These are some of the usual church wedding requirements in the Philippines. Always double-check for additional requirements with your chosen church, especially for foreigners and those living or working abroad.
1. Baptismal and Confirmation Certificates: Secure NEW copies which should have an annotation: “FOR MARRIAGE PURPOSES ONLY”. These docs must be secured not more than three (3) months before the date of marriage. FOR MIXED MARRIAGE (different religions or Disparitas Cultas): a dispensation must be secured from the Archdiocesan Chancery Office at the Arzobispado de Manila, 121 Arzobispo St., Intramuros, Manila (near Manila Cathedral). The forms will be provided at the Parish Office which will be released after the canonical interview with the Parish Priest or his assistant. These have to be submitted one week before the wedding. Make sure that the data are correct especially your name and even the names of parents. Make the necessary corrections early on.
2. Marriage License: Secure this from the city or municipality hall where either the bride or the groom currently lives. For those who are civilly married, a certified true photocopy of the Marriage Contract with the registry number of the city or town where the marriage was performed must be submitted one week before the wedding date.
3. Canonical Interview: This interview with the bride and the groom will be done one (1) month before the wedding date and will be conducted by the parish priest or parish assistant. The schedule of the interview will be given upon the signing of the application form and paying the reservation fee. Failure to report on the interview date or failure to notify the office of any change in the schedule could mean cancellation of the application and reservation of the church for the upcoming wedding, unless there is a very grave reason for doing so and the church was informed of the reason whatsoever.
4. Pre-Marriage Seminar: Both the bride and the groom have to attend this. The schedule for the seminar will be given during the canonical interview or you may inquire at the parish office. Some churches may allow attendance in other pre-wedding seminars such as the Catholic Engaged Encounter (CEE) or Discovery Weekend (DW) as a suitable substitute (if you have already attended either one of these, inquire at the parish office if they recognize either CEE or DW in lieu of their Pre-Marriage Seminar.) These seminars are more extensive but costs more. But most about to wed couples give good feedback about their experiences in attending these seminars.
5. Permission from the couples’ parish: a permit from the parish of the bride and the groom must be secured and presented to the parish office of the couple’s chosen ceremony venue. The form will be provided by the parish office of your chosen church. A parish means the church which has jurisdiction over the place where the bride and groom currently resides.
6. Marriage Banns: These will be provided during the canonical interview and have to be immediately brought to the respective parishes of the bride and the groom for posting in the respective parishes where the bride and groom currently resides. These have to be returned to the office after three Sundays. (Note: the respective parishes may ask some requirements for the posting of the banns [i.e. a ID picture from the bride and the groom])
7. Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR) – This is a document of proof of singleness or capacity to marry and must be secured from the National Statistics Office. For hassle free way of getting a CENOMAR, get it online thru e-census website. For foreigners, secure an original “Certificate of Freedom to Marry” from your embassy. The cenomar has a validity period of 6 months.
8. List of names and addresses of principal sponsors (Ninongs & Ninangs): This has to be submitted to the parish office one week before the wedding date. Church policy requires at least a pair of sponsors and, ideally, a maximum of six sponsors. Always ask the church their maximum number of sponsors as some churches may penalize you if you exceed the allowable number of principal sponsors.
For a list of Philippine Churches, click this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Roman_Catholic_churches_in_the_Philippines
i wanna ask if what are the fees you need to pay..like im residing here and i want to get married in some place..coz i dont know if its legal to pay for a church..if you want to get married in some place..my cousin also resides here and she got married in some place and the church says that she needs to pay 2 thousand for so called “tawid,” is it legal to collect fee like that??
I paid around Php 500 to my parochial church in Makati to secure a wedding ban/permission to get married in Manila. The wedding ban is published 3 Sundays during masses to announce to your neighbors hearing masses that your are getting married. I’m not sure for other places. Where was this fee collected anyway?
This is basically a ‘catholic church’ wedding per se. there could also be a ‘christian church’ wedding which does not have most of the requirements you specified.
yes my blog is for a catholic wedding.
