The one with the Wedding Banquet Venues

Saturday saw the both of us heading to two potential hotels on our list to recee and check out their banquet halls. We were thoroughly impressed with online reviews about the food quality and were psyched up to see if the banquet halls were just as good. Good food is essential because I've been to too many weddings and have on more than one occasion heard complaints about how bad the food was which resulted in everyone having a lousy time. No way that's gonna happen during my wedding. All guests shall come feeling congratulatory and leave feeling stuffed and satisfied.
Pls note that all opinions are subjective as I am a rather picky bride-to-be *guilty*

This was my original list of hotels to check out. In the end, we narrowed it down to 2.

1) The Regent Royal Pavillion Ballroom
2) Grand Park City Hall - I really didn't fancy the location. It seems too sleezy for a wedding banquet.
3) Grand Copthorne Waterfront - Affordable but inconvenient.
4) Marriot Grand Ballroom
5) Conrad Centennial - Really beautiful but really pricey :(

Regent Hotel

The Regent hotel was lovely, being a member of the Four Season's group gave us the confidence that we will be in good hands and a quick email appointment with Sheau Wei, one of Regent's wedding coordinator saw us rushing down bright and early on Saturday as she was kind enough to squeeze in a slot for us.

Before I go on, I'd just like to point out that I've always envisioned having a private space sectioned off for my guests before the banquet actually starts. It gives the privacy that I think is important for my guests to mingle amongst themselves without the general public kpo-ing about. Besides having the ang bow box on full display is already very nerve-wrecking.

The Regent has a beautiful lobby, and it smells nice too. (I know I know.. there's something about me and needing the venue to smell nice... gives that little extra something, you know?) Before entering the ballroom, Sheau Wei informed us that their hotel cafe will serve as the main holding area for our guests at the lobby once the cafe closes at 6pm. We were apprehensive about guests mingling at the lobby with the public and not having a private enclosed area for us like some other hotels have. The holding area was right in front of the main hotel door, around the elevators and in front of the ballroom which means zero privacy and having your wedding pictures and hong baos boxes exposed in public lobby area.
But the ballroom was really lovely! We chanced upon the staff prepping for a wedding dinner that night and the decor was sooo beautiful! However, there are 2 large pillars at the side of the room which may block the view of a couple of tables. But SW said that if we have less than 40 tables, they'll have room to shift the tables around and not place any behind the pillars. The walkway from the door to the stage is not very long and will prob take about... 20s of a song before we reached the foot of the stage. We also realized that the ceiling was not as high as we thought it was.

So we sat down with SW to discuss the details and as we went on, I glanced over and saw the creases between hubby's forehead getting deeper, and with good reasons. Even though the date we were looking to hold our banquet falls on a Friday, it is a public holiday and the Regent was pretty stringent on the minimum tables required. They stand firm at 35 tables and if should we decide on lesser tables, we had to compensate in the form of alcohol or an upgrade of menu.

On the topic of the menu, it has one of the most astounding spread that I've ever seen. Any bride and groom will be completely spoilt for choice because it was really comprehensive and had so much more options than what other hotels were offering, and coming from the award winning Summer Palace no less. But upon further scrutiny of the menu, we were shocked to discover that amidst all the salivation-worthy dishes, abalone is not one of them. Not a single slice of abalone to be found on the menu. Instead they have 'conch' which according to SW taste very similar to abalone. Why would I cheat my guests?! SW then directed my attention to the menu enhancement page where baby abalones can be orderd at a min charge of $150 per table. So for 35 tables, that's an additional $5250 for abalones which should have been in the menu for a $1450 nett table! Wow... I can get 70-80 cans of regular sized abalone from NTUC with that money. Damn we can even pay for airtickets to our honeymoon with that money!

SW suggested that we should have 30 + 2 tables and instead of  letting the additional 3 tables go to waste, we could top up for the abalone upgrade plus another barrel of beer which will put us on par with the price of 35 tables. By now, hubby and I were reeling from the unjustified costs and feeling a tad bitter about their inflexibility with the table requirements seeing that it's not a super auspicious date.

We asked to see the bridal suite but it was unfortunately occupied. So it was adios to any remaining chance that Regent has to wow us over after hearing the costs that we have to incur.

We left feeling rather dejected. But at least we've crossed one off our list.

For the benefits of those considering The Regent, here are some pictures of the themes of Regent. I'm very sure many of you will swoon like I did when I first saw them.

 

Pictures from Regent Hotel's website

Like seriously? How NOT to like?? *breathes*

But oh welsh, it was just too bad.

On to the next!

Marriot Grand Ballroom

We were greeted by the friendly Samantha, one of the Marriot's coordinators who just happened to be my college 学妹. All discussions were carried out before I knew we went to the same college, which I think is just serendipitous. She was nothing short of genial, obliging and amazing. We appreciate how upfront she was about the costs of everything and how understanding she was with regards to the table requirements and our budget ceiling.

We toured the ballroom which was located on the 3rd floor, away from the public's eye and had our ideal reception foyer in front of the grand ballroom to ourselves. Perfect! The ballroom was pillar-less with high ceiling that could accomodate up to 55 tables. They only had 3 themes to choose from and they were less grand than The Regent but good enough for a wedding. The menu was comprehensive enough although fewer choices than The Regent. But all in all, the perks that Marriott offer, coupled with the prime location of the hotel and how it's conveniently located outside the CBD area which allow our guests the luxury of not paying ERP, the easy access to MRT, buses and cabs for guests who do not drive is too good to pass up. The Junior suite is big and spacious, not to mention newly renovated! With a front living area and 2 bathrooms, one for my bridesmaids and one for the wedding couple. Plus a private escape door in the 2nd bathroom so that the bride can make her way to the lift lobby without needing to waddle her way through the living area of the suite. How smart :) And yes, the lobby smells damn awesome.

Everything that I've asked of Samantha was answered by a jovial, "Sure not a problem!" It was a really good contrast as compared to Regent's "I'm sorry I can't." or "No I'm afraid not."
Affordability check, menu check, location check, perks and benefits triple checked.

So here we are, Marriot couple of March 2013.

"Banquet venue, done."

Some pictures for anyone who is giving Marriott a thought. The lights can be changed to whatever colour you want to match your theme. Super duper cool. :)

 

Enchanting Elegance

Oriental Charm

Pretty pink lights!

Junior Suite Bedroom

Junior Suite Living Area

Floor Plan of Banquet Hall plus Foyer

* Just a friendly note, Samantha has since left Marriott Singapore.