coconut

when i was a kid, there were several times that i became part of a wedding entourage. i was always a ring bearer, mostly on weddings of family friends. i remember i didn't enjoy most of it coz i get this itchy feeling whenever i wear those striped & shiny barongs (the mode back then). during my teens, i was never asked to be part of the secondary sponsors. the last time i became an abay was during ate joy's wedding in september 2000.

i've known about this gig a year ago. the groom, kuya dondee, is my first cousin (our moms are sisters) and his bride, ate chel, have already been based in london for quite some time now and they have an nine year old daughter. but they wanted to get married here, well, i'd say primarily because weddings in the philippines is definitely different from what they have in elizabeth's land.

i didn't have a white shirt. a good one, that is. so before heading to santuario de san antonio in forbes park, i quickly got a good one from memo in glorietta. the reception was held in coconut palace. almost all cousins from my mama's side were present. of course, tita nor was there, as well as tita be, who's one of the ninangs.

kuya bob's brood were all present, as well as ate joy's. this wedding became some sort of a reunion for the family. this was the very first official gathering that the albertos (apart from kuya bob's family) were present, after what happened back in 2006 when lola died. while i can say that there was no tension at all, all the involved and aggrieved (at least from their respective point of views) parties of course, were a bit uncomfortable. i guess this is a first step in moving forward. after all, there's no sense in keeping all the grudges in the name of "making a statement". life is just too sweetly short to wallow on past issues. anyhow, i think all the parties gave it time. while the family may not go back to where we were before july 2006, at least everyone's civil and on the same page - celebrate kuya dondee and ate chel's wedding.

weddings... weddings!