It was a wedding I almost missed. I was ready to be admitted in the hospital the night before our flight. Told my doctor that I’m not keen on going to Boracay with the painful tummy ache. Benz was on hold. She can’t force me to go. I slept early that night. Woke up, FB’d, and soon as she woke up, asked her to pack our bags and proceed with our original plan.

Bora was good to my tummy. Pain was gone. It was a vacation and a honeymoon. But by 4:00PM of July 2, I was mentally in a “Jong & Monique” mode. And since John Mateos Ong is a wedding photographer and the former Monique Lopez, an event host, cameras and wedding suppliers were everywhere. All a guest had to do was be seen and clicks surely followed. My FB “Highlights” sidebar is a testament to that.

Happy faces. Party peeps. Everywhere.

I slept early, immediately after the reception. I had to miss the after party. Heard from the newlyweds that it ended at 5PM the following day. I was already awake a good hour before that.

When I came out for an early morning stroll, the reception place looked like ground zero. Took some cellphone shots of the ‘remnants’ and posted an after-wedding album on FB sans the faces. Without fuss nor styling. Just raw and gritty. Empty is the word.

Here’s proof that emptiness could mean bliss.

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Related blog links:

• Match Made in Heaven (Queen Gutierrez-David)
• Jong and Monique, In Christ Alone. (JJ Lucas)
• Perfect in God’s Eyes: Jong + Monique’s Wedding (Dominic Barrios)
• JONG and MONIQUE (Erron Ocampo)
• Jong + Monique (Dino Lara)