I was at Raffy and Carla’s wedding last Saturday, and wore for the first time the Barong Tagalog that I will be wearing to my own wedding this June. As I settled into the thin piña fabric for the first time, I entertained a vision in my head of me in this barong, standing at the front of the church five months hence, watching her coming down the aisle towards me. It felt good. There were no cold feet, no butterflies in the stomach, no gnawing doubts or worries; just peace and joy. Time will tell if the day itself — and the years and decades that follow — will truly be peaceful and joyful; I pray they will be.

Raffy and Carla’s wedding was great, a grand old Filipino-Catholic affair at the church in Forbes, with a reception in the Peninsula Hotel in Makati. I estimate at least 300 people in attendance, some of whom were old, old friends. Photos here.