I Do

I was looking through our wedding photos when I came across one that was taken while the personal vows were being said.  We didn't really plan on writing personal vows - we always thought St. James (our church) didn't allow it.  Plus, Alvin was initially against it, shy type daw.  It was only about a week before the wedding when we checked and found out that they DID allow it, and so I required him to write his, haha! So we started writing.  Contrary to other couples, Alvin and I read our vows to each other prior to the wedding ;) We wanted to make sure our vows, when put together, made sense and were not redundant, or anything.  I cried while he "practiced" reading it to me, so there were no tears anymore during the actual reading.  I cracked, though, when I read mine! Hee.  Wedding video here:

As for the personal vows, I thought of immortalizing them here, as I am not sure how long these index cards will last ;) Plus, it would be nice to read them once in a while, eh?

Vin:
"Days after the welcome night for the new members of the Ateneo College Ministry Group, I was already asking my mom and dad, 'Meron ba akong Chinese blood? Kahit mga 2% lang...'
I stand before you now, after more than 5 years, still with less than 2% Chinese blood and now with a few Fookien words and phrases in my pocket.
Marybeth, it was in wanting to find and serve God that I found you. It was in wanting to follow Him that I was led to you. This is what makes everything about you, about us so special and so right. Now, with God's overflowing love filling my whole being, and in front of our beloved family and friends, I promise to love you with all my heart, mind, body and soul.
I promise to be always by your side, I promise to be patient when you're late or when PTC (Parent-Teacher Consultation) is already going overtime, let you use the vanity mirror of the car, watch Star Cinema movies with you, make you laugh and cheer you up when you're down.
Motivate and support you in everything you do. Next to God, you will be my #1 priority. We will be together in everything babe. We will always be a team and I will never leave your side. I will be a good husband, friend, and partner to you and I will love you for the rest of my life.."

Marybeth:
"I found my 2005 planner and discovered that only 3 months after we met, I was already writing my wedding guest list. I may come across as assuming but looking back, I see how this is proof of how everything about us is just so sure and secure.
 In the almost 6 years we've been together, there was never a break up, never a fight that did not end over an hour after it started.  Each day began and ended with an assurance of your love.
Today, in front of the people I love most, I promise to love you all the days of my life.
That means being more than ready for a lifetime of having to sit thru morbid and gory movies, of learning how to play Dota, of checking out cars and knowing the difference between mags, double overhead cams and fuel pumps. I promise that there will always be a warm smile and a big hug to welcome you after a long day at work.
We will celebrate our victories together and go through life's disappointments only with the comfort of never having to be alone. You, along with our family, will be my #1 priority. Beginning today, there will no longer be I's but only we's.
Paulo Coelho once wrote, 'To love is to be in communion with the other and to see in the other the spark of God.' Not only has loving you brought me closer to God, but it is also through you that God's love me for becomes evident. You are the reason why I now fervently believe in answered prayers. You are my answered prayer.
Above everything else, I assure you one thing today and everyday...
You will always have my love."

Cheers to almost one month of being a Mrs. ;)