Why the wedding of Boots to King made us laugh & cry

This is a wedding review of a particularly peculiar type of wedding. The fact that it was the wedding of possibly the most decent and proper individuals on the face of Earth made it even more peculiar.

The guests in full regalia crowded the small chapel at the Archbishop’s Palace in Mandaluyong that had almost become an auditorium. With a principal entourage led by Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada, Susan Roces and Marichu Maceda, no one would have been surprised had music filled the halls. We half-expected the crowd waiting outside to start tapping their feet and clapping their hands in anticipation. For a brief moment, we thought we were at the Smart Araneta Coliseum anxious for the show to begin.

Such was the atmosphere at the wedding of Boots Anson-Roa to lawyer King Rodrigo. Boots is such a well-loved figure with hardly any scandal attached to her name. We say “hardly” because of that tsismis of her and a certain top government official while she and husband Pete Roa were living in the US many years ago. Of course, it died a natural death but while it was making the rounds, we were secretly glad about it. To us, it showed that Boots was after all human and not a saint, at least not yet.

From the very moment Boots and King reached the chapel and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle took the microphone, there was nonstop laughter. The Cardinal was such an entertaining speaker, he put everyone at ease. He joked about Boots and King having children, asked them if they were sure about getting married, repeated the question several times. The guests seated outside the chapel could hear the laughter and some of them I knew asked what it was all about. All we could say was that everyone had such a good time.

While we are not one for dressing formally and attending weddings that very often are a drag, we are happy to report that the King and Boots nuptials was the most enjoyable one we have attended. We have known Boots for quite a while ever since we would visit their home when her late husband Pete was still alive. In fact, we have known Pete longer than Boots ever since his days at the FEU which we used to frequent. After that, we would join in for smoking and mahjong sessions at their home which Boots always frowned upon. We soon gave up the smoking but kept the mahjong habit, but Pete was a more difficult person to convince. So she let him be, even as she would care for him and his many illnesses that never left him for the rest of his life.

Now that Boots and King are married to each other, it appears to us and to all who have met them together that they are meant for each other. It has brought tears to the eyes of those who know them well. In their private discussions of what changes would transpire after the bridal ceremony, they have decided to keep things as they were. King will still keep his office as international lawyer based in Alabang but will go home to Q.C. where Boots lives. Since they are both widowed with King seven years older than Boots, both find no difficulty in adjusting to a new lifestyle. It is also expected of them to continue visiting the crypts of their respective past spouses — Pete for Boots, and Olga as King’s first wife. And we can also expect that from the afterlife, both Pete and Olga will give their blessings.

(E-mail your comments to [email protected] or text them to 0917-8991835.)