On The Day Wedding Coordination PROMO

It's Christmas Season once again! Oh how time flies so fast! The year 2017 is coming to an end but before we wave our final goodbye to this fantastic year, we are giving away an early Christmas gift for the engaged couples planning to get married within October 5, 2017 to January 30, 2018! 

Save the best day with the least stress! This is yet the best early Christmas gift you can give to your blooming bride! Be the one of the lucky 10 couples to be granted this promotional sale!


Email me at leahjacobeweddings@gmail.com or call/text me at 09497702829 for more details on this promo and how to avail this fabulous wedding deal!

Five Strategies to Save Money On Your Wedding Budget

Some couples have a bigger budget to spend for their wedding event but a majority of engaged couples are only willing to spend their hard earned funds to an allowable maximum. There are many ways to avoid unnecessary expenses for your wedding. I am going to reveal to you 5 things you can do to save that  thousand pesos from coming out of your pocket.


1. Start with the Guest List. This is a real simple equation: more guests = more heads to pay for. Here is a quick reference on how you can determine whether that person you have in mind should be invited or not! I found this very helpful infographic in this site: http://www.theoverwhelmedbride.com/the-blog/guest-list-in-30-seconds

2. Do-It-Yourself Crafts. There are many crafts you can search online to incorporate in your wedding. Although, this strategy can save you a lot of money, it will snatch all your effort and time and some money to buy the materials and resources. If you have been doing crafts before, then you are in for a great head start in saving money from your wedding. Crafts you can do for your wedding include invitations, save the date cards, wedding favors and even the wedding decorations.


3. Skip the Souvenirs. Unless your guests can use it, eat it or trade it for a money's worth, don't bother giving them wedding favors. Most souvenirs will just gather dust in the shelves especially little figurines and I really think it would just be a waste of money on your part. You already have paid somebody to preserve the occasion with your friends and family and that is your wedding photographer. Just upload the photos to your social networking sites and voilah! you have instant souvenirs a few weeks later!


4. Cocktails. These are like welcome food for guests who arrive early at the reception hall. The guests will be very hungry when they arrive in the wedding reception venue so they will devour every last bit of what will be served there. Well, most guests will not be able to have their share of the welcome food especially the VIP's because they will still have to remain at the church/ceremony site a little longer for the photo sessions. Allow the guests to have a little patience and discipline to wait for the dining part. Anyway, they can always have their fill mostly with the buffet set-up at most weddings. A thrift and savvy way to serve food cocktails is by serving them cheese and crackers! I found this great idea at this site: http://food.allwomenstalk.com/cheese-and-crackers-ideas-youre-going-to-love

5. Hire a Wedding Planner. Not to over sell my services but seriously hire someone who knows about the ins and out of the wedding industry! Hire a wedding planner. But take note, a wedding planner is not a wedding coordinator. A wedding planner will be with you from day 1 of your wedding planning while a wedding coordinator may only be there a month or a week of the wedding event. The advantage of hiring a wedding planner is that he/she will help you choose the best wedding suppliers that suit your budget and avoid getting yourself into fraudulent transactions or misleading marketing agendas. If you are unsure how to choose the right wedding planner for you, I stumbled upon this very detailed website about what to ask you wedding planner: http://www.weddingpartyapp.com/blog/2014/02/28/wedding-advice-questions-ask-wedding-planner/

These are just some of the many ways you can actually save money from your wedding budget. If you hire a wedding planner like me, you will get to know which things to eliminate and which things to spend for your wedding. What matters to some couples may not matter so much to you and what you value may not be top priority for some. It is important that you have someone you can rely on when planning this once in a lifetime event of your life!

Happy Wedding Planning!

Tips for Choosing a Wedding Venue

Greenleaf Hotel Gensan

Aside from choosing the date and time of the wedding, one of the most difficult to decide is the wedding venue. Some couples would take about 3 months before they can finally set their decision. This primarily because the wedding venue takes the largest chunk of the wedding budget and must be carefully thought of. To help you and future brides and grooms on how to narrow down your choices of wedding venues, I will shed some faint light to your decision making.





Here are some of my tried and tested methods in choosing THE perfect VENUE for your wedding event.

