It almost didn’t happen

CARMINA Villaroel and Zoren Legaspi. photo:NICE PRINT

The wedding of Carmina Villaroel and Zoren Legaspi on Nov. 15 could have happened earlier this year were it not for a tiny legal hitch.

The couple said their initial application for a marriage license was disapproved because they lacked a particular “requirement.”

Zoren said they failed to produce a document, relating to the annulment of Carmina’s first marriage to Rustom Padilla, who’s now a transgender going by the name BB Gandanghari.

“’Yung kulang… may isang judge na hindi nakapirma sa annulment papers niya (What was lacking was the signature of one judge in the annulment papers),” Zoren told the Inquirer at the press con for the coming airing of their wedding special on ABS-CBN.

This was confirmed by Carmina, who said, “pirma o stamp na lang ang kulang (a signature or a stamp was lacking).”

“I couldn’t remember how you call it exactly, but fortunately, I managed to fix it before the wedding,” Zoren explained. “It took me about four months.”

According to published reports, the annulment of Carmina’s marriage to Rustom was granted in June 2002 by the Pasig Regional Trial Court.

Zoren said they never wanted a lavish wedding like the one they had at the Fernbrook Gardens in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. The couple originally planned  a simple, closed-door civil marriage.

Marriage license

The challenge for Zoren in pulling off the surprise wedding was having Carmina sign the marriage license without his plans getting spoiled.

“I knew I was signing a marriage license, but they told me it was for tax purposes. I didn’t think that I was actually getting married!” Carmina related.

“She’s quite gullible!” Zoren jested.

Carmina was made to believe that they would be shooting a commercial that required them to wear formal attire.

On how much he spent for the wedding, Zoren politely declined to divulge figures. “I didn’t mind spending because I knew I would make my wife very happy,” he said.

“Zoren-Carmina: Always Forever, A Wedding Like No Other” airs on Nov. 24 after “Maalaala Mo Kaya.”