Aaron and I had a rainy, wedding day.
The day started off quite sunny but rain poured in around lunch time when we were about to leave and go to the church. As the car I was in was traveling, I can’t help but notice that the rain was following me. This was the case until I arrived in Caleruega. Minutes before the ceremony started, it was still raining. Hearing my prayers, the rain stopped for a while to give way for my bridal march. I walked on the pathway leading to the door of the chapel with a gloomy sky above me but not a single rain dropped.
During the ceremony, the gloomy skies persisted. The priest asked Aaron and I for a wish that we do have either for this wedding or our marriage. While Aaron’s wish is more for the longer term: “I hope that we will have forever”, mine is an immediate one: “Good weather”.
After the ceremony, we, along with our videographers and photographers chased the sunset. We were so lucky to have been able to chase it in its glory. The sunset was so amazing that day. It’s inexplicable.
Images were shot. Videos were captured. After both of our suppliers reached contentment, we then decided to head to the reception. On our way to the reception, it rained. The rain progressed at a fast pace as we got closer to the venue. The drizzle turned into rain. The rain turned into a full blown storm complete with thunder and lightning. The storm intensified. I thought the rain would not stop that night.
I was still hopeful that the setup had not been ruined but as we enter the gate of the venue, we were able to instantly see that the garden was deserted. The setup was so beautiful. It was how I imagined it to be and more. Just minus the liveliness that I was expecting and the people who were eager to greet the newly-wed couple.
Our guests took shelter in this lovely house beside the garden. It was a blessing that the owners opened it for us. Our caterer and stylist transferred everything that they could transfer indoors. The formal reception that we had prepared turned into a casual and more intimate gathering.
Looking back, maybe the rain was an answer to a wish we had before. Aaron and I had always wanted a reception that is not too stiff. A program that does not focus much on the traditions and rituals. We just wanted our guests to socialize, eat, dance, drink and party to their hearts’ content during our reception. In a sense, the rain, raining on our parade, was an answered prayer.
My husband knew how long and hard I had researched and planned for our wedding. The most logical thing to do actually right at that moment was to cry, and be sad and frustrated about it. But you know what is amazing? I just felt so damn happy that day I could not care less. The rain was the least of my worries. Being able to marry the love of my life and sharing that moment with those people who are most important to us, our relatives, family and friends, are what matters most. Nothing else. Just about anything else was only icing on the cake. The sounds, lights, my dress, the reception, my makeup, the flowers are just confetti and glitters - nice to have but not important.
Our wedding day is truly unforgettable. Years from now, I am positive that people would still be able to remember it. They may remember it as the wedding with the charismatic priest, lovely ceremony or choir that is out-of-tune; the wedding reception that served isaw, gulaman and proben as cocktails, that got ruined by the rain, that had sinigang na baboy for the soup or that had some amazingly delicious dishes for the buffet; or the wedding that was fun-filled, casual, heartwarming or wet. However people will choose to remember it, one thing is for certain, ours was perfect in its own way and nothing could ever take that memory away from us. It is ours.
Though God did not grant us a good weather, I hope he’d grant us the forever we’ve wished for. In the long run, a great marriage is still more worthy than a thousand, perfect weddings.