To get the brief overview of planning your own wedding yourself, you can refer to my past post: The importance of planning ahead.
When le fiance and I first started our wedding planning journey last year, we absolutely have no idea what to look out for. But the first thing in our mind is to source for our wedding venue as I always hearsay that you have to book the venue 15 months in advance! So we start searching for venues, and shortlisting them way ahead.
As known by our friends, le fiance and I are the most laziest couple ever when it comes to venturing out to search for things so tediously. So when we were searching for venues, we just google for images and shortlisted only 4 venues according to the location, capacity and decorations. So if you are someone like us, do that and save your time visiting the venues and getting disappointed. Trust me, it really save a lot of time and energy.
Things that we take into consideration:
- Location
- Perks that come with the wedding package
- Capacity
- Decorations/ Wedding favors
- Attitude of the coordinator
- Within your budget
- Bridal Suite/ Holding area
We are more inclined towards booking a restaurant as our wedding venue because we are more concerned about food as we want to ensure that our guests enjoy the food as much as possible since they come all the way down to celebrate our special occasion. As le fiance stays in the west, we preferred the west or central location. Wedding packages that comes with all the perks is also important so as to see if you can negotiate for a better deal as there may be some of the things that you might not need and you can get a replacement of other stuffs. This can help you to keep within your budget as well. Attitude of the coordinators is really important as coordinators are there to ensure the smooth wedding planning journey rather than causing mental obstacles.
Would you want to add extra headache if you cannot contact your coordinator or get his prompt responses while chasing him for things to get done?
Hotels normally comes with a bridal suite, while restaurants or other venues might come with a changing room. Whats matters is whether you will have a place for helpers to rest, allowing you to change your wedding attires and storing your valuables as well. There was once I remembered, I read a review of a bride who said that her changing room at a certain restaurant was so small, cramped and smelly that it gave her so much discomfort that it spoiled her wedding day.
Several websites like the wedding forums and wedding websites are really useful in narrowing down your search like Singapore Brides, Wedding Forum SG and Perfect Wedding Forum. I frequented those websites most of the time on my starting journey and get the inside reviews of the venues.
And the venues we shortlisted: Fu Lin Men @ JCC, Orchid Country Club, Genting Hotel and Joyden Hall @ Bugis +. I will not displayed the packages prices as it differ every year so just visit the Singapore Brides website as they have the wedding packages of different venues displayed. 🙂
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First stop: Fu Lin Men @ Jurong Country Club
I shortlisted this because I heard good reviews about the food and the location is extremely near the MRT station. When I saw the virtual tour of the banquet room in Singapore Brides, I instantly fell in love with the bright decor and the chandelier lighting. And I just love the stage setting! The walk in is extremely short which is ideal for both of us as we were quite introverted couple so we dislike much attention on us for too long. So as I explained to people how I prefer a short walk way because I do not like eyes on me, my friends rolled eyes about that and said wedded couple are meant to be in the center of attraction!
We actually walked in before their opening hours in the afternoon without making any appointment, but the banquet assistant manager was so friendly and kind enough to bring us around the room and show us the bridal room as well as the ROM outdoor venue. A very big plus point from me. He even gestured the waitress to serve us water while we waited for him to take out all the portfolios of their wedding invitation cards, wedding favors as well as the table centerpieces decor. We like him instantly and we thought we will just stick to this venue. Le fiance found the ceiling to be too low for his liking but he was able to overlook since he likes the venue overall. However, a week later, news came out saying that JCC will be acquired for Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail terminus. Such luck!
When we contacted the assistant manager, he said it will probably be around Nov 2016 which is too near to our wedding date. Hence not taking the chance in case we had to find venue last minute if it closes, we drop this off the list.
Second Stop:Â Orchid Country Club
Next, we zoomed onto to Orchid Country Club because of pillarless and spacious environment so again, we did not make an appointment and just walked in during the late afternoon when we were free. Well, that’s a bad habit for us but we always couldn’t decide whether to go since we have such busy schedule! I do not know if we are lucky or not, but when we got there, the banquet manager was actually there because there will be a wedding going on in the evening and he kindly and enthusiastically guided us around too.
But the walkway is too long! Our trait of introversion kicked in and we were not keen about it. The manager explained that there will be a car provided for the walk in so it is actually a fast walk in. But I wasn’t even interested in getting on a car with my big fat gown and high heels because I know I will be extremely clumsy. Le fiance actually laughed at the thought! And we didn’t like the view of the second storey as well. The location is not very convenient for both of us and hence, we drop this off the list.
Third Stop: Genting Hotel
By then, we were getting tired and decided to aim for hotel to see if it is actually better than non-hotel venues. Genting hotel just opened at that point of time so there was no reviews or pictures to show. Hence, we had to book an appointment this time round to get a tour around the banquet hall and the bridal suite. The banquet room was rather empty and bare because they were newly opened so we didn’t take pictures. Instead they show us pictures on their brochures of how it will looks like in the wedding decorated theme. Hence, I took the pictures from Singapore Brides as they have a virtual tour of it.
We like the whole decor overall and I especially love the hanging crystal lighting, but one thing that turned us off is the reception which is located near the main lobby. Too many unwelcomed guests will be walking in and out. And we were not sure of how the food is going to taste like though the manager assured us that the chef is quite experienced with several years of experience in hotel dining under his belt. So we keep it in view while searching for more venues. I do not know if its the norm or it is just her attitude, but I find the coordinator was not very friendly and quite serious when she gave us the tour around. Country Clubs’s coordinators we have met so far are really a lot more friendlier and we feel more comfortable talking to them instead.
Last Stop: The Joyden Hall @ Bugis +
I coincidentally found this venue while googling for unique venues without hotel setting. There are hardly any reviews but so far, all the reviews are really good and the location is very convenient too. And beside that, the venue also hold a special and sweet memory for both of us as that was where we first started dating and he asked me to be his girlfriend 6 years ago. 🙂
Excitedly, we contacted the coordinator, Jeffrey (who is really nice person that has been patiently replying my inquiries over emails and whatsapp) for the wedding decor themes and he kindly emailed us the themes as well as the wedding packages. And I am amazed that they allow several themes to choose from too! One bonus point was that one of the themes is Fairytale theme which was perfect as I have already set that as my wedding theme before the start of the journey. And the ceiling was very high, with crystal lighting as well. Joyden hall is pretty much like a theatre-like setting which has a great changing room as well as a holding area for the tea ceremony or for the helpers. The walkway is just straight down and you actually enter via the curtains instead of the usual door. Sound pretty glamorous!
The fairytale theme which I have fallen in love with! The crystal ceiling make it more classy and elegant. This photo was actually taken on my wedding banquet.
The venue is conveniently located, and able to cater to the number of guests we will be inviting (Minimum is 28 tables, maximum is 38 tables). Decorations will be settled and they will also do minimal decorations at the reception too. They also provide reception cocktails as well as finger foods for additional top up. Â Sound technician will also be there to play the music throughout the whole wedding so we don’t have to worry about choosing songs. Food catered is from Joyden Seafood Restaurant which garner quite a number of raved reviews from friends and online. The downside is not having a bridal suite which is not our main concern as Joyden Hall already have a changing room and a holding area which works great for both of us.
So after much discussion between Genting Hotel and Joyden Hall. we came back the second time, signed and paid our deposit! <3
UPDATE: See here for latest post on Our actual wedding day + Dinner Banquet