ALAMINOS CITY, Philippines – Two couples who long dreamed of having an island wedding finally fulfilled their wish when they renewed their marriage vows in an underwater wedding yesterday at the world-famous Hundred Islands here.
Mayor Hernani Braganza, who officiated the wedding, told The STAR that the wedding was held inside a cave at the Cuenco Island, about 15 minutes away by boat from Lucap Wharf, the jump-off point to the Hundred Islands.
The couples were Jayson and Myra Llavore and Ricky and Geraldine Joachon, both from Manila. They decided to renew their marriage vows “before God’s majestic natural beauty through the clear waters of the Hundred Islands,” according to the wedding organizer, Winston Santiago.
These couples, however, were not dressed in the usual wedding attire but in their scuba diving gear.
Braganza, himself a scuba diver, said this is the second time he officiated an underwater civil wedding. Last Valentine’s Day, a couple from Manila also came here for their underground wedding held in another venue at the Hundred Islands, Old Scout Island.
Braganza said during the rites, there was a waterproof small board where their vows were inscribed and a waterproof pen for their signatures where the couples expressed their marriage vows using sign language.
Their principal sponsor was Vice Mayor Cesar Manzano.
“But of course, the real marriage certificate was signed by the bride and groom and their ninong inland,” the mayor said.
The ceremonies took about an hour, he said.
Aside from the two couples, another couple, already senior citizens and balikbayan, had their renewal of marriage vows in a beach wedding for their more than 40 years of blissful marital life also at the island.
Braganza said this pre-Valentine’s Day wedding is part of their continuing efforts to showcase the beautiful Hundred Islands managed by the city government as a scuba diving haven and in the future, as the country’s underwater wedding capital for scuba diving enthusiasts.
“We hope that the underwater wedding in Hundred Islands would snowball and become a tradition for couples to come here every Valentine’s Day for this unforgettable experience,” Santiago said.
Mike Sison, city tourism officer, in a separate interview said the guests partook of a special breakfast as a reception for the three weddings featuring Alaminos’ best-like longganisa, parad (grilled spare ribs), grilled boneless bangus, binongey (glutinous rice cooked inside a piece of bamboo) and local fruits.
Braganza had been holding a sunset civil mass wedding for the past seven years for couples who are already living together without getting married at the Lucap Wharf.
This year, 95 couples form part of the Valentine’s Day civil wedding sponsored by the city government at 3 p.m. today at the Don Leopoldo Sison Auditorium here because of the ongoing construction at the wharf.