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Philippines and Marriage: The Different Aspects of Getting Married in the Philippines

Weddings themselves are something to be celebrated and rejoiced in the Philippines and are regarded as blessings. Many of the cultural traditions surrounding the wedding ceremony have revolved around abundance and fruitful unions. The ceremonies are full of color and are often blended traditionally due to the variety of ethnic groups. Often, the older generation is enlisted to make important decisions such as the actual wedding date. Selecting a favorable date of the year is done to add to the happy couple’s future good luck and fortune.

Filipino wedding ceremonies share many similarities to American ones, but nearly always include the major Catholic rites such as candle, veil, cord, and arrhae. One difference is the addition of sponsors. A sponsor is a friend or relative who has a high level of influence in the community. The more sponsors a couple attains, the more prosperous their union is reported to be. They also contribute to the wedding financially, assisting with the bride and groom’s expenses. The wedding party itself is considered to be a secondary sponsor but is not required to give money for the wedding. Filipino weddings seep in family tradition and are typically large and customized for the special couple. Many Filipinas consider it to be great luck to wed either a wealthy man or a foreigner.

The Philippines is known for their acceptance and friendliness when it comes to all individuals. Any wedding in this archipelago is sure to be a joyous occasion and an unforgettable party. Filipinos are part of a joyous culture and wish goodwill and blessings on all, especially the newly wedded. The islands are a fantastic tropical spot to go to for those seeking to get married and are accepting of all races due to their own special diversity.

When it comes to marriage, religion still takes precedence in many Filipino weddings. The majority of the country is Christian, with an overwhelming 80% of that group Roman Catholic. The Philippines are known for being only 1 of 2 Christian based countries in Asia. The dominance of Catholicism on the islands stems back to the Spanish take over by Magellan in the 1600s.

The Philippines is an island country with over 7,000 individual islands associated with it. There is much terrain and climate diversity includes both tropical rainforests and volcanic areas. The islands themselves are a mixture of cultures, including both eastern and western, due to his history and changing leadership. There is a fairly even amount of Asian, Spanish and American influences. The Philippines is a gorgeous tropical destination with plenty of tourism and luxurious lodging. This makes it a great spot for both the wedding and the honeymoon. Yet, be cautious if planning an outdoor wedding from June to November as that is the rainy season for this country.

The Philippines is quite a diverse country with a combination of natives, Spanish, American, Chinese and other ethnic groups. The two official languages of the Philippines are English and Filipino, making it easy for American tourists to get comfortable. However, there are over 180 different indigenous dialects for the islands, a small few of them are out of use today. The Philippine constitution recognizes both Spanish and Arabic. This makes for a land perfect for interracial dating and marriage between separate ethnic groups. In fact, offspring of many of these mixed racial couples are quite common and often referred to as Filipino mestizos. The history of marriage in the Philippines is as diverse as its culture. Around 1900, when the United States took over possession of the islands from Spain, an official document about the laws of marriage was drawn up for review by the American president. The Law of Marriage, as it was referred to, demonstrated that weddings were purely canonical and run by the Catholics of the country. In fact, while a Protestant could seek out a Protestant priest to get married, there was no law protecting those marriages and they could be considered invalid. The Catholic priests were the only ones overseeing marriage and they would only marry those of their own faith. The state was completely uninvolved with matters of marriage at this time. Then the priests would announce the potential nuptials in front of the parish for three Sundays in a row. If there was no objection, the couple could be wed on the day following the last Sunday announcement. There were no marriage licenses issued and any fees paid belonged to the church. Today there are both civil and religious requirements to get married on the islands.

To get married in the Philippines, you must be at least 18 years of age. All of those between the ages of 18 and 25 are required to attend some type of marriage counseling before the big day. You need to be at least 21 years old if you don’t have parental consent. For those between the ages of 21 and 25, it is required by law that you seek out the advice of both sets of parents before getting married.

You have spent your entire life preparing for this one single day. You have spent countless days choosing the perfect wedding gown, wedding photographer, the bouquet and the wedding location. You will spend several hours to make sure that your hair and make-up are perfect and your wedding dress fits properly. Haring Photography will be with you before the wedding ceremony to document each second of your preparation so your future husband and your grand children would see how you prepared for the big day.

Below you will find our typical wedding photography shot list:

Bridal Preparation

Groom Preparation

Wedding Service

Wedding Reception

Wedding Detail Pictures

If you want to see our wedding photography portfolio, please click on the link: Miami Wedding Photography.

With the snap of a shutter, a camera captures a single moment in time, one that can never occur again in the exact same way. The wedding ceremony is probably the most important part of your whole wedding.  You want to make sure that all details and moments are recorded for eternity in a non-obtrusive manner!  Haring Photography will take pictures of everything from you walking down the aisle to the exchange vows to candid shots of your wedding guests, we will cover it all.

