Failure to sign a marriage certificate or absence of the marriage certificate itself does not render the marriage void nor annullable.

WITNESSES IN A MARRIAGE CEREMONY.

The significant amendments in the Family Codemaking a double reference to the requirement of two witnesses of legal age in the marriage ceremony in two significant articles seem to indicate an intention to make the presence of two witnesses of legal age determinative of the presence of a marriage ceremony.

The requirement of the presence of the two witnesses of legal age has been given further emphasis in Article 6 which provides that, while there is no prescribed form as to the solemnization of a marriage, it shall be necessary, however, for the contracting parties to appear before the solemnizing officer and declare in the presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age that they take each other as husband and wife.

Besides, in marriage, it is the agreementitself of the principal contracting parties in the presence of the representative of the state, namely the solemnizing officer, which constitutes the contract.

An exchange of vows can already “be presumed to have been made from the testimonies of the witnesses who state that a wedding took place, since the very purpose for having a wedding is to exchange vows of marital commitment.

The absence of witnesses, therefore, was not such a serious flaw and would therefore only constitute an irregularity.

COMMON-LAW MARRIAGES NOT RECOGNIZED IN THEPHILIPPINES.A common-law marriage may be defined as a non ceremonial or informal marriage by agreement, entered into by a man and a woman having capacity to marry, ordinarily without compliance with such statutory formalities as those pertaining to marriage licenses.

Philippine law does not recognize common-law marriages. A man and woman not legally married cohabit for many years as husband and wife, who represent themselves to the public as husband and wife, and who are reputed to be husband and wife in the community where they live may be considered legally “married” in common-law jurisdictions but not in the Philippines.

ABSENCE, DEFECT, IRREGULARITIES IN ESSENTIALAND FORMAL REQUIREMENTS.Generally, absence of any of the essential or formal requirements of a marriage renders such marriage null and void. Hence, a marriage license which has already automatically expired is not a valid marriage license, thereby making any marriage undertaken on the basis of such alleged license void.

He in the same spirit accepted the challenge, and thejustice, at their request, performed the ceremony with then making the proper responses. The ceremony was in the usual and proper form, the justice doubting whether it was in earnest or in jest.

Exceptions, however, are provided by law. Thus, absence of a marriage license does not affect the validity of a marriage if the situation falls under Chapter 2, Title I of the Family Code.

These situations are marriages in articulo mortis,marriages of two contracting parties living in places where there are no means of transportation to enable them to appear personally before the local civil registrar, marriages among Muslims and among other ethnic cultural minorities performed in accordance with their practices, and marriages of couples without any impediment to get married living together as husband and wife for at least five years. Another exception is a marriage solemnized by a person without authority to solemnize a marriage provided that either one of the parties believed in good faith that such solemnizer had the proper authority (Article 35[2]).

However, if the parties really do not have a marriage license and the judge requires them to apply and procure a marriage license after the marriage ceremony, the marriage is void. A judge who did not sign and date the marriage contract, did not furnish the parties, and did not forward the marriage contract to the local civil registrar,may be held administratively liable.

The contracting parties are supposed to be first asked by the solemnizing officer and declare that they take each other as husband and wife before the solemnizing officer in the presence of two witnesses before they are supposed to sign the marriage contract.

The following are some of the irregularities which do not affect the validity of a marriage: 1) absence of two witnesses of legal age during the marriage ceremony

2) absence of a marriage certificate

3) marriage solemnized in a place other than publicly in the chambers of the judge or in open court, in church, chapel, or temple, or in the office of the consul-general, consul, or vice-consul;

4)issuance of marriage license in city or municipality not the residence of either of the contracting parties

5) unsworn application for a marriage license;

6) failure of the contracting parties to presentoriginal birth certificate or baptismal certificate to the local civil registrar who likewise failed to ask for the same;

7) failure of the contracting parties between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one to exhibit consent of parents or persons having legal charge of them to the local civil registrar;

8) failure of the contracting parties between the ages of twenty-one to twenty-five to exhibit advice of parents to local civil registrar;

9) failure to undergo marriage counselling;

10) failure of the local civil registrar to post the required notices;

11)issuance of marriage license despite absence of publication or prior to the completion of the 10-day period for publication

12)failure of the contracting parties to pay the prescribed fees for the marriage license;

13) failure of the person solemnizing the marriage

to send copies of the marriage certificate to the local civil registrar

14) failure of the local civilregistrar to enter the applications for marriage licenses fi led with him in the registry book in the order in which they were received.

