Boracay Island - Destination Wedding

"Hey dude,...thanks for coming. I really didn't think you guys [me & Brian] were gonna make it."

- My cousin Miguel aka Migs. One of the thirty-something times he delivered this line, which couldn't be said with any more drunk sincerity.



I got the 'save the date' back in January when I was in still in Colombia. Mom & Dad were making plans to go already. I had this conversation with Brian:

me: hey dude, are you gonna go to the wedding?
Brian: I can't think of any good reason NOT to.

BOOM. And that's all it took.
Good reasons to go: reuniting with the Fam (aka The Vea Clan), welcoming new Fam, both my parents B-days, Mother's Day itself, and oh yeah...not to mention chillin' on one of the nicest beaches that I have ever set foot on. Soft white sands + clear blue waters = paradise status.


So believe me Migs, it wasn't a 'mind bottling' decision at all.

















Nice to see you again Mom & Dad...
CANNON BALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Boy,.. you crazy if you thought that I was gonna miss out on on THIS:


Where it all started:
The Body Weight Counter


Apparently, we were flying in the midst of a major storm making it's way through the heart of the Philippines. Every pound counts when you're flying on one of these small planes with propellers that stick out. We did our Pacquioa, Pacqauio, Pacqioau, Pacquiao showdown poses on the scale to help the flight crew calculate the total weight of the plane. But not long after all the passengers boarded, the flight crew was asking for 10 volunteers to disembark from the aircraft and to take the next flight out. So either the weather conditions were getting worse and couldn't handle the heaviness or the original weight calculation was thrown off by the Jollibee Champ burger & Chicken Joy that was sitting nicely in my stomach which I ate after the weigh in.
Eventually, the volunteers went and after a bit of passenger shuffling by the in-flight crew, meaning if there is a hefty man sitting by the window in seat 7A then it would make sense to relocate the chunky lady to the now vacant window seat 7D, we were all set to go.



It rained during take-off, was bumpy at times in the air, but after a quick 1 hour flight, we touched down safely in the small town of Caticlan on the island of Panay. The Philippines is an
archipelago of 7,100+ islands. We needed to take a small boat aka banca to reach our final destination island of BORACAY!!!



YES!!! We made it to the soft white sands just in time for a birthday dinner. But up above, the gloomy skies were making a nasty move.


Happy Birthday Mom! Buffet #1 - Grilled eats and pasta galore!


Maybe the girls wanted their beauty rest, but the boys weren't going anywhere. It's been over 2 years since the last time we all kicked it so we had much catchin' up and reminiscing to do and what better way than over buckets of beer, especially right after a buffet. BRILLIANT! But this was no ordinary night. You know like when your driving on the highway and the guy in the passenger seat rolls down his window and doesn't realize that there's a guy sitting right behind him? That's what it felt like the entire night; we were that guy sitting in the backseat. Powerful winds did not take a break. Most of us have been here before, and we've never experienced anything like it. This storm was kicking up sand and knocking hats off of people's heads. Seriously, Non-Stop winds. The wind transfered its energy into the water and we witnessed some major high tide action. Not only was he a bit worried about the weather conditions for the wedding in 2 days, but Migs was also concerned about the guests who were still flying in the next day.



The waves are sending ripples all the way up the steps leading into the restuarants on shore.


But no need to fear for Miguel & Marina have offered EGGS to the church...









Cheetah-Dog???




...And what do EGGS have to do with anything you may be wondering? It's been a tradition here in the P.I. to offer a dozen eggs to the Sisters of the Santa Clara (patron saint of good weather) convent to help you pray for perfect weather on big days just like this wedding. It wasn't perfect by Wedding's Eve, but with the weather clearing up, everyone was able to make it to the island safe and sound for this joyous occasion.

Friday evening LUAU w/ Obama. - Once again, never ending food & drink.


The Vea Klan



The Wedding Day

Good job Sistas...the prayersilog (prayer + eggs) worked!!! Dozens and dozens and dozens of eggs were offered and you couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

And the weather wasn't the only thing that was perfect.
1 of 4 breakfast buffets - Garlic Rice, 2 Eggs, Bacon, Corned Beef, Bangus (milkfish) =Perfectsilog.
Over the long weekend, I think I offered my stomach about a dozen eggs as well. I love health.


I've never seen so many fans at a wedding, and I'm not just talking about the human kinds. The church was loaded with electric fans.



SUPER Congrats Migs & Marina!!!


The Sunset Reception on the beach = SIC.




Appetizers & H'orderves





The Paparazzi was in full effect capturing that sun meets the ocean colorful backdrop.





The Love Agency and their #1 client - Me. Co-founders, Kyla & Toby (my niece & nephew), making connections one client at a time.


We Cousins.




We located our seat numbers, and ushers wrapped our wrists with lighted-neon bracelets as we entered the main reception area looking for our table. Our table was at full capacity as I was seated will a bunch of my cousins. But we managed to make room for one more extra surprise guest: Johnnie Walker. That's right. One of the waiters delivered about a dozen glasses and a bucket of ice to our table and placed a brand new bottle of Black Label right at the center of the table. And just as sure as drinking coffee gives me instant dooks, I knew that drinking Johnnie would give me instant drunks. Sip by sip and slowly but surely, we were all heading to a level of complete Dumbness. All in the name of good fun and in honor of the Happy Couple of course.



Yet another buffet - Low-Carb diet.


As the back of my knees continued to sweat (a mixture of HEAT and the Meat Sweats), we were entertained by Fire Dancers, special song performances, and classic speeches including one by my Tito Doy (father of the groom) who, to my surprise, delivered shoutouts to Couchsurfing.com, Google, and other 'group friends'.







Playing with Fire - lighting sparklers for the Newleyweds.


Migs' last words were classic. They went something like: "No one's driving home tonight. We're all drinking. Let's party. We can all crawl back to our rooms."

And with that said, the party quickly went BONKERS. We got DUMB. We got CRAZY. We were THERE. This was a CELEBRATION for the ages.




Check out this Tri-Lingual Jam that just brought the House down. I only have Black Label to thank for an epic performance like this:






It couldn't have been said better than these words from my cousin Ninna:

"...now I KNOW that although a destination wedding may be more complicated to plan and to attend, it gives us all something way more valuable than the practicality and convenience of an in-town wedding: It gives us TOGETHERNESS. Days of time spent together, bonding and getting to know each other. Priceless, irreplaceable days that we live for."

Hmmmmmm, maybe a destination wedding in Argentina or maybe Colombia or perhaps Brazil is in the near future....Baaaaaaaaah!