Melissa & Eric: Meant for each other

When Melissa Mendez heard Jan Marini singing The Prayer while she was walking down the aisle to submit herself to Eric Gobencion for better or for worse ‘till death do them part, she cried a bucket even if it would ruin her make-up.

“I couldn’t believe that it was finally happening,” Melissa told Funfare. “I never thought I’d be walking down the aisle, committing the rest of my life to someone who is right for me.”

The Christian wedding, officiated by Pastor Luther Mancao, was held at twilight Friday, July 27, at Blue Gardens on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, which happened to be the (blushing pa rin) bride’s 48th birthday. The groom is 47, working at American Presidents Line (APL). It’s the first marriage for both.

“I found Eric when I wasn’t looking,” continued Melissa who has loved and lost, mostly with showbiz guys (by whom she has three grown-up love children; Eric himself is an unwed father of a 19-year-old son), and thought she would never love at all. “I believe that Eric was heaven’s gift to me.”

On July 27 last year when Melissa celebrated her 47th birthday, she invited Eric who begged off due, he said, to a previous appointment. Imagine how surprised Melissa was when Eric did show up with a huge birthday cake! For several weeks before that, Eric and his friends would spend leisurely evenings at the barbecue joint Melissa put up in front of her house. It was Melissa’s neighbor, Eric’s friend, who suggested to Eric to try Melissa’s barbecue — and he liked it…rather, the lady who was cooking it!

“That night,” recalled Melissa, “I noticed how charismatic and respectful Eric was, something I didn’t notice when he and his friends would come to have hapi-hapi over barbecue. He was cariñoso. When he danced, I was so fascinated because he moved like a bagets. That night, I felt something special for him.”

Soon, they became friends.

“There was no courtship at all,” said Melissa, adding in jest, “sa edad namin, hindi yata uso ang ligaw-ligaw pa.”

On Nov. 6 last year, Eric gathered enough guts to propose to Melissa. True to their faith, they agreed to tie the knot in a Christian wedding that made Melissa’s birthday doubly memorable.

“Last year,” she said, her voice choking a bit with emotion, “God gave me Eric as a birthday gift. This year, God gave Eric to me as my lifetime partner.”

That’s why Melissa cried as she walked to the altar.

“Totoo ba ito?” she was asking herself, assuring herself when Eric held her hand, “a, totoo na nga ito!”

The wedding was a family affair, with only the couple’s family members and close friends invited.

Melissa’s sister Glenda Garcia was Maid of Honor and Melissa’s daughter Denisse Oca was Bridesmaid. Eric’s son Kyle was Best Man, with Eric’s brother Conrado as Groomsman. Maria Isabel Lopez was also Bridesmaid and Gabby Eigenmann also Groomsman. The candle sponsors were Jestoni Alarcon and his wife Lizette; Isabel Rivas (Melissa’s cousin) and Manolet Salak were veil sponsors; and Dennis Roldan (also Melissa’s cousin) and Honey Maramag were cord sponsors.

Melissa Mendez and Eric Gobencion during their Christian wedding at Blue Gardens, Quezon City, on Friday, July 27, which happened to be her 48th birthday

A line from Julie Andrews’ song in The Sound Of Music goes: Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good.

“Deep in my heart,” said Melissa, “I feel that I have done something good for God to have given me this ‘reward’.”

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