Andrew and Cristina met at different times. How? Cristina first saw Andrew during their Botany class way back in pre med at UST. It wasn't love at first sight, but there was something that caught her eye right away, maybe it's his good looks (as Andrew would persist). They never talked during that time; he was like another cute boy who just happens to pass by, then forgotten. Andrew, on the other hand, first met Cristina during their internship at Manila Doctors Hospital. It wasn't love at first sight according to him, but he was stricken by her long beautiful black hair and beauty.

They started out as friends, going out for lunch with the rest of their friends - the usual stuff. Tina got to know Drew a little bit more during those times. Amabelle, their good friend, then had this idea of pairing them up. Tina just asked her to spy a little about Drew, little did she know she was trying to pair them up. Tina would remember Drew's story about Amabelle telling him to court Tina. "Siya ay langit, ako'y lupa." How dramatic! But Drew thought about it, and said "What the heck, maybe she's the one." So, the frequent telephone calls and the lunch outs started. They became good friends and one time Tina told him he was her new best friend. Little did they know it was the start of their love story. Months pass, Drew never formally said his intentions but little did he knew Tina was already falling for him. Amabelle would be their bridge and a good one at that. Tina would confide with her and so did Drew. She made ways to help Drew get the courage to court Tina. One incident that Tina would never forget was that time during the hospital's Ruby anniversary. Drew was one of the dancers for the department during a contest. She went for moral support, greeting everybody good luck. Then came Drew, she told him good luck and to her shock he gave her a kiss on the cheek. She smiled, that's all she could do at that time. After Drew left, Tina and one of the staff who was with her looked at each other in surprise and then started to tease her. After the contest, which they won third place, Drew went back to the laboratory, where Tina was on duty. Maybe it was the exhilaration from winning the contest, Drew found the courage to come up to Tina and tell her how he felt about her. He would follow her everywhere she goes. When he asked her finally, Tina was out of words. Maybe because she felt it was too fast or (according to Drew) his good looks! He sang to her that night, holding her hands, assuring her that his intentions are pure. She would remember him telling her he loves her in different languages - how romantic is that? Who could resist? Finally Tina gave Drew her sweet yes. They became a couple on August 18, 1996 at 5am in the morning and they became inseparable.

During their conversations, Tina would recall one of her friend before internship telling her that she has met the guy whom she will be with after reading her palm. Looking back, she realized that it was true - he was the cute guy she saw during her botany class.

Maybe it was fate, or just mere coincidence, but whatever it is God has his wonderful way of letting two people meet and fall in love.


A Blissful encounter....

Five months till our wedding day, almost everything was in place except for one important thing - our wedding rings. We've been to all the jewelry shops from Makati to Mandaluyong, Binondo to Meycauayan canvassing for the perfect wedding bands to complement our dream wedding. But alas, despite the countless bargaining and endless designs presented to us, we just couldn't find "our ring".

A few weeks pass, we had our appointment with our caterer in their shop at Eastwood City, Libis. Little did we know that this was the day we would find "our ring". While Tina was discussing the wedding details, Drew was looking around the shop to allay his boredom. As he was looking at their china and cutlery display, he happened to notice a batch of rings displayed on one of the shop's glass show cabinets. He then asked one of the shop keepers to show him the display. To his delight, Drew went hurriedly to Tina to show her the rings. Suddenly, discussions about table arrangement details were changed to which design was perfect for our ring. We tried which ring looked good. Besides from the wedding rings, Tina tried on their eternity and solitaire engagement rings trying to give Drew a hint that "hey honey, how about my engagement ring?"- Because Drew hasn't given her one yet. Nevertheless, we found "our ring". It was perfect, Tina's ring looked even better with the eternity ring she tried on. We asked for their contact number and that night we called Mye to set an appointment. Mye was so kind to meet us early the next day because our time was limited, Drew needed to come back the next day to Nueva Ecija because of his job. We met Alain and Mye at Dome Cafe at the back of Makati Med 8 am the next day. It was a "blissful encounter". They were the nicest people we met. They showed us other designs besides the one we saw earlier. But we were decided; we wanted "our ring". They got our ring sizes and showed us their quotation. It's a deal! (The best we've made yet) Drew then made Tina withdraw at the nearest ATM for the down payment. Little did she know, Drew was up to something. He was discussing the eternity ring Tina loved for her engagement ring.

Three months before the wedding, Tina was certain that Drew will not be able to give her an engagement ring and it was alright. The ring was not important anymore, besides, they had the perfect wedding ring. But little did she know that Drew has "something up his sleeves". The week before their 8th year anniversary, Drew came back to Manila from Nueva Ecija. He told Tina that they will be going out that night when he gets back. For some reason Drew was late, he came late in the afternoon. Coming out of the car, he had with him 3 red roses, which he said was his gift to her for being late. Tina of course was so happy to have them, it has been some time since the last time Drew gave her flowers. Then they went out that night for dinner. Having decided where to have dinner, Drew parked his car. He gave Tina a book for their anniversary and told her to open it afterwards. Then, he went out to get something out of the trunk. It was a beautiful bouquet of flowers. It was so beautiful that Tina cried. Asking her why she cried, Tina answered "It's just what I needed." She never felt so good for so long, maybe it was all the stress of preparing for the big day. So they went and had dinner, the smile on Tina's face could not be erased - she was so happy. After dinner, they went for a walk at the boulevard with the book he gave Tina on his hand. When they reached the other end they sat down for tea. Drew then handed Tina the book and asked her to open it. It was entitled "Staying Married... And loving it". Drew asked Tina to open it and inside was a small card attached on the front page. Inside the card was written "There comes a time in every man's life when he must take a chance and choose a wife. That time has finally come to be. Thank you for marrying me!" It was so sweet, Tina was about to cry, then Drew asked her to take of the little card and to her surprise was the eternity ring she wanted. Tears started to roll from her eyes, she was speechless. All she could ever say was she was happy. The timing could never have been more perfect!

That blissful encounter with Alain and Mye that day at Dome, started into a friendship. Up till now, we meet up with them to talk about how things are. We just did not found a good supplier during our wedding, but a good friend. Friends we cherish and care for all times.