AFIRE

The Vow : 01

THE ANNOUNCEMENT

The couple decided to announce their wedding through a video. And it will be shown in Eat Bulaga of course. Nobody knew about the engagement, only just their family and friends. Not even one of the Dabarkads knew, even Miss Jenny Ferre or Direk Pat had no idea.

It was really a secret difficult to keep, but when they finally decided to make it public, they wanted everyone to be really surprised. So, they contacted Jason Magbanua, a professional wedding videographer to shoot their 'Save the date video'.

The theme was of course, centered around their first meeting through split-screen in Eat Bulaga, where Maine was in the baranggay and Alden was at the EB Studio. They shot the first scene in a studio. Maine did the dubsmash and Rj was watching. Then, she looked at him, eyes widened and taken aback.

Then a montage of them dusmashing in split screen went on of their favorite songs such as "Ako'y kinikilig" and "God gave me you". As the video progressed,  another montage of Rj doing Lola Nidora's challenges went on, even Tamang Panahon and their Valentine Concert. Clips of the significant milestones of their relationship were also inserted. And the last scene shown was the video in the beginning, of their first split screen meeting. This time, the split screen slowly blurred as they face each other, walking closer and closer. A close up of their hands intertwining was shot as well as Maine's ring finger with the engagement ring. Then, as the video turned black, text was shown on screen, and it read, "Rj & Maine. Tie the knot."

And then it was shown one Saturday in Eat Bulaga.

Everyone was indeed surprised, including the Dabarkads. Of course the couple was there to confirm the engagement. They held hands, smiles as they were bombarded with questions.

"Kailan ang wedding?"

"Secret, Ta Rubs. Syempre exclusive."

"Imbitado ba kami diyan?"

"Syempre naman Miss A noh. Pero only a few people are invited."

"A few, hundred?"

Miss Pia teased.

"Haha, basta Miss P, secret yung details. Bulong ko sa inyo mamaya."

"Alden, Maine, syempre gusto malaman ng Dabarkads natin dito sa studio, bakit ngayon lang?"

"Ewan ko ba Tito Vic dito kay Rj. Ang tagal niya magtanong eh. 5 years pa lang ready na ko."

"Haha, nagipon muna ko ng lakas ng loob eh."

"Patingin nga ng singsing. Paclose up sa camera."

Ate Pauleen asked.

"Ay ang ganda ng singsing ah, Rj. You chose well!"

"Thank you Ate Poleng."

"Eh eto pa ang gusto malaman ng lahat, kelan magkakaroon ng bata?"

Tito Joey asked.

"Basta Tito Joey, soon, may tatawagin ka ng inaanak. Haha."

"Oo nga, To Jo. Hahaha."

Broadway Centrum was filled with cheers and congratulations. Of course everyone wanted to know where and when the wedding would take place, but Rj and Maine opted to keep it a secret, keeping the details to only intimate family and friends.

"Hello po Dabarkads. As you know, Me and Maine announced our engagement. We would like to politely ask you all to respect our privacy with regards to all the details of the wedding. As much as possible we would want the wedding to be intimate, including only our family and close friends."

"Yes, we would appreciate that very much. But, rest assured that we would publicize our wedding video, as well as host a public receptions. I hope you guys understand our decision, thank you. Aldub you all!"

THE PREPARATION

"We want everything to be themed ivory, pastel yellow and carnation pink. Since it's a sunset beach wedding in Amanpulo, there should be flowers all around. I want carnations, tulips and orchids. Petals should be scattered all around. I also want fairy lights all throughout the aisle, as well as lit candles. On the altar, we want an arbor, decorated as well with fairy lights and polaroid pictures of Rj and me hung all around. Simple lang, kasi it's an intimate wedding."

"Copy Mam. What else po?"

"Gusto ko sana ng double doors to enter in. I know its a big thing to ask kasi beach wedding nga. But can you make it happen? I want my fiance to be astonished as I walk in."

"Of course Mam, we can make it happen."

"We talked about playing our favorite song. We're going to record it tomorrow sa studio. Pwede bang iplay during the march?"

"Yes Mam. How about the entourage?"

"Well, the Matron of Honor is my sister, Coleen. Then the bridesmaids are, Ate Niki, Reeza, And some of my college and highschool friends. Kay Rj naman, his best man is his Kuya RD. Included din sa entourage niya yung JoWaPao, Sam and Jeralds, as well as his highschool bestfriends. As for the Ninongd and Ninangs, included ang TVJ as well as their wives, tinatapos pa namin yung list. I'll let you know. Pati yung flower girls, ring and bible bearer, we're still working on the list."

"Okay, noted Mam."

"For the atelier, I contacted Mr. Francis Libiran to create the gowns and suits of the entourage. We also asked Mr. Michael Cinco to create Rj's suit. My gown will be made naman by Vera Wang."

"How about the reception po?"

"The first reception is in Amanpulo. The food should include mine and Rj's favorite dishes. I'll give you the list when we decide. Kindly get the best caterer you can. Hopefully makapag food tasting kami soon. And for the cake, we wanted it to be of course, our signature rainbow cake. 5 tiered, decorated with fondant and sugar lace and flowers. Nakausap na rin namin yung gagawa ng cake."

"Okay po, Mam. Anything else po?"

"Just, make it magical. Yun lang. This is after all the greatest milestone of our lives to date."

"Promise po Mam. You won't be disappointed.

THE GOWN

"Eto na yun, Coleen! Eto na yun!"

"Ang alin?"

"Come here, dali! Look at this!"

"Oh my God. That's so beautiful!"

"Di ba? Syempre Vera Wang. I want this to be my gown."

The gown is as beautiful ivory mermaid gown, with a sweetheart neckline, lace trimmings, cinched on the waist and midthigh with a short train. There were no excessive tool or ruffles. It was simple, yet elegant. Perfect for Maine's body type.

"I'm sure Rj will love this on you."

"Yes.."