‘All the worries and stress before the wedding went away once the ceremony started’
From college sweethearts to Mr. and Mrs., Kevin Michael Raval wed Kaira Nicole Dimatulac last February 1, 2021 at an intimate wedding at Our Lady of Ephesus Chapel in Silang, Cavite. It was followed by a garden reception at Bella Rosa Gardens with just 60 of their closest family and friends.
The couple met back when Miko and Kaira were in college and and were about to be featured together in a magazine back in 2009. “We didn’t start dating until 2011. We were also classmates in some subjects so we practically spent majority of the week together,” Kaira recalls.
Miko, who is best known for his work in ABS-CBN’s The Killer Bride, proposed at Wondae-ri Birch Forest, South Korea in December 30, 2019. A month later, the couple had reserved their wedding venue for a 200 pax wedding. Yes, they too were one of the soon-to-weds whose wedding was thrown off course by the global pandemic and the Taal eruption.
After months of waiting it out to see how the pandemic would unfold, Miko and Kaira resumed planning their wedding when Metro Manila was placed under GCQ status. They chose an outdoor reception and cut down their guest list to 60.
Below, Kaira Dimatulac-Raval answers what it was like to plan their wedding.
What were the challenges you encountered?
The biggest challenge would have to be the uncertainty because COVID is still around and we were planning to have a mass gathering. So we were afraid of having someone bring it in and infect people during the event. To handle the fear of COVID, we chose to set up a swab testing session for everyone. We did it 48 hours prior to the wedding and we asked every single one of our guests to stay home (or to be in a bubble) after taking the test and getting negative results to ensure everyone’s safety.
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How did you feel during the wedding?
We were very happy and relaxed the entire time. All the worries and stress before the wedding went away once the ceremony started. The reception that followed after made us even more happy, seeing everyone having fun and having a great time with everyone else. It was just feelings of gratitude, love, and happiness at the same time.
What are your tips for planning a covid wedding?
- A seasoned event coordinator is highly recommended for an event as big and as important as a wedding. They will really help you out plan every little detail that you might miss out on. If you hire a professional wedding coordinator, you won’t have to worry about anything during the entire course of the wedding.
- Find the right suppliers. Ask your venue if they can provide most of the things needed in a wedding so that you wouldn’t need to talk to so many suppliers.
- Invite only people that are your closest. Doing this will make your wedding extra special.
- Set a budget. Doing this will make sure you will not overspend and it will make you really think of what’s important and what’s not.
- Get a professional and reputable Photo/Video Team. Your wedding is one of the most important events in your life and you will want to make sure that it is captured perfectly on pictures and on video. This will be the thing that you can keep forever to relive the very special night of your life.
- Get a Live Stream provider so that you can share your big day to loved ones who will not be able to physically celebrate with you.
Scroll down below to see the photos of Miko and Kaira’s wedding by Nice Print Photography!
