A little background

We finally decided to do it.

My partner and I have been engaged since 2007. Shortly after that engagement, we became pregnant with our darling Isabela and put anything to do with a wedding on hold. We lived and loved together, and now with such developed common-law laws and acceptance, it didn't really matter to us. We had already knew, we were partners in everything, partners in life.

Late 2009, one day at home I turned to Rodney and asked him if he would marry me if it were in the Philippines. There are only a few times that you can really see in someone eyes, what their heart is feeling, and Rodney's was so happy it was going to burst. So we were happy and started chugging along thinking about wedding details. Rodney and I met, and fell in love, because we both loved dearly our Philippine heritage. We had both been organizers within the Filipino community and believed in a Philippine renaissance, where those abroad learned about their heritage and the strength of its people, outside of food and beauty pageants. A wedding in the Philippines would solidify who we were as individuals and as a couple, and we were so happy.

We promptly discussed our plans with out family and were thrown off our feet when my mother, like the pillar rock that she is, objected and dug her feet into the ground. She wanted a wedding in Toronto only. Despite my father's initial excitement, he had to join the team and reject the wedding. His parents, who were also initially excited, also stated they would not support it unless we wed in Canada. At the time, I also started a new job.

After several months of resistance from parents, difficulty trying to figure out planning a wedding in the Philippines, and I remained on contract at my new job, we decided to abandon plans.

Time passed. We didn't talk about it again, with anyone. Not even between us.

Fast forward to now. My cousin's wedding, November 6, 2010. It was beautiful. Exactly an affair, my parents would want with a big church wedding, lots of guests at a classy reception venue. It was great to go to but Rodney and I knew, that would never be us.

After the wedding, Rodney and I talked. Really, what are we waiting for? For my job to be permanent and not be on contract to contract? Who knows when that will happen! For my parents? If they miss it, who will regret it more? And if we caved to our parents, wouldn't we be terribly unhappy? To go through those motions and to resent our own wedding. So in the end, we decided to just go for it. Even if not a single person was there except for us and our daughter on a beach in the Philippines. That's what we wanted. We actual dreamed about just eloping and getting married on the beach alone.

And now, we're going to try for it! So here we are...

I wanted to keep this blog to remember every moment of it. Another major reason is maybe to be a resource. If anything, it will keep me organized.

You will see from the blog list, two blogs that changed my life! I say changed my life because it effects the wedding, which will be a major event in my life.

You see, trying to figure out how to plan for this wedding eventually got me really down. I was really lost and the fact of not being able to BE there and figure it out, compounded the difficulty of it. I think that was why I abandoned ship so easily the first time. But these blogs brought me back to life. I saw how someone else was planning their wedding (at the venue I want too!) and having a list of places to go and people and resources. You should have seen my excitement. I thought I had discovered gold for the very first time in human history.

The second blog was that of a wedding planner in Cebu (maybe she will be my coordinator!). It's a blog of her story of her wedding and now, of weddings shes working on. Her heart is so amazingly happy and sweet, that I was just drawn to her writing, but also to have an idea of wedding culture in the Philippines by being able to experience other people's wedding. DING! Another diamond.

Maybe my blog will mean something to someone like how these two blog have helped me through so far. If not, c'est la vie!

En y va.

<3 / Camille