What’s more, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I began to appreciate the little things that I used to take for granted, such as being able to go out, attend events, have reunions with friends, and, yes, attend weddings. Come to think of it, it’s been so long since I last went to witness a wedding ceremony. In fact, I couldn’t even remember whose wedding it was. 

This time though, I was a bit excited to be finally attending a wedding again. The song being played while the bride is walking, the exchange of vows, and the first kiss as a married couple are suddenly not that cheesy anymore. I do like the general happiness and good vibes exuded by people during weddings.

On a different note, the wedding was held at Palazzo Verde in Las Pinas City. Since we live in Quezon City, I consider the drive down south to be an adventure. We took the Skyway from Araneta Avenue and exited in Alabang. It was my first time to drive through Skyway from North to South and it was unbelievably fast. I think it’s practical to use the Skyway if you are going to the South since it was extremely convenient, the drive was comfortable, and it saved us a lot of time.

When we were in Alabang, I was so unfamiliar with the area that I almost ran a red light while checking Google Maps. Good thing I saw the red light and stopped in time before I caused chaos. Well, not quite, because I blocked the pedestrian lane (my bad). I just followed what Google Maps told me and in less than an hour, we finally found Palazzo Verde.

Mommy Khris and I are familiar with Palazzo Verde because we considered it before for our own wedding venue (back when it was still called Fernbrook Gardens). Palazzo Verde is as grand and breathtaking as we remember it. It has its own chapel, function halls, canal and gondola, and catering services. Nevertheless, the booking cost was too steep so we deem it too impractical to push with our plans.

The magnificent interiors of Palazzo Verde are a sight to behold; Mommy Khris and I suddenly remembered why we fell in love with it (and why its cost was so high). We took advantage of the opportunity of take some selfie shots and souvenir photos of Palazzo Verde.

Before reception, we got some refreshments and iced coffee while waiting for the function room to open. I think it was a nice gesture to serve canapes and cold drinks while waiting since dinnertime in weddings are always late.

The actual reception was a bit more relaxed because there wasn’t really any program that the host was following. I’d like to mention how good the band was though – EZ Band - Event Musicians – who kept the guests entertained with their rendition of popular local and international songs. They were even kind enough to accommodate some song requests from the audience.

We had the usual photos with the newlyweds, had dinner, and had a little chat with some friends. By 9:00 PM, we bid our hosts goodbye since we’ll be going home back to Quezon City.

While Mommy Khris and I were in the car, we couldn’t help but reminisce the good old days when we were young, when we would readily give in to invitations of our friends to meet up, and when problems were petty and easy to work out. We can just take comfort in those happy memories.

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