Padrino(best man)@ Wedding

lilsam

Santo Domingo Sammy
Jan 2, 2002
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I have been asked to be Padrino (best man) at a young mans wedding that I have been helping. I have never been married and never done anything like this before. I was told I have to present his wife to be to him and of course im paying for a small civil ceromony and then a small party at a home he built in Sabana Perdida.Any pointers would be helpful.
I bought him a usefull wedding gift also (I think @ least)
I would appreciate any ideas you could give me on how to handle all this Thanks.
I would invite everyone but he wants a small wedding lilSam
the wedding day he picked was my Birthday . He picked that daay so I would never foreget his wedding day smart kid huh
 
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Tony C

Silver
Jan 1, 2002
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lilsam,
Padrino is not a best man. A padrino is more like a Godfather. It has religious implications. Traditional DR do not have a "best man".

Tony C.
 

lilsam

Santo Domingo Sammy
Jan 2, 2002
224
0
0
Tony,
Marcial asked me if I would be padrino of his wedding and then present his new wife to be to him and afterwards be Padrino to his child.when one comes along the way he explained it was I was responsible for the wedding and should look after his child if something were ever to happen to him or his wife.
Someone at work said the translation to best man was the closest English translation...
 

Jane J.

ditz
Jan 3, 2002
1,263
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I think that's great lilsam! Me and my husband are meant to be padrino and padrina at a wedding this summer, and I equate that to being best man and maid of honour - or like you said, the closest thing.
 

lilsam

Santo Domingo Sammy
Jan 2, 2002
224
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Jane I too feel very honoured as this was a person I meet a very poor person who works at a chinese run Domincan Business hotel
he works sometimes 12 14 hours a day for a salery of 2000.00$rd
a month. I when around have kinda tried to help him. along . I even helped him with a house he built so this makes me feel special that he thinks enuff of me to ask me to do this.. Lil sam
 

Jim Hinsch

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
669
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geocities.com
I've been asked to be padrino many times by various people. As far as I'm concerned, all it meant when I was asked was that I pay for the party. No thank you.
 

Fred

New member
Feb 20, 2002
239
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I agree

Any time anyone ask me to be a "Padrino" it usually means some kind of monetary committement. No thank you!!
 

Jane J.

ditz
Jan 3, 2002
1,263
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Well, it all depends on who's asking. Virtual strangers have asked me to be godmother to their children (they must be severely misinformed) and I have always politely declined.

This time it's my husband's best friend and his niece. Uh, that is to say my husband's niece, not the groom's. Hee hee. And we'll probably pay for a few cases of beer and rum, which will be our pleasure. (They're convertidos anyway...not big drinkers...Whew!)
 
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lilsam

Santo Domingo Sammy
Jan 2, 2002
224
0
0
Thanks all for your input.I relize I will ahve to pay hes poor. and a person ive been helping around 4 years now I think investing in a young man and womens life is priceless. Worth every penny Lilsam
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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I should probably read Dolores'site before answering this, but i did ask my own authority-the Boss Lady and she said that the padrino pays for the booze. He stands by the groom during the wedding.

The madrina pays for the cake. The bride's family pays for the rest of the party. The groom pays for the civil ceremony.

Your gesture is surely a measure of true friendship..nice thing to do.

HB
 

Tom F.

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
699
91
48
Hillbilly has hit on the head again.

The part about giving the bride away is done by the Father of the bride or a respected male of the bride's choosing, usually a family member.

I was a bit suspicious until I read you have known him for 4 years. Assuming you have decent judge of character and are not a "pendejo" under Dominican standards, you will have done something to really enrich your life.

I had a similiar experience while I was in the Peace Corps. I helped two brothers from the campo to which I was sent, start a small solar business which has endured for 14 years now. We installed about 100 systems in the year or so we spent developing the business. After I left, they have consistently built it into a respectable income for both of them.

One of them was able to continue on and finish his Master's in letras and education and basically enter the middleclass. While visiting him on one of my trips, he pulled out his master's thesis and showed me where it was dedicated to me. I was shocked and incrediably honored. The only thing I really did was access us into the Peace Corps sponsored training, drive one of them around on my motorcycle, establish some respectablity (being a gringo has some advantages), helped in setting up relationships and lines of credit with a bank and the suppliers in the capital. The most important thing I was able to teach them was to focus on quality and service, within a few months, we got pretty good at it. I was a political science major myself so it was all new to me. They were already hardworking and incrediably honest. It was amazing to watch them grow and it didn't cost me a dime.

When this thing all started after I was sent to this campo near Castillo and lived there for three months before moving into SFM. I never paid for rent, food, or anything while I lived and worked in the community. One of the fringes of working with the rural middle class is incredibly good food and the best natural fruit juices you could imagine.

One last piece of advice, don't become his patron but be a friend. Us foreigners usually are not very good at the patron thing.