Pamana

Located along Aguinaldo Highway is a small Filipino restaurant that has three stories, the first of which sells some trinkets, the second floor has 7 or 8 tables and can accommodate around 80 guests and the third floor which is an open area, but covered with a roof can accommodate 60 guests.

The interior is elegant, yet intimate and cozy. However, they do not offer wedding packages. You can create your own menu and they can give you the place free of charge. Their prices already include the VAT and they just charge 10% service charge.

This place is best for simple and intimate weddings or other family gatherings.

The Search for a Church

We took a trip to Tagaytay last Saturday to make a reservation at the San Antonio de Padua Church. I saw the church online and I thought it was just perfect! I told my fiance I wanted to get married there so off we went to make the reservation. The church was indeed pretty, and the interior was nice as well. However I didn’t like the ambiance outside that much. The way to the church from the main road was also a little rough. Still, I thought it was ok, so we still paid the 500 peso reservation fee. Going back to the main road posed a big problem for us. We couldn’t find our way back and we ended up in the other side of town. There was even a part where there was a sign that read, ”Be careful of falling rocks.” It made me have second thoughts about the place.

We decided to check Lourdes Church, just for the sake of seeing the place. I felt very positive about the place. Compared to the San Antonio de Padua, Lourdes gave me a light feeling. The interior was nice and the grounds were pretty enough. The reservation was 10,000 pesos. We tried to haggle with the lady in the office…she gave in and let us reserve with only 5,000 pesos!

I should have been happy, I guess….but then I thought we should go up to Caleruega and check if they still had open dates for December next year. We were there the week before but we didn't have the money to make the reservation at the time. The church which was more of a chapel was an ideal place for a small wedding like ours. The grounds were lovely and picturesque. However, I thought that our old parents would have a hard time going up to the church as it was situated on a hill. The road to the church was not well-kept. We had a rough and bumpy ride. When we got there, the man at the entrance asked for 30 pesos each from me and my fiance as entrance fee. That gave me a negative feeling. And when we got to the office, they only had mornings for December. I said it wouldn’t do as I wanted to have a sunset reception. I was also thinking about my guests who would come all the way from Manila. Many of my friends were young teachers who didn’t have cars. Finally, we decided it would be best for us to get married in Lourdes Church.