La Union Ocular - Thunderbird

THUNDERBIRD RESORTS, LA UNION
August 2, 2009

Even before I got engaged, maybe even before I knew Eyebrows, I imagined a Greek wedding. Now that I think about it, maybe not so much for the Greek theme, but for the elegance and free-spirit atmosphere it gives. So, when I came across this new resort in La Union, we just had to check it out! It's a secluded, mini Santorini in our very own coast.


To our pleasant surprise, Thunderbird was amazing. It's secluded. It's private. It looks very elegant. It's by the beach. It has its very own new and well-kept golf course. The rooms are classy. The Greek theme is very well played off.


But... there are a few big "buts". La Union is a 6 hour drive (minimum). Ok, I could have lived with that. Rooms are pricey. Well, we found a few cheap resorts nearby, so that solves that. But there are "buts" that I cant live with. (1) They dont seem to have enough staff to have a sit-down dinner. Maybe even not enough to check in more than 100 guests at the same time. And (2), there is no viable plan B. Being by the coastline, winds can get pretty strong and even the biggest tent just wont cut it.

Conclusion, it could have been perfect. We're definitely coming back, not for our wedding though.

Baguio Ocular - Camp John Hay

CAMP JOHN HAY / THE MANOR
August 1, 2009

Next stop was... lunch! Yup, Eyebrows cannot not have lunch at 12nn. Do you really wanna see a tantrum on your wedding ocular? hehehe :) According to Gobs, food is awesome at the Manor! We stop by Le Chef and have something to eat -- YUM YUM YUM! The french onion soup is to crave for!!!

After a filling and satisfying lunch, we're ready to get back to work! We get in touch with Lovely of The Manor -- and I get the most disappointing reply. "There is an event at the convention and I cannot accomodate you now." WHAT???? You see, I called Lovely a few days ago to set an appointment for an ocular. She agrees. We drive to Baguio. Then she's not free???? No way. After a fairly easy reasoning, she agrees to see us. We met. She was nice and I got over the misunderstanding quite easily.

The Manor is a pretty place, Le Chef (the restaurant) specifically and the garden and ampitheatre. Unfortunately, Le Chef was no longer available. And the garden and ampitheatre, although stunning was prone to bad weather. Our plan B would be the convention center, which was... I hate to admit, a horrible plan B. The kind of plan B that would make you want to cry if it rains. It was exactly what it is - a convention center. Disappointingly, CJH quickly fell out of my list.

With the only two venues out of the way, we head to the pasalubong must of Baguio -- Good Shepherd! I buy my favorite ube jam and some stuff for the fam, and we head back to BCC for a relaxing night and awesome pig-out tepanyaki dinner!

Baguio Ocular - Baguio Country Club

BAGUIO COUNTRY CLUB
July 31 - August 1, 2009

Driving to Baguio on a pay day Friday -- not the best idea. The long ride turned out to be a loooooooooooooooong ride! Felt like most of our weekend was spent in the car, but like all road trips, the company makes up for the distance. From 3PM - 10PM, we drive all the way up to Baguio -- through rain and fog and desperate bathroom breaks we make it to the top. I must admit, the way up was beautiful! For a few kilometers, the new SCTEX fools you to believing you are in another country (that's according to Eyebrows, cuz apparently, I slept through it... boo). Added plus, you get to see the BIGGEST RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD! According to Eyebrows -- it'll show up if you wiki it! Whatever. But I agree, its a must see :)

Baguio holds a special place for Eyebrows and I as kids. For Eyebrows its out of town memories with the golf crew and bonding with his Dad over a good round of golf. It's a reminder of family time and fun, relaxing, and chill times. For me Baguio is memories of my Dad, of plums and strawberries at the Hyatt and riding Princess my horse around CJH. Its distinct reminders of my family when it was just Dad, Mom and I. Anyway...... enough memories down childhood lane...

