For those who have been following my blog, you should have already read that we signed the deal with The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia. I thought I'll share the various venues that we shortlisted/ visited before making our decision, hopefully it will be helpful to Brides-to-be out there!
We decided that our wedding in SG will be an intimate one with around 20 tables. Finding a suitable venue was harder than I thought! Most venues (especially ballrooms) required >30 tables and we didn't really fancy those smaller function/ meeting rooms.
In a nutshell we needed a venue that:
serves Chinese cuisine could fit 200 guests no less is fairly spacious has excellent service is available on December 2016, Saturdays dinner onlyI started my search with these few places in mind:
1. Yàn
2. Chijmes Hall
3. The Clifford Pier, Fullerton Bay Hotel
4. The Westin
5. Capella
6. Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa
7. Ritz-Carlton, Millenia
Yàn 宴
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| Photo from http://www.yan.com.sg/ |
Fell in love with the National Gallery after my first visit, and I always thought it will be pretty place for an intimate wedding, but too bad for us as weddings are not allowed at the event spaces. What a waste. The next best thing I could think of was to have the dinner at a Chinese restaurant that is located in the Gallery. Googled and found Yàn, a restaurant that serves Cantonese cuisine and reviews were great. Both W & I are half Cantonese so this would definitely work for our tastebuds! A look into their menu was good enough to make me salivate, think crispy roast suckling pig, braised 4 head whole abalone, Peking duck - all my favourite dishes. Emailed them hurriedly and got an uber quick (12 mins to be exact) response from Henry who is the Business Development Manager, he also included the floor plan of the restaurant and the wedding dinner packages for 2016. There were two menus to choose from, both 8-course (either S$98++ or S$128++ per pax). To our dismay, the restaurant could only fit 150 guests 
. If we could we would, but it was impossible for us to trim 50 guests.
. If we could we would, but it was impossible for us to trim 50 guests.Address: #05-02 National Gallery Singapore, 1 St. Andrew's Road Singapore 178957
Tel: +65 63845585
Email: henry.chiok@yan.com.sg
Capacity: 150 guests
Website
Chijmes Hall
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| Photo from http://chijmes.com.sg/ |
Showed photos of the Chijmes Hall to W and he was eager to check out this venue! This Gothic styled 19th century chapel is so charming on its own. We visited the venue and it didn't disappoint, a wedding was happening on that very afternoon so we saw the full set-up which gave us a clearer picture of how it will look like on the actual day!
Wedding planners, Ashley & Xinyi were very friendly and helpful via emails and on our visit too, it was our pleasure to discuss our wedding with them! However, if you are thinking of holding your wedding here, do take note that:
1. There isn't an attached bath at the bridal room (situated behind the stage),
2. It is a very popular venue so please book in advance.
Yes, there isn't an attached bath at the bridal room. Which meant that if we (bride/ groom) would need to use the bathroom, we would have to use the public one. It isn't located too far away but it is unsheltered from the bridal room's exit. The other way to get to the bathroom, would be the route that all your guests will be using which is sheltered, but slightly further. That was a real problem for me since I can't really imagine using a public bath in my dresses. To be honest, for such a beautiful location, it will still be worth thinking about it.
A very popular venue indeed. I got in touch with them in February 2016 and they were already fully booked for November/ December 2016. Only one Saturday was available for dinner in January 2017, two Saturdays in February 2017 and March was pretty much still available. So, brides-to-be if this is your dream location, please book a year in advance, no less!
The wedding booklet given to us was very useful, you will find floor plans of the hall (for solemnization, banquet round table setting and long table setting) and information on the seating capacity too, perfect for couples (like us) who prefer to eyeball than imagine! I will assume great Chinese cuisine will be served since it is from the kitchens of Tung Lok.
Dinner packages starts from S$1288++ for weddings on weekends.
We dropped this venue as our wedding has to be in December and they are already fully booked, no chance to even worry about the bathroom situation further.
Address: 30 Victoria Street, Singapore 187996
Tel: +65 63365320
Email: chijmes@watabe-wedding.com.sg (Ashley/ Xinyi)
Capacity: 300 guests (round table setting)/ 250 guests (long table setting)
Website
The Clifford Pier - Fullerton Bay Hotel
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| Photo from http://www.fullertonbayhotel.com/en/dining/the-clifford-pier |
Service was excellent at the restaurant when we visited on a Sunday to check the venue out (while enjoying their Heritage Dim Sum brunch). However, the service I received from the Assistant Events Manager was really disappointing. Why was I receiving such lousy service from a 5-star hotel?
