Why a civil wedding?
1. Less Pricey. Nowadays, having a wedding means throwing a ton of money. But with a civil wedding, you only need Php 300.00 for the solemnization fee. Whereas being married by a Mayor comes for free!
2. More convenient. Being married in a Church also entails additional requirements to be satisfied in addition to what has already been provided by law. Sometimes you even have to undertake their own marriage counseling and pay additional fees.
3. Quick and On point. In a civil wedding, you won’t have to seat for over an hour or more waiting for the ceremony to be over. Trust me, your guests’ couldn’t care less.
Secure a Marriage License
Before diving into any more details, the first step to any wedding is securing a MARRIAGE LICENSE. Head to the Local Civil Register’s Office of the town or city where anyone of you resides and prepare the following requirements. The original copy and photocopies needed:
Birth Certificate
CENOMAR
Notarized Affidavit of Parental Consent (for applicants ages 24 and below)
CEDULA (including the consenting parents)
The LCR will then fill up the marriage license application form for you. You will then be sent to the cashier to pay for it (which costs about Php 300.00). After obtaining the receipt, you may now proceed to the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office to set a schedule for your Pre-Marriage Counseling Seminar. (which lasts for about three hours). You will then be issued a certificate of completion after the seminar, which should be submitted to the LCR as additional requirement for your marriage license application. Wait for TEN DAYS before its issuance and release.
After issuance, the marriage license has a validity of 120 days and you may use it to get married anywhere within the Philippines.
Apply For Your Wedding
Now that you have a marriage license, you may now choose between being married by a Mayor or a Judge. Prepare a LETTER OF INTENT TO MARRY attaching the documents issued by the LCR.
Personally, I’d opt to be married by a Mayor because it’s free and it’s easier to set a schedule with their office. However, in my case, we have finalized a schedule with a municipal mayor, but they cancelled it a week before the scheduled date because of a memo ordering the mayor to attend an official business out of town. Fortunately, I personally know an RTC Judge who accommodated our schedule.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-105 size-full lazyload" src="http://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/35A29935-569C-4851-A2FE-196472181E01.jpeg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/35A29935-569C-4851-A2FE-196472181E01.jpeg 1024w, https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/35A29935-569C-4851-A2FE-196472181E01-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/35A29935-569C-4851-A2FE-196472181E01-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> Family Court Judge – Judge Florendo of RTC La Union
In cases where you want to be married by a judge, prepare a letter of intent to marry together with all the documents issued by the LCR and address it to the Office of the Clerk of Court. Don’t forget to include your contact numbers and the names of your legal witnesses or ninongs and ninangs. Just pay Php 300.00 solemnization fee and your application will then be raffled among the judges available on the next scheduled raffle day to which you will then be informed via text message. But in any case, filing a request before any court of law requires time allowance so never do this in the last minute.
Wedding Day Plans
After securing your solemnizing authority, you are now left with planning the reception, which could be a simple lunch buffet with 25pax to 40pax only. This stage now contains the bulk of the cost of your wedding.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-106 size-full lazyload" src="http://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/AA2388E6-ADE0-4B23-A8E2-1BDB5830B7E9.jpeg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/AA2388E6-ADE0-4B23-A8E2-1BDB5830B7E9.jpeg 1024w, https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/AA2388E6-ADE0-4B23-A8E2-1BDB5830B7E9-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/AA2388E6-ADE0-4B23-A8E2-1BDB5830B7E9-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> Our simple restaurant reception
In my case, we only invited 40 people for a simple lunch in a beautiful restaurant by the sea. We didn’t even have to pay for the venue, only the food, because we weren’t holding any boring reception program. But we had a friend of ours set up flowers on the tables to make it more special. Our guests were sent electronic invites over social media so we did not spend a dime for invitations that would only go straight to the trash.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-107 size-full lazyload" src="http://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/4791A82C-2F66-498D-BE06-88660F5CC568.jpeg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/4791A82C-2F66-498D-BE06-88660F5CC568.jpeg 1024w, https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/4791A82C-2F66-498D-BE06-88660F5CC568-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/4791A82C-2F66-498D-BE06-88660F5CC568-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> Marriage is not only between two people but between two families
The essence of a memorable wedding is keeping it small and intimate making sure you share it with people who have contributed to who you and your partner are. Make it a golden memory by only including people who truly matters and who truly cares about the both of you.
Behind The Scenes Preparation
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-108 size-full lazyload" src="http://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/6356296E-7E6E-46E3-B69D-96D6A1973703.jpeg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/6356296E-7E6E-46E3-B69D-96D6A1973703.jpeg 1024w, https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/6356296E-7E6E-46E3-B69D-96D6A1973703-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/6356296E-7E6E-46E3-B69D-96D6A1973703-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> Self-serviced bridal hair and make up
My husband and I did not hire any makeup artists. We simply did what we normally do to prepare ourselves. We wanted to embrace the no-makeup look that would look nice when we look back to our wedding photos ten years from now. A time when make up trends are surely different from today. But we had to have a photographer and videographer document the wedding for us. With regards to this, we limited their service to the coverage of the day itself. This means no prenups, teasers, save the date vid, or same-day edits. We had them purely for keepsake purposes. The last thing we wanted was scripted smiles and curated drama.
In the end, my husband and I just expressed our farewell messages of gratitude to our guests after lunch was over. We then ended the celebration. We didn’t have any giveaways. But it was unnecessary because our guests are the closest people to us who surely didn’t care for that. Both of us had a great time. Our guests didn’t get bored, and none of us we’re stressed for whatsoever reason. It was really simple and we loved every minute of it.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-109 size-full lazyload" src="http://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/7CA93707-FA5A-471B-8E46-6F56EA3517A4.jpeg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/7CA93707-FA5A-471B-8E46-6F56EA3517A4.jpeg 1024w, https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/7CA93707-FA5A-471B-8E46-6F56EA3517A4-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/7CA93707-FA5A-471B-8E46-6F56EA3517A4-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> In the courtroom
Final Thoughts
It’s important to always stick to what you and your partner want. Ask for friends’ and families’ opinion but never let them dictate how your wedding should go. Remember, it is your wedding day. It only comes once in a lifetime. Make it a day you’ll surely cherish and treasure. It’s very important that it is YOU AND YOUR PARTNER who should have fun and enjoy in THIS MOMENT. Never stress yourself out just to please other people or guests. YOU AND YOUR PARTNER ARE THE ONLY VIPs on this day. Make sure to make that a priority.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-113 size-full lazyload" src="http://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2CF103A3-9FA8-46C6-808B-A97540D6E0DE.jpeg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2CF103A3-9FA8-46C6-808B-A97540D6E0DE.jpeg 1024w, https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2CF103A3-9FA8-46C6-808B-A97540D6E0DE-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://serendipitytheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2CF103A3-9FA8-46C6-808B-A97540D6E0DE-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> Hitched!
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