| A Marriage of East and West |
[Oct. 25th, 2007|10:46 pm] |
(This is the write-up that appeared in the latest special issue of Wedding Essentials magazine. A long read since I was asked to discuss the details of the wedding. They also asked me not to mention any vendors or friends but I've attached that list following the article below.)
TIMOTHY PETER LEWIS and LARA DE LOS SANTOS
28 October 2006
How East Met West
It was six years ago, overlooking the world famous Manila Bay sunset that I first met Tim. He was touring Asia for a few weeks and was invited to my birthday party by our dear friend Jou Jou, who was co-celebrating with me. From our very brief introduction I gathered that he lived in London, was four years younger than I, had just gotten out of school and had not started work. That was the last time I spoke to him that evening. As the popular British expression goes, I just couldn’t be bothered!
It wasn’t until two years later that we would resume contact. Jou Jou and I were travelling around Europe. Tim invited us to stay in his London flat, as well as spend a few days in Ollioules, his family’s summer home in the South of France. Unbeknownst to me, in a phone conversation before the trip, Jou Jou had asked Tim to set me up with his “cute English lawyer friends” (he was now a solicitor at one of London’s top law firms) to which Tim replied, “Don’t I qualify?”
Well, he did. Three days into that trip, he managed to sweep me off my feet and we both fell madly in love with each other. Alas, I soon had to return to making TV commercials in the Philippines. We said our goodbyes and just a few minutes before my flight back, he said that he wanted to be there for my birthday (which was in two months), if I invited him. I did, and once again, he showed up at my party in Manila. This time however, I couldn’t be bothered by anyone else but him.
The Ring
On new year's eve of 2006, on a little island off Siargao, surrounded by powder white sand and crystal blue water, Tim got down on one knee and asked me if I would marry him. I was so taken by surprise that my first reaction was, “Are you sure?” He said “yes,” then I said “yes,” and then later I had to ask him if I had indeed said “yes.”
He then presented me with a beautiful sapphire ring, an heirloom from his French grandmother, carefully wrapped inside the knot of his sarong. It’s the only article of jewellery that remains of her collection. Tim’s mum had been keeping it for this special day.
Upon arriving in Manila to tell my parents, only my mom seemed surprised. Apparently, Tim had had a word with my dad a few days before and expressed his intentions to marry me!
Wedding Theme
Tim is British-French and I’m Filipino. We knew that our guests would come from all corners of the globe. The East Meets West theme reflects what we both think of marriage – a fusion of souls and of cultures coming together. We wanted our wedding to look, smell, taste, sound and feel like a celebration of mixed cultures.
The Dress
Weddings are the best time for brides to bond with their mothers. As a tribute to my mom, I designed and wore an updated version of her wedding dress. I bought some ivory Thai silk during an office trip to Bangkok and had a local seamstress (a family friend who has sewn dresses for me since I was a child) cut and stitch it. I asked my mom to make the headdress – a pillbox hat (identical to the one she wore to her wedding) and the veil.
The maids wore sleek dove grey and deep purple Armani fabric gowns. For an oriental touch, I incorporated ostrich feathers and tassels into the their bouquets, sashes and purses. The mothers donned silver grey Thai silk dresses, which also had elements from both East and West.
Tim wore a bespoke traditional English morning suit. He had similar ones made for the male attendants by his personal Hong Kong tailor. We bought all the ties for the men together in Saville Row during a trip to London for our engagement party.
Wedding Day
We wrote each other letters to read first thing in the morning. It was a reminder to forget about all the preparations and focus on what was important. This way we got to enjoy and savour every moment of the day – our day.
There were thunderstorms and heavy rains the day before and after the wedding. Somehow, something or someone was on our side as there was nothing but blue skies and sunshine on the day of our wedding. I think it’s also because as a precautionary measure, Tim purchased all the umbrellas in stock at the nearby golf course that morning.
The Ceremony
The ceremony was held in a small chapel in Batangas. It’s a simple, circular space on top of a tiny hill run by the Parish of Our Lady of All Nations (how apt!) The marriage was officiated by Bishop George Rimando, Archbishop of Davao, who flew in just to marry us. We told him that half of our guests were non-Catholics and he even designed the mass and homily to go with our East-West theme.
I wanted the chapel to look and feel as light and serene as a luxury Oriental spa. Tim even wanted our wedding to have a signature scent, and we had the venue sprayed with essences of lemongrass and earl grey tea. We used zen fountains, pebbles and loose orchid petals to line the aisle. Flowers consisted of assorted white and purple orchids, liliums, bamboo and various oriental foliage.
