monsoon wedding

first off, keena, one of my friends, got married last sunday, which was probably the rainiest day in los angeles history.

one of our friends, freddie, flew in from the bay area to attend the festivities. we were joined by a good friend of mine, richard, who i take my hat off, for braving the nasty weather and the torrential rains that memorable afternoon.

the church was at the wayfarer's chapel in faraway rancho palos verdes. the scene was just absolutely breath-taking. imagine a small chapel, nestled on top of a hill, overlooking the pacific ocean. it was beautiful. the chapel in itself was a gem of a beauty. the walls and the roof were all made of glass and the trees outside made it look all the more artsy and pretty. i could just imagine how keena wanted the perfect scene to be, with the beautiful sunset capping the wedding ceremony.

because of the rains, the picture-perfect scenery was somehow, well, i can't find the perfect word. it wasn't destroyed or something but it was not what was originally conceived of.

on our way to the church (which was roughly 70 miles from where i live), we passed through puddles of water along the freeway and some parts of the streets in san pedro. it reminded me of the strong typhoons back home, and the floods that used to torment commuters in metro manila. it was a long drive, made even longer by the uncertainty of the fickle weather. by the time west 25th st. in san pedro became rancho palos verdes drive south, we encountered yet another stumbling block. the road was closed. with the street being all slippery, i could just surmise that there was an accident somewhere.

we were all unfamiliar with the place and it took us a lot of effort to finally find the church. let's just say that from my place to the church took us more than two hours. anyway, it was all worth it. the wedding was at 4:00 pm and by the time we got there at 4:30, i saw steve, the groom. he told us that we have not missed a thing since it has not started yet. after about an hour, the beautiful bride made her entrance.

the entire ceremony was simple and sweet. the couple looked really happy and so in love withe ach other. to keena and steve, congratulations and best wishes! your wedding was indeed unforgettable.