The food that was served was fabulous and everyone stuffed themselves except me. With everything going on I was still too excited to have much of an appetite. The newly weds had their first dance together as a couple. Then they were split up and began dancing with family, friends and relatives. When my hubby danced with my mother, it was the first time that he was able to have a conversation with her alone. It was a little awkward because he did not know what to say. All he could think of was that she must be thinking this was all very crazy so that was what he said. Her one word answer was “yeah”.

He was thinking that she meant the marriage to her daughter was crazy but I think she was talking about all the crazy stuff that happened leading up to the wedding that almost did not happen. I know that it was a big relief for my mother that the wedding had finally happened and her daughter’s dream had come true. The wedding and reception were short by Philippines standards, only three and a half hours, but it felt like an eternity to my hubby despite the fact that he thoroughly enjoyed it. It was the beginning of a new chapter in our lives as a couple.

Despite the long flight, exhaustion and blood loss my hubby managed to kept from passing out. The ninety plus heat and high humidity was also taking its toll on him and he was anxious for the ceremony to end. Thankfully I did not ask him to wear a coat and tie but only a short sleeve shirt and long pants. Even then I am sure he would rather have worn shorts and a t-shirt at the time. He was sweating and you could tell from his eyes that he was in bad need of some sleep in a fully air-conditioned room. I felt guilty seeing him like that. It was kind of my fault because I chose an outdoor wedding without considering that he had just come from being used to the cold temperatures of a north country spring. Nevertheless, despite his trials, tribulations and discomfort I could tell that he was very happy to be there.

Everyone (including myself!) still couldn’t believe that I would actually be getting married to a man that I had personally met just a few hours ago. Many people would prefer to call it insanity. I didn’t care, I just followed my heart.

My father performed the wedding ceremony. My younger sisters were my bridesmaids. I didn’t want to cry but it was hard to hold back the tears. They were tears of joy and besides I think it runs in the family because at that time both my grandma and my mother were also crying. On top of that, we were being carried away with the songs that were sung as I walked down the isle. One of the most memorable was the Power of Your Love. It seemed like I was walking on air. I felt like a ball of cotton that was being blown with the flow of the wind. It was all like a dream and then I woke up in front of the altar.