Venue-hopping: Blue Leaf Pavilion

Checked out Blue Leaf Event Pavilion, Taguig. This was actually The Place we were really excited to check out. The Place we were willing to shell out however-much for. The pictures on the site were amazing, and reviews from couples we knew were just as positive.

But apparently, the place was over-hyped.

Coming in, Blue Leaf’s pavilions were bare and had no magic. We would have dismissed this as a pre-preparation kind of thing, since there was no event to look at, if not for the effort-filled adventure looking for the administration office. Then again I suppose several events were to take place in the coming hours, since the logistics staff were hard at work. Not wanting to impose, we made our way around (and around) and finally found the office.

The lobby was empty. But I saw some bridal magazines (the first time I’ve ever had the opportunity to leaf through some), and took a seat beside them, scouring in awe. The magic I had been looking for just washed over me. While I was lost in the world of gowns and motifs, Carlo searched for someone to talk to.

Enter chirpy-26-year-old looking lady. She cheerfully asked us did we have a date in mind for her to check, and came back telling us that the place was booked then. I sat at the table beside Carlo, still leafing through the magazine, but excited to get the ball rolling. That’s until out of the corner of my eye I saw her hand Carlo a white sheet of paper with the rates. There was silence as Carlo read the rates, and I waited for chirpy girl to speak up and tell us something, anything, while he was reading. I don’t know, maybe tell us packages or something. Nothing.

Carlo looked up and asked if we could possibly book two venues, one for the ceremony and one for reception, she answered chirpy-curtly (for lack of a better term) before saying “Do you have any more questions?” Chirpy-curtly. My eyebrows shot up, and the magic was gone.

We asked more questions, but she seemed in a bit of a hurry to let us go, saying “We could email you the photos.” Then I realized something, and I asked her “What’s your name?” Because not once had she even asked who we were in the first place, or introduced herself.

Stalling a bit, we got to talking about the fact we just came from The Fort for the Victory Fun Run. She brightened a bit, saying she was supposed to attend too. And I brightened a bit, wondering “maybe I’m over-analyzing things.”

Then we asked if we could look around, and the chirpy-curtly tone was back. She said sure, but she could email the photos instead. And, “Do you have anymore questions?”

Finally Carlo just decided that we didn’t have anymore questions and said we’d go and look around. With that, she chirpy-ly bounced out of the room and back into the office, while we, on the way out, wondered about the whole scenario, and why we felt so disappointed.

Looking around, with no one from the staff at all, we realized that this was not The Place. Not anymore, actually. Coming out of that office, the bareness seemed barren all of a sudden. The garden, just dry patches of grass, and the Sonya’s Garden-like decor just… wooden and cold. We smiled as we took photos, but only because that’s what we were used to–smiling for the camera. My huppy frowned at one shot, and I found myself frowning as well.

Was it our attire? The over-booking of the place? The hype? Had we not looked excited enough? Um… chirpy enough? :p

Later during the day we just decided to lift it up to Him and trust that He already has that Right Place for us. That was all it took to get the excitement back and start planning for our next adventure.

Meanwhile, the owner of the place talked to Carlo later the following week, after finding out about the experience, and asked if we wanted to see the place again. We even heard that the person we talked to was reprimanded, but it didn’t matter, really. If that wasn’t His Place for us, then that was that.

And I like what Carlo said: “You only get to make a good impression once.”

BLUE LEAF EVENTS PAVILION RATES

Standard Rates: AM(5hrs) / PM(5hrs) Jade Day: P70,000 / Evening: P90,000 Silk Day: P80,000 / Evening: P100,000 Banyan Day: P90,000 / Evening: P110,000 Jade and Banyan Day: P140,000 / Evening: P185,000

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