Iloilo Mass Schedules
Since hubby’s schedule is erratic, we often find ourselves “catching mass” like you do with movie schedules. It’s been a year since we moved to Iloilo, I feel it’s about time we knew the mass schedules in the city . Thus, I went around Iloilo to get the schedules and promised myself I would post it here. (A websearch I did on Iloilo mass schedules returned negative results and this post should correct that lack of information) Thank you for today, Lord.
God’s Little Miracles
On a limited budget and with two month’s preparations (but with the abundant support of friends and family), the Lord gave us the wedding of our dreams. As a bonus, he led a lovely couple who just happened to be publishers of a travel magazine, to notice us while we had our sunset photoshoot near Willy’s Rock. The result of such a joyous happenstance is this article:
Life is full of miracles. Our wedding was God’s gift to us and this article, well, this is a testament to the wonder of God’s love.
His Vows
In the rush of planning our wedding, I wasn’t able to prepare my vows. It totally slipped my mind that when the priest actually asked us to say our vows, my mind went literally blank. Hubby went first. My heart fluttered and tears of joy fell from my eyes. Clearly, I had married a man after my own heart…someone who’d write me “sweet nothings” hopefully until I’m old and gray.
I busily composed my vows in my mind. There were so many things I wanted to say. However, come crunch time, I stuck to what I knew, afraid that I’d disintegrate into a mess of tears if I actually spoke from the heart. Indeed, God knows best. He sent me Raymund, who is as assertive as I am passive, who is as oc as I am disorganized, who’d consider living in Big Brother’s House while I shun publicity. He sent me a man who is as curious about life, as eager to go on adventures, as passionate about travelling/backpacking as I am. As such, I feel blessed and I pray that we will grow old with each other, with the Lord in the center of our lives.
Sunset in Boracay
Ode to the Sea
On a rainy day such as this, I miss the feel the feel of the sun on my skin, the sound of the waves, the smell of the sea. I miss the promise that summer brings…
In the Isle of Guimaras: Where Legends Abound.
Too Much On My Plate?
The entire day, I’ve been glued to my PC, storing DIY templates, bookmarking websites on US constitutional Law and surveying the records on my desk. I have accomplished a little of something, so all is not lost. 🙂
I’m that type of person. When fixing my room, I spend a few minutes on cleaning and hours rereading magazines, books and letters that I’m supposed to put in order. Or I begin one task and then, before finishing, move to another. To sum it up, my problem has always been finishing projects. Not all projects in particular, but projects with no deadlines.
I had no problem with school or the bar or even lawyering because there were time periods I had to meet. Now, I am in control of my time. Time is a luxury I enjoy and it is something I haven’t been able to control–yet.
I am trying to change that though. I am married now. Although, we still are in a long distance relationship, we are a legal “us”. That means that we have to make plans, set deadlines for our goals. It means going beyond our adventures and making day to day decisions. It means getting the “fun” us to also do some “serious” time. I know that it’s early days yet and there’ll be more adjustments to make in the future. Like hubby is sick with fever now. I want to visit him but can’t because I have work here. 😦
I am confident though that the Lord is looking out for us. Stay tuned, life will only get better. 🙂
The Layout to Love
Six months after our wedding and a few days before our relatives arrived for my sister’s wedding, our wedding scrapbook arrived. This is what a DIY Boracay wedding looks like.
The Little Things That Make a Wedding
Knowing we had only two months to plan, hubby and I made the most of every waking hour. We employed the help of family and friends. It was amazing how things fell into place. We only made one visit to Boracay to meet with our suppliers and yet we pulled it off. It really was because our Lord guided us every step of the way.
What a blessing Nonoy (our make up artist) was to us. Before him I had had at least 3 trials with 3 different make up artists. Luckily, hubby and I bumped into his Tita who was also a wedding organizer. She referred us to Nonoy and that was it. A match made in beauty heaven. 🙂
Sibling Love
As early as 6:30 am, hubby and I were already up preparing for our 2:00 pm wedding. Make up session began at 7:00 am. My sisters Kaye and Mimin joined me on my last night as a singleton. We were all exhausted from all the travelling we had to do. Suffice it to say that we just slept the night through.
The Holy Rosary Chapel, Boracay Island, Philippines
Since we were staying at the Boracay Plaza Resort, which was located right in front of the church, I opted to walk to my wedding. With my brother holding an umbrella to shield me from the warm rays of the sun and my younger sister holding my train, it was a fitting start to a beautiful new life.
The Groom – My hubby, a loving, kind and adventurous man who takes good care of me. =)
The entourage – Our hearts swelled at the sight of relatives, family and friends who came all the way to Boracay from the Philippines and all over the world despite the short notice.
A Walk to Love
Mixed emotions..that’s what I felt. I was certain that the man standing, waiting for me at the altar was the one but still, it was a little sad kissing my mom and dad and leaving them, to walk toward him.
“When the one man loves the one woman and the one woman loves the one man, the very angels desert heaven and come and sit in that house and sing for joy.” ~ Indeed, it was a joyful affair. I’ve always loved weddings and I’m proud to say that I loved mine the most. (haha, love your own.)
Love is beautiful and weddings, well, they are the most definitive form of celebrating love.
A wedding is not just joining of two souls. It too is the joining of families, the union of two houses. I am now not only a Parreno but also an Alova. 🙂
We hadn’t thought of how we would get from the Church to the venue. We figured we could easily walk to the reception. After all, it was just across the Church! However, Ms. Vicky of Boracay Plaza Resort lent us her car and driver for the occasion. We were pleasantly surprised to find a wedding car waiting to take us to the venue.
Boracay Plaza Resort
Our 90 or so guests were treated to cocktails and some light snacks while we went off to the beach in search of the perfect shots. We prepared a hosts of things for them to do, a jigsaw puzzle, a DIY photo and video booth. However, the concept of Do It Yourself in the Philippines hasn’t quite caught on. While we had put signs asking them to record a message for us, no one actually did. Still, it was a pleasant exercise in understanding the pysche of the Filipino wedding goer.
Our host and my maid of honor Kaye, kept the mood light and breezy. Also, since only close relatives and friends were there, they knew each other and were excited at the opportunity to reconnect. Besides, Boracay is a paradise, guests pretty much entertained themselves.
It was a beautiful night filled with lots of singing and dancing. Laughter filled the air as we celebrated love, the love between a husband and wife, the love among family, relatives and friends.
The Greatest Adventure of Our Lives
And this is the story of our love. 🙂
This my friends, is the start of our greatest adventure yet. Hope you enjoyed viewing the pictures.
Distance between Iloilo and Bacolod City
It’s a sunny Tuesday morning in the City of Smiles. I am thinking of hubby, who is in Iloilo working at a hospital. I realize that I don’t even know how far Bacolod is from Iloilo. I know that it is an hour ferry ride away but what about in terms of distance? I google it and find these answers. According to http://www.trueknowledge.com, the distance is 43.82 kilometres. Flightpedia.org states that the flying distance from Iloilo to Bacolod is 43 kilometers (equals to 26 miles or 23 nautical miles.) Travelmath.com is a website that gives driving directions. It doesn’t seem to realize that Iloilo and Bacolod and islands though, I laugh when I see it draw a straight line linking the two cities, it seems you will just have to drive through the seas and Buenavista, Guimaras. That will have to wait til the day flying cars are invented though.
Life with Raymund and Valerie 