The Quest for the Perfect Venue

Before you embark on your quest to find the ideal venue for your dream debut party, you should be armed with certain details first. Research what you can on the internet, call if you have to and list down prospective venues for your 18th birthday celebration.

If you have a dream venue (and by dream, I mean famous and expensive) for your debut party and you have the budget to back that up, then by all means book it, and book it fast! Some of these famous establishments are so in demand that it is hard to book them on such short notice, most especially if your party falls on a weekend. For these venues, they require that you book at least three to six months before the date. So, if you’ve successfully booked your dream venue, I congratulate you!

If you are still figuring out what venue to choose, these are things that you need to consider. You might be surprised that all it takes is easy as A-B-C!

A — Ask around. As I’ve said before, happy customers often beats a 30-second TV ad commercial. Ask your friends where they held their 18th birthday parties and how they feel about their venue. Ask them to rate it. Also ask them on other prospective venues that they have seen or scouted.

B — Budget! How much are you willing to shell out for your venue. Some consider this as the ultimate consideration. Now, don’t go melancholy on me just because you weren’t able to book the venue you want. Move on.. As they say, there are a lot of fish in the sea. Actually, I lost count of how many they are in our Venues section. It’s no use picking a venue that is so expensive, you don’t have enough budget left for food. Remember that your guests need to eat.

C — Count them. How many will you be inviting. It is extremely important to know how many guests you will be inviting. Knowing this would help a lot in choosing your venue because your main consideration in looking for the perfect venue is its capacity. If you are planning on inviting around 100 guests, look for a venue that can easily accommodate 100-150 people. That way, if more guests come than what you expected, you would be able to accommodate them. It would totally be embarrassing to let them wait for some of the guests to finish eating so they can take their place on the table. Totally uncool.

D — Debut packages. If your venue has a special debut package that you can avail, weigh it against having separate suppliers for everything. It will be worry-free if you avail of those packages because they usually take care of everything so you don’t have to worry about anything. On the other hand, there is freedom in having separate suppliers because you can choose the supplier that you want. Some venues, however, only want accredited caterers to cater for an event in their venue, so ask that as well.

E — Extras. If you are going for the rental of the venue alone, ask what will be included in the rental (lighting, sound system, spotlight, decorations, etc.) This will be important to know so you can cross this out later in your checklist. Determine what features you won’t be using so that you can use the money you can save for other things.

F — Freebies. Also ask what freebies they can give you so you would consider them over the other venues. An extra hour for free would be a good deal.

G — Got a theme in mind? If you have, you should consider that as well. A garden venue works well for whimsical themes like Fairies theme, A Midsummer Night’s Dream theme, Butterfly theme, Green Earth theme, Cherry Blossoms Zen-inspired theme, etc. A mini-auditorium would work well for Awards Night-inspired theme or a Fashion Runway-inspired theme. Bars would work well for the Rave theme, Glam-Rock theme, Disco Night theme, etc. Function Rooms are much more flexible. It is like a blank canvass waiting for a masterpiece painting. It would depend on how you decorate the room to adhere to your theme.

H — Hmmm… I think I don’t have something to put for H, but the following are important too.

I — Is there enough parking space for your guests. Sometimes parking spaces can be a real problem. Guests would obviously want their vehicles parked in a well-lighted and guarded spot. If they park at a dark alley, they would naturally go out often to check on their cars.

Another important consideration in looking for a good venue is to know whether the place is accessible and easy to go to. You don’t want your guests still looking for your debut party venue while you’re already doing your grand entrance do you?

If all details cannot be met by a single venue, choose those that are most important to you and make that as your basis. When you have these details settled, you can now do the leg work and visit your prospective 18th birthday party venues. The moment that you see the venue, you will know. Everything will flow freely from you as if by magic, you will picture the venue as if you are in your own debut doing your grand entrance, and you will know it is the one.

50 thoughts on “The Quest for the Perfect Venue

  1. Hi there, great site you have here!
    I was thinking if you could help me decide on a venue. My folks wants a formal hotel while I’m leaning towards a bar or club. I want a compromise though. Something classy but modern in Manila/Makati/QC. Have a place in mind?
    It would be very helpful if you could. Thanks!

  2. I am currently planning my debut and I was wondering if Ibarra’s garden would be a good venue for a masquerade themed debut.

  3. Hi Ana Antolin,

    Ibarra’s garden is a gorgeous event venue and it’s definitely a great venue for your masquerade themed debut party.

  4. hi! i’m planning for a glam-rock debut. can you suggest venues where i can celebrate my debut? venues in alabang, tagaytay, sta. rosa laguna & san pedro, laguna. tnx.(:

  5. hello.. ๐Ÿ™‚ i am planning my 18 birthday this march i’m currently living in pateros do you mind suggesting a place that is inexpensive? my budget is only 30-50k any other suggestion? my ideal theme party is hawaiian thnx

  6. Hi Elysa,

    What are your interests? Themes should actually reflect your personality. For instance, if you are a fan of rock music, then go for a rock themed debut! We have some themes here — http://debutideas.com/?cat=5 we hope this can help you ๐Ÿ™‚

    Happy planning!

