Monday, August 27, 2012

Destination Wedding: Hong Kong

I have the pleasure of meeting an online friend who have a destination wedding at the wonderful Hong Kong. It seems to be a good alternative for those who do not want to go all the hassle of paper works to marry in the Philippines ... or... just wanted to have a change of scenario. She is from the Philippines while her partner is a German national.

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~~ADVANTAGES IN MARRYING IN HONGKONG~~
I did ask her what are the good points in marrying there. The following is her answer:

1. Less time consuming
-- she spend a total of one (1) week in Hong Kong: arriving there 2 days before the wedding date for the personal appearance and leaving after registering the wedding in 2 offices:  (a.) Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong & (b.) High Court of the Apostille to prove that the wedding is legal & is being recognize in Germany.
-- no seminar needed.

2. Less documents needed to present
-- German Partner were ask to present only 2 things: Birth Certificate & Passport
-- Philippine Partner were ask to present the following: NSO Cenomar, NSO Birth Certificate & Passport
-- and a notorized ''Notice of Marriage'' paper. She did warn that this is not known so she needed to explain that this document is one of the requirements for marrying in Hong Kong when she have it notorized in the Philippines.

3. A friend or relative living in Hong Kong is an advantage.
-- Her friend was the one who submitted their documents including their payment for the processing fee.
***NOTE: they only send photocopies of their passport & not the passport itself.
-- needed at least 2 witnesses (of legal age) for the wedding ceremony. You can always fly your family if this is what you prefer.


For more information on how to marry in Hong Kong, check the official Hong Kong website.

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~~ADVANTAGES IN MARRYING IN THE PHILIPPINES~~
My wedding was held in a beach in the Philippines. This is my personal pointers on what are the advantages:

1. Affordable Dream Wedding
-- Beautiful & natural back drop for those who opt for destination weddings within the Philippines such as beach weddings among others.
-- Professional services such as photographers & videographers to capture the moments are much affordable in the Philippines.Just be sure that they have good reputations.
-- Filipino food are delicious and affordable.

2. Wedding Planning Stages
-- Planning a wedding is not easy esp. when one or both of you are out of the country. But you get to know your partner better in the process. I did notice that how we plan and execute for our wedding are the same approach we did when we now plan and execute for our new apartment.We can say that this stage is our glimpse of how it will be like when finally living together.

3.  Celebrating with family and close friends
-- I actually heard that this is one of the most common complain when marrying in the Philippines: too many guests. On the other side, it would be nice if you get to share your special moments with your family & close friends. But like in any wedding, the only important part is that its legal. My sole advise would be: Go for quality over quantity!

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At the end of the day, its your and your partner's decision on where to held your wedding. My friend and I sincerely hope that we get to help you decide on what  maybe a better choice for the both of you. We wish you well!

Good luck!

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