After months of preparing for my wedding, I am very relieved to say that the stressful few months leading up to February is finally over. I got married to Mariel, my fiancee’ on February 21st, and now I can finally talk about it.

For those who don’t know, Mariel and I were supposed to get married at Shrine of Jesus near SM Mall of Asia. When we found out our desired date was still available, we immediately shelled out 50% of the required payment then and there just to block off the date (Upon reserving, people were given a week to come up with the initial payment just in case we changed our mind). The place back then felt perfect. The church wasn’t too old, and it wasn’t too big either.

The next thing we decided to take care of was the reception venue. We had gone around and visited a number of places, but I personally found it too expensive to rent a venue and still have to worry about the caterer. While looking for a possible food supplier, we chanced upon then newly opened Oceana Events Place. The establishment allowed us to remove the venue rental from our costing, and was under the CCA umbrella (we had little doubt that the food would be great). Since it was also a few minutes away from the Church, it would be convenient for the friends and family as well.

By June of 2009, we were almost done with the planning stages of our wedding. Since Mariel and I once belonged to the magazine industry, our main suppliers were some of her close friends. The deeply talented Kate Torralba was going to take care of the gowns for the bridal entourage (including my suit). Barbi Chan was going to do her makeup (if you get to read this Barbi, it was too bad our schedules didn’t work out), but Peddy Acebo was perfect. Pat “”Worth every penny” Dy (you’ll find out later why Kate coined this nickname for him) was going to be our photographer. We decided to do away with the video since there was no more room for it in the budget. Also, we weren’t the type to make guests sit through a video of our wedding.

It was in November of 2009 when all these plans suddenly changed.

Be Resorts Mactan

Be Resorts Mactan

Mariel had just arrived from the US, and we had decided to have part of my birthday celebration in Cebu. The place was special to us because our only two domestic trips outside Subic and Baguio had been spent in Moal boal and Sumilon. It was because of a friend’s recommendation that we decided to try out Microtel (now called Be Resorts Mactan).

The place had a botique hotel-esque feel to it, and wasn’t as busy or activity driven as Hilton or Shangri-la. It only had one restaurant in the lobby, which had a good range of reasonably priced (think P200-300) big enough for two dishes (you should try out the Hainanese chicken). The rooms in Be Resorts Mactan also have simple, very cool, and modern atmospheres which set it apart from the other hotels in the area. If you’re all about relaxation, you can either take a dip in the infinity pool or sip on a drink in the jacuzzi near the man made beach front. There’s also a newly opened recreational area with a billiard table and a few table top games. If you know your furniture designers, creations by Kenneth Cobonpue are also littered all over the hotel.

Be Resorts Mactan Suite Room

Be Resorts Mactan Suite

We stayed at Be Resorts Mactan for a total of 3 nights and 4 days. On our first night, our gracious hosts (Ms. Em Ravina and Janice Jacaban) even brought us with them to “tourism night” during the town fiesta in Mactan. We went out for drinks on our 3rd night there with a good friend, Leanne Florendo of All Flip Flops Cebu. It was on the 4th and last day of our stay in Be Resorts Mactan, while sipping on a few drinks by the pool area, that we came up with the crazy idea of moving the wedding to Cebu.

*More photos can be viewed of Be Resorts Mactan at Grand Benedicto’s Flickr page.

From Alvin Jimenez