Pasingit, we got married sa San Agustin, and this is my two cents
This is the first church we went to when we were scouting. Since we both loved Old World aesthetics and a sense of history, na in love na kami sa church. Malate Church and Manila Cathedral were also candidates since I liked the facades and their historical significance as well. But when we went there, hubby was of the opinion that their interiors failed in comaparison. At that time we were already booked with Jason Magbanua and Dino Lara, sabi ni hubby mas madami daw silang "malalaro" sa San Agustin. Honestly I think tama sya, ang ganda ng kinalabasan ng pictures and videos.
May bayad nga sa pag open ng door, kasi bayad daw yun sa 6 people na magbubukas. The door is really heavy and old. Judging from the reaction of our guests, I think worth it ang pagbukas ng pinto. I think brides are lucky na ginagawa pa nila ang pag open at pag close ng pinto for the sake of dramatics, considering they should already be "conserving" the door for being part of our national heritage, San Agustin being the oldest church in the Philippines and in this part of Asia.. hehe malakas na loob ko sabihin kasi nakinabang na ako sa "dramatics"..
Worth it? Yes, 10 out of 10.
May bayad din if you want your photographer/videographer to be permitted to take pictures from certain areas. I think we also availed of this kaya may bird's eye view ang shots namin. Worth it? Yes, 7 out of 10.
We did not add anything apart from those. San Agustin admin is very easy to talk to, magaan loob namin sa kanila kaya di kami nastress makipag coordinate sa kanila. Di gaya ng experience namin sa Manila Cathedral, di sila kasing friendly ng sa San Agustin.. confirmed yan ng sister ko who is a wedding coordinator, ang higpit daw sa Manila Cathedral talaga.
Our seminar for San Agustin was a painless Saturday morning lecture, followed by a very short interview with the priest. Sa ibang churches alam ko mas madami silang nirerequire.
That said, San Agustin was not without room for improvement.
Tama naman na sunod sunod ang weddings dyan pag weekends, then again ganun din sa Manila Cathedral and other favorite churches. Swerte lang namin we were the only wedding for the day because it was a Friday that was a holiday and nobody booked the church but us. If may mga kasabay kayo, you may talk to the bride before/after, baka pwede kayo maghati for aisle flowers.
Since di aircon sa church (pero di naman mainit kasi maganda naman ang ventilation), baka pwede din kayo maghati sa bayad sa air coolers. Another tip is to find out if there are parades or other church activity sa schedule nyo para ready kayo sa mga daanan/parking/etc.
Sabi ni hubby gusto daw nya nababalik-balikan ang wedding church namin (kaya di nya type yung gusto ko dati na chapel chapel lang).. kaya gusto daw nya dito kasi daw it's built on solid rock, earthquake proof ang church na ito, so it will be there for a very long time. ganyan din daw gusto nya sa marriage namin. naks!
So would I choose San Agustin again? Definitely.
Hope this helped girls
