Let me first say that from the first wedding I attended in Nuestra Señora De Gracia, i already fell in love with the Church. This was in 2004 (methinks) and I was one of the secondary sponsors for Batches Mai and Mig's wedding. I saw the church again in 2009 when i attended my cousin's wedding.
It really is a wonder that this church in the middle of Makati is lesser-known.
Given this, we still checked on the other shortlisted churches last January.
1. Minor Basilica of San Sebastian
We dropped off MOH, who was dressed as a bridesmaid that day, at the church. I liked this one because of its spires, and because it was designed by Gustave Eiffel (of, yes, the Eiffel Tower).
But when we got there, the parking area was full, and given the tight space, there was only one way to take a picture of the facade. I think wedding schedules were also tight (probably 30 minutes in between weddings, my estimate).
2. Archbishop's Palace
We wanted the wedding to be intimate, so we checked out the Archbishop’s Palace and the small chapel inside the compound. The place is really nice, but it just didn’t feel right for us. It wasn’t photogenic either. With the low ceiling, the pictures will all be close ups and tight shots. The chapel was nice, except that to get there, you need to use the small stairways at the left and right sides of the ‘façade’, meaning the chapel is at the second floor and there is no front door to the chapel.
3. Santuario de San Jose
The interior is really nice. I finally understood why pictures of the church façade were usually through fisheye lenses or extremely low shots. These shots provided the best possible angles for the church.
4. Sta. Rita de Cascia (my patron saint)
Forgot to take pictures, although online pictures are pretty accurate. This church is short and wide (4 aisles, or two middle aisles), unlike the usual long and narrow churches.
5. Twin Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Mass was being celebrated the time we visited. The altar section didn't feel right, well.. it looked odd to me because of the pillars. Alright, it reminded me of a mausoleum (sorry na).
6. Christ the King (on a different day)
Saw an afternoon wedding here, and found the place too bright since they had glass doors (goodbye, grand entrance).
(all pictures taken using iphone, photo diptych by the Diptic app.)
Passion Cooks is an online find, and i can say that the online raves about their food and about Maja are all true. I was so excited to taste the Catfish salad that i forgot to take a picture, but it was really good and it didn't taste like catfish at all.
