Traditions

I am writing some follow through s to my post the other day. Weddings are such grand events. Probably because it goes with the assumption that " an individual gets married only once(usually) in a lifetime.. kaya nga sabi ni Fr. Pernia sa amin then, "marriage is a lifetime commitment. You both have the time to think twice, thrice before commiting yourself to this till death do us part promise."
Prior to the wedding, we have the "pamanhikan" wherein the man formally announces his intent to marry the lass and request for permission and blessing from the parents and family.
Jim went through this initial step. I am very aware of his nervousness I could actually feel his palpitations. I sat beside him but he sat facing both Papa and Mama. He has a mountain to climb; I am the oldest daughter to be given away and the oldest granddaughter on the Rosete side.
I gave him a cheat sheet of possible questions and strong suggestions my parents could give. Papa and Mama both were very calm (surprise)while it was nervewracking on my part.
We compromised on a lot of stuff - from the venue, to the ninongs and ninangs, to the guests, to the menus etcetera etcetera etcetera.
My wedding gown was sewn by Tiya Thelma Evangelista, the sister of Tiya Patro, both from Agno. There was haggling on how much she can splurge for the gown. Diyos ko - anya metten. She was very precise with the measurements. I never saw my gown not until the wedding day itself. Tradition dictates the bride does not fit the gown before the wedding. If she does, the wedding might not push through. The gown was a dream - I should credit Tiya Thelma for that.
Jim wore a barong bought by a friend from Batangas and sewn by Mang Emong - our favorite sastre at Project 8. Nabibi-it nga kasarita no am-am-mom itti agda-it maibaga amin nga kayat.
The groom to be usually foots the bill for the entire affair. The exact opposite is the practise here in the States. We have two boys - lucky, lucky, lucky. I don't foresee that to happen in the near future (if I have my way, sabay keeping my fingers crossed).
Since we can not accomodate everybody for the reception, Papa and Mama prepared dinner at home. Na-im-imas pay itti makan idiay balay compared to what we had sa reception. Most of the reception crowd were also at home that evening. Adda met dagiti cousins and pamangkins, kababayans and kaibigans that we really want to be with in this special occasion.
Kaya nga weddings are meant to be once in a lifetime (kung minsan) kasi napakagastos ito na i-orchestrate. Meron talaga kaming dugong intsik since we chose the color red as motif for Chinese tradition says red is for good luck.
We also opted for 01 08 83 - gusto namin ng maraming 0 - never ending good luck. I just don't remember if we went by the lunar calendar. Most probably kabilugan din ng buwan noon.