1. Ask the right questions. This is very crucial in decision making. The bride-to-be should not do all the decisions by herself because eventually the groom-to-be will have a big say on the matter especially if he is paying a big chunk of the wedding expenses. Here are some questions to ask yourselves:

Paseo del Sol Gensan

-- Who are we inviting and how many?
-- How convenient will the location of the venue be to the guests?
-- How accessible will it be to the guests?
-- How much of the entire wedding budget will it take?
-- Should we choose it for our wedding theme?


These are just some of the very basic questions you need to ask yourselves when deciding for the venue. Always remember that as much as you wanted to have a wedding somewhere in never ever land, you have to consider the people who will come to celebrate your wedding event. They will be spending money, time and effort to grace the occasion. Make it a little easier for them and let them enjoy the event without much hassle even at going to it.

2. Consider your wedding theme and motif. At the beginning of the wedding planning, I am very sure you have picked out the kind of wedding you want to achieve. You probably also created a theme for it and the color motif that coordinates with the wedding theme. The travel theme wedding theme should have hues of earth colors such as beige, peaches, browns and mint greens or perhaps the garden theme wedding should have dark greens and lots of blooms of yellow, lime and white flowery hues. Whatever theme and motif you decide for your wedding, the venue should at least set the tone of the wedding. This will reduce costs of decorations as it is naturally placed within the venue. But if it helps, suggest to the florist and set decorators to make the venue resemble the wedding of your dreams and at an additional cost for sure.

The Pinnacle Hotel Davao City

3. Food, Services and Ambiance. You must not compromise these three very crucial aspects in choosing the venue of your wedding. Most guests will come for the celebrations and the food specially. But there is no more frustrating and disappointing than when food is delivered late or by frowning, disgruntled and rude waiters. (It happens!) And no matter how palatable the food is and how courteous the service is, if the ambiance is too humid, too cold, too trashy, then expect the negative comments to rush in right after the event or the following days after. To prevent this from happening, ask the venue management if you could observe in one of the wedding events and see how things are going to be during the event.

Phela Grande Convention Center Gensan

4. Sound System Placement. I had a very terrible terrible experience with this one. There was one wedding when I hired a music spinner to control the music but the placement of the sound system was too far from the stage and elevated to the second floor of the same area. It was an overlooking room where the music console was placed. Now, the problem with this set up was that the management did not allow the music spinner to gain control over the music console so the emcee had a hard time giving instruction to the music spinner on the kind of music he wanted at the particular part of the program because the music operator was too far away from the music spinner and there was just no way they could set the entire music playlist. There was a total collapse of the program music and I resented that moment, that particular wedding event every inch of my life up to this very day. It happened in Gensan and the nightmare still resonates to my dreams at this very day.

Bellevue Square Davao City

5. Space. If you are going to expect 200 guests or more, choose the venue that can accommodate 20 big round tables plus some spaces to move around. I had one wedding when the venue was too small for the 20 tables and guests were literally squeezing their bodies in between small spaces of back to back chairs just so they could move around. If the venue management says it is good for 150, they usually mean less than that and to reach that maximum number of guests would mean an over crowded area. If you think your guests will reach more than you expected, it is wise to choose another wedding venue with bigger space and more room to move around.

These are just some of the wise advice I can give to all of you. Wise because EXPERIENCE taught me all these things. I want every bride and groom and their guests to have a great time and the wedding venue will be the avenue for that. If you want to know which venues are great for your dream wedding, that is the reason why you should hire a wedding planner!

I hope I have helped you narrow down your choices of THE perfect wedding venue for you. Happy wedding planning! All the best!!!

Featured Wedding: Sarah + Adrian

Just recently, I was part of my friend's August wedding. She did all the planning and booking of wedding vendors since day one. My role was helping her differentiate and find the best wedding supplier that suits her ideals. We set an initial meeting sometime March 2015 and discussed ideas she would want to apply in her wedding. Then from there, we would only communicate through phone calls and social media chatting. I sent her my recommendations and contact details of possible wedding suppliers who may have the things she wanted. The wedding would be in Davao and I was in Gensan most of the time.


Fast forward about 3 weeks before the wedding date, I asked her what were still lacking so we could still find necessary adjustments. She told me what were lacking and without batting an eyelash, I dialed my contacts. She hired me and my team as the On-the-Day Wedding Coordinator although I provided more than included in the package.


