The Filipino Mom Blog

I can’t count with the fingers on my left hand the number of women friends I have who don’t wish to walk down the aisle to pledge her life to the man of her dreams. Almost all women dream of just that…a dream wedding.

To be completely honest, I had no illusions of a grand wedding. I didn’t even have illusions of a wedding. I just wanted to be with the man I wanted to grow old with. I didn’t need a tear inducing ceremony. I didn’t need a 3 Michelin star worthy dinner reception. I didn’t need any of that…until I started planning my bestfriend’s wedding.

Trust the saying that “opposites attract.” This cannot be more true in the case of my bestfriend and I. I am the complete anti-thesis of whatever my bestfriend represents..and vice versa. My bestfriend’s a nerd and I’m a jock. My bestfriend likes the urban life and I love the outdoors. I’m a little bit country and my bestfriend is a little bit rock and roll.

So when I started planning my bestfriend’s wedding I had to throw all my prejudices out the window and listen to what my bestfriend wanted. Not to say that I couldn’t give my 2 cent’s worth of advice. I could you know, that’s what bestfriends are for, right.

Without any hesitation whatsoever, I helped plan my bestfriend’s wedding. Right from the get-go I was there. In fact, he barely lifted a finger. That’s how much of a bestfriend I can be when I want to be.

It took 3 months to plan this event. I would have wanted a year to plan this but I didn’t have that luxury. One thing I had to keep seriously in mind was that my buddy had a budget and I had to stick to that budget no matter what. So with my filofax in hand and my firm resolve that I could do this I set off to engineer a wedding truly worthy of the term..a storybook wedding even if half the time I was cringing at how sappy everything was turning out. But hey, it was my bestfriend’s wedding anyway.

Taking my “wedding coordinator” role seriously I listed down what I needed to do.

Month Number 1

• Reserve a church and a reception venue. Coordinate the dates properly.
• Talk to the wedding dress designer and the tailor for the groom’s outfit.
• Have the invitations made.
• Have the wedding rings made.
• Talk to the florist. Choose flowers that are in season to save some money.
• If you plan to have musicians, reserve their services.
• Coordinate with the venue. Choose the menu and the services that you intend to avail (wedding car, cake, etc.).
• If you avail of separate services, talk to a wedding car provider, a wedding cake baker, and a souvenir supplier.
• Talk to a photographer and a videographer.

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Month Number 2

• Schedule fittings.
• Choose your registry.
• Send out invitations towards the end of the month.
• Schedule a trial make-up session for the bride.

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Month Number 3

• Make the misalette.
• Schedule a food tasting.
• Schedule a last set of fittings.
• Pick up wedding rings.
• Make final calls to venue, musicians, photographers, and florist.

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D-Day

• Relax
• Enjoy

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With this list I was able to plan a wedding worthy of praise. My bestfriend was only too happy with my work. I know that for a fact because he had tears in his eyes as he watched his bride walk down the aisle to meet him.

And I, the tireless wedding planner, finally stepped into the role I had always dreamed of. I was walking down the aisle to be with the man I wanted to grow old with and I had the biggest smile on my face because of a job well done. I was marrying my bestfriend.