  7. hi. great site you have there ๐Ÿ™‚

    i need some help from you on how to organize my galaxy themed debut party ๐Ÿ™‚ i mean, in what to wear, what would my guest wear. how would the venue will turn out to be, replacing my 18 candles, roses etc into something thats unique and all. :)) looking forward for your response. its really urgent :)) im stressed out

  8. Hi Chachayy,

    For a galaxy themed party, I’m thinking of silvery stuff, more like a planetarium effect for the venue. Hang styro balls (paint it so it looks like a planet and make some with rings) and stars in your venue. You may ask your guests to wear dark colored gowns particularly on the dark bluish side (to create an ambiance of outer space) Distribute foreheadbands with a wire sticking up to show a silver star so that each guest will be like a star and when they move the star will move with them. For your 18s, have them wear 18 planet foreheadbands so that they will look like planets rotating around you. You may be the sun so that you will be dressed in a yellow gown or a white or midnight blue gown with silver trimmings (the shimmery the better). For your 18s, you can have 18 stars, 18 planets (since we only have 9, you can have 2 18s in one planet) 18 galaxies, 18 universes, 18 moons. Hope this helps.

  9. Hi Athena,

    We have a list of event stylist or party planner in this link Party Planners. Some of the balloon and flower suppliers also do stage design so you may want to ask them of their services. hope this helps.

  10. Hi, I’m Charmaine Pontigon. I was just wondering If you have any suggestions for the venue of my debut on December. I want it to be a pretty good place and not just a function hall or a big room but It should b like not more than 100k if inclusive of a package. I’m hoping you’ll reply. thanks. Btw, If possible I want it to be kind of near manila or UST,not a 2 hr or 1 and a half hour away. thanks. (:

  11. Hi Charmaine,

    December can be quite a busy month since there are lots of parties, corporate and private events going on. If you want to secure a good venue for your debut, I suggest you look and reserve for a place a few months in advance. You can check out our listings of venues. We suggest that you visit some of the places to have a feel of the space. It will also give you some ideas on where to place the tables, chairs, dance floor, buffet table, etc. Most of the venues do have their preferred caterers or vendors so if you are working with a budget, try to ask if they can accommodate caterers outside of their list. Hope this helps!

  12. hello, i’ll be celebrating my debut on september. is it fine if i’ll be having a pool party?

  13. Hi Gen,

    Just because it’s in September it does not mean you cannot have a Pool party for your debut! The best option, of course, is to have an indoor pool party. However, if you plan to have an outdoor pool party then there are some things you do have to consider, though.

    First, you have to be prepared for the possibility of rain. Make sure you have a tent, umbrella or any sort of covering for your tables and food table. You can also provide umbrellas for your guests in case it rains.
    Outdoor Pool party
    Place a lot of chairs or lounges where guests can sit down and mingle. Place some pillows or cushions for that cozy ambience. Make sure that there is enough seating for everyone. Scatter the chairs and tables around the garden to utilize all the space. Create large seating areas to facilitate conversation among your guests. Make sure that you put enough shades in the area.

    Hope this helps!

  14. Hi ๐Ÿ™‚ My birthday is in July and I still don’t have a venue >_< I want to have pool party for about 70-80 people around the Q.C. area. Any suggestions? ๐Ÿ™‚ Thank you :]

  15. Hello! I’ll be celebrating my debut this coming Sept.8 and my theme would be A Party that Rocks. I’m really in a rush in finding a venue that suits my theme near here in my place in Paraรฑaque. Is there a venue perfect for my theme in here? or maybe the venue could be in Pasay or Alabang. i just need it to be real near Paraรฑaque. HELP! Desperate girl in need here. >.<

    Thanks and more powers to you ?

  16. hey! ๐Ÿ™‚ im in a rush! i never thought i would want to have a debut.. my birthday is on 13th of September.. and im on a rush finding a cheap venue.. i want a garden one but i think thats expensive.. i really dont know how to start… im in a tight budget too. please help. thanks!
    p.s i live in pasay so sana un near lang din na place. ๐Ÿ™‚
    thank you!

  17. Hi Michelle,

    We apologize for not replying sooner. These are the venues that we have in the Pasay area. The thing is we just post their info so that you may contact them or go to the venue to see it for yourself and then decide from there. Hope you found your venue by now.

  18. Hi. I’m looking for a restaurant or hotel in Quezon City that has a really affordable debut package. I only have a budget of 30k. Thanks!

  19. hi i’m going to 18 next yr and i want to have a grand debut but affordable and i want to have a staircase entrance debut ? can you help me find a venue for that except for the glass garden ๐Ÿ™‚ .. thx ๐Ÿ™‚
    take care :*

  20. hi i’m hershey, i’m going to 18 nxt yr and its january, meron po ba kayong alam na venue here in metro manila n ang entrance po ay staircase but affordable po. except for the glass garden.. thank you and godbless :))) sna my mgreply :))

  21. hi again, , meron po ba kayong alam na venue here in metro manila pool party po prang resort po yung affordable po, my mom decide na my pool n lng daw po n prang resort.. thank you po, godbless :))

  22. This September kasi magdedebut kami ng twin ko and wala pa rin kaming venue. May alam po ba kayong indoor venue around manila or quezon city na affordable for 150 pax. Thanks for your help ????

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