OUR BEAUTIFUL MONTECITO NUVALI WEDDING

Sunday, June 18, 2017

[2023 Edit: It's been more than 7 years since our wedding, and I still get messages about our wonderful wedding church and reception venue. The rates below & contact persons must've changed through the years, but the details of this post are still pretty accurate. Read on!]

Montecito Nuvali was one of our best-kept wedding secrets. It took significant control over my social media self not to post a photo or too many details about it in the year we were preparing for our December 2015 wedding. Yes - this blog post is one year and six months delayed!

Warning: Super long post with lots of pictures ahead!

Our Lady of Guadalupe - Montecito Nuvali

I've always wanted to get married in a quaint little church that is not too popular or mainstream. I was reading Town & Country on my iPad in late 2014 when I chance upon a wedding article where Montecito Nuvali was the church and reception venue of the couple. I got interested in the chapel instantly. I knew right then that this may be "the one." Unfortunately, there was very little information about it online, so it was tough for me to do my research without going all the way to Nuvali in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. This is also why I am doing a very lengthy post about it. I've been getting 2-3 e-mails and messages a week from brides and grooms about this charming place.

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I fell in love with the place the minute I saw it, and it took very little to get the fiance on board. We were dead set from the very start that we would have our wedding in Montecito the first time we laid our eyes on it. We only visited two churches for our wedding, with St. Benedict Church in nearby Silang as a backup. I am just happy that everything fell into place. The church is very intimate, the outdoor lawn is perfect for our dream garden reception, the location is prime & very exclusive, and it's located in Laguna, where Witt and I reside. Having our wedding in Montecito was the best and easiest wedding decision we ever had. Our guests seemed to agree because I heard nothing but praises for it (well, some complained about the distance, but - for us - it added to the appeal and exclusivity of the place).



Our Lady of Guadalupe - Montecito Nuvali

Montecito Village is co-owned and managed by Ayala Properties and the Yulos of Canlubang. The chapel, Our Lady of Guadalupe, was built by the family as their personal sanctuary. The Pasa Tiempo Clubhouse is just a few meters from the chapel where our reception was held. There are also options for cocktails and reception in the Main Social Hall, but we opted for the Lawn Area near the pool for a more garden feel.

Montecito is an exclusive gated village in Nuvali in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Montecito is already in Canlubang, Laguna, but the more scenic route is in Sta. Rosa. You will need a sponsor with a supporting letter to Montecito to have an ocular. I was very fortunate that a Yulo friend gladly sponsored us.

Our Lady of Guadalupe
The chapel of Montecito Nuvali is Our Lady of Guadalupe. It's located in the center of the village on top of a mini hill. It's a quaint little chapel that only sits around 150 people. There were 9 pews per side, and each bench could sit about 7-8 people. The chapel is exquisite, and you can do away with the elaborate flower arrangement. We opted for effortless aisle flowers and a couple of centerpieces on the altar. Putting too many flowers and decorations will take away the natural grandiose of the place. The ceiling is adorned with antique chandeliers and a charming loft for your choir or strings. It's also suitable for overhead photos of the ceremony.

Here Comes The Groom

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#WittAbbie Wedding

The chapel is under the parish of St. John Bosco, located in Laguna Technopark. We had all our church requirements, parish interviews, and even the processing of our marriage contract through the church's office. The parish priest, Fr. Bob Roxas, was the one who did our Canonical Interview 2 months before our wedding, while our Pre-Cana seminar was with our own parish. We just submitted the certificates and other pre-wedding requirements days before the wedding. You should visit St. John Bosco 6-8 months before your wedding to get all the requirements and to schedule and arrange the seminars and interviews. You also have to tell them if you will ask one of their priests to officiate the wedding. In our case, we asked a family friend priest to celebrate our wedding. This would require additional requirements like the priest's license number. I also coordinated with our priest the wedding missalette we used at the wedding. St. John Bosco is pretty okay with the requirements since Our Lady of Guadalupe is not their parish, but you must clear everything with your officiating priest. We were very blessed because we could read our personal vows during the wedding ceremony, and I got to choose my bridal march (Lea Salonga's "Two Words").

