A day late but two years ago, on March 1, 2015, Nick and I had our civil wedding. It was actually a very intimate affair attended by our close family and friends. Our situation may not have been ideal at that time but our union is. And yes, we've been married twice!
Given that we only had a week's time to prepare everything, we had to move fast to create an affair that though was done fast, would still be quite an intimate one to remember (at least for Nick and me). But this also meant that we had to forego a long guest list and ask for help from our friends and family so we could do everything on our own. And they pulled through for us! Our gratitude and appreciation to these people will forever be with us.
What I'll mostly remember about that day were the nerves I had as I waited for the door to open, seeing Nick catch his breath when our eyes locked, and see him actually made an effort to fight back happy tears. I walked to the piano cover of Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years" by The Piano Guys. So that contributed to the solemnity and intimacy of the whole affair. (I actually also walked to the same tune on our church wedding, with one of Nick's childhood friends playing it on the piano for us. Thanks so much, Remy!)
I regret not sharing this moment with our other close friends though and Nick's family not being physically there too. But with all things to consider, hard decisions had to be made to keep this as simple we could. And we also wanted to make our church wedding (planned for the next year at that time) the big deal and one that people would look forward to and not "push" away as we've already been civilly married. After all, our covenant with God to be one and to stay true to each other is the real reason to celebrate the sacrament of matrimony.
To Maria, Chris, Jane, our moms, our dads, our brothers, Zoe, Maria's family, mom' friends and family friends, Tita Bess, Tito Johnny and everyone else present that day - thank you so much for sharing this special occasion with us. For the food, the laughter, for bearing with us as we set up the "reception" after the ceremony. For the decors, for your blessings, for being witnesses to our love. For Nick who arranged my bouquet, that is sweet, babe and I loved it! Thank you all for being okay to contribute in big and small ways to make our DIY wedding an intimate one to remember.
See what we did there?
My theme colors (yes, I still had one if the whole affair was simple) were white, gold, red and peach. The idea from my wedding dress was from the movie "The Wedding Planner." I've watched that movie countless times and really liked the simple birdcage veil that Jennifer Lopez wore there. My white dress was from Forever 21, actually the last place I went to after scouring the mall for hours. The bouquet was arranged by Nick and the flowers were from Costco. My nude stiletto heels were from JustFab.com. My mom gave me the necklace to match the earrings that I already have. Nick's suit was from Express and the tie was borrowed from Chris, Maria's hubby, as we didn't have enough time to buy one anymore.
When you plan a DIY quick and simple wedding, it's all about your connections. Fortunately for us, Chris is friends with a guy who runs an event decorating business and he was able to get us our wedding arch and a few pillars. Maria decorated the place, which was the clubhouse at my aunt's townhouse complex. Scatter white and red rose petals and you have quite a romantic vibe for the place.
Making sure each of us signs!
Love these girls forever!
Again, our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all who made this possible! And to us babe, happy anniversary! Cheers to many more years of love, appreciation, support, adventure, smiles, hugs, and feels, and everything in between!
