In Benguet, Philippines, in my then fiancée's (Mila's) house, on April 23, 1988 at about 1:00 PM, and the preparation for our wedding celebration commenced. There were seven good-size pigs and seventy five chickens slaughtered by the native men from the place, who simultaneously started the celebration and the preparation with their homemade fermented wine. In addition, there were about five hundred lbs. of rice and hundreds of lbs. of assorted vegetables including potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and garlic. The smoke of burning fats on the firewood and charcoals went up to the blue-sunny sky. The smell of the roasted meats on the fire spread out all over the surrounding areas, into the narrow street, and passersby couldn't help but become sudden spectators. [What a colorful and detailed paragraph! The last sentence is particularly evocative and well-written. Do just check the first sentence, James. It seems to have an "and" that does not really below.]
             My Aunt Choling, who came from Manila 2 days before, was asked to head the preparation. She started the work with full of energy and enthusiasm with the other local chefs in the area, who volunteered their labors. Both of our families were all over the place helping. You can see the Filipino custom, "bayanihan," which means working together without expectations of reparations for the services rendered, being practiced with delight and fervor by one and all that labored and celebrated the occasion with us. To this day, this custom still is observed mostly by the low and middle class groups of people in the provinces, especially during calamities and this kind of festivities. [When writing about festivities (a plural noun) it would be better to use the plural article, "these" rather than "this." We would use "this" with a singular noun such as "this wedding."]
             The heat of the day and the fire...