Small steps...

Hi folks!

It's been a while since I blogged. Rest assured though that I have been working on the endless 'To Do' list on my end. I inquired with the US embassy and it seems that Junby, being a US citizen, needs to procure an affidavit in place of the Legal Capacity to Marry document which the Philippine government requires of foreign citizens wanting to marry in the Philippines. Good news though is that the affidavit is released the same day it's filed unlike the Marriage license that needs 10 working days to be issued.

I've also been canvassing for possible places to stay for all our out-of-town friends. Will post the ones I recommend as soon as I check each one out for myself. One can't completely rely on just pictures found on ads. Other things I have done are to confirm, complete with down payment, reservations with the merchants we are going to partner with for an unforgettable wedding (pressure). For food we decided on Misyel's catering services. For photography, we decided on Photoworks. Looking at the works they had done before, I'm banking on a good storehouse of memories in print and in soft copy. We've more or less decided on getting Anne Co for the wedding cake.

All these are just a drop in the bucket but at least the wedding preps are progressing albeit slowly. Will keep you all posted and keep us in your prayers! Thank you!

An engagement prayer

Yesterday I was at the wedding of my cousin Mark to his then fiancée and now wife Stella. It was a wonderful affair. Solemn at the right moments, celebratory at the right moments. Fun was had all around by the almost 400 guests invited to attend and witness their joining as husband and wife.

Anyway, their missalette contained a beautiful prayer that I just wanted to quickly share:

"Our Engagement Prayer"

Lord God, we ask for Your presence here with us as we prepare for the sacrament of marriage. We thank you, Lord God, for being an integral part of our lives and our relationship. We ask that You continue to bless and guide us in Your calling to us to be Christ to one another and to those that surround us. Help us to remember You are the center of our lives and to keep us turning to You in times of sorrow and in the times of joy.

Lord, we ask that You bless and guide our married family and any children that You give us. Help us to instill and exemplify Your teachings in our family, so that we may never stray from Your Love. We love You, Lord, and we thank You for blessing us with one another. Amen.

Our Love Story

The Ceremony

As Junby has posted last time, we are in the process of coming up with the wedding ceremony that would solemnize our commitment to each other. After all, the sacrament of Holy Matrimony is more than just a mass with people dressed up nicely. In the process of trying to make a missalette I came across www.kasal.com

It has a very useful guide in terms of making a missalette where you just choose the particular texts like the readings and prayers. Then you can even print it as soon as you are done. There are still several merchants I need to check for the reception like possible sound systems or DJ's and the like. If any of you can point out to me a possible resource especially those that are perfect for budget conscious brides, I'd be very much obliged. Thank you! Continue to please keep us in your prayers...

Until next post...

Starting on the music

Tonight Mitz and I started going over what we want to use for the music and the readings for the marriage rite.

Since we are both Ateneans it should probably come as no surprise that a lot of the music we are contemplating using is Jesuit music. Some of the songs we are thinking of using include:

• Anima Christi
• Bayan, Umawit
  
• I Will Sing Forever
• How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place
  
• Paghahandog Ng Sarili
  
• Sa 'Yo Lamang

Once we have something close to a final line-up of songs, I'll put up an update.