another milestone marked in our wedding preps... we were able to book our venue, ilustrado :) yiippeee! teena, my coordinator, and i initially had a chat over skype about the latest buzz with the venues within intramuros area. it was so thoughtful and kind of her to go there personally to take pictures and scout for a possible venue for us. she took pictures and uploaded them to me via ym (yahoo messenger). she took pictures of father blanco's garden, coconut palace and ilustrado. the rest, well we decided its does not fit to the budget or the place was a little bit small or much too big.
father blanco's came to my mind just recently. a batchmate of mine from mapua, jacq and gudo would be married on the same church as ours. theirs would be held this january, and they've chosen father blanco's garden. jacq said that the moment gudo stepped into the place, he decided that that was their venue for the reception so jacq couldn't really argue. it has nice stoned block flooring and lots of trees and bushes with fountain. they also have a hallway, extending on one side, just so there would be a back-up area when it rains. unfortunately, the priests who manages the place prohibits fireworks and live bands! nyee! so we decided not to get them anymore, we don't want to be thrown out of the place if they awoke because of the festivities. another thing is, the catering service is solely provided by makati skyline. unfortunately, their rate for the packages are not within our budget.
teena also tried looking at coconut palace although it wasn't on our list. the place really looks great overlooking the manila bay. the so-called 'palace' used to be a house for the marcos's so the interior of the insides is more of like a house. the function area is like the big lobby of the place. the swimming pool outside also was in the middle of the reception area. it was really ok but the rent of the place was a bit high and of course we have to get their accredited caterers to which our expected savings would not be able to afford.
so finally we discussed about ilustrado restaurant. we talked about the garden courtyard. the place can accomodate up to 200 guests, still enough space alloted just in case we go overboard with the attendees. the place was easy to groom according to teena and lots of elements can be fixed according to our theme. i also liked the wishing well in the garden, it could be dressed up for the event. the best part was the sinagtala ballroom. it has capiz windows and the ceilings and walls have this old world feeling. the furnitures were classy and the ambiance was perfect for a classic vintage theme. this will be our back-up area just in case the rain pours. parking space is not a problem. all in all, it really suits well with our budget and taste.
we immediately decided to book the place last weekend. the management has already planned to increase their package rates by Php20-30K because they want to incorporate other details like the car rental, hotel accomodations, etc. teena and i felt that those additionals can be taken cared of on our side so we opt to get the package as is. the attending account executive was not able to commit on what kind of flower arrangement would be done for our setup so teena gave them enough time to get back to us on this matter. these things could be dealt with as we go along the way.
but for now, niño and i are both ecstatic to finally been able to book our venue. teena, my mom and sis berna met last saturday at ilustrado restaurant to close the deal and sign the contract. they paid the reservation fee and looked around the place. my mom was really amused at the place, she's not used to attending big gatherings. this is my, sort of, gift for her.. making her dreams come true, and ours as well. :)
*please come and visit our wedsite to view our latest updates for our wedding preps. do drop us a message on our guestbook on your free time, thanks! :) *
http://asleelabnino.weddingannouncer.com
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