Supplier's Review: Estancia Hotel Resort Tagaytay

In front of the Hotel Lobby.

Estancia Hotel Resort Tagaytay is the venue for both our last-minute wedding ceremony (instead of just a ring ceremony) and our wedding reception. We couldn't be happier with our choice as it lives up to being the perfect venue as we thought it would be when we stumbled upon it in July 2013!

Wedding Ceremony

As a hands-on couple, we decided not to hire a wedding coordinator before or during the wedding. We wouldn't be able to pull it off though without the huge help of Tracy, the Estancia Hotel coordinator. She was our contact from the very start and she is such a darling. 

Reception Venue Design

Pre - Nup Video With Our Theme Song "All of Me"

The pre-nup video was made by our official photographer/videographer Alain Tagpuno Atienza and he gave me my own DVD copy. But since I'm no techie, I didn't know how to upload it on this blog so I'm using the video taken on my cellphone when this was shown during our wedding reception last September 21, 2013.

When I heard "All of Me" by BLAKE, I knew right away that this is our wedding song!  It talks about making vows for eternity and that "This life is short and precious, A one way ticket ride. I thank you for the journey, I know you're on my side. And we are only here once, I'm glad we shared this day. Of knowing something special, That will never go away". Ahhh, that makes me blush --

Here's the complete lyrics!

ALL OF ME –By BLAKE

The first day that I met you

I think I always knew

That you were meant to be the one

And then the feeling grew

With God and friends my witness

Our love will never die

I take the gift you gave me

Don't need to question why

For all the faults I'm made of

For all the wrongs I do

I'm not asking you to judge me

Just be true

All of me

Is what I give to you

And everything I have

I wanna share with you

And with this ring

For all eternity

I make this vow

When I give you all of me

This life is short and precious

A one way ticket ride

I thank you for the journey

I know you're on my side

And we are only here once

I'm glad we shared this day

Of knowing something special

That will never go away

For all the faults I'm made of

And all the wrongs I do

I'm not asking you to judge me

Just be true

All of me

Is what I give to you

And everything I have

I wanna share with you

And with this ring

For all eternity

I make this vow

When I give you all of me

All of me

That's what I give to you

And everything I have

I'm gonna share with you, yeah

And with this ring

I give for all eternity

My love

I make this vow

All of me

Is what I give to you

And everything I have

I wanna share with you

And with this ring

For all eternity

I make this vow

When I give you all of me

I give you all of me

My Wedding Day Looks by The Ellis Effect!

photo taken by Alain Atienza Tagpuno at our
Executive Room in Estancia Hotel Resort

Getting sick a few days before our big day added a ton to my already overwhelming wedding related anxieties.  My eyes have dark circles and are puffy due to a week-long sickness. Worst, I am not fond of make ups and have not worn any mascara or false eyelashes before so I was all teary - eyed when I had my make up trial run with Xairene a week before my wedding. Unfortunately, the trial make - up duo did not set in well as it was quite heavy according to my friends.

I became more worried. My eyes are worst than they were during the trial run, so I'm not sure how Xairene would be able to hide the bulges. She gave me another trial so she could work around my heavy eye bags. One of the looks was already acceptable to friends if I remove my false eyelashes.

photo courtesy of Tyrene Ellis Orais

Two (2) days before the event, Xairene got a job offer that made her unavailable on our wedding day and she was constrained to back out. Luckily though, my hubby-to-be Raymond, came across with his former office mate at Convergys, and she now happens to be an accomplished make - up artist.

Tyrene Ellis Orais is a freelance make up artist behind The Ellis Effect.She lives and works in Cavite & Manila, and has worked with top models, celebrities and clients for their bridal look. I only met her on the actual wedding day at Estancia Hotel Resort but the connection was instant! She is very pleasant and pretty. I had a first taste of an airbrush make - up, and her colleague Mary Praisen Obrique did my hair. 

picture taken by our official photographer Alain Atienza Tagpuno

I feel really beautiful and confident with my looks. Tired eyes are gone and I truly feel like I am a star of my wedding!

Parting and our Wedding Date Two Decades After!

Raymond was called to serve a mission in Philippine Cagayan de Oro Mission from September 23, 1991 - September 23, 1993. After his mission, I was already in law school and he felt I would be better off without him so I have not seen him since then. It was only last year, June 29, 2012, when we saw each other again because of Facebook. When we met , we both felt we haven't lost touch! It was like seeing him again after returning from mission and took off where we left off. We got engaged last June 12, 2013 so the wedding is September 21, 2013!

On This Day...

"On this day", anniversary of Martial Law, join us as we start out our life together like we always dreamed and start a new journey, a journey that would lead us to forever…

Wedding Events

9 AM – 10:30 AM
Temple Sealing. A sacred ceremony where Raymond and I will take each other as husband & wife, not only for time (until death) but for eternity   (if we are true to the covenants we make in the temple.)

10:30 AM – 12NN
Meet & Greet Cocktail Reception
For hugs, kisses, video and photographs with the Bride and Groom after the temple ceremony. This is a cocktail lunch so standing room only.

3PM – 7PM
Ring Ceremony & Wedding Reception
Since wedding rings are not part of the Temple Sealing, we will have our exchange of rings (without the vows). There will be the ‘walking down the aisle’ and wedding spectacles as we share the beautiful doctrine of a forever family, followed by a Buffet Dinner along with wedding festivities that are uniquely us.

Searching and Finding The Perfect Wedding Reception Venue!

We decided on a September 21, 2013 wedding to commemorate the day that Raymond and I have last seen each other in 1991. We also know that it is the anniversary of Martial Law but that's beside the point lol, except that it's a holiday and fell on a Saturday (so my friends and guests will be available to attend!). But with only a little over three (3) months before the big day and with a budget considerations, searching for a reception venue was so challenging for us. We need to find an affordable venue that is available on our chosen date.

Glass Garden in Marikina

We are from Valenzuela and intended to have a temple wedding ceremony in Quezon City, so we initially checked event venues around the Metro like Love of Light, Glass Garden, Gazeebo Royale,Ibarra's Garden,Acropolis Clubhouse, and Corinthian Garden Clubhouse.

Love of Light Garden in Sta. Mesa, Manila

All the wedding venues we checked so far are nice, but there's nothing that prompted me to make exceptions as to the budget constraint. I'm looking for a place that offers more in terms of attractions that guests could check out before or after attending our wedding events.

That's when my hubby - to-be thought of Tagaytay and I couldn't but agree. The City of Tagaytay is a component city in the province of Cavite and only an hour or so away from Manila. Because of its cooler climate, stunning views of Taal Volcano in the middle of the Taal Lake(in Batangas), unique attractions and its proximity to our new residence in Silang, Cavite, Tagaytay is our runaway choice as venue for our wedding events.

Estancia Hotel Resort in Tagaytay City

We checked several wedding reception venues like hotels, restaurants, and clubhouses that fit our wedding budget and is available on September 21, 2013. We couldn't be more happier in stumbling upon Estancia Hotel Resort. With its big uniquely designed rooms and close to nature location, Estancia Hotel Resort lives up to its Spanish name which means stay, large room or ranch in English!