Our Wedding

The day before the wedding, we did our last minute shopping and went home late. We woke up late also but felt better because we're well rested. We felt  more relaxed. Everything has been set up. We have plenty of time to get ready before the ceremony. No rush. No worries. Or so I thought.

It was raining in the morning. Blessing daw yun. By noon, the sun started to shine and said hello. Tapioca headed to the barber shop for a haircut while I went to the newly opened nail salon in Daily to get a mani-pedi. It took forever for my nails to get done. Our call time is at 4:30pm. It was past 4pm and I'm still at the salon. When I got home, I immediately put on my dress, (wala ng laba-laba), put my kikay kit and shoes in a bag and we hurried to Alba. Since it was rush hour, traffic was bad. I did my hair & make up inside the cab. We arrived at 4:40pm. Pinoy time!

See, I told you, relax na relax lang kami :-)

. . . saying the pledge

Tapioca stating his vow . . .

Tapioca never believed in marriage (but it's funny he proposed to me, though). Being together for two years, I thought our relationship was better than ever and that marriage is nothing but a piece of paper. But now it all made sense. While Tapioca was saying his vow, I finally realized why a couple needs to get married. As Tapioca was saying his vow in front of everybody, I felt like crying. I mean, this is it! We're finally getting married! Every word felt like it's being carved in my mind, heart, body and soul. I really wanted to cry and cry hard. I couldn't shake off the reality happening right in front of me. The emotions were all there. I was overwhelmed, overjoyed, flabbergasted, blown away - unbelievable & indescribable. I wanna sing 'A Whole New World'! Seriously speaking, there are no words to describe the feeling hearing your other half's pledge of love. I tried all my might to fight the tears. Surprisingly, I won.

. . . put a ring on it - single lady no more!

oops, it won't fit . . .

In two months time, Tapioca gained more weight. The ring did not fit. Everyone was laughing. Blooper!

. . .  the parents and the witnesses' turn

the kiss . . .

Sorry, the photographer missed it. Since our wedding was a family affair, we hired no professional photographer. The relatives took the post. Our camera was not so friendly to strangers therefore the blurry photos. This is one thing we regret. Somehow, we're still glad we got some decent photos. We also didn't have ninongs and ninangs (to the dismay of the wedding officiator and the parents). We had Kuya Noli & Mommy Oz as witnesses.

. . . Tapioca signing the contract

Jellybean's turn . . .

. . . the wedding officiator's turn

And now I'm officially Mrs. Tapioca!

with our parents . . .

Here's a nicer photo of the wedding bands . . .

. . . his & her

and of course, the engagement ring . . . my precious!

. . . the mariachi for our entertainment

Pwede mag-request kahit anong song, they will play it :-)

The guests enjoyed the buffet spread. They had seconds, thirds, fourths, err let's just say they loved it. Superb. Alba did not disappoint. They're now our favorite Spanish restaurant. Highly recommended!

The Appetizers:

breads, crackers, butter, assorted spread and pâté, cold cuts and ceviche . . .

. . . salad greens

mussels, mushrooms and chicken croquettes . . .

The Main Dishes:

. . . two kinds of paella

creamy vegetables & bolognese . . .

. . . roasted chicken & breaded fish fillet

callos & embotido . . .

. . . cochinillo asado & roast beef - the highlights of dinner

Desserts:

fruit salad, lemon squares and creme caramel . . .

. . . canonigo - my favorite

the family photo . . . blurry pa rin hahahaha!

Dinner at Alba starts at 6pm but we asked if we can go as early as 4:30 for the wedding ceremony. We're thankful Alba and it's management accommodated our request. They even started the buffet at 5pm. It felt like we rented the entire restaurant for the event. Thank you Alba for making our wedding day really special!

To all our friends who sent us their greetings and best wishes - thank you! We hope in the future, you'll be able to join us for another wedding (vow renewal maybe?).

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The Wedding Preps

10-11-12     I wanted a date that's easy to remember. Tapioca has issues with dates. He's bad at remembering dates. He hardly gets the date of my birthday right let alone our anniversary as girlfriend/boyfriend. And I'm telling you it's one of the grounds for breakup. When I found out he can't even remember his parent's birthdays, I mellowed down. He only knows his own birthday. Well, what makes me think this date would be something he'd remember? I don't know actually. I guess this is more for me than him.

In the wedding planning phase, we wanted to get married on the 9th of September so we don't have to remember anymore dates. But we're just the type of couple who's not in a hurry to tie the knot. It was not top priority. In short, pabanjing-banjing lang kami. September 9 came and we still didn't get things done. We were able to get the wedding bands two months in advance, though.

