Since that wedding was important to me, it was imperative that I had a haircut. So off I went to see Celeste Tuviera who owns and runs Symmetria Salon in Connecticut, Greenhills for a trim. At Symmetria, everyone presumed that I was going to Ruffa’s wedding because it was obviously a red-letter day in showbiz – and, yes, in the field of politics, too since a lot of the principal sponsors were government officials or wives of politicians (Manay Gina de Venecia was one of them).
Even the day before, there was already excitement in the air. Everyone asked me if I was going to Ruffa’s wedding. While I kept answering in the affirmative, at the back of my mind, I was a bit worried about the possibility that the groom, Yilmaz Bektas, wouldn’t make it to the wedding given the fact that all the airports in Turkey were shut down because of the US-Iraqi war. Well, as it turned out, I need not have worried about an Yilmaz no-show because as I later found out, he is the type of romantic who would have swam, walked or crawled all the way here from Turkey just to marry the love of his life. As he told Lolit Solis during the wedding reception, "I’d get here even if I die." No wonder, Ruffa was immediately swept off her feet.
And so, knowing that Yilmaz had flown in safe and in one piece (but, hey, that was one hell of a route he took), I started preparing for what had been dubbed as the wedding of the year.
The invitation card (very Turkish in design – complete with a tassle at the bottom) indicated that the wedding was taking place at half past four in the afternoon. Although it was a Turkish-Filipino wedding, I figured it was still going to be Filipino time. After all it was going to be held here and everyone would be caught in traffic. True enough, while most of the guests came in at 4:30 p.m. (or even earlier), the ceremony didn’t start until about an hour later.
Even if the wedding was held in a place that was inaccessible to public transportation, Ruffa’s fans still came in droves and tried to watch the proceedings from across the street. The arrival of celebrities was heralded by shrieks and the more popular the celebrity was, the louder the shriek.
The first celebrity I saw was Ricky Davao. He was by himself near the back row since wife Jackie Lou Blanco was excitedly playing stage mother to their daughter who was one of the flower girls.
Then, I bumped into Philippine STAR columnist Maurice Arcache and, later, my brother-in-law, Cebu Vice Mayor Michael Rama. In a matter of minutes, Eat Bulaga boss Malou Fagar showed up in an utterly feminine salmon long gown and I wondered in my head what Joey de Leon and Vic Sotto would have said had they seen her – considering that she shows up for work at the studio every day in mannish jeans.
Before I could say hello to the other guests, Ruffa started to walk down the aisle in her Inno Sotto bridal dress. She was extra radiant and extra beautiful. I don’t know if it was Ricky Reyes’ handiwork or the inner happiness and fulfillment emanating from within her, but Ruffa looked extremely divine on her wedding day. She could have beaten 10 Misses World, 12 Misses Universe and dozens and dozens of Misses International title-holders had they been fielded in a beauty contest. She looked not like a princess, but a queen – and I’m not exaggerating.
After the ceremony, off we went to the reception at the NBC Tent, which was a mere seven steps away from where the wedding ceremony was held. Although the reception committee showed me to my assigned table, I decided to break rules (but don’t tell Annabelle Rama that I did) when I saw Lolit in table no. 19 – along with Douglas Quijano. Yes Magazine editors Jo-Ann Maglipon and Anna Pingol, movie journalists Jerry Olea and Jojo Gabinete, photographer Boy Borja and Jun Lalin, who was on pins and needles because he occasionally had to do some trouble-shooting during the reception. With Lolit there, I knew I’d be taken care of. And what fun we had there in that table. Unfortunately, I couldn’t share with you the conversations that took place in table no. 19 because it may spark a war bigger than the one going on in Iraq. Later, GMA-7 big boss Wilma Galvante (one of the principal sponsors) also joined our table and I must say that she looked youngish and lovely in her blue long gown, which – so she later complained – was really long because the seamstresses forgot to shorten its hemline.
The only time we kept quiet – but only for a brief while – was when dinner was served. (Catering was by Le Souffles.) The meal started with a to-die-for plate of greens and pan-fried goose liver with seared scallops. I had two servings of that when everyone else only had one. How? Ask Lolit. Only she could have done the trick. I’m telling you, next time around, just stick with her and you’ll never know hunger.
Then, it was on to soup – clear essence of wild mushrooms – before proceeding to the main course, Chilean sea bass, then lemon sorbet to cleanse the palate, until finally, black Angus tenderloin with baked potato and steamed broccoli.
Dessert was heavenly: Gateau Gloria, Princess Carmen and special mango roll – pieces of pastries that aren’t very sweet, but delightfully delectable.
Looking at the interiors of the NBC tent that was dressed up for the wedding, you see an abundance of floral arrangements and for a while there, you suspect they probably don’t have tulips in Holland anymore because all the blooms there must have been flown here for this special occasion.
Near the entrance stood a 10-foot tall wedding cake in different colors (and with (Swarovski crystals and 24-karat gold trimmings) that took Heny Sison a month to prepare. That cake was really so huge, I thought initially that it was part of the NBC Tent’s structural design – the one post that supported the entire building.
But the piece de resistance was Yilmaz’ announcement about the arrival of Baby Bektas in August as he dangled a pair of baby booties in front of all their guests during the reception.
Surely, that will be another cause for celebration. The baptismal party probably won’t be as grand as the wedding, but definitely it won’t be any less meaningful.