The Month of June

Time flies fast and it's June now! Aside from what i had mention in my last post that this is the month when classes starts, this is also month for weddings as many ladies in Philippines wants to be a June Bride. To those who are planning to have a Philippine catholic wedding, you need to take note the following requirements:

Marriage License - This should have four months validity. For other couples who had civil wedding prior to church wedding, you just need to submit the Marriage Contract. And to secure a Marriage License in the Philippines, below are the requirements you need to submit:
1. NSO Birth Certificates
2. CENOMAR - Certificate of No Marriage form from NSO office.
3. Parental Consent for couples aged 18 to 21 or Parental Advice for those 22-25 years old.
4. Passport sized Pictures
5. Residence Certificate
6. Seminar - Conducted by the Division of Maternal & Child Health at the Municipal/City Hall
7. Application Form

Baptismal Certificate - Each should submit baptismal certificate with annotation “for marriage purposes”.

Confirmation Certificate - Same thing with baptismal certificate, this also requires an annotation of “for marriage purposes” and should be valid in six months.
- Publication of Wedding Banns for three consecutive Sundays in the parish of the bride & groom, also permission from the parish of the bride
- Catholic Seminar
- Canonical Interview
- List of Principal Sponsors

Best Wishes to those who are planning to get married and Good Luck!

Philippines Courtship

Courtship among the Philippine nationals is heavily influenced by Spanish, and Roman Catholic traditions. Many parents disapprove of girls visiting boys' homes. Usually, the boy comes to the girl's house to formally introduce himself to her parents, and family. The Filipino must win the Filipina's parents' approval. The traditional dalagang Pilipina (Filipina maiden) is shy and secretive about her real feelings for a suitor and denies it even though she is really in love with the man. A man who is unable to express his affection to a woman (who may have the same feelings for him) is called a torpe (stupid), dungo (extremely shy), or simply duwag (coward). To call a man torpe means he does not know how to court a girl, is playing innocent, or does not know she also has an affection for him. In courting a Filipina, the metaphor often used is that of playing baseball. The man is said to reach 'first base' if the girl accepts his proposal to go out on a date for the first time. Thereafter, going out on several dates is like reaching the second and third bases. A 'home-run' is one where the girl formally accepts the man's love, and they become magkasintahan (from sinta, love), a term for boyfriend-girlfriend.
During the old times and in the rural areas of the Philippines, Filipino men would make harana (serenade) the women at night and sing songs of love and affection. This is basically a Spanish influence. The man is usually accompanied by his close friends who provide moral support for the guy, apart from singing with him. After a long courtship, if the couple later decide to get married, there is the Filipino tradition of pamamanhikan (from panik, to go up the stairs of the house), where the man and his parents visit the woman's family and ask for her parents blessings to marry their daughter. It is also an occasion for the parents of the woman to get to know the parents of the man.

Philippines Church Wedding

Philippines wedding in catholic church is known to be so strict in their requirements and policies. It is also more difficult if one of the couple is not a catholic, they have more documents to need. I and my american boyfriend are both catholic and we're planning for a church wedding so we found the following requirements for catholic church wedding: 1. Baptismal and Confirmation Certificates - required for both the bride and the groom. These documents must be new, be annotated: "FOR MARRIAGE PURPOSES ONLY", and have been obtained not more than three (3) months before the date of marriage; For mixed marriage (different religions) -- a dispensation must be secured from the Parish Office which will be released after the canonical interview with the parish priest or his assistant. These have to be presented one week before the wedding. 2. Marriage License For those who are first married in a civil ceremony, a certified true photocopy of the Marriage Contract with the registry number of the city or town where the marriage was performed must be submitted one week before the wedding date. 3. Canonical Interview - The parish priest or his assistant will conduct an interview with the bride and the groom one month before the wedding date. The interview will be scheduled upon the signing of the application form. 4. Pre-Marriage Seminar - The seminar will be scheduled during the canonical interview or you may inquire at the parish office. Some churches will allow you to attend other pre-wedding seminars such as the Discovery Weekend or Catholic Engaged Encounter. 5. Permission - The bride must receive permission to marry from her parish, if the venue is in another parish. 6. Wedding Banns - The couple must post the schedule of their wedding in their respective parishes. These will be provided during the canonical interview and have to be immediately brought to the respective parishes of the bride and the groom for posting. These have to be returned to the office after three Sundays. (The respective parishes may ask some requirements for the posting of the banns i.e. a picture each from the bride and the couple.) 7. List of names and addresses of principal sponsors (Ninongs and Ninangs) - The list has to be submitted to the parish office one week before the wedding date. Church policy requires at least a pair of sponsors and, ideally, a maximum of six sponsors. 8. For widow or widower - A copy of the death certificate of the former spouse must be presented to the parish office. 9. For renewal of vows - remember to bring a copy of the Catholic Marriage Contract.