BREACH OF PROMISE TO MARRY.Mere breach of a promise to marry is not an actionable wrong.

Surely, this is not a case of mere breach of a promise to marry. As stated, mere breach of promise to marry is not an actionable wrong. But to formally set a wedding and go through all the above-described preparation and publicity, only to walk out of it when the matrimony is about to be solemnized, is quite different. This is palpably and unjustifiably contrary to good customs for which the defendant must be made answerable for damages in accordance with Article 21 aforesaid.

Article 21 of the said Code (Civil Code)provides that “any person who wilfully causes loss or injury to another in a manner that is contrary to morals, good customs or public policy shall compensate the latter for damages.” Art.7AUTHORIZED SOLEMNIZERS OF MARRIAGE.Inasmuch as the State officiates in the celebration of marriage through the person solemnizing the same, it is logical that such person must have the authority from the Government at that time.

Such authority is the foundation of marriageHence, if they fail to comply with any of the requisites mandated by law for them to validly solemnize a marriage, such a marriage is generally void on the ground of absence of a formal requirement which is authority of the solemnizing officer.

JUDGES.Judges can solemnize marriage only within theircourts’ jurisdiction. Moreover, they must be incumbent and not retired judges. Judges who are appointed to specific jurisdictions may officiate in weddings only within said areas and not beyond.

After solemnizing a marriage, it is highly irregular for a judge to collect fees for the ceremony.

PRIEST, RABBI, IMAM, OR MINISTER OF ANY CHURCH OR RELIGIOUS SECT.For a priest, rabbi, imam, or minister of any church or religious sect to be able to validly solemnize a marriage, the following four essential requisites must concur: he or she 1) must be duly authorized by his or her church or religious sect; 2) must act within the limits of the written authority granted to him or her by the church or religious sect;

3) must be registered with the civil registrar general;And

4) at least one of the contracting parties whose marriage he or she is to solemnize belongs to his or her church or religious sect.

SHIP CAPTAIN AND AIRPLANE CHIEF.For a ship captain or airplane chief to be able to validly solemnize a marriage, the following requisites must concur: 1) the marriage must be inarticulo mortis (at least one of the parties is at the point of death);

2) the marriage must be between passengers or crew members; and

3) generally, the ship must be at sea or the plane must be in flight.

Hence, an assistant pilot has no authority to solemnize a marriage.He added that it means therefore that they are including instances when there are transit passengers which the others affirmed the voyage is not yet terminated

MILITARY COMMANDER.For a military commander to be able to solemnize a marriage, the following requisites must concur:

1) he or she must be a military commander of a unit; 2)he or she must be a commissioned officer;

3) a chaplain must be assigned to such unit;

4) the said chaplain must be absent at the time of the marriage;

5) the marriage must be one in articulo mortis;

6) the contracting parties, whether members of the armed forces or civilians, must be within the zone of military operation.

The word “unit,” according to the deliberations of the Civil Code Revision Committee, refers to a battalion under the present table of organization and not to a mere company.

CONSUL-GENERAL, CONSUL, OR VICE CONSUL. Heads of consular posts are divided into four classes, namely: 1) consul general;2) consul; 3) vice-consul; 4) consul agents

Only the first three are expressly authorized by the Family Code to solemnize marriage.

Hence, in accordance with Article 4, such absencemakes the marriage void ab initio. If it is recognized as valid in the host country, then such marriage shall be considered valid in the Philippines.

MAYOR.When the mayor is temporarily incapacitated to perform his duties for physical or legal reasons such as, but not limited to, leave of absence, travel abroad, and suspensionfrom office, the vice mayor or the highest ranking sangguniang bayan member shall automatically exercise the powers and perform the duties of the local chief executive concerned, except the power to appoint, suspend, dismiss employees which can only be exercised if the period of temporary incapacity exceeds thirty days.

GOOD FAITH OF PARTIES.Under Article 35(2), if the marriage was solemnized by a person not legally authorized tosolemnize a marriage and either of the contracting parties believed in good faith that such solemnizing offi cer had such authority, then the marriage shall be considered as valid.

