What we enumerate below are mostly superstitions of the Tagalogs. We’re quite sure there are more from other regions, as these beliefs vary from province to province. Some of the items here are based on Neni Sta. Romana’s book "Don’t Take a Bath on A Friday" (Tahanan Books, 1996), while others are stuff we heard from our moms and relatives in the provinces from weddings past. These things do come up whenever there’s a wedding in the family.

Some are still adhered to until now primarily because of our "there’s-nothing-to-lose-if-we-comply" attitude; others are totally ignored since people find such things downright ridiculous. Whichever school of thought you subscribe to, we merely compiled this list for reference and entertainment. Notice that some of these may sound like convenient excuses for unfortunate things happening on the big day. It could be our way of coping with unforeseen party poopers. It’s ultimately up to you if you want to follow them, but be warned that one superstition may totally contradict another, so don’t go crazy over them. Pardon some of our side comments after some of the items; we really couldn’t help it!

Here goes:

• Never clear the table while somebody is still eating or that person will never get married.

• A bride shouldn’t try on her wedding dress before the wedding day or the wedding will not push through.

• Knives and other sharp, pointed objects are said to be bad choices for wedding gifts as giving them will lead to a broken marriage.

• Giving an arinola (chamberpot) as a wedding gift is believed to bring good luck to the giver and the newlyweds. (Cheapskate alert!)

• Soon-to-weds are said to be accident-prone especially as their altar date draws near; thus, they must avoid traveling and taking long drives before their wedding day. (Does that mean you can’t drive to Antipolo and pray for a good voyage on your honeymoon?)

• The groom who sits down before his bride does during the wedding ceremony will be ‘under-the-saya’ (a henpecked husband).

• If a bride’s monthly period falls on her wedding day, the couple will be blessed with a lot of children. (One thing’s sure though; no honeymoon baby here!)

• Couples must offer eggs to Sta. Clara to pray that the wedding day will be rain-free.

• A downpour during the wedding brings prosperity and marital bliss. (So why offer eggs if rain brings good luck? Smells fishy… maybe it’s the eggs!)

• The spouse on whose side the wedding candle is lit last will be submissive.

• If the flame dies out on one of the wedding candles, it means that spouse on whose side the unlit candle belongs will die ahead of the other. (Glad somebody thought of the Unity Candle and swept away all that candle negativity!)

• Throwing rice as confetti at the newlyweds will bring them prosperity all their lives.

• The groom must arrive at the church before the bride to avoid bad luck. (Unless you want everyone to panic and make it appear that the bride’s been stood up!)

• It is considered bad luck for two siblings to marry in the same year. In the vernacular, this is known as "sukob", or sharing one’s luck with somebody else.

• If something is accidentally broken during the reception (be it a plate or a goblet), it brings good luck to the newlyweds.

• The bride should ‘accidentally’ step on her groom’s foot when they walk towards the altar if she wants him to agree with her every whim.

• A bride who wears pearls on her wedding will be a miserable since these gems are considered the ‘tears’ of oysters.

• A bride who wears pearls on her wedding will never become a miserable wife as the pearls serve as a foil for bad luck and represent the tears she would have shed if she hadn’t worn any on her wedding day.

• An unmarried woman who (literally) follows the footsteps of the newlyweds whose wedding she has attended will marry soon.

• The more food at the reception, the more bountiful the blessings the marriage will receive.

• If the wedding ring, the veil, or a coin in the arrhae drops (or is dropped) during the ceremony, it spells unhappiness for the couple. (Geez! We let two grownups handle and pin the veil on the couple but we let two naughty little boys carry the rings and arrhae? Don’t we care for happy marriages at all?!?)