On the night before the wedding, everything had been okay except for some glitches in some aspects of the vendors. (Well, what can I say, anything is possible.) It was resolved the following day just few hours before the actual wedding. (Talk about stress and pressure!)


THE WEDDING CEREMONY

The ceremony went smoothly. Everything was perfect or at least I considered it to be perfect. They wedded at Sta. Ana Shrine Parish. Notice the aisle decorations, instead of hiring professional setup and decorators, she had the aisle posts customized according to her ideals and she also went to Bankerohan to order the flowers herself! Talk about very hands-on bride. On the day of the wedding, she hired a team from her mother's flower garden to arrange and set up everything. (I think she will have the ceramic aisle posts rented out to other clients or coordinators who will be interested to rent the aisle posts.)

Photo by owner

Right after the ceremony, there was the traditional release of doves along with the releasing of flying balloons too. And they rode off in a 1939 Plymouth Vintage Wedding Car which I was able to find just a few days before the wedding date. (Yes, that's what you call last minute. Please forgive my stressed out face in the photo.)

THE WEDDING VENUE

After the short traditions, everyone went to the wedding reception venue to dance and party. They had chosen Bellevue Square along Brgy. Matina Pangi, Diversion Road. There had been cocktail snacks prepared for the guests which was set up in the bar on the ground floor. The guests could comfortably sit down, eat and drink while waiting for the couple to arrive and for the program to begin.

In my many years in the wedding business, I had never experienced live plants being used as stage decorations! I was totally flabbergasted! Just look at that beauty! It perfectly fit their Romantic Vintage Garden Theme and the upside of it all they got to bring home the plants and care for it!

Unlike many weddings these days, florists and set up would decorate the bridal stage with lots of   REUSABLE things like mirrors, cloth, chandeliers, shimmering stuff, lamps, and photo frames, and very few or none cut flowers. You would just throw away the cut flowers after 3 days from the wedding date but using live plants will allow you to enjoy the great memories of your wedding day as long as the plants are alive and growing! Now that's epic. You will have a visible remembrance of the best day of your life.

The flowers are planted in big pots and have been treated and trimmed for at least 6 months to make it look fantastic! Thanks to the mother of the bride who has such patience, dedication and amazing green thumb in making these flowers grow!


From the aisle at the church to the bridal stage and now to the table centerpiece. The bride wanted it tall cylindrical vases surrounded with little candle lights. She wanted it so precise that she bought the vases and tea lights, ordered customized round glasses and put together this fantastic table centerpiece ensemble.

Where is Bellevue? The venue is situated on the top of the hill and there is a balcony overlooking the other side of Davao City. From the Sta. Ana church, your travelling time would approximately be 30 minutes without traffic to as much as 1 hour with moderate traffic coursing along diversion road. The place can accommodate 200 guests but I must say it is a bit crowded for such a number. I think 150 guests would suffice that would have 15 (fifteen) 10-seater round tables all placed accordingly in the space. The best thing about Bellevue Square is that you rent the place that comes with a sound system, Tiffany chairs and round tables and bring your favorite caterer in. They don't have corkage for additional food you bring.


I have chosen to feature this wedding because of the different concept of the wedding decorations. They value aesthetics and beauty but they also value long term use of the things they spend their hard-earned money on. It is not every wedding that you get to experience well groomed live potted plants used as stage decors.


At the end of it all, the couple is very happy with the wedding day that they have planned for so many months. Best Wishes to my good friend Sarah and Congratulations Adrian! Salute to the mother of the bride for the wonderful stage set of live potted plants!

Frequently Asked Questions on Average Wedding Cost in the Philippines

The most crucial part in planning a wedding is the BUDGET. It is the most frequently asked question by couples to wed. Each year, the cost of getting married is ever rising and expanding as more and more brides and grooms are presented with limitless options on how their ideal wedding should be. It is by far the single most  factor on how the wedding outcome will be.


Frequently Asked Questions on Average Wedding Cost in the Philippines

Here is a quick run down of questions regarding the budget for Philippine Weddings and how much do they really cost in actual:

1. How much is the entire wedding?

There are apparently different levels of wedding. Class A++, A, B, C.

