Venue Hunting Part 1

Finally, nakapag-ocular na kami on 6 venues! 

April 23:
L'Orchard
The Mango Farm
Sun Valley Estates

April 24:
Jardin de Miramar
Le Blanc

April 30:
Camp Aguinaldo

L'Orchard

PROS: 

Honestly. I can't think of any. :| Probably because the venue was super bare when we visited and napangitan talaga ako haha. But it's not so bad naman. Actually, L'Carmen (the indoor and airconditioned pavillion) is nice. The others, meh. Siguro pag may setup, but I don't know. I can only judge from pictures.

CONS: 

Nice in pictures, not so in actual. If you're planning to visit or you've already been to The Mango Farm, sobrang... macocompare mo talaga sila. Tapos the ceremony charge 35k so aabot ng almost 100k ang venue rental! Almost the same as the whole day, exclusive, full day rate of The Mango Farm so sorry, L'Orchard. Hindi talaga.

PESO POWER: 

Php65,000 (L'Pavillion and L'Lagoon); and

Php75,000 (L'Carmen) for reception venue 

+ Php35,000 for ceremony 

VERDICT: 

NO.

The Mango Farm

PROS: 

The Mango Farm is beautiful and captivating. For the first time (and this is just the second venue!), I felt the "this is it" feeling. I felt in awe, nakatayo lang ako silently sa may entrance and gandang ganda talaga ako sa Mango Farm. Sa entrance pa lang sobrang ganda na. Then there's the garden for the ceremony, the indoor airconditioned hall for the reception, with a cocktail area, powder room, and the rest of the farm is just so perfect and beautiful. It's all praises for The Mango Farm!

CONS: 

Even with the venue+catering packages, para lang syang standard venue rates plus the standard catering rates of their accredited caterers. Walang na-discount, walang natipid. :| Plus, LAHAT may corkage! UGH! I am really allergic to corkages! Para kang nagtatapon ng pera sa ere! Also, my vision is to get married on a golf course, or at least in a green grassy area or garden na super malawak, without walls. The ceremony area of TMF is malawak naman, but it's still not quite how I envision it. Still, TMF is a very strong contender. 

PESO POWER: 

Php83,500++ for the whole farm

++++++corkages!

VERDICT: 

YES! Expensive, yes, but it's THE venue to beat if wala na talaga akong mahanap na golf course/clubhouse.

Sun Valley Estates

PROS: 
Because I'm still dreaming of a golf course wedding ceremony! Haha! Well, the ceremony area is not really part of the golf course, this is just an empty lot across the clubhouse. Pero pak na pak sya for the ceremony, and sobrang ganda talaga nya with aerial videography! (Watch sample SDE below!) Also, the reception hall, Promenade, is grand! Malaki, modern, high ceiling. Minimal styling na lang ang kelangan. Plus, absolutely no corkage on anything! It's perrrfect!

WATCH: Haydee + Jantzen SDE

CONS:

1) We need a sponsor :( Unang tanong samin when we went there was kung sinong homeowner ang mage-endorse samin so they can check daw the records. Well, truth is we didn't know anybody in Sun Valley. This was originally on my shortlisted golf courses to check out, and nung nakita ko in W@W na may recent WaWie lang na kinasal dito, I emailed her agad to ask for details. Wala din syang kakilala but the contact person there (Miss Nelly) helped her daw to look for a homeowner to endorse them. I really had high hopes and and when we were there, we were ready na to make a downpayment sana to reserve, but Miss Nelly was kinda insisting na we need a sponsor. I asked her if maybe she can assist us and magawan ng paraan na makahanap kami ng sponsor, but medyo malabo kausap si Miss Nelly. Na-lost ako sa conversation namin and in the end, hindi pa din ako sure if it will still be possible for us to book there. 

2) Another con, since December 2017 pa ang wedding date namin, hindi daw nila malo-lock in yun rate since masyado pa syang matagal and chances are magtataas pa daw yung rate ng venue. 

3) ANG HIRAP HANAPIN. We got lost and kung saan-saan kami lumusot na mali mali. Even Sis Haydee warned us na pati din daw ang mga guests nila naligaw going here, and lalo if you use Waze kase maling daan ang ituturo.

4) Lastly, walang "this is it" feeling. :( 

PESO POWER: 
Php60,000 for reception +
Php10,000 for ceremony = Php70,000
No corkage on anything!

VERDICT: 
YES! By far this is the strongest contender. Andaming cons but I feel like if ma-book lang namin to, everything else will go smoothly na. 

Jardin de Miramar

PROS: 

It could have been perfect. From the garden (Either Prado or Estacion) to the reception hall (Sevilla)... it's all pasok sa banga. And actually, mas bet ko ang garden nito for the ceremony kesa sa garden ng TMF and I can already imagine my wedding here. However...

CONS: 

...the deal breaker is that we will have to pay for both venues. The ceremony area will be given at 50% off alright, but it's still not a good deal. Also, the rate of the reception hall will depend on the number of guests. All in all, the total rate would be more expensive than The Mango Farm, and TMF is the venue to beat. Siguro if Jardin is about 20k cheaper than TMF, that's the only time we will consider it. And another factor pala is the location. The road going to Jardin is super masikip and matarik. There are sharp curves pa and it's not easy to find. 

PESO POWER: 

(Around) Php80,000++ for reception +

Php12,450 for ceremony

++corkages on outside caterer, P/V, etc

VERDICT: 

NO.

Le Blanc

PROS: 

Le Blanc is immaculately clean! It's a really great house! Plus, the contact person, Kryzia is really nice (though medyo makulit sa pag-follow up hehe).

CONS: 

1) It's super tabi ng kalsada, you can hear the jeepneys and tricycles from the outside, and since we'll have the ceremony there (and considering that we'll have a 2-hour long sermon), hindi okay na rinig lahat ng ingay from the outside. 

2) The pool platform which will serve as the aisle... Hindi talaga.

PESO POWER: 

Php85,000 for the entire house

OPTIONAL: Php10,000 for three rooms or Php30,000 for all seven rooms of the house good for 30 pax with breakfast

VERDICT: 

NO. The pool platform for the ceremony is a deal-breaker. But perhaps if reception venue lang ang hanap namin, this would be a strong contender. Too bad... 

Camp Aguinaldo

PROS: 

Tejeros Hall is grand. As in engrande and vahnggeycious!

CONS: 

MADAMI AKONG ISSUES.

1) If we'll get an outside caterer, the ENTIRE catering staff (from the waiters, AEs, to the drivers) will have to submit an NBI clearance. Yes. EACH ONE OF THEM. 

2) If we'll get their in-house catering naman, the package is just for food so we need to get an event stylist pa (and the food package is just as mahal as other caterers with complete styling na).

3) We need an AFP officer to sponsor us before we can book. No sponsor, no booking.

4) We can only use the Tejeros Hall if we'll have guests 200 above. Even if we'll pay for the full rate, it's still minimum 200 pax. Below 200, they can only let us use Dimalupig Hall. KTNXBYE.

PESO POWER: 

Php25,000 for In-house caterer

Php57,000 for Outside caterer 

(Tejeros Hall)

Php11,000 for In-house caterer

Php27,000 for Outside caterer 

(Dimalupig Hall)

VERDICT: NO.

RANKING:

1. Sun Valley Estates
2. The Mango Farm
3. Jardin de Miramar
4. Le Blanc
5. L'Orchard
6. Camp Aguinaldo

XOXO,