Steven Paul chase & Micahella Soliven: The bride’s father cried, the vows were funny and the Bible was missing!

MANILA, Philippines - “I want you to submit to me, to walk three paces behind me at all times, and to churn my butter every single day,” so went the groom’s vows that had those who knew him in stitches, and those who didn’t know him so well, a bit scandalized.

It looked like a traditional Chinese wedding. The bride, Micahella “Micah” Soliven, was glowing in an elegant JC Buendia gown and a vintage style fascinator by Hat Momma. The groom, Steven Paul Chase, looked handsome in a three-piece gray suit. The entourage was pretty usual –– a bride, a groom, two sets of parents, six pairs of principal sponsors, a ring bearer, two flower girls, and a pair of chord, veil and candle sponsors. However there were bridesmen with the bridesmaids and a groomsmaid with the groomsmen –– traditional they were not.

The young man who led the entourage, Anton Alburo, had a special role because he is an important piece of the love story. Although Steven and Micah attended children’s church, it took Anton to make a “first date” between the two even possible. Both were 16 at that time and it marked the beginning of an eight-year romance that culminated in a beautiful wedding on June 14, 2013. The wedding was held where the couple first met –– Alabang New Life Christian Center. Steven is the youngest son of Marvin Paul Chase, the church’s senior pastor. The bride’s father, Rolly Rodriguez Soliven, who at that time was a flautist in the worship team, is now part of the Pastoral Care Ministry.

On the afternoon of the wedding though, Rolly was all father to the bride. Unable to hold back his tears, he stopped a few steps into the wedding march, backtracked and left the bride startled and alone on the aisle. Micah stood there, half laughing, as her mother, Petite Parado Soliven, came to the rescue and pulled her husband –– dubbed “Runaway Dad” by friends and family –– back on the aisle. At the altar, the officiating pastor, who happened to be the groom’s father, was also in tears. Despite the laughter and the teasing, it was a poignant scene: two fathers, both emotional, one gaining a son, the other gaining a daughter.

When the pastor asked for a Bible for the vows, there was a moment of silence followed by another burst of unbridled laughter, as everyone realized that no one remembered to bring a Bible to the pastor’s son’s wedding. Fortunately, a visiting groomsman originally from Samoa, Vave Meleisea, who walked the aisle in Samoan costume, had his little, well-traveled Bible with him.

The vows were funny, candid and touching, with the groom very solemnly saying, “I can’t promise we won’t have differences, but I will promise that we won’t let the night pass without resolving them,” and then the bride countering, “I promise to cook tinola and sinigang for you, and I will try really, really, really hard to submit to you but I can’t promise I will succeed.”

As the ceremony drew to a close, just before Pastor Paul introduced Steven and Micah as husband and wife, the church speakers started blaring and a masked guest began to dance. The whole church erupted in joyful celebration as the bride’s parents, the groom’s mother, Shoddy Shelee Chase, and the entire entourage stood up and did the Harlem Shake with flailing arms and legs.

The new couple’s first dance was to the song All I Want. After Steven danced with his mother and the bride danced with her dad to Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, the music changed to (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life. Steven and Micah’s only brother, Marco Soliven, then shamelessly danced to the theme of Dirty Dancing. If it were a movie, it would’ve been a blockbuster with a bit of comedy, a bit of drama, and a lot of love. The ceremony reflected the couple’s humor, their willingness to tweak tradition for some real fun, and their love, not only for each other, but also for their family and friends.

Halfway into dinner, the groom’s mother mentioned, to the pastor’s consternation, that no one in the house of God remembered to say grace. The guests were treated to a few musical numbers by the couple’s amazingly talented family and friends, notably, Britt Chase, the groom’s sister, who wrote and sang an original song, and John Sung, who gave a jazzy rendition of Moon River.

The bride’s father and the groom’s mother, in their respective toasts, both said that the wedding was “surreal.” Rhizza Jackson, the bride’s best friend and matron of honor, flew in from Seattle and shared sweet and funny memories of the now Micah Chase. Ryan Chase, the groom’s brother and best man, had everyone in tears with his moving and heartfelt toast.

A few other guests flew in for the wedding. Elaine Chan, the bride’s grandmother and also principal sponsor, flew in from Canada with Bess, the emcee. Mariah, Dan and Brandon flew in from the States, Vave from Australia, and Chelsy, from Nepal. The principal sponsors were Benny Langaon, Josine Elizalde, Albert and Angel Padilla, Rommel and Blu Gavieta, Boy de Borja, Imee Centeno, Dan Soliven, Eileen Laurena Filippini and Rolly Parado.

The wedding of Steven and Micah Chase was by no means just an event. It was a testimony of God’s faithfulness and enduring love. At 25, they may be young, but they have weathered storms that brought them from Manila to Sydney, Manila to Seattle and back and made them stronger as a couple. Their story has been written and they have decided to live happily ever after.