‘An abundance of joy’

It was like fairy-tale wedding. The Prince had finally found his Princess and the entire kingdom came out to watch their wedding.

This was how Pampanga Vice Governor Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo must have felt when he married Angela Arroyo Montenegro at St. Augustine Chruch in Lubao, Pampanga. The church is doubly significant for the Arroyo family because this was where Mikey’s late grandfather, former President Diosdado Macapagal, was baptized. As President Arroyo likes to say, Mikey, after all, was a "favorite" among the grandchildren of the late President.

Mikey and Angela’s much talked about romance – with some sectors of Catholic society frowning on the engagement of the second cousins – culminated at the altar on Monday. Their romance got the blessing of no less than the Archbishop of San Fernando City, Pampanga, Most Reverend Paciano Aniceto, who also officiated the wedding rites with four other priests.

To cap the ceremony, Archbishop Aniceto announced that no less than His Holiness Pope John Paul II had sent his greetings to the newlyweds in a letter signed by his Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, from the Vatican in Rome.

The Pope’s letter, transmitted through the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Antonio Franco, was read by Archbishop Aniceto.

"On the happy occasion of their wedding, the Holy Father invokes an abundance of joy and peace upon Juan Miguel Macapagal Arroyo and Angela Montenegro," the Pope stated in his letter to the couple.

Part of the Pontiff’s letter read, "strengthened and sustained by the grace of the Holy Sacrament of the Holy Matrimony, the Christian union of Mikey and Angela will always be marked by mutual love, respect and fidelity and by unfailing harmony and confidence in meeting the challenges of family life…As a pledge of God’s continuing assistance, His Holiness cordially imparts to them and to all present at the ceremony his apostolic blessing."

When one gets a message like this from the Pope, it can only make for a happy and optimistic beginning.

Unlike in other weddings, neither the bride nor the groom shed tears. But as her father, businessman Herman Montenegro, gave her away to Mikey at the altar, Angela bit her lower lip as if trying to stop herself from crying.

Singer Louie Heredia sang Somewhere and I Will Believe during the ceremonies. Famed violinist John Lesaca played Seeing Through the Eyes of Love and other popular love songs while the newlywed couple and their principal sponsors signed the wedding documents. The Ateneo College Glee Club and Strings Minstrels drew the attention of President Gloria Arroyo who kept looking at their direction while they sang during the Mass.

Joe Salazar did the women’s gowns for the wedding; Pitoy Moreno did the men’s barong tagalog and pants. The favored fabric was piña, which President Arroyo wants to promote.

The couple’s flower girls – Angelica Alberto, Gabrielle Mondragon, Alelu Arroyo and Sophia Macapagal – ages four to six – wore the motif of peach and celadon green. Not to be outdone were the three young boys, Jose Luis Yupangco as ring bearer; Carlos Antonio Tuason as coin-bearer and Jose Lorenzo Yupangco as Bible bearer.

Christian David, Patrick Rosas, Marlon Suarez, Joel Bagamasbad, Helen Egan and Nelson Cruz did the hair and makeup of the wedding entourage. Gener Miranda, the official makeup artist of President Arroyo, also did the makeup of the bride’s mother, Charito Montenegro. GMA wore a Joe Salazar terno in celadon green accentuated by green ostrich feathers on her left shoulder.

After the wedding rites, the couple held a lunch reception for guests at the church courtyard. The lunch was catered by Cabalen, owned by fellow Kapampangan Maritel Nievera, and The Plaza. An air-conditioned makeshift tent was put up to accommodate about 600 people inside.

The menu from Cabalen included the restaurant’s special chicharon and famous Kapampangan desserts like halaya with gatas ng kalabaw, pastillas and maja mais. Cabalen also prepared seafood kebab, beef and pork satay, ukoy, lumpiang buko, spring rolls and leche flan. The Plaza, owned by Millie Reyes, prepared crepe pouch with heart of palm, shrimp in phyllo, pan de sal with kesong puti, and chicken and pork adobo flakes, roast leg of lamb, pancit luglog, kutchinta, pichi-pichi and maja blanca. They also set up a halo-halo bar.

Emerging from the wedding rites, an obviously happy Mikey disclosed that he and Angela would fly on Friday – a day after First Gentleman Mike Arroyo celebrates his 56th birthday – to the United States for a week-long honeymoon in San Francisco.

"I would like to thank all those who supported me, especially my constituents who came and took time to celebrate this very important part of my life," Mikey said. He made sure that the reception provided packed lunches to those who were not on the guest list.

"And I also thank God for giving me the opportunity to have somebody to love and to love me," he said.

Cabalens of Mikey lined up on the streets leading to the churchyard as early as six in the morning, as both uniformed policemen and plainclothes from the Presidential Security Group (PSG) surrounded the church areas.

A soft-spoken Angela got early training from her husband how to become a politician’s wife as Mikey whispered to her to smile and wave to the crowd that came to see them wed.

Angela did just that with a bright smile and the crowd loved her.