Art 8.VENUE.Its non-observance will not invalidate a marriage but can subject the person or persons who cause the violation to civil, criminal, or administrative liability.

Art 9PLACE OF ISSUE.If the contracting parties obtain a marriage license in a place other than the place where either of them reside, it is merely an irregularity which will not render nulland void the marriage celebrated on the basis of such license.

Art. 10CONSULAR OFFICIALS.The marriage ceremony shall be in accordance with the laws of the Philippines because Article 17 of the Civil Code pertinently provides that when contracts, among others, are executed before the diplomatic or consular offi cials of the Republic of the Philippines in a foreign country, the solemnities established by Philippine laws shall be observed in their execution.

PURPOSE OF DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS.It is the concern of the state to make marriages the secure and stable institution they should be (Kilburn v. Kilburn, 89 Cal. 46). In this regard, proper documents must be maintained to serve as proofs for their existence.

It is also the purpose of these statutes to discourage deception and seduction, prevent illicit intercourse under the guise of matrimony, and relieve from doubt the status of parties who live together as man and wife by providing competent evidence of the marriage.

MARRIAGE APPLICATION.If the local civil registrar has knowledge of some legal impediment, he or she cannot discontinue processing the application. He must only note down the legal impediments in the application and thereafter issue the marriage license unless otherwise stopped by the court (Article 18).

Art. 12-14

NO EMANCIPATION BY MARRIAGE.Emancipation is attained if the child reaches the age of 18 years.

PARENTAL CONSENT.Nevertheless, the contracting parties between18 years old and above but below 21 years of age must still obtainthe consent of the parents as this is required under the second paragraph of Article 236 of the Family Code. Non-compliance with this requirement, however, does not make the marriage invalid or void but merely annullable which means that the marriage is valid until annulled.

The required parental consent provision simply means that the said contracting parties “may not be licensed to marry upon their own consent alone, but that the consent of their parents must be added thereto; lack of such consent, however, does not affect the validity of a marriage, but only subjects those who have neglected to acquire it to the penalties of the law.

It must be remembered, however, that if any of thecontracting parties is below 18 years of age, the marriage is void regardless of the existence or non-existence of the consent of the parents.

Art. 15-16PARENTAL ADVICE.Absence of parental advice does not affect the marriage. It does not even make the marriage annullable,

Arts. 15-16Non-advise is not a ground for annulment provided for in Article 45 of the Family Code. Prescribing parental advice for those 21-25 years of age is in keeping with Philippine tradition and it does not bar marriage totally.

Art.17This notice shall be posted for ten consecutivedays on a bulletin board outside the offi ce of the local civilregistrar located in a conspicuous place within the building and accessible to the general public.

The notice shall request all persons having knowledge of any impediment to the marriage to advise the local civil registrar thereof.

However, if the contracting parties betweenthe ages of twenty-one and twenty-five do not obtain the advice of the parents or if such advice is unfavorable, the local civil registrar shall not issue the marriage license till after three months following the completion of the publication of the application therefor.

If, however, the marriage license is issued within the said three months and the contracting parties were able to get married on the basis of such marriage license, the said marriage is completely valid. It is not even annullable.Also, in case where parental consent (contracting partiesbetween the ages of eighteen and above but below twenty-one) or parental advice is needed, the failure of the parties to attach to the marriage application a certification that they have undergone marriage counselling provided for in Article 16 of the Family Codeshall suspend the issuance of the marriage license for a periodof three months from the completion of the publication of theapplication.

Art. 18-19

INVESTIGATIVE POWER OF LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRARAND COURT INTERVENTION.Only court intervention directing the non-issuance of the marriage license can empower the local civil registrar to validly refuse to issue said license. The court action may be brought by the local civil registrar himself or by any interested party. Included in the phrase “interested party” are the contracting parties’ parents,brothers, sisters, existing spouse, if any, or those which may be prejudiced by the marriage.

If, despite an injunction order from the court, the local civilregistrar nevertheless issues a marriage license and a marriage is solemnized on the basis of such marriage license, the marriage will still be valid because the validity of the marriage license is not affected by the violation of the injunction.

CRIMINAL LIABILITY OF LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR.SEC. 37. Influencing parties in religious respects.-Attempts to infl uence any contracting party to marry or refrain from marrying in any church, sect, or religion or before any civil authority, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon

conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not more than one month and a fine of not more than two hundred pesos.

