Filipino Wedding Ceremony
St. Teresa of Avila Church Elmira Church is a community of believers united in the Catholic Faith. Hence they hosted Savia & Bradley Filipino wedding ceremony today with some cultural traditions sewn in for the bride’s Indian heritage. This couple wanted to incorporate Filipino elements into their special day. However Filipino weddings tend to be large and lavish affairs. And unfortunately, these two wanted their wedding to be small and intimate
The Filipino wedding ceremony was my favorite part of the entire day. They brought the Candle, Cord, and Veil to pay respect to their culture. I love this tradition because each element has a strong meaning behind it. It’s also a nice way to involve important loved ones into your ceremony. Traditionally the ceremony is very religious. So the Candle, Cord, and Veil are no different. For this wedding, they had a Catholic ceremony and asked their officiant to customize it to the occasion. Obviously he was happy to oblige. And as a result, the guests loved it. The Arras ceremonial coins were a unique touch. The groom gave these to the bride to symbolize his commitment to the family.
The veiling ceremony bonds the bride and groom together so they are recognized as one. The veil lays over the bride’s head and the other side over the groom’s shoulder as a symbol of unity. This also represents a wish for good health and protection during their life as husband and wife. Similar to The Veil Ceremony, the Yugal or infinity shaped cord represents the couple’s bond and union. Finally, their sponsors will place the Yugal on top of the veil as the couple receives their blessing.
Cellar 52
This was my first time photographing an event at Cellar 52. And aside from the actual ceremony, all the other elements were at this venue. The bride and groom prep were upstairs. The formal portraits were around the venue’s grounds. The cocktail hour was outside on the patio. And the reception was in the main party room. They did have their first dance on the patio as well as the couple wanted to include sparklers. But aside from that, the night was kept pretty simple with speeches and dancing indoors.
