yesterday was the wedding day of my niece karen (daughter of ruth corazon and jovito) and ronald. the ceremonies at the aglipayan church in naguilian town proper started an hour late.

but i would say that the ceremony was handled well by the very patient young priest from cagayan. it was my first time to attend an aglipayan wedding. and the symbolism of the ceremonies, the chord, candle, aras, veil were patiently explained in such a way that at the end of the ceremony, one will understand the sacrament.

anyway, even if the ceremony started late, the wedding was TOO early especially for my niece karen. she's only 17! it was a choice between holding the wedding now and holding later as a baby is on the way.

ronald is from hacienda santa isabel in ilagan town. this place made history when, in the 1980s, it was a battleground for agrarian reform imperatives. the hacienda, bastion of tobacco monopoly, has been owned and controlled by elites and the people there finally found a cause to fight for their land tenure rights.

on the eve of the wedding ceremonies, there was a gala. it is dance, dance, dance night for the young and old. it was organized well with the presence of barangay officials giving warnings to anyone not to create trouble and to respect the family occassion. well, done kapitan! and of course, the gala was a time for the bride and groom to dance together and while they are at it, frineds, relatives and well wishers pin money, money, money on their clothes. it is fund raising plain and simple for the bride and groom!