Wedding Digest Philippines Grooms Edition | Page 199

I proposed. The original plot was to do it at the National Museum in Manila, since Ana is a history buff and professor. Juan Luna’s Spoliarium was the main attraction at the museum, so my game plan was simple: to hire some friend-actors, give the wedding ring box to her, kneel a little bit in front of the colossal painting, expect some drama, go home and take a good and long rest. However, things don’t usually go the way we planned them. When we entered the museum, we were informed that the museum had been temporarily closed due to a blackout. The entire Padre Burgos Avenue was down! As such, they had to stop the museum operations until the power goes up and running. Oh no, abort the mission! Abort the mission! we’re seriously taking our studies. Ana graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, with a degree in education, magna cum laude. She eventually took and easily passed the board exams, and ranked 2nd nationwide. Damn, an extremely brilliant head. I was so proud of her achievements (and I still am presently), and my admiration and utmost respect for her grew exponentially. Her brother, who was also my school competition buddy back in high school, graduated from UP Diliman too with a degree in engineering, summa cum laude. Monster! Both of them become my inspiration in working hard and being the best that I can be. I studied hard, got my own share of recognition upon graduation, passed the Philippine CPA board exams and landed a career at my dream company, SGV & Co. We started dating when we became professionals,and traveled the Philippines together. I eventually moved to the US in December 2011 to explore the world, the same time when our relationship turned into a deeper, romantic one. Technology and social media played an important role in our day-to-day communications. We have been constantly in touch and connected through Skype, Facebook, Between, among others. Since we’re both extremely busy in our own fields, longdistance relationship worked well for us and gave us the reasons to become even more excited with each other. Also, sending love letters from time to time has been a common place for us. Years from now, reading those letters would surely bring back timeless memories and continually evoke the burning flames of love. The Proposal Adventure Ana and I were together for three years when I decided to pop the question. I was still in the US when I planned for the proposal, bought the engagement ring (and the wedding rings) and braced myself for the outcome. I was really determined to level up our relationship, and since I felt that she’s also ready. It was on December 14, 2014, the same day I arrived in Manila, when Well, since it’s me, I don’t usually easily give up. I told her that we should try to go to a nearby historic place and enjoy our moments together. Today is our first day of being together again, you know. So we took a sidecar trip to Intramuros, Manila. I can’t exactly remember how many times we’ve been to that historic and oldest district center of Manila before, but giving it another try won’t be too much. While we’re touring, my mind was already unstoppably thinking of Plan B. Well, it didn’t take that much longer before I was able to determine my next course of action. Brace yourself, bebeko. The best is yet to come! I told the driver to make sure we stop by Fort Santiago, one of the famous sites in Intramuros. I told Ana that we should try the horse carriage ride (karitela in Tagalog) together and tour around the Fort for a few minutes. The coach we rented is typically used for wedding pictorials. Okay, so we’re inside now, sitting in front of each other, and enjoying the ride of our life. I then took something out of my camera bag, and asked her to open it; I told her it’s a gift. She opened it and found a pocke t-sized, hardbound book. She looked at me obviously bewildered, especially when I told her to read the book right away. Her thinking, of all places, you really want me to read it now, as in now?! Since I was very persistent, I kept insisting that she open the book, while she kept fighting back and trying to make sense of the situation. After a few more tries, she gave up and opened the book to the very first page—the page where you’d put your name as the owner, or the name of the person you’d like to give the book to, the date and any dedication. But what made her even more puzzled and that will make her tearyeyed in the next few seconds was the message I wrote down there, something like, “I’d like to ask you a certain question, and I won’t take no for an answer”. And then I instantaneously took another thing out of my bag, this time, something familiar to most people. I opened the small jewelry box and have her stare at the engagement ring