‘We know that there are no perfect weddings so we let go of controlling every aspect and just let the day unfold’
Harley M. Tabinas and Precious Danielle Dalida serendipitously met as fresh graduates reviewing for their respective board exams but there were no sparks. But one friend request from Harley, years later, changed everything. On June 22, 2021, Harley and Prei were married at Don Bosco Chapel on the Hill after an engagement of almost a year.
Below, Prei shares how they managed to get married to get married on their original date–no postponements here–their favorite wedding detail, and their advice for couple planning their intimate wedding:
How did you meet?
Harley is from Bataan while I am from Quezon. We met seven years ago during our stay in the same dorm. We were fresh graduates reviewing for our board exams in Manila. Our group of friends instantly grew close because they were all nice. However, I was not particularly close with Harley. In fact, I do not remember much about him during those days. Except when we had a quick and casual conversation about our dogs.
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That was the only time that we had the chance to talk. After we took the board exams, we went our separate ways and no communication happened between us. Fast forward to 2016 when we were already professionals, I remember Harley sent a friend request on Facebook and the rest is history.
What’s your most favorite detail about your wedding?
When Harley proposed last October 2020, the first thing we talked about was not when and where we were going to tie the knot but how our wedding invitation would look like. Since Harley is also an artist, we wanted our invitation to be personal rather than traditional so we conceptualized and he made cute illustrations of us. He was also the one who made our monogram! It is definitely our most favorite part of our wedding details.
Did you encounter any challenges?
We were really happy and grateful to our family and friends who came all the way from Bataan, Manila, Laguna, and Lucena and gave us their precious time to celebrate our most-awaited day. Limiting our guest list was so difficult since we come from big families and we want to be with everyone. Our total number of guests was more or less just 80 since as much as possible, we want it to be intimate for everyone’s safety given the current situation
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What’s your most memorable moment from your wedding day?
The most memorable moment for us is the wedding ceremony itself. It was so solemn to be married in a small chapel with your closest family and friends and to exchange wedding vows in front of the Lord. Moreso, we had fun during our prep shoot with our bridesmaids, groomsmen, and family. It was so nice to see everybody dressed up so beautifully.
What’s your advice for other couples planning their intimate wedding?
Couples should enjoy the planning process as much as they can because it gets stressful as the wedding day approaches. Do not forget to have fun along the way. During our wedding day, Harley and I were both so chill as we were really present at the moment. We know that there are no perfect weddings so we let go of controlling every aspect and just let the day unfold as it is.
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It is also important to choose reliable and trustworthy wedding suppliers since they are the ones who will do the work and we feel very fortunate because of them. Planning to get married during the pandemic is no easy thing with the restrictions changing every now and then. Always keep in mind to follow the guidelines for everyone’s safety. We are eternally grateful to the Lord for granting us to get married on our original date.
