WE felt so privileged na maimbitahan sa very emotional wedding nina Miquel Aguilar and our anak-anakang si Jerika Ejercito, panganay nina Ms. Laarni Enriquez and President/Mayor Joseph Estrada sa Manila Hotel last Saturday, Aug. 12.
Kasama ko ang anak nating si Kiel Alo sa nasabing very important event sa buhay ni Ica (as we fondly call Jerika). Nu’ng dumating kami ni Kiel sa Manila Hotel a little over past 4 p.m., nakasalubong namin ang isa ko pang baby na si Jake Ejercito sa lobby at itinuro niya sa amin kung saan ang patungong Maynila Ballroom where the Christian wedding was being officiated that moment.
There we were seated next to Tito Eddie Garcia and his lovely wife at sa harap namin ang napakabait na couple/friends nating sina Ms. Lyn Ynchausti and Tirso Cruz III. Nandu’n din ang mag-asawang Anabelle Rama and Eddie Gutierrez, ang baby ko ring si Patrick Garcia and wife Nikka Martinez-Garcia. I also saw Ms. Lorna Tolentino and Madam Precy Ejercito.
Heto na, pinagsalita na ang mga magulang ng bride and groom, yung “letting go” portion. Naunang nagsalita si Ms. Laarni. Gosh! she narrated how hard it was for her and Erap to leave their daughter in London many years back as she went to study there – long seven or nine years of missing a daughter though she would come home once in a while on very special occasions.
Yung alam mong malayo sa iyo ang panganay niyong anak dahil gustong makapagtapos ng pag-aaral. Yung malalaman mong may high fever ang anak mo while she is far away from you. And then, heto na’t nasuong sa isang di-magandang ganap sa buhay ang anak mo at nagkaanak with a wrong man – it’s such a very painful feeling for a mother and father pero wala silang choice kungdi ang taas-noong tanggapin ang lahat dahil ang bunga ng maling pag-ibig na iyon (with Bernard Palanca) ay isang napakaguwapong anghel sa katauhan ni Isaiah.
Now, heto na ang pinaka-highlight ng mga pangyayari sa kanilang mag-ina, ang pag-let go ng mga magulang sa kanilang unica hija as she exchanges vows with the man she believes she’d spend her whole life with. Laarni’s speech was very emotional, tagos sa puso. Habang pinakikinggan namin ang speech ni Laarni, pasimple kaming nagpupunas ng luha. I’m sure pati ang ibang bisita ay naiyak.
Then came Erap’s message, dahil nasabi na naman daw ni Laarni ang lahat-lahat, he just said a little pero punumpuno ng emosyon at pagmamahal ang namutawi sa kaniyang mga labi. After Laarni and Erap, the groom’s parents naman gave also their very emotional messages in Spanish dahil they both came from faraway Spain just to attend their handsome son Miquel’s wedding.
Naiyak kami lalo sa mensahe ni Ica, sa part kung saan sinabi niyang kaya niya minahal si Miquel dahil tinanggap nito ang nakaraan niya, at tinuring na tunay na anak si Isaiah! Lalo na sa sinabi niya of her mom Laarni that went something like this, “You were there during my hard times – when everyone was finding faults on me, you were there to fix everything for me. I love you, mommy.”
Mabaliw-baliw ako sa ganda ng ceremony. Plus the fact na napakaganda ng anak-anakan natin si Jerika at ang guwapo-guwapo ni Miquel – perfect sila for each other.
After the ceremony at Maynila Ballroom ay diretso ang mga bisita sa Champagne Room ng Manila Hotel para sa cocktails muna. Baha ng mga mamahaling cheese, wines and other liquor na ikinatuwa ng alaga kong si Kiel Alo. Tanging ako lang ang entertainment journalist invited to the event – kasi di naman ako journalist for Laarni, I am her sister, ‘no!
After ng cocktails, everyone walked towards the grand Fiesta Pavilion for the very sumptuous dinner. Eight courses ang food na sini-serve pero after the second course, niyaya ko si Patrick Garcia na samahan akong magyosi and after that I told him na siya na lang ang bumalik ‘coz hahabol pa sana ako sa birthday ng inaanak ko sa Santa Maria, Bulacan. It was a very beautiful event, one of the best na napuntahan ko.
Nakakatuwa namang panoorin ang mag-amang Jake Ejercito ang beautiful daughter Ellie – magkahawak-kamay ang mag-ama wherever they go inside the ballroom. Sarap tingnan nilang mag-ama. Grabe kung alagaan ni Jake ang baby girl niya.
Napakarami pang personalities sa napakabonggang kasalan. I saw Meryll Soriano with UpDharma’s vocalist Armi Mallari (tama ba ako?) na idol ng alaga kong si Kiel. Nandoon din sina Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, Bongbong Marcos with wife Liza and JV Ejercito na half-brother ni Jerika. Nagtataka lang ako kung bakit wala sina Jude and Jackie sa kasalan though I saw naman Precy with son Julian to represent Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
Hay buhay, hayan na sila.
Dating mga babies pa pero ngayon may kaniya-kaniya nang mga pamilya. How time really flies. To you Ica and Miquel, I just wish you the best in life. I am praying that your partnership will last a lifetime. God willing. Mwah!