Novel & Cerita The Wedding Dance By Amador Daguio

Musicians appeared… drummers, flutists, and string players, setting the rhythm for the traditional wedding dance. Kai turned to face me fully, his smirk softening into something more intimate. “Don’t be nervous …it is no big deal! Just follow my lead.” Then he moved. His grip on my waist was firm but gentle as he guided me forward. Fynn mirrored his movements, stepping in perfect harmony with us, creating a mesmerizing balance between the three of us. The dance was unlike anything I had ever seen; fluid, easy to follow, with graceful movements that mimicked the cycles of the moon.

“I was thinking about the ceremony too. I thought we’d each start in from opposite sides of the chapel to the wedding march. When we meet in the middle, the music will change to ‘It’s Raining Men,’ and we’ll dance together up to the minister.” “Adam. Could you be any more gay? Seriously? You’re expecting us to dance down the aisle at our wedding?” “You think it’s too much?” I asked. “That we should save the dancing for after we’re married, when we head back down the aisle? I was thinking of ‘Besame Mucho,’ and we could do a tango out of the chapel together.” “Please don’t go all groomzilla on me, mi amor,” Javier said. “We’re going to get married. Isn’t that enough?”

There was dancing as well as dining, and because Estelio kept on filling her wineglass, Charley was tipsy by the time Dami De Santis arrived by her chair to invite her to dance. There was a hovering second while she hunted around for an excuse to refuse him, then his hand arrived beneath her elbow to propel her to her feet. "Come on," he said dryly. "It is expected that the groom dances at least once with his bride’s maid of honor." Charley thought that was supposed to happen after the wedding, but the telling quiver struck again, making her too tense and too breathless to say it as he drew her against him on the dance floor and smoothly urged her to dance.

Laughter rippled through the hush, loosening the last threads of tension, followed by cheers. I lifted my glass to Dante, and for the first time that day, the knot in my chest eased. Our glasses clinked softly. We were about to sit down when Dante turned to me, something gleaming in his eyes. "We can’t have our wedding without our first dance, can we?" I blinked. "Dance? I... I didn’t expect—" "Just one dance." His smile deepened, playful and sure. "It’s tradition." The room murmured its approval. Felix adjusted the music without missing a beat.

Nobody wanted to be the first ones up there, though. Finally, Joemar stood up and extended a hand. “May I have this dance?” “I suppose so,” I said. “Somebody needs to get the party started!” Joemar put a hand on my hip and guided me in a salsa-like dance that matched the fast music. I could keep up, but just barely. Everything was perfect—my sister had gotten married, and my parents were happier than I had ever seen them, and I had the most wonderful date at the wedding. I didn’t even care that people were staring at us. If anything, I liked the attention. We looked good together.

“Let me.” As dusk settled and fireflies began to blink between the trees, someone brought out a harana guitar, and the music shifted to slow, swaying love songs. The couple took to the center of the yard for their first dance, Simon beaming with pride, Leonora graceful and barefoot on the packed dirt. The guests clapped as the couple began to sway, slow and sure. Then came the money dance—a beloved Filipino wedding tradition. The elder guests lined up with crisp bills in hand. Marisa pinned a folded twenty-peso note to Simon’s collar while giggling. Ramon took his turn next, pinning one on Leonora’s back while muttering something about “children by next year.”

I’ll still always call her Amory or mi Amor, but it signifies she has moved on from everything those names represent (my love). From the speeches, we move on to our first dance as husband and wife, and we’ve selected a song called ‘Ninety Nine Years’ by Josh Groban and Jennifer Nettles. Since Amory has already been married and had a father-daughter dance, we decide to do a joint father-daughter and mother-son dance to ‘You’ll Be in My Heart’ by Phil Collins. We serve the guests a light dinner before our pink and blue tie-dyed cake is cut and served and we do our champagne toast. Afterward, the bouquet is tossed and caught by Meme, her boyfriend responds by dropping onto his knee and proposin

“Not at all. We were just finishing.” Luca’s eyes glimmered with amusement. “Good. Because I was about to ask if you’d like to dance.” The challenge in his voice was unmistakable. Amara hesitated only a second before placing her glass aside. “Why not?” Adrian’s chest constricted as Luca extended his hand and Amara took it. She let herself be led onto the dance floor, her dress swaying as the orchestra launched into a waltz. Luca’s hand rested lightly at her waist, his movements practiced and confident.

They were in blue denim dungarees with white shirts beneath and white sneakers, looking adorable. They did a simple step dance but it was well-coordinated and followed the rhythm of the song. It was a song done by Bruno Mars, called, 'Marry You.' ~“It’s a beautiful night, we’re looking for something dumb to do Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you. Is it the look in your eyes or is it this dancing juice? Who cares, baby, I think I wanna marry you.”~

After my dance with Marco, I wanted nothing more than to disappear into some quiet corner where no one would notice me. My head was spinning, my chest was too tight, and the smile on my face felt like it was carved in place. But before I could slip away, Adrian’s father limped toward me, leaning heavily on his cane. I pasted on another polite smile as Marco gave me a final squeeze of the hand and slipped back into the crowd. “Will you give this old man the honor of dancing with the bride?” Mr. De Luca asked, his deep voice carrying both authority and warmth.