SEC. 38.Illegal issuance or refusal of license.- fails to issue thesame within twenty-four hours after the time when, according to law, it was proper to issue the same, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one month nor more than two years, or by a fi ne of not less than two hundred pesos nor more than two thousand pesos.

Art.20MARRIAGE LICENSE AND DATE OF ISSUE. The marriage license is valid only within the Philippines and not abroad. It is good for 120 days from the date of issue. The date of the signing of the local civil registrar of the marriage license is the date of the issue. From the date of issue, it should be claimed by the parties.

If it is not claimed and therefore not used within 120 days, it shall automatically become ineffective

Art. 21

CERTIFICATE OR AFFIDAVIT OF LEGAL CAPACITY.If both contracting parties are foreigners and they intend to havetheir marriage solemnized by a judge, priest, imam, rabbi, or anyminister of any church or religious sect as provided for in Article 7of the Family Code, or the mayor pursuant to the Local Government Code, then they have to secure a marriage license in the Philippines.

Before such license is issued, they have to submit a certificate oflegal capacity. A certificate of legal capacity is necessary becausethe Philippines, in so far as marriage is concerned, adheres to thenational law of the contracting parties with respect to their legalcapacity to contract marriage.

Without this certification of legal capacity, the local civil registrar will not issue the marriage license. The law clearly provides that, as to the foreigner, this is a necessary requisite before a marriage license can be obtained by him or her.

This is an exception to the rule that the local civil registrar, even if he finds an impediment in the impending marriage, must nevertheless issue the marriage license unless, at his own instance or that of an interested party, he is judicially restrained from issuing the marriage license.

If without the certificate of legal capacity the marriage license was nevertheless issued, the marriage celebrated on the basis of such marriage license will still be considered valid as this is merely an irregularity in complying with a formal requirement of the law in procuring a marriage license which, according to Article 4, will not affect the validity of the marriage.

Stateless refugees- they shall be required to file an affidavit stating the circumstances showing such capacity to contract marriage in lieu of the certificate of legal capacity.

They can get married before such consul-general without procuring a marriage license here in the Philippines if their country’s laws allow the same.

Art 22-23

PRESUMPTION OF MARRIAGE.That a man and a woman deporting themselves as husband and wife have entered into a lawful contract of marriage is a presumption which is considered satisfactory if uncontradicted, but may be contradicted and overcome by evidence.

Consequently, every intendment of the law leans toward legalizing matrimony as it is the basis of human society throughout the civilized world strongest known to the law: especially where the legitimacy of the children is involved, for the law presumes morality and not immorality; marriage and not concubinage; legitimacy and not bastardy

Persons dwelling together in apparent matrimony are presumed,in the absence of any counter-presumption or evidence specialto the case, to be in fact married. The reason is that such is the common order of society, and if the parties were not what they hold themselves out as being, they would be living in the constant violation of decency and law.

Thus, credible testimony stating that a weddingtook place gives rise to the presumption that an exchange of vows was made between the parties declaring that they take each other.

It is settled law that when a marriage has been consummated in accordance with the forms of the law, it is presumed that no legal impediments existed to the parties entering into such marriage, and the fact, if shown, that either or both of the parties have been previously married, and that such wife or husband of the first marriage is still living, does not destroy the prima facie legality of the last marriage. The presumption in such case is that the former marriage has been legally dissolved, and the burden of proving that it has not rests upon the party seeking to impeach the last marriage.

The evidence need not necessarily or directly establish the marriage but must at least be enough to strengthen the presumption of marriage.

PROOF OF MARRIAGEWhen the question as to whether or not a marriage has been contracted arises in litigation, said marriage may be proved by evidence of any kind.

But the primary or best evidence of a marriage is the marriage contract or the marriage certificate.

If such Photostat copy emanated from the Office of the Local Civil Registrar and duly certified bythe local civil registrar as an authentic copy of the records in his office, such certified Photostat copy is admissible as evidence.

If the Photostat copies, though not certified by the office of the local civil registrar, are presented in court without objection from the opposing parties and consequently admitted by the court, the said Photostat copies are deemed sufficient proof of the facts contained therein and therefore can be proof of marriage.

Also, baptismal certificates, birth certificates, judicial decisions, and family bible in which the names of the spouses have been entered as married are good evidences ofmarriage.

