Experiencing God’s Favor: Daniel and Kat’s Victorious Wedding Amidst a Pandemic

2020 will mostly be remembered as a troubled year due to the Coronavirus pandemic. However, through God’s favor, certain members of FOCIM experienced great victory last year. One such victory is the successful wedding of our dear Bro. Daniel and Sis. Kat Guinigundo held last December 20. Through constant prayer and unwavering faith in the Lord, Daniel and Kat received God’s favor towards the ultimate celebration of their love despite hindrances caused by the pandemic. In this article, Bro. Daniel and Sis. Kat share the details on how they were able to experience God’s favor in having a victorious wedding during this challenging time:

A number of significant events were cancelled or postponed last year due to the pandemic, what factors did you consider in deciding to still push through with your December 2020 wedding? How did the Lord guide you in making that decision?

Our first and most crucial consideration was the health and safety of everyone—our family, our guests, and even our suppliers. Thus, we monitored the infected cases daily, including the IATF guidelines on gatherings. We even considered the cases and the travel restrictions of passengers from abroad, as my mother in law would be flying from California and my sister in law is from Denmark. Along with the health and safety concern came the cost—we had to spend a hefty amount just to get our family tested in order to spend the night at the hotel. My mother in law and sister in law also had to get themselves swabbed upon arrival, while staying in a quarantine hotel until their results came out. Most of our suppliers also had themselves tested before the event. It was this factor that led us to downsize our wedding—from an event of 350, we reduced it to 30 people in light of the safety protocols and for the peace of everyone.

Our second consideration was the date itself—Kat and I went out on our first date exactly two years ago from our wedding date and it was really important for us to be married on that day.

Another consideration was the logistical concerns. We had hotel and even venue changes as close as one month before the event due to the LGU requirements on mass gatherings, which varies per locality and even per location where the event will be held, e.g. different rules if the event will be held in an events space or a hotel. We even had to get clearance from the LGU itself just to hold an event for 5-6 hours.

Thankfully, there was a convergence of favor. Everything seemed to align for us to continue our event on that day, which could only be attributed to God. Kat and I prayed, fasted, and also sought advice not only from our suppliers but from our inner circle who have not ceased praying and declaring favor for the event. Our wedding was also upheld in prayer during the Ministry Team daily prayers and our weekly prayer meetings. Ultimately, it was the words of the Lord in Isaiah that encouraged us to make the decision of pushing through with the event—“I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.”

Given the unfortunate impact of the pandemic, what major changes were made in terms of planning for your wedding? In what ways did the Lord help you in coming up with those changes in your wedding plans?

The most crucial change that occurred during the planning was deciding to split our wedding into two events—the intimate ceremony in December and the full reception this April 2021, which we are still deciding on whether to push through, given the continuous rise of cases this month. We wanted to push through with a bigger celebration because our wedding was supposed to be a reunion of sorts— the Guinigundos, my father’s side of the family, from the States were supposed to fly in this December to attend the wedding, and we had not been together for an event since my parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary back in 2007.

Given this sudden split, we had to decide how many guests we can accommodate during the intimate ceremony in December. We ultimately had to decide on 30 guests, which is the allowable number of people allowed for mass gatherings in the LGU. While we could have accommodated more by transferring to another LGU, we thought it best to stick with this number, as we did not want to feel stressed with having a large group, due to the significant risk that it poses. While we had covered the safety aspect, we still wanted to have all our loved ones witness our declaration of vows—thus, we had to get a livestream supplier to cover the ceremony.

Given the IATF guidelines and how it changes from time to time, we had to rebook our hotel a month before the wedding as the one we originally chose for preparations canceled our booking as they were unable to receive a DOT certification in order to accept guests for vacation purposes. Worse, we were close to changing venues, from Paranaque to Taguig, as the former LGU had a more stringent requirement in terms of mass gatherings, denying our venue’s request to hold events.

Lastly, cost has always been a factor in our decision. Thus, we had to change our caterer a few months before the event, and we had to negotiate with our different suppliers in order to get the best price possible, which would not skimp on their expertise, and that which would not be too tight on our pockets. Thankfully, they were gracious enough to be flexible in their pricing.

The gamechanger in all these was God. Normally, struggles can be taken as signs to not push through and to give up. In light of all the prayers and the sudden favors in the midst of these setbacks gave us the resolve that the Lord would honor our desire to still have our wedding on the first day we met two years ago. He taught us that nothing is impossible with Him and that He is above any of our worries and our fears about what tomorrow may bring.

Besides your victorious wedding, what else can you thank the Lord for while looking back to 2020? What do you look forward to this year as a married couple given that 2021 has been declared as the year of completion?

God really works in mysterious and ironic ways—despite being far apart, we felt closer than before because the lockdown allowed us to have couple’s devotion almost every day. We started in Genesis and we are currently in Esther. God has given us fresh perspectives and insights as we learned about Him together. It was also in the year 2020 that we experienced several milestones as a couple—Kat got promoted to Senior Associate in January, I was able to graduate with double honors and travel home safely last May and June respectively, our families were able to meet and bond for the first time this December, and our family home also began its construction this year.

Moving forward, we know that 2021 will bring forth more manifestations of His power. We are expectant to see our home get completed, my completion of my studies at the Asian Theological Seminary, the bigger wedding in April, and hopefully, a third member of the family soon, God-willing!

What advice can you give to couples who are planning to have a wedding in the midst of the pandemic?

KNOW YOUR PRIORITIES. Your dream wedding of 300-500 pax may not happen anytime soon. You have to cut corners. There will be times when your expectations do not match reality, especially given the cost, with the limited number of suppliers available, and the health protocols and tests that you have to comply with. Frustration will creep in due to the many requirements and preparations that need to be done given the present pandemic. There will be last minute changes—at the end of the day, however, what matters is that you and your partner will be getting married, with guests or not, with a big wedding cake or not, with a grand reception or not. Never forget that what matters is the both of you and that God be honored in your union.

IMMERSE IN PRAYER. Pandemic or not, prayer must always be on top of your list. We are thankful that our church community did not stop in declaring the success of our wedding as early as when the year began. There will be times that worry will creep in, especially with the rising cases and the risk that your event would pose. Counter that feeling with prayer and worship, and allow God to move.

LEAN ON YOUR SUPPORT GROUP. Kat and I have always been used to helping rather than being helped—during this time, we learned that we could rely on others as well. We had church members design our logo, choreograph our dance, provide our meals, and even assist family members while having their make-up done. While we did not have an official coordinator, my friends from the seminary gladly pitched in. Our family and best friends were also in charge of the whole program, which made our celebration even more meaningful. We had people to lean on when things were becoming challenging and we held on all their words of encouragement, which helped a lot in calming our nerves and in making sure that everything was prepared for the wedding.