John and Monique: Salt and Light

She stood him up on their first date — in Boracay! On July 2, 2009, nearly eight years since that snobbery, she was back on the same island as a lovely bride to the man who waited for her that night. Monique Lopez married John Mateos Ong at the Seawind Resort after what, in my personal, uneducated but often-right opinion (LOL), required much divine intervention (Hey, all the best love stories need God’s hand!).

This awesome pic from Imagine Nation tells their story in a nutshell:

John and Monique already have two kids, aged 7 and 4, and John has another daughter aged 12 from his first marriage. He says:

Originally surprise dapat eh… They (kids) were excited… Actually sila yung chismoso at chismosa, telling people we are getting married.

The couple was civilly wed just a few weeks before their Boracay affair. The groom shares:

I was wed dati so it took time before I got my annulment.  I attribute everything to Christ who prepared this wedding.  If I had gotten my annulment any earlier while I was still a broken person, malamang I’m filing for my second annulment now.  Now, everything just seems perfect.

Oh yes, it is.

The inscription on their rings says “In Christ Alone.”

On the other end of the lens: John wears a Veluz.

Monique was John’s competitor in the events industry when they met. By his own account, he tried to pirate her but failed. Well, he sure succeeded this time. Big time. LOL.

Isn’t the bride absolutely foxy? This is what happens when a stunningly pretty face meets the hand of Madge Lejano.

All gowns by Cecilio Abad, WeddingsatWork’s 2008 Supplier of the Year.

Like most Boracay weddings, this one was placed in the very capable hands of Boracay-based coordinator Amanda Tirol.

John says many of their supplier-friends offered to document their wedding but he invited them as guests instead and stuck with his own talented team — Imagine Nation. The wedding had NINE official photographers (beat that!), and as per a guest’s count, just about 40 people shooting at the same time.

Everything about this wedding seems ethereal, almost spiritual…

My FAVORITE shot. There is just so much love in this hug. And check out the rainbow! The symbol of a new life, as in the time of Noah — an unmistakable stamp of approval from The Guy Up There.

Congratulations John and Monique! May your love grow with the years and shine as a testimony of the Lord’s goodness.

John shoots John (and Monique)

If you were one of the country’s top wedding photographers, who would you choose to shoot your engagement session?

John Mateos Ong answers: Me.

John, founder of Imagine Nation Photography, married his long-time partner Monique Lopez in Boracay last July. But wait, rewind. May 1: The two were already in Boracay — no, not for the wedding, that is SO early! — for work, according to John (which I suppose means a wedding shoot?). Anyway, since they were there, they went ahead with an engagement session at the Alta Vista de Boracay on the island’s hillsides.

John says:

I’ve got no experience posing for another photographer, my one way plane fare to Boracay cost a ridiculous P7000+ and no way was I spending another 10 grand to fly a photographer in. So we decided to do it on our own…

In wedding parlance, this is a DIY (see, even suppliers are practical!). Check out the final product:

Pretty cool, huh? And then they start to sizzle…

Okay kids, close your eyes… This is flaming hot. 8 P

And this is just plain sweetness…

I asked John what it was like shooting your own engagement, whether it was hard or it felt funny. Well, apparently not on both counts. From him:

Well… it wasn’t that hard except that the weather wasn’t cooperating (raining) and since we were working while shooting we were pressed for time.  Pero praise God ok naman kinalabasan.

It was better than okay, actually. Waaay better. As only John Mateos Ong can do.

Coming up, their wedding and their story. I don’t know these two personally but the tidbits I got from John on how he and his uber pretty wife got together is enough of a testimony. You’ll know why soon. 8 )