In Class A++ weddings, couple-to-wed could afford and choose to hire only the best among the best in the entire country. These weddings are usually featured on TV and other media outlets. They create buzz in the social media and yes, they are the famous people in the country and rich powerful giants in business sectors. A++ weddings are extravagant, lavish, highly attended by the elite population. Expect their weddings to cost as much as well as much as you can possibly imagine. The least I can estimate is 7 million. That is even an under estimated value in actual. YES, there is also  a 30 million pesos wedding. Ring a ding dong bell?

(Photo credits: www.niceprintphoto.com | http://www.showbiz-portal.com/)

In Class A weddings, these are couples who can afford a lavish, extravagant wedding but opt to stay under 1 million pesos budget. They get the best and most quality according to what they perceive as fair value. They choose the best option without over boarding their budget but still getting their ideal vision and the quality of products and services they expected.

(Photo Credits: VA San Diego Photography)

Class B weddings, these are the average practical weddings. The ceiling budget for these weddings is as much as 300-500 thousand pesos. Couple-to-wed would usually opt for whatever gives them best for money value at the price ceiling they are willing to spend.



Class C weddings are very budgeted weddings. The couples want to spend every cent according to what is readily available to them. These weddings can range from 100,000 pesos to 300,000 pesos the maximum. With these types of weddings, you cannot expect much of the quality of other wedding supplies.


2. How much is the cost of hiring a wedding planner / wedding coordinator?

Different coordinators have different levels of skills when it comes to wedding coordination and planning. You are paying for the coordinator's skills and experiences so you will have to really get to know first their experiences and track record. Set an appointment to meet with them and ask as many questions as you can regarding their services. You have to expect that the longer the wedding planner or coordinator in the business, the higher value he/she has. By the way, a wedding coordinator may not be a wedding planner. Sometimes, a wedding coordinator comes in a handy after the couple has planned, booked and hired all the wedding suppliers and the coordinator will take care of the wedding details at least two weeks leading to the day of the wedding. The wedding planner is also a wedding coordinator. He/She designs the wedding according to the couple's vision and together they create a beautiful unforgettable wedding by going through each wedding planning process.

The cost of the wedding coordinator will range from 10,000 - 15,000 pesos. The wedding planner's professional handling fee will start from 25,000 to as much as 60,000 in planning your wedding.



3. Do you give discounts?

This is also a very common question among budget conscious couple-to-wed. There is nothing wrong in asking for a discount but from a point of view of wedding suppliers, asking for a discount is like not giving enough importance to the hard work we put into making your wedding beautiful and as much as possible, problem-free. You put your money to what you value the most. Sometimes, you may not see it, the act of asking for a discount implicitly say "I don't see you or your work very valuable." But it is still okay to ask, most wedding suppliers are very considerate to clients who have very limited resources. So go ahead and try to work things out with your wedding planner. Compromise with the cost, I am sure there is something you can come to an agreement.



I hope I cleared most of your queries on Philippine Wedding Costs. Budgeting is an integral part in every day living and not just planning your wedding. How much does a wedding cost depends on how much you are willing to spend and how much you can actually spend.


For more personal and one-on-one wedding budget inquiries, you can email me your queries. My email address is:

leahjacobe@gmail.com

Happy Wedding Planning and Congratulations to Your Happily Ever After!!!

Popular Wedding Trends 2015

Wedding trends vary every year. Different styles for different times. Once, the Cinderella ball gown is the most in demand style of wedding gown. Then as the century turns, slimmer and body-hugging wedding gowns emerged. Wedding motif and themes have also developed throughout the decades. Most brides in the 90's plan their own wedding without the help of a wedding planner. But today, most brides and surprisingly, hands on grooms are very particular with their ideal weddings. Today, weddings range from the most classical to the most uniquely bizarre ideas to date.


Wedding Colors

Among the colors most chosen by brides, nothing beats the popularity of peaches and pinks. This soft color spells out elegance and tenderness combined. Brides prefer this color because of its feminine appeal and classical feel.

image courtesy of brides.com

Wedding Decorations

True indeed, you can't go wrong with the most popular wedding color of all time. As with the color, so with the wedding decorations. Flowers are just as important as the wedding dress. The set up and design of wedding trends are moving to a more classical era reviving the Victorian essence with the combination of rustic elements specifically the candles. This year's most in demand wedding theme is the Rustic-Shabby Chic-Victorian Era theme. 

