Planning for Chea's party: Looking for that special place, part 1

So Chea's turning 40 on January 8, 2016. It's a decade birthday, so it should be a little more special than your normal birthdays.

Like my dad's 70th birthday last February 2015, I'm working with my sister Maricel, and my mother, Estrella, in planning for the party.

I've decided that it should be held on Chea's actual birth date, January 8, which is a Friday. It's actually a good day for the party as it's the last working day of the week. Guests can go to the party if it's scheduled after work, and they'd still have the weekends to get some rest.

I'm thinking of having it at 8pm. Even with a 4-hour party, it would end at around 12 midnight. It's a little bit late, but most people who go out on fridays do go home around that time. They can either arrive late at the party, and the party'll still be going on. Or they can arrive early, and leave around 10pm, and we'd understand if they do.

My sister laid out this for me as Im busy. Based on a design we saw over the net. Lol

And since it's the last day of the week, traffic will probably be horrendous, and since most of Chea's guests will be coming from work, the best option will be to hold it in Makati, as most of them work there anyway.

Now, all we have to find in less than two months, is a party venue. Now two months may be short, but this isn't exactly a wedding.

The initial option is of course a venue specific tailored for private parties. But since it's just a 40th birthday party, it doesn't need to be too grand that we would need to rent a place for the party and get a caterer, like what we did with my dad when we rented the function rooms at SM Grass Residences.

I think we could just go with a place that provides their own food. One of the option is at hotels with function rooms. I looked at Marco Polo's option via a previous email that I got, and some deals being offered at Deal Grocer, but it seemed a little bit expensive. Not to mention it's at Ortigas, which would require people from Makati to commute at rush hour.

I checked one that's very close to Chea's office, City Garden Grand Hotel. I actually got the contact number of one of their Account Executives from Chea's phone. Lol.

I sent them an email and was promptly given a quotation. It's a bit beyond my budget though. Their cheapest buffet option is at 1,350/pax. Their cheapest sit down menu is at 1,199/pax. And their cheapest cocktail package is at 1,450/pax. Ouch. And why is the cocktail package more expensive than the buffet options?

Anyway, I'm adamant that my budget for the entire thing is around 100,000 pesos for 100 guests. And that should include the entertainment as well.

There are probably other hotels around the area with a slightly cheaper option. I'd have to look harder I guess.

Another option, which is one that I'm leaning more to, is make the party into something like a night-out with family and friends. But we'll be paying for everything.

So I searched the internet for some options and I found Centerstage KTV in Jupiter Street. It's very near Chea's office, so it has that going for it.

The rooms

Now, they have the Sala room, which the image above says can hold 120 guests. It has the usual videoke machine with 2 x 32" tvs and a projector. They even have a billiard table in the room. And all of that for just 35,000 pesos (consumable). You get the place for 4 hours!

When you think of it, it looks a bit of fun there since you can have your guests sing their lungs out for four hours, and you have a billiard table for those who doesn't sing. But when you think about it, our guests doesn't necessarily know everyone. Not to mention, it'll be hard to figure out who gets to sing in turn.

Another thing is, I want to bring an acoustic band along for entertainment. Now the band would probably have 3, 40-minute sets, which means people can't sing on the videoke while the band is playing which leaves about 120 minutes of videoke time (that's during the the breaks between sets) . And if you consider each song is about 5 minutes at length, that's just 24 songs. And no time for any other activities such as speeches and games.

And like I said, they probably don't know each and every one of the guests, so I don't know how they'd act if someone blurts out "My Way" during the course of the party.

So on second thought, it may not be a good idea for the party.

Still, I do like the notion of a night-out with family and friends, so I'm thinking of the next best thing: a private party at a bar or bistro.

I did a google search for bars that can host parties, and two of the ones that I managed to contact was Tipsy Pig and Alchemy Bar and Bistro. Although I contacted Alchemy first, I'll write about Tipsy Pig first.

After taking a gander at their facebook page, I saw a post where they said they can host private parties. They posted a number which I promptly texted. Their reply came two days after. I sent them my email so we could continue the inquiries there. They replied via email the next day.

So after a couple of emails, they quoted me a price of 170,000 pesos for 100 pax, in order to block off their 2nd floor and al fresco area. It has an open bar for 1 hour. Having been communication with Alchemy Bar, and some hotels, I was a bit surprised at the price.

Now it may be that they could actually earn 170,000 pesos on a friday night, hence the pricey quotation, but I told them in my email reply that it's still 1,700/head and you could get a party package at a hotel for 1,300/head and that included the decorations, and certain equipment for use.

Coz you know, between a bar (which would still have guests at the other areas) and a 3-4 star hotel, the hotel would almost always win. And if that's their package for a 100 pax party, it will turn off a lot of potential clients. But again, they might actually earn that amount on walk in customes on a friday, so I'm not a lost business for them.

Alchemy Bar and Bistro, also popped out on my Google search. The best part about it, is that it's actually pretty near Chea's office. So there's no way her co-workers won't be able to make it to the party even if it starts at 8 pm.

I first email corresponded with a certain Gordon, until Tina Currie (the owner) picked up the conversation from him.

I was told that the place had two floors and both floors could hold 100 guests. We could have the top floor completely blocked off for a minimum of 70,000 pesos. Now that's more like it.

I asked what the 70k package could give me, and she told me about a 3-hour open bar option (I'm liking it more with every email sent) for at least 380/pax which included local beers and certain cocktails. She agreed to adding iced teas and sodas since I assume half of our guests don't drink alcohol.

The remainder (320/pax) would be spent for pica pica foods such as canapes and their wood fire oven pizzas. Now I think I'm ok with the pica pica option and just tell our guests beforehand to have a light dinner before heading to the party. Or if they're light eaters, the pica pica food should suffice.

My sister picked up the email conversation for me, since she knows other things to ask as she's an events planner. I haven't been to the place, but i'll try to check it out before December.

I'm also planning to take a look at other bars near the place to see if there's a better option. Wish me luck!