A string sextet played a carefully selected repertoire of British, French and Filipino songs during the ceremony.
The Reception
Guests were issued boarding passes as they entered the clubhouse, and were invited to enjoy cocktails at the large veranda overlooking the Taal Lake and Volcano. The jazz ensemble played Latin and bossa nova tunes as we were going to Brazil for our honeymoon. Guests were ushered to their tables, named after our favourite island destinations.
The food was a fusion of Eastern and Western cuisine - from the starters of foie gras and native salad with kesong puti to the dessert of suman sushi served with chocolate chopsticks and a pandan wasabi sauce. Our French and Filipino chefs couldn’t have done a better job in the kitchen.
My parents had also made oil infusion favors (Italian extra virgin olive oil infused with Asian herbs and spices) so that guests could bring home the flavours of the wedding.
Filipino touches
After dinner, we changed into traditional Filipino costumes. I had given Tim a barong Tagalog as a Christmas present just a few days before he proposed. It did not occur to me that I had just bought him his wedding attire. I wore a three-piece Indian dupione dress with detachable butterfly sleeves and a wrap skirt. After the cake cutting ceremony we distributed personalized Philippine cigars. Then for our first dance, we surprised all our guests with a modern Tinikling number. This got everyone on their feet and joining us on the dance floor. An all-Filipino 9-piece brass band kept the party alive and kicking for the next three hours. We had to ask the band to keep playing as our guests didn’t want to stop dancing.
The After Party
A post-midnight shuttle transported our guests to what was formerly the groom’s cottage, the setting for our Honeymoon Send-Off Party. This allowed us to personally say our thank-you’s and goodbyes to our guests who partied on (we heard that the last guest left at sunrise the next day). We handed each guest a bottle of champagne before we set off on our first night as husband and wife.
One Year Later
We had travelled from East and West and back again to make the wedding of our dreams come true. Looking back at all the hard work makes the memories even more special. To this day we hear so many nice things from friends and family about the wedding. We know that all the love that we put into our wedding did not just last a day. It is something that will make us smile for the rest of our lives.
CREDITS:
PHOTOGRAPHY Rene Gaviola; also, a gift to the couple from and by Lester Tongson and Marc Reyes
MAKEUP – a gift from and by Marlon Rivera
HAIR Eunice Yu Ampil/Bing
CONSULTANT Ruby Ines of Celebrations
INVITATIONS Design and calligraphy by the bride. Hand illustrations – a gift from and by Michael Talampas.
FLOWERS Teddy Manuel of Flowers and Events
SOMMELIER Jerome Philippon of Sommelier Selections
CATERING Makati Skyline
LIGHTS AND SOUNDS Agnes Suarez of SATB
ENTERTAINMENT The Brass Munkeys, Serenata Strings; also a gift to the couple from and by Ricci Chan, Divine Gil Reyes, Bob Guerrero, Kitt Mendoza and Marco Henson
CAKE Juan Carlo Estagle. Cake sculpture – a gift from and by Apol Sta. Maria
CEREMONY/RECEPTION SITE Canyon Woods, Laurel, Batangas
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| Just Updates |
[Jun. 27th, 2007|03:18 pm] |
Since my last entry, I have, among others:
1. quit work
2. gotten married
3. gone to Brazil
4. gone to Cambodia
5. relocated to Hong Kong
6. relocated to Singapore
7. reduced smoking
8. gained 10 pounds
9. visited Amsterdam's red light district
10. ridden a bicycle (after 20 years)
11. bought a kickboard (a.k.a. scooter) and used it
12. hosted a dozen dinner parties
13. watched most episodes of Miami Ink
14. made Moroccan couscous twice
15. eaten bullfrogs' legs thrice
16. sold my car
17. bought a beach lot in Bohol
18. bought 5 bathing suits
19. not taken enough pictures
20. not updated any of my online journals
Not that I was too busy nor too lazy to do so. Ok, well maybe a little lazy.
I just got caught in a phase where I just didn't want cameras, writing, or blogging to get in the way of the moment.
This is why we hire professional wedding photographers. I even know this guy who wanted to hire a honeymoon photographer. I used to scoff at his idea, but now I think he may have been onto something after all (I'm still undecided about this though, at the moment).
Having recently just read through all my past posts (and yours, too), I realized how much I would have forgotten (and missed) had they not been recorded in web space.
Thanks for keeping me posted.
