You know that point where you’re about ready to give up? It could be that horrendous term paper, a 10-kilometer marathon, or a really big fight. It seems there are so many odds against you, and it would be so much easier to give up. I felt like that when I was trying to fix my birth certificate. Continue Reading…
Even when we knew what we had to do, things seemed hopeless.
The confirmation certificate:
Come Tuesday, December 15, we called Mount Carmel, and the verdict was out on my confirmation certificate: the Diocese said we had to get a copy of the original from Abu Dhabi, or at least some sort of certification stating that the confirmation had indeed taken place on the date and at the place we claimed in the original certificate we presented.
Great. How were we supposed to do that? There was an address for the Vicar Apostolic of Arabia on my certificate, but it was just a PO Box. All seemed bleak. Continue Reading…
It seems like every free day or hour we have is spent on the wedding. Or in the car, going somewhere wedding-related. Take Wednesday, for example.
We spent Tuesday night in Roseroland, then woke up bright and early on Wednesday to go to Parañaque City Hall. We applied for the marriage license, which only took an hour. The documents required were the CENOMARs (Certificates of No Previous Marriage, obtained from the NSO), our NSO-certified birth certificates, and Oneal’s barangay clearance, since he’s a resident of Parañaque. Continue Reading…
Why is getting married so complicated?? All I want is to be one with my hunny bunny till death do us part. Why is there so much paperwork and fuss????
Right now, we’re working on our marriage license. We need to make a personal appearance at the Parañaque City Hall, and present our CENOMARs, NSO birth certificates and Oneal’s certificate of residency.
We also made reservations to attend the pre-cana seminar at the Center for Family in Ateneo in January. But before we can do that, we need an authorization letter from the church. AND we need to submit our birth, baptismal and confirmation certificates. Egads! Surely getting married was never this complicated before?
On the upside, I think all the suppliers have been booked. The venue is now fully paid, yay! We’ve also finalized the program.
It’s only two months away, and it feels like there’s still so much we need to do. To top it all off, it’s Christmas! But I guess Christmas is just another opportunity to be thankful that I have a wonderful Oneal who wants to marry me.
It’s going to be a Merry Christmas indeed!
– rej
It’s not often you’re happy with the service at government offices, so when it happens, it’s a cause for celebration!
For the wedding, among the documents we need are birth certificates and certificates of no previous marriage (CENOMAR) from the National Statistics Office, dated within six months of the wedding. Since we only have 4 months and three weeks to go, I figured now was a good time to apply.
I went to the website (thanks to Dante for the link!), filled up the forms, and was done! It’s so wonderful when you can be efficient from the comfort of your own home. Even better, I was able to pay for the certificate requests online, through Banco de Oro online banking.
The website says it will take about two weeks for delivery. So not only can you make the request from your own home, and pay online, but your documents will also be delivered right to your doorstep! *happy dance*
– rej
Mom found my confirmation certificate! Hooray!
One of the things that’s been bugging us are the church requirements for couples who want to marry. Specifically, we’ve been trying to remember where our confirmation certificates are! I knew I was received the rite of confirmation when we were in Saudi Arabia, but I couldn’t remember exactly when, and where my certificate was.
Our pursuit of Oneal’s confirmation certificate turned into an Intramuros field trip. His mom had said he and his cousins were all confirmed at Manila Cathedral in 1975, so Oneal and I figured our search should start there. This would also be our opportunity to finall explore Intramuros on foot, camera in hand, something we’d been wanting to do for years.
We first headed to Manila Hotel for brunch with Oneal’s mom. Then the driver took us to Manila Cathedral, where we were just in time for the noon Mass. It was Ash Wednesday too, so it was lovely timing. The church was full, and we were able to receive the ash on our foreheads. After the Mass, the office was closed until 2:00, so we decided to go exploring first. We walked around Intramuros and on to San Agustin Church, took pictures of everything, and even found some pretty maritime offices and the Kaisa Filipino-Chinese Community Heritage Museum. One of these days we’ll go back and explore the museums.
At 2:00, we were back in Manila Cathedral, and the office was open. Oneal inquired at the window, and was promptly told that all records for rties performed prior to 1976 were stored in San Agustin. Oops. So we had to trudge back in the afternoon heat and the dust of the city, back to the office at San Agustin.
You can imagine our relief when the girl at the office found the certificate. She was using a slow old computer, and to search their database she used a DOS program, filling in the blanks with the information Oneal provided on the form. It was a slow search, and we had to take a seat while waiting, but at least the records are computerized! The results told her not only that Oneal was confirmed in the Manila Cathedral in 1975, but also told her the ledger and line number where the original record could be found! We were really happy and relieved.
Unfortunately, the certificate would only be valid for 6 months, so if we got a copy then, it would be expired well before our wedding day. Nevertheless, it’s a relief to know exactly where the certificate is, and how to get it when we need it.
Next: my confirmation certificate! Seeing as how I can’t exactly go back to Saudi Arabia and I wasn’t confirmed in an actual church, I’m not sure how the Mount Carmel parish will react to my confirmation story. Still, Mom found my certificate and gave it to me today, so I can at least consult a priest and ask if that’s acceptable, or if I need to be confirmed again.
Wish me luck!
– rej