congratulations, dinah and bon-bon!

"do you know any ilongo*? no? let me teach you some cuss words!" - dinah

this quotation, uttered days before her wedding, sums up why, despite the fact that she is 9 years my senior, ate** dinah is my favorite cousin ever. days before her wedding, she was still her irreverent and giggly self. when asked how her and her soon-to-be husband, bon-bon, met, she deadpanned: "i got him drunk. or wait, did he get me drunk? it was at a bar... i think we were both really drunk."

*ilongo is the dialect spoken in negros occidental, which is where my mom and dad are from. it's different enough from tagalog that i don't actually understand most of it and usually require a translator.
**ate (pronounced ah-Teh) means "older sister/cousin/friend"... so for those of you who've been wondering about this blog's url, ate tin-tin is the name i commonly go by in the philippines.

***this is the view from the winding road to the tiny "chapel on a hill" where the ceremony was held. the entourage was so big (ten bridesmaids, ten groomsmen, twenty godparents) that, during some moments, there were more people at the alter than there were seated in the pews.

***

i've been to a number of filipino weddings, but dinah's was the first where i saw the following tradition. ribbons were place around both the bride and the groom, and while they danced, people would come up to pin money on them. apparently, this old tradition, to help newlyweds get on their feet, is from the province of iloilo and is being revived in modern, urban weddings.

the shirt bon-bon is wearing is called a barong, and is the traditional formal wear in the philippines and made from pina, or pineapple husk. it is delicately embroidered and sheer, usually worn untucked over an undershirt, which wikipedia says is a vestige of spanish colonization.

incidentally, dinah's dress, as well as accents on the bridesmaids dresses were also made of pina.

***

so, it turns out that people start asking "who's next?" before the wedding cake has even been sliced and served. and, all eyes turned to me because, haha, apparently, i'm *gulp* next--out of eleven cousins, seven down, four to go... not that i'm going to run off and get hitched simply because, chronologically speaking, it's my turn. but, it was amusing to actually observe the pressure begin to build as, one by one, aunts and uncles stopped by my table to ask: "when? when? when???" the right answer to the question would be "soon" or "next year" or even, "we haven't set a date yet." the wrong answer is my answer: "not soon." and it doesn't help to say: "no, i don't have a boyfriend." looks of consternation abounded. i sense that this is only the beginning.