Hence, from the start, we are looking for a venue that allows a minimum of 20 tables (or 200 pax), which leave us with pretty little options. Most hotels have a requirement of minimum 25 - 35 tables which is definitely out for us. We do not want to invite any Tom, Dick and Harry for the sake of inviting. We thought of going for restaurants too, but most restaurants have a maximum of 15 tables which is too small.
Below are the hotels we have short-listed during our search:
- Traders Hotel
Gallery ballroom (min. 22 tables)
Temasek Room (min. 15 tables)
- Price is really attractive at S$808 nett per table of 10. This is so affordable given that it is a sister hotel of Shangri-la. Very rare that we can find a not-bad hotel at such a rate. Based on reviews from the forums, the food is not bad too!
- Gallery Ballroom has a minimum 22 tables for lunch and 25 tables for dinner. It has 2 pillars and on the day we went to view the place, it was setup for another wedding, and the orientation of the tables looks so odd that the march in is probably going to be a zig-zag. The wedding coordinator advised it is due to the number of tables of the couple that day (can't remember what number). You are greeted with a pillar the moment you step in. Somehow, the overall feeling that hubby and I got of the room is odd. Very very odd. Ceiling is low too, although there's nice chandeliers. In general, the ballroom is very normal looking. Do not have the WOW kind of feeling. There's also less privacy for this ballroom as it's right where the lift is.
- Temasek Ballroom has a minimum of 15 tables, maximum 19 tables which is great for small weddings. It is pillarless, and is in a long rectangular shape. Ceiling is low as well, with not much of a WOW feel but it's ok. As the ballroom is long, you'll get a very long march-in which is really cool. But one concern I had when I was there is the march in is going to be really "squeezy" since the aisle looks really narrow, and somehow, i keep having the thoughts that I'll probably knocked on-to someone during my march-in since it's so narrow. Another thing that bugs me is it doesn't "feel" like a wedding venue. It doesn't feel grand, and doesn't wow me. It's an alright venue if you're not fussy and just want a place that can hold a small intimate wedding. As this is the very first venue we saw, intially, hubby and I were quite keen to get this place since it's really cheap, and it is afterall a 4-star hotel, not some random venue. But somehow, something just doesn't feel right, like it's not the-one, so we decide to go get "3 quotes". :)
- The coordinator is very business-like and is not warm and friendly. She does not give us a good feeling, and doesn't readily guide and share with us information. Not responsive as well. We asked her to send us some information during our meetup and she only sent after I did a follow-up email with her. I do not feel "safe" with her, and it seems like she only gives us answer when we ask, and if we did not ask anything, she did not say much. But we won't be able to ask what we dunno right? This is also the only coordinator we've met that did not offer us a parking coupon. No big deal, but it's these small little details that count right?
Good: cheap, sister hotel of Shangri-la
Bad: poor follow-up of coordinator, ballroom looks bland, venue is quite a walk from Orchard MRT (not too accessible for those who don't drive)
- Carlton Hotel
- Quite impressed with the lobby when we stepped in.
- Empress 1,2,3 requires a minimum 20-23 tables. Low ceiling with 6 pillars. Doesn't impress me nor hubby. It's okay, just nothing fabulous.
- The coordinator showed us Empress 4,5 which we did not intend to go see as we don't think we can match their requirement of minimum 25 tables. But once we saw the ballroom, we were WOWed. It's high ceiling, pillarless, looks and feels good! Only catch is it needs minimum 25 tables which we told the coordinator we won't be able to meet. She promised to help us check if we can get it at 20 tables (in the end, she couldn't get it to be 20, but managed to help us get min. 23 tables).
- The key factor that made me seriously consider Carlton was the coordinator Maureen. She's a gem! I'm not sure about after-service since I did not sign up with her, but she's such a awesome coordinator during pre-sales. A great difference compared to the lady from Traders. Maureen is keen to share with us details, information and even her own "research", like credit cards to use to get the most rebates etc. We feel so comfortable with her and feel that our wedding will be in good hands with a coordinator like her. This is something we did not get with the coordinator from Traders. Hubby and I were almost ready to sign up with her if she's able to help us get minimum 20 tables.
Good: nice pillar-less ballroom with high ceiling, friendly and nice coordinator, opposite City Hall MRT
Good: nice pillar-less ballroom with high ceiling, friendly and nice coordinator, opposite City Hall MRT
Bad: none actually. it's just that we can't meet their min. table requirement.
- Sheraton Towers Singapore
- Sheraton Towers has always been at the back of my mind because I can still remember
how awesome the food is after a corporate event I attended years back. After so many years, I still find myself recalling and missing how awesome the food is. I remembered telling myself back then, that I should hold my wedding there for the good food.
how awesome the food is after a corporate event I attended years back. After so many years, I still find myself recalling and missing how awesome the food is. I remembered telling myself back then, that I should hold my wedding there for the good food.
- Topaz room has a minimum 10 tables of 12 pax each, and up to 12 tables. This is too small. Probably better for ROM.
- The Grand Ballroom is really GRAND. OMG. My heart literally stopped when I saw the room. It's gorgeous and makes my heart flutter. It's like a dream come true. Super high ceiling, no pillars and super nice chandeliers and lightings. It looks so fabulous! And I need to mention about the staircase that leads from the lobby to the ballroom. It's the staircase I've always dream of since young. As a kid, I always dream of going up/down a grand staircase in my wedding gown. I love it!
- Grand Ballroom requires a minimum of 20 tables for lunch, but since it's on a 12pax/table basis, it means it's a minimum of 240 pax (which equates to 24 tables in other hotels). They are not willing to reduce the minimum number of tables for us, but the coordinator suggest as long as we get the 20 tables, we can allocate 10 pax/table (basically, we just need to meet the minimum purchase criteria). Works out to be S$100+/pax if we go with 10pax/table which is still okay and slightly more than Carlton. But the good thing about this is we can always increase another 40 person without adding tables (hence increasing cost). Adding headcounts will actually help us to lower the cost/pax which is good.
Good: Right beside Newton MRT, Gorgeous pillar-less ballroom with high ceiling and beautiful lights, grand staircase, coordinator appears pretty okay, Awesome food!
Bad: none actually
Good: Right beside Newton MRT, Gorgeous pillar-less ballroom with high ceiling and beautiful lights, grand staircase, coordinator appears pretty okay, Awesome food!
Bad: none actually
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