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)

 
(me holding what we use to call “isang set” back in HS: gulaman’t sago + bananacue)

Yeah, I know there was not a single blog entry last week.  That’s because this blogger was in the thick of things preparing for his MCUHS89 batch reunion.  It’s been twenty years since I graduated from high school.

Since I’ve invited some of the high school pals to attend the W@W VideoFest, an idea (or two) struck them.  They enjoyed the Paparazzi Wall and Photo Booth during that January 30 event, that they asked me if our batch fund could afford such for our own reunion.  W@W gets these stuff in its own events for free out of love and goodwill.  Clearly, that shouldn’t extend for my personal gain, right?

Boy, I was so proven wrong.   In last Saturday event, a photobooth came in courtesy of Jayson & Jo Anne Arquiza’s Smiles Photo Booth.   A Paparazzi Wall, designed for us by W@Wie Jenki, was printed and installed for us by 4th Wall.  And what is a paparazzi wall without photographers, right?  Nice Print sent two hardworking & very courteous photographers from its pool to cover the whole thing. A heart-shaped, prom-inspired, balloon arch was made for us by Weddding Wonders & Party Surprises.  Even the stage in our HS Quadrangle was spruced-up also with the help of expert stage & lighting design by 4th Wall.  They also took care of the printing of our souvenir mugs & button pins.  The works talaga!

And the best part is, we didn’t have to beg to get all these.  The moment our friends knew I needed help for this event, they willingly offered without asking for anything. Nakakahiya man, sobra pa rin akong nagpapasalamat sa pag-alalay.  The community spirit in W@W, and in the wedding industry in general, is alive and well.

My reunion last Saturday night was an event I’m truly proud. Our HS principal was so impressed how our Quadrangle looked like that even our University’s VP  for Administrative Affairs dropped by to see how things are going.

Of course, special credit goes to Benz who worked with me in these at the background. Thanks, Mimma!

To the above mentioned suppliers, thank you very much.  Makabawi din sana ako sa inyo.

After W@W’s 10th anniversary celebration, Benz & I claimed that much-deserved break and maximize the time we spend with our daughter Kite while its summer vacation. Although we are not on full vacation-mode since we still go online and check mails when there’s wi-fi access wherever we are.

(more Bora images @ Metrophoto)

After our family-bonding in Boracay, we will go on a North Luzon Loop roadtrip a bit later.  But before hitting the road, allow us to take a quick break from our break.

Here we share the links of dear friends in the industry who blogged about “Ten-ten-te-ten”.

• Ten-Ten-Teten: Weddings at Work’s 10th Anniversary Celebration (Oly Ruiz | photo)
• Weddings at Work Ten-ten-te-10 featured Dessert Offerings (Joy San Gabriel | cake & desserts)
• ten-ten-te-ten: w@w party (Bob Nicolas | video)
• The WeddingsAtWork 10th Anniversary Party (Jason Mmgbanua | video)
• Top Five !!!!! (Bong Sare | video)
• Tearful Victory (Queen David | events planner)
• Weddings @ Work Ten, Ten, Teten Anniversary Party (Nice Print | photo)
• Weddings-At-Work 10th Year Anniversary… (Jody Liwanag | events planner)
• TenTenTe10 (Chug Cadiogan | video)
• W@W Prenups at Tentente10 Anniversary Party (Jason Arquiza | photo)
• 3 Weddings and The W@W Party (Carlo Cecilio | photo)
• Free-Nups at W@W 10th year anniversary (Richie Macapinlac | photo)
  

We’re pretty sure we missed other collegues who blogged about the event.  We’ll add more links as soon as we find them.

In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the summer everyone!

Before the big W@W party, the PVMates (hmm.. I like the sound of that!) met for the very first time in a Grand Eyeball Meet. The event was organized by Jason & Pang Magbanua and was ably handled by the Visions & Ideas team last March 11.

The full-packed event had raffle prizes, swap meet, fellowship, and expert talks were also provided. Taking the mic were Fiel Pranga & Alvin Paver of Mayad Studios, photographer Dino Lara, Dominic Velasco of Imacron, and Jason Magbanua himself.

After all the activities, Jason asked me if I could write a little something about the event. Being a big fan of the guy’s wit & humor when he writes, his request came as a big compliment for me. Felt like a padawan handpicked by Yoda. bwahaha!

Here’s our PrepTalk article I called… “A nation of videomakers“.

(photo by Oly Ruiz of MetroPhoto)

Another gown designer took home the “W@Wie”!

From up the stage, we could see Cecilio Abad as his name was announced. We saw how all the girls he dressed-up went around him to kiss, hug and wipe his tears away (parang Miss U!). We also saw how all the photographers aimed their lenses to that table to capture the moment.

Cecil was still in tears as he made his acceptance speech. What made it more touching was that he brought his whole staff with him up the stage. He also made mention of how Veluz (2005 Supplier of the Year) helped him in running his couture business. Truly, a testament of the industry’s community spirit which is essentially the “theme” of the whole event.

We asked Bob Nicolas to do the W@Wie Awards AVP for this year. To say that Bob simply delivered is a great disservice to the guy. He (with his wife Lette) rented a state-of-the-art studio for the interview of the Top 10, and even went to actual weddings (not his clients’) just to capture clips of these suppliers at work. Really, the guy is always all about pushing the limit.

Below, we present The 2008 W@Wie Awards video in order they appeared in the program.

(TOP 10 in order of appearance: Jayson & Jo Anne Arquiza, Clarice Avinante, Phoeboen Teocson, K by Cunanan Catering, Nice Print Photo, Josiah’s Catering, PartyPics Live!, Threelogy, Raymond Fortun & Cecilio Abad)

(TOP 5: Josiah’s Catering, Jayson & Jo Anne Arquiza, Raymond Fortun, Threelogy & Cecilio Abad)

But before we announced the 2008 Supplier of the Year (SOTY), we called up on stage the past SOTY winners (from 2003 to 2007) to elevate them to the Hall of Fame. A video was shown to honor them especially done for us by Threelogy. It’s basically a montage of photos and text. Boring right? But not when it’s made by these guys. See what I mean…

(SOTYs: Alex Franco - 2003; Jason Magbanua - 2004; Veluz - 2005; Paul Vincent - 2006; Mimi + Karl - 2007)

Immediately after that, the winner was announced through this video and this humble guy from Ormoc went up the to join the Hall of Famers. Same surrealism. Same stage. Same trophy.

(Cecilio Abad - 2008 Supplier of the Year)

Congrats, Cecil! Benz & I are truly proud of you and the work you do!