It was a Saturday, our wedding day was. December 30. The roads were a bit clear yet people were still in Holiday spirits. I was set to wake up at around 8 pm yet something told me to check my phone at 7:30 AM. There was a text from Sam. It went something like that, "Maude, I'm so sorry. I'm stranded here in Ormoc .. da da da... and if I catch this other trip, I'll get there by 5 PM pa."

P A N I C M O D E R E D A L E R T P A N I C M O D E R E D A L E R T

Then I sneezed. 5 times. And you know what they say when you sneeze more than 4 times. It means you are coming down with a cold or a flu or your allergies are triggered. Great, just great. On our wedding day, I get sick. thoThen Iught of my friend, Tonette Yapha, who had sore eyes on her wedding day. Nah... mine should be ok. Nothing compared to that. Now, back to the Lector and Emcee absence problem.

I then dialed my good friend, Indira, and told her of my situation. With nary a qualm or a negative reaction, she agreed to be my emergency lector. TUNKS GOD for friends like Indira! A few hours later after we had our buffet breakfast at the hotel and after we had transferred our stuff from the room to the Bridal Suite, I saw on TV that there was a scheduled Typhoon in the Visayas Region and the ENTIRE COUNTRY was on Tropical Depression. JUST GREAT! I remember hearing about rainy days and weddings and that they're supposed to mean abundance. A good excuse? Maybe.

The first person to arrive was the adorable Eddie Dinapo who had a huge box filled with our flowers. I looked at each of them. He got them all right! He got my ideas right! I could've kissed the dude but he was in a hurry to check the Recep room so off he went. Then Bernardo arrived together with John and Jessie. Then Leg and Doogie so Bernardo got busy. Then Tabong, Dave and Charles. Then Yaul, Mamay and Marilyn. Then Mama arrived with Papa and Jones. Followed by Chime, Mommy, Daddy and Megan. Then Buttwipe, Ching, Che and Teody. By 11 am, the room was abuzz with hair dryers, laughter, phone calls, medical emergencies and food. Pictures were taken from every possible (and even ugly) angle. Jown Florido texted. She can't go because she was having one of her infamous migraines! Good thing Sarah can replace her as the proxy OF the Proxy.

Everyone had lunch over McDonald's chicken which we consumed in less than 10 minutes because we had to go, go, go. Dress-up pics of Joen and Papa were taken after Tabong took shots of the rings, the favors and pretty much all the wedding goodies on display. I started dressing up at around 2 pm. Joen was coordinating with everybody regarding the transportation while I tried to float my way to the lobby on my way to the Bridal Limo. PAUSE. Deither Ocampo was there. Now, I'm not much of a local showbiz fan but I do have a thick face so I called out, "Deither Ocampo?? I'm the bride. My name is Maude. Can I have a picture taken with you?" The poor guy had to oblige as Megan, Mama, Doogie and Buttwipe flocked to his midst. Haha!

Chime, Mama and Papa rode with me to Church after my reliable maids tipped their toes despite the rain just to avoid getting my gown soaked by the threatening drizzle. As the driver, Raul, drove us to Church, I could not believe that that was it. A year's worth of planning and yet here everybody was, working to make everything work out fine. A few sponsors could not make it because they were stranded in airports and piers. Signal no. 1 was in full swing. Several other guests texted in that the rain either made them sick or made it hard for them to go. Ngerrr. But as Leg constantly reminded me, "Think happy thoughts. Don't stress." So I just let it go. Shit happens anyway. Before I knew it, Ching beckoned me out of the car, carried my gown with me and cued the church door to open before I walked in. All eyes were on me but the only eyes that mattered were Joen and Tabong's. Haha! He already gave me a count earlier so I knew where to stop and pause for pictures. I tried to glide and KICK! my gown as Tisha told me to. I really am not a girly girl for even with my high kicks, I still managed to slip a little. No one noticed I'm sure. Then I was arm-in-arm with my parents, then we were on our way to the front of the church where my groom and his parents await me. The wedding has officially started.

The mass was ok, the homily hit home and the songs took a bit long but I guess with the wedding march, it was supposed to be just fine. The second I saw Indira and that annoyingly pretty smile she has, I felt sooo relieved. I mouthed a THANK YOU to her and she just smiled back. While the mass was going on, Joen and I couldn't help but snicker over Raymond becoming a Best Man-cum-Sacristan. Sige gyud mi ug agik-ik. Before we knew it, the mass was over, we were now, in the eyes of God and Man, HUSBAND and WIFE. WOOHOO!!! We kissed, we hugged, I wiped his lips of lip gloss. We took pictures, we shared kisses, we greeted people then we did our rather casual recessional. Confetti and a pair of doves were waiting for us outside the church. Cameras clicked, everyone was smiling! It was time to grab the doves out of their cages so we did. Someone cried, "Kiss ang doves!" so Hoen and I bent over and kissed the doves. "Dili kamo uy! Ang doves ang maoy ipa-kiss!" AW! Unsa ba! Rexy goes, "Blooper! HAHAHA!" How embarassing but our doves did kiss and we finally released them. We then rode the car together this time sans Chime but with Mama and Papa still.

We went back to the hotel where we rested in the room and took more pictures. We had 2 hours to just lay back so we enjoyed all the free time relaxing. That free time helped a lot because we both lacked sleep and we needed to rewind for the night.

Pic 1: Sniffling but still having fun during the hair/make-up and dress-up
Pic 2: Hoen wiping his shoes
Pic 3: Garland c/o Eddie Dinapo
Pic 4: Papa helping Hoen get dressed
Pic 5: I love this pic of Leg and Doogie eating McDonald's along the hotel corridor!
Pic 6: Hoen's barong
Pic 7: They're all dressed and I'm... well, I'm not
Pic 8: Love this pic of my Mom kicking it with my veil



Pic 9: Hoen with Ma and Pa
Pic 10: Me trying to "own the aisle"
Pic 11: Me with my folks
Pic 12: Us from the back
Pic 13: He got lip gloss all over him!
Pic 14: Indira. The willing emergency lector
Pic 15: The biggest blooper- kissing the doves!