The search has not been easy. We have to keep in mind some keys in choosing the venue.
1.) LOCATION- the venue had to be accessible for both sides of our family.
2.) LOOK- the venue needed to have the feel and ambiance that I looked for. It needed to feel intimate yet rich with creativity and wonderful lighting.
So without further ado…the list of venues we considered:
1. The Glass Garden - situated in Brgy Santolan, Pasig City, their garden venues were too HUGE for my 110 guests and I didn't feel the WOW factor. Venue rental starts at 60000pesos.2. The Loft (Rockwell) - Ben wanted its reception area and what's nice about this place is the magnificent view of Makati..It can accommodates up to 300 guests and rental cost is 80000-100000pesos. The L-shaped area gave this place a negative factor to us(positioning of guests will be very difficult) and lack of parking space.
3. Oasis (Aurora Blvd) - I love their pavillion but too big for my guests. The Gallery venue is more suitable for us but I don't like it. Their package rate starts at 115000pesos up.
4. The Blue Leaf (The Fort) - We also consider this venue but I find their rates too pricey, I'll rather go for the Glass Garden or The Oasis as my wedding venue. Most of my guests are not from Metro Manila so it will give them a hard time to locate this place. It needs alot of enhancement since the function rooms were boring. Their package rate starts at Php280000 up.
5. Manila Ocean Park - When I saw their ads in this site: http://ph.88db.com/ , I discuss it with Ben and we made an ocular visit the day after our discussion. FINALLY, we both find this place the best venue that we both dream of.. We consider this place for 3 things:
1. The hotel(Hotel H2O Manila)- no more hassle to where are we going to have my wedding preppy and no need to rent for a bridal car since ceremony, reception and hotel accomodation is in one place.
2. Guests can have their oceanarium journey while waiting for the reception to start or they can walk around the mall
3. Very accessible
We almost give up when Ms. Rose Bulaong of Hotel H2O gave me their initial quotation but all things can be done in good negotiation. When we finally agree on the price, another problem came up, this time it's Manila Ocean Park's management which made a new regulation that will affect my wedding ceremony. It's more than a month before we booked MOP, to the hassle we've been through, we never gave up bcoz we feel this is the PLACE! How much it costs us? CLUE: Pricier than The Blue Leaf. ;)
