General Church Wedding Requirements
NOTE: other Churches/Parishes may require some other documents and/or seminars not specified below. To be
sure, inquire at the parish office of the church you wish to be married in.
Baptismal and Confirmation Certificates:
These are for both the bride and the groom. These must be new
copies and must have an annotation: "FOR MARRIAGE PURPOSES ONLY" and must have been secured not more than
three (3) months before the date of marriage.
Disparity of worship or disparity of cult (Disparitas Cultus) is an impediment that nullifies
marriage in Roman Catholic canon law. A marriage can not be validly contracted stemming from one person
being baptized and the other not baptized.
The reasons for this impediment, is that the un-baptized spouse’s views on marriage may be
incompatible with the Catholic and may hinder the practice of this religion in the family.
Marriage under Disparity of Worship can be dispensed on the promises (usually written)
from the un-baptized spouse not to interfere with the family’s practice of the Catholic
religion.
FOR MIXED MARRIAGE (different religions or Disparitas Cultus): 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.
Marriage License:
Can be secured from the city or municipality hall of either the bride or the groom.
For those who are civilly married, a certified true photocopy of the Marriage Certificate/Contract with the register
number of the city or town where the marriage was performed must be submitted one week before the wedding
date.
Follow this link to view the
Marriage License and expand
Follow this link to view the
Marriage Certificate and expand
Pre-nuptial interview, or dulog, as it is known in the vernacular. This initial interview is
required by the church to find out any possible impediments to your forthcoming wedding,
to ensure the freedom of both parties, and to determine your knowledge of the duties,
responsibilities and doctrines of a Catholic marriage.
On this meeting, you will be asked to fill out a pre-marital questionnaire which will
help the priest determine your readiness to marry. You will be asked about your relationship
and discuss future duties and responsiblities as husband and wife. The priest will also
discuss the whole marriage preparation process.
This interview with the bride and the groom will be done one month before the wedding date and this
will be done by the parish priest or his assistant. The schedule of the interview will be given upon
the signing of the application form. Failure to report on the interview date or failure to notify the
office of any change in the schedule will mean cancellation of the application and reservation.
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 will
allow you to attend other pre-wedding seminars such as the
Catholic Engaged Encounter (CEE) 
or
Discovery Weekend (DW) .
(Note: if you have already attended either one of these, inquire at the parish office if they recognize
these weekend seminars in lieu of the parish's seminar.)
Catholic Engaged Encounter is a weekend retreat away with other engaged couples with plenty of
time alone together to plan for a sacramental marriage. It is designed to give couples
the opportunity to dialogue honestly and intensively about their prospective lives
together-- their strengths and weaknesses, desires, ambitions, goals, their attitudes about money,
sex, children, family and their role in the church and society
email: ceephilippines@yahoo.com
The Discovery Weekend is a weekend experience held in the Philippines for engaged couples or
couples who are seriously considering marriage. The purpose of the program are the following:
- to assess each one's relationship to oneself, to each other, to God and the Christian community.
- to experience, develop and deepen their relationship through a method of communication and dialogue
which they can bring into their marriage.
- to witness to the many dimensions of marriage openly, honestly and realistically through a team
of three married couples and a priest.
- to be able to plan their marriage and not just their wedding.
In Davao please contact: Gay & Alen Famador Tel Nos.: (0917) 704-2809, (0916) 700-1152
Chito & Cindy Pat Tel No.: (0927) 343-1315
Parish Permit (Permission)
Permit from the parish of the bride must be secured and presented to the parish office of the
chosen ceremony venue (form will be provided for by the parish office of your selected church.)
From an Old English word meaning "to summon" are the public announcement in a parish church that
a marriage is going to take place between two specified persons.
The purpose of banns is to enable anyone to raise any legal impediment to it, so as to prevent
marriages that are legally invalid, either under church law or under civil law. Impediments vary between legal
jurisdictions, but would normally include a pre-existing marriage (having been neither dissolved nor annulled),
a vow of celibacy, lack of consent, or the couple's being related within the prohibited degrees of kinship.
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. 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 picture each from the bride and the groom])
List of Principal Sponsors:
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.
Additional Information:
FOR WIDOW OR WIDOWER: A copy of the death certificate of the former spouse must be presented to the
parish office.
FOR RENEWAL OF VOWS: remember to bring a copy of the Catholic Marriage Contract.