MANILA, Philippines ? A wedding with 150 to 200 guests is considered big in the United States. In the Philippines, that size is ?cozy? for weddings, where guest lists can go up to 2,000 people.

During her three-month research before launching Likha Event and Catering Specialists, Filipino-American caterer Charmaine Sandoval learned a lot about the local market, its huge size and unique demands.

?For one, the market here is much bigger than we first thought,? says the 26-year-old Los Angeles native and Likha chair. ?Competition is also quite stiff and not as welcoming.?

Likha, with its showroom and main kitchen at Eastwood, Quezon City (tel. 706-5421/706-5775), hopes to help elevate the art of throwing parties by introducing innovations.

Apart from a broad selection of international dishes whipped up by a team of Filipinos, Likha also has state-of-the-art equipment?from ?scuff-free? chairs to top-of-the-line chafing dishes and table linen?shipped from the US. It can also stage big outdoor parties using air-conditioned tents.

Finding its place

Likha is still slowly finding its place in the local industry, although it?s been in the US for almost 14 years now.

While its US-based company, JC Party Terms, is free to stage parties anywhere in southern California and Nevada, in the Philippines, Likha needs to first secure accreditation from major hotels and events venues.

Since Sandoval?s company, which was established by her father Sandy, decided to expand its operations across the Pacific early this year, it has done six parties so far, including a big wedding at the Laurel residence in Mandaluyong.

?We also do smaller projects like baptisms, birthdays, corporate events and afternoon parties here in our showroom,? says Sandoval.

Likha?s biggest party to date is a two-night event with a Hollywood- and ?50s-inspired theme in October, involving more than 2,000 guests a night.

The older Sandoval, a native of Bataan and Likha?s resident artist as well as the president and CEO of JC in the US, is primarily responsible for both companies? thematic arrangements.

A retired US Air Force personnel, he left the service in 1994 and pursued his passion for entertaining and interior design by setting up JC.

Ideas, he says, seem to pop out of nowhere. There have been times he gets inspiration from the shapes of trees as he drives on the freeway.

?We?re not as practical as the Americans,? the older Sandoval, who immigrated to California with his family at age six, observes. ?Hotdogs and potato chips certainly won?t do for us. Filipinos are so concerned with what others would say. We don?t want our guests to leave hungry, which explains the extra attention we put on food.?

Challenging

Through the years, JC, which has five branches in southern California, has done all sorts of themes, from Hannah Montana to Hollywood, complete with red carpet, walk of fame, street signs and director?s chairs.

One of the most challenging projects in LA was an outdoor Las Vegas-themed party in the middle of winter. After covering part of the swimming pool, he and his staff set up a temperature-controlled canopy.

In lieu of the Strip?s blazing lights, Sandoval came up with various vignettes in the form of lounging areas reminiscent of those found in the city?s iconic hotels. For good measure, he placed colorful floating objects in the pool a la Bellagio.

The biggest party they did was a week-long event staged by the Californian government to open a dam. The company found itself feeding close to 200,000 people and changing untold pieces of table linen during the event?s entire run.

?Like everybody in the States, we?ve been hit hard by the recession," says the older Sandoval. ?I?ve had to close one of our stores earlier this year. I was thinking of exploring other business opportunities until my daughter reminded me to give the Philippines a try.?

What they discovered is a rich, barely tapped market for big parties and events. Had the older Sandoval known about this before, he would have branched out, he says, 10 years ago.

?One of the most fulfilling parts of the business is to know that we?re appreciated,? he says. ?Whether in the Philippines or in the States, it doesn?t feel good to be paid for an event when the customer isn?t happy.?