My Dream Garden

After a month of research and browsing, here are the list of hotel banquets which has been shortlisted. The wedding theme I currently have in mind in a Garden Theme.. It is really difficult to tell which is a better pick until we really recee the place to have a look and feel of the ambiance. Anyway, each of these selection has their own specialty and uniqueness which stood them out from others, besides cost (^o^)

1. Mandarin Oriental

Have heard about friends and relatives raving about this hotel since it was renovated in 2004. A quick step into the hotel last week also gave us a very good impression of the lobby setting. What is most attractive is their 4 new themes. I particularly like the garden theme where the whole ballroom is decorated into a huge fan-shaped garden! Birdcages, twigs and sunflowers.. its like a walk in a park! Natural and surreal feeling, nothing exaggerated!

2. Conrad Centennial

Love their magnificent foyer reception in front of the Grand Ballroom and the long titanic winding stairway at the lobby leading up to the ballroom! The most fairy tale march in we can ever ask for! Although I have only been there once for a wedding in 2006, it still left a deep impression in my mind until now. It was the only shortlisted banquet which has tables for 12 which may pose a problem as we do not have so many guests to fill their minimum 30 table criteria.

3. Carlton Hotel

Not the 6-star Ritz Carlton, but Carlton Hotel at Bras Basah Road. According to my sis, this hotel's Wah Lok Restaurant serves the best Cantonese Cuisine in town. This alone is attractive enough to draw me in as delectable food is my top priority. Too bad we can only have food tasting after confirmation for the banquet.

4. Swissotel Merchant Court

Colonial feel never fails to mesmerise me. Although my top colonial choices: Goodwood Park and Hotel Intercontinental falls out of our budget, Merchant Court will be a good substitute. The reception area is also spacious and wide, and can be conveniently decorated to the graden theme.

5. Restaurants

Imagining converting all the perks that hotels offer to wedding couples, such as bridal suite, favours, vouchers into better food quality... that is what restaurants can offer. For the same amount of money, restaurant food will be of superior quality in the expense of ambiance. That will be a very selfless way to hold weddings as the guests will get a better value for "Ang-Bao".

Most importantly, a wedding banquet must elude genuinity and sincerity regardless of the venue. In 2005, I attended a really warm and lovely wedding at Peony Jade Restaurant (above) at Clarke Quay which has such strong oriental and overwhelming homely feel that I wanted to have mine there!

On the contrary, I once attended a wedding at a 6-star hotel, which was at one glance, an extraordinary expensive affair. Rolls Royce bridal car, all night Mediterranean live band, and 4 changes of bridal gowns! Everything was gold plated and glittery but to me, it was over-commercialised, emotionless and bland. The whole night, I was left feeling with a lack of warmth and love that a wedding banquet should have.

That, in my opinion, loses all its appeal as compared to a simple restaurant wedding =)