Aissa and Christian wanted to have an intimate wedding that evoked the same mood as a garden wedding. With only their family and close friends with them on their big day, this couple--who describes themselves as "simple probinsyanos"--had a wedding was as down-to-earth as it was memorable.
Read about their love story.
Find out about their wedding preparations.
Love Story
Aissa and Christian first met in 2004, when Christian needed to get his passport renewed. He was coordinating with Aissa's aunt's travel agency, where she worked. Coincidentally, he was also her cousin's close friend. Christian starting texting and pursuing Aissa, and the courtship lasted a few months. Unfortunately, it did not work for them then.
The two grew apart as Aissa spent time in the States and started her own business, while Chris worked on the family business back home. About a year and a half later, Aissa returned to the country, and Christian started to court her again (the couple calls this period "Take 2"). This time, Christian proved to be successful as the two became a couple less than a year after.
On their second anniversary, Christian took Aissa to their favorite Japanese restaurant, Yurakuen at Diamond Hotel. He connived with the staff by having them present a cake that bore the words "Will you marry me?"--a ring sat on top of the cake. She said yes, of course.
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Find out about their wedding preparations.
Marriage Preparations
Aissa and Christian had a lot of help with planning the wedding, and that made the process all the more enjoyable for them. Close family and friends pitched in to make the wedding a beautiful one.
As a wedding gift to Aissa, her mother and their seamstress offered to sew the entourage's dresses as well as her wedding gown. Her maid of honor also helped her in assembling the wedding souvenirs and the name cards for each table. Names of the guests were printed out on cream paper in green ink. The cards were then glued on a stick, and stuck on miniature buckets of personalized M&M's.
Aissa advises couples to plan their wedding as early as possible. "There is no such thing as [planning] too early," she says. "Make a list of everything, from your budget to your suppliers. [Also keep] your checklists and contracts." Moreover, she advises brides to get suppliers that are easy to work with. "Nothing can ruin your big day like a masungit na supplier," she quips. Luckily for them, they had none of those.
