Overseas Brides (part 2)

[yn061515]

^ hi smdagnes, you have to check with the church. Sa case namin, since we'll be having the wedding in Caleruega, they only asked for... or post ko dito yung mismong reply sa email ko:

"Pag mixed marriage, kukuha si groom ng proof of his religion nakalagay po yun sa naka attach na wed. Req na sinend ko sa inyo..
Civilly married na naman kayo so yung marriage cert nyo ipapasa nyo smen kahit photo copy. No need na mag pasa ng cenomar..."

[smdagnes]

Thanks for the tip 

[madame_ekis]

Hi Girls,

Just got engaged recently, still having that giggly fit of excitement.  

I'm discretely solo planning my wedding now; looking at maybe late 2018 for the wedding (again maybe).  I'm not involving h2b for now baka mastress sya sa akin .  I'm just looking at Wedding related articles and reading post here din.  I'm thinking, I better get my options ready para its easier to talk about it when he's ready. 

Anyway, I'm based overseas and I'm curious how overseas brides such as yourself handled the planning of your wedding.
Did you get the help of family or friends when reaching out to suppliers?  Or was everything done via long distance calls, skype, emails etc.?  What's the first thing you considered when your started planning? 

TiA!

[LilaFowler]

There's a thread here about planning your wedding from overseas. Hanapin mo na lang... siguro nasa page 2 or 3.

I'm O/S, I have a full service coordinator. She usually suggests suppliers. For major ones I check the portfolio, then I approve. Very helpful to have one, not just to help you asikaso but also to give you an idea of what is reasonably priced and not. Kasi there are those who would take advantage if they know you are overseas.

Before I had the coordinator, I would contact via Facebook or via email. Pero it became tedious so when I found a coord that is reasonably priced, I got her na.

My mum has also been helpful minsan she'll check prices for me or when it comes to making deposits. She will go to the bank and deposit money for me.

For the wedding, I went to the Philippines in May to look at the venue and have a face to face meeting with my wedding planner and also to find a dress. We're going to the Philippines again in January to do the interviews, final dress fitting, make up trial, food tasting etc.

Our wedding is in April.

I hope that helps you.

[madame_ekis]

Thanks LilaFowler!

The idea of having a  a full service coordinator was very helpful.  I only considered OTD lang kasi to save the costs.
I might get a wedding coordinator na lang to make the process easier pero I'm also doing the supplier research myself muna.  I've never been to any Wedding Fair and I've been hearing na mas may discounts daw sa suppliers if you book from there.  But since I'm away and I don't think I can go home anytime this year baka di ako maka attend. 

I found the thread you mentioned http://www.femalenetwork.com/girltalk/index.php/topic,293342.0.html
I've also read the Overseas Bride thread since the other day din. 

Sayang walang sticky.  I was actually looking for like a basic list or flow chart of how to start the planning process.  There's just too many things to consider kasi and at this point I have no idea how and where to begin. 

Me and h2b have not even discussed about planning the wedding since were both busy with work and based on different countries.  Hopefully we can talk about it soon para I have an idea kung ano gusto nya and gusto ko.  As far as I know, we both want a Church wedding, whether within Metro Manila or sa outskirts like Tagaytay or a destination wedding.  I guess I can't really begin the planning process if we have not decided this bit yet.  So at this point, solo planning muna ako to at least save some time looking for suppliers that I want.

I'll subscribe to the threads muna and see how it goes.

Thank you!

[LilaFowler]

This was my process planning the wedding. Of course what worked for me may not be the same for other brides. This will be long.

We bought my eRing in February 2016. My H2B proposed in March and I started planning April.

I think to start with you need to decide on:
- date: availablity of suppliers depends on the date
- budget: budget dictates which suppliers your should be looking at and how many guests you can invite
- guest list: If you know how many you are inviting, you can narrow down venues
- where (Manila or Tagaytay) where you're having the wedding will dictate how early you should start planning. Very popular locations need to be booked as far as a 1.5 years in advance.

We started with a small budget of 350k which grew to 700k kasi the original was just not feasible for the type of wedding we want.

We decided on Bohol, because we wanted a beach reception without the hassle of traffic. Also we have a lot of o/s guests and did not think Manila would be enjoyable for them.

It was was also a way of limiting the number of guests. If I had our wedding in Manila, our guest list will be close to 300. In Bohol, I only expect 75-100 to come.

Once we have decided on dates and location, I did my own research on venues and the wedding planner.

