as if planning a wedding weren't difficult enough...

the catholic church (or at least the people who run it) must really want us to live in sin. how else would you explain the obstacle course that SOME churches in cebu have set up for those who want to get married?

obstacle 1: if your fiance/fiancee is not roman catholic, he/she has to convert to the religion as couples need to present their baptismal certificates before they can be wed. i believe this one applies to all churches not just some. this is not new, but it shocks me all the same.

obstacle 2: every single person of the wedding party is required to show their baptismal certificates before they can fulfill their assigned roles in the wedding.

what these rules say is that not only can you not marry anyone who is not roman catholic, you can't ask them to be part of your wedding party either. this kind of discrimination is just unfathomable to me at an age where wars are fought and genocides take place in the name of religion. way to be hip with the times, monsignors.

obstacle 3: all would-be ninongs and ninangs have to present their marriage certificates.

apparently, they do not only discriminate on the basis of religion now, but on marital status as well. old maids not allowed.

obstacle 4: have you noticed how brides have little boleros made with their wedding dresses now? or how ninangs take shawls with them to church? that would be courtesy of the rule that all members of the wedding party have to have their shoulders covered. i wonder if this applies to flower girls, too. oh, i hope so. we would not want those bare, provocative 8-year old arms causing sin.

(potential) obstacle 5: a well-known monsignor is advocating for brides to be only allowed to wear white. not off-white. not cream. not beige. just plain, stark, newly bleached teeth white.

i am tempted to go on a tirade about the tackiness of a pure white wedding dress, but i will not. instead i will ask, why does this really matter? to keep up appearances? so they could pretend every single woman getting married (whether in her 20's or 60's) is pure and untouched? who are they trying to fool? God?

besides, a woman's wedding day is supposed to be the single most important day of her life. there will be pictures. many of them, and they will keep resurfacing long after the day itself. do we really want a bunch of old, frumpy men telling us what to wear?

all these make me think that vegas may not be such a bad idea, after all.