Back to Balay

when marlon and i chose balay indang as our reception venue last december, it was mostly marlon's call. balay, a bed and breakfast in indang, cavite (about 15 to 20 minutes from aguinaldo highway in tagaytay) was the last place we visited after a long day sussing out possible reception venues in tagaytay.

i was tired, feverish, and barely remembered the place. the drive seemed overlong and the pictures (taken at night) were not too great. but marlon really liked it, and didn't seem too bothered about the drive. plus, marge tan, who owned and operated the place, was a total sweetheart. so we took it.

almost a year later, we went back to balay for an ocular inspection of the venue with our caterer, kaye. marlon was actually a little anxious about it. "what if we go back there in the daytime and realize na pangit pala siya?" he fretted.

thank goodness, it turned out to be even better than he or i remembered.

the main house, where cocktails will be held

the cocktail area (for hot tsokolate and kapeng barako! yum!)

the poolside pavilion where the reception will be held

main reception area (love the vigan tiles)

where marlon and i will be seated (totally hate the couples-table-with-backdrop idea)

more balay details

we had fun planning the reception floor layouts with kaye, who's great to work with and full of ideas. more than that, we fell in love with balay all over again and were reminded of why it stood out from the other venues in the first place.

it really is a homey, eclectic and warm place -- somewhere where our guests can really kick back and enjoy an intimate evening with friends and family. as you can probably tell, "grand", "opulent", or "formal" are not among our key words.

it was great to be back at balay. and the next time i'll be back, it'll be to get married! yahoo!