What if we’re already married and we decided to have a church wedding after a year what are the requirements we need to submit
Hi there!!! I just want to ask coz where planning to have church weeding this coming June, what are the documents needed by the primary sponsors? Is it true that they can ‘t be a sponsor if they are not married in church? What if Me as bride can’t attend the CENOMAR because I’m working outside the country and have a little time for holidays to have our church wedding, then the church will cancel the date of wedding? Hoping to hear from you soon.. Thanks a lot…
All church requirements and government requirements will need to be completed before the wedding date. Assign someone to take care of your requirements. You may also call to have the CENOMAR delivered to your address in the Philippines addressed c/o a relative. try this website to order online your cenomar: https://nsohelpline.com. I am not aware of any documents needed to become a principal sponsor except their full name.
we will be a principal sponsor for june wedding( catholic church), is it really necessary to provide our marriage cetificate to the church?? is this a new requirement??
@wilma viray- This is the first time i’ve ever heard of this requirement. Would you care to mention which church this is?
is it true that there are also fees for those who will be a principal sponsor???
yes you have to pay for additional sponsors in excess of the church’s requirement. Like for example in San Agustin Church Manila, if the couple wishes to have more than six pairs of sponsors, the charge is Php 400.00 per pair. Pls confirm with your church.
Hi, my siblings and I are planning to have a surprise church wedding for our parents. They have been married for almost 40 years but only civilly. Would you know the requirements because we do not know how to pull it of without them knowing. Is there an appearence required? Thank you, hope to hear from you.
sorry i haven’t done anything like this before. that’s so sweet though. but you know what? i’ll try to research and post the results here.
Hi, my boyfriend is in canada and im in philippines. we are planning to get married next year. i would like to know what are the process that we need to take since we would like to have our wedding in church. please advise us on what to do. Thanks
Hi Sorry for my late reply. I can vouche for San Agustin cause this is where I got married. Here are the basic requirements from their website ,
New copy of BAPTISMAL and CONFIRMATION certification of Groom and Bride from the church where they were baptized and confirmed, (certificates are valid for six months from the date of issue), with the annotation FOR MARRIAGE PURPOSES ONLY. To be submitted two months before the wedding.
2.MARRIAGE LICENSE to be acquired from the Civil registry of Marriage of the City or Municipality of either the Groom or the Bride (License is valid for 120 days or 4 months). License issued outside MANILA should be submitted together with a valid ID or Billing Statement with address as a proof of groom/bride’s residence. If CIVILLY MARRIED, a certified true copy of Marriage Contract from the National Statistics Office should be submitted two months before the wedding.
3. CERTIFICATE OF FREEDOM TO MARRY: (Filipino Citizen living abroad for more than 6 months, to be secured from their Parish abroad)
4.CANONICAL INTERVIEW of the Groom and the Bride to be conducted two months before the wedding date.
5. A Certificate of Attendance in the Pre-Cana Seminar or Marriage Preparation Program or other programs related to marriage.
6. ECCLESIASTICAL BANNS and PERMIT to be announced for three consecutive Sundays in the parish of the Groom and of the Bride (The forms will be provided and filled up during the Interview).
7. LIST OF NAMES and ADDRESSES OF SPONSORS (Ninongs & Ninangs). A minimum of one pair and a maximum of six pairs are allowed. (See also B.5)
8. Widower and widow must present the Death Certificate of their deceased partner.
9. For wedding Anniversaries, bring a certified copy of your Catholic Marriage Contract and come for interview by the Parish Priest Priest/Assistant Parish Priest.
10. If a military man, Certification of Freedom to Marry from the higher headquarter or office.
11. Couples whose marriage has been declared null and void must present the document of Nullity from a competent Matrimonial Tribunal and a letter of approval from the Archdiocesan Office.
Additional requirements for:
MARRIAGE between CATHOLIC & NON-CATHOLIC:
1. A certification of freedom to Marry form the Non-Catholic Minister or Pastor.
2. PROMISE FOR MIXED MARRIAGE FORM. To be filled up during the interview (to submitted to the Chancery Office Arzobispado de Manila) for approval.
MARRIAGE between FILIPINO & FORIEGNER:
1.Our policy is TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT! (We so not entertain temporary reservation).