Below you will find our typical wedding photography shot list:

Bridal Preparation

Groom Preparation

Wedding Service

Wedding Reception

Wedding Detail Pictures

If you want to see our wedding photography portfolio, please click on the link: Miami Wedding Photography.

Below you will find our typical wedding photography shot list:

Bridal Preparation

Groom Preparation

Wedding Service

Wedding Reception

Wedding Detail Pictures

If you want to see our wedding photography portfolio, please click on the link: Miami Wedding Photography.

I have visited South East Asia on an assignment and on the way back I stopped by at Ankor Wat in Cambodia.

I would like to share a few pictures with you.

Angkor Wat is one of the most beautiful and fascinating places on the planet. Made by the Khmer kings in a process that lasts almost 4 centuries, this magnificent area has been abandoned and hidden by the forest. Re-discovered by a french man about 150 years ago, Angkor Wat is ready to become one of the most visited archaeological and artistic site on the planet.

Angkor Wat (or Angkor Vat) is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation—first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country’s prime attraction for visitors.

Angkor Wat lies 5.5 km north of the modern town of Siem Reap, and a short distance south and slightly east of the previous capital, which was centred on the Baphuon. It is in an area of Cambodia where there is an important group of ancient structures. It is the southernmost of Angkor’s main sites.

This temple is 1,5 km² x 1,3km and built by Suryavarman ІІ and is considered the biggest Asian pyramid. It is 65m high and divided in several layers. The central part has on the four corners four towers in the shape of a lotus flower. This temple is the largest and most breathtaking temple of the whole complex. The most famous decorations of Angkor are the heavenly nymphs (Apsara), there are more of 300, each one is unique and in total we can group them in 30 different styles. The central temple complex is an 800 meters long bas-reliefs, includes the Battle of Kurukshetra, the Army of Suryavarman II, Heaven and Hell, Churning of the Ocean of Milk, Elephant Gate, Vishnu Conquers the Demons, Khrisna and the demon King, Battle of the Gods and the Demons and the Battle of Lanka.

The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113 – c. 1150). Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built as the king’s state temple and capital city. As neither the foundation stela nor any contemporary inscriptions referring to the temple have been found, its original name is unknown, but it may have been known as Vrah Vishnulok after the presiding deity. Work seems to have ended shortly after the king’s death, leaving some of the bas-relief decoration unfinished. In 1177, approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was sacked by the Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmer. Thereafter the empire was restored by a new king, Jayavarman VII, who established a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and the Bayon respectively) a few kilometres to the north.

In the late 13th century, King Jayavarman VIII, who was Hindu, was deposed by his son in law, Srindravarman. Srindravarman had spent the previous 10 years in Sri Lanka becoming ordained as a Buddhist monk. Hence, the new King decided to convert the official religion of the empire from Hindu to Buddhist. Given the constant political corruption of the time, citizens were quick to follow a faith founded on tranquility without a need for material gain and power. This made the conversion relatively easy. Hence, Angkor Wat was converted from Hindu to Theravada Buddhist use, which continues to the present day. Angkor Wat is unusual among the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the 16th century it was never completely abandoned, its preservation being due in part to the fact that its moat also provided some protection from encroachment by the jungle.

One of the first Western visitors to the temple was Antonio da Magdalena, a Portuguese monk who visited in 1586 and said that it “is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of”. However, the temple was popularised in the West only in the mid-19th century on the publication of Henri Mouhot’s travel notes. The French explorer wrote of it:

“One of these temples—a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo—might take an honourable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged.”

Mouhot, like other early Western visitors, was unable to believe that the Khmers could have built the temple, and mistakenly dated it to around the same era as Rome.

The true history of Angkor Wat was pieced together only from stylistic and epigraphic evidence accumulated during the subsequent clearing and restoration work carried out across the whole Angkor site.

There were no ordinary dwellings or houses or other signs of settlement including cooking utensils weapons or items of clothing usually found at ancient sites. Instead there is the evidence of the monuments themselves.

Angkor Wat required considerable restoration in the 20th century, mainly the removal of accumulated earth and vegetation.[8] Work was interrupted by the civil war and Khmer Rouge control of the country during the 1970s and 1980s, but relatively little damage was done during this period other than the theft and destruction of mostly post-Angkorian statues.

The temple has become a symbol of Cambodia, and is a source of great national pride. A depiction of Angkor Wat has been a part of Cambodian national flags since the introduction of the first version circa 1863. In January 2003 riots erupted in Phnom Penh when a false rumour circulated that a Thai soap opera actress had claimed that Angkor Wat belonged to Thailand.