Not surprising enough, wedding decorating with candles have been on the rise. There is a growing trend on wedding decorations using only candles. Yes, without the flowers that is. Now, that would look like this:

image courtesy of http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/candle-only-centerpieces/

image courtesy of http://hksanthialeei.blogspot.com

I think it would be very romantic to see these gorgeous candles all lighted up during the dinner reception! I would love to design a wedding with this kind of concept!

Wedding Gowns

Ah well, THE DRESS! This is probably the most well researched, most sought after, most thought-of aspect of the wedding. Dresses now are centered on the details. The more beadwork and stonework on the dress, the more brides will dive for it! Laces and embroideries have never gone out of style, but this time, this timeless piece of detail has probably taken the spotlight. More and more brides opt for laces all over their wedding gown. 

image courtesy of http://bridalmusings.com/2014/01/30-lace-sleeve-wedding-dresses/

Lace is timeless. It is elegance. It is classic. It is beauty. It is forever. It is probably THE DRESS for every bride. The dress you choose will depict the kind of personality you have. If you choose lace, you must value high end style and highest quality of its kind. You can never go wrong with a lace wedding gown.

There you have it the pressing matters of planning a wedding. These 3 elements of a wedding make a wedding stand out along with some other aspects. Filipino weddings are as up to date as the western weddings could be. Philippine wedding trends are gaining inspirations from different wedding trends around the world. 

To give you more details on the present day and upcoming wedding trends, feel free to email me: leahjacobe@gmail.com. Also, for your wedding planning inquiries, click here.

Happy Wedding Planning this 2015!

Why Hire A Wedding Planner?

It has been a very busy summer for the event planner mom in me! Hello June 2015! It is amazing how wedding trends have flipped the other side of the equation. The supposed to be wedding month of June has been slow in wedding bookings while the busy cold days of December and scorching hot summer days of April are buzzing alive with forever after celebrations!

Still, the number question every bride and groom is asking is "How much will it cost to have an elegant wedding in the Philippines?"

That's very easy to answer on my part but I have to know first what is your definition of elegant and how much are you willing to spend for an elegant wedding?

I must have written a couple of posts about wedding budget or wedding costs in the Philippines. Somehow, some brides and grooms may want a specific breakdown. I also have written a post of specific breakdown of the costing. And in doing so, I still get A LOT of inquiries about customizing their own wedding cost estimates.

In that point, the work of the wedding planner comes in.

(Photo Credits: http://infographixdirectory.com/lifestyle/how-to-cage-bridezilla/#sthash.j8gGxxig.dpbs)


The Wedding Planner knows who among the wedding suppliers are best suited for your ideal wedding and working budget. She/He knows the best and worst in the industry and the advantages and disadvantages of working with that particular wedding supplier.

The job of the wedding planner is to pull off every wedding supplier to make sure that your wedding day will go smoothly as possible.

As a full time wedding planner, I have worked with different wedding suppliers and I have a handful of unpleasant working experience with some of the suppliers. My job is to protect my client from being the next victim of these unprofessional and unethical over pricing people in the wedding industry.

I have recently transferred work base in General Santos City. I have had weddings since 2012 in this place while I held work base in Davao City. I have met some of the Gensan's best and finest wedding suppliers. People are not yet so welcoming of the idea of hiring a wedding planner since the locals prefer to do-it-yourself their wedding details and essentials. The wedding trends in General Santos have slowly adapting to the modernization of event planning. More and more brides are considering the option of hiring a wedding planner especially those who are working from overseas. 

Your wedding will be once in a lifetime moment. You will only walk down the aisle once. You may never pass this way again. If budget is your concern, you will place significant budget to the things that matter to you most. If it does not matter so much to you, you will not make any effort to be able to acquire or afford it.

To hire a wedding planner will mean you will have someone to fallback to in case you are already losing your temper over very trivial things. You will have a bestfriend all throughout the planning process and possibly a best friend for life. After all, forever starts with planning the wedding.

Happily Ever After!

Best Time of the Day to Get Married

What is the best time to conduct a wedding ceremony? Most wedding ceremonies take place in the afternoon so that the reception time will take place at night and the after party breaks until dawn. But not every couple follows this tradition. 