2. A Seven Thousand Pesos (Php 7,000) down payment will be required upon entry of the name in the Book of Reservation. THE DOWNPAYMENT IS NOT REFUNDALE.
3. In case of cancellation, a written communication and receipt issued during reservation must be presented. The reservation is automatically forfeited and is not transferable to another party.
4. In case of changing the wedding date, the receipt issued during reservation must be presented together with a written communication of request provided that the desired date is still available. The communication must be done at least 2 months before the wedding.
Hi were planning to get married on April next year, but the problem is we are both working here in Singapore and we have a very short time to arrange those requirements. all of those requirements can be done by a week? hope to hear from you guys soon. thanks a lot!
So sorry. It’s only now that I got to read your blog. Did you push through with the wedding? Just for the sake of those who are on the same plight, one week processing is too fast for a Catholic wedding. I know a cousin of mine who had a catholic marriage and it took 2 months to process everything inspite of the fact that they had friends and connections with the Church and the local government for their requirements. If it’s a civil wedding it could be possible. But as I always advise, please contact the church or the minister or judge who will officiate the wedding to confirm.
thanks for this.. i also want to ask how many days would the pre marriage seminar take? im currently working abroad and only allowed 1 month vacation per year, maximum. thank you
For San Agustin church it took us 2 days. First is the canonical interview where the priest would interview you on how you met, why you want to get married and other details to gauge your preparedness for the wedding. The pre-cana /pre wedding seminar took us just 1 day. I suggest that you contact the church and inform them about your situation so that you could make proper arrangements.
What if my fiancé does not confirmation certification?
if it’s a catholic wedding, your fiance would need to have a confirmation. I for one didn’t know that I got confirmed at an Aglipayan church. So I had to do it all over again at Quiapo Church. It was fast and very meaningful since I get to choose my own sponsor and understand the importance of this sacrament. I suggest you call Quiapo Church at 733-4945 loc 100.
Hi I am annulled, could it be possible to have a church wedding again? If so, what’s the requirements? Thanks.
Of course if you have a final court order on hand. Which church have you chosen?
What’s up every one, here every person is sharing such experience, so it’s good to read this blog, and I used to visit this webpage every
day.
..hello..I just wanna ask if is it possible to apply for the marriage license here on where we stay now but we wanna marry in church not here? Just we apply the marriage license here but the venue is on the place where I was born? Please reply..I really need advice. .thanks..
hi, me and my husband got a civil marriage. and im planning to get married in church early next year. He is foreign national so does he need an impedement of no marriage (cenomar) from his country or our NSO marriage cert will be fine! thank you and more power.
Well that should be enough. Inquire from the church of choice to be sure.
Hi…my bf and I plan to get married ths December but the problem is he wasn’t sure if he got baptized..he was raised by his grandmother but she passed away already…is it possible for him to get baptize now that his 30 yo…anyway his also catholic..
Hi..I just want to ask if priest do really have fees when they are asked to officiate a ceremony for any occassion? Thanks!!
Hi! Just want to ask if the CANONICAL INTERVIEW should be done in the parish where we would get married (National Shrine of Sacred Heart) or can we do it in my fiance’s parish in Guam? He’s having a hard time to take a leave in his work. 😦
It’s amazing for me to have a web site, which is useful in support of my knowledge.
thanks admin
Hi is it right that te church will collect as 5000.00 for our wedding ceremony, our family wants to make sure if its right, coz its a big amount if you’ll notice.
Hi I want to ask what you means by annotation for marriage purposes?
Annotation for “marrriage purposes” means there is a stamp or a note saying that such a certificate is “for marriage purposes” only. You would need to indicate it on your application form.
what if your partner is working abroad and the vacation is 1 month only? how can we comply the 3rd rules of canonical interview 1 month before the wed? is it possible to fix wedding in 1 month? what will be the best thing to do to make this simple wed in 1month only?
Hi. We will be having a Christian wedding. We already got our marriage license. We would process now the marriage contract. What are the requirements?
I have not had a Christian wedding but I heard that the requirements are simpler just like when you want to have a civil wedding. Best to contact your pastor.
