Thanksgiving Celebration Of My Friend: Honoring A New Attorney

A week ago, I traveled more than two hours from my workplace to ‘The Gardens’ in Malaybalay City to attend the Thanksgiving celebration of my friend who recently passed the Bar Examination and became an attorney.

Own photos edited in Canva

Despite being busy at my workplace, I never hesitated to travel after work to celebrate her success. She was one of the good friends I had at my workplace, not to mention that she was our Disbursing Officer in school, and had studied law during night time.

“Salamat Ginoo, Salamat Kaninyo!”, was her words of gratitude.

Finally, after many years of struggles and challenges, it was a great night to honor a new attorney’s triumph as we come together to express gratitude and celebrate milestones.

It was my first time coming here and when I arrived at the venue, what I noticed was a relaxing view.

Although it was raining still I enjoy the structure of the venue and the first thing that caught my attention was the cool fountain. The fountain goes with every raindrop. And it was surrounded by ornamental plants.

As I stepped on the entrance, I was very surprised that I was one of the first visitors. They were still busy decorating when I arrived.

My friend’s husband personally touched the decorations and designed them for his beautiful wife, the attorney who is my friend and colleague.

He was there at the platform together with his assistant, one of the staff in the venue. And here are quick snaps of the dining setups.

The theme of the dining area was a combination of white, pink, gold, and purple shades. I so love the table arrangement as they were so cool.

After capturing the dining area, I looked for the most comfortable seat. Since I so love pink, I have chosen to be seated at the pink table.

How I love to seat here not only for its pink shades but as well as its area being at the front part where I could see directly what is happening in front.

While capturing the pink dining tables, I also captured the busy staff at the back as they were installing the music and sounds for the event.

I was seated beside my school principal and my other colleague. We were only four who represented the guest from our school because most of my friends cannot attend due to time constraints and knowing that it will take many hours to reach the place and go home late at night.

Since the program did not yet start, I took the chance to stroll around and captured views from different angles.

While going to the Comfort room, I captured the food displays as they were prepared by the staff.

I so love the rock designs on the wall beside the food table and the floor was so perfect with these aesthetic vibes.

I then noticed a corner with a minimalist ambiance. I took a selfie on the window with no glasses but the background outside full of greenery was visible.

There was a huge white pot with a very elegant ornamental plant that made me love the area even more.

When I went back to my dining table, I noticed a lot of visitors and after a moment, the Thanksgiving program began.

The program did not start without the presence of my beloved friend. And her presence was requested in front to be seated in the queenly chair.

And here she is seated like a beauty queen. She was at the picturesque venue that provided the perfect backdrop for her extraordinary celebration.

Many testimonies were shared by friends and everyone was complimenting that the attorney was beautiful with a heart. I am living proof of how humble she is despite being so intelligent, smart, witty, and beautiful.

I must say that the atmosphere was filled with a deep sense of gratitude as everyone acknowledged the dedication, perseverance, and countless hours of study that our friend had invested in becoming an attorney as she shared her struggles.

I was so inspired by her journey and we all recognized the sacrifices she made along the way and the immense personal growth that resulted from this journey.

After many parts of the program, we had our dinner. It was a buffet type so we all fell in line beside the food table and got our food.

After I got my food, I returned to the table. And here are the foods that I got which included the sotanghon, baby back ribs, shrimp, fried chicken, desserts, and drinks.

Meanwhile, the attorney served the Lechon Baboy, or roasted pork at our table and I so love the crispy skin with the tasty ribs. But I have to eat slowly so my brackets would not be removed from my teeth.

There was a group of musicians that played a variety of songs from classics up to the modern-era kinds of music that even soothed my soul, specially when classic love songs were played.

Before the program ended, there was a wine toasting to celebrate the occasion and we were all raising our glass with the wine.

I have not captured the moment while we were raising glasses but here is a glass of wine I have on my table.

When the program ended, we had our photo opportunity with the New Attorney. And here are our photos together.

Perhaps this occasion was particularly special as it honored my dear friend. With heartfelt joy and an abundance of gratitude, we commemorated this remarkable achievement which was a mark of the beginning of her promising legal career.

As of this moment, she was still planning for the next step of her life, and together with her is his ever-supportive, loving husband and his adorable son.

She was so happy for our presence and we all went home with big smiles.

Disclaimer: All texts and pictures are my own unless otherwise stated.