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With Father Reny

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Our Lady of Guadalupe has a complete set of altar requirements for the mass. My mom, who's very active in church affairs, went to the chapel two days before our wedding to ensure we had all the needed stuff for the mass. They have everything necessary; we just added things like the host and wine for the congregation. We also asked our lights and sound supplier to provide additional speakers and microphones for Leggiero (our strings) since they only have microphones at the altar.

Ladies in Pink

Vows


After My Vows

Put A Ring On It

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The ceremony began promptly at 3:00 pm, and we finished before 5:00 pm. These include all the family and friends' photos and even the throwing of bouquets which we held outside the church after we came out. Our Lady of Guadalupe is flexible with the wedding time as long as they are informed of the schedule beforehand. They only allow one wedding a day. Montecito had yet to become famous when we reserved it in December 2014 for our December 2015 wedding. We changed our dates once or twice, and we were still accommodated. We were only the second couple who booked for a December wedding when we reserved a year before. They ended with 4 weddings in December of that year.

The Parents

Mabuhay Ang Bagong Kasal!

All The Single Ladies

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The Reception
We had the reception at Pasa Tiempo, which was only a few feet from the chapel. Pasa Tiempo is like a small, stylish clubhouse with various options for receptions. We opted for the Lawn Area for a more garden and backyard feel. I chose the biggest tent I could find from nearby suppliers in case of a December rain (and yes, there was, unfortunately, a massive downpour in the middle of our reception; thus, I had a lot of smirking photos). Our 150 guests, with a small stage, mini bar, and buffet set-up, were accommodated in two big tents provided by Tent King. It rained a lot, so the tents became cramped and the garden soil moist.

Pasa Tiempo Reception

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Montecito Nuvali has no preferred or accredited caterers like other venues, so we got K by Cunanan. K was my ultimate non-negotiable; we even moved the wedding date to have them. Ours was K's first wedding in Montecito, so we had oculars and many meetings before the wedding. K was also the one who provided the stage backdrop and our styling for the wedding.

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The Lowdown
I've been receiving a LOT of messages about Montecito, so I will just put here the most common questions I encountered.

How much is the rate for the chapel?
We got a way lower rate when we reserved in December 2014 for our 2015 wedding. I asked for the current rates, and it's now Php 60,000. They usually increase it every year. This is good for four (4) hours with a two (2) hour ingress. This doesn't include the church requirement fees, which will be facilitated by St. John Bosco Parish in Sta. Rosa Estates in Laguna Technopark. We forked over an additional Php 10,000 for the marriage certificate, all wedding church requirements, canonical interview,  pre-cana seminar, and the wedding priest. We had our pre-cana in our parish, and we also asked our family friend to officiate the wedding, but there were no discounts on the rates even if we "outsourced" a lot of things. I blogged some details about this and our wedding missalette, which can be found here.

[Edit: The 2018 rate is now Php 70,000.]

Do I need to bring any chapel & mass requirements or equipment?
Montecito Nuvali has a complete set of mass things the priest needs, but we brought wine and hosts. We also got flowers and fruits for the offertory. There is also a charming loft at the back of the chapel where The Leggiero Strings & Chamber Orchestra, our strings, sang and played during the mass. We just added some speakers and microphones since the chapel doesn't have one. JS Mina, our lights & sounds supplier for the reception, provided these.

#WittAbbie Emoji

What are the restrictions?
There are no restrictions in the chapel like wedding time, number of hours, and the like. You just need to coordinate with the admin office the time of your wedding and the ingress required for styling and flowers. Two (2) hours were given to us for the ingress. We opted for simple styling because I wanted to focus on the accents and grandeur of the place. There were also no restrictions on the details of the mass and the songs to be played. BUT I aligned my missalette and other information with our officiating priest.

Where did you hold your reception?
We held our reception at Pasa Tiempo in Montecito, Nuvali. It's a few feet away from the chapel, and it has two areas for the reception. You can choose either the Social Hall or the Lawn Area for your wedding banquet. The Social Hall can accommodate around 100 guests, and it's located on the second floor of the main building. We opted for the Lawn Area and had two big tents. Montecito offers a lovely industrial-grade tent trellis (with trusses and roofing), but the ceiling is relatively low, and it was rented for Php 125,000 back in 2015. We used Tent King instead for our tents.

