Marriage Ceremony in The Phils after Civil Marriage in the US

[love4life09 15]

My wife and I were married in a Civil Ceremony last year after her arrival here in the US on a K-1 visa. I

promised my wife an actual Church wedding Ceremony in the Philippines once she was free to travel.

We are now making the arrangements , after speaking to the Church Chancery in Cebu where we want to RE NEW our vows,

we were told we would need to provide all documents as though we are not married at all. That my previous divorce

here in the US must be anulled or a Declaration of free to marry from a Catholic Church be provided, among

NUMEROUS other documentation . How can we meet all the requirements for a Philippine wedding in just the 3 weeks of vacation

we have to spend there?

Has anyone experienced this situation ?

All answers are GREATLY appreciated !

[TBoneTX 44,786]

*** Thread moved from Off Topic to Philippines regional subforum -- country-specific information is required. ***

[apple21 953]

Did you report your US civil marriage to the Philippine Consulate in your area?

[apple21 953]

Did you report your US civil marriage to the Philippine Consulate in your area?

I don't know your exact location/State but I hope this link would give you an idea: http://www.philippineconsulatela.org/consular%20services/conserv-registry.htm#ROM

If by chance that you already did the Report of Marriage, get a copy of your NSO Marriage Certificate and present that to the Church where you plan to renew your vows. The NSO MC is enough to prove that you are already legally married in the US and in the Philippines.

Edited December 5, 2012 by apple21

[CJ8611 6]

I have no experience about that, but what I know is if already civilly married, the marriage certificate from NSO will suffice. Hence the need to report the marriage at a Philippine Consulate if not yet reported, which Apple21 stated already. The other Catholic-Church related requirements such as Baptismal Certificate, Confirmation Certificate, however, must still be provided. Plus sometimes, other churches have additional requirements which differ from the others.

Your wife may also want to visit this site: http://www.weddingsatwork.com/ and consider joining the online community of Filipina brides (this is via Yahoogroups). I joined that community when I was preparing for our wedding. Members there are Filipinas (some are the groom though) from around the globe, getting married in the Philippines. While I was a member I encountered posts from other brides who were civilly married in the US sharing experiences about the process and the like. You can also get good recommendations about vendors and stuff in Cebu which could help you in your planning.

Edited December 5, 2012 by CJ8611

[apple21 953]

I agree with CJ. Even if you already have an NSO MC, the Church will still ask you to submit some pre-requisites like Birth certificates, Baptismal and Confirmation certificates.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Easy. Find another minister that understands you are already married and just re-newing vows! Jeez! Heck have an uncle do it, after all its just for the family to witness your vows, doesn't have to be a person licensed to perform a marriage.

[lbounds 16]

I did this with my wife. You will need to satisfy whatever requirements the Catholic church asks of you before the priest will marry you. There is paperwork and a series of fees involved.

I can tell you one thing for sure. The Catholic church views you as unmarried unless you were married in the Catholic church. This annoyed me to no end. I was told that when I was asked if I was married or had been married before I must say no or it would cause us problems with the priest and he wouldn't marry us.

Another thing, it depends also on your religion. If you are Catholic no problem or Christian ok. If you are another religion you may have some other complication. They required my Christian baptismal certficate from 40 years ago. I got a letter from the church and the certificate. We had a required interview with the priest before our wedding asking a series of questions.

You can do this just be aware you will have some effort to go through to complete it.

[love4life09 15]

Thanks for all your answers ! If not for your help we would have missed the 12 month deadline to get registered with

the Philippine Embassy ! I (US Citizen) have no idea how to get a Baptismal and Confirmation Certificate though. Do I need to get Baptised at my church again ? Is the Confirmation from a Catholic Priest? Can i get that here in the US ?

Edited December 7, 2012 by love4life09

[Bumbero 130]

One thing to remember, if you were married in a Catholic Church and divorced without a Catholic annulment of marriage, you may not be able to have a ceremony in the church.

My fiancee and I are having a ceremony out in the Philippines before I bring her back to the US for the offical marriage. Her Catholic church won't perform it due to my divorce without a annulment of marriage.

[CJ8611 6]

One thing to remember, if you were married in a Catholic Church and divorced without a Catholic annulment of marriage, you may not be able to have a ceremony in the church.

My fiancee and I are having a ceremony out in the Philippines before I bring her back to the US for the offical marriage. Her Catholic church won't perform it due to my divorce without a annulment of marriage.

right!

However, if that is not the case, you may get the baptismal and confirmation certificates at the church where you got baptized and had your confirmation. If you have a different religion though, there might be additional requirements. You may have to clarify this with the church where you plan on getting married again. Here is a link to the general church wedding requirements here in the Philippines: http://www.weddingsatwork.com/index.php/general-church-wedding-requirements/

Good luck with your planning!

[love4life09 15]

I did this with my wife. You will need to satisfy whatever requirements the Catholic church asks of you before the priest will marry you. There is paperwork and a series of fees involved.

I can tell you one thing for sure. The Catholic church views you as unmarried unless you were married in the Catholic church. This annoyed me to no end. I was told that when I was asked if I was married or had been married before I must say no or it would cause us problems with the priest and he wouldn't marry us.

Another thing, it depends also on your religion. If you are Catholic no problem or Christian ok. If you are another religion you may have some other complication. They required my Christian baptismal certficate from 40 years ago. I got a letter from the church and the certificate. We had a required interview with the priest before our wedding asking a series of questions.

You can do this just be aware you will have some effort to go through to complete it.

Thanks so much for your reply ! Just one thing I am having trouble with though . Were you required to get Confirmation from a Church Chancery ? The church in Cebu City says we will have to wait 6 months for confirmation after our interview with the priest there. My wife and I have began attending Catholic church here . The priest says he can help us, but requires us to become members in good standing for a time, and make offerings, of course. We both prefer attending our Baptist Church .

[lbounds 16]

I asked my wife about this and she said it depends on what part of Philippines you are in. We had no issues in the davao area. I don't know about cebu. My wife said her friend had the same problem you described. Maybe your wife can talk to some other churches in cebu. When I asked about marriage in a California catholic church they would allow it after we took some classes but its different over there. It may come down to the custom of the region in cebu or the priests. I hope it works out for you. My wife had her dream wedding with her family present it meant a lot to her.

[Artisan 138]

If you are not Catholic you can request a dispensation from the bishop to allow you to participate in a Catholic renewal of vows ceremony. Your wife will have to present her baptismal certificate, confirmation certificate, and her CEMAR. You will have to also produce all the paperwork to prove any previous marriages have been dissolved and if you were previously married in a Catholic church you will have to provide annulment papers as well. You should have most of that from when you applied for your K-1.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

One thing to remember, if you were married in a Catholic Church and divorced without a Catholic annulment of marriage, you may not be able to have a ceremony in the church.

My fiancee and I are having a ceremony out in the Philippines before I bring her back to the US for the offical marriage. Her Catholic church won't perform it due to my divorce without a annulment of marriage.

You are so right. Forget the Catholic it is not happening. Hanks is right, but if the family is dead set on it, find another non-catholic pastor. I used a Methodist pastor in Cebu. If you are in Cebu I can give you the info. She will marry you no problem.

Edited January 11, 2013 by Run Herschel Run