Sunday, 9:00am, The Glass Garden
The Glass Garden was another venue I found online, upon the suggestion of an officemate, and like Fernbrook, they had a very affordable, comprehensive wedding package. The floor was tiled, for easy dancing and movement and it also had that bright, green house effect with its fiber glass roof and indoor landscaping. Two staircases lead down from the bridal suite giving you an option on which to use for the grand entrance. There was also ample parking outside the complex and a lobby area that could be used for cocktails.
However, like Fernbrook, it also didn't have the 1920s feel I was looking for. It was also a bit hard to find coming from Libis (we stopped a few times for directions), so we would have needed a good map inserted in the invitation.
Sunday, 11:00am, The Mandarin Oriental
I've actually attended a wedding at The Mandarin Hotel and I really enjoyed the food. I also felt the ballroom, with its beveled mirrors and small stage could work for a 1920s theme. Rugie, who assisted us, was so efficient and emailed us all the information we asked for. The floral centerpieces were Ikebana style and they were really nice and simple too.
The Groom got particularly excited about the fact that live cooking stations could be set up. (Food is really his thing.) They had everything from a roast carving station, to tempura, pasta, and desserts. Yum! Even the buffet line-up sounded delicious. (Do you know that The Mandarin does catering for weddings outside the hotel too? Saw it in the list of accredited caterers of one of the other venues I visited.)
Since I originally wanted a day time wedding, I thought that having a reception in an enclosed ballroom might not be the best way to maximize the sunlight. When Rugie walked us over to Captain's Bar, to suggest the area for cocktails, I thought it would have been the perfect setting--high ceiling, semi-circular theater-style arrangement of tables, and a grand piano for the jazz band. The best part was that light was streaming in from the large windows on the side.
Unfortunately, we were told that with the newly renovated, more open lay-out, it would be difficult to close the entire area for a reception. Also, we couldn't be sure that it could accommodate the 200+ guests we were inviting. Aw!
Sunday, 2:00pm, Hyatt Hotel
I've always liked visiting the Hyatt Hotel. The food is good; the design is modern but has a vintage vibe. I always harp on about how the elevator doors look like a backgammon board, nice and Deco! If I had the wedding in Hyatt, I would have liked to have had a karaoke after party in the Music Bar which is right beside the main ballroom.
Like the Mandarin Hotel and Manila Diamond Hotel, Hyatt also threw in a lot of extras into their wedding package, like the bridal car, a suite, flowers, and even invitations. They also had an open bar package we could opt to get in place of bringing in additional drinks.
However, while the ballroom was nice and its ceiling quite high, it was still a ballroom and indoors. I was still looking for windows and perhaps something more unique.
To be honest, this was the point when we started considering having the reception at night. The costs weren't much different and we could use the venue longer too. Most venues give only 4 free hours for use of the area during the day versus the 5 hours at night. This is to give way to the ingress of a possible evening event on the same day.
Saturday, 4pm, Oceana
It was The Groom who found the venue we eventually booked. He works in the Manila area and every time he drove through the Mall of Asia complex, he'd see this glass restaurant by the bay and think that it would be a good place for the wedding.
We discovered that it was run by the Cravings group, so we knew the food would be yummy. We especially got excited by the Filipino menu. The place was bright and airy and white, something that would be great for a summer wedding.The outside area led straight out to Manila Bay. We figured that if we had an evening wedding, we could start it off with sunset cocktails outside so that everyone could enjoy the view.
We were especially pleased when we saw their packages; it came out to nearly half the cost of the other venues we liked.
Apart from the time of day, I decided to tweak the styling theme of the reception. I decided to put the whole 1920s idea on hold and make the wedding less thematic but more personal.
199 days ‘til the wedding and we've booked our reception venue!
--Isha.
