This is a long overdue review of my suppliers since I got married in January 7, 2017. Yes, I was a 1717 bride! Most suppliers were booked in 2016 since we had exactly one year to prepare. Things might have changed… or maybe not, but I hope my series of reviews would be of help to future brides and grooms preparing for their big day.
For this review, I will be featuring the Catholic church where we held our ceremony.
Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish (Marikina) – 5 stars
Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish – Marikina (Photo from TripAdvisor)
Pros:
- big church with a long aisle
- affordable (7,000 as of 2016 booking, 1,000 to reserve the date and time).
- included in the rate: church choir for mass only, lector/commentator, readers, secondary candles for the rite
- misalette is not encouraged. priest and asisstants will guide you on-the-spot on what to do. this was a plus for me since it’s one less work for me to do.
- approachable and courteous church staff
Cons:
- flowers not included in the rate
- no red carpet or any carpet whatsoever allowed
- very strict with time. they will cut short the wedding rites if you don’t start on time (read: no more homily)
- provides only 2 microphones for any outside singers/choir you will be bringing in. the microphones cannot be moved from the choir loft
Neither my husband and I are from Marikina. He’s from QC and I’m from Las Piñas City. We ended up in Marikina while looking for an affordable reception venue that could accommodate 250 guests. I was not very particular with the church for the rites. What mattered more to me was that the reception venue and the church must be just a few minutes away from each other.
While searching online, we stumbled upon our reception venue and one of the nearby churches was Our Lady of Abandoned. Apparently, my husband’s friend also got married in this wonderful church. When we finally went to Marikina to do ocular visits, this was the third and last church that we visited and I was in complete awe at the beautiful interiors of this church. It was a big church with a very long aisle perfect for the kind of bridal entrance I was envisioning. At that time, a wedding was also being held so we had an idea on how things were during a wedding. It’s also affordable at 7,000 pesos. However, the flowers are not included in the rate and you cannot use or rent any carpet for the wedding because they prohibited using one. Reservation is just 1,000 pesos but I don’t think they accept pencil-booking.
Photo by: Pepe Fernandez Photo
They were not strict with requirements. We had our pre-cana seminar c/o the Center for Family Ministries (CEFAM) in Ateneo and they didn’t require us to have another seminar from their parish. They do, however, require you to submit your papers two months before the wedding prior to scheduling a canonical interview. They will release your marriage banns after the canonical interview which you need to bring to your respective parishes for announcement for three consecutive weeks. They asked us to come back a few days before the wedding to check the marriage certificate for errors.
They are strict with time. We started our march late not because we were late but because of the failure of my wedding coordinator (this is a longer story altogether). Since we started the march late, the priest skipped the homily and proceeded with the marriage rites. Our priest was c/o the parish. He was very friendly and kept smiling at us as he guided us on what to do. Since they will be assisting you during the rites, they actually discourage the use of misalettes. Our church also provided the lectors/commentators and readers unless you want someone else to do the First Reading and the Responsorial Psalm for you.
The church choir is also included in the 7,000 fee but they will just sing during the mass and you’ll have to provide your own music for the rest of the parts of the wedding. We had our own 6-piece ensemble and we had them bring their own sound system. They were placed on the left side of the church and not at the choir loft but if you’ll choose to use the choir loft and won’t have your own sound system, please be reminded that they will only provide two microphones which you can’t move from the choir loft.
Photo by: Pepe Fernandez Photo
In summary, our experience with the staff of Our Lady of the Abandoned in Marikina is a pleasant one. The staff were courteous and helpful. They even assisted us in opening the door for me when my coordinator failed to execute it properly. Their rules are clear and they don’t ask for excessive exorbitant fees.
