The WEDDING DATE

We finally have a wedding date!!! It’s going to be on October 15, 2016 at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Tagaytay. The reception will be held at the Hill Creek Gardens in Alfonso, Cavite.

How did we end up choosing the church and the venue? Simple. We didn’t dissect it into tiny little pieces. We went along with the flow. Well, the fiancé went along with what I want, anyway. He only had an inkling of where and when I want it to be, so he got a little surprised that I already have a specific month in mind. I think he wanted it earlier, but there’s no way I will get married during the summer season. This country is too hot and humid for a June wedding.

Thankfully, Lourdes Church has an open slot for a weekend wedding in October. The 29^th was open as well, but that’s too near the holiday, and I don’t want my guests to get stuck in traffic on their way to my wedding. The 15^th is a safe bet, barring the inclement weather conditions here. But I don’t want to sweat that out just yet.

The reception venue was a little tricky. At first. There were just too many to choose from. I shortlisted Tagaytay Highlands, Taal Vista Hotel and of course, Hill Creek Gardens. The problem is, we both don’t have the time to have ocular inspections of all these places. I wanted to book the church and the venue on the same day since the fiancé only have a few days off from work.

So, after booking Lourdes Church, we drove over to Hill Creek Gardens in Alfonso. I have a secret pact with myself that if I find no major flaw with Hill Creek, we’re going to push for it. I already fell in love with the place anyway. It’s just a matter of sealing that love with the actual version of the place. It was quite a drive from Lourdes, which works for me because I wanted to spend time with the hubby (to be) after the wedding ceremony and before the reception.

Hill Creek is a short drive after the Alfonso-Tagaytay border. It’s hard to miss it since signs are everywhere. Immediately after arriving, I already fell hard for the entrance to the place. The guard was courteous, and the driveway was stunning with the creek on the right and the lush greeneries on the left.

There was a suspended walkway near the parking area and the entrance to the lobby, which is a good place to have photos taken before the reception takes place. We were greeted by the receptionist and introduced to our events manager (Ms. Ann) for the ocular. She first took us upstairs to show the pavilion, where they hold indoor weddings. The place can accommodate up to two weddings in a day because they have an indoor and outdoor venue.

But I wanted the garden venue, and I told her so. She took us downstairs to show the gazebo where a Christian ceremony can take place, and also where cocktails for events in the pavilion are held. She said the pavilion and the gazebo are included in the same package while the main garden (the one with the bridge and the view of the chapel) and the adjacent smaller garden belong to the same package.

There was no doubt in my mind I wanted a garden reception. We both decided to have a rustic theme, and nothing says rustic than having it outdoors, right? My only problem is that October is still a rainy season. We inquired about their tents, and they said it’s for an additional P25,000, which actually works for us. We did not think twice and booked the garden venue for the wedding. Maybe I’ll just pray endlessly for good weather on my wedding day.

Here's the photo of Hill Creek's venue for their garden reception:

We took Hill Creek’s all-in wedding package, which includes catering for 150 people by their in-house caterer, Three Bridges Catering, flower arrangements for the tables (which looks really elegant in photos but we still have to check that out), basic flower setup for the church, a complimentary one-night stay in their bridal suite, and other amenities.

I initially wanted to take care of every tiny detail of our wedding, so I planned to just book Hill Creek as a venue, and have a separate caterer, florist, stylist, but life would be easier if I just don’t complicate things and just let Hill Creek handle everything. I don’t really want to be disturbed with questions about the ingress and egress, etc., so let the coordinator handle that. Plus, it’s more budget friendly. Since we’re also fixing our new home, I prefer to save my energy for that.

And so we finally made a deposit on both our church and our reception. I only needed to fix and confirm a few things with Hill Creek (like the styling, flower arrangements, lights and sounds), and we’re all set.

On to my next challenge… finding a photo/video team.