What are the Sponsors?

After you received the invitation, you might be wondering who are the principal and secondary sponsors and what is their role in the wedding.

Principal Sponsors
Like godparents at baptism, the role of the principal sponsors continues throughout the married life of the couple, helping and guiding. Their participation is symbolic of the wisdom & support they shall offer the new couple. They are, as in the early days of the Church, sponsors of the couple attesting to their readiness for marriage and freedom to marry. In the Philippines, they are the official witnesses of the state and they sign the marriage license. These are often aunts and uncles or close friends and relatives of the family. The male principal sponsors are called ninongs ("godfathers") and the female principal sponsors are called ninangs ("godmothers").

The number of sponsors can be just a single couple or numerous sponsors (as many as two dozen!). They are women and men whom the bride and groom respect and admire. The Principal sponsors are part of the bridal procession. At the nuptial blessing, they may also be invited to approach the celebrant and extend their right hands to join in the prayer of blessing.

Secondary Sponsors
The Secondary Sponsors are women and men whom the couple choose to involve in their ceremony because of their affinity or friendship. They are typically relatives or close friends. The Secondary Sponsors are the Veil Sponsors, Cord Sponsors, and Candle Sponsors.

At the beginning of the ceremony the Candle Sponsors will light two candles, one on each side of the Unity Candle. These will later be used by the bride and groom to light the Unity Candle to symbolize the union of the two families through the love of the married couple. The lighting of the Unity Candle is used to invoke the light of Christ in their married life. The Veil Sponsors will pin a veil to the to the shoulder of the groom and drape it over the bride's head. The veil is a symbol of their unity and shows that they are "clothed as one."

The pinning of the Veil over the bride and groom (from Spoon and Fork)

The Cord Sponsors then will place the cord loosely around the necks of the bride and groom in a figure eight configuration. This symbolizes a lifelong bond and everlasting fidelity between the bride and groom.

The draping of the Cord over the bride and groom (from Spoon and Fork)

Once the sponsors have fastened the veil and draped the cord, the groom gives the bride the arrhae (13 coins). The coins will be carried by a coin bearer, who in our case will also be the ring bearer. These coins have been blessed by the priest and are a sign of the groom's dedication to the bride's well-being and that of their future children.


Adapted from:
Wedding-Savings-for-Bride-Groom.com, "Filipino Wedding Customs"
http://www.wedding-savings-for-bride-groom.com/filipino-wedding.html

Seiyaku.com, "Weddings in the Philippines"
http://www.seiyaku.com/seiyaku/ph/weddings.html

Pricilla and Eric's Wedding, "Filipino Wedding Traditions"
http://www.shemahaka.com/pewedding/filipino/tradition.php?p=tradition