Having sent many requests and combed through many emails and 42 proposals, 10 over site visits and 1 wedding show, I would like to announce officially that Singapore is lacking in romantic, affordable yet easy to plan solemnisation venues!

Jc and I spent several weekends heading down to some of the more popular hotels. We decided that a hotel is more economical, with many complimentary perks that they can throw in together with ready packages including food and decorations. Some of the common complimentary items that you should request for (and be thick skinned about it) is for at least a day room or a night’s stay with breakfest for 2, sound system (yes some actually don’t provide!), x% of invitation cards, y% of parking coupons, champange fountain (if you would like to do a toast), additional decorations (believe me, most are sparse, to say the least), LCD projector (if you’d love to share your slideshows/videos with your guests) and whatever you come across when comparing the different proposals from the different hotels!

Of course, this is true only if you are sourcing for a separate ROM venue. Hotels usually provide ROM venues for FREE if you hold your wedding banquet there as well. So, what we are doing now is to incur additional costs. Unfortunatey for us, we are holding our banquet much later, so we have to spend! =X

I would have loved to do it ala carte, i.e. book a random garden (Botanic Gardens, any of the reservoirs for example), and hire a caterer, florist and wedding planner to plan a grand solemnisation. It actually looks awesome (I’ve done my fair bit of online googling.) Unfortunately, this usually means that you would have to spend much more. But you should consider it, if you have the $ to spare!

Some of the hotels that I love are taken up on our chosen date: Goodwood Park’s Terrace or Private Pool area, and Raffles The Lawn. Others that are pleasing to us are Shangri-La’s Waterfall/Garden/Pavilion function rooms with a view, Changi Village Hotel’s Poolside and Crowne Plaza’s Poolside (you can actually see the airport tower from there!) Amara Sanctuary Resort’s Glass Pavillion is lovely too, but so is the $$$.

Several hotels also provide poolside or waterfall solemnisations. Just to name a few, Swissotel Merchant Court, Sheraton Towers Hotel and Parkroyal (Beach Road), Swissotel the Stamford are able to cater for such outdoor requests.

The majority of the hotels usually recommend function rooms. However, I find them bare and boring. I can never understand why people would want to say their vows there. Unless, of course, you are willing to spend a bomb to decorate the whole place up. Ambience, to me, to us, is the most critical factor.

Interesting venues other than the usual hotels and gardens, are restaurants hidden at Rochester Park! The ambience there is lovely but they charge a premium for it of course. That was the reason why we forego the proposal at One Rochester. Admittedly it is an exclusive and attractive venue, but, $5 000 for our special day is a tad too much to splurge on! Ours being 1.1.11; a hot date.

There is also the Ice Bar which is offering an ice experience for your solemnisation. Everything would be carved out of ice. How cool! But of course, you shouldn’t be expecting to wear your pretty gowns inside then!

Other popular choices are beach weddings (Sentosa is freaking expensive, but if you adore the sun, sand and sea, go for it!), chalet weddings (especially Changi Aloha Fairy Point No. 7) and even yacht weddings (expensive though, with little capacity)! 

However, if you prefer the ceremony to be simple and a close knit family affair, some Chinese restaurants do offer good sit down lunch, high-tea or dinner packages as well. At the end of the day, what matters most is that the couple feels is meaningful for them. You do not have to hold it grand to prove your love for each other.

As for us, we are still deciding on the venue! It’s such a nerve wrecking experience, worrying whether or not you get the best deal, the best coordinator, the best venue, etc! 

Most importantly, you must know what you want. Indoor/Outdoor, how many guests, your budget and creative ideas/themes that you want to execute with the assistance and approval of the site vendor! It’s a turn off if the coordinator cannot accede to your requests. It’s after all a once in a life time event, so do not back down!

Lastly, PRAY for GOOD WEATHER if yours is an outdoor wedding. I’m praying real hard, but if it really does rain, choose hotels with attactive function rooms which would be used for your backup venue. Note however that some hotels charge extra for the booking of the back up venue (and I believe, some actually forfeit the charges independent of whether or not you eventually use it!)

Swee