Other people keep telling us we have everything worked out for our wedding, but it still feels like there’s so much to do!
For instance, we have yet to meet our priest, Fr. Clod Bagabaldo. We’re finally meeting him for the first time tomorrow night. I hope our ideas aren’t too outlandish for him!
Second, we have booked neither videographer nor musicians! We have some shortlisted, but nothing final yet. Eek!
– rej
I really don’t know anything about flowers. All I know is I don’t like roses, because they’re such a cliche; tulips, because they really don’t look pretty to me, and are ridiculously expensive; and tiger lilies, because Mom used to put them in the house years ago, and their scent gives me headaches.
So when we started checking out florists, I had to ask the names of the flowers that looked pretty, and we had to write them down. So by the time we were meeting with florists and talking about packages and options and such, we had a list of flowers we liked! Yay!
Unfortunately, Fernwood is rather strict about florists for the chapel, and we can only hire accredited florists: Flowers of May, 15-58 Flowers and Styles, and Scenta Flowers. We met with account execs from all three, just to see what they could offer, and which one we were most comfortable with. After meeting all three, we decided on 15-58.
So this evening we met with their AE, Rina, in Gateway, signed the contract, and paid the reservation fee. Yay flowers!
We’re getting calla lilies, mums, and aster. As for the arrangement, you’ll see it on the big day! 
– rej
For months now, we’ve been wrestling with the question of what song to use for the bridal march. The Star Wars themes are perfect, and John Williams is brilliant, but somehow none of them are really appropriate for a bridal march. The closest we could find was Evil Genius Orchestra’s rendition of Han Solo and the Princess.
So we’ve left the question unanswered for the past few months. Then last week, Reitch and her friends Mark and Rachel came over for dinner, and Mark, upon hearing that we were having a Star Wars wedding, asked, “So what will you be marching to?” Drat, there’s that question again! Still we had no answer. We scoured Oneal’s music for geek anthems and themes, and there was just nothing that fit. *sigh*
Then last Monday, we went to Karen’s birthday Rockeoke party at Mag:Net High Street. We went, ate, drank, sang and danced, and went home. Just as I was snuggling next to Oneal, and he was snoring away, and I was about to fall asleep, I had an epiphany.
“OMG, how come I never thought of it before? Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, by Starship! It’s perfect! Zzzzzzzz.” And I was off to dreamland.
(It should be mentioned at this point that Mannequin is one of my favorite movies of all time. I ♥ Andrew McCarthy! And the hosts at Rockeoke dragged Karen to the stage to sing Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now. Jovan, Monique and I were in front of the stage, singing and dancing along while powered by mojitos. 
)
Fortunately, I remembered my epiphany upon waking, and immediately shared my Eureka moment with Oneal. He seemed to really like the idea.
Looks like we have a wedding march song! The only problem now is: (a) making sure the church is okay with it, and (b) hoping the group that plays at the reception can play it. Cross your fingers!
Mom found my confirmation certificate! Hooray!
One of the things that’s been bugging us are the church requirements for couples who want to marry. Specifically, we’ve been trying to remember where our confirmation certificates are! I knew I was received the rite of confirmation when we were in Saudi Arabia, but I couldn’t remember exactly when, and where my certificate was.
Our pursuit of Oneal’s confirmation certificate turned into an Intramuros field trip. His mom had said he and his cousins were all confirmed at Manila Cathedral in 1975, so Oneal and I figured our search should start there. This would also be our opportunity to finall explore Intramuros on foot, camera in hand, something we’d been wanting to do for years.
We first headed to Manila Hotel for brunch with Oneal’s mom. Then the driver took us to Manila Cathedral, where we were just in time for the noon Mass. It was Ash Wednesday too, so it was lovely timing. The church was full, and we were able to receive the ash on our foreheads. After the Mass, the office was closed until 2:00, so we decided to go exploring first. We walked around Intramuros and on to San Agustin Church, took pictures of everything, and even found some pretty maritime offices and the Kaisa Filipino-Chinese Community Heritage Museum. One of these days we’ll go back and explore the museums.
At 2:00, we were back in Manila Cathedral, and the office was open. Oneal inquired at the window, and was promptly told that all records for rties performed prior to 1976 were stored in San Agustin. Oops. So we had to trudge back in the afternoon heat and the dust of the city, back to the office at San Agustin.
You can imagine our relief when the girl at the office found the certificate. She was using a slow old computer, and to search their database she used a DOS program, filling in the blanks with the information Oneal provided on the form. It was a slow search, and we had to take a seat while waiting, but at least the records are computerized! The results told her not only that Oneal was confirmed in the Manila Cathedral in 1975, but also told her the ledger and line number where the original record could be found! We were really happy and relieved.
Unfortunately, the certificate would only be valid for 6 months, so if we got a copy then, it would be expired well before our wedding day. Nevertheless, it’s a relief to know exactly where the certificate is, and how to get it when we need it.
Next: my confirmation certificate! Seeing as how I can’t exactly go back to Saudi Arabia and I wasn’t confirmed in an actual church, I’m not sure how the Mount Carmel parish will react to my confirmation story. Still, Mom found my certificate and gave it to me today, so I can at least consult a priest and ask if that’s acceptable, or if I need to be confirmed again.
Wish me luck!
– rej
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