MANILA Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales on Monday said Filipino couples choose to have a civil wedding than a church wedding because of financial considerations.

Rosales said that aside from monetary concerns, the solemnity and spirituality of the ceremony is being set aside.

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“At present, there are people who prepare civil wedding than church wedding since they know that church ceremony is much expensive,” he said.

He added that in some weddings, the somberness of the ceremony is being neglected since couples are focused on how impressive their nuptials are going to be.

“I am worried that the sacrament is being rubbed of its solemnity,” the cardinal said.

Rosales said the church wedding is being like a production because of the long preparations, including power point presentations, among others.

“The production is not the real sacrament of the wedding,” he explained.

However, Rosales did not give data on the number of Filipino couples that opted to get married through civil wedding against the church wedding.

Church wedding costs around P100,000 to millions of pesos depending on how the couple wants their wedding to be or based on their budget, while civil wedding would only cost about P3,000 but this doesn’t include the reception which usually cost around P30,000 to P50,000.

In the Philippines, June and December are the most recorded months for weddings. (FP/Sunnex)