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.
very informative, thanks so much! Is your reception in Industriya Marikina?
Hi! Nope. We had it at Renaissance Convention Center. We checked out Industriya before and found the lack of parking space problematic. Thanks for dropping by. 🙂
Hi the OLA parish po allow po to have wedding vows?
Hi JM! Thank you for dropping by. No, they don’t allow personal wedding vows. We asked before if we could insert it after the rites and before the first kiss but they didn’t allow us. The CBCP prohibits the insertion of wedding vows in the wedding liturgy and even after the mass. I found a circular from the Diocese of Paranaque about this. I surmise that all the diocese have the same circular since they must follow CBCP. You can read it here: http://dioceseofparanaque.org/?p=5666
Hi! Are there any additional requirements to book the date aside from the reservation fee?
Hi Marzie. No other requirements were asked from us aside from the fee. The other requirements should be submitted at least two months before the wedding day. Thanks for dropping by.
sis thanks for this blog. im looking for church na malapet sa vikings marikina (sm marikina) baka may maisasuggest ka pang ibang church na nacheck mo? thanks in advance ?
Hi Riza. Kaunti lang ang napuntahan kong churches sa Marikina area. Yung isa pang malapit is San Antonio de Padua Parish. I made a review of that church. Medyo masikip lang yung daan papunta dun sa church and yung main door niya sa gilid ng simbahan ang entrance (oo weird I know). You can search for the review here.
May isa akong nadaanan na church literally sa may Major Santos Dizon St. Nasa isang street siya sa kabilang side ng Marcos Highway… Nativity of Our Lady Parish. Nadaanan ko siya nung minsang pumunta kami ng Marikina. Hindi ko siya nasilip kasi di kami tumigil sa church.
Thank you for dropping by! Happy preps!
Hello, ask ko lng if magigpit po cla sa damit ng entourage and dapat po ba
5y/0 ang mga batang abay.
Thank you so much.
I had female entourage members wearing sleeveless and off-shoulder dresses and I didn’t have any issues with the church although I did prepare shawls for them just in case. This was because I was a member of the entourage in a wedding held at St. John Bosco Parish in Makati and we were informed on the wedding day itself that my dress which was a halter-top (not backless, mind you) was not allowed inside the church! Anyway, my girls didn’t need to use their shawls. 🙂
I also had a flower girl who was less than 5 years old (she was four years old). Also was not an issue with the church at that time. I think it was because the kids I got were old enough to walk down the aisle themselves without throwing a tantrum. 🙂
Thank you for dropping by!
After the wedding at Our Lady of the Abandon, after how many months/weeks did you get a copy of your marriage certificate? Did you get it from Our Lady of the Abandon?
We received our copy from the church by mid-February and I was able to request for a copy online from NSO by March 10.
Congratulations on your wedding and thanks for this. very informative. we will be having our wedding there on November. 🙂
You’re welcome. Thank you for dropping by. Wishing you all the best!
This is very helpful! Tanong ko lang din po about sa songs, ndi po ba sila strict? Yung song po habang naglalakad ang bride? Any love song na mapili ok lng po kaya? Ok lng po ba ung may kumakanta or gusto nila ung minus 1 lng? Thanks
During my time, they were not strict in terms of song choices. My bridal march was “Ikaw” by Yeng Constantino. I actually sang while walking down the aisle that’s why I hired a six-piece ensemble and have them bring their own sound system. If you’re going to use a recorded song (regardless if someone will sing with it or not), please have it burned in a CD. I don’t think they have USB slots in their sound system. Thanks for dropping by!
Hi what if ndi pa kumpleto ang requirements? Ndi po b pwd mag pa schedule ng mga interviews? Parang kukulangin kc kme ng time 2 months nlang peo mag aasikaso plang kme ng marriage license..tnx po
Hi! Sorry. Hindi ko alam kung ano na ang policies nila ngayon since 2016 pa ako nag-ayos ng mga papers. Try to call na lang the parish office. Thank you foe dropping by my blog!
So informative. Thanks.
By the way, my wedding 30 years ago happened there in OLA since I was born and live all my life in San Roque, taal na taga Marikina. 🙂