The STORY SO FAR

Boy meets girl. Girl tolerates boy.

From late-night drives to lifelong vows, here's the backstory to set the vibes. Because every wedding needs vibes.

We didn’t meet

at Dulaang Sibol, even though Dino spent most of high school there and Abby once played in “Sino Ba Kayo?”, among other stints, after he’d already graduated.

We didn’t meet at Ateneo, even though he was a senior and she was a freshman on a very expensive sabbatical year before shifting to dentistry at CEU.

We didn’t meet at any point during the 15 years our lives kept brushing past each other. Not when Abby watched Dino perform in Sinta (with her then-boyfriend—oof). Not even when she took a picture of her prom date, Migi Soriano, in the Ateneo brass band—and later noticed a cheeky photobomber: the band captain himself.

Instead, we met years later, the way all great love stories begin: with a best friend in a dental chair.

Dino’s best man-to-be, Igo Gonzalez, tried to set us up after Abby worked on his daughter Olivia's teeth. Dino was game (he’d seen photos—she was hella cute), but Abby, fresh out of the death throes of a relationship, wasn’t quite ready. She asked for a rain check.

Fate, however, had no chill.

At the time, Dino had been single for five years after a breakup with an ex named Abbey (with an E) and living with his brother in a Makati condo. Abby had just broken up with someone and was living with her brother—also named Dino (without an E)—in a different Makati condo.

And then, one night, we swiped right on each other on Bumble.

The setup never happened.

Fate beat everyone to it. 🐝

Fun fact!

This was our first ever selfie, on our second date!

from Soft Launch to Spouse Life,
a short history in screencaps

KILIG KHRONOLOGY

March 12, 2022

Matched on Bumble 🐝

A screenshot of the actual "YOU MATCHED!" banner, and a screenshot of our actual Bumble openers

CURTAIN
CALL

As an exercise in trying to wrest control of our own destiny (though really, we’re just flotsam in fate’s ocean, mostly), we had our prenup shoot in Dulaang Sibol—the high school theater where all those near-misses happened years ago.

After all those missed cues, the spotlights found us—just as we found each other at last. Here's us taking a bow on the hallowed stage. Together, this time.