These days, it’s easy to think that beautiful weddings are reserved for well-off couples. That, or getting in debt to make wedding dreams come true. I am a fan of simple weddings, I get excited when married couples share how little they spent to celebrate their union. This year, these 17 couples who were married inside the Church of the Holy Family in Cavite probably have the best story to tell.
The 17 couples were selected by ProFriends, the developer behind the famous Lancaster New City, to make their dream weddings come true – and for FREE. On July 30, the May Forever: Kasalang Bayan sa Lancaster turned 17 couples’ dreams into reality.
It’s my second time to visit the Church of the Holy Family. The church is well-known as a practical wedding venue especially for people living in the south. I can list top reasons why:
1. Lancaster New City is very accessible to guests coming from Manila via Cavitex
2. Proximity saves couples from checking-in their guests into nearby hotels
3. Reception hall (Leighton Hall) is just in front of the church – no need for guest transfers
4. Compared to other wedding venues, getting married at Lancaster is one of the most practical choices without sacrificing convenience, comfort, luxury, and experience.
5. Tagaytay weather, quiet location, picture-perfect destination with lush greens and parks, and more than enough parking slots for guests
Church of the Holy Family behind us. The weather felt like we were in Tagaytay, breezy and cool
If only I were to get married again (to my husband of course), Lancaster will definitely be one of my top choices. Sure there are other popular venues that project sophistication and all but I am not a fan of busy, traffic-laden venues that spoil the celebratory mood of couples and their guests.
WATCH: Wedding Video (Same-Day Edit)
Back to the mass wedding, each bride beautifully marched down the well-lit and flowered isle. To complete the mood, live wedding singers were present to provide suitable soundtrack to the once in a lifetime event. Songs like forevermore, ikaw were sung throughout the ceremony.
The Church of the Holy Family has a unique and modern architecture that is beautiful and solemn on its own. There was little need for flower arrangements, etc. Still, ProFriends provided bouquets of blooms that dotted the isle and prominent areas of the church. The design white theme was simple, functional, and focused on the couples rather than the venue. Note that the 17 couples did not spend a single centavo to experience all of these.
The spacious wedding venue allows even the high tech drones to fly and take footage and photos from above without running into any physical trouble.
Reception at Leighton Hall
Did I mention Leighton Hall is conveniently across the church? This meant no hungry and tired guests or problems with transporting guests from one venue to another. My husband and I were invited by one of the lucky couples who just got married. It was my first time to see Leighton Hall dressed up for a wedding reception, it was beautiful, spacious, great air conditioning, and well-lit that you’d think you are inside a five star hotel’s ballroom (minus the cost and pandemonium).
The lucky couples and their guests enjoyed a short reception program that presented pre-nuptial photos that were also taken inside Lancaster New City’s lush open spaces, as well as a very organized photo op for each couple and their guests.
M Catering & Fine Foods provided the sumptuous lunch buffet, they are famous for catering the wedding of Dingdong & Marian Rivera-Dantes. The colors white & blue are the perfect motif for the relaxed reception, now that I think of it – the table dress up were very simple yet in the grand scheme of things worked beautifully.
For me, it’s not really the grandeur of the venue that’s the priority but the couple’s and their guests’ comfort and experience. Lancaster New City pulled off the mass wedding successfully, if a beautiful wedding experience can be provided for 17 couples simultaneously, what more if only one couple will enjoy the church and Leighton Hall exclusively?
My husband and I enjoyed the wedding experience, the relaxed & stress-free vibe from the church to the reception allowed us to feel that forever is still possible in this age. For guests like us, it was like dating and celebrating our own marriage together with the newly weds.
Best wishes!
