Carms and Jay's wedding.

I've been to weddings, and they're all beautiful and happy events. But this last one I went to wasn't a wedding reception, it was a whole darn big production, hahahaha!

Carmella and Jay finally tied the knot yesterday, and I'm so happy for this beautiful couple that are two awesome friends too precious for words.

I had mentioned last year that Carms had contacted me to work at her wedding reception as a stage manager. Even though I thought it was unusual to have a stage manager at a wedding, I willingly agreed. When I found out about what they had planned, the excitement grew to an intimidating amount of pressure, hahaha. Anyway, they wanted just the best for their reception, because hey, you only get this once in a lifetime, right?

I got Opa as my right-hand man, and we immediately saved the date. Carms had offered that we sleep over at the hotel in Rizal on Sunday with her, because we might have to be at the setup and run a paper tech the day before. So Opa and I met up early afternoon on Sunday at Philcoa, but hung around there for a while because I suddenly got a phone call from Carms telling me that she'll be in church for a while, but we can go ahead to her house if we want to. We stayed in Philcoa for a little bit, then off we went to the ever popular Sarah's.

The first people we saw in Sarah's were Carms' mom and grandma, and we got to hang around outside, just waiting, and eventually getting something to eat. Opa first tried one of their burgers while I settled on simple fishballs, hahaha. Eventually we got served with nachos once Carms, Kath and Iza arrived. I love their salsa! I must get the recipe from Kath. Anyway, more waiting while everyone had to fix and pack their stuff for the big day, and Carms let Opa browse through the HeARTwork magazine (where I also wrote an article, ahehehe). Every once in a while, Carms would come over and grab a bit of our food and talk. It's still amuses me how you always learn more and more about your friends every day. I loved her stories about her past experiences in different aspects. And man, Carms, I remember hearing that Julliard offer from our friend before, and I really envied you when I first heard about it some years ago. Sayang that you passed the offer! And thanks for that book recommendation. I think I'll check that out.

Finally, early evening, Opa and I hopped in Carms' car with her and Jane. Off to Binangonan we go. Sound-tripping in the car ensued, and we even listened to Carms try to keep her voice while rehearsing a medley of songs that the Minstrels were singing. Anyway, we first checked out the INC church in Angono where the wedding will be held, but we had to leave immediately because both Carms and Opa were both clad in shorts. At least we managed to sneak a peek inside the church. We then headed up to East Ridge Golf and Country Club to check out the reception venue. We got to see the entire space without the setup yet (setup and paper tech was moved to Monday morning), and waited a bit for Jay before we all headed to Thunderbird to check in.

I love our room. I practically drowned in the bed's soft sheets and pillows, hahaha. Anyway, we settled in for a bit, then all 5 of us headed to Koi, the in-house restaurant by the casino, for dinner. More kulitan galore with this crazy couple. I have to say, there are no boring moments with these people. From the moment we started ordering, there were crazy comments that even our friendly waitress couldn't help but join in the fun.

We retreated back to our room (even though Carms really really really wanted to play at least one game at the casino). Carms and Jay still had to fix the seating plan at the reception, so the rest of us chilled. I was still swimming in the softness of the bed, hahaha. And I have to thank Carms and Jane for that yummy hot tea before I had to sleep. For the life of me, I never really get to sleep right away once I'm in bed. That tea worked wonders because I was fast asleep and even slept through my alarm.

I had set my alarm because Dan had mentioned that he'll be at East Ridge at 8 in the morning for the setup, then we'll do a paper tech afterwards. But I slept in and woke up at 8, hahaha. Thank goodness he was running late, so Opa and I had time for showers and grab food at the breakfast buffet. Dan, Bodj, and Jefff arrived with Jay at Koi when we were finishing our food, so after we all had our fill, we headed to East Ridge.

We spent a good deal of sitting and waiting around, and Opa and I weren't really used to the petiks feeling. Haha, being used to the go-go-go atmosphere in TP (especially during Labfest season), we feel as if there must be something we should do. But we ended up just sitting, talking, sometimes even catching a few winks on the couches. After lunch, we ended up talking about some certain concerns regarding the AVPs and possible slight changes, plus backstage assignments, then we ran a paper tech. After that, Dan let us borrow their driver so we can rush back to the hotel to dress up for the wedding. We weren't really counting on attending the entire ceremony, but it would be nice to be there even just for the ending until the bouquet toss before we can hightail it back to East Ridge for the reception.

There were lots of people in the hotel room when we got there, of course, because Carms was still there for the photos and videos, and I even found Yas and Ila in the bathroom getting dressed and ready themselves. Opa and I crammed ourselves with them there to keep out of the way, and started getting ready as well. Eventually everyone had to leave, and the four of us ended up being the last people inside the hotel room, taking our time with our makeup, because we weren't really expected at the entire wedding ceremony, but at the reception. So of course, we took advantage of the time for some photo ops, hahaha.

Off to the church, and we made it in time for the vows. Eventually Opa and I were called to help distribute the butterflies for the end of the ceremony, so we stepped outside once the actual ceremony was over. And of course, we couldn't resist but join in for the bouquet toss because of the awesome prize it had, hahahaha. After the bouquet, we sped back to East Ridge and got ready for the program.

My task was to keep track of all the presentors and performers, and sometimes the hosts (Yas, Ila and the oh so original Alex), so I was all over the place looking for everyone the whole time. Super thanks to Kath and Iza for helping me find the people. Crazy, I was walking everywhere, in a dress and heels, hahaha!

I love love love the program. It was so funny because instead of having the bride as the star, it mostly had highlights on Jay, from the very first AVP, hahaha! That's what you get for marrying into such an artistic family, lumalabas ang sariling acting and singing prowess! There were such sweet moments with Carms and Jay, and of course, Carms and her family, that I couldn't help but watch with tears in my eyes.

I finally got to settle in one of the seats during the couple's speech. I grabbed a chair at the table where the hosts were sitting, and gave a sigh of relief. After their speech, the couple invited everyone to join them in singing "Seasons of Love," and Kath invited me to join them onstage with them. Syempre I couldn't resist, and followed her onstage, along with Carms, Jay, Yas, Ila, Alex, and the Minstrels.

Congratulations and best wishes to Carmella and Jay Navarro! I love you both!

This is one of the best weddings I've ever attended, and it helped me in more ways than one. It gave me an opportunity to spend precious time and moments with good friends, gaining new friends in the process, as well as continually letting your other friendships to grow even stronger. It made me learn a little bit more about some of my friends. It also gave me an opportunity to work again in events, plus meet new people in the business, which can open up more avenues for the kind of work that I enjoy doing. It helped me remain optimistic no matter whatever happened. And it still made me believe in love, which I may find again, eventually.