Last August, St. Joseph Parish Catholic Church in Tabunok, Talisay City, offered free weddings for unwed couples, some of whom had already been living together for many years. Many devout Catholic couples in the Philippines live together without getting married. This is dictated by simple economics: most Filipinos are extremely poor and it is very expensive to get married, especially in church. There's the marriage license, rental of a wedding gown for the bride and barong Tagalog for the groom, "donation" to the church and officiating priest, wedding feast and gifts for family members and neighbors.....Oi! I've known couples here who went deeply into debt just so they could get married in church. So it's no surprise that many poor "live-in" couples would jump at a sweet offer like a free wedding.
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