#LengTanSpeaks: Our Wedding Day Part 1: The Prep

It has been days since Kelvin and I have tied the knot. I have been meaning to blog ever since Saturday but things have been awesomely busy I have not had the time to sit down and collect my thoughts.

And today I finally got a window! I came in to work early today – and when I say early I mean 7am early! Only to realize I have a meeting tonight at 7pm which means I can squeeze in some “me” time and write.

So if you’re reading this and you and you want to know how things went on our wedding day, read on!

My family and I woke up at around 6:30AM to have breakfast. We woke up later than planned because I was up half the night finalizing the seat plan with Mama and Kelvin. Mom and I had quite a fight the night before the wedding but made up a few hours before dawn. I also wasn’t able to sleep very well; because it was my last night as a single woman, I figured I better spend my last night wedged between Mom and Dad. I closed my eyes with Mama’s arms wrapped around me, and Daddy’s warm back pressed against my right arm.

Less than three hours later, I woke up to the sound of Mama rustling about getting ready for the day, while Daddy was softly snoring

beside me, fast asleep. I didn’t sleep very well. Maybe because I knew what the next morning would be bring and I was too excited. I would be closer to the moment Kelvin, our families, and I have been preparing for. And the day was finally here. I jumped out of bed, kissed my family good morning, and looked at myself in the mirror.

The horror! There were two huge bags under my eyes, and my upper lids were a huge swollen mess. It didn’t help that my fight with Mama the night before left me crying, and my 4:30AM bedtime made it worse. Thank God my makeup artist advised me to put ice on my eyes and face the moment I wake up, and that’s what I did; I even carried my ice pack all the way to the restaurant for breakfast.

I saw Mama Kila (Kelvin’s mom) on the way to the restaurant, I asked for Kelvin and she told he was still sleeping. I had this crazy urge to make a mad dash into his suite, push his door open and jump onto his bed screaming, “We’re getting married today, honey! Rise and shine!” But I knew we weren’t allowed to see each other until the wedding ceremony starts, so I meekly said goodbye to Mama Kila, and joined my family in the restaurant for breakfast.

A few minutes after ordering breakfast, the resort staff informed me that my makeup artist and her team have arrived, so I rushed back to my family’s villa to get ready. I didn’t get to eat, I was too excited anyway. I was just all good and ready to walk down the aisle and marry Kelvin. But I knew that before that even happened, I had to get myself ready and into my wedding gown. I doubt if the priest will be too happy with a bride in her sloppy pajamas walking down the aisle, with crusties in her eyes. I didn’t want to scare my groom away either; although he has seen me at my worst days.

So I rushed into the shower, put my contact lens and robe on, and sat on the makeup chair. My fabulous makeup artist, Icel Galvez, and the rest of her team started working their magic on me. They first started with my hair, where they sprayed, and twisted it into the style that I wanted. Then Icel worked on my face. While Icel was working on me, the rest of her team then started working on the rest of the ladies of my entourage including our mothers, and sisters. And there I was, sitting on the chair, having my face and hair done, getting ready to meet Kelvin at the altar. At the thought of Kelvin, I hurriedly sent Keith (Kelvin’s brother and best man) and Mama Kila an SMS, telling them to ask Kelvin to go get showered and get ready for the wedding team.

At around 8:30AM, I realized that my wedding coordinators still have not arrived. Badz Gacuma told me that they had a number of mishaps on their way to Batangas and would be late. Mama, Ate Ye, and I then got to work, taking on the role of coordinators, calling and collaborating with the other suppliers. I While getting my face and hair done, I was on the phone with the florist, caterer, coordinators, bridesmaids, groomsmen, and photographers, who also were running late. At this moment, emotions were running high, my mom was starting to panic, and Ate was starting to rant about late suppliers and unprofessional vendors. It was a good thing I took a good look at the timeline that my coordinator sent me, and I had the contact numbers of all the suppliers. I figured, it wouldn’t help if I throw a fit and go bridezilla on the people in the prep venue. I was starting to get worried as well but I just kept my cool. The wedding was not until 2pm. We still had a lot of time. I kept repeating to myself, “I will not stress myself out. What matters is that I am marrying Kelvin.” With that mantra in mind, I kept myself calm and focused on what needed to be done.

At around 10AM the photographers and coordinators finally arrived. I was hugely relieved because I was starting to feel overwhelmed, with Mama panicking and Ate ranting her head off. I didn’t even get the chance to look at myself in the mirror! Almost everyone was furious by the time the coordinators got to our villa. From there they took over, with Ciara as my bridal manager. There were still a number of bloopers here and there, but nothing alarming, we were all able to sort things out eventually.

The photographers then got to work, taking pictures of all the wedding details like the veil, arrhae, shoes, bouquet, cord, etc.

At this time, I was busy directing my bridesmaids and asking them to hurry getting their hairs and faces done.

Me and my cousin and candle sponsor, Angel Guno

After a few minutes, the photographers asked me to go into the bedroom where they took a few shots of me. (Wedding people call this the “beauty shot”) As I have never modeled before (apart from the prenup photoshoot), it was pretty difficult for me and I was a little stiff at first. Thankfully Wilson, the lead photographer, and Ramil (the lead videographer) were very nice and gave precise but gentle instructions, which made posing easier for me.

But let me tell you, there were just soo many shots! Most of the shots were taken by the window but I was feeling antsy with the photographers and videographers asking me to face here and there, smile, look down, behind me, put my hands on my waist, neck; run my hands down my bouquet, dress, etc . It felt quite awkward to me at first with more than five cameras trained on my face and movements. But don’t get me wrong, I was having the time of my life, modeling the wedding gown of my dreams. (I will reserve a separate blog about my wedding dress; I want to make sure I do it justice) When noon came by, I was begging my photographers and videographers’ mercy. I just wanted to run out the door, drive the car to the church, and get married!

Kelvin was at another part of the resort having his pictures taken along with his entourage and family. Here are some snaps from his shoot!

My groom and his brother, Keith

Ang pogi!

My groom with his best men

Surprise!

Honey with the Tan family

Nevertheless, I wanted to make sure every moment was captured. So here are some more snaps!

Icel with Mama

Me texting the suppliers while Mama feeds me pancakes

Ninang Heidi and Ninang Corige

Lambingan with TengTeng

Mama Kila and Sohpie

Selfie!

My beautiful Mama

My sister and Maid of Honor, helping me put my shoes on.

My sweet nephew and our ring bearer, Prince.

My lovely family. :)

After a few more shots with my family and bridesmaids, we were then off to the church!

But there was another hurdle – getting me in my wedding gown into the bridal car. Papa (Kelvin’s dad) was very sweet to let us use their white Honda Accord as our bridal car. It was a little difficult to get inside the car at first, but with a bit of pulling and tugging of the dress, skirt, train, and veil here and there, I was finally able to squeeze myself in the car with my Mama to my right and my Daddy to my left.

And with one big sigh of breath, we were off to the church to meet my groom, his family and all of our loved ones.