We went to Chinatown in Binondo to check out some wedding bands. While browsing, we ended up at this store whose owner (me thinks) gave us an offer we could hardly resist. The ring was already on sale and we didn't have the money yet. I told her our budget and she made a way to work it out with our cash at hand.

. . . two tone wedding bands with two tiny diamonds 

(Sorry for the bad photo. Tapioca used his phone camera)

So there. Kung di kami napilit ng store hindi pa kami bibili ng rings.

No choice but to move the date, Tapioca decided on September 30th. Knowing him, I have doubts it will push thru. Until we get the license then we can't set a date for sure. I was right. When we went to the City Hall, they told us the license won't be released until October 1st. So much for setting up the date.

Tapioca wanted to get married on the same day of the release of the license but part of me thought the date didn't seem right. Actually, he wanted to get married asap. The sooner the better. We both wanted to get this over with. Well, I wanted to get married in September. But now that September is over, I don't want just any other date on the calendar. I wanted something special. Then it hit me, 10-11-12.  I know it's just numbers. Nothing significant. Just numbers in ascending order.

And the date is sureness na. Since that date is available we booked it right away.

Now the people from City Hall told us we can only get married within Quezon City. Uh-okay. So Cafe 1771 is off the list. Our 2nd choice - Alba in Tomas Morato.

After setting up the date with the guys from City Hall, we went straight to Tomas Morato and got a reservation at Alba. The girl we talked to was very nice and accommodating. Too bad I can't remember her name. They have catering services, function rooms and packages that are budget-friendly. They also have an option to customize our menu which we really really wanted. However, this girl seemed to be pushing us for a buffet menu. We weighed our options:

Buffet Menu Pros:
- More variety in terms of dishes served on our day.
- Guests can eat as much as they can.
- Cheaper than customized menu.

Cons:
- Dishes on the buffet are on rota so they can't tell us exactly what will be served on our day.
- The only regular items on the buffet are the cochinillo and the two types of paella.

There are more pros than the cons. But the cons we didn't like. I mean we don't want any surprises on our wedding day. And surely, we don't want any bad food on the table. So we studied their menu and tried to create our customized menu. Tapioca and I were starving and we're having a hard time picking the dishes. Since we're already there and they're serving lunch, we tried their buffet offerings and see if we'll like it.

my appetizer plate  . . .

And you know what? We did like it . We liked it so much we disregarded the cons. The buffet spread was not as much as compared to hotel buffets but everything tasted so good. Reception done.

The dress we never really thought of. We were thinking of going in jeans with white shirts and that's it. But the last minute change of plans again. We went to SM Cubao and I bought an off the rack dress. A really cheap one. What I like about this dress? It evokes vintage. All the lace and jazz. I know this is like the dress worn by the ninang sa kasal and not the bride. But who cares, I like it.

. . . off the rack

Okay, I just wanted to give you a preview of the wedding. Up next, the wedding post na talaga. Stay tuned.

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Hitched

Today, Tapioca and I tied the knot. It was a simple ceremony in a restaurant along Timog Ave. I apologize if we were not able to invite you. After numerous discussions about the guest list, we decided it's best to keep it a family affair. I hope you understand.

Will share what happened on the next post.


Peace, love & a bullet-proof marshmallow to y'all!
~jellybean~

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Going Nuts

A week before our wedding. I got sick. Really, really sick. And it's the kind of sickness I didn't want to go through ever again.

First, it was UTI. It's been a long time since I had a UTI but this was prolly the worst of them all. There was blood in my urine and there's an excruciating pain every time I pee.

Jobless that I am, I didn't have any health cards. Times like this made me appreciate having a health card. I knew all along that all I needed was some antibiotics. But without prescription, no drug stores would sell it to me. I went to the nearest clinic in our area and got my self check and got the prescriptions I needed. The OBgyne gave me antibiotics, some pain killers and Buscopan? I was like why do I have to take Buscopan? Well, she's the doctor and she knew better so I took all the meds.

After a day of taking the meds, I have the most uncomfortable feeling ever. I can't sleep, I feel bloated, irritated and then I started vomiting. I can't eat. I lost my appetite. Whatever I took in the mouth I threw up. Then I'm always having this sour taste in my mouth. I thought it was the medicine the doctor gave me . I have doubts specifically that Buscopan meds.

Now, Tapioca was very less sympathetic to my condition or maybe it's just me who felt that way. I was always irritated. I am sick. Sick in the head, sick in the tummy, sick all over. Tapioca and I had a fight. Our biggest fight ever. It even led to the point where I broke up with him and called the wedding off. It was so bad. But my guy, my very very very patient guy, he just wouldn't and couldn't let me go.

