Suppliers' Feedback: Reception

All our suppliers performed well that's why we decided not to rate them. Instead, we want to share our stories of what happened before and on-the-day itself.


Venue: La Huerta Estates

Package Inclusions: Use of the whole venue up to 11pm, Free use of Bridal Suites for Wedding Preparations, Free use of Venue for Prenup Pictorials, Additional Charge for Electricity

Pre-Wedding: It was love at first sight. The moment I stepped outside Casa Vieja and have a beautiful view of the city, I know this is the perfect place for our wedding. Anton (the owner) was so accomodating. He answers all our queries both email and SMS. He even calls us to explain things regarding our concerns.The staff of La Huerta were also nice. They assisted us during occular visits and prenup pictorials. 

On-the-Day Performance: The staff are so maalaga. They helped us carry our things when we arrived in the morning. They were also around to check if we need something like extension cords etc. When it rained, they helped Hizon's Catering transfer the setup from the garden to the main house. They even gave umbrellas to the guests from the parking.

The place was so big that even Stan and I stayed in the same house, we didn't see each other.  I also have so many suppliers but we were able to move around freely. There are also a lot of places for photoshoot.

It rained on our wedding and our original plans didn't pushed through. The cocktail area that was supposed to be at the Tipolo Deck was transferred to San Isidro Pavilion. The reception area which was planned to be at San Jose Pavilion was moved to Casa Vieja. But still the place was perfect. Perfect for our dream wedding. 

Casa Vieja

Caterer: Hizon's Catering

Package Inclusions: Menu, Menu Upgrades, Cake, Emcee, Doves with Cage, Signature Frame, Bottle of Wine, Torch Parade, Flowers and Setup, Fee for Sit-down Dinner

Pre-Wedding:  Hubby and I were food lovers. We love eating and we eat a lot! So we decided to allocate a big amount of our budget to food. We even agreed to serve as many food as we can afford on our reception dinner. and we need a good and reputable caterer to handle our event. Hizon's was our top choice among all the other caterers. They were the first supplier we booked :) Our AE, Maia, was very accomodating. She took notes on all my concerns, especially on those items that we're not going to avail from the standard package. All documents were endorsed properly to the planner during turn over. Drew was the assigned planner to me. He was nice and very hands on. He knows his job well and will make you calm whenever you feel stressed. Our SMS exchanges sometimes last til 1AM. Our detailing was a breeze. He makes suggestions on linens, styles and even our menu.

On-the-Day Performance: I love them to pieces! I admit I am very hard to please but I know how to appreciate efforts. And I know they did their best to serve us and our guests. 

Since we have our preparations in La Huerta, I was able to see the setup of San Jose Pavillion. Then before we left for the ceremony, it rained. So they have to remove the linens to avoid getting wet. Then after a few minutes, the sun shone brightly and they started putting back the linens. I was hoping for a good weather til rest of the evening, but i think rain is my twin (as it is present every important event in my life), it rained again during ceremony pictorials. So they decided to move the whole setup to Casa Vieja. If you knew how La Huerta looks like, Casa Vieja is 2-floors above San Jose Pavilion. Guests were starting to arrived and Hizon's crew were able to set up fast. The buffet tables remained in San Isidro Pavilion so we need to have a Sit-Down dinner for guests not to get wet in getting their food. I think there were only 20+ waiters that day, since our package is really for buffet. But they were able to serve food to all our guests. 

Drew was very hands on, and super bilis kumilos as per W@Wie friends that attended our wedding. The rain didn't stop him from performing his duties, so he ended up as "basang basa sa ulan" that night.

The food was good, oh so good! Here's what we serve on our first dinner as Husband and Wife.

