My Best Friend's Wedding - Day 1 : Pangasinan

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Here's the first part of my blog posts about our 5-day vacation to the northern part of Luzon. I hope you could bear reading my long posts and I hope you enjoy the ride. :)
On December 18th, my best friend May / Tina got married to her then-boyfriend/fiancé Freddie. It was one moment in my best friend's life that I wouldn't miss for the world! That's how important she is to me! :)

I received my invitation a few days before the wedding. Good thing May delivered it personally to me. Otherwise, we might have gotten lost! Hahaha. I thought she was going to make custom address labels so she could just mail them out instead of delivering each invite herself. But, I guess she felt it was important to deliver or hand out the invites herself. :)

Now, before I even tell you about the wedding, I just want to tell you a quick background behind our 5-day vacation. I asked my mother and brother to come with me to the wedding since I wasn't sure yet who else will be coming from Manila besides me. The original plan was to only attend May's wedding, stay for the night and leave the next morning. But, the whole idea of our North Luzon getaway started when my mother said she really wants to see Vigan. I, then, said since we're just a "few" (I'll expound on this later on so please, stay tuned!) hours away from Pagudpud, it'll be best we go straight there after. I also wanted to go back to Baguio for shopping and to visit the place again. Hahaha. Too ambitious for a 5-day vacation, eh? Read on!!
So, there I was, doing all kinds of research and asking people about the places and food we shouldn't miss when we visit the main destinations of our vacation - Vigan, Pagudpud and Baguio. Well, I'm quite familiar with Baguio already after numerous times we went there when we were younger. But, with the first 2, I was completely clueless. My brother Kenneth have been to those places before so he gave me a couple of recommendations.

And, so, we packed our bags and headed out in the morning of December 18th, Saturday. I didn't sleep! Not even a wink! I couldn't! Hahaha. I was way too excited about the whole trip, I had butterflies in my stomach. I was even rushing my mom and bro to hurry up 'cause we might end up not catching the first bus ride to San Fabian, Pangasinan.
My excitement wasn't just about the whole vacation, but because of the very momentous event that day - my best friend's wedding. I felt like I was the one getting married! :D I wanted to make sure I was there before the wedding 'cause I was hoping to see May before she walks down the aisle.

My mother's best friend, Tita Beth, came with us for our vacation. That's her with my mother. We took the Five Star bus ride to San Fabian, Pangasinan. We paid Php 291 each for our tickets from Cubao, Quezon City to Manaoag, Pangasinan. They had a promo so we paid almost Php 50 less than the regular fare, according to the bus conductor.
After over 5 hours of traveling, we finally arrived in San Fabian. We were already hungry. Thinking the wedding ceremony would take longer than usual, we decided to eat at one of the turo-turo eateries just outside the San Fabian church. Read more about our food trips on Certified Foodies.
After lunch, we took 2 separate motorcycles to Crusaders of the Church of Christ Cathedral. We arrived there around 1pm. My mother decided to leave us at the church to go to the Lady of Manaoag church with Tita Beth. We thought the wedding ceremony would start on time *LOL* Talk about fashionably late! My brother, having barely any sleep the night before, took the chance to catch forty winks inside the church. Hahaha.

I wasn't feeling any sleepy at all. Even during the whole trip, I was wide awake. Okay, there were a couple of minutes of sleeping. But, they were more like naps. I was just enjoying the whole trip… seeing all the greeneries around us while we travel to Pangasinan. It's been too long since I last experienced traveling like that. I was savoring every moment of it, I told myself. :)
I decided to use my hyperactive mood to take photos of the altar. And some cam-whoring, too. *LOL*



Anyway, 3 of our friends came to Pangasinan from Manila to attend May's  wedding - Saji, her partner Buena and my other best friend, Sheryl. Saji and I got to talk a li'l bit and we were quite surprised when my brother told us the ceremony is already starting. I wasn't ready so I didn't know there'll be no decent lighting during the start of the entourage. I guess the professional photographer and videographer they hired were surprised, too. So, please pardon my photos.

 I was outside the church and came in running to take this photo so it's blurry :D

While my best friend May was walking down the aisle, I was teary-eyed. She was the first among my really close friends who got married. It was really special for me to see her walk towards the altar to get married to someone she loves. I also was teary-eyed because I realized that Tina's brother and father missed the wedding because they passed away years ago. But, I know they were looking down at her saying, "You looked oh so lovely, Tina!"

She was a bit uncomfortable and uneasy at the beginning of the wedding. I guess it's because of how hot it was that day. There were no fans around, nothing to help keep her cool. I tried to communicate with her to tell her to smile. Hahaha. I guess she got the message or something 'cause for the second half of the ceremony, she was already beaming.

Her husband Freddie, I guess, felt or noticed how uneasy she was. He reached out for her hand and held it tight. Really sweet! I got goosebumps just by seeing that act. I never got to meet him or get to know him before the wedding. I was too busy. I know, it's a shame. But, I had a couple of conversations with May about him and their decision to get married, and I was convinced it's what she really wanted. And that he makes her feel special and loved. So, I supported her decision all the way!

Sorry, I don't have photos of her and her husband with us. I forgot to hand over my camera to someone else so I'd have my own photo on it. :D I was busy celebrating and feeling the whole wedding thing to even think about that.


I'm waiting for the photos from Saji. Her partner Buena and I were taking photos of May like we were hired photographers, too. Hahaha. If you were there, you'd think a star was getting married 'cause she's got like 6-8 people taking photos. Hahaha.

Here are photos at the reception. I loved the whole setup, like we were at a fiesta. I love the effect on the photo.
The food were good. I forgot to take photos 'cause we were all hungry. Hahaha. The ride from the church to the reception took almost 2 hours so you'd understand why we all wanted to eat already. Hehehe.
As soon as my friend Saji uploads the photos they took, I'll post another set here. All in all, the wedding and reception was lovely. :)

My parents and I decided to start off the photo booth fun. And, again, I don't have photos of me being all wacky. Hahaha.
The whole celebration was short and sweet. I'm so glad I was there for May. :)

To the newly-wed couple, May and Freddie, I wish you a married life full of love, understanding, respect and kindness. I'm also praying you'd be given a chance to have a child or two (or even more!), 'cause I know May wants kids badly, like I do.
To May: Gurlll! You looked awesome with that wedding dress on. Sorry I had to leave early 'cause of our trip to Baguio. But, you know I wish you all the best. I love you, May! :)
To Freddie: I hope you get to read this. From the stories I've heard from May and from what I've seen, I feel you're going to take really good care of my best friend, May. I hope to get to know you better soon. :)

Now, I wonder who's next among my best friends Jaan, Mina and Sheryl. I'm the only one single now so I don't think I'll be following suit any time soon. :D
Here's another photo of my best friend. Sweet! :)

Check out my posts about the rest of our trip:

• Day 2 : Vigan and Laoag
• Day 3 & 4 - Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte
• Day 5 - Baguio + Partas' Bus Poor Customer Service Experience

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