I'm thankful he didn't take everything I said seriously. I was crazy. I was mad. I was insane. I was totally out of my mind. I'm not sure but is this normal for any woman who's going to get married soon? I really don't know. But one thing's for sure and I knew it from the very start. I wanted to marry this guy and spend the rest of my life with him. It's just that my mind was clouded with emotions caused by all the stress of this sickness.

Anyway, after all the drama. I went back to the doctor and explained my conditions to her. Apparently, aside from UTI, I had hyper-acidity which causes all the gas, bloated feeling, irritation, et al. I swear, hyper-acidity is every foodie's worst nightmare. I can't pig out. I can't drink Coke. Even if I'm eating something I really really like, my appetite vanishes out of thin air. And that sour taste in my mouth isn't helping. It sucks ya know cause I'm so looking forward to the food at our wedding reception.

Did I just tell you we're getting married? Like really, really soon? Hell yeah. I know I'm not myself right now but I'm absolutely, definitely sure about it. 101% Sureness. Wala ng bawian. Cross my heart. Hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye. The search is over for Mr. Right. Exclamation point. Period. End.

Anyway, going back to my dilemma, I did some research about hyper-acidity as I don't want this in my system ever again. Considering changing my diet makes sense and going vegan (again) does sound right. Or maybe not. I will have to think about it after the wedding.

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Missing Froot Loops

It's been over a week now since our lovely cat Froot Loops disappeared. We miss her so dearly. She's an active cat and we allowed her to wander around but she always came back everyday. When she's outside she usually hangs out on the ledge, the garden or the next door neighbor's garage.

 . . . pretty pretty Froot Loops

It all started when Mochi got sick. Mochi kept on sneezing and had watery eyes. Still, she was very active and ate a lot. I've made some research online and found out the symptoms to be most likely a type of an upper respiratory virus which a lot of cats will just get over on their own. We gave Mochi more vitamins and in a week's time she did get over it.

 little Mochi with grayish-blue eyes . . .

However, Mochi transferred the virus to Froot Loops. Froot Loops is another story. Since we found her at a very young age, Froot Loops' immune system has not developed properly. She had medical problems. She constantly coughs up hairballs and then throws up. We brought her to the vet and got some prescriptions. Eventually, she got better. But this virus she got from Mochi was giving her too much pain. From constant sneezing to watery eyes, accompanied with a stuffy nose - she looked horrible like the first time we took her (Check out her photos here). Her coat that was once so soft and shiny was thinning especially on her paws each time she tried to clear her eyes and nose. She was having difficulty breathing.

 . . . Froot Loops - the wanderer

It was so bad I heard it and almost felt what it's like. It breaks my heart. We tried giving her medicine but she got upset and ran outside the house. I tried to look for her and found her hiding underneath the bushes in the garden. Before dinner time, she came back to drink some water but refused to eat any food. I texted Tapioca and told him we should bring Froot Loops back to the vet. Morning came and she was missing.

We couldn't find her. We called for her, looked for her in places she usually goes to but nothing. After a week, she still didn't show up. Tapioca and I gave up. We think she has passed on. They said cats run off and be by themselves at the end. She's the type of cat that's very independent and most of the time she didn't want to be petted.

But the night before she went missing, Froot Loops went to bed with me and begged to be petted. Very unlikely of her. It was late already and she never wanted me to stop petting her. When I stop, she whines and snuggles closer to me. I was awake the whole night until she got comfortable. It's like she knew it was the last night we would be together.

Mochi and Froot Loops in their weird sleeping position . . .

This photo was probably the last one I got with Froot Loops on it. It was afternoon, Tapioca and the cats had gone to sleep while I was still awake blog hopping. I looked at them on bed and I just couldn't help but take this photo. Our cats have the weirdest sleeping positions ever. That's just one of the many positions they can come up with and I find it odd because they're sleeping on the same position and same body angle. How cute is that?

Mochi and Froot Loops grew up together and became best of friends. They sleep together, eat together and play together. We can tell how Mochi misses her much. Just like we both do. I can say this was more difficult than losing Carrot. There was no closure. We will never know what happened to her. Being parents to pets, I've learned to be brave. Learning to let go is never easy but I have to admit that nothing is permanent. Everything has an end and a beginning.

If Tapioca never found her outside the grocery store, she could have died earlier. We had extended her life for a few months and we could never be more than happy. If that's her life span then so be it.

Froot Loops, Mommy and Daddy and Mochi and Sunday love you and miss you. We hope you're happy and fine wherever you are right now.

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