Earlier today, we had our church wedding at St. Benedict Parish, Ayala Westgrove. It was a mass wedding organized by Father Conrad and his staff. We were 5 pairs so it’s a small size for a mass wedding. We didn’t pay for anything, except for the P750 donation asked by Father Conrad. He asked for this so that we could say to ourselves that we donated something to our church. That’s a really good thought. 🙂
Lucky for us, we were the earliest pair. That’s why we were able to take photos of our family small and nuclear family. Mom and my sis-in-law came early, too, but my mom and brothers weren’t able to arrive early. So we took pictures with them after the ceremony.
Here are some of our before-the ceremony wedding photos 🙂
Here are some of our after-ceremony wedding photos. Thank you, Our Lady of the Rosary 🙂
By the way, thank you, Ms. Malou, of Flowerpots for our flowers! 🙂
As we went out of the church, the restored combi van was there again! Well, to be honest, I was expecting that because when we had Kuya’s first communion the other day, it was there. So we took the opportunity to have our photos taken with the really cool van, and it looked like it was our wedding car 🙂 Thank you, Brother! 🙂
After the mass, we headed to Café Arabelle for a simple lunch. Before the wedding, we were choosing between Classic Savory, Via Mare, and Café Arabelle. I personally love Café Arabelle because this was the place where we celebrated our anniversary last July, but I was vying for Via Mare because there’s a TV there. We visited Classic Savory first and asked if they could reserve a table for us for the 20th of October, but they turned us down, stating that this day is a Saturday and there are lots of people eating there on weekends. So—no, not Classic Savory. Next, we went to Via Mare. The manager was kind enough to entertain us, and he said that he could reserve the middle table for us on the 20th, but only for 15 minutes….During that time, it was okay for me because I really like to try that place and I like the TV so I could play the AVP that I prepared. When hubby and I looked at their group meals, it looked expensive for our group. Well, the price was reasonable, but hubby was hesitant about the serving. He’s not quite sure if the total amount will be enough for the rest of the group. I cannot sleep that night so I kept on browsing the net for classy but affordable restaurants in Solenad. Then I stumbled upon a review on Café Arabelle’s Squad Meal. And that’s it! I said I’d like to visit it tomorrow to reserve the table with TV. Unfortunately, I had to go to work the next day so I asked hubby to call for a table reservation for the 20th. Voila! They said yes to our request! Thank you, Lord, for that reservation.
The day of our lunch wedding came, and I was amazed by Café Arabelle’s service. I was also really satisfied with their Squad Meal, which is composed of Vegetable Kare-Kare, Lechon Kawali, and Filipino-style Fried Chicken. This meal includes rice and iced tea, which is good for 4 persons. My whole family enjoyed their meal, and they even allowed us to bring in Ninong Darwin’s pinindot without any corkage fee! Thank you, Café Arabelle, for making our wedding truly special! 🙂
A super thank you to Father Conrad, Father Herald, Ate Irene, Ate Ne, our whole family, and of course, to our Almighty Father for making this church wedding possible and very memorable! 🙂