Transfer Certificates of Title, Residence Certificates,

passports and other similar documents cannot prove marriage especially so when the petitioner has submitted a certification from the Local Civil Registrar concerned that the alleged marriage was not registered and a letter from the judge alleged to have solemnized the marriage that he has not solemnizedsaid alleged marriage.

Relevantly, any officer, priest, or minister failingto deliver to either of the contracting parties one of the copies of the marriage contract or to forward the other copy to the authorities within the period fixed by law for said purpose, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one month or by a fi ne of not more than three hundred pesos, or both, in the discretion of the court.

However, failure to present a marriage certificate is not fatal in a case where a marriage is in dispute, as the parties can still rely on the presumption of marriage.

Once the presumption of marriage arises, other evidence may be presented in support thereof. The evidence need not necessarily or directly establish the marriage but must at least be enough to strengthen the presumption of marriage.

Testimony by one of the parties or witnesses to the marriage, or by the person who solemnizedthe same, is admissible and competent to prove marriage.

With respect to a marriage ceremony, the testimony of an eyewitness to be sufficient should disclose not only the performance ofthe ceremony by someone, but that all the circumstances attending it were such as to constitute it a legal marriage.

Persons dwelling together apparently in marriage are presumed to be in fact married. This is the usual order of things in society and, if the parties are not what they hold themselves out to be, they would be living in constant violation of the common rulesof law and propriety.

Semper praesumitur pro matrimonio.Always presume marriage.

Also, public and open cohabitation as husband and wife after the alleged marriage, birth and baptismal certificates of children borne by the alleged spouses, and a statement of such marriage in subsequent documents are competent evidence to prove the fact of marriage.

However, it has been held that mere cohabitation is not direct proof of marriage, which must be proved by the proper documents or by oral testimony in case these have been lost.

PROOF TO ATTACK VALIDITY OF MARRIAGE.The statement of the civil status of a person in a certificate of title issued to him is not conclusive to show that he is not actually married to another.

It is weak and insufficient to rebut the presumption that persons living together as husband and wifeare married to each other. This presumption, especially where the legitimacy of the issue is involved, may be overcome only by cogent proof on the part of those who allege the illegitimacy.

The evidence to repel that presumption must be strong, distinct and satisfactory.While obtaining a marriage license in a place which is not the place of residence of any of the contracting parties is merely an irregularity that does not invalidate a marriage.

An official certification issued by the Office of the Local Civil Registrar of a municipality, where a particular marriage license has been issued as indicated in the marriage contract, stating that, after earnest effort to locate and verify the existence of the particular marriage license, the said office has no record of the marriage license,or is issued to another couple, or is spurious and fabricated, is a convincing evidence to destroy the validity of marriage on the ground of absence of a valid marriage license.

But with an admission that, due to the work load of the said office, it cannot give full force in locating the marriage license compounded by the fact that the custodian already retired, the Supreme Court did not allow the nullity of the marriage on the ground of absence of a marriage license considering that the circumstances and the certification do not categorically and with absolutely certainty showand state that the marriage license cannot be found and that there were earnest efforts to look for the same.

It has been held, however, that any presumption of marriage from the fact that there was cohabitation between a man and a woman many years ago may be considered offset by the fact that, for the last 35 years of their lives, they lived separately and several thousands of miles away from each other.

Widower vs child’s certicate indicating the status ofthe child of the parties as legitimate and therefore implying a valid marriage of the child’s parents:

The pieces of evidences disproving the existence of the marriage also have probative value, such that the evidence, if weighed against each other, preponderated in favour of the assertion that there was no marriage.

DECLARATORY RELIEF.In the event that the parties are not certain whether, under the law, they can proceed with a marriage, they can file a petition for declaratory relief, to seek from the court a judgment on their capacity to marry.

Declaratory relief refers to a judgment of a court which determines the rights of parties without ordering anything be done or awarding damages. By seeking a declaratory judgment, the party making the request is seeking for an official declaration of the status of a matter in controversy. Optimally, the resolution of the rights of the parties involved will prevent further litigation. For example, a party to a contract may seek the legal interpretation of a contract to determine the parties' rights, or an insured may seek a determination of insurance coverage under a policy.

