Last Christmas Day, Mox and his whole family went to our home for the traditional "pamamanhikan".
It was actually a last-minute event because it was so difficult to
coordinate their whole schedule as his parents live in the province and
one of his brothers works in Malaysia. But luckily, all of them were here in Manila for the holidays, so before they leave for La Union, they stopped by our house to do the pamamanhikan. Parang stopover lang ng Partas. Haha!
What exactly is a pamamanhikan? Well, it's when the groom and his family goes to the house of the bride to ask for her hand in marriage. Traditionally, the pamamanhikan should be done right after the engagement to discuss the details of the wedding, like the date, the budget, possible ninongs and ninangs, etc.
But now the pamamanhikan is not as formal as it used to be. Since Mox and I held our pamamanhikan late in our engagement, all of our wedding preps are almost done so it was quite useless to discuss these details with our parents. Instead, our pamamanhikan was just a way for our parents to meet with each other for the first time. We were actually thinking of holding it in a restaurant, but we decided to just do it the old-fashioned way. That way, we would be able to please my mother—who always want to stick to the traditions—and we won't have to spend so much for the meal itself. Si Mox na lang bahala magluto ng pagkain. Diba, tipid moves lang.
I really didn't know what to expect during the pamamanhikan. Mox's parents are simple, laid-back folks, while my parents—or rather just my mother—can be quite intimidating. So I was worried on how things will turn out between them. Will they like each other or will there be tension between the mag-balaes? But Mox was even more nervous than I was! He kept on asking the do's and dont's of a pamamanhikan. He even researched tips on how to do his opening spiel. It was so cute! Haha!
Mox's family arrived at around 1pm that day, and they brought pans filled with delicious adobo, sinigang, pinakbet and tahong. They even brought a pot filled with rice, and some paper plates and plastic spoons so we didn't have to wash the dishes afterwards. Prepared na prepared ang lolo mo. Haha! Meanwhile, my mother prepared her famous buko pandan for dessert. Yummy!
After eating, we then got down to business. I kept on teasing Mox to get on with his "opening speech" and because of his nervousness, he just blurted out: "Tito, Tita, ikakasal na po kami." We just kept on laughing after that. Di naman obvious na ikakasal tayo beh diba? Kalokang opening speech!
Our parents didn't ask anymore for details about our wedding since we're almost done with the preparations. As my mother said, the pamamanhikan was just for formality's sake. Meet and greet nga lang yun eh. But they did suggest some names for our principal sponsors and also suggested barongs for our male entourage instead of vests. That way, we won't have to worry about finding a couturier for our entourage since they can easily buy their barongs on their own. We will also save money because my father and brothers can use their barongs that they wore for my kuya's wedding. Tipid moves again!
After an hour of chitchat, Mox and his family had to leave for their trip to La Union. Overall, the pamamanhikan was a success! Sure, it was quite nerve-wracking, and there were moments of awkward silence, but I'm happy that everything went on without a hitch. Good job Mox! :)
P.S. Sadly, no pictures were taken during the pamamanhikan as Mox's family have this weird aversion to cameras. Basta oras ng picturan, nawawala sila. Haha.
What exactly is a pamamanhikan? Well, it's when the groom and his family goes to the house of the bride to ask for her hand in marriage. Traditionally, the pamamanhikan should be done right after the engagement to discuss the details of the wedding, like the date, the budget, possible ninongs and ninangs, etc.
But now the pamamanhikan is not as formal as it used to be. Since Mox and I held our pamamanhikan late in our engagement, all of our wedding preps are almost done so it was quite useless to discuss these details with our parents. Instead, our pamamanhikan was just a way for our parents to meet with each other for the first time. We were actually thinking of holding it in a restaurant, but we decided to just do it the old-fashioned way. That way, we would be able to please my mother—who always want to stick to the traditions—and we won't have to spend so much for the meal itself. Si Mox na lang bahala magluto ng pagkain. Diba, tipid moves lang.
I really didn't know what to expect during the pamamanhikan. Mox's parents are simple, laid-back folks, while my parents—or rather just my mother—can be quite intimidating. So I was worried on how things will turn out between them. Will they like each other or will there be tension between the mag-balaes? But Mox was even more nervous than I was! He kept on asking the do's and dont's of a pamamanhikan. He even researched tips on how to do his opening spiel. It was so cute! Haha!
Mox's family arrived at around 1pm that day, and they brought pans filled with delicious adobo, sinigang, pinakbet and tahong. They even brought a pot filled with rice, and some paper plates and plastic spoons so we didn't have to wash the dishes afterwards. Prepared na prepared ang lolo mo. Haha! Meanwhile, my mother prepared her famous buko pandan for dessert. Yummy!
After eating, we then got down to business. I kept on teasing Mox to get on with his "opening speech" and because of his nervousness, he just blurted out: "Tito, Tita, ikakasal na po kami." We just kept on laughing after that. Di naman obvious na ikakasal tayo beh diba? Kalokang opening speech!
Our parents didn't ask anymore for details about our wedding since we're almost done with the preparations. As my mother said, the pamamanhikan was just for formality's sake. Meet and greet nga lang yun eh. But they did suggest some names for our principal sponsors and also suggested barongs for our male entourage instead of vests. That way, we won't have to worry about finding a couturier for our entourage since they can easily buy their barongs on their own. We will also save money because my father and brothers can use their barongs that they wore for my kuya's wedding. Tipid moves again!
After an hour of chitchat, Mox and his family had to leave for their trip to La Union. Overall, the pamamanhikan was a success! Sure, it was quite nerve-wracking, and there were moments of awkward silence, but I'm happy that everything went on without a hitch. Good job Mox! :)
P.S. Sadly, no pictures were taken during the pamamanhikan as Mox's family have this weird aversion to cameras. Basta oras ng picturan, nawawala sila. Haha.
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