Couple's Corner #5: The Day We said I DO!

It's Wednesday once again, time for my most awaited meme hosted by Liza of This Is My Life. And here is my entry for this week's theme "The Day We Said I Do."

Can you believe it? I knew we will be married, and that is why I came to United Sates, but no idea yet when the exact date will be! Well, it was because we (Matt and I) haven't talked about it yet. So when my cousin and her husband and of course Matt picked me up at the airport (LAX), we immediately head into my cousin's house, talked while eating dinner. Though we were both exhausted from our flights, we still managed to talk a little bit about our day before finally went to bed in our respective room. The next day, he surprised me when he told me the exact date of our wedding! I was thrilled of course! I arrived on the 8th of Sept. 2001 and our wedding date was set two weeks after that. Yup, that fast; that is how he was back then; he didn't waste time!

Two days after that surprised, a shocking news 9/11 happened. The whole world were saddened and mourned for the great lost of loved ones. Flights were canceled and I think they also closed the airport. So, we ended waiting for a week before we finally had our flight home to Texas and that means, we need to prepare ourselves. In addition, we still need to buy our wedding ring/band and head home to New Mexico to get married. Since we both have no savings, that is all we can afford that time and that was fine with me, since I am a simple and low maintenance person. All I want is a simple wedding anyway. His parents were kind enough to buy me a wedding gown, arranged the reception and the prepare all the foods (finger foods, sparkling wine and cake), wedding announcement, photographer and even gave us a present which is a fully paid hotel reservation for our honeymoon. Everything were set! Except that they needed to alter my wedding gown because I already gained weight before the wedding....thanks to some restaurants in TX and NM!

To make the story short, we got married with only few of his relatives, friends and family members; his sister was so upset and decided she didn't want to be there because of our religious practices. She left the day of our wedding and that was sad :-( not to mention that no member in my family from Philippines, and of my relatives in the U.S. managed to attend because of such a short noticed. But the wedding must go on whether she (SIL) was there or not! We still think that to this day, she still couldn't pass that. That is why every time we talk about our faith, she will just stop talking and listen or change the topic. Matt and I finally said our "I Do's" and it's been eight years now and we are still happy and in-love, and blessed with two wonderful kids. Thanks to my parents who are very understanding, supportive, respectful and loving, for without them, I wouldn't be what I am today! I love you, Inang and Ama! I will forever be grateful for you, guys! I hope you know that I love you; and that think of you constantly though we are millions of miles away from each other. I also thanked my in-laws for all the helped; and my Aunt's husband who treated me like his own relatives while living with them in Malaysia, and gave me a plane ticket as a wedding present which surprised us both. Matt was supposed to buy it for me though.