Gemma nemenzo biography

My husband Irwin and I were well into our road trip across the US when Maia, my youngest child, called to announce that she and her longtime boyfriend, Jensen, would get married when we got to Brooklyn, which was eight stops and almost three weeks away.

The reason they chose the date was that my other daughter Jaja, a journalist temporarily based in Manila, would be in New York at the same time as us.

The date was also convenient for the rest of the family – my son Carlo, stepson Irwin Jr., and for Jensen’s entire family. No long engagement, no elaborate arrangements, just the rare occasion when we could all gather together in one place.

A torrent of emotions swept through me – a common reaction, I assume, among parents when they get the news that their child plans to wed.

There was joy, of course, because my baby is marrying a good man; excitement because our family would be together for the event (except for Bien and Anthony who had a major scheduling con