Supplier Rating: Christ the King Parish Hall

I apologize for not writing here for such a long time. I just felt so sick during the first three months of my pregnancy that I didn't have the time, nor the power, to update my blog. Again, so sorry to those who have been waiting for me to complete my supplier ratings. Don't worry, I'll do my best to complete my ratings before next month ends!

So next in line is our reception venue, Christ the King Parish Hall.

RECEPTION VENUE: Christ the King Parish Hall
Peso Power: P25,000 + P10,000 refundable security deposit (which can be refunded after the event)
Package Inclusions: Use of the function hall for four hours

HITS

• The function hall is merely five minutes away from the church, which can be very convenient for guests who do not have any transportation. Luckily, a bridge connecting the church to the function hall was built before our wedding so guests didn't have to go up and down the stairs to go to the reception venue.
• The hall is very spacious! We reserved tables for 160 guests, and yet we were still able to squeeze in a photobooth, a mobile bar, and a candy buffet.
• We were able to get our refundable security deposit days after the wedding. Yey for more savings!

Here are some pictures of the function hall during our wedding.

MISSES

• The rental time begins not when the reception program starts, but when the wedding ceremony ends! Since our wedding ceremony ended at 4:00pm, our rental time for the function hall was from 4:00pm to 8:00pm only. Our reception program began at 6:00pm and ended at 8:00pm, so we had to extend our reservation just to have our after-party.
• The extension fee is so expensive! It would cost us P6,250 per hour if ever we decided to extend our use of the function hall! We initially plan to extend for two hours but P12,500 was just too expensive for us, so we only extended our rental for one hour.
• The function hall is bare so you really have to hire a great stylist or incorporate your DIYs to jazz the place up. We weren't that preoccupied with the styling, although I kinda wished that we put drapes on the ceilings to make the place more elegant. Hehe.
• We weren't allowed to bring drums for our full band! This was a major miss for us, and we almost changed our reception venue because of this issue. When we inquired about the venue, we were told by Ms. Aileen, the OIC at that time, that they allow full bands with drums. Then a month before our wedding, Ms. Dodo, the new OIC, told us that they do not allow full bands, just when we had booked our band already! I kept on negotiating with them, hoping that they would allow us to still have our full band since we did have prior approval from their previous OIC, but Ms. Dodo was very firm. NO FULL BANDS ALLOWED. She didn't even give suggestions on what we can do to salvage the situation. She just said sorry, and in an insincere manner if I may add. Parang walang kwenta sa kanya yung perang nagastos namin. Nakakairita lang. Eventually, we had to agree with her terms; wala kaming choice eh. We had to downgrade our full band to an acoustic band instead, but since we already paid them in full, we didn't get any discount. If only we had learned from the beginning that full bands weren't allowed, we probably would have book an acoustic band immediately, and in that effect, save some money.

RATING: 7.5 out of 10
I'll probably recommend this place because of its convenient location (if your wedding ceremony is at Christ the King) but just a word of advice: make sure that you put everything that you have talked about with Ms. Dodo into writing. That was my mistake; I immediately assumed that Ms. Aileen did the proper turnover when she resigned, but since she didn't put in my record that we would have a full band during our wedding, I didn't have anything to show to Ms. Dodo when we were discussing about our band.