Jas Married Paonally!

Featuring Paolo Bernaldo and Jasmine Mendiola

Paolo and I met through a mutual friend when he offered for his band at that time, Moonstar88, to play at the fundraising concert for my then five-year-old son, Mio who was battling leukemia at the time. We’d bump into each other every now and then but didn’t consider hanging out until 5 years later and after just six months of dating, Paolo proposed. We had a very long engagement due to some technical paperwork and despite the hurdles, our love grew stronger. From my near-death experience with uterine atony and hysterectomy after giving birth to our youngest son, to moving from the city to the province, and navigating the pandemic’s impact on our businesses, we faced it all together. My father fought cancer for seven years, adding another layer of difficulty to our journey. Through it all, we worked hard to create harmony in our blended home and connect with all six of our children. After 11 years, everything seemed to fall into place, and we finally had our perfect wedding day.

Special Celebrations and Unique Motifs

The timing of our wedding was perfect in every sense of the word, as I mentioned in my vows. It didn’t seem that way throughout the anticipation and waiting as if our very long engagement was going to last forever. It wasn’t something we were expecting anymore, if I was being completely honest because the circumstances that would have allowed for us to wed were beyond our control.

When the time came, I didn’t want to have to overthink the little things. We trusted that what was meant for us, even the date itself, any date in a matter of weeks So Pao and I had very rough brass gold-plated and oxidized rings made and picked dried flowers for the motif. My dad had an old unopened bottle of limited edition vintage Suntory Whiskey from the 1970s, which Paolo and I decided to open on our wedding day. This special bottle, gifted to my dad by my late godfather, added a touch of family history to our celebration and served us as two of Pao’s Best Men, Herbert Hernandez and Julius Sebastian did traditional toast.

The truth about our motif is that the entire wedding planning done in five weeks was an exercise in letting go on all fronts. Definitely, Paolo and I wanted a garden wedding so the rustic theme wasn’t something we intended for. We were willing to accept the most basic wedding package offered by Savanna Farm so the entourage flowers that my sister, Joee Manalo lovingly gifted us were the most intentional of it all. Selecting the colors plum and lavender was a practical decision, a not-so-distant deviation from neutral colors black, grey and the naturally-present in nature greens, beige and browns. We just wanted people to come as they are, use the occasion to dress up if they wanted to, or not if they felt right at home and not have to bother to unnecessarily buy clothes they won’t want to wear just for one day.

With only five weeks to prepare, I sourced many symbolic tokens online. One of the most special items was our customized arrhaes with photos of our parents and siblings. When the vendor recognized Paolo’s late father, who worked with him at Holiday Inn in the 90s, it felt like a blessing from him from beyond.

Details of Personal Significance

My sister, Joee, lovingly made the entourage flowers. She created rustic and boho chic arrangements with dried flowers like lavender, eucalyptus, and thistles, symbolizing purity, strength, and protection. The bouquets also included crochet lavender stems made by my mother, adding a sentimental touch.

Our wedding cake, a two-tiered naked ube cake, was made by my cousin, Lady Lorredo of The Baking Bug, and matched our lavender and plum motif. My wedding dress was designed by my nephew, Martin Bautista.

The sign that read “Finally Married!” was created by all six of our children, featuring drawings that reminded them of us. Our AVP was a compilation of family photos collected over the years, put together by my eldest son, Mio.

Highlights and Memorable Moments

Despite four typhoons threatening our celebration, the sun came out, and there was only a light drizzle after the ceremony. The entire wedding wasn’t something we planned to do this year, but with my father’s condition worsening, Paolo wanted to fulfil his promise as soon as we are able to.

The night before the wedding, Paolo tried to get an Instax camera for me but was unfortunately scammed. However, what did arrive was the title certificate for the property he built and named to me, securing our family’s home. Truly a testament to his love and commitment!

Unique Elements and Theme

Paolo and I were raised in different religious backgrounds so the garden wedding was essential to us in order to keep the celebration on neutral ground. We were lucky to learn about the BDCIP that allowed us to sanctify our union in the most solemn and comforting way for everyone who mattered to us present. We did all the traditional symbolic rites and added in a ribbon-binding ceremony. It was not so different from the flow of the usual marriage rites, except that we were actually pulling the ribbons into the knot as we said our “I do”s and held on to the ends while we said our vows and wore our rings.

We wanted this feeling of gratitude and love to last us a lifetime, so we asked the guests, in lieu of gifts, to write us hand-written letters that we plan to put in a box and read a letter a day throughout the year. We left them crystals charged with intentions of good health, love and tranquility on personalized wooden coasters along with the pens they used to write us letters.

As we said in our thank you speech, “Your presence as witnesses to our commitment to each other is not something we take lightly. Your support challenges personal beliefs and convictions, yet you bless us with God’s love in human form.”

Our rustic and boho chic theme, beautifully described by my sister Joee, reflected our personalities and our journey together. The lavender, eucalyptus, thistles, and other elements symbolized purity, strength, protection, and everlasting love, perfectly capturing the essence of our relationship.