John Rey found his Joy

Sa hinaba-haba man ng prusisyon, sa simbahan din ang tuloy. This Philippine saying best describes the love journey of Joy and John Rey, two of my friends from way back. 

"Finally." That is what I said to John Rey as I congratulated him after the wedding ceremony. And he laughed. After all these two have been through, who'd have thought that they end up marrying each other.

We were classmates, and consequentially friends,  in high school. John Rey's family is my neighbor, while I've developed a friendship with Joy most probably because we're both Ibanag. 

Back in high school, John Rey already liked Joy. However, John Rey's bestfriend, Clang, who also became one of my best friends, did not approve of Joy for some reason. She disclosed during her toast that it was because she probably felt insecure because Joy was one of the brightest in class. Thus, she discouraged him from pursuing her. 

Fast forward to college, there had been positive development between their abrupt not-relationship in high school. However, this also did not go well. And the two entered different relationships, which also did not end well, obviously.

And then fast forward to years later. The two are both single. They meet again, after years of not speaking to each other, as mentioned by Joy in her caption of their photo (chismosa ako hahaha).

And now here they are! Now Mr. and Mrs. to each other!

I won a bottle of strawberry jam for getting the correct answer to "where did they meet each other". Clang, Diane and I were fighting for it. I was screaming, "Ibigay niyo na yan sa amin!!" Because really, we were classmates. It would just be right that the answer to that question would come from us. Hahaha!

Their wedding was not just a celebration of their love. It also became a mini-reunion for CNHS as many of their ninongs and ninangs were our teachers back in high school. It was my first time to see them again since after graduating in high school. Some even did not recognize me anymore.