Our Favorite Video Moments

We finally got our raw video footage, but to have it on YouTube.com (search for the word blurpop), I can only have 10 minute clips. So I amateurly edited the clips to show our favorite moments.

UPDATE - I deleted the clips from YouTube and combined them to create a whole movie (including some wedding pics). Then I moved it to Google Video instead since they had more space. Check it out -

A Thought While Driving

I was driving to work today with our wedding music in the background, so this made me think back on the events that happened the past days. Then I thought of our venue and the main purpose of our convalidation, to have the sacrament of marriage. Our venue was the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph. And I remember when I was younger, I had prayed a nine-day novena to St. Joseph (as adviced by my auntie) to give me a sign if the man I'm dating would love me unconditionally and if 'he's the one' so to speak. Years later, and out of pure coincidence, we ended up marrying at St. Joseph's Cathedral. I wonder if this is fate...

UPDATE - I told Al about this and he added to it. He said that maybe we were brought together by Saint Joseph and God because there were a lot of instances out of this huge world where we could have met. He actually lived in Tahanan Village for three years and I was just in the neighboring BF Homes in the Philippines. And my uncle and aunt who raised me also lives at Tahanan, so I was there almost everyday. In the US, his uncle and aunt are my mom's kabarkada for so many years until they went to Wash town. And they also know his dad (my mom, when I first introduced Al, actually showed him a video tape of her and his dad dancing at a party in the 80's). Yikes! Also, my older brother Kuya Jon knows his dad as well. And to top it all off, when Al brought me to his uncle's pad (coz that's where he lived first before going on his own), it was like dejavu to me, then when I saw their piano and kitchen, I suddenly remembered (days later) that I've been to that house before. And I remember because when I first came to the US, that was the first time I played the piano here (I had an organ back home and I played the keyboards everyday, so you can imagine how much I missed it). Anyway, I even played the piece Memory (don'y laugh) coz that's what the old folks want. My mom brought me there to the party. The reason why it didn't click at first is because they re-arranged the furniture. Wowzer!

Also, he added that his name is Jose (spanish for Joseph) and we live in guess which city? Yep. Saint Joseph is officially the bomb!

Wedding Pictures Are Ready

Thanks to the wonderful eyes of Nino Villongco, who took the wonderful photography at the wedding. I am the 'big' bride (oki, get over the fact that I'm more than stocky), but the awesome Nino made me look nice somehow. You can view the wedding photographs by clicking this link -

http://picasaweb.google.com/indie.cindy

There are also pictures of the wedding rehearsal, as well as pre and post wedding activity and family pics (from our amateur cams). Just grab all the pictures you want. Y'all look really good. And for those who didn't make it to the wedding, we missed you very much! Hope to see you at the next big event! Enjoy your mugshots!

Requests for Wedding Music

After the wedding, we've had compliments regarding our wedding music, or the so called "soundtrack of our lives" (well, we really couldn't play indie music, so scratch that out). We tried our best though, to make it more personalized. Too bad we couldn't play all the music since we had three CDs for it. For those who want to download the mp3s of what we played during our first dance, dance with parents, and the money dance, check out a partial list and access my multiply account by clicking here.

The Gifts Keep Coming In

I can't believe it! The wedding is over (it's been two weeks already) and we're still receiving gifts via email and snail mail. Just yesterday, Nat, Charlene and Tita Ana generously gave a total of $400! My goodness! And Al's cousin who couldn't make it, Doris, sent us a gift card for Pier 1 which we just got today. We're still waiting for others from Amazon.com (thanks Anju and Arlene). So many blessings, and we are sooo grateful! I wish I can hold another major event like this. I never thought planning a wedding can be so much fun! Maybe I should get into the event management business or something...Thank you all for sharing this wonderful moment with us. And special thanks who showered us with their generosity. We've received too much, and we are very, very grateful. Thanks to those who participated in the wedding as well. You know who you are, and also those who helped with the planning, set-up, and accomodations - yes Marvin, that's you! You hooked it up big time! Also we wanted to acknowledge family who have travelled from different states. We are eternally grateful for your presence.

Lola's Wedding Present

One of the better wedding presents Al and I got was a letter from Lola while she is vacationing in Las Vegas. She wrote each of us a poem where the first letters of every line spell out our name. I was such a lovely thought, and it also related our experiences in the past. Here is a copy of the poem she wrote for us:

CINDY SACRAMENTO

Calm was the air, under the starry night,
In the midst of time, full of love and delight,
Neath the morning stars, birds on flight,
Dawn at break of day, glimmered at night,
You moved heaven and earth, with angels on flight.

Several years ago, yes, once upon a time,
As time passed by, just like a wink of an eye,
Came and went, as the golden age goes by,
Remained in the heart, the memories of old,
And the years have turned, silver into gold.
Many tears were shed, and now were forgotten,
Every drop of it, happily tossed to heaven,
Never to come back, without love and care,
To mend the aching heart,
Of glorious tidings, never again to depart.

