A Look Back on Our Wedding Day

We are soooo excited to tell you, really…
…that we’re tying the knot this September finally!
As we say our life long vows under the tree
We’d love to see you in the afternoon at three.
9.19.19

(excerpt from our wedding invites)

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Nothing about luck made us decide to tie the knot on a date with triple nine. We don’t really believe in luck but that day, we were so blessed that all the stars somehow aligned for us. 

It was our eleventh anniversary, our happy ending yet also a beautiful beginning. 💖

In an intimate garden, under a tree, we finally exchanged our vows in front of God, our families and closest friends. 

Our love story started when we were teenagers. A long but worthwhile journey of courtship, dating and marriage. 💑

Truth be told, even when we were yet in our teenage years and people were telling us it was only puppy love, we already had a vision of when our wedding would be. No exact date but we knew it’s going to be a looooong wait. We were up for the challenge. We committed to our vision and planned what to do to achieve it — that is to finish our studies, earn a decent living and build ourselves as we wait.

IT HAPPENED! ALL THE BY THE GRACE OF GOD.

This is going to be a long post, so grab yourself a cup of coffee, get cozy and reminisce with us as we look back to our happily ever after, our wedding day. 

(all photos credited to Superseven)

Our wedding location was already quite a story to tell.

On our 8th anniversary, we dined in a resort and we were so amazed how romantic the place was. Right then we knew we would get married there. Two years later, Ian proposed, we got engaged and there was nothing else in our minds except that venue of our dreams.

We reached out to their wedding team, exchanged a few emails and finalized our wedding package. We went back to the resort to officially confirm our booking but voila — they told us they will be closed for 1 year for renovations! There was no way we could sneak in to get married there!

Our whole world fell apart… 

I cried a lot and for a day couldn’t even think right. I tried to convince Ian that we wait one more year just so we could have our wedding there but he said there’s no more additional year of waiting. Thank God I obeyed because if I didn’t, we would probably be more devastated with COVID-19 cancelling weddings this 2020. 🙏

We spent a day calling all resorts we could ever think of but they didn’t have a garden area that suits our preference. Bluewater Resort in Panglao definitely saved the day! We couldn’t forget Feb 6, we went to their garden and had it all to ourselves. There was pure silence around. Right then we felt that it was “the one”. 

God definitely has His way of surprising us.  He gave us a wedding venue that allowed us to be more intimate in our ceremony, a cocktail garden area just a few steps away and a reception dinner setting beachfront.

On that day, the September skies  gave us perfect weather. No rain!

There was a bamboo walkway that greeted our guests as they arrived at  the venue, plenty of trees  to shade everyone and that night, fireworks decorated the skies capping off a magical day that we’ll remember for the rest of our lives. 

It wasn’t perfect but it was perfect! 💖 (if you know what I mean 😊)

Our wedding weekend started on September 18th. We booked rooms for our families in the resort and had a family dinner before the wedding festivities. We wrote our vows, finalized our wedding details, had our last goodbyes before becoming Mr. and Mrs. and had our fair share of I-can’t-sleep dilemma.

Excited? Yes. Nervous? Definitely yes!

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Came our wedding day. We had breakfast with our families and made sure we’re not seeing each other before the ceremony. 😊

The girls and our glam team started coming in. The photo and video team also arrived.

It started to sink in. We’re getting married! 🎉✨

One thing I noticed with a lot of weddings is that the wedding day becomes more of a photoshoot for the couple than a day of being in the moment and soaking in the feels of becoming ”Just Married”. This is our top priority —  to be in the moment and not think about how the photos and videos would look like.

Great thing we found Superseven, who is passionate about just witnessing the day and not forcing awkward things just for the sake of coming out with great photos and videos. With them, we had peace of mind that whatever happens, rain or shine, late or on time, epic or fail, we will still have our wedding memories captured beautifully, yet also raw and real. 

I’m not really a lacey-or-sheer-robe type of bride and I wanted my preparation dress not to steal too much attention so I went for something that’s simple and classic white. I gifted my girls with personalized blush robes for a neutral pop of color before they wear their white dresses with me.

