Traditional Wedding US/Phil

DH and I talk, once in a while...lol. My SIL called to greet DD a happy birthday this past Wednesday. And I asked DH to asked her about her up coming wedding. And we got into talking on how the wedding was done from where I came from, in the 80's.

As I remember it, the grooms' family pay for the whole thing. Like my brother and Uncles before him. It is also customary to do the gathering (party) at the brides house, and then goes to the grooms house to do the same at the end of the day. The wedding have two parties in one day. My brother and one sister did just the custom was done (the way it was done a long time ago). My two sisters and I, had a not very custom way of wedding. However, my FIL paid for the reception in my wedding. The only person who came on my side was my sister in California, whom I don't talk anymore because she grown old & not filipina like. DH and I paid for the wedding ourselves and my wedding dress was given to me by my sister in California. We went to Sears to get our professional wedding picture done.There were some lookers when I walk in a wedding dress to the photo studio.

There is no first dance, no walking in the altar by my father. Actually my Dad did not walk anyone into the altar. When one of my sister had the traditional way wedding he was not able to come home because of his job location. However, my very first niece who got married last January asked him to walk her to the altar because his father was still is away in the other country for work also. Now, I don't feel so bad for my Dad not not having a chance to walk any daughter to the altar.

Then DH mention the word "dowery" for American women back when. Really! You pay the groom to take your daughter away? He could not believe that women back home don't have to pay for anything. I'm not really sure if people back home still do it the way I remember. A lot of them are westernize (they enjoy copying other culture, I think. lol) and have one reception in a big hall in a hotel or banquet hall, and both the bride and groom pays for the whole thing.

The good thing about this is we only have one daughter to pay for when the time comes. But then again, we are probably to old to have a job and pay for the wedding ourselves when she gets married. Unless we move to my country and get her a filipino husband and ask him to pay for the whole thing...lol. More likely not.