ALDRIN ENRIQUEZ

All along, where have you been?
Long ago, wandering on earth and heaven?
Dreaming of stars and moon that shine,
Remained all alone, left by beloved behind.
In every day, God with me from sunset to dawn,
Now my life is starry, brilliant as the moon.

Every now and then, I say my prayer to the Lord,
Nevertheless, I see the answer with delight,
Remnants of aches, of what has been,
Illusions and dreams I now condemn,
Quest of my future is bright and fair,
Under the blue heavens, God gave me a share,
Every click the clock, every change of the year,
Zeus offered the best to me, in this hemisphere.

Wedding Highlights - Reception

This is the time of the day that my whole family seemed to be on crack, lol. Tin, Nikki and Pia rode with us in the limo since they were gonna be responsible for registration. The limo driver started driving South instead of North. What sucks was that we had several guests following us. Angel was driving the Rover and she ran out of gas. She made a quick exit in Mountain View to get gas (and saw the Google campus I believe). We had to give her directions since she wasn't familiar with the area. As soon as we got to the venue, we rushed Tin and Pia at the reception table since they were the ones in charge. Much to our relief, people weren't going in yet. Phew!

Anyway, Violeta the coordinator and Marky the DJ wasn't done preparing yet. I'm still not sure why place cards were on top of the table and not on the plates, why the table numbers were orange when I have ivory numbers in the restaurants storage, and why the DJ didn't set-up lights. Al and I were waiting on the side in hiding while visitors were having their drinks on no-host cocktail hour. As soon as the venue was done, we had everyone registered and seated (Nicole helped out too with registration). People got their spots and mingled, while I called on the entourage to prepare for the intros. As people sat, Marky introduced himself as the master of ceremonies, while he started introducing the parents (we scratched the grandparents section since they weren't ready, hehe). The DJ started playing Let's Get It Started by the Black Eyed Peas when he introduced the bridesmaids and groomsmen. They did their funky little dances and movements (Mickey was the most animated). Marky then played the intro music to Chicago Bulls games and announced our entrance and played Mo' Money Mo' Problems by P. Diddy since the lyrics say I'm Coming Out sampled from Diana Ross's song which we thought would be perfect. As soon as we entered, the entourage made a spontaneous tunnel for us to go into, and then we did our hi-fives like when you're being introduced in a basketball game. All for the sake of fun.


Anyway, Pia and Jep were up with their speeches. Pia choked (haha) coz I think she was nervous and teary-eyed. Abs said out loud 'Jep help' which I thought was funny. Anyway, Jep's speech was hilarious, and he prompted people to raise their glasses to give us a toast. Champagne was served previously by the courteous Ming's staff to allow this to happen. Then dinner was served.


At first the DJ played some weird 80's pop music (imagine Highway Run, haha) which wasn't what we wanted. Al was laughing and he told Marky to play the jazz standards CD we gave him. The ambiance was about right for dinner, and some people were amused to hear Paul Anka sing Smells Like Teen Spirit, True, and Wonderwall. Well, the latter is OUR song.

Another highlight was the hitting of the glasses. Everytime guests do that, the couple is supposed to kiss. It so happened that a couple of those are from Camila, my 2-year old niece, who copied others and kept hitting the glass after that. Jep had to tell her off, hehe. Another highlight was when the Gatmaitans (except Michelle who's watching coz she can't drink any since she's preggy) brought some Henenssy to me and Al, and we all drank a shot of it. At first they won't say what it is and Mickey said it's tea. But we guessed it was Hennessy. I think that gave me a buzz, and I didn't need any chaser for that, hehe.


After dinner, Al and I decided to make our table rounds for photographs. First up were my dear co-workers. I'm glad they made it although my boss didn't show up. Then we made our way through friends, grandparents, and family. It was fun, but I soon discovered at our last table that they were sitting on the restaurant couch (diner style) when I paid for chairs and seat covers. Sucks! Had I known, I wouldn't allow them to sit there. But they didn't mind (especially my cuz, coz she got closer seating arrangements with a guy friend she likes).

Marky then announced the cutting of the cake in time for dessert. We had to scratch Sophia's singing performance since we didn't have a Karaoke machine. We also had to scratch the video montage since our LCD screen didn't work with the laptop (It must've been a monitor settings issue). Anyway, we didn't know what to do with the cake-cutting, but the videographer showed us how. It was fun as Al ate the cake himself (he's supposed to give it to me). He has a quirky and weird sense of humor. Then we had our toasts too. The coolest thing I think Al did was to pop the champagne open. I hope it got caught on video. Anyway, the sad thing is Al put some cheap champagne (free one from our limo service Le Grande) on the cake table instead of the Korbels we had for our guests. Our cool waiter Tony also gave us the top of the cake to keep and then pictures were taken with it. They served cake and we got compliments for it. It was a 3-layered mocha rum cake with vanilla icing care of Lanny's Bridal.


