The Story Behind the Civil Wedding

We had our civil wedding on April 14, 2011. We never really planned on having it but for the sake of completing the required documents, we had to do so.  I remember people asking why the need for it since we were only a few months away from our church wedding. Their first immediate thought was that I was pregnant. Oh well, who are we to blame these people for having such malicious minds? I sadly realized that in this day and age, weddings are most likely synonymous with pregnancy (sigh!).

The real reason though, was as simple as wanting to reduce the growing to-do-list for our wedding. As soon as we had the list of required documents, we sorted those that we can process whilst on vacation. One thing that caught our eye was the ‘marriage license’. We did our share of research and found out that we can secure this from our own local municipalities. We thought that this would be an easy one until our unpleasant experience from my local municipality (Valenzuela) made us realize we were horribly wrong.

Firstly, we were informed that the marriage license is valid only for 120 days upon issuance. Yep, it has an expiration date so to speak. We obviously got overly excited because on that day, we were still a year away from our wedding. So getting it early would be of no use at all. We decided then to just get it as soon as we arrive in Manila the following year. But no, there’s more. They told us that the license will be released after 11 WORKING days. That’s about after 2 weeks! Given that I was graciously allowed a 15-day vacation only, that meant we had to run straight to the municipality after our arrival from the airport. I pictured habibi and me running breathlessly with luggages and all. I felt like screaming. There SHOULD be some way to get this darn thing! I looked at habibi hopelessly when a brilliant idea hit me. He could schedule an earlier arrival to have sufficient time and get us the license. We felt we finally found a way out when we were informed that BOTH of us are required to get it. There’s a seminar that BOTH bride and groom MUST attend before the license can be obtained. It’s the family planning seminar and it is a prerequisite. So poof, there goes my brilliant idea. Oh, the joys of an overseas couple!

But who said we get so easily discouraged? I don’t think so. We didn’t want to give up so we thought of an alternative. Perhaps, one municipality’s rule can vary from the other. We asked a favor from my MIL to inquire in habibi’s hometown (Laguna). Unfortunately, the same rule applies. We even considered asking if we can pay a ‘special processing fee’ (read: BRIBE) to get it ASAP. However, if that trick didn’t work, we’ll be definitely in for a bigger trouble. I certainly didn’t want to become best friends with Mr. Stress so we discarded the idea.

Our last resort is to get it from here. Anyway, there is the Philippine Consulate after all. Surely, there must be some way to get it, eh?  True enough, there is (finally!) but the thing is that the license is given after the civil wedding. Now, you bet I was utterly confused. How come we had to get married first to get a license? Shouldn’t the latter come first as a general rule? I really had no clue why and I didn’t bother asking anymore. As long as we can get it, who am I to protest?

Legally Husband & Wife

So the decision was final. We also confirmed from Mt. Carmel that a civil marriage contract is enough to satisfy the requirement (hooray!). The next thing to do is to gather the documents required for the civil wedding (uh huh, requirements AGAIN). Whoever said patience is a virtue must have been somebody getting married too!

The wedding went by in a blur. Waiting for the ceremony to start was in fact longer. There were 5 pairs per batch and we were among the first batch which turned out to be an advantage. When we descended the stairs after the ceremony, there were numerous couples lined up, waiting for their turn! Good thing we arrived early. 

It was on that same day when we got the documents: Marriage Contract, Marriage License and Report of Marriage. We were asked to submit a photocopy after a week which we did. They took care of sending the Report of Marriage in Philippines. This ensured that our civil status got updated. So when we took a CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage) again in July, it already reflected that we are married and our names appearing as spouse in each other’s document.

I was legally off the singles list and therefore a missus by then  (◡‿◡✿)

 

 

On The Day (OTD) Coordinator: Celebrations by Marianne Chua

We weren’t supposed to get a coordinator in order to save, but the idea of being stress-free on our big day won us over. I must say it was one of the wisest decisions we made. Everyone was telling us how beautiful and organized the wedding was. From the ceremony until the reception, Marianne and her team was able to execute everything properly. She also accompanied us during our final detailing with Kusina ni Kambal. She was giving out suggestions and was very helpful. During this stage, I already felt confident that our wedding will be in good hands. True enough, their team didn’t let us down. We won’t have that kind of wedding without them. For those still contemplating whether to get a coordinator or not; spare yourselves the trouble. I honestly think this is no longer classified as a “nice to have” item. This should be under the “must have” list. Having coordinators would take away the burden of stress from you (especially from the mommies and MOH) on your big day.

Here are some pictures of our Coordinators in action:

 

Guest’s Souvenirs: Joris Gordula of Emotional Creations

Joris Gordula is another super stress-free supplier who is also very creative and patient. We chose the jar canisters because of its uniqueness and because it’s reusable. The guests loved the souvenirs. We got a really reasonable price and I just adore the cutie bears she made for us as souvenir giveaway for our flower girls & bearer boys.

 

We bought the choco balls separately and lovingly filled the canisters one by one. We chose to place assorted colors to make it look more lively. The label was designed and created by yours truly. A separate blog is dedicated for our DIY (do-it-yourself) items.

 

 

 

Hair & Make Up Artist (HMUA): Val Villarin

Now I understand why every Val bride is raving about him. I booked him without having a trial makeup. I just relied on the reviews and pictures I saw in his portfolio. He was the second earliest supplier to arrive (earliest is our Coordinators) in the Hotel. Having only 10 days before the wedding when we arrived in Manila, our last minute wedding wrap-ups were non-stop. It felt like we were all over Luzon because we were distributing our wedding invites to relatives from north (Nueva Ecija) to south (Laguna). We had our meeting with suppliers, final detailing for our venue etc. I also wasn’t able to sleep very well the night before the wedding so my eyes were a ghastly sight – eye bags (more like luggage) with dark circles. When Val was done in getting me all swanky, I was super happy with the result. My eye bags were magically concealed without it looking too obvious that I’m wearing makeup. I love the “natural look” that he did. My female entourage also loved their Hair & Make-Up! Even our mommies looked very pretty! 

P.S. Pagbigyan na po, minsan lang naman magmaganda hehehe.

 

 

Baicapture Photbooth

We got a really great promo from Deal Grocer so we booked Baicapture for our photobooth. It definitely added fun during the reception and the guests enjoyed it! The lay out was really nice and I love that the design of our wedding invitation was incorporated in one of the frames. They created two frame designs which are equally very pretty so we chose to use both. We had a very smooth transaction with the AE assigned to do the design. The staffs that assisted us during the event were also very courteous and nice. Another plus factor is that the prints are of very good quality – the colors are vibrant. Nevertheless, I won’t give them a perfect score. They weren’t able to give us the USB of the pictures during the day of the wedding which was included in our contract. There was a problem with their USB. I wished they brought back up USBs but unfortunately there’s none.