Nineteen days before she exchanges “I do’s” with Ogie Alcasid at a beach in Batangas on Dec. 22, Regine Velasquez is unfazed by wedding jitters that usually cause sleepless nights among brides-to-be.
“I’m ready,” said Regine during a one-on-one with Funfare after the launch of her double CD titled Fantasy (released by Universal Records) last Wednesday at the new Thaipan Restaurant on Scout Lazcano St., Quezon City. “My last taping day is on Dec. 10 and after that Ogie and I will attend to small details na lang.”
The red gown by Monique Lhuillier is ready but Regine hasn’t tried it on, aware as she is of the Filipino superstition (pamahiin) that it brings bad luck to the couple being wed. According to Filipino tradition, there must be “something old” and “something new” at the wedding. The gown is part of the “something new.” Asked if she and Ogie have prepared “something old,” Regine smiled. “None yet. Wala pa ako doon sa part na ‘yon.”
Even if Monique was “fully booked,” she readily accommodated the order for Regine’s gown as a nod to Ogie’s being an endorser of the family’s Lhuillier pawnshop business. In contacting Monique, Ogie sought the help of Monique’s mother, the former Amparito Llamas who was one of the Caltex beauties in the ‘60s.
Pres. Noynoy “P-Noy” Aquino will act as one of the secondary sponsors so tight security is expected in the area. It was Ogie, together with Noel Cabangon, who wrote a song that was performed at P-Noy’s inauguration last June 30 at the Rizal Grandstand.
Ogie’s ex-wife Michelle van Eimeren, now happily married to a fellow Australian, will take care of the floral arrangement, while the ex-couple’s daughters Leila and Sarah will be members of the entourage. It will be one big, happy family affair.
Regine will march down the aisle to the tune of Iniibig Kita, a wedding song composed by Ryan Cayabyab. But the song is not included in Regine’s Fantasy CD, her second for UR after Low Key (2008) which earned a Platinum Record Award from PARI (Philippine Association of the Recording Industry).
One CD contains 12 original OPMs: Been Waiting (by Francis “Kix” Salazar), Always (by Ramon Luis Silvestre, a duet with Jay Perillo), This Time (Nyoy Volante), True Romance (Janno Gibbs), Sana’y Laging Ganito (Edwin Marollano), Ok Lang Ako (Chito Miranda), Fairy Tale and S.M.I.L.E. (Noel Mendez), Smile (Robin Nievera), Funny One (Isabela Ledesma), and Walang Iba and You Don’t Know (the carrier single) both by Ogie.
Songs on the other CD are: Fantasy (by Gerard Kenny), All My Life (America), I Go Crazy (Paul Davis), What About Love (Heart), Papa Don’t Preach (Madonna), You and Me (Lighthouse), Without Me (Clair Marlo), Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop (Landon Pigg), Love Will Keep Us Alive (The Eagles) and Dying (Five For Fighting).
For Fantasy, Regine has agreed to pose sexy, something which Ogie wasn’t very pleased about.
“He won’t necessarily like it but he won’t stop me naman from doing what I want to do,” said Regine. “He understands. But we didn’t fight over it.”
After the wedding, when she becomes officially Mrs. Ogie Alcasid, Regine said that nothing much will change except that when she makes decisions, “Kailangan ko na sabihin sa kanya.” Their life together will probably change only once they start having children --- “Kung magkaka-anak ako,” smiled Regine, 40. Told that she and Ogie will find it easy to have one, Regine said, “We can try. Kung bibigyan kami ng Diyos ng anak, eh, di okay.”
Their honeymoon will be “on hold.”
“Baka next year na ‘yon,” she said.
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com)