We wanted two things for a church:
1. It should be air-conditioned as we don’t want our guests to suffer in Manila’s summer heat.
2. It has to have a huge parking space—again, we only want it to be convenient for everyone.
We had Christ the King Greenmeadows in mind. For one, as a couple, we would usually go to church here. Unfortunately, when I inquired, the only available time to get married on the date we chose was at 10AM. We didn’t want a morning wedding. So CTK was out.
Next, we wanted Santuario de San Jose (SSJ) in Greenhills. Again, when I inquired, the only available timeslot was 9AM. And again, SSJ was scrapped out.
Of course, I knew Santuario de San Antonio, which was a favorite amongst couples is another go-to airconditioned church. I did not even try asking if they had availability because as popular as they are, they get to be booked a year and a half or two years in advance! Not to mention, they have very strict guidelines for getting married there on top of a very expensive fee.
I consulted my mom and told her our requirements. She immediately mentioned St. Ignatius at Camp Aguinaldo. This is the church our family goes to. This was where I was baptized, even. It’s a simple church, almost bare. It doesn’t have a charm of an old church or the grandness of those churches built in stone. But I remembered, it was quite nice to go to church there. Quiet, no noisy kids or vendors outside. Very calm. Not too big, not too small. Not too new, nor too old. Just right.
It had a huge parking and it was airconditoned. Simple. Just like us.
I had my mom book the church the very next day. We paid 10,000 pesos. Not so bad, as I initially planned for 25K for the church!