WeddingsAtWork.com Real Weddings

This article is an actual email message from the bride-to-be to her friends.

I'm sooo excited to share with you the greatest surprise of my life. I'm not sure though if I could tell it the way it actually happened coz' I was in sort of a daze, parang cloud nine! =)

It happened last night. We were on our way to a birthday blow-out (or so I thought) of one of Jo's (my fiancé) bosom buddies. I thought we're just going to have dinner and coffee, the usual. But when he said na magmu-Music21 (videoke), I still didn't have a clue. Anyway, enjoy din naman ako sa ganon, so game ako. When we got there, todo ang bati sa amin ng mga staff/crew ng Music21 (Timog), sa loob-loob ko, aba, ok dito ah, warm and friendly ng mga staff (I should have known kakunchaba pala silang lahat!!). Tthe lady asked us if we have company na doon, and I said yes, Room 20 daw.

Pag-akyat namin, the lady turned left, while Jo turned the other way, nagtaka tuloy ako bakit parang alam na alam ni Jo kung saan sila, I followed Jo of course, who led me to a room, and when he opened the door for me, the room was filled with SOOOOBRANG daming balloons, as in dami floating all over the place!!, tapos nakadikit sa wall, one balloon for each letter: B-A-B-Y, W-I-L-L Y-O-U M-A-R-R-Y M-E?

Tapos naka-cue yung song na On the Wings of Love (dapat daw All my Life kaso wala sa list ng Music21 eh) and he sang it to me. I was just staring into his eyes, can't explain what I felt, basta napayakap na lang ako sa kanya sa sobrang tuwa. I just can't help but cry. Actually, medyo conscious din kasi may videocam nakafocus sa min!! While he was still singing, he gave me a gift and asked me to open it.

When I opened the box, I was SHOCKED to see the O.R. of Edsa Shangri-la!! nagdown na siya!, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!, this is the place na binabalik-balikan namin, the Garden Ballroom -- I can't believe our dream place for our wedding has now become a reality. Actually we both fell in love with it the first time we saw it kasi ang ganda... very intimate, cozy and yet elegant. Maliit lang ang capacity. Perfect for us! Jo and I would even go there mga 3-4pm during Sundays, we'll just drop by and look at the set-up and talked about how we would want ours to look like. It was sort of our dream wedding place! He made the downpayment Feb12 pa, and he kept it all to himself (PIGIL na PIGIL nga daw siya eh, imagine, for TWO WEEKS!! haay, mahal na mahal ko talaga yan..). Well, along with the Edsa Shang O.R. are other wedding stuff, like the church reservation, etc. it was all a surprise daw because he wanted it to be very special for me. AND TRULY IT WAS. =)

We both wanted to get married na talaga asap but due to financial constraint, we have yet to wait another two years... well, that's what he said earlier. So I conditioned myself na the earliest we'll get married is Dec. 2002. Yun pala, all the while, he's planning everything na. You can just imagine how happy I was.

Deep inside, I know we have plans. Pero hangang don lang. PLANS lang. Anyway, to continue the kwento... when I opened the box and saw the receipt of Edsa Shang with the date Feb 3, 2002. I just couldn't stop my tears from flowing, kakahiya sa mga friends, pero I was just SOOO happy, my heart couldn't contain all the joy I felt that moment and lalo kong minahal si Jo because of his sensitivity and sweetness. Niyakap ko lang sya while I was trying to stop the tears. After the song, he went down on his knees, with a bouquet in his hand, and proposed. Of course I said yes!! then all our friends started pouring in, and oh!!!! my two DEAR SISTERS, who all along were part of all this, I was so touched nandon pa sila! pero all-smiles pa rin ako amidst my tears while they were taking our pictures. I was SOO happy, and so were our friends kasi they all wanted us to get married na. All of them were there with Jo all day setting the place up!!

It was the HAPPIEST day in my entire life! Ang alam ko kasi hindi na masyadong uso ngayon ang mga wedding proposals. Diba nowadays, when couples start planning for their wedding, understood na yon. Wala ng 'will-you-marry-me?' stuff right?, I thought it only existed in the movies, never did I expect or hope I would get to experience it myself. Actually ok lang naman na wala ng ganon. But just the same, I'm so thankful I'm blessed like this.

I'm SOO sorry napahaba 'to. But just as long as this kwento made you smile even a little, I know somehow you guys share in my joy that fateful night.

One last thing, would you believe, that night was Feb. 3 2001 in the Chinese calendar. What a coincidence diba? =)

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About the couple: Jo and Arni's wedding was moved to February 2, 2002 (or 02-02-02). Arni has been an active W@Wie.