Our partners for the big day. We made sure they understood that we were working under a tight budget haha!
Like I said in my previous post, I began planning while waiting for my turn at the OB but the actual canvassing happened during my maternity leave. During feeding breaks, I drafted invites and emailed suppliers (thank al gore for the interwebs! :P). I was up during the day as I never followed the advice that you should sleep when the baby is sleeping because sleeping and waking up every two hours just gave me migraines! Anyway, the challenge for me and BDW when we were planning DW’s baptism and celebration is to:
Celebrate within budget! (aaaargh!!!)
We decided to spend the most on food and then just divided up whatever was left to the other suppliers:
DW’s Baptismal Party Budget Break Down:
Caterer – 70%
Dessert and Guest Tokens – 9%
Photographer – 8%
Reception Venue – 8%
Church – 3%
Tokens for Godparents – 2%
(names of our vendors and contact details are after the cut)
Church: Christ the King, Greenmeadows
Schedule of Baptisms: 10 am and 4 pm
Rate: Special Solo Baptism with Priest: 3,200
Regular Baptisms: Php1,000 + Php 200 for the first 2 pairs of ninong and ninang (4 people) and 60 pesos per succeeding pair.
the small baptistry
The parish office personnel are very friendly and the church is not strict. Unlike other parishes that require babies to wear a baptismal gown or to wear at least something white, there aren’t such requirements for CTK.
Documents required: Marriage Certificate and Birth Certificate.
Contact Numbers: 638.4838 | 633.0280
Caterer: Centertable
We know how it is with Pinoy gatherings, kelangan masarap at busog ang mga bisita hehe. We were fortunate to have tested Centertable at a friend’s wedding. The food was delicious and the price for the kind of food they served was very reasonable. We really didn’t think twice about booking them for DW’s baptismal reception. In fact, we booked them for DW’s first birthday party too.
We were able to save on the decors as well because Centertable had special centerpieces and arrangements for baptismal celebrations and kiddie parties. We chose their bears and blocks theme.
Packages
Continental Packages Start at Php 350 per head up to Php 485 per head
Merienda Cena Packages start at Php 340 per head up to Php 435 per head
Children’s Party Package is at Php 295 per head
for all packages add 12% vat, service charge not included
Contact Info: homepage| info[at]centertablecatering[dot]com |824.51.79 or 821.37.97
The next to take the budget was DW’s cupcakes. We chose cupcakes because they served two purposes — the dessert and the giveaways. I’ve always been a fan of edible giveaways. They don’t take up space in a guest’s house and a sweet treat is always welcome.
I ordered 120 cupcakes and an 8-inch chocolate cake to top the cupcake tower. We chose Yumi’s best selling flavors for the cupcakes.
Contact Info: homepage | yummypieceofcake[at]gmail[dot]com | 0917.805.4063
Reception Venue: Acropolis Clubhouse
We chose to rent this clubhouse because it is near the church and parking area is spacious. The venue itself is clean and well maintained. There are several air conditioning units in the area so everyone was comfortably cool. Ingress however is only one hour before the event so it’s important to let your decorator/stylist and caterer know this. Also, the guards can be strict, they won’t open the clubhouse even if the caterers and other suppliers arrive early. I learned it the hard way. Center Table was at the venue early but they were only allowed to park at the clubhouse’s parkinga area. The caterers just prepped what they could while waiting for the guards to open the clubhouse.
For clean-up, the admin people were not as strict. They allowed us to go beyond the four hours for clean-up and family pics 🙂
Rates
(we had BDW’s cousin book the venue for us so that we could get the homeowner rates but sponsorship is not required)
Homeowner Rates : 10,000 (first 4 hours) / 1,500 (extension fee per hour)
Guest Rates: 14,000 (first 4 hours) / 2,000 (extension fee per hour)
Refundable Bond: 3,500 (guest and homeowner)
Contact Nos.: 6331937| 6345057 |
Decor: Yan-Ple
As I’ve mentioned in my previous post, decorations were the least of our priorities and we only booked the vendor when we had enough still left in the budget. Decors are just add-ons since caterers can do a good job of sprucing up a clubhouse up with their buffet and guest table centerpieces.
Apple Cabel of Yan-Ple was pleasant and easy to talk to but most importantly her services are affordable! You can view her rates here.
Contact Info: homepage | 566.6405 | 0928.521.1028 | apple_0612[at]yahoo[dot]com
Photographer: Ging Lorenzo
Ging is very well known in parenting forums for being THE kiddie event photographer. She is very much in demand and so before we booked the church and the reception venue I asked her if she was available on the day we wanted DW’s baptism to be. Fortunately she said Yes and we booked her right away.
The package we chose includes a coffee table book (we have yet to choose pics for that!) and printed copies of pics she has specially chosen for the day. The DVDs and the packaging they came in are adorable and are instant keepsakes.