If you are wondering what time you would want your wedding to happen, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner is the best time for a wedding for you, check out these advantages of each time of the wedding:


Sunrise Wedding (5am, 6am)

 Pros
If your wedding venue is strategically located facing the East, then this is the perfect time for you to say "I DO" with a feeling of a bright tomorrow awaits you as the sun rises and greets your wedding with a soft light to begin the day.


Cons
This is probably a dreaded time for most Filipinos. It can be too early for most people especially that in the Philippines, Filipino Time is usually 30 minutes late and conducting a wedding ceremony at this time will pose a major setback in preparations and arriving on time.

Your wedding suppliers may have additional charge for setting up very early or the day before for your wedding.

The Solution: This is best for an intimate wedding of about 50 guests housed in one venue the night before. Everyone should be in the same place for easy call time and gathering of the guests and entourage at early dawn. 



Morning Wedding (8am, 9am, 10am, 11am)

Pros
These time slots are best for people who want to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and night with their family, friends and guests who may have come a long way to attend their wedding. The wedding ceremony and reception will usually end at the most 2pm so there is plenty of time for an afternoon or dinner bonding with out of town guests without going beyond the time indicated for supposed "first night" of the newlyweds.

Cons
If your wedding will be held in the city, expect morning traffic. And if your wedding falls on a weekday or holiday rush, expect more traffic. Aside from working people and students rushing to get to their designated places, the holiday rush may also bring out more people out in the streets to get what they need in time for the holidays - think Christmas. Whew!

The Solution: Choose a hotel near the church or choose a location where the distance between the ceremony and reception will be bearable to transport. Avoid choosing dates that people are still at work and special holidays when people will be roaming the streets - like parades and Christmas holidays.


Afternoon / Sunset Wedding (2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm)

Pros

Most weddings are held in the afternoon because primarily it gives the couple and their families and friends to have enough time to prepare and run errands that may be needed during the wedding - like buying socks or belt because they forgot to bring theirs on the preparation site. Wedding suppliers will also have enough time to do their tasks at their most working mood because these are the time slots when normal working hours is conducted.

Cons
If you are having an outdoor wedding specially in the Philippines where the climate is tropical, these time slots may still be a little humid with the rays of the sun too strong to stand in. Sometimes, rain might interrupt the ceremony.

The Solution. Provide umbrella for the guests and entourage witnessing the ceremony. Choose a location where there is a canopy of trees or a garden tent to shield the people from heat and moisture.


Sunset Wedding  (6pm, 7pm, 8pm)

Pros
These time slots are best for people who want to get the party going all night. Sunset weddings are romantic and dreamy specially if held in the open with the night sky full of twinkly stars. If you start the ceremony about thirty minutes before the sunset forecast, you may have a cozy sunset rays just in time for your first official husband-wife kiss.

Cons
This is not so appealing to the some people specially the older ones and those with infants and children since it can start too late and end too late which can alter their sleeping routines. Some older people and children may not have the energy to finish through the night.

The Solution: Prioritize the elders and children during the program so that if they wanted to go home ahead, they would already have participated on their part of the program.



Depending on the location, venue, weather and type of people attending the wedding, every wedding is a perfect time to celebrate at any given time of day. But of course, you must put in mind that your wedding is a mix of two families and friends and so it is also crucial to consider your attendees to have a comfortable and fun experience during your wedding.

In all time slots, it is best to check the weather forecast for the day before, during and after your wedding so you would know what to expect.

Happy Wedding Planning!

Tete-a-tete!

Top Pick Catholic Churches for Wedding Gensan

I have roamed the wedding venues in Gensan just get a glimpse of which outdoor and indoor wedding venues would best fit the different client requests. If you are Christian, then you can choose any place you wish to say your vows to your spouse. You can have your dream wedding in the white sands of Gumasa Glan or in the breezy mountains of Sabrina and Sarangani Highlands. But if you are Catholic Christian, there is a strict rule for Catholic weddings to be held only inside Catholic churches and chapels.

If you are looking for top pick Catholic churches and chapels for your wedding in General Santos City, you may want to check on the following churches to hold your forever after wedding ceremony.


