The Wedding Fact Sheet

Summit Ridge hotel, Tagaytay

Our family went up to Tagaytay this weekend to savor the cool breeze and stayed at Summit Ridge hotel.We enjoyed our stay here because of its modern amenities (free wifi!) and the scenic view of Taal volcano from our fourth floor balcony. Summit Ridge is the newest hotel building to rise in Tagaytay and its advantage from competitors like Taal Vista is the mall-promenade beside it. No need to go far because everything is beside your hotel – restaurants, coffeeshops, boutiques, even a hardware store and supermarket. Parking is also very convenient.

Because of its big space, the ten-storey Summit Ridge makes for an ideal wedding venue. In fact, it has three ballrooms and three function rooms for special celebrations like anniversaries, birthdays and weddings. The biggest ballroom, Raintree A, can accommodate 240 persons while Raintree B & C, can seat up to 150 people each. All three ballrooms combined has space for 400 to 500 people.
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Pan Pacific Manila is known as the “butler hotel” because there’s a butler on hand at all times to attend to the specific needs of hotel guests. This premier establishment consists of 21 floors highlighted by the Pacific Lounge on the top floor with an encompassing view of the Manila skyline and a podium complex studded with superb dining facilities.

Pan Pacific Manila is also an ideal venue for weddings, anniversaries and other celebrations. Their Pacific Grand Ballroom can accommodate as many as 450 guests cocktail style and 330 persons for banquet seating. Their four other ballrooms can accommodate 50-60 guests.

Pan Pacific Manila’s Celebrations Package for 50-100 persons is inclusive of the following amenities:
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Because I work in Ermita, the tourist district of Manila, I often pass by Ibarra’s Garden – a popular venue for weddings, birthdays and special celebrations. I haven’t really attended an event here but it does look cozy and welcoming from the outside. If you like structures from another era, this is it. Ibarra’s Garden is an old house that dates back to the 1920s and is American art deco-inspired. It reflects the grandeur of a time gone when people partied in their ball gowns and arrived in horse-drawn carriages. If you know what I mean

The only problem I see with this venue is the parking, a common concern in Manila where land is getting constricted by the day. It would be good news if they have valet parking, but I wasn’t able to ask.
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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.
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Or REALLY budget weddings, to be more precise about it.

If even celebrities are cutting down on cost, there’s no reason why ordinary mortals like you and I can’t. The times simply call for it. Am sure budget brides will reason out that all the moolah spent on a one-day affair is better allotted for big-ticket priorities after the wedding, such as a house or car downpayment and saving up for when the baby comes.

It’s all a matter of spending creatively. Here are some ways to do this before the Big day:

1. Comparison shop between suppliers. Do not be afraid to engage in some dirty leg work or conduct serious research which may be via the internet or plainly asking your friends for referrals. I assure you this makes a difference, rather than relying on what you hear on TV or read in magazines.

2. Do-It-Yourself. DIY, the magic word in wedding preparations. There are a lot of aspects of the wedding preps which you can designate for DIY such as the invites and giveaways. Pool together the talents of your friends and families. This can save you as much as 40 per cent.

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Based on reports from the Department of Tourism, a big group of wedding professionals from California planed into town recently and looked at the prospects of the Philippines as a wedding destination. They only had good words for it.

“A basic wedding in the US costs around $ 50,000, while in the Philippines you can hold weddings for less than half of that, with a honeymoon holiday thrown in the package,” Richard Markel, President of the L.A.-based Association for Wedding Professionals International, was quoted as saying.

Outside of the US continent, Hawaii is a popular wedding location for Americans, but still expensive. With the recession in full swing, either people are cancelling weddings or holding it in other locales.

Distance notwithstanding, I do believe the Philippines has got what it takes to be a cheap, affordable wedding destination for the following reasons:

1. Availability of inexpensive talents who can do all the work. Be it a singer, a band, a florist or even a fire dancer, labor is relatively cheap in these parts. The choices are simply diverse and impressive too.

2. Existence of all-in-one packages which can make tying the knot relatively hassle-free. Major cities have professional organizers and coordinators, or if you don’t want to hire one, there are one-stop shops for this purpose where you can get everything you need – from gowns to catering to wedding accessories – in one roof. Okay, don’t forget the one who will take care of your wedding papers too.

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If you’re planning to hold a big wedding in the heart of Manila, Palacio de Maynila is definitely one of the places to consider. It’s one of the newer places in town, especially designed to hold events. It is airconditioned, parking is no problem and they have accredited caterers to see to it that your reception requirements are met.

Here are some important facts about Palacio de Maynila, plus its wedding packages for 2009:

Floor Area : 800 square meters

Capacity : 400 to 500 guests

Service Area : kitchen – approx. 200 square meters

Parking : 53 slots for Palacio, plus 369 slots for the adjacent Bay
Park, its sister company
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