Appetizer: Olives/Tomato Bruchetta, Cheese and Tomato Crostini, Mushroom/Onion Caramelized Canapes, Smoked Fish Canapes

Soup: Cream of Pumpkin

Vegetables: Vegetable Au Gratin

Entrees: Barbecue Oriental Spareribs, Manhattan Grilled Chicken Breast in Marinara Sauce

Cooked on the Spot: Grilled Tuna with Teriyaki Sauce

Menu Upgrades:

Carving Station: US Roast Beef with Mushroom Gravy

Salad Bar: Vegetable Salad with Bacon Bits, Croutons and Thousand Island/Caesar's Dressing, Hawaiian Macaroni Salad and Potato Salad

Pasta Bar: Penne and Fettuccine Noodles with Napolitana and Alfredo Sauces

Dessert Bar: Vanilla Mouse, Chocolate Mouse, Mango Panacotta, Creme Brulee with Blueberry, Coffee Jelly, Mango Supreme, Macapuno Flan, Buko Pandan

Chocolate Fountain: 1 Brown and 1 White Chocolate Fountain with Fresh Fruits and Mallow Dippings

Crepe Bar: Mango and Banana Crepes with choice of Strawberry and Chocolate Sauce

Quesadilla Bar: Variety of Quesadillas with choice of Salsa and Sour Cream Sauce

Most of my guests commented "soup palang, solve na kami!". Vegetarian guests appreciated that  we have salad and there's a veggie dish as part of our menu. Even friends who have big appetite says "hindi namin maubos yung sinerve samin sa sobrang dami". 

The head waiter assigned to us (i forgot his name, sorry) was very maalaga. He makes sure that we get to have each dish on our plate. Then when he noticed that we're not able to eat well, they packed the food so we can take them home.

After the event, I thank the Head Waiter and the Food Head (i forgot the exact position title, basta she's the one assigned in managing the food) and they were so happy that we appreciate their efforts eventhough we encounter some problems because of the weather. Then they asked us to answer an evaluation form on how they performed that day. They even showed me another sheet of paper for the endorsement of left overs. Then they handed us the left over food - one pack for my family, another pack for hubby's family and another pack for us. And when I say pack, its around 4-5 big styros of food. :)

Hizon's Setup at San Isidro Pavillion

We'll definitely get Hizon's for future events.



Cake: Top Cakes c/o Hizon's
Pre-Wedding: Drew did all the coordination. I just gave him the specs during our detailing.
On-the-Day Performance: The cake was good. We love the fondant icing, it was chewy. We even brought the cake to Boracay :) 

Wedding Cake

Emcee: Marj Dizon  c/o Hizon's
* plus Out-of-Town Fee


Pre-Wedding: I specifically asked for Marj to be our emcee when I booked Hizon's. Good thing she was still available on our date. We only met her 1 week before the wedding. Eventhough our meeting was brief (because it happened 15minutes before one of her event), she gave suggestions and improve our program flow.
On-the-Day Performance: She did a great job. Nice voice, good diction. My friends and officemates even told me after the wedding that our emcee was great.  

Marj during the Reception

Photobooth Souvenir: Partypics
Package Inclusions: Good for 3 hours, unlimited printing, layout and tarpaulin
Pre-Wedding: Our communication were mostly through emails and SMS. We submitted the requirements for the layout 2 weeks before the event, and everything turned out perfectly.
On-the-Day Performance: Guests enjoyed it, especially those from the province wherein photobooth is not yet that "hit". 

Photobooth Pic by Partypics

Lights and Sounds: Rejectkrew

Package Inclusions: Lights and Sounds Equipment (don't ask me about the technicalities hahaha!)
Pre-Wedding: He was one busy and super humble guy. During those time, he doesn't accept pencil booking. So when we're able to set a meeting with him, we're on Team B now. But that doesn't stop us from getting their services. We know Elmer trained them well. A week before the wedding, we met Elmer to discuss what we wanted for our reception, including the music to be played. We let him share his ideas and how he envisioned our wedding reception. We know their team has been doing this for years and they know what would look best for our event. So we gave our approval on his concept.
On-the-Day Performance: Elmer wasn't able to come during our event (bantay sarado daw kasi yung coordinator nung Team A nya) but I trust his crew that they will deliver. And yes they did. They had the setup early at the San Jose Pavilion, but have to move everything upstairs when it rained. We love the lights as well as the music played during the program.

stars :-)

Projector: I-tech
Package Inclusions: 3500 Lumens Projector, 8x8ft Screen and 56" LCD TV
Pre-Wedding: The owners were nice and very accomodating. I didn't even remind them of our wedding.
On-the-Day Performance: It was a good thing that we decided to get LCD TV aside from the projector screen. We didn't encounter any problems on the day. The crew were nice and polite also.

Dad's Bday AVP shown during the Honoring of Parents

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