Since the reason we got to Boracay was to attend a friend’s wedding, I thought it was only proper to post something about it here.

But first, before that, let me say that this is our first time to attend a beach wedding. You see, since we’re Catholic, and the Catholic Church has already banned the celebration of weddings outside of parishes, there was no way for us to have a beach wedding of our own (even if we both wanted it and if by some miracle we get to afford it).

Anyway, the groom was someone I met in my previous work as a medical sales representative in a very reputable company. We both trained for 3 months and worked in the same area after training. I guess, among the many individuals in the batch, we were the ones who clicked. I helped him out in the tests. He taught me how to sell properly. That’s how we started out. Afterwards, we became buds. Sadly though, after a few months in the field, we decided to pursue our own separate paths. I went on to teach. He made it to an IT company and struck it big, but we still kept each other posted.

The Good News…

He was eventually assigned to work in Houston so we only communicated through emails. Then one day, he just sent me an invitation to his wedding, in Boracay no less. Of course I said yeah I wanted to but I told him I couldn’t afford the tickets. I went on and said if he could buy me some tickets, then I’d love to attend the wedding. At this point, to be honest, I really wished he would get us some but I really wasn’t seriously considering the possibility.

So imagine my surprise when he just emailed me again saying he bought me 2 tickets to Boracay along with accommodations in the White House Resort. WOW! He told me to bring my wife so we could both attend and relax at the same time. I was just shocked, and so was andrea after hearing the news.

We, andrea and I, then agreed to get an additional ticket on our own for mateo so we could come as a family. And then when andrea’s family caught wind of the news, they said they would come with us too (with their own tickets of course). So we set off for Boracay.

The Wedding Proper

It wasn’t until Monday when we met up with the husband-and-wife-to-be. It seemed that they were busy with the preparations all Sunday. Of course, we didn’t mind because we were just too grateful to be there in the first place. Anyway, we had snacks together on Monday morning and got up to speed with the details of their love story (which I will not be disclosing here anymore). Afterwards, we parted ways to allow the couple time to continue with their preparations. The next time we met again was already during the wedding proper.

The whole ceremony started a little past 3 in the afternoon. Most of the guests were barefooted and were wearing white flowing dresses or robes. The guys wore something that looked like a Chinese Barong except that it wasn’t buttoned. The girls wore dresses that looked like a cross between a sarong and a formal dress. All in all, the colors brought a sense of formality while the overall designs gave the beach wedding its natural informal ambiance. It was almost like a relaxed and informal wedding.

Anyway the ceremony ended at around 4:30 in the afternoon. Picture-taking took almost another hour because everyone seemed to enjoy posing with the beach and the impending sunset at the background. Unfortunately for us, our camera’s batteries died out minutes before the start of the ceremony.

I admit. I was a bit disappointed to not see torches in the wedding because I was really set in witnessing something like a tribal council type of ceremony (Survivor). I imagined the couple walking along a path flanked by torches and everything. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the same idea. But nevertheless, their wedding was beautiful.

During the reception, everybody was so stuffed with different kinds of grilled food. A live band was playing in the background and everybody partied till around midnight. And because the guests were all wearing comfy clothes, most of them were able to dance all night. Even andrea and I had to retire early because we were so tired from dancing. It was just amazing. I wish we could have a celebration like this too even if it is on our silver or golden anniversary.