This weekend I learned that one of the little pleasures (amidst the multitude tasks) of planning a beach wedding is..."onsite planning"! Our motley crew of C, my mom, his mom, and I, journeyed to the "site" to check out venues, food taste, and meet with our coordinator.
When I chose to have a beach wedding my only reason really was because I love the beach (and so does C). I didn't consider that the dirty work of planning the blessed event could ever involve anything other than the usual suspects of watching your budget bleed at the seams, agonizing over the politics of a guest list, and chasing suppliers about town. Well, how wrong was I? It apparently also involves splashing around the water as you wait for your next meeting, working on your tan after you wash off your trial make-up, and eating fresh seafood as you discuss your plans with the coordinator...both of you barefoot in bikinis and sarongs, her confidence as she masterfully presents her slides to your future mother-in-law putting all your worries to rest. And winding down for happy hour with buy-one-take-one rum cokes while watching C play a pick up game of beach soccer.
Pictured above is the tasty clam (halaan) soup we had while meeting with our very able coordinator. We held the meeting in a cabaña/hut in our swimmies, her Powerbook protected by a towel. C & I had just come in from a dip in the pristine waters, and our moms had just come back from a jaunt to the market (oooh, bonding!) with a sack full of these big clams. They also bought ginger, spring onions, sili pangsigang (long green chilis), and tomatoes. We had the resort toss it all together for us and they made this delicious hits-the-spot soup.
Halaan soup has this wonderfully intense "from-the-sea" taste that I love. I don't have a recipe, but you can find one from Sassy at Pinoy Cook, just click here.
Ok, now back to real life and that bleeding budget...