A roadtrip on my own.. but with a few company

I got an impromptu visit from one of my cousin, asking my help to download some images from his phone and burn it on a cd and at the same time, ripped out some song from cds.

The topic of conversation soon became our wedding preparation and the recent "tour of luzon" that wit-wit and I had. I told him that we loved the Church of the Twin Hearts and upon hearing this, he gave me an unapproving grin and remarked, "Are you sure you want to get married in Twin Hearts?". I gave him a blank stare but it occured to me that he was married in the Church of the Twin Hearts and now they are living separate lives. HOLY MOLY! He added that he knew a couple of others who was solemnized at the same church and is now not so happily married. I'm a skeptic when it comes to pamanhiin and stuffs but his statement gave me a soft hit on the face.. hehehe.. And when I broke the news to Sarah, she was quite.. no not quite.. but really disappointed. I knew that she fell in love with the church and it was seen on her face hours after we left the church... haaay..

When I was about to finish transferring and ripping, my cuz offered to show me around a few venues around QC. My sister and I hopped in and we started our roadtrip.

While on the road, he mentioned that we don't need to spend so much for the venue and decide for us if we want to invest on the "memories" or invest on our lives together. It was a question that made me think for a while. He re-iterated numerous times that the Twin Hearts, along with other churches seem to have bad omen when it comes to weddings and stuffs. We were better off getting married in Our Lady of Lourdes Church, my own parish church. My good for nothing sister (hehehe joke) asserted this as well.. well she is a firm believer of those superstitions.

I have no major qualms about Lourdes Church though, being the photographer that I am, I find the church is well lit and very spacious; the center aisle is wide enough to accomodate 3 people walking in a row without the ones on each side having to turn sideways on a few occasions to avoid the decorations, the alter is nice and roomy and photographers aren't that restricted. Ironicaly, Sarah is not too fond of big churches. My only concern is that the facade of the church is not so photo-op friendly.

Going back... I remarked that I am a real skeptic with those pamahiin... My cousin said that if we are really decided on Twin Hearts, our best bet would be The Shangrila Restaurant, down Times Street near West Ave. The packages there are quite reasonable and offer a very tasty cantonese menu and the place itself is not so bad. One of these days, I'll bring my wit-wit over there to check it out. hehhe..

Back to our roadtrip, our first stop was Paco's along Sgt. Esguerra. It is a medium sized resto with filipino, grilled and sizzling plate menus. The food looks good but I'm not to impressed with the place. It looks more like a bar than a resto.. hehehe.

Next stop was "Blue Bacon", a private fine dining restaurant in the outskirts of Cubao, along Lantana St. The place is small but gorgeous. They have indoor plants, dioramas of fountains and a St. Francis of Assisi Statue (my patron saint), a place that an artist will sure to appreciate. But looking at the packages they offer, the price is too steep, P500 and P800 for just an entree.

On the way back to Timog, we passed by "The Stone House" along E. Rodriguez Avenue, but since it was already late in the evening, 10:00pm, no one seems to be there to assist us. On the outside, it looks like.. well.. an apartell but the interior looks decent enough and looking up, I can see a landscaped roofdeck. hmmm.. I'd definitely check it out with my wit-wit..

Upon arriving at Timog, we stopped at "A Taste of L.A." It was also a nice place but too bar-ish and the place has 2 levels.. not too good for a wedding venue in my opinion. Also, they serve entrees (again!) only.. haay.. this is really tiring.. hehehe..

Our last stop was Dulcinea, I hessistated at first since I very well know that it will be out of reach. But surprizingly, itis quite affordable.. from P370-P470 for a 100-person buffet. Not bad.. not bad at all. The function room was big enough and well decorated. What I didn't like about Dulcinea was the low ceiling and it was full of beams.

We were quite hungry so we proceeded to "The Original Pares and Mami House" along Retiro (some say it's a spin-off from the famous JONAS Mami house). The place was jamm packed and there were people lining up we decided to eat at the shop in front of it, "Sizzing ang Lugawan sa Matnog". I don't really know why it is called matnog, but it was really cheap! P138.00 for us three, we ordered a sizzling plate each, softdrinks and one extra rice for me.. mura no?!