Ging is very easy to talk to and is great to work with. She understands kids and is very patient with them as well as with harried moms and dads hehe. We booked her again for DW’s first birthday celebration. All pics in this post except the one above are all by Ging 🙂
Contact Info: homepage| 0917.852.5938 |photosbyging[at]gmail[dot]com
Papemelroti: Godparents’ Tokens
Truth be told, finding tokens for DW’s godparents were the hardest task during planning. I couldn’t really go out yet since I was on maternity leave and so I was surfing online for ideas. I knew Papemelroti offered give-aways and I actually looked at their site when I was planning for our wedding last year but I never got around to ordering from them. I tried it this time and I was pleasantly surprised to see that their online site is updated and that the stocks listed there are all current. I completed all my transactions online and picked up the tokens at their Roces Ave. branch.
The Ivy Crosses we ordered can be personalized and came in specially made boxes as well. I was very happy with their service. Try them!
gift tags, DIY printed by yoo prints
contact info: homepage |375-1069 / 374-2442 / 412-6487| info[at]papemelroti[dot]com / papemelroti[at]gmail[dot]com
There you have it! Our partners for DW’s baptismal celebration. Next-up our DIY projects for DW’s big day!
Ryche says
March 20, 2014 at 5:26 amHi! I hope you don;t mind. I borrowed the baptistry’s picture and posted it in my site. I went to take pictures of churches in the Metro that are nice for baptisms but the files got corrupted so I ended up borrowing pictures from people all over the internet instead 🙁
Here’s the link, if ever you want to check it out: http://rychelearnsmotherhood.blogspot.com/2014/03/baptism-101-choosing-church.html
Raquel Taguti says
February 11, 2013 at 3:12 amThis blog is so brilliant! I’m planning also for my son’s baptism. I kept on searching but i can’t find any good ideas until i found this. Thank you for this informations. Can you send me some details about your planning? About the cake ang the token? I am really interested. Thank you! 🙂
Lyn says
July 10, 2012 at 10:54 amHi Neva
this blog is very helpful. 🙂 may i know around how much yung nagastos nyo in total from the baptismal to reception? I am mum to be based in Singapore and we wanted to have the baptism there in Manila kc 🙂
Thank you
Lyn
manilamommy says
July 10, 2012 at 3:35 pmhi lyn – thanks for dropping by the blog 🙂 i answered the same question in one of the comments below (by lei and ed). good luck with your planning!
run around girl says
July 28, 2011 at 9:48 pmhi manilamommy, would you mind sharing the name of your masseuse? planning to visit nuat thai. thanks!
manilamommy says
July 28, 2011 at 10:54 pmhi run around girl! i forgot the name of my masseuse at nuat thai e but the moms I went there all had great massages: http://manilamommy.com/2011/05/nuat-thai-libis/ so i guess everyone’s ok 🙂
malia says
May 25, 2011 at 9:39 amI’m so glad I found your post… Such a big help!
manilamommy says
May 25, 2011 at 9:56 amthank you malia!
applesanddumplings says
April 12, 2011 at 3:25 pmHi! Were Yumi’s cupcake yummy? How much did she charge? 🙂 I also commented on your other post. Hope to hear from you!
manilamommy says
April 13, 2011 at 10:26 pm@applesandumplings – hi! yumi’s cupcakes were veerrry yummy 😀 the cost of the tower, packaging and decorated cupcakes (120 pcs) is 10,500 but that was in 2009 pa.
manilamommy says
February 22, 2011 at 11:11 amhi lei and ed –
we allotted about 80-100k for everything 🙂
a huge chunk of the budget went to food which fed about 150 people that day. if there’s one thing in the budget that’s worth spending on, it’s food. pinoy celebrations are always about food so it’s best to get a trusted caterer for your special occasion. the other details – balloons, photographers, the cupcake tower are nice-to haves and you can easily replace them with better priced alternatives (or forego them altogether) red ribbon and goldilocks now offer beautiful baptismal cakes and a lot of home bakers offer reasonably priced cupcake towers too. just shop around for the best offers for your kid’s big day 🙂
hope this helps.
ed flores says
February 21, 2011 at 8:16 pmHi Ms. Neva,
I have been reading your baptismal article since I am still pregnant, now my baby is 4 mos and just waiting for his daddy to come to do such a good baptismal preps like your. Would you mind sending me your total expenses for this occasion?
Thanks!
Ed
lei says
January 29, 2011 at 2:27 pmhi ms Neva..ask ko rin po sana how much un naging budget nyo s baptismal ng baby nyo..tnx
suzy says
October 1, 2010 at 3:09 amHello Ms Neva =)
ask ko lang din po sana kung pwede pa-email din po how much total ang nagastos nyo for your baby’s baptism. we’re planning din kasi to have our 1st baby baptized in ctk also. kakainspire yung pagbudget nyo pati yung mga suppliers nyo ang gagaling! i love ging lorenzo rin po! thanks in advance.
neva adelane says
October 4, 2010 at 7:54 pmHi Suzy 🙂 hope you got my email already!
bagongmommy says
September 21, 2010 at 10:13 amhi ms. neva.. just wondering how much all in all yung nagastos nio for DW’s baptism.. 🙂 i’m planning to have my son’s baptism dis December kc. so i;m starting to browse sa net for some ideas and then i stumbled on ur site. i really liked ur tips, even ung ideas nio on DW’s 1st bday. 🙂 pwede po ba e-mail mo na lng s’kin if confidential yung hinihingi ko info. thanks!
neva adelane says
September 22, 2010 at 9:53 amhello bagongmommy 😀 i already emailed you 🙂 good luck with your planning!
