and to being the love of my life. You’re the one person who can make me laugh the hardest and who can really make me happy. The person who really understands me and knows me and yet still accept everything about me – both the best and the worst. I’ve found such a perfect match in you it’s not hard to see God’s hand in this. As we stand here today in front of God and all the important people in our lives, I promise to love you all the days of our lives, I will love you on days when everything is perfect and going well and I will love you even on days when it would be difficult to love you. I promise to share my thoughts and feelings with you, to never shut you out, to keep an open line of communication, to be willing to compromise, to swallow my pride, to meet you halfway. I promise to accept and respect you and our differences, to always keep in mind that our differences should never make us love each other less. I promise to be a loving and caring wife, to give you all my best and not ask of you what you cannot give. I will do everything to protect this marriage and to make it stronger and I will always remain faithful. Time will come when we will be wrinkled and old, when I will not look like the girl you fell in love with but rest assured that I will still hold your hand and I will still be happy and I will still be loving you fully, completely, and unconditionally.”

Andrea to Ramil
17 December 2005
Sta. Maria Della Strada Parish