Critics win: Makati church scraps steep wedding fees

Bowing to public criticism, the parish priest of Santuario de San Antonio Parish in Forbes Park, Makati City, said on Friday that the previously proposed fees to be imposed on wedding suppliers would be scrapped.

“We again sincerely apologize for the dismay caused by the presentation of the proposed new regulations governing weddings,” Fr. Reu Jose C. Galoy said in a statement.

Work in progress

According to him, the regulations, as seen in a Facebook post that has been shared nearly 6,000 times, were a “work in progress.”

The regulations proposed that wedding suppliers be charged an annual accreditation fee, including as much as P50,000 for coordinators.

On the other hand, florists, musicians, photographers and videographers would have been required to pay anywhere from P10,000 to P30,000 a year.

On top of these, a cash bond of as much as P20,000 would also be charged per supplier for every wedding to be held at the historic church in the upscale Makati village.

This was all in addition to the new wedding rates which could cost as much as P65,000 for nonresidents on holidays and weekends.

“In lieu of an accreditation fee, we shall thus institute a strict screening process to ensure that suppliers observe proper decorum during the wedding ceremony,” Galoy said. He also promised to consult key stakeholders on additional wedding regulations.

The statement came amid outrage from netizens and the threat of a boycott coming from several businesses which vowed to deny services to couples to be wed at San Antonio, given the exorbitant rates.

Wrong method

“The new regulations were meant to preserve the solemnity of the sacrament of marriage,” Galoy’s statement said. “We now realize that the levying of certain fees on wedding suppliers is not the correct way to achieve that objective.”

He explained that the funds would not go only to the upkeep and maintenance of church grounds, but also to its outreach programs and scholarships, including “prison, hospital, health care…, relief and rehabilitation ministries” and the care of our “aging and ailing brothers in the provinces.”