Wedding Step 1: Wedding Reception Hunting

I started with reception hunting. Why did I even start with reception hunting instead of church hunting first? Here are my psycho reasons:
1. Finding a good wedding reception venue is difficult for December to January weddings. December is the new June and January is the new August;
2. Reception Venue is more expensive compared to Church. I would like to find a decent reception venue at an affordable rate.
3. Guests spend more time in reception compared to church. Admit it.
4. There are several churches everywhere in Metro Manila.

So there you go.

I started hunting for reception venues by searching for reviews online, blogs, websites. I started emailing them and asking for their rates.

Here are some of the the event places I have requested for rates:
1. Gazebo Royale
2.  Loft at Manansala.
3.Terrace Garden
4. Oasis Manila
5. Lights and Love Event Place
6. Glass Garden
7. Fernbrook
8. Ibarra
9. Mango Farm
10. Makati Enterprise (did not reply)
11. Patio de Victoria
12. La Castellana
13. 1 Esplanade
14. White Space (did not reply)
15. Edirun College (did not reply)
 
Prior to that, since I wanted my wedding to be on December 20, 2014 and all event places I have mentioned above were fully booked so  I requested rates from the following hotel:

1. Shangrila Hotel
2. Hyatt Hotel
3. New World Hotel
4. Mandarin Oriental Hotel
5. Pan Pacific Hotel
6. Traders Hotel
7. Inter Continental Hotel
8. Diamond Hotel
9. Dusit Thani Hotel
10. Oakwood Premier Joy Nostalg
11. Sofitel

Oakwood Premier Joy Nostalg offered the cheapest rate.  Honestly, we would be going out of our target budget if we would opt a Hotel as a reception venue. Well,  if there will be only 130 guests, then,  hotel would be the best option. Furthermore, I realized that hotel reception venues are limited. They have so much rules, etc. 

So we have decided to change our wedding date to January 10, 2015 so that we can have an event place for our wedding reception.

So there...I made an excel file where I listed the name of the reception venues; rates, contact numbers, email addresses, location, pros and cons, available or not.

After thinking thoroughly, I (yes, only me), decided to opt for OASIS MANILA - Verandah.

Here are my reasons,
1. I love crystals. I mean, I love shimmering objects. Thus, my only choices for wedding themes are:
Gatsby, Winter Wonderland and Starry Starry Night.

2. La Castellana, offered a very affordable rate like 20K for the place rental. But the ambiance of the place is too old. 1 esplanade is too big and I did not feel opting for 1 esplanade.

3. Almost all offered garden wedding. (it's hard to have a themed wedding with all the garden ambiance around you.

4. Makati Enterprise would be a great place to exploit for such themes, but they did not reply.

5. White space is too big.

6. Loft at Manansala, the location is not okay for me.

8. Glass Garden fully booked. 

7. Ibarra offered affordable rates. My friends said it is too far. Lol!