St. Michael the Archangel Parish, General Santos City

This church is located at Brgy. City Heights, General Santos City. This parish is the top pick among all the churches in Gensan and very much favored because of its solitude and wide parking space. You can enjoy a noise-free wedding ceremony because it is well gated and away from the main roads of the barangay. Surrounded with trees and chirping birds, you would surely want to walk down the aisle in the tune of instrumental violin or the magestic church choir of St. Michael Parish.

A word of advice, they are very keen in the submission of documents. Only the family or relatives of either the bride or groom are allowed to process the papers. No wedding coordinator or event planner is allowed to represent the couple. They have two slots of wedding schedule: 10am and 2:30pm only.

Padre Pio Chapel, General Santos City

Not far from the St. Michael the Archangel Parish is another most in demand location for weddings in Gensan. It is the Padre Pio Chapel. This chapel is located at the Las Villas Subdivision, near Mabuhay Road, General Santos City. It is under the St. Michael Parish, so you will have to submit your requirements to the parish and ask for permission to get married in this intimate chapel.

If you want a very intimate and solitary wedding, you will love this place. The chapel is very well designed and maintained interior and exterior. This is also a favorite place for weddings in Gensan because it would look in the pictures that the "church" is filled with people attending the ceremony. Yes it would look amassed with crowd because it has a very small space to begin with. One little problem is the parking space.

Sts. Peter and Paul Parish

Next on the list of the top pick wedding churches in Gensan is the Sts. Peter and Paul Parish. It is strategically located in San Pablo Street, Brgy. Lagao General Santos City. The church is the epitome of the Greek architecture. It is lined up with lots of columns that make the church structure. If you want to have a Greek-themed wedding, this church is for you. It has a wide parking space, very good landscape and very friendly priests and parish staffs. It is also secured with a gate and a security guard in the vicinity.

So there you have it! The top 3 wedding venues for Catholic Gensan Weddings. There are still a lot of churches and chapels in Gensan that I haven't gone to. Maybe in my future trips around town and future clients, I will be able to discover more about the different places to get married for all religions.

If you need the services of a Gensan wedding planner or Gensan wedding coordinator, don't hesitate to ask. Email me at leahjacobe@gmail.com or send me a message at facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Leah-Jacobe-Events-and-Weddings/170273529697248?ref=hl

There are some couples on a tight budget and might be hesitant to hire a professional wedding planner in Gensan, feel free to tell me your concerns and maybe we can work something out that suits your needs!

All the best in your forever after!

God bless General Santos City!

New Beginnings

Happy 2015! Well, it's a bit too late for that now since it is already last week of January but nonetheless, this is my first blog for the year! So Happy New Year still!


I have been overwhelmingly preoccupied with major life changes in my career as a wedding planner. I have decided to transfer base of business from Davao to General Santos City and just recently, at 4th of January, I moved into a new home - Magandang Gensan!. I still have events in Davao City but I would have to schedule my visits there from time to time to finish the contracts pending.


A fresh year requires a fresh start in a fresh new location! This is it! Hello General Santos City! I am declaring that starting this year, I will be a Gensan Wedding Planner. I am not totally unfamiliar with this place since I have had clients here since 2012 and have had increasing number of client inquiries from this place. So here I am with my Gensan Team ready to serve the Generals!


Another fresh first event in Gensan is a corporate event from ABSCBN Mobile Home Phone Promotion. It was a long 6-day recorida activity for my team. We managed to get all the permits and required vehicle together in 3 days to prepare for this 6-day activity. It was our first time to have a first hand experience catering a corporate event.


The corporate event experience was a bit challenging with all the protocols and requirements in a given tight time frame. But congratulations to our team, we have managed to pull it all together with the providence of the Almighty God!

Well, there will surely be more improvements with our services to provide clients a more satisfying and memorable event. There will be more seminars and training for me and my team to specialize in social events. Perhaps in the near future, we would be hands on with the decorations too.

As the year starts, I am also very excited to promote our services in the city of abundant tuna. Perhaps a shop or an office to formally entertain clients inquiries.

But for now, we will remain online and homebased until we have sufficient capital to afford bigger and better things to serve our clients best!

Hello Year of the Sheep! Bring us the Great Luck we need! Happy New Beginnings!!!