Meanwhile, I will try not to be so lazy (whilst I look for personal professional paparazzi that I can hire). |
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| On the nose! |
[Jul. 7th, 2006|09:46 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  amused | ] |
| Your 2006 Summer Anthem Is | 
Crazy by Gnarls Barkley
"I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind
There was something so pleasant about that phase
Even your emotions had an echo
In so much space" |
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| 10 Things I Like That Begin with C |
[Jul. 3rd, 2006|08:00 am] |
for ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) sugarchef
1. Caipirinhas
2. Cheongsams
3. Card stock
4. Christmas
5. Crazy, a song by Gnarls Barkley
6. Cesaria Evora
7. Citrus
8. Cardigans, the band, not sweaters
9. Cuddles
10. Choriqueso burgers or pizza. Yum.
The meme goes this way:
Leave your name and...
1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll challenge you to try something.
3. I'll pick a color that I associate with you.
4. I'll tell you something I like about you.
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something I've always wanted to ask you.
8. If I do this for you, you must in turn post this meme on your LJ.
9. With a letter I assign to you, you must write ten things that you like that begin with that letter. |
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| Hot Peppers and Karma |
[Dec. 12th, 2005|04:44 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Naked and Sacred - Chynna Phillips | ] |
Vanity. It runs in family.
Hanging out with cousins Marc and Karl/ shot in Ho Chi Minh City last Monday by hotel_boy |
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| Baby Boom |
[Oct. 18th, 2005|12:58 am] |
A funny thing happened at babystuff's baby shower last Friday. It occured to me that I was somewhat "underdressed" for the party. Save for Aileen and myself, all the other girls were either "with child" or "with spouse". Now, did I just miss Vogue's offspring-summer forecast? I must've skipped the page that said "husbands are the new Fendi baguette" too! I don't recall being with so many pregnant women before. Oh, yeah, EXCEPT for that time...
Several years ago, taipeiwalker decided that we'd all be pregnant on her birthday. And so we were. With pillows. We drove up to Tagaytay, all six, er, "twelve" of us - stopping for tequila and cigarettes at the 7-eleven, and on to our Preggy Picnic by the lake. I think we pulled it off quite smashingly. I had the biggest belly. One of the locals, an old lady who happened to pass us couldn't help but notice my "full-term" state and boldly predicted that I would pop much sooner than any of the girls or Taal Volcano would. I'm so glad she was wrong about the other girls, but I do hope she gets the volcano bit right. :-)
P.S.
babystuff gave birth to a 7.10-lb babygurl this morning. Welcome to the Tropaganda tribe, Martina Rafaela!
(I'm not sure if that's her final name, but that's what I voted for, and as of 11am, that's what her daddy Marc told me it was!)
P.P.S.
So freaky! I just went to the Taal Volcano website and found out that the volcano was "previously very active'' on Aug. 23, 1998. That's the EXACT DATE we had the pregnant picnic! We had no idea! |
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| for sugarchef and _darra_ |
[Sep. 23rd, 2005|04:55 pm] |
Thought solely of you both when I saw this in a shop window in Ginza two Sundays ago. Can you guess what they are? (Yeah, of course you can eat 'em! Would I think of you otherwise?) :-) |
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| Tea for Two Brides |
[Aug. 23rd, 2005|01:22 am] |
Tropaganda threw a DOUBLE BRIDAL SHOWER in honour of Patricia and Antoinette, who are both tying the knot very soon. Pat was showered with lingerie of all sorts, and for Ian, it was raining bags all afternoon. I transformed my mum's living room into a tea salon, following a froufrou boudoir theme. I had to coax my dad into letting me convert his liquor cabinet into a miniature boutique. Not even the piano was spared of feathered hats, silly shoes and furry boas. taipeiwalker a.k.a. Lady Christine Dior flew in from Formosa to grace the event, and no less than her brother, internationally acclaimed fashion photographer hungryalien came all the way from Barcelona street to take some pictures. The girls brought champagne and cakes and we all had a long and lovely ladies' luncheon. Up next in the Tropaganda calendar is a DOUBLE BABY SHOWER for Aprille and Divina!
