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Wedding Prep: SM MoA's The Venue

My Beloved and I are starting to get busy for our wedding preparations. We already booked the church (located somewhere in Pasay) and the photographer/videographer. We also did our first visit to Divisoria to hunt for a good but affordable seamstress for her gown, my suit and the entourage's attire. We found one very eager seamstress but we still didn't book her yet. We still want to scour the Divisoria for a better deal.

Another thing we worry about is in finding the venue for our reception. I read in some wedding sites that the bulk of wedding budget goes to the reception expenses that include reception venue, food and miscellaneous items like lights and music.

Our search for the reception venue brought us to The Venue, located within the Two E-com Center of SM Mall of Asia (MoA) complex.

Two E-com Center of SM MoA
(Source: SM Land website)

My Beloved wanted to check The Venue out because she liked its brown stairs going up the Prism Plaza. I believe that she plans to have our photos taken, together with our families and friends, on those stairs.

Brown stairs of Two E-com Center, SM MoA
(Source: Greenhushbie19)

The fountain on Prism Plaza is good for photos too.

Fountain at Prism Plaza, SM MoA
(Source: Philippine Wedding Scenes)

The stairs and the fountains are good but the best view that The Venue offers is the famed Manila Sunset. SM MoA was strategically placed to have a very good view of the setting sun.

The Venue offers two halls for rent. Hall 1 can accommodate 180 guests (banquet arrangement) while Hall 2 can accommodate 100 guests (banquet arrangement).

Sample setup in The Venue, SM MoA
(Source: Mix Meetings)

It was our first time to inquire for our wedding venue and my jaw dropped when I heard the prices. The Venue's marketing staff told us that the weekend rates for Hall 1 is 39,200 pesos and for Hall 2 is 33,000. The rates already include taxes.

That's not the end of it. I still have to pay 20,000 pesos as security deposit. Sound system and other add-ons are not included in the rates.  We have to pay 5,500 pesos to have the basic sound system.

The Venue also recommends us to hire one of their accredited caterers. We may hire non-accredited caterers but we must pay the venue corkage fee of 20% of the total catering price.

The location of the venue is truly great because it offers a great view of Manila Bay. The bad news is that The Venue admin prohibit anyone, who wants to have a good view of the sea, to step on their lawn.

I was shocked with the cost of renting a venue for the reception of the wedding. Actually, I'm shocked of the cost of everything.

Young couples are complaining that it is expensive to get married nowadays. I agree. I experienced it firsthand.

My Beloved and I know that we don't need an expensive wedding. What we need is the Sacrament of Matrimony. Other aspects of our wedding, aside from the ceremony in the church, are just add-ons and not really needed. That is why I like what I read from an invitation card sent to me by Ate Diana:
“The reception will be a simple lunch plus a toast and a couple of songs. It will be short and sweet – no fuss no frills! We want the wedding ceremony to be the highlight of the occasion. Also, we're sure that we'd all be quite tired by then, so we hope to give everyone a chance to rest as soon as possible.”

This is in the invitation card of Ate Diana's friend. I like it because it convinced me more to make our wedding as simple as we could. I believe that we could have a wedding that is not expensive but classy.

It is very unlikely that we choose The Venue as the reception for our wedding so our search is still on.

~ ADDENDUM ~

Contact Details for SM MoA's The Venue

The Venue can be contacted through the following means:

Telephone No: (02) 857-0100
Cellular Nos: 09174573232 / 09174573234
Email: thevenueprismplaza@gmail.com

21 comments:

  1. Awww... pang mayaman ang venue hehe :))

    Naku, ngayon pa lang iko-congratulate na kita parekoy! and best wishes sa inyo ni future wifey mo :)) abangan ko na lng mga pics nyo sa fb ehehe :D

    Pwede ba mang gate crash jan? *evil grin*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wahahaha...wag ka mang-gate crash.

      Maraming salamat sa pagbati.

      Delete
  2. Wahhhhhhh!!!! That looks like a grand and classy place. Must be very expensive. When is the big day? Picked the date yet?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Big Day is January next year. This place is indeed classy and expensive.

      Delete
  3. Congratulations once again. Just like others who are more practical, the venue means a lot but the cost puts them off. Why not find a big lawn or garden from a friend, had it catered and less frills but more intimate. The ceremony can also take place in that area. Just a suggestion. The money can be put for other use. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have mo friend with a big lawn eh. Also, we prefer the wedding ceremony to happen in the church. We want to be in the presence of the Lord in the tabernacle.

      Delete
  4. Grabe! Ang mahal! The venue's really nice but I don't think it's worth it to spend that much. I hope you can find a better place. =)

    I suggest too that you always ask the venue owners/administrators if there will be restrictions with where you can take photos. I remember we booked to have our photo session (the one before the wedding itself) taken at San Agustin museum (since it was also our church). I didn't enter our minds that we would not be allowed to bring in our entourage in with us too. We were just informed that we needed to pay for entrance fees.

    The day arrived and we came hours before our ceremony so we could have a short photo session inside the museum. When we were going to bring in our entourage, security stopped us from doing so. That's when we found out na bawal pala. Allowed lang were us, our make up artist and photographers. Dyahe talaga! =(

    I suggest always ask. And ask again if you need clarifications. =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awwww...grabe naman yung nangyari sa inyo noong wedding day. :-(

      Maraming salamat po sa mga tips.

      Delete
  5. Thank you for this post! Venue looks nice! Do you have their contact number para makapag inquire ako sa kanila?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Jane. Thank you for visiting my blog.

      Here is the contact details of The Venue.

      Telephone No: (02) 857-0100
      Cellular Nos: 09174573232 / 09174573234
      Email: thevenueprismplaza@gmail.com

      Delete
    2. Hi, thanks for your informative blog. What was the first thing na ginawa mo to contact them? Did you go to the place first? I'm having a hard time na macontact sila thru those numbers above kasi.

      Thanks

      Delete
    3. We visited the place. Mas madali kasi yun at nanduon na yung staff ng The Venue.

      Delete
  6. And to think this is not even the most expensive in the area. Other nearby venues cost waaaaaay more than this venue's [total] cost and it doesn't even include yet the food and other things.

    Congrats by the way on believing that the Sacrament of Matrimony is more important. I salute you to that.

    May I know kung saan and mga magkano ang napili nyong reception venue? I am actually also in the lookout for one. Thanks. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Lisette.

      Thank you for dropping by my blog ang commenting. Sorry rin sa late reply.

      Thank you also for your compliment for my belief that the Sacrament of Matrimony is more important than the other aspects of the wedding.

      I'm yet to blog about our chosen venue but I will telling you about it para makatulong sa iyo. We chose Golden Bay Restaurant na malapit lang din sa Mall of Asia.

      They adjusted the food according to our budget. Check their website here: http://www.goldenbayrestaurant.com/

      Delete
  7. Hi, thank you for this informative blog. Ask ko lang, what was the first thing you did to contact The Prism ? Did you visit the place first? Im having a hard time kasi to contact them.

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Aiko. What we did is we visited The Venue personally para makita na rin namin agad yung amenities nila.

      Delete
  8. Hi nakapili kana ng venue for wedding reception mo?..saang place kaba ikakasal?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Geraldine. Sorry for late reply. May napili na nga kaming reception venue. It is Golden Bay Restaurant located near SM MoA.

      Sa isang Catholic church kami ikakasal. Secret na lang muna kung anong church 'yun. :-)

      Delete
    2. Are you getting maried na po ba? God bless po. :-)

      Delete
  9. pls send me the rates for the golden bay restaurant.. lvmuana@gmail.com or their email address? pls and thank you

    ReplyDelete

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