Asking A Filipina To Marry: Are We That Fussy About Proposals?

What you should know about us Filipinos is that we’re big fans of Western culture, and by this I mean it’s not unusual to find Filipinas who have watched more Hollywood films than Filipino films.

This brings me to one important point: when it comes to marriage proposals, we’re very familiar with the Western style of proposal where the man gets down on one knee and pops “Will you marry me?”

If you’ve got a bad case of arthritis at the knees, there’s no need to worry about getting down on one knee if you want to marry your Filipina girlfriend. Let me just tell you a few things about Filipino proposal culture.

1. Filipino men rarely, if ever, get down on one knee

Not that they are not romantic, but the typical Filipino man will find it cheesy to get down on one knee and ask a woman to be his wife. Getting married is rather like a suggestive affair, meaning men tend to “suggest” that they get married rather than ask the woman to marry him. Filipino men tend to suggest marriage if they’ve been in the relationship long enough.

Rings are generally optional, but we tend to expect engagement rings from Western men, precisely because it's in their culture.

2. Talk to the parents after proposal

Being very family-oriented, after proposing to your Filipina girlfriend, I strongly suggest that you fly to the Philippines to meet her parents and make plans for the wedding with them. We call this “pamanhikan” in Tagalog and “pamalay” in Cebuano. Bring food with you and of course, some beer.

During your pamanhikan, reassure her parents that you’re going to take care of their daughter.

Want to know more, visit this page about successfully marrying a Filipina wife.

Read more: Pinoy Filipina