The Ceremony

June 14, 2008: The Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe was the beautiful setting for our wedding ceremony. We feel blessed to have united in marriage and joined three rich cultures together – Irish, Mexican & Filipino. Our wedding ceremony honored each of those cultures and brought together many wonderful wedding traditions.

Groom & Groomsmen Formal Wear
Barong Tagalog describes the formal men's wear of the Philippines. It is properly referred to as the 'Baro ng Tagalog' (dress of the Tagalog). The Groom and Groomsmen each wore a custom hand-woven jusi fabric Barong with a unique needlework pattern.

Bride’s Bouquet Lucky Horseshoe
Irish brides used to carry a real horseshoe for good luck. (Turned up so the luck won't run out). Today’s brides carry a small replica with their bridal bouquet. My cousin and Matron of Honor, Aundrea, brought a horeshoe over from Ireland; it was beautiful with my bouquet.

Wedding Coins
The Unity Coins are a contemporary version of the traditional wedding coins, used in Ireland, Mexico and the Philippines. They symbolize our commitment to mutually contributing to our relationship, our children, and our community. Each coin includes the “Celtic Marriage Knot” and a unique design representing one of thirteen universal tenets of marriage: ~:~ Love ~:~ Trust ~:~ Commitment ~:~ Respect ~:~ Joy ~:~ Happiness ~:~ Harmony ~:~ Wisdom ~:~ Unity ~:~ Nurturing ~:~ Caring ~:~ Cooperation ~:~ Peace ~:~

Wedding Veil & Cord
A wedding tradition in Mexico and the Philippines, the Couple's Veil has come to be a symbol of purity. Its original meaning was the symbol of the presence of the Lord, as the cloud was a symbol of His presence. It was placed over our shoulders to symbolize our union and being "clothed as one" in unity. The Cord is a symbol of our bond; that we are no longer two but one in our new life as a couple.

The Rehearsal Dinner

Friday - June 13th. Yes, our rehearsal dinner was on Friday the 13th - but no bad luck or mishaps came our way! Our rehearsal was held on the street in front of the church...'why, you ask?' Because the church does not allow 'practice' inside the church. We all gathered in front of the church and pretended it was the aisle - our wedding planner then directed the 'rehearsal'...we all enjoyed the unique venue. We all gathered for dinner at El Dorado Restaurant - a beach front location in the "Romantic Zone" of Puerto Vallarta. Guests enjoyed the Fajita Buffet and bottomless Margaritas. Although we tried to keep speeches to a minimum - we had a great time bringing our parents, bridesmaids and groomsmen front and center to thank them for all their support and love! We both really enjoyed our rehearsal dinner and valued the time we could spend with our family and friends - we even found time to eat!

Keeping In Touch

We have had so many requests to post our wedding details and photos - our previous wedding website has its limitations, so we thought creating this blog would be the best approach. We will post small descriptions of our ceremony, reception and honeymoon and load as many photos as possible. We hope you enjoy and stay in touch with us!