Back in the church, the girls re-curled my hair, I somehow gave Erick his gift (a Bible engraved with his name on it), and I ate lunch? Everything was kind of a blur at that point–the most surreal point of the day for me. People were in and out of the room where I was “hidden” from the rest of the guests, and then suddenly I realized I didn’t know where my mom was. It was almost 2 p.m., and I didn’t have my veil on. Someone called her–I don’t even remember her putting it on me, but I do remember THIS moment–looking in the mirror my parents had miraculously found for me, and realizing… I’m getting married.

That mirror story is pretty awesome, btw–it actually got featured in a local newspaper. But I digress–it was time to process! Or actually–it wasn’t time to process. It was about five minutes earlier than we were supposed to process. Due to a tiny miscommunication and nobody’s fault, really, we started five minutes before two o’clock. So people were walking down the aisle, and I had no idea! Here’s Chris, my awesome cousin-in-law, who made the ceremony come to life with his beautiful piano-playing skills.

I panicked for just a tiny second, and then I realized, I just had to get out to the front of the church. Sharien and Amanda carried my dress with me, and Ashley (a newlywed herself–she knew all about these things) stayed with me to fluff my dress one last time before walking up the stairs to meet my dad in the foyer. All I could think about then was Erick,  waiting inside for me.

Ashley opened the door (what would I have done without her?), while Courtney motioned for Chris to start my song–the song Erick and I had chosen on a road trip–it was the song that had made us both cry. Guess what? I was crying again.

Maybe he was tearing up a little, too.

Jon’s homily was beautiful–incorporating things I’d mentioned to him ages ago while visiting in Michigan, and words and advice from Bible on marriage.

We’d asked our sisters to read a special verse for us–Colossians 3:12-17.

And then it was time for one of my favorite parts of the service–the footwashing ceremony. It was so meaningful to us to share this moment together, to completely humble ourselves before each other and our families and friends, symbolizing that we would spend our lives in service to each other with God as our Witness. Erick’s (almost) cousin Coronel Lopez blessed us all with one of our favorite songs (one Erick had always envisioned being sung at his wedding), “Waiting for You.”

My parents will tell you how much they panicked when they realized they’d forgotten the towels in the car–but I barely noticed. In a blink of an eye, my dad was back, with two beautiful towels my mom had secretly gotten embroidered with our names and wedding date on it. Such a special gift.

We exchanged vows (you can hear those in our extended wedding video to be posted soon) and then had a sand ceremony (not pictured). We invited our mothers up front to pour sand into a vase from where they were from (Californian sand from my mom, sand from the Philippines from Erick’s mom), and we poured sand from where we grew up (New Hampshire and Michigan). Jon poured white sand throughout to represent God mixing our lives together. During this part, a song Erick arranged and recorded on guitar (thanks for the equipment, Allan!) was playing–The Prayer.

Note: Using real dirt/sand is pretty dusty. LOL. I was waving the swirling dust back towards the vase the whole time. Oh well. At least it was meaningful. :)

Then, we asked our parents and all our sponsors to join us for a family prayer.

And just like that–we were married! Oh, wait–we got to kiss first. :)

(Photo by Arvin Tanag)

We asked our guests to stay seated and we came back up the aisle to usher everyone out in lieu of a receiving line outside.

And then my favorite–BUBBLES! You knew I was gonna have bubbles. :) This was an awesome moment, coming out of the church, the huge church bell ringing in the steeple, all our friends and family cheering for us. We DID IT!

Speaking of the bell, this is what was going on inside (Photo by Arvin Tanag). I LOVE IT!

We climbed into the beautiful white BMW (thank you SO much, Carlos!). People in the crowd kept telling me to climb up into the sunroof–so I did–and then Erick joined me. :)

And, we were off! I’ve been told many ounces of tomato sauce were emptied to make our grand exit very noisy. :) We loved it!

(Both photos above by Arvin Tanag)

Stay tuned for… Reception Details! Oooooo my favorite!

 

All the Wedding Recaps!

• Getting Ready
• Details
• First Look
• Wedding Party Photos
• Family Portraits
• The Ceremony