The Wedding: A Day to Remember

We wouldn't see Cheryl at all until the wedding, of course, because she was at her house with her bridesmaids. The make-up artist and hairdresser were there getting them ready while the photographer took pictures of the preparation. At the hotel, Barry had breakfast with us, and even though he was a bit nervous, he was excited that the day was finally here! Eventually the photographer finished with Cheryl and came to the hotel to photograph Barry, his wedding clothes laid out on the bed, and finally as he donned his Barong Tagalog.

Now it was late morning and the make-up artist arrived to do Kelly's and Bonnie's makeup. Neither of us had had such an experience before and thoroughly enjoyed being pampered. We'd both had our manicures/pedicures the day before, so now all that was left to do was get dressed.

The wedding was set for 2:30 pm, we were all dressed and ready, and Dennis and Michael arived to drive us to the church: the men--Barry, Colin, and Bob, all in their beautiful Barong Tagalog shirts; the women--Kelly and Bonnie, beautifully coiffed and made-up!

We arrived at the open-sided church, beautifully decorated with masses of deep purple and pure white ranunculas (they look like old fashioned roses without thorns), and white tulle draped along both sides of the aisle on the pews from the front all the way to the back of the sanctuary. The men each received a white ranuncula boutoniere and the women were given a single white calla lily to carry. Guests slowly arrived and remained outside and in the back of the church, chatting with one another, and all in a festive mood. All men and boys were wearing Barong Tagalogs, guests as well as the wedding party. All women who were part of the wedding party or who were sponsors were wearing lavendar or purple.

Finally the signal was given to begin, the music started, and off we went. Barry was the first down the aisle flanked by his mom and dad. We waited at the front, off to the side and next came Colin (best man) with the maid of honor, followed by Dennis and Michael and bridesmaids. At long last the music changed and down the aisle came beautiful Cheryl, accompanied by her father Harold and aunt Carolyn. When they arrived at the front of the church, Bob and Bonnie released Barry to Cheryl while her dad led her to Barry. We took our seats to the couples' right side and Harold and Carolyn sat to the couples' left.

In the Philippines it is customary to have sponsors: close friends of the family who will be the new couples' mentors and care for them as they start out in marriage. The sponsors are an important part of the ceremony and stand with the couple as they are married. Barry and Cheryl had a number of sponsors all at the front standing close to them as they took their vows. Much of the wedding was similar to a wedding in the United States, but that part was different. Several scriptures on marriage were read by friends, including a missionary friend of the Ybanez family named Kelly. The priest gave an encouraging sermon, charging them to put Jesus Christ first in their marriage and to trust in Him for their needs. He spoke about the bringing together of cultures, but that Jesus was who they needed to rely on, not material wealth.

As the wedding proceeded, we all were aware of the heat and humidity. Most guests in the audience had thought to bring fans and were trying to keep cool. Barry had a handkerchief that he discreetly used to dab at his brow occasionally. Bob was suffering but remained stoic. Bonnie was thankful when Harold slipped across to hand us a fan!

Suddenly it was over, the new husband and wife turned around, and the priest announced, "Please welcome Mr. and Mrs. Barry Whitney!"