Make sure you get a planner that is local to the area. If you decide on a DW, do not get a planner from Manila. It will be expensive because of the transport and they will not be familiar with other local suppliers. I met a florist who was arranging a wedding in Bohol on behalf of a very popular wedding coordinator in Manila. Kasi the bride decided to get someone "sikat" instead of local.

Once I had candidates for venues and a wedding planner in mind, I went to Bohol (H2B not included) to have an ocular inspection of the venues and meet with the planner. We did a general run through of the suppliers I need to book and she made suggestions so I can do my own research. This was in May 2016.

I also bought my dress while in Manila and also priced barongs and other things we need.

My planner gave me a general timeline of the process. Keep in mind this is for an April 2017 wedding, so adjust na lang the dates.

July-September 2016
Conceptualize Major essentials such as Entourage list and confirmation (save d date)
Entourage outfit- design, style, motif
Finalize suppliers- Manila or Bohol based Suppliers and booking/reservations be made
August 2016- final venue of wedding ceremony
October-December 2016-
December 2016- baptismal and confirmation certs for the marriage bann
January-Request for Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR)
Legal capacity to Marry (Australian Embassy)
Other documents needed to file for marriage license (pls refer to copy given in May)
February-application for marriage license (a file copy to be brought to Tagbilaran for reference- Dispensation of marriage banns, canonical Interview,
Meeting wd suppliers (Bohol Based)
Finalize other wedding essentials
Guest list

March 2016-April2016
Date of arrivals,
On the day itinerary
Reservations/hotels/ accommodation
Ready for execution- April 23, 2017( Wedding Day)

Sorry it's such a long post. I just want to help kasi when I first started I was so overwhelmed. Every night after my research I keep on telling my fiance, lets just elope kasi I was so overwhelmed.

[madame_ekis]

Thank you so much LilaFowler.

This is very detailed and helpful.  I feel I'm in the same situation.  Nakaka stress kasi wala pa kami date and undecided pa if DW or sa Manila lang.  I don't want to seem pushy kay h2b kasi but at the same time I wanted to ensure that I can book my venue and suppliers before they get booked by others.  Mabilis lang ang taon and ayaw ko mag habol in the end.

Personally I want a small intimate wedding outside of MM.  Super traffic na kasi and I don't like gate crashers and extras from family side.  Its gonna be easier for me to limit my guest din pero baka yung ibang guest na gusto nya pumunta eh tamarin na bumyahe.  Kaya till now di ko pa alam kung ano pipiliin namin since may pros and cons talaga.

Thank you!

[Rory_Lorelie_Gilmore]

How's the preps overseas brides? My wedding is in April, so we already started with our documents, of course we'll have our families to arrange it for us, so umuulan na authorization letter at kung ano ano pa. 

[pinkmoscato]

Okay lang kaya na OTD Coordination lang kinuha ko, hindi for full wedding coordination?
Late next year pa naman ang wedding, so I guess I have enough time to research. My mom and H2B's mom are willing to help naman since sila ang nasa Manila. Like now, mother ko na ang nagpa-reserve sa church namin since her office is just near the church na napili namin.

[LilaFowler]

Advice lang to overseas brides, you may be asked to obtain a certificate of freedom to marry from your local parish. Make sure you contact your local parish early in the process kasi they will liaise directly with the church where you will get married and the process can take a bit longer.

For example, I had to go to my original parish and submit all the documents. Because my H2B is previously married, we have to obtain a single certificate to prove that he is not married after his divorce. It took 2 weeks to get the certificate. Then we got delayed pa because it was Christmas holidays.

After the docs are submitted, the documents will be sent to the Archdiocese/Church Tribunal who will then contact the church in the Phils.

TBH, I'm not sure how long the process is. Even our parish priest is not sure.

Baka mauwi kami sa beach wedding. Haha.
 

[girlush]

Advice lang to overseas brides, you may be asked to obtain a certificate of freedom to marry from your local parish. Make sure you contact your local parish early in the process kasi they will liaise directly with the church where you will get married and the process can take a bit longer.

Oh my
Sis, from the requirements given to us ng church if san kami ikakasal wala  nakalagay doon na  certificate of freedom to marry. Required ba to lahat for overseas couple?

[LilaFowler]

I think kailangan sya. I can't find an exact list from the Archdiocese of Manila but I had a look at a few lists from the wedding planners, it's a requirement for all couples getting married outside their parish. They also call it "permission to marry."

Maybe check with your local parish and also with the church your getting married in.

Additional din, if you are no longer a Filipino citizen, you are considered a "foreigner" so you will still need a Certificate of No Impediment from the embassy.

