Arocarria – Tagaytay Garden Wedding Venue Review

Arocarria

Link: https://www.facebook.com/arocarria/

Peso Power (Booked January 2023): Php 215,000 (for 8 hours use of the entire venue – garden + ballroom) + other add-ons (you have to pay additional if you want to use other areas – e.g. additional room)

Before I was even engaged, Arocarria kept popping up on my newsfeed. And when my now husband finally popped the question, I already knew where I wanted to get married. Despite multiple people questioning my decision to get married in Tagaytay (both sides wanted a Manila hotel wedding for convenience), I stuck with my Tagaytay garden wedding decision and am so glad I went with Arocarria for it. Although, to be very very honest, if I could redo my wedding, I might have just done a Manila hotel instead. It was very nerve-wracking considering traffic (I got married December 16 – so imagine the holiday traffic) and organizing the logistics (vans, hotels) for my relatives from out-of-town. But overall, for anyone who wants to get married in Tagaytay, I would 100% recommend Arocarria.

Couple of things I really want to highlight:

• It’s a BEAUTIFUL venue. Every single spot is instagrammable – I love all the colors and all the ambient lights. My wedding theme was Bright & Happy – and Arocarria DELIVERED. I also looove the garden (which is where I got married). Beautiful pine trees and SO peaceful. Dude, even their bathroom is beautiful (super super important for me)

• Enzo (the owner) is very hands-on and is continually working to improve the venue for future weddings. When we booked Arocarria, the acoustics of the place was still a bit iffy, there was no waterfall on the lower garden, and you’d need to add trusses even if you just wanted to place fairy lights. All this was added within the ~10 months between us booking and our actual wedding – all because Enzo really takes into account bride/groom feedback. On the day of our wedding, Enzo was also present and super encouraging. I felt at ease knowing he was on top of things

I do want to point out some stuff that I was NOT aware of when I first booked though, which I think is really important for other brides to consider:

• Arocarria initially stated they could accommodate up to 400 pax. This is true if you were doing a corporate event (buffet style, no program), but not true for a wedding actually… We managed to fit 320 pax in the end, but we had to give up ceiling styling (because we couldn’t fit trusses anymore) and a big stage (because again, no more space)
• Bridal Room 1 is BEAUTIFUL and BIG. Bridal Room 2, not so much. I suggest requesting for Bridal Room 1 if you have the option. For me, I ended up with Bridal Room 2 (as Room 1 was already booked prior), but I ended up getting Bridal Room 1 on-the-day, which is where my entourage and ninangs got made up. Note: This entailed an additional fee.

• Parking is a bit tight – but we did manage to fit 320 pax (I assume around ~90 cars?), with barangay tanods helping with streetside parking

• The road to Arocarria is quite narrow and rather dark – and they’re not by the highway. In fact, they aren’t in Tagaytay anymore, but they’re actually in Alfonso, Cavite (bordering Tagaytay though, really near Antonio’s). Not a dealbreaker for me, but maybe just a note for guests to consider.

Note: Arocarria does NOT have rooms for guests. They only offer two bridal rooms for rent. I ended up booking Hotel Casiana (a ~15-25 mins drive) from Arocarria for my relatives. I would definitely recommend this hotel – fairly new, lots of rooms (quite spacious too), with nice amenities.