No wonder a lot of people choose to have their wedding and/or reception at Discovery Shores. It takes more than the usual budget, all right, but I was witness to the fact that they do their job well and will give you a quality outcome. There was a wedding reception going on during our stay and the outdoor tent was beautifully set up for the event …..

I even saw the bride and groom during their pictorial. I think both of them are foreigners….

You will have a glimpse throughout of the sunset and the beach. Who wouldn’t fall in love?

Here’s a look at the Junior Suite that comes with every wedding package booked at Discovery Shores. Hubby and I also stayed here. You will be treated to an awesome foot bath and welcome platter.

If you’ve been dreaming of your Boracay wedding or shopping for online wedding dresses, Discovery Shores would be perfect. And no, am not being paid by them to endorse:) It just so happened that we had a nice experience. I can’t wait to go back again!

Up next: Wedding packages at Discovery Shores Boracay

A recent visit to the sea town of Mactan, Cebu made me fall in love with the idea of a beach wedding again. More so because we were billetted at the elegant Crimson Beach Resort & Spa, the newest resort in Mactan at the moment. Experiencing Crimson and its topnotch garden view villa certainly made hubby and I feel like we were on a honeymoon again.

What I like about Crimson is that it’s not as big as the other five-star resorts in Cebu so the feeling of privacy and intimacy is there. If you’re planning a small wedding with 100 guests or less or even 200, the resort has three venues to choose from.

Whether at dawn or at dusk, the small garden by the beachside Azure Bar of Crimson provides the perfect backdrop for the beach wedding of your dreams. Romance surely pervades the air with the view of the ocean and swaying coconut trees. All you’d need is a chair, a wide-brimmed hat and a sunny attitude about how beautiful the milestone moment is.

For an indoor ceremony or reception, Crimson has three function rooms that can be joined together to make a grand ballroom to accommodate as many as 200 guests in a banquet or cocktail style. The resort has prepared wedding packages for a minimum of 100 persons and this already takes the hassle out of preparing for the reception. The basic wedding package at the resort already includes the buffet, sound system, flower arrangements, two-layered fondant cake, overnight room accommodation with welcome basket, complimentary lechon, free use of the venue for four hours and other additions.

For an added amount, they would also include your wedding giveaways, photo and video coverage, bridal car… even a trio of violinist, flutist and guitarist. Click here for more details.

I also checked out their Tempo Bar and found it an ideal setting for a very intimate wedding reception of as little as 50 guests. I absolutely loved the different kinds of lamps that adorned the ceiling and the combined modern Filipiniana and Balinese motifs that shine through the rest of the resort relax the soul and make one relish life in the tropics.

More pictures of Crimson Beach Resort & Spa:

We were billeted in a deluxe garden view room which had a tub and modern amenities like a huge 42-inch LCD TV and an outside balcony. But of course, for a little more luxury on your honeymoon, opt for their private pools and casitas which have their own plunge pools and a four-poster bed to boot.

Cap your visit with signature massage and treatments at the in-house Aum Spa. No other place can be perfect for relaxing and soothing tired nerves in the run-up to your wedding. Ask for the spa’s special packages just for couples. Take a foot bath or body scrub together or just lie in bed for a massage that will make you forget about the busy world outside for a bit.

And of course, since you’re in Mactan, Cebu, don’t forget the sea! At Crimson, you have a choice between the infinity pool or the beach. I’d say, try both and engage in the water activities on offer as well.

Crimson Beach Resort & Spa
Mactan Island, Lapu-Lapu City
Cebu, Philippines
Tel. No: 63-32 401.9999
Fax No: 63-32 401.9998

Email: info.mactan@crimsonhotel.com

Manila Sales Office:
Unit 2202
22F PBCom Tower
6795 Ayala Avenue corner
V. A. Rufino Street, Makati City 1226
Tel. No: 02 728.0005
Fax No: 02 729.0077

Also check out the official Crimson website
or their Facebook page

For an extra special touch to your wedding, try to hold the rites or the reception in a place that’s out of the ordinary, like a butterfly garden, a yacht club or even a ranch. In our case, we held it in Manila Ocean Park, the Philippines’ biggest oceanarium. I fell in love with this place during our first visit and just knew we had to hold our reception there. First of all, I wanted to have a picture with the little sharks, manta rays and other rare fish species. Silly me. Am glad that it all turned out fine, as you can see in the picture.

What’s good about the Manila Ocean Park? First of all, there’s the priceless view of Manila Bay and its glorious sunset, accessible from the balcony or the glass-panelled windows of the Ozeano Fusion restaurant (where we held our reception). Your guests can savor the breeze, and if you’re gallant enough, treat them for free entrance to the oceanarium itself. Here they can get acquainted and educated with the diversity of our rich marine life.

If you don’t choose to hold your reception in the buffet restaurant, you can hold it in any of the oceanarium’s function rooms. The rooms have names like Lawa (seats 200 people), Laot (seats 250, with three floor-to-ceiling aquariums), and Batis (backdrop is a wide aquarium with swimming sharks and giant guitar fish, among others.)

The Manila Ocean Park Filipino wedding package already includes extras like the wedding cake, menu, table centerpieces, floral arrangements and a bottle of sparkling wine, to name just a few. Moreover, wedding planning is no hassle because the sales team promises to take care of planning and coordinating the wedding details – from orchestrating the wedding rehearsal to organizing the cake cutting.

We also love the fact that the oceanarium has sprawling parking grounds around the Quirino Grandstand which has room for close to 600 cars.

More about our official wedding reception venue, Ozeano Fusion Restaurant by Tamayo’s Catering in another post.

Contact Manila Ocean Park at telephone no. 567777, or Ozeano (official caterer) at 567778 to 79