[Everyday Little Pleasures]

December 2016 bride here (HK) and nakatulong talaga na ang local priest namin may office din sa diocese kasi mas mabilis nakakakuha ng mga documents, etc. Malaking tulong rin na siya din mag officiate sa HK. Per advice also of HK priest, nag civil wedding muna kami before church wedding abroad. Mas mahaba daw kasi proseso pag hindi pa legally married.

[ubec.bride]

Any cebu brides here?😊

[azenith2018]

I'm an overseas bride too as well. Planning to get full coordination na lang para less hassle. May ni-recommend sa akin na wedding coordinator. Much better kasi if recommended,

[ubec.bride]

How do you select your wedding coordinator? Do you skype/facetime with them first and interview them? Or do you just go by recommendations? I'm having a hard time finding one because yung mga sikat are either too expensive or not that accomodating.

[pinkonearth]

Hello girltalkers!

Back after a long hiatus because of the wedding and I had to catch up with work pagbalik.

My husband and I are both working abroad and we only came home to the Philippines one week before our wedding date. By prayer and petition talaga lahat ng planning and booking of suppliers. We only got an OTD coordination. Deciding which to avail depends on your needs rin talaga.

For us, it didn't seem ideal to get a full wedding planner because we already had a shortlist of what we wanted. I was also masipag in reading reviews and communicating. We met our OTD coordinators for the first time on the day of the wedding. Pero pagdating naman sa Philippines, we already spoke over the phone when I turned over the details to her. I didn't live in Manila kasi where the lead resides and I didn't want to endure the traffic just to meet and go over the list. We did it via phone after I submitted the filled out Excel sheet.

There came a time when I felt like sana kumuha na lang ako ng someone who will handle everything so that I won't have to go over the tiniest of details but I also knew then that it wouldn't work for my personality and I would still do my best na makialam. Yung firsthand yung information. So the OTD worked for us and it did save us a lot of money.

Adding also to the fact that our OTD is available lagi to give recommendation even when we were planning. If I would be torn on certain suppliers, I would refer to her and ask what she knows about our option or if she has worked with any of them. Prior to booking, nagco-confer din ako sa kanya, and never sya nagdamot ng help. Will never get tired of recommending Sheena Lopez of SMA Weddings and Beyond. 

[Xgbride17]

Hello fellow overseas brides! Took me quite sometime before I can read the thread again, busy lang with family errands! Since last year, I'm preparing for our Dec 2017 wedding,  got full coordination services (Manila based team lacking initiative for the event) but just recently opted to get services from our DW venue (Bohol), which is more agile and result driven. I only have my Mom as my runner for wedding related concerns. My bridal crew, all based overseas, gets in touch through Viber. Hoping we can go home 1 week before the big day.   Yung gown ko, will be done in PH, pero paguwi ko na yung fitting and alteration, so goodluck! hehe

[yn061515]

Hi sis pinkonearth, 1 week before the wedding? Were you married na before, I mean civil? As in super tutok na sa date noh? Ala na kayo ibang requirements na kinailangan ayusin at puntahan? I am not sure which dates to book pa, both hubby and I are overseas too. Feeling ko 2 weeks before dapat and nabuhayan ako ng nabasa ko post mo na 1 week before kayo umuwi and nag work out naman. Kasal naman na kami sa civil so I guess uubra din. Please make more kwento sis. Congratulations btw.

[pinkonearth]

Hi sis yn061515! Yes, one week talaga, haha. We wanted our vacation to have more time after the wedding than before kasi once a year lang umuwi, hehe.

We weren't planning on getting married civilly. In fact, mega-pa-DHL kami ng docs pero hindi talaga namin naipakiusap yung marriage license (10 days sa Philippines before it gets released). So we got married at the Philippine Embassy. Same day, we received our Certificate of Marriage. So more of ceremonial na yung wedding namin when we got back kasi all the legal paperwork are done.

In terms of what we did when we arrived:
- make-up trial (part of Day 1)
- dress fitting (part of Day 1)
- meet our pastor (part of Day 1)
- look for shoes (we couldn't find what we wanted where we worked and it was risky to buy online) (part of Day 1)
- last-minute grooming and pampering
- coordinated with our OTDC via phonecall for our handover
- and then we already booked near the venue a day before the wedding.

Basically, we tried to ensure we would have as few errands as possible when we arrived. Para di kami ma-stress.

I lived 4 hours away from Manila so we decided not to meet OTDC (which is SMA) and Sheena agreed basing on my handover list.

It is possible to do this, sis! As long as settled na most of what you need. So happy we had that itinerary because we had more time to travel and spend time with family and friends after the wedding. 

Let me know if there's any detail you need to help you finalize your schedule. When are you getting married pala?