2013 Jan 01 - After being "kinda-engaged" and finding our perfect date we immediately started putting our plan into action. Luckily we purchased a voucher last year from Cash Cash Pinoy for an Overnight Stay at Hotel Dominique Tagaytay.
2013 Jan 02 - I immediately called Hotel Dominique's reservation office to confirm a schedule. Good thing they already have available rooms for Jan 12-13. So that's it, I booked that schedule! :)
Being the "medyo organized me", even before our roadtrip I already did some research. Also I got this very helpful list of Tagaytay Wedding churches from Noh, so meron na kaming mga target puntahan.
Here's the link: http://www.bridalbook.ph/wedding-articles/5-popular-wedding-churches-in-tagaytay
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2013 Jan 12
We left Malabon around 10AM, I'm super excited 'coz aside from our Church Hunting goal, it would be our first roadtrip alone :)
We had brunch at Jollibee SLEX first then derecho na to Tagaytay. We had a good start, super nakisama si "Bash" (our car's name) sa amin kasi no hassle ang travel, plus madali lang namin nahanap yun Hotel Dominique. When we arrived at the hotal, tambay muna kami sa lobby 'coz it's too early pa to check-in.
After checking-in, we just relaxed a little, fixed our things then started rolling again to do our goal. But first Hon reminded me not to be depressed if we will not achieve our target. Well of course I'd be depressed pero di naman ako mag su-sulk-in 'coz I know we've tried.
1st stop - Pink Sisters Chapel. I know they don't allow wedding rites here, we just dropped by to pray and send our petition (written prayers), malapit lang din kasi ito dun sa hotel. I've read somewhere that they are strict here, they do not allow taking pictures, so hindi na ako nag-attempt magpicture kahit sa labas..hehe. Mahirap na baka masita pa ako, naka-shorts pa naman ako :p
2nd stop - Our Lady of Lourdes. (picture c/o its respective owner)
Di kami nahirapan hanapin yun church since it's near the main road and madalas naman namin ito madaanan pag nagpupunta kami ng Tagaytay, though di pa ako nagka-chance makapasok dito. There was actually a wedding nun nagpunta kami so we we're able to see how the church was set-up during weddings. Pero there is no this is it feeling, for both me and Hon. Same feel and ambiance lang kasi siya ng churches sa Manila, for me. But still we tried to inquire sa Parish Office. Well our date is still available! :) BUT the only slot left is yung 8am T_T which is definitely a NO. Personally I prefer an afternoon wedding, para mas energize ang mga tao, including me. If I can remember it correctly, 10Kphp yun Church fee, plus need na ng full or at least half nun total price for the down payment to secure yun slot. So I just took notes of all the info and decided to move on to our next destination.
3rd stop - Chapel On The Hill. (picture c/o its respective owner)
Medyo long drive itong church na ito since it is actually in Batangas area na, near Calaruega (our 4th stop). We are not familiar sa actual address niya but with the help of the internet we were able to find the place. Meron din wedding na katatapos lang when we arrived, though di na namin nakita yun setup kasi nagpa-pack-up na sila, but the couple are still there doing their post-nup pics. We (me and Hon) both love the church! May "this-is-it" factor! So we hurried to their Parish Office to inquire, well unfortunately no more weekend slot for December is available T_T, talk about peak season! We just took notes of their contact info and the available dates for December, yes, even considering weekday wedding. Mabait pa naman si Ate na nag-accommodate sa amin, kulit pa nga 'coz she even said "magpapakasal na talaga kayo? parang ang babata niyo pa ah?", sagot ko tuloy, "Ate, 27 na ako, bata pa rin ba yun? :)" We left the church broken hearted, at nakiayon pa ang panahon sa nararamdaman namin 'coz it rained nun pabalik na kami ng sasakyan.
4th stop - Transfiguraton Chapel/Calaruega. (picture c/o of its respective owner)
This seem to be the most famous wedding church in Tagaytay. We were able to attend a wedding here, of my officemates-friends. But still nahirapan pa rin kami in finding it, kasi we took the path from CotH so we are not sure if tama ba yun dinadaanan namin or nawawala na ba kami. Additional badtrip factor pa nun was that it was a long rough road! Kawawa yun sasakyan, di ko alam why don't they fund yun road construction nun e madami naman laging pumupunta dun due to it being a top wedding destination venue, oh well. When we finally reach Calaruega, it was still raining and this time medyo mas malakas na. There was an ongoing wedding so madaming naka-park at nagkakagulo yun mga "parking boys/tambay". Malayo from dun sa entrance yun naparkingan namin, so another badtrip point na naman. Then, though I already knew this, may entrance fee na 30php required per person who will visit/inquire. Finally nakapasok na kami and found their office, as expected all their slots for Dec 21 are already taken. Pero this time no hard feeling kasi di gusto ni Hon dito, na turn-off na ata siya..hehe
After a long and tiring day of searching we decided to call it a day. We head back to our hotel, had just few stop over to have dinner and coffee.
Stopover 1 - Dinner at Bulalo Point.
We stopped at Bulalo Point to have our dinner, we ordered Bulalo and Tawilis. I'm not sure if the Bulalo here is better than Leslie's, but it really was the perfect food for the cold weather.
Stopover 2 - Tambay at Starbucks
2013 Jan 13
We woke up early (mga 9am..hehe) since 'til 10am lang daw yun complimentary breakfast, then decided what to do and where to go next.
Actually the night before I was busy browsing resorts/hotel or reception venues at Tagaytay na meron na ding chapel for the ceremony. After breakfast I decided to call yun San Antonio de Padua at Silang Cavite, this was Hon's first bet nun pinakita ko sa kanya yun pics nun Top 5 churches sa Tagaytay. Luckily, God really love us, may available pang slot for Dec 21! though it was a morning schedule ,10am, we still decided na puntahan at i-try.
5th stop - San Antonio de Padua.
Challenge ang pagpunta namin dito. I've read kasi in the link above (from Bridal Book) na their Parish Office Hours is until 5pm even if Sundays. Buti na lang I called them kasi plano talaga namin ito puntahan before umuwi ng Manila, after sana mag-Lunch sa Bag of Beans, until 12pm lang pala sila. So everything was a rush, dali-dali mag-ayos ng gamit at mag checkout. Di kami sure where the place is, so asa lang ulit sa mapa na nakita ko online at sa consistent pagtawag kay Ms. Michelle (yun nakausap ko sa SAdP) regarding directions. We reached the church around 15mins before 12pm, pagdating pa lang namin napa-WOW na kami sa ganda ng church. Ayun, "this-is-it" moment na talaga! Derecho kami sa Office para ipa-reserve yun last slot for Dec 21, 1Kphp lang naman ang downpayment, then the rest (9Kphp) is 1 month after pa. Keber na kung AM ang wedding, were still hoping na may magback-out na PM slot on our date..hehe, plus naisip namin na kaya naman gawan ng paraan if ever.
So that's it! We went back to Manila with happy faces! Target achieved! We have our church na!! :D
--- May :)
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