Cariaso Wedding

Last night, I delivered the photos and video of last weekend's wedding to the Cariaso household. Sophia, the mother of two friends in my high-school class and the bride in that wedding, thanked me and invited me in so we could watch the video and flip through the photos together with the rest of the family. I stayed there for four hours because, well, we're all good friends.

Despite that friendship, I never really knew the story of their family while I was in high school with J.D. and Denice. Denice, their eldest daughter, set me straight during the reception on Saturday. J.D., Denice, and their father, Edgar, moved to the U.S. from the Philippines in 1997, and the rest of the family (Sophia and kids Daniel, David, and Angel) was assembled in the next five years. By the time I started high school in 2003, all of them were here, so I thought they were just a family made here that maintained its strong Filipino roots (and cooked great Filipino food!). Hearing their story during the wedding Mass's homily, how they met in their childhood neighborhood and fulfilled their Catholic marriage obligations (especially the children part) even before they were officially married in the Church, provided an even more awesome story than the one I already knew.

As grandmother and granddaughter, husband and wife, watched the video and laughed at dance photos, I couldn't help but smile. I've known this family for a long time, but I was thankful to be a major part of the culmination of a long and happy life together, one that promises to be even longer and happier now. All weekend, and last night, every time Sophia and Edgar said, "Thank you," I made sure to say it back to them.