"Getting Married In The Philippines Was Not What We Expected..."

The covid-19 pandemic seemed to bring endless days of trials and tribulations for many people, we were no exception. As some of you may know through our intro post on HIVE, we decided that a good way to bring some light into the world during so many dark days was to have a child. Our child. Cora. Needless to say, we wanted to be a family and felt becoming parents would be the best way for us to remain close and share an unbreakable bond when many other couples were breaking up due to the long distance between each other or finding out they didn’t like spending every day with their partner as much as they may have once thought. We didn’t care what others were doing. We dug in.

Unfortunately, we were not wed when Cora was born but had every intention to marry once the timing was right as both of us grew up estranged from our fathers and vowed never to allow Cora the same experience. She is the most important thing to us and we strive to make everything we do reflect that. We were, however, engaged in secret from a proposal with the rings being two-torn pieces of dental floss. On October 28, 2021, the time was right to tie the real knot. After a night in which many words were spoken about “futures” and “goals,” we finally fell asleep and woke up early on a momentous day for our family.

After waking up at 6:00 AM, we woke Cora from her peaceful slumber and lazily walked to our car. The sky was clear, only small wisps of cloud kissed the horizon as the sun rose from the western Cebu sky. Traffic was almost non-existent at this early hour except for jeepney drivers preparing their vehicles for the day's work. People often complain about traffic in the Philippines but driving in the country at this time is surprisingly peaceful and brings back memories of a time when city life was less… well… city. On the way to get Stephanie’s makeup done we stopped and gave Cora to a trusted family friend to watch while we finished the day's preparations.

The first thing on our list was makeup. For this, Steph contacted her good friend and Ninong (God-Parent), Roy Erwin Tizon. Roy, or Mami-Tizon as his friends call him, is an award-winning makeup artist in Cebu and has even been appointed the president of The Makeup Artist Association of Cebu, taking the mantle after the passing of Jonas Borces due to covid-19.

We would like to pay tribute to “Mami-Jonas” as he would have been a part of our wedding and our familys’ life had it not been for the pandemic. We love you. Rest In Peace.

As the day continued and Stephanie finished her hair/makeup, she was helped into her white wedding dress. She looked stunning. Like snow falling on a quiet winter evening.

We continued to get ready as the suit I had was almost on completely, the only piece of attire left to put on was the blue jacket that lay on the couch next to us. It’s only fitting that Stephanie was the one to put the jacket on and finish the outfit. After thanking Roy Erwin Tizon for the wonderful job, we parted ways and started the drive to the Mandaue City Mayor’s Office (the site of our marriage).

Upon our arrival, we met up with our wedding photographer, J.C., and videographer, Cathy. We made our way up the stairs, together, towards the second floor and the office of the mayor. Once there, we were ushered to another room: a holding area for all the other couples who planned to marry that day. The anticipation kept growing as each couple was called one after the other.

Finally, it was our turn but there was a problem. Our witnesses (we needed 4) had not arrived yet! Luckily, as we were beginning to panic, we got a phone call. The witnesses were here! The witnesses were our good friends and they came through for us once again. Thank you. One of them is the reason we are on HIVE in the first place! Her name is Shanna, we will leave a link at the bottom of this blog so you can check out her blog too!

Anyways, in the blink of an eye, the ceremony was over. It was quite literally 10-minutes long and you can see that on our wedding vlog that we will link at the bottom of this post. After taking pictures with the mayor and all of our friends, we departed for our after-wedding reception being held on the top of Hola España Restaurant/Michelangelo Pizzeria. For those who are looking for. fantastic place to hold an event, whether a birthday party, wedding, or anything of that nature then this is the perfect place for you. We reserved the space for 30 people and catered the food directly from the venue. We expected a small informal gathering. Boy, we were surprised when we showed up. The manager had prepared an incredible surprise in the form of flower displays, lighting, and amazing food selection, and to our delight, a host with performers and a program for the event.

As the night rolled on and the performers sang and the host initiated funny games for the guests to play, the time came for our first dance. A slow song game into the air and we swayed together. It was a moment we won't forget. The whole time this was happening, Cora was watching in amazement. After the dance, we put Cora in the baby-backpack-carrier that was gifted to us and she never left our side from that moment on. The second dance was called the "prosperity dance".

A prosperity dance is a tradition in the Philippines in which the bride and groom are surrounded by their guests while money is pinned to their clothing. This is to wish the newly-wed couple a prosperous life together. Everyone was careful of Cora as the three of us stood there receiving gifts from everyone. This was a day we won't forget and we have to give a big thanks to everyone involved; family, friends any of you readers who made it this far. Haha.

We are now a complete family. We are now "Pamilya Abilla".