Here in the Philippines, planning your wedding is synonymous to throwing a party for a barangay. Kidding! But there are a lot of things that can influence the planning process, and most of them can be external factors. We just want you to know that we feel you! Here are just some of them.

1. The pressure of a big wedding.

It is very uncommon for a wedding to have a less-than-100 guest list here in the Philippines. In a culture that puts a big focus on family (by that I mean 2nd, 3rd, and 4th cousins), we consider a 180 guest list intimate. When tying the knot, family, friends, workmates, acquaintances from kindergarten (obviously I’m being overly dramatic) need to be invited. There is a high chance that people will feel bad or as we fondly refer to as tampo when they don’t make the cut, making it very hard for the couple to trim down the final list. Yup, I know you can totally relate!

2. The additional guests of the parents that you don’t even know.

Usually, parents are allotted some guests for the wedding–I mean you would want them to enjoy too right? But a wedding in the Philippines has a unique characteristic that parents may even have just as much, or even more guests than the couple (LOL)! For parents, the wedding of their child is an event they have been waiting for all their lives. To a certain degree, I feel that in our culture, it has become a way to celebrate not only the couple but also who the parents are. When it’s the parents paying for the wedding, there’s a higher chance that their guest list also increases. At the very least, when couples are paying, the likely scenario will be that parents will offer to pay for their extra guests.

Continue reading “#THESTRUGGLEISREAL: 7 Wedding Problems Filipino Couples Face When Planning Their Big Day”