Photo by Toto Villaruel

I sure was very happy with the turnout of our wedding. The styling. The attendance. The Laughter. However, there are still some things I wished I took care of better during the wedding especially on the documentation side of things…

I wish I practiced my smiles, emote looks and poses.

Taken by Linus Paterno

I knew that as bride I would be the most photographed person of the day. Therefore, as I bride, I needed to look phenomenal in ALL photos so best smiles and slimming poses were in order. BUT since I am more of a behind-the-scenes type plus I had a gazillion things to take care of like work, getting back to health (yes I got super sick weeks before the wedding), wedding planning, practicing my smiles, emote looks and poses was the last thing on my mind. Darn.

I wish we had taken more photos. PERIOD.

Photo by Nicolai Melicor

I know we already have like 5,000++ RAW photos. But still, even after briefing the documentation team thoroughly and reviewing all our photos, I wished we did not rush the picture taking at all. Dodong and I were so worried about the well being of our guests, making sure they wouldn’t be super hungry, that we rushed picture taking Boo!

Also, after seeing the photos, I thought of so much more cool and fun photo ideas. Not that I was not happy with the shots, I just wished I thought about it more.

I wish we had taken more photobooth photos of US

Dodong and I only had ONE. OMG only one photobooth photo of us. Grrrrrrrr! That is just sad. We could have gone wild with all the cool props, but no. We only had ONE photobooth photo Super UNLIKE!

I wish we had taken more photobooth photos with our guests

We only had THREE photos with some of our guests That is also so sad. Our reception venue was on the second floor, while the photobooth was at the 1st floor. I guess we were just so busy taking care of our guests and enjoying the program to remember that we had unlimited photobooth downstairs. Sadness!

Look at how much fun they had at the photobooth…

But anyhoo, I’m still happy despite those regrets. At least I can share these with future brides-to-be so that you can also maximize that one special day to be all pretty and photographed. Hehehe!

P.S. We’d like to thank BaiCapture for being our photobooth partner for the night.

Like a lonely little dog

It's been a week since he left. Wow a week, 7 days, 168 hours…It as been a whirlwind on trying to get back to both our regular programming: Dodong working in the desert while Inday works in the Philippines. We miss each other so much and I've learned more about us these past days.

I know that I've shared a few of those signs how he shows he misses me. But I really just want to share more signs (which I've observed in the past 7 days) how I know that he does miss me so much…

He replies lengthily to our daily journals

We're on our 7th daily journal entry today and he has replied to 6 of them already! Each of his reply entries is not just the usual 2-3 sentences but a good long 5-7 paragraphs. He really takes the time out to write (or rather type up!) about his itinerary for the day and his thoughts and his feelings. Don't you just love reading long "love letters"?

He made a Pagudpud pic as his phone's wallpaper

He couldn't get enough of staring at our Pagudpud getaway photos on Facebook, so he uploaded his favorite Pagudpud photo on his mobile phone. I must admit it isn't our photo together but just a landscape photo. Dodong told me he couldn't bear looking at our photo every single time as it would really make him sadder than he already is. Awwwww ain't that just heartwarming at the same time heartbreaking. Sigh.

He always wants to see me on the webcam

Aside from our daily journals, part of our everyday routine is to chat with each other. Now he always (I do too!) wants us to chat with the webcam mode on. It really is different seeing each other in a pseudo face to face setting. It is a relief at the same time painful. Lots of ironies here right?

He wants me to spend my last pay on a roundtrip ticket to Dubai

I recently got my last pay from my previous company. The money is actually enough to get myself a roundtrip ticket to Dubai, but since I have other things to pay like day-to-day expenses, bills and more. So this idea is like HELLO!  But Dodong is really sweet for saying "Hey you can buy a ticket and stay with me…" Maybe he would be buying me my ticket soon? Hehehe!

Last but not the least…

He already is seriously talking about OUR FUTURE PLANS

I won't expound on this much. I must say I am really excited and so looking forward to it

You think Dodong really misses me?

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

Baby did drive his new car: Sharkface, the 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer EX

Dodong recently bought himself his dream car, a 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer EX if I am not mistaken (I am not exactly into cars…they are all the same to me. Hehehe!). Of course, the timing of the purchase and delivery of the actual car was during this homecoming so that he would be able to break it in. And what better way to break-in his new Mitsubishi Lancer EX through a nice long road trip to the tip of Luzon: Pagudpud Ilocos Norte.

So last Wednesday, we took a very loooooooooooong drive to Pagudpud. The drive was around 11-12 hours through 600ish kilometers of highways and side streets from Manila.

So was the drive worth it?

DEFINITELY!

The roadtrip was the perfect opportunity for us catch up and reconnect more in an isolated setting (Yes, it was just the two of us) with such a limited time (Huhuhuhu!). Here are the things we did in Pagudpud:

Rest!

Kapuluan Vista is a really nice resort at the end of the Blue Lagoon area

We stayed at Kapuluan Vista Resort, where we originally booked only one night. BUT since we were really pooped from the long drive, we decided to extend our stay and added another night.

Dodong (the driver, of course) was so tired that we actually spent rest of the afternoon and evening just sleeping!

Explore the beauty of nature

Dodong exploring small caves and crevices in the Pagudpud shoreline

Pagudpud is not just beaches. Though it was my second time to go there (the last time was around 15 years ago. Hehehe!), I discovered so many other things we could do aside from swim.

Pretty shell found on the rocky Pagudpud shore

I personally would not recommend swimming in the Pagudpud beaches because the waves are just too big and the undertow too strong even a strong swimmer like myself can't survive. So we did take a nice leisurely stroll on the rocks and picked up nice shells as souvenirs for our respective houses.

The Hills are Aliveeeeeeee!!!

Beside the beaches are hike friendly hills, which we did explore too. It was a quick 5-minute walk from Kapuluan Vista and a 15-minute hike up the hillsssss. The climb will give you a spectacular, breathtaking view of Pagudpud! We felt so blessed by God when we saw the beauty of his creation Really! If we would have more time, we would have hiked some more. Maybe next time

Eat the glorious local specialties

When in Ilocos, eat Ilocos longganiza!

For us, who really love to eat (me in particular), the food is a highlight I was so glad that part of our package with Kapuluan Vista was free breakfast and Ilocos longganiza (sausage) was one of the choices. I definitely went for it and enjoyed every bite. YUM!

We also ate the famous Ilocos empanada, deep fried local delicacy of a flaky pastry dough stuffed silly with veggies, Ilocos longganiza and egg. Unfortunately, the picture is just crappy (it was just too dark!) so I won't upload it. Hehehe!

Take lots and lots of pictures

Dodong setting up the stage for our picture together.

Of course, there must be proof that we were there…together! The only downside of being just us on the trip is that we couldn't take as much pictures of us together. Hehehehe! Most of the pictures in my camera is of Dodong, while his camera is full of my pictures

But we were creative enough to use the timers of our cameras (well, mostly his camera) to be able to take pictures of US. All we needed was a stable and sturdy base to place the cameras on with a nice view of course.

Would we go back to Pagudpud? Hmmm…of course, since we still had a lot to explore. We missed out on one of the other rock formations, the falls, and the long hike up the hills. But instead of driving there, we'd be flying in the next time. You can actually take a plane to Laoag and have the resort pick you up from there. The drive was just too tiring. Hehehehe!

Would you go to Pagudpud as a homecoming date too?

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

P.S. So sorry for the crappy quality of the pictures. My camera seems to be acting up. Huhuhu too!