They met in college. He joined the Marines. Their wedding was almost postponed because Daniel was waiting to hear if he were going to be deployed. Fortunately, he was not and their wedding took place on the day they had originally scheduled.
They hired me back in November to help them plan and coordinate their wedding.
The wedding was a traditional Catholic, Filipino wedding. This means they have six sets of primary sponsors and three sets of secondary sponsors that participate in the wedding with a veil, cord and candles. The primary sponsors are present to witness the union of the couple. The sponsors symbolize guidance and support. The candle sponsors are the ones who light the marriage candles, not the mothers as seen in most ceremonies these days. The veil and cord sponsors participate in the middle of the ceremony. The veil is draped over the bride’s head and groom’s shoulders which symbolizes unity and that the couple shall be "clothed as one." The cord sponsors place a white cord loosely around the necks of the couple in a "figure eight" configuration. The cord symbolizes the lifelong bond or tie between the bride and groom. These remain on the couple for a portion of the ceremony and then are removed. There is also a Coin Bearer that carries coins and at the appointed time, the coins are given to the groom who then gives them to his bride symbolizing a life of fidelity and wealth.
After the ceremony and photos, the bride and groom exited the church under a traditional military saber arch.
The reception was held at the Crowne Plaza in Old Town Alexandria, VA. During the cocktail reception, there was a photo booth for guests to take pictures of themselves as a memento.
The color scheme was pink and fuschia. Flowers were provided by My Florist & Exclusively Roses located in Alexandria. I had purchased 5” square vases for the centerpieces which My Florist added beautiful light and dark pink tulips. The cake was displayed on my silver cake plateau which really makes the cake stand out.
I purchased fuschia table runners to dress up the guest tables. Noreen designed the menu cards as well as the table names which was the word “love” in 16 different languages.The Best Man gave the most creative toast I have ever seen. He had “visual aids” to help tell the story of Noreen and Daniel. He had a foamcore board displayed on an easel. As he was telling various portions of the story, he pasted cutout pieces that corresponded with what he was talking about. For example, when he mentioned how they met in college, he put up the logo of the college. It was really very cute, funny and tasteful. All the guests laughed and seemed to really enjoy it. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of it. :-)
Now, Noreen and Daniel are enjoying their honeymoon in Hawaii. Here’s to a happily ever after.
