My DIY Rustic Wedding

Hello!

Yeah, I’m still alive. LOL I know, I know… it’s been a while. And I’m always saying this but I really do miss blogging and writing fiction. That said, I miss reading more. I miss looking at everyone’s photos, those gorgeous images taken from all over the world, taken by different people with different personalities and perspectives. I’ve never seen the northern lights. But I’ve seen it through your photos. Always through different lenses, always through different perspectives. And I will forever remain in awe at how beautiful that sight is when seen through your eyes, and his eyes, and her eyes… It just never looks the same way. Someday, I’ll get to see, no… experience… it for myself. But right now, thank you for letting me see what you see… For letting me in on the experience that is so uniquely yours. Thanks for sharing a little piece of yourself with me.

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I never said this but your photos here at the weekly challenges have gotten me through some pretty tough times. Somehow, they’ve provided me with  sweet, sweet escape from the mundane. Your images to me are like multiple windows and doors to different worlds and dimensions that I can just peer into, step into, and get lost in. More than that, your photos have given me inspiration. They’ve made me more ambitious, more eager to see the world. Knowing you has pushed me to travel more, to see more of the world, to taste more of life. So for all that, I’m grateful. I”m glad we connected via WordPress, that we became friends through photos.

Now, I get to return the favor big time. As you may already know, I tied the knot a few months back. I promised some blog followers photos and photos you shall get. 🙂 Here are personal pieces that only I can share with you. As much as I value my privacy, I’d just like to share with you a little idea of what the most important day of my life was like.

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The rustic theme is super trending so my fiance, now husband, and I really went for it. More importantly, we realized that it suited our personality as a couple. We wanted something simple but elegant, down to earth but generous… We toiled for months and months DIYing everything from the invitations to the souvenirs. Ariel designed the crates to be used as rustic decor and spray painted the wine bottles. I spent afternoons wrapping jute strings on more wine bottles and late nights sewing lace on burlap for our wedding invites. Together, we stamped wax seals on the envelopes. Together, we dressed up the little jars of homemade pineapple jam in burlap and jute. I plotted the seating arrangement like it was a battle plan. And I’ll never forget the sight of him steam ironing my dress the night before the wedding… Just remembering all that craziness paints a smile on my face. Neither of us have done anything like this before. It was his first time to make wooden pallets. It was my first time painting varnish on wood slices and wooden boxes. Our wedding organizer, who was fabulous btw, was really amazed at how much energy we put into the wedding planning. I can tell that he was super blown away by how OC I was about everything. LOL I gave the wedding suppliers printed handouts as thick as a baby thesis. hahaha I got backups of backups. I printed labels for everything

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Our organizer always be like: “Where did you buy this?” and we be like: “Oh, we made it ourselves.” Okay, it’s probably not wise to be experimental on your wedding day. For us, there was always this option to hire a stylist and then there’s always the risk of suffering DIY disasters. I mean, you only get married (for the first time) once… Ideally. If you screw up that photo wall, it’s screwed. But that’s the whole point. We only get to do this once. We only get to enjoy this once. So we figured, hey, if we make mistakes, we’ll make them together. And then we’ll just laugh at them together. It was kind of the same with this decision that I made to rock a face veil. I had a traditional church wedding and everyone urged me to wear a long veil. They said it looks better in photos and that it’s more appropriate for a Cathedral wedding. I was like: Screw appropriate. I’ve always envisioned myself walking down the aisle with my face bare and me smiling at everyone.

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In the end, the wedding was everything we wanted it to be and more… An intimate affair with us surrounded by our closest friends and family. It wasn’t perfect. It never is. But the feeling was.

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It was my husband’s idea that we should have tokaji (tokay) Hungarian wine for our wedding toast. Coz champagne is overrated, he said (though the ladies and I drank champagne at the bridal suite while getting dolled up). I said yeah, brilliant idea. My fiance didn’t know this but fans of horror will recognize it as the wine that the Count Dracula served to his guest, Jonathan Harker. It’s delicious.

Planning the entire wedding may have been experimental for us but our love is something that has been tried and tested over the years.

 

xoxo

K.Z. ❤

 

 

 

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Ligo Haibun Challenge – Peace

sunset

The day was over…

I would stand by the window and fix my eyes at the smoldering skies erupting in a nimbus of flame, its crimson ferocity reflecting the seething inferno of impotent fury screaming inside me. Earphones on, music in earsplitting volume, I’d watch in forced wonder as the setting sun spins a blazing web of fire. And I would drift off into a clandestine world… distancing myself from their pain.

But the problem with fantasy is that it’s hard to tell the beginning from the end. It kind of just swallows you and leads you on ‘til you find yourself caught in a fool’s dance… spinning round and round in a mockingly blissful rhythm ‘til your knees give way and you’re gasping for air. The red curtains close and you find yourself shrouded in perpetual darkness, staring at the obsidian sky… cold, indifferent, bereft of stars…

At his funeral, the sun began to set. And I stared at it expectantly, half hoping that it’d burn clean every last taint of violence and hurt. But no peace came… Only a bewildering net of mixed emotions… a sense of loss even. My anger evaporated.

I looked at the sky again and saw nothing but a feeble ginger haze.

Peace finally came
as the last embers of hate
fizzled within me.

