Your wedding day is one of the most important events in your life as a couple. It’s your chance not only to solemnize your vows to each other, but also to celebrate your love with the people that matter most to you. It can truly be a magical, memorable event. But as the marrying duo, you will also be the hosts of your own wedding. Naturally, this can be quite an exhausting role to play, especially when you have a lot of tasks and guests to take care of.
Easing the burden of wedding planning is just one of the many reasons to have a small wedding ceremony and reception. Apart from feeling more relaxed on your big day, you can also save a lot of money and be more creative with your venue options. In fact, a shorter guest list means you have more leeway to have a destination wedding.
If you’re already convinced to have an intimate wedding, you might want to consider holding it in Cebu, Bohol, and other locations in the Visayas. With its abundance of historic churches, natural wonders, and island paradises, it’s truly one of the best places in the Philippines to have a small yet elegant nuptial. Here are a few ideas that you can consider.
Choose a Historic Venue
Old world architecture possesses a graceful, stately kind of charm that’s perfect for an elegant wedding. The Ruins, located in Talisay, Negros Occidental, for example, is one of the most famous locations for weddings in the Visayas, with its Italianate design providing a grandiose backdrop for a cozy and romantic gathering.
If you want an event with a more Spanish touch, you can check out Fort San Pedro in Cebu, a military defense structure built in the 1700s that was turned into a park and museum, and is now considered a National Historical Landmark. The stone walls and columns surrounding the gardens add just the right amount of grandeur for a small gathering of friends and family.
Ancestral houses or museums, like the Casa Gorordo along Aboitiz Street in Cebu City, also work wonders in infusing your wedding with classical elegance. You’ll score points with your guests for a little cultural education, too.
Bring It to the Beach
When you think of the beach, the word “elegant” doesn’t immediately come to mind. But with careful coordination of décor and other aesthetic elements, you can easily transform a beachfront into an intimate, sophisticated wedding venue. An afternoon wedding would be even more spectacular, with the glorious colors of the sunset painting the sky and the waters.
If you prefer to have an indoor wedding, you can still bring the beach to your guests through the right combination of colors and decor. Or you can simply look for a venue—like a hotel or restaurant—with a beach-facing ballroom or function hall.
Debuts & I Do’s offer Bohol and Cebu wedding packages that can bring your dream beach wedding to life, with venues like the Vista Mar and Plantation Bay resorts in Cebu, and the Bellevue and Bluewater Panglao resorts in Bohol. Whether you choose to hold your wedding indoors, by the poolside, or right on the beachfront, romance and elegance will definitely be in the books for your nuptials.
Be Close to Nature
Open spaces can be quite difficult to work with if you’re going for a sophisticated but intimate atmosphere. However, with canopies and drapes, closely grouped seats and tables, and strategically placed lighting, a garden wedding can be as elegant as those held in a grand ballroom.
Some Cebu wedding venues like Chateau de Busay—another Debut’s & I Do’s partner—are even located atop the hills, providing a picturesque view of the surrounding forests and cityscape for a truly memorable event. Nighttime weddings in such locations are also made more dramatic by the warm glow of city lights under a star-filled sky.
It’s easy to get caught up in the preparations for your big day. You’re probably so giddy with excitement that you want to share that happiness with everyone. But your wedding is also a once-in-a-lifetime event, one that should hold a special place in the hearts of your loved ones. So why not make it even more special and memorable by having a small yet beautiful wedding that you can spend with the people who truly matter to you?