Wit.. punta tayo sa Stone House this week ha.. and ipakita ko rin sa iyo yung Dulcinea... :)

Tour of Luzon

Yesterday was quite a fruitful day for both of us. We had our Tour-of-Luzon -- commuting from Quezon City to Ortigas. It would have been an ordinary experience except that we walked from Roces to Timog, took a tricycle going to South Triangle, then walked again looking for possible venues. It was tiring I must say, but the fact that we are actually scouting for a perfect place for our wedding makes it fun.

Our first stop is Max's Restaurant in Roces. Coming from La Loma (his place) we took a cab straight to Maxx. It was the biggest Max's I've ever seen -- there are probably four or five function rooms aside from the main restaurant itself and there is a mini garden at the middle. Actually, the place is ok sana but I didnt like the idea that the palce is not as private as it should be. Even if there are functions on going everyone could still go around to use the garden and to look through the function rooms glass windows. I know Jaims felt bad that I didnt like the place (even if he denies it), I know he wanted it because you dont get to spend that much. Their package I think would be around 21k for 100 persons. I'm ok with spending less but I think a bride deserves a better wedding. I mean, one wouldn't work this hard just to spend little for herself.

I really enjoyed eating at Max's because they serve a variety of food. Jaims and I ordered the basic plate: chicken, rice, caramel bar (my fave), iced tea, tokwa't kininchay, lumpiang ubod oriental (or something) and the cheese & onion soup (which turned out to be really good -- tastes like pizza). Anyways after we've filled our bellies and emptied our pockets, we walked towards Timog. He insisted that we pass by Anabel's even if we both knew that their package was expensive. The place was nice, and so was the price. I told Jaims, he shouldn't have brought me there since we both knew that we can't afford it. We bought one lotto ticket, which might change our luck but I just checked today and we didn't win.

We started walking again and were able to find Jade Valley. It was a huge place, from outside it looks like a Chinese temple with dragons but when you get in, the ceiling is high, with some hotel like lobby. We inquired and the price was dead reasonable. They have a package for as low as 21k and they have a lot of venues. Although I'm not much of a Chinese food lover, I think it would suffice. Jaims said the food there is great. We went around the place, 5th floor was spooky but the rest of the function rooms are pwede na. The place seems old and some rooms are obviously unmaintained. I noticed that the seats didn't have cover even if they said a wedding has just finished. I bugged Jaims to ask the inquiry lady about it, and she said that they do offer seat covers for P20 each. The seats don't look good and some are different from the others. Ok lang, but I wanted to look for other place. This afternoon Ate Jing said that the food didn'ttaste good as it was bfore in Jade Valley. Maybe we should think about that.

We next went to Windmills & Rainforest. Again, I felt so cheerful. I like the place, it was small but it doesn't look pilit. There's an air conditioned area, and garden for pictorials. Although Anabel's was better. This one's good enough. When we inquired, there is a 396 per head package. But it dawned in to us later in the afternoon, that drinks, arrangements, cakes, table settings are not yet included. We were happy to hear that they didn't require payment for the venue but what we didn't know (as seen in their brochure) is that there are hidden charges.

Getting tired from the walk, we took a tricycle going to Sacred Heart. The church was big and I like the idea of open sides, so the guests and us wouldn't sweat during the ceremony. when we inquired, the lady incharged was super suplada for a church person. The fee is 15k and there is so much restrictions with the photographers. Jaims then brought me to Twin Hearts. he said he knew I'll like the place. When we got there, I fell in love with the church (for the second time after Guadalupe). The church was not too big and too small as Guadalupe. The sides are open and the facade although not as grand as Guadalupe will pass as an old church. It was so nice I wanted to reserve it yesterday. You can check the picture at this url: http://www.weddingsatwork.com/axs/ax.pl?http://www.storybook.ph/images/c22b.jpg The fee is 10.5k and that includes one soloist. God! I love the church.

We stopped by McDo to do some brainstorming. That's when we realized that Windmills has a lot of hidden charges. Jaims promised to contact them if we could bargain on their package. hehe...pulubi!

We were suppose to go to Boardwalk but Jaims was tired already and so was I. We thought of going to Megamall to watch a movie to pamper ourselves but then he had the urge to visit Prestige just in case we would pursue Guadalupe. The roofdeck has a mini garden for photo-op, but they weren't able to quote us just yet. We were informed to go back on a weekday so they could show us around. The sky was orange-y yesterday, really good for photo-op.

I gotta go, I'm quite stinky from boxing...heheh...