Supplier’s Review: The Pergola

Next to the Church, the reception venue is the more challenging and therefore more stressful item on a bride-and-groom’s wedding list.

I believe we actually spent more time looking for a venue than for the rest of our wedding suppliers. A lot of factors came into play during the decision-making process – like the location, size and amenities it offers.

We initially considered the following for our wedding reception:  North Forbes Park Pavillion, Ramon Magsaysay Hall, Makati Park and Garden and even Esplanade was considered although we know we very well could not afford it hehe.   We could not get a permit for the North Forbes Park Pavilion.   Neither could we give in to the affordability of RMH and Makati Park and Garden knowing that the lack of amenities would be a logistical nightmare later on.

In the end, we will settled for The Pergola, a fairly new events venue back in June 2010 when we first checked it.

I was immediately sold on their octagon-shaped halls, which, joined together, would form a number “8” (a lucky number).    The venue is perfect for our 150 estimated guests and is accessible to all those coming from the South and from Makati.

Here are the pictures we took when we first checked it out through Hizon’s Open House Food Tasting:

The Pergola has a package tied up with Hizon’s Catering (our non-negotiable caterer) but we thought it was expensive so we asked if we could get them separately (meaning, separate negotiation for the venue and the caterer) and Ms. Lyn, the proprietress of The Pergola, and Olah (our AE at Hizon’s) agreed.  It was a win-win package for us indeed.

The venue rate was P60,000 (since our wedding fell on a Saturday, this was the rate that applied) but we were able to ask for discount (yey!).   After adjusting our budget, AJ and I decided to book the venue, but not after having another look at the octagon halls in their bare form, as well as their pretty lounge:

Dealing with Ms. Lyn was a breeze.   She’s totally hands-on when it comes to her clients’ needs.   She’s always there to answer our queries (and calm me, if needed hehe) and when I totally forgot about renting LCD projectors and video for our live feed, she was the one who looked and booked them for me. I really love her, and half of our wedding’s success is credited to how The Pergola made the reception venue pleasing and memorable in spite of the rain that blessed our special day.   

In fact, in the last weeks leading to the w-day, I submitted for the nth time a revised lay-out for the venue (in case of a heavy rain).  But Ms. Lyn came up with a better idea (bless her!) and I couldn’t be more thankful for her help when it was least expected.

Here’s how the venue looked like during our wedding (sorry there are just a few pictures I could find – some from The Pergola’s Facebook Page and some from my brother and Von Lazaro’s pictures):

I love the waterfalls and the green lights which served as a backdrop for our couple’s table:

The venue styling was care of Hizon’s and we opted for a minimalist, elegant design:

We heart our Photo Wall!   This is now with The Pergola  =)

SCORECARD:

Service: OUTSTANDING!                                                                                   

Price:    A BIT PRICEY BUT  WORTH IT