Topaz Mommy says
September 6, 2010 at 7:28 pmNeva! This post is just what I needed! Planning Vito’s baptism and honestly I am so overwhelmed at this point, I really don’t want to do it! Good thing I found your post. Super lifesaver. I’ll just do everything you did! Well, maybe on a smaller scale. Yours is so bongga 😉
neva adelane says
September 7, 2010 at 10:23 amhi frances! di yan bongga! most of our budget went to food hehe. just email me if you need help 🙂 good luck with the planning!
skipper says
August 13, 2010 at 9:25 pmhi neva! thanks for the tip on the block letters that is really creative! 🙂 you should be into party planning 🙂
thanks for the feedback on the menu selection too 🙂
neva says
August 13, 2010 at 1:58 pmhi mich!
the menu we got had the parmesan crusted dory, a chicken dish, roast beef and beefy lasagna i think. the food naman is really good. i’ve been to weddings and kiddie parties catered by centertable and they’ve been very consistent. my personal favorites are their parmesan crusted dory and the roast beef 🙂
the block letters are fonts i downloaded for free! there are lots online, you can also preview the font before downloading it by typing your text first to see how they look like. try this link: http://www.fontspace.com/category/blocks and then when you do decide to download a font, you can just change the font color as you would any ordinary font you have in word 🙂
skipper says
August 13, 2010 at 11:32 amhi neva! just wondering the menu and package you got at Center Table? They do not offer food tasting daw for ordinary catering so I guess they classify baptism as ordinary :)Just wanted to be sure the items we pick are the best tasting items 🙂 also im curious how you were able to add the block letters in the invite. i picked a different theme para naman maiba kakahiya but yours really look great! 😉
skipper says
August 12, 2010 at 9:41 pmhi neva thanks for the fast reply! 🙂 im actually in panic mode already hahaha
skipper says
August 12, 2010 at 9:20 pmhi there! may i ask how much in total was spent for the baptism? very nice post and helpful too.
i just realized i’m a bit late in planning for the baptism of our first baby – boy 🙂
also where did you get the template for your DYI invite? nice too!
neva adelane says
August 12, 2010 at 9:27 pm@skipper – hi 🙂 i emailed you my answers. as for the budget, you can always contact my suppliers and ask for their packages.
gorgeousmom says
August 9, 2010 at 9:47 pmhi neva. my son had a great baptism day. 🙂 i got your balloon decor stylist… she’s so good… really appreciate your support just by sharing your experiences in this site, hope to meet you soon so i can personally thank you.
neva adelane says
August 11, 2010 at 2:05 pmhi gorgeous mom! that’s so great to hear!! congrats on your son’s baptism 🙂
gorgeousmom says
August 1, 2010 at 9:58 pmhi neva. i love your blog so much.it helped me a lot in planning my son’s baptism although 1 wk na lang binyag na… hahaha..
really appreciate your love for motherhood. God bless.:)
neva adelane says
August 1, 2010 at 10:05 pmhi @gorgeousmom! thank you so much for your kind words 😀 congrats on your son’s upcoming baptism!
mommyarah says
June 17, 2010 at 12:02 pmhi mommy neva… you made me sooo excited on Marquee’s upcoming baptism. Your post is very very informative and enjoyable hehe… you know, you inspired me to go back to creating blogs (modern day writing). i always want to have a blog like this myself… i think im gonna start today! haha…
neva adelane says
June 18, 2010 at 8:49 pmhi mommyarah! thanks for the kind words and good luck with blogging!!
Kai says
December 15, 2009 at 12:12 pmI found it! 😀 …its for our anniv kasi but di na naasikaso cos we’re going to Manila 21 pa then 2 weddings coming up then…hay, at least sana we can do renewal of vows, kahit fishball and wine nalang after ok na basta magkasama…haha! Parang beer commercial! 😛
Jaz says
December 14, 2009 at 10:34 pmHello! I just want to tell you how much you made me feel better about planning the baptism of my son, i’m still on my 6th month but I really want to make it extra special by planning it as early as possible. Thank you so much for your site (“,)
kristina cassandra mendoza says
November 7, 2009 at 5:36 pmhi… i like your blog… and what u have shared.. i just want to ask favor can u give me the details of how much is the cupcakes ?
pl;ease reply thank u….
gOD bLESS YOUR FAMILY
neva adelane says
November 7, 2009 at 6:10 pmhi kc! we paid around 10k or so for the cupcakes. it includes the tower, the personalized stickers, boxes, the fondant toppers and the 8 inch cake at the top of the tower 🙂 you can contact yumi, her details are posted here so you could talk about your budget and preferences. she’s really nice and very easy to talk to 🙂 thanks for dropping by!
apple says
November 4, 2009 at 9:54 amhello,
an inquiry lead me to your post.
thanks for the nice feedback. hope to work with you again. =)
neva adelane says
November 4, 2009 at 1:44 pmhi apple! thanks for dropping by and more power!!