The Banquet Venue

19th August 2008

Once the dates has been given to us by the Geomancer, we were busy shopping for banquet venues.

Some were mindblowing. Some drew a straight negative unanimously from Darren and I. Some venues simply made us think really hard. Some venues offer a very comprehensive package, but the venue just doesn’t look like what we have in mind. Whereas some looked so splendid but we are sure our budget did not allow it.

So here are the places we went:

• 18th July – Conrad Centennial
• 22nd July – Marriott
• 26th July – Mandarin Oriental
• 1st Aug – Swissotel the Stamford
• 2nd Aug – Orchard Hotel
• 2nd Aug – Four Seasons
• 4th Aug – Grand Copthorne Waterfront
• 6th Aug – The Regent

The venues we fell in love with were: Mandarin Oriental, Grand Copthorne Waterfront and The Regent. Aiyoh!! I must say, it is a very tiring process. I mean its impossible to view every hotel listed on the bridal magazines. Its another “looking for love” process, just like when we were shopping for gowns. After all the shopping, it took us another two to three weeks before we confirmed which venue really suited us.

And for this aspect, I must say Darren really was wonderful. Because he gave up his choice of Waterfront for my choice of Mandarin Oriental, all because I love it so much!

But me being a procrastinator, I spent another one week having a tug of war in my head – contemplating where my final final vote should really really go to before the final decision is made. Lol! I mean besides the small little perks each hotels offers, the little difference in cost and other factors would also play important factors to our big day.

But well, after much hesitation and thoughts, our choice venue is…. *drumroll*… Mandarin Oriental!

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I think from our experience, this is what we can share:

STEP 1: Determine the estimated number of guests. Ballrooms come in all sizes so its good to know how many people you are looking at.

STEP 2: Email the hotels you are interested in, visit those you think is within your budget and speak to the coordinator. This person is going to be one of the most important person you will work with for your wedding, so you’ve got to be comfortable. IMPT: Don’t bother visiting places that is off your budget. You will suffer unnecessary heartache and anxiety. *sigh*

STEP 3:Shortlist the hotels you love and look through their package carefully. Feel free to negotiate for things you feel is important. Take note of hidden costs like:

• Pricing - Is it $1000 nett or $1000 ++? Nett means you pay $1000 exactly, ++ means you multiply 1.177 la (10% Svc Charge; 7% GST on the $1000 and another 7% GST on the Svc Charge)…
• Wine corkages
  
• Additional beer (Some hotels offer free flow, some only 1 barrel free)
• No of nights stay in bridal suite (Some offer 2N, some 1N)
• LCD Projectors (This is stupid, because most hotels CHARGE for projector rental and it can be as expensive as $600!!)
• Food Tasting (Some hotels offer it free, some charge 50%, some offer free for 6 people) – if you dun need this, you can try exchange it for a free table on actual day.
• Dinner provided for couple on wedding day (I think this is important, because you are not going to eat much earlier in the day and during the banquet)
• Some other things offered might be helpers room or room for anniversary. If you do not need this, exchange it for something else more useful.

This is a rough guide that I can recall. Darren has been very meticulous, taking note of all the small details and doing all the calculation so that its easier for us to see how much of our budget would we exceed. Thankfully I have him around yea!

~*~

So voila, we are one step ahead in our process!! After making the choice, its now time to go review the contract terms before paying the deposit and signing on the dotted lines!

 

2nd September 2008

One step forward. We viewed the contract and being delighted newlyweds-to-be, we signed on the dotted lines and paid the deposit! Yeah a little pinch to see leakages in our finances, but we sure are very excited!!