wedding cost in Philippine

[sky_blue 0]

hello guys.........im just new here in VJ we are planning to get married here in Phil hopefuly we can make it next month. have some question to ask pls help........thanks in advance

1. wedding cost(minimum- max) if we choose church wedding?

2.is one month planning is enough or not?

3. if we have 1 month to prepare should we go to Civil wedding?

4.Btw my bf is from USA what are the documents should he bring?

[Chantel 0]

my friend arrived here from abroad 1 month before their wedding and they have had a garden wedding at the hotel, the reception is a known hotel here, and for 150 persons cost them 150K all in all including the foods...if hotel it depends on how many hours you stay.....the priest was their to administer it also.....well the cost of wedding depends if its in province or in Manila.....the amount I mentioned above is in Baguio City.....

even if Civil Wedding 1 month is enough considering the 10 days policy in LCR

[jj1028 3]

hello guys.........im just new here in VJ we are planning to get married here in Phil hopefuly we can make it next month. have some question to ask pls help........thanks in advance

1. wedding cost(minimum- max) if we choose church wedding?

2.is one month planning is enough or not?

3. if we have 1 month to prepare should we go to Civil wedding?

4.Btw my bf is from USA what are the documents should he bring?

cost varies, depends on how many guest you will have, where you're gonna have it? a nice church wedding usually takes longer than 1 mo of planning, depends on what you want and how you want it to be, my brother planned his wedding for like 6 mos or so.. unless you wanna cram on things, coz you have lots of stuff to consider, will you buy a ready made wedding dress? how about your entourage's dresses? and the reception too.. you have to go into details if you want it to go nice and smooth or hire a wedding coordinator..

Edited September 13, 2007 by jj1028

[Jasman0717 9]

My friend spend about $2500 when he was married in Iligan. He really went over-board, you don't have to spend that much for a very nice wedding.

[pinaymama 0]

this is my answers:

1. if you choose a church wedding it must be 100k and up with 50 to 100 people if you could find cheaper but elegant things for your gowns, give aways, invitations, flowers/corsages, bridal entourage etc. then you can save...

2. I planned my wedding for about 2 months and it was quite enough though ...maybe a month was kinda short since you have to send out the wedding invitations 2 weeks before your wedding.

3. Maybe Civil wedding would work this out..if you only have a month for the waiting process..

4. Just visit this US Embassy Manila site for further information regarding marriage in the Philippines.

Marriage of American Citizens in the Philippines

Hope it helps!

Edited September 13, 2007 by pinaymama

[vbtbmrt 2]

i just had a civil wedding had less then one month to plan had 35 people and a cost of about 25000 php about 500 usd yes thats correct there is a 10 day period from when when you get married to when they release marriage lic.

[rjp44 1]

hello guys.........im just new here in VJ we are planning to get married here in Phil hopefuly we can make it next month. have some question to ask pls help........thanks in advance

1. wedding cost(minimum- max) if we choose church wedding?

2.is one month planning is enough or not?

3. if we have 1 month to prepare should we go to Civil wedding?

4.Btw my bf is from USA what are the documents should he bring?

I don't believe I would try a church wedding with one month notice. Perhaps a civil wedding now and a church wedding later. You would need time to get invitations printed and delivered, line up your sponsors arrange for flowers, arrange for a church and what they would require, book the venue for the reception.

Including my wife's gown (not off the rack) the rings (including engagement), flowers, reception at a Makati hotel for 100, church, we spent about US$ 6000.

Your boyfriend will need his birth certificate, any divorce decrees that apply....both certified copies. You will need birth certificate and CENOMAR from the NSO, and the license is not good until 10 days after issue. Also plan on time for a family planning seminar.

And it gets even better with all the paperwork that's required for your visa.....but good news....it's worth all the effort. Best of luck

[SqdnGuns 21]

It depends on what Province you will marry in too......

In the National Capital Region (Manila Area) it will cost a substantial bit more than if you marry in South Cotabato.

[Jasman0717 9]

My friend paid about $2500 USD and had a pertty nice wedding and reception. Of course that was when the dollar was worth about 30% more than it is now

[Dakine 26]

Gave the judge that married us P1000.

Pare, shoes and pantalones not that much. Wife used a friends wedding gown.

Killer reception at Bali Hai restaurant in Bauang on the beach.

They closed it for our reception. 80+ peeps with 5 course masarap dinner for everyone.

Came out to 5$ a head.

BIG wedding cake was extra.

Ended up pulling in P5000 doing the "pin on the peso wedding dance"

Put everything on my visa and never looked what the bottomline was after getting back to the US.

[Russ_M 0]

There are a few things to look at before getting married as mentioned in the other posts. You will need time to get your marriage application and family counciling.

If you plan on peitioning the government to get her VISA make sure you research all the legal ramification concerning the marriage paper work. Especiall all the forms. A single mistakes can cost you many months of hardship and lots of money.

