‘Trust that God will be in the journey with you’
What started out as a supervisor and team member relationship ended up at the altar for Mark Julian Cunanan and Lei Sison. The couple was married on April 25, 201 with a civil ceremony and on June 3, 2021, they celebrated with their family and friends. “It wasn’t the typical love at first sight. Our love was the kind that developed over time,” says Mark, a new media supervisor.
Lei, an account manager, shares that she was “really hands on with all the preparations”. Below, she shares with Inspirations.ph how they managed the stress of planning their wedding despite the changing guidelines and restrictions:
What was the theme or motif of your wedding?
Our theme is rustic with whites and greeneries. From the beginning, we knew that we wanted our wedding to be simple yet beautiful, and within a budget of 350-500K. I was really hands on with all the preparations–sourcing, researching, spreadsheets, bookings, and all.
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Some of our must haves and non negotiable suppliers are our video team Bow & Arrow Films and Acsions Band. Most, if not all, of our suppliers were from a Facebook group and we had no regrets as everyone was really hard at work in making our wedding the best and most perfect day of our lives! And we were able to achieve and stay within budget for our 2 weddings (April and June)!
Was this the original wedding plan?
We were supposed to get married in Tagaytay last April 2021 but ECQ happened and so we needed to resched. However, we chose not to let go of our original wedding date and pushed for a civil wedding instead as it has a special, personal meaning to me and my family.
Last June 2021, we were finally able to celebrate our simple yet beautiful garden wedding in Tagaytay with our closest family and friends and some of our friends from work who have witnessed firsthand how our love started and flourished. It was indeed a great second wedding because we were given a bright and sunny day in spite of the rainy season.
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What were the challenges encountered during the wedding preparation?
It was insane–physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting! We were supposed to be approaching an exciting buildup to our wedding, instead it has become full of anxiety and stress due to the very unpredictable and scary situation we were and still in.
How did you handle the challenges?
Despite the heartbreaks and stress we felt back then, Mark and I just reminded ourselves that we are still fortunate that we are healthy and safe as well as our families. We are also just thankful in knowing that our marriage started strong and ready to face more of life’s inevitable surprises and challenges.
How did you feel during the wedding?
Even the day before our wedding, we have been so stressed out because of the storm signal #2 that was declared in the area. In fact, I was not able to sleep until around 3 AM as I was really praying hard for the rain and thunderstorm to stop. Everything was perfect though during our wedding day, as we were given the best weather on our wedding day.
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Despite everything that happened, still we were lucky that we were by each other’s side through it all and that we were able to enter into a marriage at a time the world was shut down. We were just so happy at that moment thinking that it’s finally happening and we got to celebrate it intimately with our closest family and friends.
Do you have advice for couple planning their wedding?
We know that it’s very easy to feel disappointed when things do not go as planned but just hold on to each other, to your love, and just trust that God will always be in the journey with you and that inspite of the uncertainties that this pandemic has brought, things will always work out for good in the end. It might be exhausting and extra challenging these times but when you finally get to marry the love of your life, all is surely worth it.
