MILESTONE!

href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dataptolentino/5164407/">the reception area, under a canopy of flowering vines
Originally uploaded by Data P. Tolentino.

This is serendipity at its most beautiful. I can't believe how difficult and yet so easy it was to get here.

Imagine, what were the odds of us coming across those pictures in a two-year old magazine, disregard it, go searching all over the metropolis for the perfect place, get disappointing results, only to return to those photos as a last resort?

At first I didn't want to consider it, thinking a destination wedding would be very expensive and out-of-the-way. But after Bubba and I reassessed our priorities, we decided to take a chance, and that chance paid off!

The beautiful discovery was Marina's Garden, just off the Mendez junction in Tagaytay. It was a perfect garden setting, with fountains and flower beds, rock gardens and herb paths...like something out of a European wedding magazine! The bathroom was a real riot: it was a door in a wall, and when you went in, you'd see the inidoro and sink in the middle of a tropical rain forest!
the toilet in the rainforest

The beatiful flower-lined paths were peppered with whimsical sculptures, like cats about to plunge into a pond and turtles and rabbits playing tic tac toe. There was a gazebo where i knew the reception program will be. There were canopies where we'd dine. And most of all there was sweet, gentle, caring Tita Marina.

She invited us to lunch and fed us til we couldn't even groan in protest. The food was great! The inihaw na liempo and chicken, the ginataang hipon with veggies, and the cheesecake...all these were so familiar-tasting. And why? Because she used to own Full House in Katipunan! Oh, wonderful, unforgettable, choc-full of memories Full House! I wanted to jump for joy! It all fit! And it all felt so good! Suddenly I felt comfortable with this whole place, with the sweet lady sitting in front of me, in the middle of her gorgeous garden. I could see myself walking barefoot on the grass, the guests milling about, talking, laughing. I felt it was finally happening. All that was needed now was the perfect church.

We had checked Caleruega on a previous trip and found it gorgeous. But far. Lourdes seemed too old and worn. I was aware there was a Chapel on the Hill on the way to Caleruega, but I hadn't checked it out the last time. Tita Marina encouraged us to go see it, and so we did. I was arguing in my mind if we should drive all the way up there because i felt it was too far, but Tita Marina and Dianne (a make-up artist and friend of Tita Marina) said it was only 15 minutes away.

So we checked it out. And what did we find? The perfect church. It's small and intimate and beautiful, the very way we want it! For its backdrop, it has the Batulao mountains and Taal Lake. The only thing to do when you see it is sigh.

Two birds with one stone in a weekend. If that isn't a blessing, I don't know what is! And even if I was soooo tired and feeling sick, I felt so enthusiastic and so excited about planning the wedding all over again. Now that I've found such perfect venues, I think I can count on every little thing to follow to be just as perfect!