Patrick Antonio Jr.-Joan Bondoc: Childhood friends become playmates for life
No, it wasn’t love at first fight for Patrick”JR” Antonio Jr. and Joan Marie Bondoc who were playmates during their childhood years.
Their mothers — Michelle “Girlie ” Antonio and Miladel “Milo” Bondoc, both beautiful ladies involved in civic and charity work — are very close friends.So JR and Joan saw each other during family gatherings, but lost contact through the years.
In 2001, after finishing college, summa cum laude at Notre Dame de Namur University in the United States,JR met Joan again at his niece’s birthday party and the friendship was rekindled. They started dating and after several years of going steady, breaking up and being together again, the couple realized they could not be apart. So they decided to get married.
Naturally they got the blessing of their moms and their dads—former Congressman Patrick T. Antonio of Cagayan Valley who is now into agri-business as owner and CEO of SSF Agri Products Corp., and Mariano “Nitoy” Bondoc, a businessman with ventures in mining. schools and property development.
JR is a hardworking dynamo who helps manage the family business. Joan is a dedicated educator who teaches at the family-owned Benedictine International School.Oh yes, she is the sister of actor Onemig Bondoc.
It was a beautiful sunset wedding at the Madre de Dios Chapel at Tagaytay Midlands amid the scenic view of the Taal Lake and Volcano . Reception followed at the Tagaytay Midlands Clubhouse which had a Great Gatsby theme complete with giant lamps, feathers, flowers and silver tablecloths. With a seven-course meal, guests dined and wined till way past midnight.