Once your wedding application and certificate have been filed with NSO--National Security Office of Philippines--it is hard to update. We made changes almost two years ago, they got info both on me and my wife wrong on the marriage cert, and the papers still have not been modified at NSO. Lukily for us we fell under a law allow us to simply make a request of change in order to get the proper information included on our VISA. But that regulation does not exist any more. Can't stress this enough!!!!!

Our wedding was great but If we could do it again, I would have made different decisions. However, here are some basics that should help you;

Don't worry about the cost much because most of the overhead will be labor and if she has a big family they will enjoy helping in preparations. If possible have the wedding in her home town. It is traditional that all the family and friends be there. It is a big boon to the family to have a great wedding. If you have not discovered yet the philippines always has hollidays. In fact their life evolves around hollidays! LOL! So you can gues how important and significant a wedding is.

Try to keep your stay and adventures low-key while outside of your family view. There are dangers in the philippines and you should take heed of the US governments warnings. However, while in your in-laws presence you should be well protected so have a blast, trust them and do your best to know them and understand their culture. Philippinos are some of the warmest and most gracious people you'll ever meet but play by their rules. Don't be pushy and by all means except their hospitallity with open arms. Your their new family member and they love family!

For the best wedding, from the view of your philipina and you;

• How
  • Get input from her and her immediate family. Let them help you plan. Your wedding will reflect on the whole family and traditionally both families celebrate in making plans and inviting guests so if yours will be absent give her family some leaniency but not card blanche. Express your concerns when appropriate and they will respect your wishes. Remeber they are your family and will appreciate your ideas and expect them.
  • Don't rush things but stay fixed on a timeline. There is a tendancy, in the philippines, to put things off for another day. (It is the Holliday country!) If something comes up for which you can not quickly come up with an answer then it will be your job to solve it. If you can't solve it then it will reflect on you at the time of the wedding.
  • Have the wedding and reception in two separate places. It will be a lot simpler if the wedding is held at a formal gather location and the reception is at her families home. This will allow you to keep the cultural aspects of the wedding sepparate from the religous aspects. Again consult the family because like here each family has their own customs and traditions too.
• When
  • What type of wedding would you like to have? Wet or hot and wet (LOL)? As you have probably figured out it is always hot in the philippines. Unlike here in the USA where the winters are cold and the sumers are hot, in the philippines the winters are wet and it is always hot. LOL!
  • Again consult the family and determine your best travel accomodations against their wishes. Try not to have your wedding near other hollidays as this will reduce your new families focus and your chance of the best wedding ever. Set the date, at least one week, away from any holliday. Ohh, and each region has hollidays of their own so don't think you can simply look up the Philippine calandar.
  • Consider planning the wedding for early morning so your reception can start early afternoon. And if the guest list is long, over 20-30, plan on a two day reception with little sleep that night. Also learn a couple karaoke songs to sing to your new bride. Even if you can't sing, like me, they will expect you to pronounce your affections. Don't be emmbarrased you'll see everyone singing and many your will wonder if it is singing at all LOL! So make the attempt and plan in advance so you don't seem alien! LOL
• Who
  • Your inventation list will mostly contain family and near relatives. But some may come from many miles away and you might be asked to help pay for their travel fare. Don't be a push over though! It is expected that close family and friends make their own way to the celebration out of respect. It is not your personal responsibility to insure their arrival. But be kind and if someone close and dear family member or friend needs help give a hand. Life in phil is hard and your wife may have a few dear family or friends she wants at the wedding. Cool stuff! Especially in the eyes of your new wife and her family!

Hope this helps a little!

[vbtbmrt 2]

great post russ m very true with all of it

[edp333 9]

Our wedding last March was about $5,500 US. We used an outside wedding venue with the reception in an air conditioned hall. The venue set up the wedding and reception, served food for 150, supplied the cake, music, one bottle of champagne, gold coins, two doves to release, and 10 glass swans with our picture for around $1,300. They also packed the cake and extra food and cleaned up. This way her family only had to worry about getting ready for the wedding andthen celebrating after the reception.

The wedding dress, bridemaid's dresses, flower girl's dress, etc. and my Tagalog Barong where all custom made. Quite a bargain compared to getting married in the US.

Edited November 23, 2007 by edp333

[JamesRachel 0]

WOw! all you guys here was have a great wedding. I can say too that i have a great wedding too and solem wedding i have. I have a simple civil wedding i ever had and we only spend almost $150(not included for our wedding band) it is including our reception held in my apartment. Guess what i have only 12 guest including my parents.

[Erikat 0]

I can only answer a couple of your questions.

1 month planning is definitely pushing it. It can be done but don't expect your wedding to be in order. Church wedding usually take 6 months and most church are fully booked unless you are willing to be married on odd days like thursday or wednesday.

Cost varies...depends on the number of visitors or the place. 100 people could easily cost you 50K more or less depends on the place.

HTH.