Already annoyed that the Assistant Events Manager could not seem to find a time to meet us/ me. I suggested a Saturday and she said she is not available and asked for another preferred date to meet, so I suggested a Sunday and she said it is their rest day...ok...I can understand. So, I explained to her that we are seldom back in Singapore and would have to organise our time a little (hoping that she will give us a solution or find ways to meet us) but no, she just asked me to get back to her once we set our schedules and will be delighted to be of assistance. I'm definitely not getting any assistance here and feeling quite displeased already.
So finally found time to meet this Assistant Events Manager on a Friday at 4.30pm, she was polite and friendly and I told her we were really interested in holding our wedding dinner there and needed more details like kids' menu for guests under 12 year old, table set-up arrangement, hotel room rates etc. before we could make the booking. The meeting went pretty well I thought and I totally forgot about the annoyance I had previously - maybe I was too demanding I thought! So, she said she will email me the details "by tomorrow" - which never happened. The weekend passed, cut her some slack since maybe she had another meeting on that Saturday and Sunday is her rest day. Monday came, I managed to speak to her via her office line at noon and reminded her to send me the details (I was worried that she didn't get my email address correctly or whatever reasons), and she said she will do so "by today" as she was trying to get the floor plan out from another colleague/ department. And evening came, W called into her office to only find out from her colleague that she had left the office for the day and my calls to her mobile phone were not returned. FINALLY the email finally came in on Tuesday 9.42am to my inbox without any apologies for the delay or a phone call or a text to let me know. What kind of service was that Fullerton Bay Hotel?
W & I were utterly disappointed with the level of service we got from her and unanimously decided that we will drop this venue because of the shitty service from this lovely lovely hotel. I ignored her email and it has been a month since, with no follow ups either. I only can conclude that the Fullerton Bay Hotel is not keen on holding my wedding dinner, period.
If you were wondering what was in the email:
The Westin Singapore
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| Photo from http://www.thewestinsingapore.com/ |
Although the Chinese menu looked pretty decent but it sure didn't impress The Food Chapter. Ok, quite affected after reading her post but I really didn't want to bore my guests with "yet another hotel food". Service from the hotel was great, the reception was really warm and welcoming. We met up with the Assistant Sales Manager and boy, she was really pushy! I received 4 messages from her for updates/ decision in a span of 10 days, that's almost every other day! I remember once she even rang my mobile for a decision, I had to ask her if it was because there were another couple eyeing our date causing this urgency, I will totally understand if that was the case. But her reply was "no" and I remembered being at loss of words for about 5 seconds, I didn't want to be mean but hey, take a chill pill mate.
Saturday dinner packages starts from S$1,628++ per table, with choice of Chinese, Western or International Buffet.
Address: 12 Marina View, Asia Square Tower 2, Singapore 018916
Tel: +65 69226891/ +65 69226890
Capacity: 220 guests (Ballroom 1), 110 guests (Ballroom 2), 340 guests (Grand Ballroom)
Website
P.s. Just received an email to provide feedback from them, how timely!
Capella - Sentosa Room
Can't find a photo of Capella's Sentosa Room on their website, so just got to make do with this floorplan sent to me by the their Wedding Planner. Love the luxurious environment of the hotel, with lush greeneries and a view of the South China Sea, I could understand why W was adamant to have Capella on our list. We attended our first wedding dinner together the Grand Ballroom and it must've stolen his heart! But too bad for us, the Grand Ballroom needed a minimum of 35 tables. While the Sentosa Room could only fit a maximum of 18 tables (trimming 20 guests was not impossible but it will be brutal). We met the Wedding Planner at Bob's Bar on a nice Saturday afternoon, enjoying every bit of the hotel and service was first class. We couldn't view the actual site on that day as it was booked but the planner was really efficient, sent us the layout (photo above), the availabilities of the room and details of making a tentative booking within an hour. We also requested for some photos of the room at night as we wanted to know how it looks like exactly, she also included in that email that she will do so by the week. I never did receive those photos but she did follow up with us if we were still keen on the venue about 3 weeks later. We weren't really keen on the layout/ shape of the Sentosa Room, the table arrangement for 180 guests looked messy (if you like your symmetry, this won't work) and it does not have the high ceiling that we were looking for. I think it will be better for couples with around 150 guests.
Weekend dinner packages starts from S$1,788++ with choice of Cantonese or Western cuisines.
