The day I chased ‘fab’ away

Monday, May 14, 2012

...I still ended up going to the wedding with neither a trace of face powder on me nor the “opportunity” to brush my hair. But then again I realized it’s not my day and it’s not about me.

A friend of mine suddenly went on a crash diet a month ago. “Who’s rolling out the red carpet for you?” I jeered her. She told me her friend’s wedding was coming up so she had to fit perfectly into the ecru dress she bought for the event. That sent me diving into my own bottomless pit of useless ideas about what to wear to my friends’ wedding. Nevermind the mommy pouches here and there that I knew I would not be able to get rid of if I ate a leaf for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for four weeks.

The last time I attended a wedding was a few years ago and I was dressed down in my office attire. No make-up, no pressure. I was with Gigi, right before she marched down the aisle and I vividly remember giving her a virtual peck on the cheek. We were seas apart and I took on the role of a virtual guest slash best friend who wouldn’t miss that particular wedding for a free ticket to the world of unicorns.

I realized that going to a wedding is a Herculean challenge. Others go on killer diets months before the big event; engage in an eternal dress-hunt; decide on the kind of make-up to use; practice the perfect look for the photos. It’s a demand I simply could not put up with. I tried by imagining doing everything that I mentioned above and fantastically failed.

I managed to find me the perfect dress (read: comfortable) and a pretty five-inch peep-toes to go with it just a few days before the wedding. But the night before Ryan and Mavi’s wedding, I rolled in bed with a nasty cold and fever. Our Ryan+Mavi day started out with my husband running out to attend to an emergency task at work. Then we got lost and went to the wrong church. On our way there, Attika decided it was a good day to barf in the taxi so she did. Since we were racing against time, I brought Attika’s house in a diaper bag but forgot to slip in a face powder and hair brush.

When I saw the bride’s mother approaching us, I wanted to run out the door knowing that I was wearing baby puke. But instead, I stood there in a state of panic not knowing what she thought as we hugged and kissed.

No matter how our day began, the rest of it unfolded beautifully. Theirs was a lovely intimate wedding held at the Romanesque St. Pancratius Chapel at the Paco Park, Manila.

I was honored beyond words when Ryan and Mavi asked me to speak at their wedding. I guess the ten minutes I spent getting worked up about how I’d look at the wedding (four weeks prior to the event) was caused by thoughts of me standing in front of people doing a speech. I still ended up going to the wedding with neither a trace of face powder on me nor the “opportunity” to brush my hair. But then again I realized it’s not my day and it’s not about me. My family and I were asked to be part of a wonderful celebration and our duty was to be there to give love and have fun. We sure did.

As for the five-inch peep toes…they stayed home. Here’s a glimpse of our memorable Ryan+Mavi day.