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What other things should I know if I hold my reception in Pasa Tiempo?
Your event stylist and wedding planner should coordinate everything that you want to do with the Property Manager of Montecito. They have a lot of restrictions concerning the set-up in Pasa Tiempo. I remember that the pool is off-limits. You can't put floaters in the pool or even candles surrounding it. There are also electricity requirements that you must provide for your entire reception set-up, so a Generator Set is a must. It was also our lights & sounds supplier who provided this.

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How much is the reception venue?
We paid only Php 12,000 for the six-hour reception in 2015, but it's now Php 40,000 for the Lawn Area and Php 50,000 - 60,000 for the Social Hall. We also paid additional fees for ingress and egress by the hour. This includes the day-before-set-up and day-after-egress of our tents and the early preparation of K by Cunanan.

[Edit: Pasa Tiempo's 2018 rate is Php 60,000 for the Lawn Area with Php 8,000 for additional hours beyond the 4 hours that were allotted. There are different charges for the ingress/egress.]

Do I need a sponsor?
Yes! You will need a resident or a lot owner who lives in Montecito Nuvali to sponsor you to hold the wedding and reception in Our Lady of Guadalupe and Pasa Tiempo. Even a mere ocular and entry to the place would need a sponsor.

Wedding Reception & Guests

Is there a "catch"?
The chapel and the village are very exclusive and unique, and they want to maintain it as such; thus, they require a hefty security deposit six (6) months before the day of your wedding. The amount is quite significant - more than the actual rental of the chapel and lawn area plus some more - and it's a requirement to reserve the place. We quickly got the refund one month after our wedding, and they deducted all the venue fees and additional ingress and egress fees there.

With hosts Janeena Chan & Gino Quillamor

I hope that this post is helpful to all the brides, grooms, and wedding planners researching this beautiful place. I cannot stress enough that the chapel is still my favorite part of our wedding. It was ALL worth it!

Let me know if you still need more information about Montecito by commenting below or emailing at abbiereal[at]gmail[dot]com. Let me know if you successfully book the place and if you'll be a Montecito Bride (or Groom!) like me.

ALL photos from this post are from Nicolai Melicor.

Here's the list of contact details for all the suppliers mentioned in this post:

Montecito Nuvali 
Contact Person: Ms. Ethel Paner
Canlubang, Calamba, Laguna
(632) 519-4043

JS Mina Sound System Rental (Tagaytay)
Mernan Adarlo
(0998) 996-2503
jsminasoundsystem.net

The Leggiero Strings & Chamber Orchestra
Merl - (0919) 316-9252
(632) 843-6705
E-mail - leggiero.strings.orchestra@gmail.com
leggierostrings.com

Tent King
(0923) 748-4452
Facebook - facebook.com/TentkingPH

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8 Comments

  1. Hi Miss Abbie! Thank you so much for this comprehensive post! :) Very helpful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're most welcome! I am happy that I finally got to post this after x million years. Happy Preps!

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  2. Hi Abbie, are you a land owner in Montecito Chapel? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Abbie, thank you for your blog! Just for everyone's reference as we are holding our wedding at Montecito on October, their 2018 rates are much higher. It's now Php60,000 for the lawn with Php4,000 charge per hour for ingress and egress, and 70,000 for the chapel :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Abbie, thank you for this blog! Just for everyone's reference, their 2018 rates are much higher. It's Php70,000 for the chapel, while it's Php60,000 for the lawn, with 4,000 charge per hour for ingress and egress and 8,000 on succeeding hours of event proper beyond 4 hours :) The in-house trellis is is about the same rate as other truss tents. Tent King provides cheaper draped tents, but now offers a more expensive, higher type of tent. Forsc Ink may give discounted rates for their truss arc tent. Hope this helps other brides!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi! Do you also have the rates for the indoor clubhouse? Thank you

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    2. I believe that it's also in the 60K range for 2018.

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