In a very generous and jaw-dropping gesture, a groom surprised his wife with a staggering Php1 million cash gift on their wedding day, making the occasion much more special.
The video capturing the surprise, uploaded by their wedding host Lester Dave Verano, has gone viral on social media, garnering thousands of views and eliciting mixed reactions from netizens.
In an interview with The Filipino Times, John Clavecillas, the groom, said that he decided to gift his wife Php1 million in cash because he believes in the symbolism of the wedding arrhae, which represents “earnest money” or a promise of prosperity.
“It says there, ‘I give you this arrhae, as a pledge of my dedication to your welfare.’ So in this line po inaalay ko po ang savings ko para po sa welfare ng wife ko, para po hindi na po siya mag-iisip sa finances namin in the near future as a married couple,” John told The Filipino Times.
John also emphasized that the money symbolized his commitment to their marriage. For him, their union wasn’t an impulsive decision, and the cash gift served as a tangible promise of support and love.
“I want to show our families and relatives na hindi po to urgent decision na nagpakasal po kami. This is well-planned long time ago and this is proof that I saved 1 million to support our future family,” he said.
As an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Australia, John worked tirelessly to save this amount of money. He often worked nearly 14 hours a day, sacrificing sleep to support his parents and save for his future family.
“I did this for my wife and for my parents. Firstly, I promised myself to pay back my parents—which I already did before I decided to propose to my wife. Aside from this, I promised myself as well to save up Php1 million and surprise my wife on our wedding,” John shared.
“I initially invested the money to my friend in the Philippines who works in real state. I did this to grow my savings while waiting for our wedding day. However, I couldn’t have done all of this alone. I had God beside me, helping me to be safe and healthy,” he added.
Embarking on married life, John and his wife Jamaica plan to invest this money in real estate. He said, “The interest we will get from this investment will serve as our insurance in case of emergencies. It will also secure the future of our soon-to-be children.”
Despite the overwhelming response online, John and Jamaica didn’t expect their wedding to go viral. While John’s grand gesture was initially intended to demonstrate his love and commitment to his wife and her family, he is grateful to inspire others as well.
“We are happy seeing our video shared by many. Some people were inspired and happy to congratulate us,” he expressed.
However, not everyone was pleased with the gesture. Brushing off these comments, John chooses to focus on the most important aspect—their wedding.
“Some people are not happy and have left some mean comments. But as I always tell my wife, let’s look at the bigger picture of our wedding: we are happy, our family and relatives are happy, and most importantly, we’re married in God’s blessing.”
