Despedida De Soltera

Category: Life

Thanks to numerous pre-wedding rituals that we Filipinos are grown accustomed to, there are many ways by which a would-be bride or groom is given opportunity to take a peek at future life with in-laws, given time to make assessment if the journey will be smooth-sail, a train-wreck, or a canceled flight.

Of course, in-laws are a major consideration here in the Philippines, whether we like it or not, because we really are a matriarchal society , and Mother(-in-law) knows best.

Last night, we attended a despedida de soltera for my niece, who's soon to be married, and it was my sister's (the bride's mom) time to shine.

It was glaringly obvious how the bride and groom would complement one another, just based on the predominant family characters displayed by both sides. The bride's side (meaning us) were louder and more informal, while the groom's family were more guarded and reserved. Which is just as well. Where there is a performer, there should be an audience.

Actually, it is a good combination, and it's not as if that this was the first get-together. There were already several in the past, with each instance differing in function (pamanhikan, bridal shower, more dinners), but really all about showing off the team colors before the match, or something to that effect.

Of course we love all these dinners and parties which leave us to to marvel about all these serious courtship rituals a couple and their families have to go through before getting married. You just wish that the ones concerned will take their marriage just as seriously.

For the groom, who's soon to be my nephew-in-law, well, I wish him lots of luck. My niece is a good girl, and a damn good lawyer, you see. And my sister, mwahahah!!! But one thing for sure, he's gonna marry into a very interesting family, and he's never going to be bored.