For the bridesmaid dresses, we did a mix of lace, sheer, slits, and skin to naturally blend in with the greenery.

The boys had their fair share of fun, playing around, going for a morning swim and getting a healthy doze of sun before the ceremony. They played around, went for a morning swim and We all stayed in the resort during preparation time so timing was key to make sure we don’t see each other before walking down the aisle.

We went for simple white long sleeves and khaki pants for the groomsmen to complement with the girls.

For the groom’s attire, we initially wanted it to be light grey, beige or khaki to be neutral with the garden colors but later on decided for a color that would stand out but still blend with the greenery. 

One of my most favorite details about our wedding is my wedding dress. 😁

I wanted my dress to be simple but also classic and elegant. A dress that would allow me to move freely on my wedding day. I found a local gown designer that is really good with the kind of gown that I wanted so I showed him my design peg and he created it so beautifully. I loved how it turned out!

I made sure Ian didn’t have any hint about my wedding dress. The first time he saw it was when I walked down the aisle on our wedding day. 😉

Time for family photos before walking down the aisle!

That few minutes before walking down the aisle was nerve-wracking. I was so nervous I was sweating so much.

The whole entourage had a different aisle on the other side of the garden while I had an exclusive aisle for myself.

When it was finally my turn, I couldn’t help but get drowned with so emotions.

It felt surreal that after eleven years, I’m finally walking down the aisle to marry the man of my dreams.

I walked down the aisle to Kina Grannis’ version of Can’t Help Falling in Love With You. (Not because of Rich Crazy Asians. Haha) I’m already a fan of Kina for years and already heard that version from her before the movie became a trend.

The final look of the ceremony venue was completely a surprise to me (in a good way). I showed my pegs to Dave Banglos, the resident florist and stylist of Bluewater and he delivered more than what we expected! The tree, the altar, the floral installations — they were so beautiful!

Our wedding ceremony was short, simple yet meaningful, highlighting God’s word, our vows, tribute to our parents and tying the knot. 

One of the most memorable parts of our wedding is that time when we got the chance to personally say thank you to all our guests right after the ceremony. It was a very emotional moment, soaking in the “Just Married” feeling while hugging all our loved ones and friends. 

We knew we would sacrifice the time for pictorials and post-nup but we wouldn’t choose any other way. 

Just a few steps away from the ceremony venue is the cocktail area. We loved the Parisian vibe that Sir Dave of Bluewater Panglao set up. I requested for a blend of formal cocktail tables and rustic boho. It turned out amazing!

Since we didn’t do the group photos right after the ceremony, we utilized the cocktail hour to squeeze in a quick pictorials session.

We are not really fan of formal group photos because we feel like it isn’t a requirement for a wedding and we wouldn’t have use for it in the long run so how our pictorials happened was perfect for us. Guests enjoyed afternoon snacks while waiting for their turn in front of the camera.

Our dinner reception was at the beachfront area of the resort.

We wanted the reception to be straightforward, only highlighting the important parts — food, toasts, cake, our dance and loads of fun. 

We ended the night in the most magical way! Surrounded by all our guests with sparklers in their hand, we danced to Moira’s version of Kahit Maputi na ang Buhok Ko. We never expected our loved ones to sing along but it made our dance even more memorable. 

In the middle of the song, we surprised everyone with a fireworks display. Definitely a happily ever after! 🥰🎆🎇✨

The next day, we had another celebration in the city with all our other families and friends. It also happened to be my 27th birthday.

It has been a year but it still feels like yesterday.

One year later and it’s still a happily ever after for us. 

We want to say thank you to everyone who helped us bring our dream wedding to life. 

Thank you to all our loved ones and friends for joining us from near and far! It meant so much to us to see you there and it was really wonderful to share the day with all of you. 

Thank you to all our lovely wedding suppliers who worked so hard on that day. We would recommend every single one of you. We appreciate you so much!

Thank you to Superseven Studio for capturing our dream wedding in the most beautiful way and for the wonderful wedding videos.

Thank you for reading this loooooong post and for joining us as we share our wedding day!

Love,

KRICH

A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:12
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