Address: 1 The Knolls, Sentosa Island, Singapore 098297
Tel: +65 65915082/ +65 65915093
Email: gr.singapore@capellahotels.com
Capacity: 180 guests
Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa
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| Photo from http://www.shangri-la.com/singapore/rasasentosaresort/ |
It was really this that caught my attention, I think this is one of the most beautiful places in Singapore to hold your solemnization. It's still true when we arrived at the waterfront, really pretty!
But the ballrooms weren't exciting enough for us. The Horizon Pavilion Ballroom felt a little dated. The Siloso Ballrooms looked like 'dungeons' to me, with the stoned walls and zero windows (didn't manage to take photos as they was a wedding going on).
But the ballrooms weren't exciting enough for us. The Horizon Pavilion Ballroom felt a little dated. The Siloso Ballrooms looked like 'dungeons' to me, with the stoned walls and zero windows (didn't manage to take photos as they was a wedding going on).
The Events Manager who met up with us was friendly and eager to assist us in all ways, I appreciated that. However we didn't enjoy the resort/ casual feel of the hotel, it will be quite a mismatch to our theme & our personalities! They venues were pretty much fully booked for December too! Brides-to-be who prefer a beach/ casual wedding, you have got not much time to waste!
Weekend dinner packages starts from S$1,338++ per table for the Horizon Pavilion Ballroom.
Address: 101 Siloso Road, Sentosa, Singapore 098970
Tel: +65 63712966
Email: events.sen@shangri-la.com
Capacity: 320 guests, minimum 250 guests (Horizon Pavilion Ballroom)
Ritz-Carlton, Millenia
Got in touch with Ritz and was told that their Grand Ballroom could hold 1,200 guests and their minimum was 400 guests for wedding dinners 
. But! Their Wedding Consultant was quick to add that they had another venue that would fit our guests perfectly and it was the Garden Pavilion! This venue can't be found on their website and google didn't help much for once! I could only have a sneak peek from this write-up here. I waited patiently for them to email me more photos of the site. I was very very very curious about this venue cause it didn't seem very popular! Haven't seen or heard of any weddings that were held here either! However, I had a little feeling that I should still make my way down and have a look at it with my own eyes. Met up with Ritz's Wedding Consultant and had a good look at the site...and I LOVED IT! Although the venue was bare when I visited, I felt it would be perfect for our wedding! It had this cosy and elegant vibes that I was looking for! Loved the onion-shaped ceiling! I've always liked marquee weddings, and I know Alkaff Mansion has it but we needed a venue that serves Chinese cuisine and we wanted the comfort of a hotel. So this was like a hybrid designed for us!
. But! Their Wedding Consultant was quick to add that they had another venue that would fit our guests perfectly and it was the Garden Pavilion! This venue can't be found on their website and google didn't help much for once! I could only have a sneak peek from this write-up here. I waited patiently for them to email me more photos of the site. I was very very very curious about this venue cause it didn't seem very popular! Haven't seen or heard of any weddings that were held here either! However, I had a little feeling that I should still make my way down and have a look at it with my own eyes. Met up with Ritz's Wedding Consultant and had a good look at the site...and I LOVED IT! Although the venue was bare when I visited, I felt it would be perfect for our wedding! It had this cosy and elegant vibes that I was looking for! Loved the onion-shaped ceiling! I've always liked marquee weddings, and I know Alkaff Mansion has it but we needed a venue that serves Chinese cuisine and we wanted the comfort of a hotel. So this was like a hybrid designed for us!
Had a great chat with their Wedding Consultant who gave me 5-star service. Not pushy at all, and she took effort to understand what we wanted for the wedding and gave us great alternatives. The only downside which I think deterred many couples from picking this venue is the rental charge for using the pavilion, which costs S$8,000++ for 8 hours. I had a little internal struggle when I found out about the charge to be honest. But we decided to go for it nonetheless cause we really liked it!
The pavilion is located beside the hotel entrance actually, you will have to walk down a couple of steps to reach it.
And a few more steps to get to the entrance of the venue.
And that's my mom photobombing my photo! But yea, the bare pavilion which hopefully will turn out pretty when it's decorated!
The side of the pavilion, which we intend to hold our solemnization.
Wished I took more photos! Maybe I'll make a visit to the venue when I get back to SG haha! Excited much! Brides-to-be, another venue to consider if you like marquee weddings!
Weekend dinner packages starts from S$1,878++.
Address: 7 Raffles Avenue, Singapore 039799
Tel: +65 64345015
Email: celeste.teo@ritzcarlton.com
Capacity: 200 guests
With 
,
,
Gina
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