Intramuros offers two beautiful Catholic churches that are both very popular for weddings. These are the San Agustin Church and the Manila Cathedral. I ruled out San Agustin even at the earliest point because it was the most popular wedding spot in the country. And because it was that popular, it requires a lot from couples—and that may have included booking it even as early as two years ahead. Between the two churches, I was eyeing on the Manila Cathedral because it offered a more old-world façade, and it’s THE Manila Cathedral—the thought of it is just very prestigious. So the year 2013 went on until about its half that we were determined to go for an Intramuros wedding—until The Mother tried to talk us out of it.
Here's a picture of the Manila Cathedral:
December 2013 was already approaching its end when fiancé and I found the time and enthusiasm to look for our wedding venue, probably because at that point of his Christmas vacation we had nothing to do so we just had to have an excuse for a road trip. We had no idea we were about to be slapped in the face by the reality that we were really getting married in a year and couple of months’ time and it was actually time to go seriously look for a venue. It was our first big move in preparing for the wedding.
First stop was San Antonio de Padua Church in Silang, Cavite. It has recently become a popular church wedding spot probably because of its brick façade and the intimate and quiet ambience of the surrounding community. Coming from Aguinaldo Highway, I can say it was a challenge for us to get there. I’m just not sure if it would be more convenient coming from the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay route. When we got to the place, we felt refreshed. You can smell the rural-ness of the area; the breezes of the wind made sure it got to our noses. There was a wedding that day, so we had the chance to see how a wedding was done there. Honestly, I loved the church but did not see it as the church for my wedding. I found it too small, too intimate, too… cute? Since it was a small church, it was too modest when compared to the Manila Cathedral. Not that I want only extravagance, I just wanted a long aisle and a good space for the many relatives we have.
This is how it looks like:
Here is the Lourdes Church:
Forgetting about Madre de Dios, I went on to google “Alabang churches” and found two—Saint James the Great Parish and Saint Jerome Emiliani and Santa Susana Parish. Of the two, Saint James was the larger one. From the pictures, Saint James was a church that could still give me the dream of a cathedral wedding. So off we went to see the church the next possible day. It turns out that it’s located inside an exclusive subdivision that was like no other subdivision I’ve been to. It was totally a new experience for me, I really loved looking at the houses—mansions, for that matter—the type I may only own in my dreams. *laughs* Let’s just pretend I did not say that and just go back to the topic of the church… so, there. We got off the van, saw the church and my jaw almost dropped. Not that it was something that’s out of this world, but because it was like it was pulled out straight from my dreams. It was just right. Big church, garden outside, a fountain for the bride’s background during the march, no public transportation to be seen during the entrance, peaceful and quiet surroundings, the exclusivity and solemnity of it all—they were all there. I told fiancé that it was IT and realized that it’s really true what they say that when you find the church, there would be the “this-is-it feeling.” We immediately went to the parish office and inquired about the rates, requirements, and the guidelines. We found Sister Carol there, and she was very sweet and kind. We haven’t had a date in mind, so we just asked the available days in March and April 2015. Mid-March was too early; we might be in conflict with fiancé’s graduation. Mid-April might be too late because it could already be time for fiancé to go to work as an officer in the military. March 28, 2015 was just right, and was soooooo available. There was even an erasure on the date, covered with liquid paper. Apparently someone changed their date. I told myself, isn’t that a sign? I was really giddy-giddy about that, and told husband-to-be that March 28, 2015 would be our date and that we should book it ASAP. That day, we didn’t have enough cash to pay the 50% down payment to reserve (which was 14,000 pesos), and it was a Friday! Come Sunday, fiancé had to go back-to-barracks. Fortunately, Sister Carol told us that they would be open the next day even if it was a Saturday, and that they accept checks. Whew!
This is just beautiful:
So we finally have the church for our wedding, but it’s no simple matter when anyone plans to be wed in a Catholic church. Churches in the country have their own guidelines, rules, and fees that may be a factor for you to achieve your dream wedding. Here are some of the restrictions and guidelines of Saint James the Great Parish if ever you would want to consider it to be the church for your wedding:
- There are no weddings on Sundays. Monday to Friday Schedules are 10:00 AM, 3:00 PM, and 7:30 PM. Saturday weddings are at 10:00 AM, 3:00 PM, and 7:00 PM. I got the 3:00 PM slot since I was the first to book the date. The 7:00 PM slot is rarely taken.
- The wedding stipend would be P23,000 for parishioners and P28,000 for non-parishioners. This ONLY includes the use of the church for an hour and a half, the stipend of the priest, the red carpet, and air conditioning. You can opt not to use the air-con. The wedding fees would then be P15,000 for parishioners and P22,000 for non-parishioners.
- Flowers are not included in the stipend, and are also exclusive to one supplier, which is the Mother Butler Guild. Prices range from P17,000 to P30,000 up as of the moment. I admit, this makes the costs for the church so expensive!
- Church music and choir has to be arranged by the couple separately, though the church offers free use of the organ. Only liturgical songs are allowed to be played.
- Wedding application should be done at least six months before the wedding.
- The church observes proper attire and decorum. Tube tops, backless, spaghetti straps, exposed shoulders, plunging necklines, mini-skirts and such are not allowed unless wraps or shawls are provided. Those who would not observe would not be allowed to participate.
- The couple must provide the readers for the ceremony. This could mean up to four persons.
- Missalette template is provided by the church and may be edited subject to the church’s approval. At least a month before the wedding, the final draft shall be submitted. If approved, six copies should be submitted a week before the wedding in the form of three missalettes and three clearbooks. If the couple opts not to use their own missalette, the church would use its own.
- Church musicians, photographers, videographers, and coordinators are required to attend a scheduled orientation before the wedding to ensure a solemn and smooth ceremony. Mine’s to be scheduled in January 2015.
- The ceremony should start on time. If things don’t allow it, some parts of the ceremony would be omitted. It would be really sad if this would happen. So I’ll make sure we’d be early!
- Throwing of anything (like rice, petals, confetti) and the release of butterflies, balloons, and other gimmicks are not allowed BOTH inside and outside the church. So don’t bother. *winks*
The church is one of the things about the wedding that was found by me and fiancé as a couple. The other suppliers, I was left on my own, with just consultations and approvals over the phone and over the internet with him. For the other aspects of the wedding, I’ll be posting them on separate posts.
Good vibes!
-Gero