Some days I wonder if wedding banquets in Singapore, especially the traditional Chinese sit-down dinner is for the married couple or for the married couple’s parents. You know what I mean, in a room of 40 tables, 15 tables are for the bride’s extended family, 15 tables are for the groom’s extended family. The remaining tables are either for friends of the bride and groom or to put relatives that no one really wants to acknowledge. Like that weird uncle who’s starting to look more and more like his possessed Chihuahua.
No matter what your guest arrangement, you’ll need to find a hotel that provides a wedding package that fits your needs, including your budget. Here is a summary of how much a wedding banquet will cost you this year.
Don’t expect most of the wedding invitations you receive this year to be held at luxury hotels. While Singaporeans don’t seem to have a problem paying about $1200 per table, prices per table have gone up so sharply in the past few years that $1200 is now on the low end.
If you’re okay with picking a hotel that’s a little off the beaten track, then exchange convenience for comfort with a 4 Star hotel. Do note that, generally speaking, these hotels have a higher requirement for the minimum number of tables you can request for.
Though there aren’t too many 3 Star hotels that provide wedding packages, you’re definitely going to save by holding your wedding at one of these hotels.
Other than resorting to a 3 Star hotel, how do you get yourself a lower table rate?
There are many benefits to having a wedding banquet at a hotel, like enjoying a complimentary stay in their suites, and getting special rates for rooms for your family and helpers. But with the rising prices of hotel wedding banquets, these little extras just don’t seem as worthwhile anymore.
Consider having your wedding banquet at an alternative location. Country clubs like Orchid Country Club and Serangoon Gardens Country Club offer table rates of at least $798 and $788 respectively. Orchid Country Club’s package even includes a one night stay in their Bridal Suite, so there’s no reason not to choose it over a hotel.
Paying for a wedding banquet is no small sum of money, so you might as well get something out of it. Citibank credit cards and UOB credit cards usually have exclusive wedding promotions with certain hotels and restaurants. Alternatively, you can just choose a good air miles credit card to charge your wedding banquet to, and use the miles you’ve earned to pay for your honeymoon.
This one seems like an obvious suggestion, since for several hotels, banquets on Saturday have their prices marked up by at least $100 per table. That’s savings of at least $3000 to $4000 alone by not having it on Saturday. But price really isn’t the only reason you should be considering having your banquet on another day. Think of how physically stressful a traditional wedding day can be.
For many couples, the day begins ridiculously early with the bride getting made up and into her gown. The men aren’t entirely spared either, with the groom and his entourage going through the horrors of gate crashing and bridal games (and the delays they often cause). Then there’s the wedding ceremony itself, which can take up to two hours.
Depending on how dramatic a wedding banquet gets, the married couple may not even get to eat! Before the dinner is over, the bride needs to at least have had a couple of outfit changes, and also gone from table to table taking photographs. So by the time the banquet ends late at night, the happily married couple are often happy to retire to bed, and I don’t mean for baby-making purposes.
By holding your wedding banquet on another day, like Sunday, you not only have more time to celebrate, but you also give yourself and your partner enough breathing room to enjoy your wedding weekend.
I don’t care how popular you are on Facebook. There’s no need to invite your entire friend list and their cat to your wedding. If your in-laws are being difficult and want to book like, 10 tables, for their long lost relations and old friends from their kampung days, then now you have the perfect excuse to reject them – the hotel ballroom just isn’t big enough.
The best part is, choosing a smaller hotel ballroom might actually save you a substantial amount of money. Smaller 4 Star hotels offer a table rate that’s almost half the price compared to other 4 Star hotels. For example, for a Saturday banquet, the Grand Mercure along East Coast Road is about $888 per table, and Hotel Royal along Queen Street is even less at $598 per table!
A banquet at Amara for 40 tables would cost at least $43520. A banquet at the Grand Mercure for 35 tables would cost about $31080. Just cutting 50 people off from your guest list could save you over $10000. That’s definitely a lot of money that you can add to your honeymoon fund.
Plus, you don’t have to invite that weird uncle with the Chihuahua from hell.
You can go to SingaporeBrides.com for the full list of wedding table prices. Also, do note that these prices may not include service charge or 7% GST.
What other tips and tricks do you have for couples planning their wedding banquets? Share them with us.