Caloocan City attempts Guinness Record for Largest Mass Wedding

Caloocan City made an attempt to bag a “Guinness Book of World Records” for hosting the largest mass wedding or “Kasalang Bayan” last February 12. The mass wedding has been part of the on-going project of Mayor Enrico “Recom” Echiverri since the year he entered office in 2004.

Caloocan's "Kasalang Bayan 2012".
Wedding Photo from caloocancity.gov.ph

A total of 1,510 couples exchanged vows in holy matrimony at the Glorietta Park in Tala. The event is also part of the city’s 50^th foundation anniversary held February 16.

The youngest couple at the mass wedding in Caloocan was 19-year old Boots Evasco and 18-year old Leshei Valenzuela. The oldest pair who took part in the same event was Godofredo delos Santos at 77 years old and Marcelina Jumbang at 75.

Mayor Echiverri believes that the attempt for a place in the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records will not only bring honor to Caloocan City but to the entire country as well.

The Civil Registry Department of Caloocan City shouldered the wedding expenses of all the couples who joined the mass wedding including their registry fees. The mass wedding was solemnized by Echiverri himself while several other Caloocan City officials served as sponsors for the newlyweds.

Officiating civil ceremonies is not new for Mayor Echiverri as he has been doing this since he became mayor of Caloocan. It was only this year however that he made an attempt to seal a spot in the prestigious Guinness Records.

Posted By: Diane Dominique Ting

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kasal.com thanks the following source for this article:

Botial, Jerry. “Caloocan wants record for largest mass wedding”. Philippine Star. Posted on February 14, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2012 from http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=65&articleid=777249

Love is in the SEA Air!

According to regional digital media planner, Effective Measure, Southeast Asia is teeming with love couples!

Their recent Internet demographics study showed "73.1 million Internet users, representing 49.2% of the SEA online population, are either married or in a live-in relationship in the month ending January 2012." While Malaysia has the largest market share of married or lived-in relationships at 53%, Philippines has the lowest share of divorced or separated couples at 1%.

For those with no Valentine date yet, you might want to set your sights on Vietnam as they have the highest percentage of available men and women at 67.4%. But in case you're a Filipino and want to love your own, worry not, Philippines rank 2nd at 59.4%.

See below the summary of Effective Measure's study:

Market Share of Couples per Country Month Ending January 2012 Source: Effective Measure
SEA Countries	Couples - Married or De Facto	Single	Other - Divorced or Separated
Indonesia	52.4%	45.8%	1.7%
Malaysia	53.0%	44.7%	2.2%
Philippines	39.5%	59.4%	1.0%
Thailand	50.0%	45.6%	4.2%
Vietnam	30.7%	67.4%	1.8%

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kasal.com thanks the following source for this article:

Effective Measure. "Loved Up: South East Asia's Digital Landscape Awash With Couples." Released February 13, 2012.

Roman-Shalani: A Modern Wedding Rich in Filipino Tradition

Valenzuela Councilor Shalani Soledad and Pasig City Representative Roman Romulo sealed their union with a kiss at the St. Benedict Church of Ayala Westgrove Alabang in Sta. Rosa, Laguna last January 22, 2012.

All 500 seats of the Church turned their attention to Shalani as she walked down the aisle in a simple yet elegant white off-shoulder wedding gown by Inno Sotto. Shalani’s well-proportioned figure made her look effortlessly stunning in her Kate Middleton-inspired bridal gown with lace bodice and a skirt made of 17 layers of soft tulle. The groom on the other hand kept it classy and simple with a midnight-blue tuxedo, a white shirt, and a silver bow tie by Hugo Boss.

The bride was given away by her mother Evelyn Soledad Yumol and her close uncle, Mon Soledad who looked after Shalani when she was young in the absence of her mother. Shalani was born out of wedlock and only met her real father last year.

The simple and solemn Romulo-Soledad wedding ceremony started at sunset and lasted over an hour. There were 22 principal sponsors coming from both business and political sectors. What stole the show, however, were the 21 flower girls that all refused to walk down the aisle without their nannies by their sides.

The wedding reception followed at the Nuvali Evolving Center Dockside which is just a stone’s throw away from the Church. Guests indulged in sumptuous dishes prepared by caterer Florabel Co including Angus Rib-eye Beef, Chicken Binakol Soup, Smoked Salmon and Romaine Lettuce Salad with Quezo de Bola Cheesecake and Suman Latik with Batangas Chocolate for dessert. Apparently, the couple wanted to inject a Filipiniana theme to the wedding especially with choices for the menu. Both Shalani and Roman are fond of tapsilog which explained their selection of Angus beef.

Soledad especially requested for dirty ice cream to be included in the menu. A sorbetero with a traditional ice cream cart proved to be a big hit among the guests. Famous wedding cake makers Penk Ching and Shen Ratilla made a multi-layered wedding cake just for the couple with lace décor inspired by the bride’s wedding dress.

Those close to the couple all wished them a great life together as husband and wife. Groom’s side Lupe Romulo even shared her hope for the couple to have lots of kids. Both being public servants, the coupled requested their guests to donate to the Tropical Storm Sendong victims in lieue of wedding gifts. For the couple’s giveaways, half of the wedding guests went home with St. Benedict medallions while the other half pieces of dark chocolates packaged in small bags made exclusively for the special event.

Posted By: Diane Dominique Ting

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kasal.com thanks the following source for this article:

Vergara, Alex and Cruz, Marinel R. “Sunset Wedding for Roman, Shalani.” Philippine Daily Inquirer. Posted on January 23, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012 from http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/32025/sunset-wedding-for-roman-shalani

Vergara, Alex. “Roman-Shalani: This early, the wedding of the year.” Philippine Daily Inquirer. Posted on January 29, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012 from http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/32729/roman-shalani-this-early-the-wedding-of-the-year

Kasal.com Real Weddings: A Royal-Like Wedding

Last Christmas, we created a Christmas Wishing Board in Kasal.com for our dear subscribers and followers. One of them posted the ff. wish: 

"I have two wishes this christmas: we've recently got married this nov. so my wish is to be pregnant the soonest :)i pray that God will bless us with a healthy child! :) and second, I wish that my royal theme wedding will be featured in any reputable wedding site :)"

While we can only help pray for her first wish, the second we are more than glad to fulfill. Hope you'll enjoy reading her story :) 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

A Royal-Like Wedding
Mark Ace Mangilit - Gilsie Savedia Wedding
By Diane Dominique Ting

Not so many months away, the eyes of the world turned to London when Prince William and his bride Kate Middleton finally tied the knot. Now since the royal couple apparently forgot to invite some of their Filipino counterparts, Gilsie Savedia and Mark Ace Mangilit decided to make a royal wedding on their own.

Wedding Couple Mark and Gilsie.

Every detail of the royal wedding was top-secret and the media was going gaga over the what-was and what-was not in the wedding. But when a beaming Kate stepped out of her carriage for the whole world to see, everyone simply agreed that the anticipation was worth the wait. Soon-to-be brides and young little girls then had a glimpse of what it would take to marry a true to life Prince. Gilsie was but one of millions of girls gushing on their TV screens when a fairytale-like story became a reality. But in Gilsie’s reality, she had already found her prince. 

Read Mark Ace Mangilit - Gilsie Savedia Wedding....