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Ligo Haibun Challenge

Ligo Haibun Challenge – Peace

Daily Prompt: Childhood Revisited

I remember getting my head stuck between the stair steps…

I just wanted to take a look at Lolo (term for grandpa)… My grandfather, may he rest in peace, was very much respected — and at times, feared by employees and his children as well. Me and my brother always felt shy whenever we’re around him. I was scared of my father… my father was scared of him.. oh well, then, I was scared of him. But now I remember, he was always reaching out to us — the mighty businessman would get up from behind his desk… didn’t mind looking silly around his grandchildren as he unwrapped the presents that he brought for us from his trips to the U.S. (Batman, Barbie and Ninja turtles and plenty of chocolates!) Anyway, I was pretty curious about him so one December night, while we were staying for Christmas in their house in Manila, I snuck out of my room and stuck my head in between the steps to see what he was doing… My head got caught. I guess I started crying and before I knew it Lolo was trying to pull my head off the stairs. ><

I remember a few other mishaps that my curiosity has lead me to… Like the round glass table top in my grandma’s (mother’s side) living room falling on top me; I was trapped and I prolly cried in the end coz I remember a couple of men (my uncles maybe) lifting the table top off me……..etc……oh yes there were many more.lol

Oh well I was a curious child and it’s a trait that I carry even today. Anyway, that memory stuck with me for 3 reasons:

1) Though it may not be my first memory, it’s a memory that wasn’t triggered by photos or stories so I know it’s somehow important to me. I’m also very sure that it actually happened and is not just a product of my over-active imagination.( Like that time I saw a lizard that had the face of a cow on the wall when the clock struck one. I’m still torn, maybe that did happen…)

2) Believe it or not, those were memories of happier days. My father was abusive towards my mom and for a while, they lived apart. He never raised a hand to hurt me and provided well but I rarely saw him and I was a pretty smart kid so I knew what was going on. Perhaps my earliest memories were being terrified of him but learning to smile when he’s around, pretend like I’m a child and act like I’m not afraid… but well… I’d rather not remember those days…

3) It’s December… so that memory with me and the stairs and Lolo just came flooding back. I miss him. I wish I’d gotten to know him better. I wish he stuck around a little bit longer…. I wish I hadn’t seen him one day slumped on those very same stairs from the stroke that lead to his death. I was wondering why he was sleeping on the staircase 😦

Well, now that I’ve made your Christmases a little sadder, maybe my pic will make you smile at least? Yes? No? whatever, I’m still posting it. ^^

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What is your earliest memory? Describe it in detail, and tell us why you think that experience was the one to stick with you.

my hair was long.. looks short here lol they tied it at the back^^

Daily Prompt: See You in 20

Dear KZ 20 years from now,

I’m anxious. Tell me…

Are you happy?

Was life everything you hoped it would be?

Did you ever get married?

Did you ever move past your fears?

Do you have kids?

I need to know… are you a good mother?

Do you know your own children?

Are you healthy?

Have you continued to eat right?

Are you still in love?

Do you still see him the way I see him now?

Does he still make you laugh?

Do you still dress up?

Have you aged gracefully like I have always hoped?

Do you still keep in touch with your family?

Are summers still as beautiful as they are now?

You know what…. Don’t bother answering.

I’ve decided to live my life in such a way that all the answers to my questions would be nothing but a resounding YES.

We’ll make it. See you in 20… ^^

Forever no to Botox,

The younger you

 

more posts @ the Daily Post

a letter to my 14 year old self here

Daily Prompt: TODAY IS FIX IT DAY!

If I were to invent a holiday that would be celebrated all over the world, it would be called FIX IT DAY.
It would be a holiday where people would get an off-day from their jobs not to goof off but to reflect on their lives and decide on what needs to be fixed.

It could be the broken window that your wife has been nagging you to repair.

It could be your weight issues.

It could be your drinking problem.

It could be your job that sucks.

It could be your relationship with your children.

It could be the fact that you’re single but so desperately want to have someone to hold at night.

It could be that funny thing in your testicles that freaks you out but you’re just too much of a pussy man to have it checked out.

It could be that secret you’ve been hiding in the closet that’s pounding on the doors and begging you to set it free.

It could be an abusive situation.

It could be a much-deserved trip.

God forbid, it could even be your wardrobe!

It could be anything. It could be everything. It could be your whole damn life.

There’s just so much complaining. There’s so much fear. Too much hiding. But never enough action.
It’s sad that it would take a holiday for men to feel obliged to give flowers to their women… That it would take some bright lights and a tree for everyone to be a little bit nicer to each other… That it would take a new year for anyone to consider a resolution. So if what it would take is a holiday, then so be it.
The great thing about FIX IT DAY is that it’s not just all for show… People would be encouraged to do less talk and more actions.

So get your tools and fix that goddamn window. Then get your wife to bed and shut her up.

Take your paws off those cupcakes. Eat healthier. Work out.

Get those bottles the hell out of your house. Seek help.

Consider your other career options. Refuse to be stuck in a rut.

Sit with your children. Talk to them. Tell them you love them.

Ask him/her out. If they say no, move the hell on.

Grab your balls and go see a doctor.

Come out to your parents. Tell them you’d rather be with your best friend Jenny than your fiancé Tom.

Walk out that door. Never look back.

Pack your bags and jump on a plane.

Clean your closet. Stop wearing jeans that are two sizes bigger. Know your freakin bra size.

It’s challenging, I know. But here’s another great thing about FIX IT DAY. It’s also a day for KINDNESS and ACCEPTANCE. A day where people don’t judge others for what they’ve decided is what’s right for themselves. Instead, everyone is urged to support each other… To cheer each other on… To acknowledge each other’s courage and if possible, to help others reach their goals. And in return, they get the same kind of understanding… the same kind of encouragement… the same kind of love.

Since some people are just so easy to quit, I shall propose that FIX IT DAY is to be celebrated once every first day of the month so that people can assess and evaluate themselves and see if they are heading the right direction or if their goals have changed.

You know what the best thing about this holiday is? No companies will profit from it. Just you. Just me. And the happiness we are to get from it isn’t a fleeting one… but one that’s real and lasting and could only come from a life that’s being lived the way it should.

xo- kz