Click here to see results of Wedding Gown Competition! |
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| Cheap Thrills |
[Aug. 14th, 2005|09:05 pm] |
Last Tuesday was Chinese Valentine's Day. The beau called on his lunch hour to tell me he was in Jollibee Hong Kong eating a Champ Meal. Cute. So I thought it would be sweet to have a Yumburger with mushrooms and cheese, Jolly Crispy Fries, and a Mango Caramel Sundae (Total: about 120pesos) for dinner. :)
P.S. I tried their Chicken Strips (50pesos) the following day, and they actually made a really nice snack. |
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| Announcement |
[Aug. 12th, 2005|07:46 am] |
Come and visit my new place. I'm not moving out of LJ. Just wanted a better space for photo albums, music, recipes, etc. I don't want to have two journals, so I've decided The Pepper Mill (LJ) will still be it - I have yet to decide how to use the journal space in Lara's Loft (Maybe I'll turn it into a garage - and hold ukay-ukay sales of my old stuff. An art gallery would be nice too. Or a studio/showroom for craftwork. Or a meditation room. Or a spa. Mmm...I love spare rooms!) Feel free to drop by for tea anytime (I'll keep you posted on any updates). Hope you don't mind linking to my virtual vacation home every so often. Oh btw, a housewarming party is in order, and you're all invited! |
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| Chow, HK! |
[Aug. 1st, 2005|11:57 pm] |
  Harbor Side's Champagne Brunch Dessert Queue, Champagne and Confetti (gold leaf) Jello Shooters
(Note: they had a Souffle Station!)
 
Thousand-Layer Coffee Jelly Cakes, Roast Beef and Yummy Yorkshire Pudding
( China Chow ) |
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| A Series of Unfortunate Events |
[Aug. 1st, 2005|07:30 am] |
The other night I had dinner with my tropaganda friends at Je Suis Gourmand (Fort Bonifacio).
1. Aileen booked a table for 14 at 8pm. Traffic was bad, so by 8:30 there were only 10 of us, and since the restaurant wanted to accommodate some walk-in guests, the waitress approached me and babystuff asked if we could give up the 4 remaining seats. We told them the other 4 were on their way, and that we couldn't give up the other 4 seats as that is why we made reservations in the first place.
2. Five minutes later the same waitress came back and asked Aileen, who was seated at the other end of the long table, the same question. babystuff and I got really irritated (I think the waitress thought we didn't hear her the second time and took a chance with the less mataray end of the table) and so we called out to her and said, "We booked a table for 14. And there will be 14 of us. Stop pressuring us."
3. A few minutes later, a waiter served us our drinks. One of the wine glasses slipped from his tray, spilling red wine all over our table and making purplish stains on my white shirt. He left and replaced the wine, but didn't apologize, nor even check to see what he could do to fix my shirt.
4. Later that evening, they approached us again and asked us if they could give us the bill. There were still three people in the group eating their entrees. I found this really crass and told the waitress off.
5. Throughout dinner, they made a couple of more faux pas, serving us White Vanilla Almond Glaces instead of the Dark Chocolate ones we ordered (when did "white" ever sound like "dark"?), and Orange juice instead of Dalandan. These were eventually replaced with the correct orders (but they had to "double-check" with us by sending the waiters back to ask if we really did not order White Vanilla Ice Creams.) so we just let that one slide.
6. And now for the piece de resistance - right before leaving, I decided to make a stop at the powder room. It was 10pm and since there were just a few tables left, the staff had begun cleaning the premises and changing out of their uniforms and into their plainclothes. One of the tables I passed was complaining about the smell of the detergent used on the floor not complementing her Magret de Canard. The tiles were wet and slippery from the mopping, and before I could say Ratatouille, I was lying face flat on the floor. it must've been a hard fall because my friends Gabby, Lester, and Aileen rushed to help me and check if I didn't break any bones. None of the staff from Gourmand apologized, none offered to help, none checked to see if I was ok. They had to wait for Aileen to ask for an Ice Pack for my cheek, which was red and swollen from the impact. They didn't even have decent serviettes to put the ice in. They offered me a dirty and wet kitchen towel. I used their paper napkins instead.
I must've eaten at Gourmand at least ten times before, and nothing from those previous experiences would lead me to think that this would happen. In fact, I was the one who recommended that we eat there that night. The swelling on my cheek has gone, but it's still a bit sore. I've got 7 bruises on my legs, and my knees still hurt a bit. I know this sounds like one of those black propaganda e-mails, but I didn't write this so that you could forward it to all your friends and destroy Gourmand's reputation. I'm more creative than that. I don't want to get mad. I want to get even. It's a lot more fun.
Suggestions welcome. R.S.V.P. |
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| Going to the Beach |
[Jul. 18th, 2005|09:06 am] |
 Tim and I on the way to Sai Kung with the boys, Saturday morning. I wish beaches could be reached by MTR as well in Manila. Ang saya. |
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