As I mentioned on my previous posts, I will be documenting our wedding preparation here as well. The second question mark on our list of priorities was the "Where?" or should I say, church. Since we live far from each other – Paulo in Cavite and I in Malabon City. We need to take into consideration the travel time of our relatives. Therefore, to meet half way we decided to have the wedding in Manila City.
At first we're undecided if we are going to have a church wedding since our initial plan was a simple civil wedding ceremony only. This was of course because of our limited budget. However, unexpected turn of events, such as my parents, specifically my very conservative father wanted us to have a church wedding. And so, afraid that he might not support our decision we push through with having the all out church wedding. Come to think of it, it was a good decision. It's really more solemn and unforgettable to have a church wedding since we get to have the blessing not just from our parents and relatives, but also from God.
We booked Malate Church last July 2014, we paid the 50% down payment to secure the date and time. The rate for a Friday wedding at 2:30pm that time was 12k. It includes the flowers on the isle, ushers, priest, and soloist. It was a good deal for us. Anyway, our original plan was to get married when I'm 27 y.o. and him 28 y.o., and so the date we really wanted was January 16, 2015, a day before his 29th birthday, but since it falls on the Pope's visit to the Philippines, we had to move the date.
I initially booked our honeymoon trip to Palawan for February 2, 2015, needless to say we cannot get married any later than January. Yes, it was a promo fare so I don't have any other choice. The good thing is, Malate Church wasn't really packed for January that time, and so we got the last Friday of January, the 30th.
Having a church wedding can be tiresome especially if you don't have a wedding planner to help you. I know this because we didn't hire a wedding planner, anyhow I surprisingly managed to do all the preparations by myself (whew!). One of the hardest tasks for me was choosing the right church because you have a lot to consider before you can finally say "Yes! We found the right one!."
The first factor you must consider is the availability of your preferred date/s. You need to at least have two planned dates so that if your first preferred date is no longer available, then you have a back up date. Also, if you have at least six months to prepare, like us, then you may have a bigger chance of booking your first preferred date. Or maybe because the month we chose is not the wedding season month. Harhar.
Second is the proximity of the church to your reception and hotel. Yes, you have to take into consideration how far the church is to your reception. Mainly because if it's too far and your wedding let's say is at 2:30pm and will end by 4:00pm, then there's a big possibility that by the end of the ceremony your guests' stomachs are growling like Jamir Garcia of Slapshock. And so, I highly advise that the church must be close to your reception with at least 10-15 minutes travel time.
Having your hotel closer to the church is better just in case you run out of time doing your hair and makeup. It's just an added assurance that your man won't go stiff standing at the altar waiting for you. You will never know what will happen on your big day, and so it's better to be prepared.
Lastly, you must know the guidelines that every church implements and if these ties in with their rates. For example, some churches offer 20k for just the church rental fee, it doesn't include the fee for electricity, red carpet for the isle, flowers to decorate the church, etc. For me, the only downside for choosing Malate Church is they don't allow a singer to sing during the bridal march. They will give you a list of songs to choose from then that's it, that's all you've got. It was a little bit disappointing because I really wanted someone to sing Adele's "To make you feel my love" as my bridal march song. I specifically like the version of Lea Michele. Anyway, I didn't know about this rule not until we have already paid the down payment and all plans for the hotel and reception is already done. So yeah, it sucks I know.
The bottom line is as long as you are comfortable with the guidelines, location, rate, and time availability then it won't be hard to book a church. I was told once that when a couple decide to get married, blessings will come along their way when they least expect it. And I totally agree with that! There were a lot of times during our prep that I can attest to that. Harhar. We're just happy because we're so blessed and I'm so thankful to God because I know he's behind all that "miracles."
We booked Malate Church last July 2014, we paid the 50% down payment to secure the date and time. The rate for a Friday wedding at 2:30pm that time was 12k. It includes the flowers on the isle, ushers, priest, and soloist. It was a good deal for us. Anyway, our original plan was to get married when I'm 27 y.o. and him 28 y.o., and so the date we really wanted was January 16, 2015, a day before his 29th birthday, but since it falls on the Pope's visit to the Philippines, we had to move the date.
I initially booked our honeymoon trip to Palawan for February 2, 2015, needless to say we cannot get married any later than January. Yes, it was a promo fare so I don't have any other choice. The good thing is, Malate Church wasn't really packed for January that time, and so we got the last Friday of January, the 30th.
Having a church wedding can be tiresome especially if you don't have a wedding planner to help you. I know this because we didn't hire a wedding planner, anyhow I surprisingly managed to do all the preparations by myself (whew!). One of the hardest tasks for me was choosing the right church because you have a lot to consider before you can finally say "Yes! We found the right one!."
The first factor you must consider is the availability of your preferred date/s. You need to at least have two planned dates so that if your first preferred date is no longer available, then you have a back up date. Also, if you have at least six months to prepare, like us, then you may have a bigger chance of booking your first preferred date. Or maybe because the month we chose is not the wedding season month. Harhar.
Second is the proximity of the church to your reception and hotel. Yes, you have to take into consideration how far the church is to your reception. Mainly because if it's too far and your wedding let's say is at 2:30pm and will end by 4:00pm, then there's a big possibility that by the end of the ceremony your guests' stomachs are growling like Jamir Garcia of Slapshock. And so, I highly advise that the church must be close to your reception with at least 10-15 minutes travel time.
Having your hotel closer to the church is better just in case you run out of time doing your hair and makeup. It's just an added assurance that your man won't go stiff standing at the altar waiting for you. You will never know what will happen on your big day, and so it's better to be prepared.
Lastly, you must know the guidelines that every church implements and if these ties in with their rates. For example, some churches offer 20k for just the church rental fee, it doesn't include the fee for electricity, red carpet for the isle, flowers to decorate the church, etc. For me, the only downside for choosing Malate Church is they don't allow a singer to sing during the bridal march. They will give you a list of songs to choose from then that's it, that's all you've got. It was a little bit disappointing because I really wanted someone to sing Adele's "To make you feel my love" as my bridal march song. I specifically like the version of Lea Michele. Anyway, I didn't know about this rule not until we have already paid the down payment and all plans for the hotel and reception is already done. So yeah, it sucks I know.
The bottom line is as long as you are comfortable with the guidelines, location, rate, and time availability then it won't be hard to book a church. I was told once that when a couple decide to get married, blessings will come along their way when they least expect it. And I totally agree with that! There were a lot of times during our prep that I can attest to that. Harhar. We're just happy because we're so blessed and I'm so thankful to God because I know he's behind all that "miracles."
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