Daniel & Carol

Our Story (as told by the groom) I am going to share with you a little story. So join me as I take you through our wonderful journey ;) UST College Seatmates We met at the University of Santo Tomas in June 2000. We were classmates and seatmates for 2 years. That's where it all started.. We have been friends since college. We kept in contact even after my family and I moved to the U.S. on April 2002. We both enjoyed keeping each other informed about our lives for years even if we had no clue on when we would be able to see each other again... Fast-forward to 2009… I guess the best part of the story happened when I agreed to be the best man at my best friend’s wedding. Around July 2009, I received an e-mail from my high school buddy Rudolf. He asked me to be the best man on his wedding. I haven’t gone back to the Philippines since I left in April 2002. I had no plans of going back anytime soon either but I could not pass up the opportunity to see my best friend get married. I was glad I decided to go because this has led to the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me... Months before the wedding, I asked my friend Carol to be my date for the wedding. We haven't seen each other in long time so I thought it would be great to share a day with her. I believe the term I used to ask her was to be my “arm candy” for that day. She immediately agreed and I was very excited to see her. (Note: I’ve had a crush on her since Freshman Year College.) She did more than agree to be my date for the wedding. She volunteered to plan my whole 2-week vacation. I was so excited that she planned for us to hang out even though she had to work. So I arrive at midnight on August 29, 2009. The first thing I did was call Carol to tell her that I have arrived. We had planned to meet up the next morning but it seemed like we were going to cancel because Rudolf had to do some last minute preparations for his wedding. I was disappointed and I could sense that she was too. However, all turned out alright and we were able to meet the next day. After 8 years of being apart, we finally saw each other again on August 30, 2009. The first meeting was a little awkward. We haven’t seen each other for so long that I didn’t know how to act in front of her. We hung out that day and all the feelings I’ve had for her all came back. I felt like I was 18 again. We went out a couple more times before my friend’s wedding. She took the time out of her busy schedule to tour me around my own hometown. I wanted to tell her how I felt for a long time but something always got in the way… my fear of rejection. September 8, 2009 September 8, 2009 arrives and I could tell this was a very special day. I get to see my best friend get married. However, I had a feeling that this day was going to turn out to be something more than just my best friend’s wedding. After the reception, we went back to the newlyweds’ hotel room to get a little rest. I was leaving in a couple of days with no plans of coming back for a long time. I knew that it was going to be impossible to see her again so I gathered up some courage to tell her how I felt. I told her that I have been in love with her for as long as I could remember. She cried. I cried. I asked her to marry me as I knew in my heart that she was the only woman I wanted to spend my life with. She said she was going to think about it and we should try having a long distance relationship and get to know each other better in the process. So we did. I went back home but this time, I knew that I had a reason to go back to the Philippines… a very special reason.