Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Wedding Rates, Requirements, and Other Info

It was 8 years ago when me and My Beloved Wife said our "I do" at the altar of the Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

It was a good wedding for us. The church looks good and the staff are very helpful, especially that we didn't have any wedding coordinator during the wedding ceremony.

We paid a total of 27,500 pesos as the fee for using the Shrine as our wedding venue. The wedding package that we got already has basic flower decoration, an officiating priest, commentator, royal-blue carpet along the aisle, a soloist/pianist, and use of the Shrine for 1 and a half hours.

The more expensive wedding package back then was 40,500 pesos, which had the same amenities as the cheaper package. The only difference is that the whole Shrine is air conditioned during the whole wedding ceremony.

Wedding Rates in the Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

It is now 2022 and the wedding packages are more expensive. Here are the price of wedding packages in Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus:

Package 1: 48,500 Pesos inclusive of basic flower decoration, an officiating priest, commentator, air con, and use of the Shrine for 1 and a half hours

Package 2: 33,500 Pesos inclusive of basic flower decoration, an officiating priest, commentator, and use of the Shrine for 1 and a half hours.

Discounted Wedding Package:

Since the Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus is under the Military Ordinariate, active and retired members of the military and uniformed personnel (MUP) and their dependents can avail of the discounted rate.

Military and uniformed personnel (MUP) are the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Active MUP can get 50% discount for Shrine of St. Therese’s wedding package while retired MUP or dependents of MUP can get 25% discount of the wedding package. In the info provided to me by the Shrine, the eligible dependents are the mother, father, brother and sister of the MUP. However, I think that this list is incomplete since the son or daughter of the MUP should also be considered as dependent.

The Discounted Wedding Package does not include the flower decorations during the wedding. So, MUP or their dependents should be the one to negotiate with Shrine’s florists.

How to Book Your Wedding in the Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

Pencil booking is allowed but it is only good for 3 days and the Shrine will cancel that pencil booking.

To effectively book the date that you want for your wedding, you must do the following:

1. You and your future spouse should personally appear during the Canonical Interview.

2. Pay 50% down payment of the wedding package if the result of the Canonical Interview is positive. Note that the down payment is non-refundable.

The requirement for the Canonical Interview is the Baptismal Certificate with the notation “For Marriage Purpose”. You will not be allowed to attend the canonical interview if the baptismal certificate that you submitted doesn’t have that notation.

Booking the wedding date is on a “First Come, First Serve” basis.

Requirements for the Wedding in the Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

The following are the requirements for those who are wishing to have their wedding at the Shrine:

1) Date of the wedding

2) Baptismal Certificate with notation “Marriage Purpose” for Catholics. The birth certificate is the requirement for the Canonical Interview

3) 50% Downpayment of your selected wedding package. This is non-refundable.

4) Filled up Personal Details Form, which can be obtained from the Shrine’s Office

5) Delegation Letters from Our Lady of Airways Parish or Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila (RCAM) for Non-MUP or MUP Dependent

6) Marriage License (with 120 calendar days validity). Requirement for marriage license PSA copy of Birth Certificate and CENOMAR of both couples or Marriage Contract/Certificate from PSA for couples who are civilly married, and Brgy. Clearance or Cedula. Read my posts about how to obtain a birth certificate or CENOMAR for more info.

7) Certificate of Freedom to Marry from Embassy of Origin for Foreign Nationals

8) Dispensation Certificate if one party is Non-Catholic

9) Crasm and Celebret with ID of Invited Priest. This is for cases where the couple wants their wedding to be officiated by a Catholic priest who is not connected to the Shrine.

10) Request letters for Wedding Banns, which will be provided by the Shrine. The Wedding Banns will be announced in respective parishes for 3 consecutive Sundays

11) Confirmation (Kumpil) Certificate with notation for “Marriage Purpose”. In case that you still doesn't have Kumpil (Sacrament of Confirmation) then I suggest that you get kumpil in Quiapo Church

12) Permission Letter addressed to the parish of the bride and groom. The permission letter asks for permission from the parishes of the couple that they will have their wedding in the Shrine. The Permission Letter which will be provided by the Shrine

13) Pre-Cana Seminar Certificate, which can be obtained by attending the Pre-Cana Seminar of the Shrine that is usually held every third Saturday of the month. You can also choose to attend the Pre-Cana Seminar of your parish instead of the Shrine, You just need to submit the Pre-Cana Seminar Certificate from your parish

14) List of Principal Sponsors (Ninong and Ninang). The maximum number of Principal Sponsors is 12

15) List of Wedding Songs. The Shrine only accepts liturgical songs.

16) 3 copies of Printed Missalet placed in clear book. The template of the missalet can be requested from the Shrine

18) Confession Certificate, which can be obtained from the Shrine after receiving the Sacrament of Confession (kumpisal) at least  3 days before the wedding day.

Note that the 50% of the Deposit will be forfeited if Requirements 1 to 7 were not complied.

Guidelines and Additional Info for the Wedding in the Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

1. Pre-Cana Seminar in the Shrine is held every third Saturday of every month. One seminar lasts for a half-day and, as per our experience, may last longer if the lecturers are “ganado” in their lecture. The Pre-Cana Seminar is similar to the pre-wedding seminars conducted by city hall but with emphasis on Catholic doctrine on marriage and family. Pre-Cana Seminar Certificate will be provided after the end of the seminar.

2. The following are the attires not allowed inside the Shrine:

• Sleeveless gowns (except for the bride). If the bridal entourage or guests want to wear sleeveless gowns then they should cover shoulders with shawls.
• Clothes with plunging necklines and spaghetti-strap tops.
• Tight or low-cut clothing
• Dresses with long cuts or slits
• See-through clothing

Wearing appropriate and modest clothing is required inside the church, not only during weddings, as a respect to the holiness of the place and the sacrament of wedding.

3. Commentators must exclusively come from the Shrine. Readers  for the 1st Reading, Responsorial Psalm, 2nd Reading and Prayers of the Faithful will be assigned by the couple from any of their guests or family.

4. No age limit for Ring, Coin, and Bible bearers and Flower Girls as long as they are able to do their tasks.

5. Photographers should act appropriately and should always put in mind the holiness of the event and the church. They are prohibited from entering the Sanctuary, which is the area where the tabernacle and the altar is located.

6. Only shower of petals. Throwing of rice and confetti are not allowed. For our wedding, we opted to use bubbles instead of shower of petals since there was an additional cleaning fee.

7. The sample offertory are 2 pieces of candles, Mass Bread (a.ka. hosts or ostia) and Mass Wine (Mompo). Other things, like fruits and food, are voluntary. For info where to get the offertory, please read my blog post about St. Pauls.

8. Final visit of the couple and the wedding coordinator to the Shrine should be 3 days before the wedding day to have Confession and to check the marriage contract for any errors. It is also a day to submit the Wedding Missalet placed in a clear folder.

9. The wedding entourage must start at least 15-20 mins before the wedding schedule.

For more information you should contact the Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus at telephone no. (02) 8854-3024 and mobile phone nos. 0928-1690055 and 0917-6108823. The Shrine may also be contacted through email at stthereseshrine1983@gmail.com

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This is the latest information about the wedding in St. Therese of the Child Jesus. Note that the wedding fee in the Shrine is 48,500 pesos and 33,500 pesos.

Read about my previous post on how we booked the Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus for our wedding and my post about our Wedding Day.

Also read the post summarizing our Wedding Preparations.

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