Then after a few sips, it was time for our first dance. Marky played Just Like Heaven by Katie Melua. After that, he announced the bride and father dance, as well as the groom and mother dance, with the music I Will Be Here by Steven Curtis Chapman in the background. I heard that Daddy and Al's mom were crying, but I didn't notice. I was just casually talking to Daddy. Then came the money dance. Marky played our first dance song again, but Al told him to skip it. Then Somebody (a Depeche Mode cover) was playing. At first we thought people won't come up for the money dance, but our first partners were Anthony (my half-bro) and Lola who danced with Al. Awwww. It was a fun dance with family and friends. I think I was sweating afterwards, hehe.


After the money dance, I had to throw the bouquet. Marky was counting to 3, but I pretended to throw it, and people were gonna catch it. Then Marky counted again, and said 2 1/2. Funny. Then the actual count happened, so I threw the bouquet and Cherry (my half-sis) caught it. The Al had to take my garter off, and he surprisingly put his head inside my skirt! Nino the photographer told him to do it again, and I screamed 'bastos' but he got the garter, and tossed it to the guys. Mickey caught it! I was hoping Jomar would get it coz that would be funnier. I think Phil was bummed out about not getting it since he would love to put the garter on Cherry, hehe. But Mickey put it anyway, and I wanted to say that's gross coz he's my cousin putting the garter on my half-sis! Haha! Then again, they are not blood related.


Marky then announced for us to take the podium for our thanks and speech. After saying our thank yous, we told every to start dancing, and Marky played Earth, Wind and Fire's September. We had hoped for some manila sounds, but he didn't play those songs and a lot of people were disappointed. He made up for it by playing some new wave, but I think he played too much new wave ('ya know I hate OMD, hehe). I think the only one I liked was Selfish by The Other Two. Nevertheless, the people enjoyed the music, even grandma's were dancing which I think was cool. Then Dong grabbed his CD of electric slide which kinda scared me, but turned out to be cool. Overall, it was a great night for all of us. Al called it the best day of his life. It is officially the best day of my life too.

Wedding Highlights - Ceremony

The entourage was told to be in church around 1:30 pm. On the invites, we announced that the ceremony was going to be around 2:30 pm but it is actually at 3:00 pm (to avoid the dreaded Filipino time mentality. I guess it worked because people were actually early. I missed all the happenings in church while I was waiting in the limo, but I heard that there was a lot of picture taking and socializing.

D'nei, the church coordinator, gave my limo diver the signal for me to get out of the limo and enter the church. As soon as I entered, I noticed the music was wrong (they played Bridal March instead of the Bridal March intro/Canon D Fanfare I wanted. Anyway, I was awetruck at the church, the guests, all the cameras flashing, and the entourage. My bridesmaids were so beautiful! Awww. I was happy to see that my choice of flower colors worked well with their gowns, and that it matched the church's flower colors (what a coincidence!) The priest opened his prayers, Uncle Boy gave a powerful first reading, Julie Wind sang a wonderful Loving and Forgiving responsorial psalm, Tita Fe gave a good second reading, and then we sat and waited for the wedding ceremony to begin after Fr. Ritchie's gospel and engaging homily.

Fr. Ritchie gave us the signal to stand up and begin the unity candle ceremony. Again, I was blown away when Angel stared playing her violin, and Julie Wind singing in tagalog (btw, she's Caucasian, but she could sing Sa 'Yo Lamang so well). That was one of my favorite moments. The veil and cord sponsors did their thing, and then Fr. Ritchie continued with the mass.

Melodie, my cousin, was supposed to read the Prayers of the Faithful, but she didn't know what to do since she wasn't at rehearsals. Good thing Fr. Ritchie saved the day by reading it instead. I was cracking up at Melodie who was just standing in awe and didn't know what to do. Anyway, the preparation of gifts was up next, and my sisters Charlene and Natalie brought the gifts to the priest. This is the best moment because Angel played violin in the background, while Raf sang I Will Be Here, together with the grand piano. I almost got teary-eyed, and I was deeply touched by the song. After the wedding, I heard that some people cried during the ceremony. Anyway, it was a magical moment.

Al and I exchanged vows (it's obvious Al was nervous and the priest cracked a joke about it). With the peace exchanged, I was actually shocked to see my mom and dad shake hands (to those who don't know, they are mortal enemies). The communion was also nice because Julie sang Panis Angelicus which was also touching. Then came the recessional. Pia (maid of honor) forgot to give me back my bouquet, but I was happy because the music in the background was Ode to Joy (believe it or not, this piece got me and Al together). After hiding in the vestibule for a couple of minutes, we came out to start taking pictures.