Hello,
Im a divorced US citizen but planning to apply for a dual citizenship soon. Can i still marry under the church? It means so much to me. Please advice.
If there is a final judgment re your divorce that you could produce while applying for a license, you will be allowed to marry in church.
Hello! I hope you’re still online? Thanks for the helpful blog! Me and my fiancé are austrian citizens and would like to have a church wedding in the PH on January 16, 2016. Our civil wedding will be held in Austria this year on July 30. I (Filipina) was baptized and had my confirmation in Austria. My fiancé was baptized in Sri Lanka but didnt have a confirmation. Are there any steps we can manage in Austria beforehand? (eg. confirmation, wedding seminar, canonical interview…) Even if i have relatives in the PH who can help me it is still going to be a time consuming process because of arranging all the original documents, legalizing and translate them 😦 We havent decided on a church/location yet. Are there any “reliable” authorities in the PH we can ask via email/phone? Thank you so much for your help ^^
ps. i hope that arriving 10 days prior the wedding is ok.
1. First decide on the church and venue. 2. Ask relatives to get a list of the requirements and reserve the dates as soon as possible because January is a busy month for weddings and church slots and venues would be hard to get. We had ours reserved for a year. 3. Church weddings in the Philippines require a lot of documentation so be sure to have a trusted relative to do all these inquiries and follow up always as in always via skype, viber etc. I had a problem with my confirmation and it took me about 2-3 months to fix it. Make sure all your birth certificates, confirmation certificates are in order any misspelling would amount to a lot of time to correct them usually 2-3 months. 5.I suggest you come at least a month and always follow up with suppliers and relatives and your wedding coordinator to lessen the wedding prep stress.
hi me and my husband were here abroad, and we are planning to get married in the philippines,, and sad to say we only have 1.5 months for vacation.. can we preprare And get married for that short time na magstay kami jan?? what about the requirements na may mga schedule? hayss pls help.. thank you!
Hi, i would like to seek advice coz we have the situation ,, were u able to get married with that short period of time? me and my boyfriend have only 1 month vacation on december.. whats the update on your case? thanks!
We planned a year ahead. We’ve been married for 4 years now. He was abroad and I was staying in the Phils. Well, I had a cousin who was able to do everything for two months but they had parents and relatives and connections (so to speak) to help them. Her boyfriend was in the US and she was the one doing all the paper works. If you’re getting married in church, it would be too stressful. Have relatives to inquire as early as now with your church of choice. For us, we had to reserve the church for about a year just to get a schedule. December is a hectic time to get married. Be early to reserve venue and church.
Hi, I have some few questions about the requirements. Theses requirements giving me a hard time because both me and my fiance is working abroad. We are planning our wedding this coming December in Tagaytay. I am residing in Imus, Cavite and my fiancee is in Muntinlupa.
I hope you can help me. Thanks in advance.
1. In getting the marriage banns, is it possible to acquire as early as we want?
Is it possible other person can get it for us?
2. Same question on getting the “permission of groom’s/Bride’s parish church”, can we get it earlier? Is it possible other person can get it for us?
3. In getting the Marriage Licence is our respective city hall/municipality, do we need to attend any seminars?
4.The Canonical Interview can be held 3 months before our wedding date?
5. The confession to the priest, can be held days before the wedding?
I’m asking all theses because it is very hard to plan the dates we need to fly back to Philippines in order to settle these requirements.
Thank you so much!
Regards,
Louie
1. In getting the marriage banns, is it possible to acquire as early as we want?
Yes. But you have to complete the pre requisite requirements.
Is it possible other person can get it for us? YES.
2. Same question on getting the “permission of groom’s/Bride’s parish church”, can we get it earlier? Is it possible other person can get it for us? yes
3. In getting the Marriage Licence is our respective city hall/municipality, do we need to attend any seminars? YES. You will learn a lot from that seminar.
4.The Canonical Interview can be held 3 months before our wedding date? depends on the priest’s schedule and your submitted requirements
5. The confession to the priest, can be held days before the wedding? Yes
I’m asking all theses because it is very hard to plan the dates we need to fly back to Philippines in order to settle these requirements.