MANILA, Philippines?As weddings go, this is definitely not the norm. There is no long march down the aisle to the altar, no grand reception at a posh hotel, restaurant or clubhouse with guests dressed to the nines. No wedding planner to overdo and over-manage everything to the point of somnolence and boredom.

But few weddings can match it for sheer joyfulness, not to mention a marathon run of nearly 15 hours, from noon of Aug. 29, to three the next morning.

Close friends and neighbors of the couple were invited to pitch a tent, bring food, babies, children and/or dogs and spend the night on-site.

Many did, freakish summer weather notwithstanding. The more formal invites went to relatives and close family friends and came with a caveat from the MOB (Mother of the Bride, former Manilan Marita Anderson, nee David): ?Bring your wellies (rubber boots) and prepare to rough it!?

The wedding ceremony was to be held at the town hall, and the reception at a marquee erected on a farm. ?A cow patch,? said the disgruntled MOB who had looked forward to a more traditional wedding for her only daughter. ?If it?s raining, your high heels will sink into the grass. If not and the cows are still at pasture there, you could step on something much less pleasant.?

And so, armed with wellies, brollies and warm wraps, we trotted off to Totnes in Devon, center in England of alternative medicine (not to mention lifestyle), home to hippies and other young people deeply committed to living a simple life, eating organic and/or who are vegetarians and who are passionate about the environment and Mother Earth, issues dear to the heart of the bride, Teresa Anderson.

Citizen of the world

Born in Britain to a Filipino mother and a Canadian father, Teresa is a true citizen of the world.

As a child, before being sent off to boarding school in England, she lived in Kenya and Cyprus where her father, a retired Reuters correspondent, had been posted. She is a keen advocate of green causes, and is officially the Gaia Foundation?s advocacy information officer for Africa Biodiversity Network, a job which frequently takes her back to Kenya and other African nations.

The bridegroom, British-born Sean Ferris, is a home-grown homeopath, trained and given?as it turned out?to erudite speeches.

A tuktuk, a three-wheeled vehicle hired from a farmer and normally used for delivering produce, served as bridal car, decorated, as any such car would be in the Philippines, with a large spray of white flowers in front. Teresa arrived dressed in a very simple bias-cut white gown purchased, marked down from its original steep price tag and slightly modified by the groom?s stepmother. Over her shoulders was draped an antique manton de Manila, an heirloom piece from her maternal grandmother and the ?something old? in her bridal get-up.

Stepping down from the tuktuk, overcome with emotion, she promptly burst into tears, whereupon the bridegroom rushed to her side and, hugging her close, joined her in an emotional pre-nuptial moment. The father of the bride had to pry them loose.

The ceremony was set for 12 noon, with about 50 family members and very close friends in attendance. Indeed, it included a short walk down the aisle?of sorts? with her father, who gave her away. The wedding rites were brief and touching, conducted with sensitivity and erudition by a female registrar who spoke words of wisdom to the couple.

Then, the group repaired to the reception site, a marquee erected on a farm some few minutes drive from the Town Hall. To tide the guests over until the scheduled five o?clock dinner, cousin of the bride Cara Gallardo-Weil had prepared a lavish spread of canapés and snacks, which included vegetarian and gluten-free selections for those with special diet restrictions (including the bridegoom, who is allergic to dairy and gluten).

Guests from around world

Guests included friends and relatives from the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. Initially, the bridal couple was adamant about having their parents involved in the wedding preparations, especially the food, insisting that between themselves and the combined efforts of their friends, there was no cause for concern. Later relenting, they agreed to let the bride?s parents take care of some aspects of the reception venue and to contribute masses of cheese, bread and a huge lechon for the scheduled 5 p.m. dinner, to which an additional 50 or so guests were expected.

The groom?s father took it upon himself to provide potables?kegs of beer, several cases of red and white wine and about four dozen bottles of champagne especially sourced from the south of France for the occasion.

Standing on the bale of hay that served as dais, Sean was the first to address the assembled guests. ?Friends, unaccustomed as I am to public speaking, I am going to milk this for all its worth.? The opening salvo was followed by an amusing and extemporaneous account of the years he spent in India and his decision to return to the UK and settle down in Totnes, where he met his bride-to-be, the lovely Teresa, simply ?T? to their many friends. They were introduced by a mutual friend and, over drinks and a deeply philosophical conversation one evening, he came to the speedy conclusion, ?That was it! I was smitten.?

Gaining a cause

Teresa?s father spoke next, observing, as he addressed Teresa?s in-laws, ?It is usual on occasions like this to say that you are gaining a daughter. In Teresa?s case, you are also gaining a cause!? The level of wit and light-hearted banter set the tone and kept the other speeches?including those of the two, yes, two best men, one of whom even wrote a poem in honor of the bridal couple?on a light and entertaining vein.

As a special offering to their guests, Teresa and Sean spent weeks rehearsing the tinikling, a dance Teresa had learned as a 10-year-old from a small but active Filipino community in Kenya. The evening before the wedding, she hurt her ankle while practicing, but gamely went on to perform what their friends referred to as the ?bamboo pole dance? until she missed a step and failed to get back between the poles. Sean finished the dance. Solo.

In response, five of their friends took center stage with their own ?robot??or is it ?zombie???interpretation of Michael Jackson?s ?Thriller.?

The band arrived in an old ambulance painted over with their name, ?The Ambiance.? Initially misreading it, guests feared for the worst. Then, led by a female fiddler, they launched into lively ditty after ditty of traditional Irish tunes.

With wine and champagne flowing, who could put a halt to the merriment and the dancing? The ?elders? called it a night after the 11 p.m. ?Thriller? performance, but the youngsters carried on until the wee hours, having discovered another stash of champagne under the buffet table to keep their spirits up and their energy from flagging.

Wellies

And what of the wellies? Well, it turned out to be a perfectly bright and sunny day, if cold and windy. And with the cows grazing further afield, but still within sight of the marquee, guests were free to sit outside on strategically-positioned bales of hay. The wellies did find use for the ?welly whanging? game, a competition to see who could throw the wellies farthest, one of several outdoor games organized by the couple?s friends to keep everyone busy and entertained until dinner. The newlyweds even won medals?predictably?for the ?newest married couple? in the group. But in the wife-carrying race across the field, Sean had dropped his bride.

Rather than portalets, the ?CR? was an organic bio-degradable ?outhouse? sited at the far end of the field. And, in a display of community spirit not unlike our own bayanihan, several friends of the newlyweds were back at the marquee early the following morning helping to clear leftover food and the debris from the night before.

No, this is definitely not your common garden-variety society wedding. This was a picnic. A cow patch shindig. A delightful ?romp on the hay.? An event of unbounded joy, refreshing in its unrehearsed spontaneity and total lack of pretentiousness, with everyone having a whale of a time. Kids on the dance floor, dogs wagging their tail, barefoot dancers bouncing on the canvas-covered marquee flooring.

A dozen wedding planners could not have done a better job!