It was the first choice. A country-style theme for our wedding, I feel, will best reflect our personalities. We have no wish for a grand and formal setting, but we’re not too bold and playful either for a more whimsical setup. Although early in the preps, I almost deviated to a ‘paper and lace’ theme (because of my love for the two materials), the country-style theme has won me over again in the end.

But I had a slight problem. Our theme, as defined as it may sound, is actually quite vague, especially if you’ll consider that different parts of the world conjure different images of the term ‘country-style’. British country-style depicts an English countryside landscape with its cottage houses, floral gardens and courtyards, with tea and teapots and bread pudding on the table. American country-style, particularly those in the Southern regions, paints the picture with a barn or a farm or a river view as the backdrop, complemented and accentuated with materials you would commonly see in these places. I’m sure other prominent cultures like Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Spanish, etc have their own take on what is ‘country’ for them.

So my challenge was to define a country-style wedding in Philippine setting. And the Filipino culture being so diverse and multi-faceted doesn’t help that much. I also had to go easy with ‘Filipino details’ so as not to cross the line between a Filipino country-style and a Filipiniana theme. To find ideas to work on, I had to revisit old memories of childhood summers spent in the province, because the province is where lies the true heart of a Filipino countryside. And what was I reminded of?

I was reminded of fruit-trees growing in the backyard; of potted plants lining the front yard; of pieces of furniture and home decors and almost everything inside the house made up of native materials such as wood, wicker, rattan and Capiz shells; of grandma’s laces and pearls and jewelry boxes; of oil lamps and wooden picture frames.

Warm, homey, laid-back and rustic notes dominate my memories and I want the same to resonate during our wedding.