Culture Movers in Focus: Jane and Jarwin's Journey to Each Other

"... the wave pattern for us symbolizes that there will be challenges in our marriage but when these rings are put together, that wave disappears and becomes one. No matter how many challenges we face, as long as we are together, and God is with us, we can overcome. A cord of three strands is not easily broken." - Jane and Jarwin

For Jane and Jarwin, it was their faith that brought them together. What started as a simple invitation to dance in 2018, ended in a commitment to spend the rest of their lives together.

Finding Sesotunawa was a chance of fate. "While planning the wedding, we decided not to have the usual expensive rings and look for a unique one instead, and at the same time, support local artisans and small businesses. One day while strolling in Megamall, we saw an all-Filipino arts and crafts fair. We walked around hoping to find things we could buy for the wedding or even for our future home. That was when we saw the Sesotunawa booth. We immediately loved the unique, beautifully handcrafted items there."

Early this year, we spoke with Jane and Jarwin about their journey as a couple and their decision to make the Lwok Sbu as a symbol of their bond. 

1) How did you get to know each other?

Jarwin and I are churchmates. But although we are in the same church, we didn't know each other until that night of our young professional's camp held in Word of Life, Laguna. June 22, 2018. We had a Royal Ball as our acquaintance night party and every guy had the chance to dance with whomever they wanted to. He asked me for a dance and from that day on, he was very intentional to get to know me and pursue me—from chatting in Messenger (that was his only means at that time since we were not friends personally and we only see each other once a week in church), to spending time together in person, most of the time with our friends. We really became good friends since then. Jane

2) Tell us about your engagement.

From the moment we became boyfriend and girlfriend, we already had conversations about marriage and did some little planning, for we both know that this stage was just a season of preparation for marriage. Right from the time that I confessed my feelings to Jane, I made it clear to her that my goal is to marry her, so we really didn't make engagement that big of a deal. Although many women dream of a romantic proposal, Jane was not really into it. We were already in agreement that we’re going to marry each other. But I still decided to pop the question one Sunday night, right after our church service. I brought her to MOA Eye (since I learned that a ferris wheel ride is one of her ideal dates) and asked her to marry me. Jarwin

3) How did you hear about Sesotunawa?

While planning the wedding, we decided not to have the usual expensive rings and look for a unique one instead, and at the same time, support local artisans and small businesses. One day while strolling in Megamall, we saw an all-Filipino arts and crafts fair. We walked around hoping to find things we could buy for the wedding or even for our future home. That’s when we saw the Sesotunawa booth. We immediately loved the unique, beautifully handcrafted items there.

4) Why did you decide to have the Lwok Sbu as your wedding band?

We just loved the uniqueness of Lwok Sbu, the overall look fits what we were looking for: basic, personal, handcrafted, meaningful, and not the usual super fancy and shiny rings. We were also blessed upon learning the story of the artisans behind Sesotunawa and how important the brass-casting livelihood is to them. As each piece was made with meaningful symbols for them, the wave pattern for us symbolizes that there will be challenges in our marriage but when these rings are put together, that wave disappears and becomes one. No matter how many challenges we face, as long as we are together, and God is with us, we can overcome. A cord of three strands is not easily broken. Note: This interview was conducted in March 2020, but we were not able to publish this story due to changes in plans brought by the pandemic.

Photo credit: Pedro Studios www.pedrostudiosph.com