The Other Side of the Story

Years before we tied the knot, I was simply giddy and euphoric just thinking of me going down the aisle. My imagination usually started with flower petals in the air and the church so silent and solemn except only for the wedding song playing in the background while I walk down the aisle. And it ends of course, with the perfect honeymoon I could ever imagine.

The little details about the wedding, like the guest list, the theme, the food, the venue, and all those related stuff made me so excited I've listed everything in my notebook, thinking of pressing the fast-forward button on the remote control of my life to that day.

I've wanted to marry him already and to much of my excitement, I remember even cutting out a wedding couple from the magazine and pasting his face and mine and putting it on my journal. That was how energized I am at the thought of just planning the wedding itself.

There was no question about our seriousness in settling

down. For more than eight years of being together, we were already confident that we were meant for each other. It was like the marriage ceremony is the only thing that will seal our relationship.

Then I got pregnant. Still, not a thing changed. He wanted to marry me more than ever and I felt the same way.

And then all the wedding plans circling in my head started materializing. With the help of my friends who are into events, everything seemed so easy. They were with me when I inquired at the church in my top-of-mind.

At the mall, they also helped me canvass for wedding rings. We also went to the venue where my wedding reception was actually held. All that happened in one day.

The preparation itself just took less than two months before the wedding. That was how fast my dream wedding was actually planned ready for execution.

And as the days neared my wedding day, I got sadder and sadder. It wasn't because I was contemplating about marrying the wrong person. As a matter of fact, I might have found my soul mate in him.

Days went by and I grew more nostalgic even before I physically left home. I was already becoming homesick to the point of crying at night thinking how I will miss my family and how different our lives will become after that. It wasn't also that I will miss my single life. In fact, I am sure that I've already grown out of it and made the most out of being single. At that time, I only wanted to stretch the days farther from the wedding day. I wished I had a few more days, few more months, and a few more years.

It was odd how I wanted to fast-track my wedding day. When it was just hours away, I felt I wanted to make the days longer.

It was during those moments I remember my Dad saying we've got to love one another as siblings and treasure every second of it. I was stunned by how it is actually true. During your singlehood, all you have to do is enjoy it and make as much wonderful memories with your family because in the end, they're all you'll ever have--the memories.

Back then, I didn't think it was jitters at all. More so, I have realised that people know only one side of a wedding day. They only see happiness, but of course, there really exists happiness beyond compare. But seldom will they feel the sadness and the yearning for the family the married couple leaves behind. In their tears of joy while the toast is given, there also are those tears of melancholy for the family.

In essence, there is nothing truer than what the Bible has to say, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined (cleave) to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24).