Ninong si kong.

One of the things I hate with the pinoy wedding culture, is having someone with "high profile" as sponsor (ninong/ninang). For me, a sponsor -- as the definition implies -- must be someone who can genuinely guide you in your marriage (so, para sakin, out na rin ang mga matatandang malapit na mamatay -- haha, sorry for being mean). And not someone who is just rich and/or famous whose role is to simply make your wedding grande. And definitely not someone you expect to give a huge amount of money as a gift. After all, it is a wedding, a celebration ...not a business nor an investment.

That's why when Lou told me we'll be having a congressman as one of the sponsors, my initial reaction was: *taas kilay* "e kaano ano mo ba sya!?" to which he replied, "family friend, and neighbor." ugh, fine.

So last weekend, we went to this congressman's house to formally ask for his permission, to have him as one of our ninongs. He's young, not an old one that I've been imagining (sorry masyado ako nag-ge-generalize haha), and surprisingly I was quite delighted.

He's at the late 40s, but got married just about 7 years ago -- proof: his eldest child is only 7 years old, and when he got married, GMA (who was a president then) was one of his sponsors. He excitedly narrated his own wedding held at the town's parish church, with the courtyard as his reception venue. He proudly told us that the courtyard isn't actually open for weddings, but being persuasive, he convinced the priests to say yes.

He then narrated how he reached 40s without getting married. When he was younger, like most guys, he believed that he must first be "established" and stable before having a family. Then he reached 40 -- at that point he realized, there's no such stage called "stable". Everything constantly changes, you will always have new dreams, plans ...and even debts. he realized he should have went with the flow as these things came. Because waiting for all these to settle down would mean being a relatively-old father for 2 kids. And that's the part he regrets.

One time he took his kids to Universal Studios. He felt bad he couldn't ride the roller coaster when his daughter asked him to ride with her. He can't, coz just by looking at a roller coaster, he's already having a heart attack! (exage of course. hehe) He also doesn't enjoy the long walks anymore, but at times he is forced to, he has to go with the hyper-ness of his kids!

Then he said how lucky we are to catch him on a Sunday. Because during Sundays, he and his family would go to a mall outside of town so he can enjoy the day with his wife and kids, with all privacy. He has always preferred that even if it meant traveling an hour (or more) just to reach a mall, coz when shopping within town, unknown people -- masang sambayanan! -- would approach him asking for money! (grabe!)

All in all it was a fun conversation. As for me, I kind of removed the stigma in having a "high profiled" sponsor. After all, they're humans too who can genuinely give advice on marriage, and even fatherhood. I guess what's NOT good is when you randomly pick a person as a sponsor, high profile or not. Worse -- when you randomly pick a person who you'll meet for the first time, on the wedding day itself! I guess at the end of the [wedding] day, what's important is having someone you know who can guide you in your marriage in one way or another.

We left his house having his full name (that's one of the reasons why we went there. It's a church requirement). That, and the meaningful afternoon conversation made us cross an important item in our checklist. Therefore... We had a wedding accomplishment for July after all! wee! :)