Church

San Antonio de Padua Quasi-Parish in Br Pooc, Silang Cavite

The most important place for the wedding is of course the church! Everything else just follows. This is one of the first things we tried to reserve when we decided for a Tagaytay wedding. In the end, we have finally chosen to get married in San Antonio de Padua in Silang, Cavite. It was a very easy decision=).

Click here for the map to San Antonio de Padua.

There are many scenic churches on or near Tagaytay. We first tried calling the office of the Transfiguration Chapel, or the one we more popularly know as Caleruega. Although it's not actually in Tagaytay (it's in Nasugbu Batangas actually), it is a popular wedding spot. Surprise, surprise! The chapel was already fully booked one year in advance!! But wait! There was free slot, at 8:30 AM , on December 23. But seriously, would you want to wake up that early on a cool December morning?

Transfiguration Chapel in Caleruega, Nasugbu, Batangas

Aside from Caleruega, we didn't really know much about any other church there.  By this time, we were really starting to get scared because if we couldn't book a church, everything would just break down!

I searched the internet and found a really nice chapel called Madre de Dios -- but it's inside the Tagaytay Highlands. When I called,  I learned that you couldn't book it for weddings unless you hold your reception in the Tagaytay Highlands too. 

Madre de Dios Chapel in Tagaytay Highlands

We decided we really had to take the trip to Tagaytay. Upon going there, we planned to visit Our Lady of Lourdes, Chapel on the Hill, and last on our list was San Antonio de Padua. 

Chapel on the Hill in Don Bosco Batulao, Batangas

Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Tagaytay

On our way to Tagaytay, it so happened that this San Antonio de Padua was the first one we would pass by on. So we decided to go there first. Upon reaching the chapel, we had not gone down of our car yet and we knew we were looking at the church! Jen immediately fell in love with the place, and I was thinking why I had not considered this early on!

Church as seen from the outside

The façade was made of baked mud bricks which made it very rustic. It had a campanario which disguises the fact that it’s actually a small chapel. Viewed from the door, the altar glows in muted green and directly above it is a dome with a blue hue and a painting of the Risen Christ. The side of the church is supported by arches and allows cool air to breeze in. Its architecture is in the Mission Revival Style which resembles San Antonio de Padua mission churches in California and Mexico. 

But most importantly though, Jen could imagine herself walking down its aisles!

Church alter as viewed from the aisle

Church interior

Interior as viewed from second floor



Interior as viewed from the altar

Last time we checked, the church lawn is undergoing some improvements. Please, I hope they finish in time... =)

Out of Town Weddings

We have always dreamt of a Tagaytay wedding. Even before we got engaged, we would talk about how romantic it would be to get married there. But while planning, we tried to be open to getting married somewhere else.

We thought of the place closest to our hearts – Bulacan.

Jen and I also considered being married in Metro Manila.

Getting married in Bulacan would have been an easy choice since all of our relatives are there. Metro Manila would also be a practical choice since it's just an hour and half away (minus the traffic).

But we decided to hold it in Tagaytay.

It was logistically difficult, financially challenging and, getting all the people there is not going to be easy. But the weather, the scenery, the ambiance, they make any Tagaytay wedding amazing! Just having been able to pull this off will leave memories worth talking about for the rest of our lives.

Yes we are ready with the “Ang layo naman…” comments =)

Number of Guests

Jen and I decided that this was going to be a small wedding. So from the very start, we planned for a guest count of 150. This is, after all, the typical starting number for most caterers.

But no matter how much we wanted to invite everybody who’s been important in our lives, we just cant. So we just had to pick out “representatives” from each of the families, from each of our sets of friends, plus some of our parents’ closest friends.

To those that we will be able to invite, I really hope you appreciate how happy you will make us if you grace us with you presence. And to those we will fail to invite, we know you will understand =)

Budget

After the symbolic gestures of engagement comes the hard reality - money. If only all the good things in Life are free….

But they aren’t.  So first we tried to come up with a vague picture of how our wedding was gonna look like. We searched the internet and we came up with a budget of PhpXXX,XXX.XX, all based on assumptions. Probably, like all couples, we made a pact never to change this budget. And that no matter what, we will never ever move away from this budget.

Oh but we were so wrong! As the wedding nears, and as we became more aware of the things needed (or wanted) in a wedding… well yes… the budget has to be “recast” in stone, several times =) . But we had a natural limit.

The  major source of the fund is - us.  Our hard earned money – born out of our own stress. We planned to save for this wedding, and we agreed to sacrifice a lot of the things that we usually do or buy. We lessened our fine dinners, toned down on grand gifts, and  our car got more intimate with the parking lot. Then we agreed to set aside part of our monthy income for the wedding. In short pinag-ipunan =)

It was hard, but it kinda makes the wedding day sweeter. 

Proposal

During the time when I was planning to propose to Jen, either there were just too many viral proposal videos, or I was just paying more attention now and was actually noticing them. I was stressed! I felt the pressure to have a very grand and showy proposal because I thought Jen would love that. Who knows, somebody could catch me on video and my proposal would become viral too. I’ll be famous! But what was I thinking? This isn’t about me. It's about her. Jen is not the type who would love lots of attention. She is not the outgoing type. Instead, she treasures sentimentality and values quiet intimate moments. She wants things, not grand, but packed with meanings. After much thought, I finally decided to give up all the crazy antics I had in mind and decided my proposal should just be about her.

You can read all about  it in here.

Blessing from the Parents

To tell or not tell the parents… first

But I felt I had to. After all, they are going to part from the daughter they have raised and loved all these years. I think this is the least I can do.  But what will they say? Will they get mad? Will they believe me? 
It .Was. Nerve racking!
After sucking up all the courage in the world…

In the  morning of December 15, I sneaked to meet with Jen’s parents. I told them of my intentions. They weren’t surprised really, after all, they see me all the time. They pretty much knew where we’re headed. But I had to talk a bit about our plans for the future.

After a couple of advices and after a pat on the back, they finally gave it. I asked for the hand of their daughter in marriage, and they gave their blessing.  

Engagement Ring

I decided I should get Jen a ring. I think she deserves it. I spent hours, no, days researching.. I must admit though, I was a little low on resources that time but I was ready to set something aside. I could sacrifice some comforts. But I never expected what happened next.
While telling my mom how I planned to get a ring, she showed me an earring. I wondered what that’s for. Does she want me to give Jen engagement earrings instead?
She told me that this earring was given to her by my grandmother. And my grandmother got it from her mother. My mom has kept it all this time until one of her children decides to get married. This earring had a diamond…
Together with her and  my sister, we had that diamond casted onto a ring. And there it was! The most unique, the most precious thing I have given to anyone. A ring that was a piece of my family. And it has now been passed on… again.

            An heirloom.

Welcome to our Blog!

Thank you for visiting our blog! Here you will find everything you need to know about our wedding. Since this is going to be the most important part of our lives, please oblige us to share how we prepared and geared up for it. By the time we made this blog, we have been preparing for the wedding for about 9 months already =)