Warning: Online Wedding Packages

Don’t Let Your Dream Wedding Turn into a Legal Nightmare!

Online wedding packages promise convenience, but beware of offers that “handle everything,” especially your marriage license and solemnizing officer. Your marriage’s validity under Philippine law is crucial, and shortcuts can lead to severe legal problems.

What Makes a Marriage Valid?

For a marriage to be legally binding in the Philippines, it requires essential and formal requisites under the Family Code:

Essential: Legal capacity (18+, male & female, no impediments) and freely given consent.

Formal: A valid marriage license (unless genuinely exempt), an authorized solemnizing officer, and a proper ceremony where both parties personally appear and declare their consent.

Missing any of these key elements (like a valid license or an authorized officiant) means your marriage is VOID AB INITIO – it never legally existed.

The Hidden Danger of “Complete Packages”

These services can put you at risk of:

Fake or Non-Existent Marriage Licenses: You might be given a fraudulent document, or the ceremony might proceed without any license at all.

Unauthorized Solemnizing Officers: The person officiating might not be legally empowered, making your union invalid.

If your marriage is void, you have no spousal rights, no legal claim to shared property as spouses, and any subsequent marriage without a judicial declaration of nullity could be bigamy.

A Crucial Reminder from the Courts:

The Supreme Court, in cases like Kho v. Republic and Kho (G.R. No. 187462, June 1, 2016), has clearly stated that a marriage performed without a valid license is void ab initio, even if a marriage certificate exists. The burden is on you to ensure its authenticity.

Protect Your Future: Be Diligent!

Personally verify your marriage license with the Local Civil Registrar.

Confirm the solemnizing officer’s authority directly.

Ensure a genuine ceremony where you personally appear and declare consent.

Secure your PSA-authenticated marriage certificate after the wedding.

Your marriage is too important to leave to chance. Don’t risk its legal standing for mere convenience.