Art. 24-25

EFFECT OF DUTY OF LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR.Because the local civil registrar is the specific government official charged with the preparation and keeping of all official documents in connection with marriage, any certification issued by him or her in connection with any matter involving the marriage of any particular

individual within his or her jurisdiction is given high probative value. Thus, it has been held that a certification of the local civil registrar that there was no record in his office of any marriage license of the alleged spouses is enough to prove that the marriage.

MARRIAGE REGISTER.In the marriage register, there shall be entered the full name and address of each of the contracting parties, their ages, the place anddate of the solemnization of the marriage, the names and addresses of the witnesses, the full name, address and relationship with the contracting party or parties of the person or persons who gave their consent to the marriage, and the full name, title, and address of the person who solemnized the marriage.

Art 26.

VALIDATION PROVISION.As a general rule, therefore, the Philippines follows the lex loci celebrationis rule.

Accordingly, it is a general principle of international and interstate law that the validity of a marriage, so far at least as it depends upon the preliminaries, and the manner or mode of its celebration, is to be determined in reference to the law of the place where it is celebrated.

Therefore, a marriage valid where celebrated willgenerally be regarded as valid everywhere, and where there is bona fi de attempt on the part of the parties to effect a legal marriage, every assumption will be in favor of the marriage.

But under the operation of the rule that all presumptions favor marriage.

The converse rule stated above is subject to many exceptions and will not be enforced where the circumstances afford a reasonable ground for the course taken and show a bona fide attempt to effect a marriage.

A MATTER OF INTERNATIONAL COMITY.This is because every sovereign state is the conservator of its own morals and the good order of society.

Each sovereign state has the right to declarewhat marriages it will or will not recognize, regardless of whether the participants are domiciled within or without its borders and notwithstanding such marriages’ validity under the laws of a foreign state where such marriages were contracted.

EXCEPTIONS.Under the Family Code, if either or both contracting parties are Filipinos and they are below 18 years of age, their marriage solemnized abroad will not be recognized in thePhilippines as valid even if the marriage is valid in the place where it has been solemnized.

Article 26 of the Family Code and Article 15 ofthe Civil Code express the “extra-territorial effect of the exception”.

The law is addressed “to any party.”

It should be remembered that under Article 21, a foreigner can get married in the Philippines even if he is below 18 years of age if he obtains a certificate of legal capacity from his diplomatic mission in the Philippines stating that, in his country ,persons even under 18 years of age can marry.

With respect to legal capacity, our country follows the nationality rule and, hence, should accord respect to the laws of the country in so far as the legal capacity to marry of the foreigner is concerned.

Hence, the better rule is that the exception under Article 26 referring to Article 35(1) should be construed as referring to a situation where the marriage abroad is between a Filipino and aFilipina and not between a Filipino or Filipina and an alien married in the alien’s state where he or she (the alien), though below 18 years of age, is capacitated to marry.

A bigamous marriage is committed by a person who contracts a second marriage before the former marriage has been legally dissolved, or before the absent spouse has been declared presumptively dead by means of a judgment rendered in the proper proceeding.

Bigamous and polygamous marriages, though valid abroad, shall likewise not be recognized in the Philippines.

Polygamy is the act or state of a personwho, knowing that he has two or more wives, or that she has two or more husbands, marries another.

Under Article 41 of the Family Code, however, a “bigamous” marriage may be recognized. This occurs when, before the celebration of the subsequent marriage, one of the spouses had been absent for four (4) consecutive years, or two consecutive years in cases where there is danger of death, and the spouse present has a well-founded belief that the absent spouse was already dead.

Marriages declared void under Philippine laws for being against public policy will not be recognized here even if such marriages arenot against public policy or not illegal in the country where said marriages were solemnized.

ARE COMMON-LAW MARRIAGES OBTAINED ABROADBY FILIPINOS VALID IN THE PHILIPPINES?Common-law marriages obtained by Filipinos abroad should not be recognized here.

Solemnization refers to or implies a ceremonial marriage and not one which was “contracted” or merely performed by way of a mere agreement of the parties, such as in cases of a common lawmarriage.

Indeed, the formality, namely, the solemnization,inherent in a ceremonial marriage is what primarily distinguishes it from a common law marriage.

The second paragraph of Article 26 also uses the term “celebrated.” Again, this connotes a ceremonial marriage where solemnization is inherently involved.