Best small venues to get married - advice please

[Jollygoodfellow]

1 minute ago, fillipino_wannabe said:

Jesus, she'll be trying to divorce him by the end of the day. I doubt he meant his budget was that low lol.

Nothing wrong with Jollibee's for a wedding. 

[Jack Peterson]

1 minute ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Nothing wrong with Jollibee's for a wedding. 

Nor   

[Dave Hounddriver]

14 hours ago, Foxwhelp said:

good venues - with some nice flowers, trees & green space there or nearby - for a small wedding?

It has been my observation that people on a budget usually get married at the municipal hall with the mayor officiating and then have a party afterward.  Anywhere that will throw a party is good.  Those who spring for a "real" wedding end up spending a lot more money than they budgeted for and find out that filipinos only show up for the free food and then leave.  Although some do stay until the booze is gone but they are the ones everyone wishes would leave.

That will save you quite a bit, I suspect.

[Foxwhelp]

Thanks everyone for your advice so far. My fiancée is from Mindanao, but I'm not able to travel there due to UK gov travel advice (any insurance I have would be void). Also, she doesn't know anywhere outside Mindanao well, but does have a couple of relatives there who seem to be difficult to contact often as they're very busy.

Yes, I'm aware of the 10day wait for the marriage licence (it is 10 days, not 10 working days yes?), and will be there for about 3 weeks.

I know that you can get married pretty much anywhere, but I also know from searching online that there aren't many pretty places around Manila that would be suitable. Due to time limitations and practicality for visiting friends and family it makes sense to have the wedding not too far away.

As for budget, we're really not sure, without making enquiries, how much we will need to spend on a wedding venue, including food, drink and decorations. But were hoping to limit it to around 20,000 PHP. That might be a ridiculous figure, but it would be useful to have some advice.

Maybe if anyone knows a particularly attractive location within Metro Manila...

 

[Dave Hounddriver]

2 hours ago, Foxwhelp said:

I know that you can get married pretty much anywhere,

That is news to me.  I thought that Philippine law required:

Quote

 

THE MARRIAGE APPLICATION PROCESS

Once an American citizen has obtained from the Embassy an "Affidavit in Lieu of a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage," he/she can file an application for a marriage license at the office of the Philippine Civil Registrar in the town or city where one of the parties is a resident.

 

 

Now if you have to get the marriage licence where she is a resident, it follows that you have to get married in that jurisdiction.  Is that not the case? (Never been married here so I may be misinterpreting).

[Snowy79]

Have a quick Google for rough ideas of how much a wedding costs over here in the Philippines to get an idea of what you will get for your money. Some things you have no choice but to pay for, like the cost of the actual certificates. Others you can adjust accordingly, food, drink, flowers etc. From a quick Google it would appear the documents cost between 3.5k and just over 6k. This should be a starting point for looking at a wedding venue if you've only 20k to play with.

Out of curiosity are you limiting your budget for marriage as you wish to set up home in the Philippines or are you wishing to take your new wife home to the UK? If so read up on the other threads for more information. It could make you re-evaluate things.

[GeoffH]

2 hours ago, Foxwhelp said:

My fiancée is from Mindanao, but I'm not able to travel there due to UK gov travel advice (any insurance I have would be void).

It depends upon where in Mindanao your fiancee is from and which insurer you insure with, my insurer covers me in the orange section but not the red section. 

Orange being 'Advise against all but essential travel' and red being 'Advise against all travel' (as per the UK travel advice web site), the Australian Smart Traveller has the same colours and boundaries but uses slightly different wording.

[Jack Peterson]

26 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

That is news to me.  I thought that Philippine law required:

Now if you have to get the marriage licence where she is a resident, it follows that you have to get married in that jurisdiction.  Is that not the case? (Never been married here so I may be misinterpreting).

Marriage license may be used anywhere in the country within 120-day period;

 

http://www.manilatimes.net/marriage-license-may-be-used-anywhere-in-the-country-within-120-day-period/33506/

 Dave I did this as it may be important to others as well as answering you 

[Snowy79]

Another side note. You have to be in the Philippines for 10 days before marriage. This will give you plenty of time to get to Mindanao, there's lots of safe areas there and I'm guessing it'll be cheaper there plus her family could be on hand to help out.

[Rooster]

4 hours ago, Foxwhelp said:

Thanks everyone for your advice so far. My fiancée is from Mindanao, but I'm not able to travel there due to UK gov travel advice (any insurance I have would be void). Also, she doesn't know anywhere outside Mindanao well, but does have a couple of relatives there who seem to be difficult to contact often as they're very busy.

Yes, I'm aware of the 10day wait for the marriage licence (it is 10 days, not 10 working days yes?), and will be there for about 3 weeks.

I know that you can get married pretty much anywhere, but I also know from searching online that there aren't many pretty places around Manila that would be suitable. Due to time limitations and practicality for visiting friends and family it makes sense to have the wedding not too far away.

As for budget, we're really not sure, without making enquiries, how much we will need to spend on a wedding venue, including food, drink and decorations. But were hoping to limit it to around 20,000 PHP. That might be a ridiculous figure, but it would be useful to have some advice.

Maybe if anyone knows a particularly attractive location within Metro Manila...

 

Regarding: I know that you can get married pretty much anywhere, but I also know from searching online that there aren't many pretty places around Manila that would be suitable. Due to time limitations and practicality for visiting friends and family it makes sense to have the wedding not too far away.Manila is Far from Mindanao.

Are you meeting her in Mindanao then flying to Manila for the wedding/reception? If yes, who will pay for her relatives transportation costs/hotel/food expenses while in Manila?

Manila is huge so you need to be more specific. 15 square miles (38 square km); National Capital Region, 244 square miles (633 square km). https://www.britannica.com/place/Manila

One of the wife's relatives had a birthday party here in Quezon City Circle Picnic Area and there are many similar locations to what you mentioned having trees, etc. It's 1 of the many cities in Manila.  https://www.google.com/search?q=Quezon+City+Circle+Picnic+Area&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjo4YjDgarcAhWog1QKHQtiDRwQ_AUICygC&biw=1188&bih=566

20K pesos for 25 relatives/guests in Manila? Extremely low, plus factor in others who will show up. They will likely want a Pig, especially since it's a wedding , otherwise you will be considered Kuripot. In Manila you are looking at a minimum of 10K (small) for them to deliver it to your location.

Because of your 20K budget, my suggestion is find an area close to her place in Mindanao where you are permitted to travel and hold it there. But even with a budget of 20K, that is to low. See if she can get a relative or anyone to donate the pig if possible, set a time for the end of the reception to end like 8pm or earlier, then get the hell out there where no one can find you, otherwise you will keep digging into your pocket for more food and liquor money until the next morning.

Edited July 19, 2018 by Rooster