BASIC WEDDING PREPARATION

 

HOW TO GET A SOLEMNIZING OFFICER?

Ahead of your wedding day, you should already have a solemnizing officer and matters should have been discussed with him already like the ritual, vow, entourage of people who will be attending, date and venue, etc.

• Why?

Because S.O. should know all these things since he will play a very important role in your wedding.

• But how to get one?

A solemnizing officer is a person that will officiate your wedding. He was given authority by his both by his church and the law to officiate a wedding hence he is given a CRASM or Certificate of Registration of Authority to Solemnize Marriage issued by Philippine Statistics Authority or PSA.

So commonly Solemnizing Officers are church ministers, priests, pastors or imams. So you can ask the assistance of your church office in securing a solemnizing officer.

• Based on your religious affiliation.

If you are both Roman Catholic, then your SO should be a Roman Catholic priest.

If one of you is Roman Catholic and the other one is a member of another Christian denomination then it is up to you what marriage rite you want. If you want a Christian Wedding, then you have options. Yes, you have!

1.  Garden Wedding

2.  Hotel

3.  Church

4. Restaurant

5.  Beach

6. Resort

Christian weddings allowed these, yet you need to coordinate with your solemnizing officer what are other documents you may need. This is also discussed in the next topic of this guide.

• Incumbent Mayors and members of the Judiciary are also solemnizing officers.

These S.O. can solemnize your wedding. You just need to go to their office and ask for their schedule. Although it might be a bit difficult if you have a preferred venue because most of the time, they will be one to tell you where the marriage rite is will take place.

Okay, here is the common question.

• How about if you already have the date of your wedding and you do not have yet a solemnizing officer?

Okay, remember that you already have a marriage license, right? The best thing to do is of course to contact your church or you may seek the help of your civil registrar if they can recommend you a solemnizing officer.

THERE ARE SOLEMNIZING OFFICERS WE CAN CONTACT ONLINE

Yes, there are some S.O. that you may contact online you can find them through Google search or through Facebook. Are they legitimate?

That is why you may need to politely ask for their CRASM Certificate of Registration of Authority to Solemnize Marriage issued by Philippine Statistics Authority or PSA.

Also, the government made some automation in order for us to verify the authenticity of our Solemnizing officer. Follow these steps!

1.   Ask the name of your Solemnizing Officer and his church affiliation.

2.  Go to the Solemnizing Officers Information System a portal made by Philippine Statistics Authority or type this URL in your browser,

https://sois.psa.gov.ph/search

3.  Type in the name of your Solemnizing Officer and information about his CRAMS will appear.

4. Be sure to check Registry Effectivity or the validity of his license, and the Jurisdiction meaning the area where the SO is allowed to solemnize a marriage if it appears ‘the entire Philippines” or only to a specific region.