Next day -- Saturday was Baguio ocular day! After a awesome breakfast of tiny fluffy pancakes (yum yum!), we head down to the events office of BAGUIO COUNTRY CLUB.

Wedding Ceremony: If the weather permits there's a beautiful putting green overlooking a ridge of trees where you can get married. Its quaint and gives off a very "woody" feel. And, theres a decent plan B. If it rains, not all is lost.

Wedding Cocktails: The ballroom has a receiving room that can act as the registration as well as the cocktail area. Its quite close to the ceremony location and is in decent condition. Only thing I dont really like is that it's looks a bit old fashioned. Doesnt really go with the elegant romantic theme I envision. But considering all factors. this is the current top 1 of all the places we've visited.

Wedding Reception: The only place they had was the ballroom. It's newly renovated so in good condition. Lot's of wood -- and huge top to bottom glass windows! Beautiful actually! It looked very "earthy". Only thing was... it had these antlers for chandeliers. Ummmm... yeah, gotta find a way to hide those.

Lodging: The top seller of this place was the lodging. Just across the street was an array of cabins for rent! And at the very peak, was a newly developed cabin -- modern and still smelling of fresh wood! We could just imagine renting cabins for all our guests and enjoying the company!!!


All in all, BCC was a possible workable choice. Far -- yes, but fun nonetheless! Gotta admit though, I wasnt 100% about it. But it held its spot somewhere at the top.

Baguio Ocular - Venue Options

Im FINALLY going home!! As usual... my couple of weeks business trip has turned into an extended engagement. My toiletries are running out, I've tried almost every dish on the hotel menu, and the staff know me by name -- YUP, its time to go home! After a month long business trip in Sydney, Im glad its over. At least for now...

Unfortunately, I will probably get pulled off to another country soon so I dont have much time. It makes it really challenging to plan for our wedding properly. We need to decide on a venue... and fast! Time's a wasting! With the few weeks (or days) I have back home, we plan to visit as many potential wedding venues as physically possible. First priority will be Baguio. If we dont find anything there, then we'll probably look into Cebu.

So... for the Baguio (or near Baguio) wedding venues, we have 3 in mind. Unlike the Tagaytay venues, the internet doesnt offer much information or pictures -- but nothing beats seeing it first hand. So we'll definitely have to do an ocular.

The 3 venues include... (*drumroll*)

1. Camp John Hay - looooooooong time ago, Eyebrows and I went to a wedding at The Manor at Camp John Hay. The ceremony was held on a huge garden with a beautiful view and the reception was indoors. It was intimate and classy, may just be what we're looking for! OR... I was going through the net and came across some pics of weddings in the Ampitheatre! Its like a huge sunken garden with a covered hut in the middle.

Some Websites:
http://www.cjhhotels.com/cjh_manor.htm
http://www.pbase.com/joel_garcia/image/29090355
http://paulvincentphoto.com/blog/?p=340
http://www.philippines-travel-guide.com/camp-john-hay-manor.html


2. Baguio Country Club - I dont remember the last time I was here, but since we're in Baguio might as well check it out! Saw this pic of the ballroom and its not bad -- it seems more like a lodge than a ballroom.

Some Websites:
http://bcc.com.ph/
http://www.mimiandkarl.com/2006/07/26/nap-lynette-st-joseph-the-worker-baguio-country-club/


3. Thunderbird Resort, Poro Point (I know... it sounds HORRIBLE! I cant imagine having this printed in our wedding invite!). This is one of the venues I first considered but put it on the back of my list since it was far. Since distance is not a big turnoff for us, we're considering it again. Its a fairly new hotel, Santorini inspired. Its got a golfcourse and a casino and its by the beach!!!

Some Websites:
http://www.thunderbirdresorts.com/info/philippines/en/resorts.poropoint.aspx
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/video/video.php?v=78440672658&ref=mfhttp://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=83950&id=514562658&ref=mf


Those are the 3 for now... Im praying for the perfect venue....