Selection of Wedding Venue: Holiday Inn Atrium

After work, we headed to Holiday Inn Atrium to check out their wedding show. They have 3 banquet halls- Seletar (min. 15 tables, max. 18 tables), Changi (min. 20 tables, max. 24 tables) and Atrium Ballroom (min. 30 tables, max. 44 tables).

Address: 317 Outram Road, Singapore 169075 

 

Weekend Wedding Dinner

(January 2015 – December 2015): $988.00++ / $1088.00++ per table of 10 persons

Pros:

• Sufficient reception area
• Very affordable price
• Instead of the usual 20% of carpark coupons given, they give 30%

Cons:

• Low ceiling
• Pillars
• Relatively far from MRT station, about 15 mins walk from Outram MRT station

Reason for not shortlisting: We didn't really like the overall feel of the place.

 

PetiteFreckles ♥

Selection of Wedding Venue: Amara Singapore

Next up, Amara Singapore!

 

Address: 165 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088539          

 

They have 1 banquet hall- Grand Ballroom (min. 25 tables, max. 42 tables).

 

Weekend Wedding Dinner

(January 2015 – December 2015): $988.00++ / $1088.00++ per table of 10 persons

Pros:

• Considerably large reception area
• Pillar-less
• Reasonably priced menu
• Starry ceiling
• Walking distance to Tanjong Pagar MRT station, centrally-located

Cons:

• Low ceiling
• Food was average
• Themes are not very modern

Reason for not shortlisting Amara: Simply because we weren't able to meet their minimal table requirement.

 

 

 

 

 

PetiteFreckles ♥

Selection of Wedding Venue: Sheraton Towers

Sheraton Towers was first hotel that we explored and we love their ballroom and long table arrangement!

 

Address: 39 Scotts Road, Singapore 228230

 

They have 2 banquet halls- Grand Ballroom (min. 30 tables, max. 45 tables) and Topaz room (min. 10 tables, max. 12 tables).

 

Weekend Wedding Dinner

(January 2014 – March 2015): $1448.00++ per table of 12 persons
(April 2015 – December 2015): $1508.00++ per table of 12 persons

Pros:

• Grand lobby
• Sufficient reception area
• Pillar-less
• High ceiling
• Huge stage
• Modern themes
• Unique 12 per table seating arrangements
• Able to upgrade to long table seating arrangement for VIP guests
• The solemnization area is very pretty, it is surrounded by a mini koi pond and you can hear the sound of the waterfall
• Walking distance to Newton MRT station

Cons:

• Coordinators weren't exactly polite
• Food was average

Reason for not shortlisting Sheraton: We have about 200guests, thus both halls will not be suitable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PetiteFreckles ♥

The Marco Polo Kitchen

Since we will be hosting 1 wedding dinner reception in Johor, we decided to explore different options:

• Chinese restaurant
• Western restaurant
• Hotel

While web surfing, I chanced upon this restaurant called Marco Polo Kitchen that serves Italian and Chinese cuisine and felt that it might be a nice place to have our dinner reception. Thus we arranged for a weekend to check out the food and venue.

 

The Marco Polo Kitchen

No. 35, Jalan Indah 15/2,Taman Bukit Indah 81200, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

http://www.themarcopolokitchen.com.my/

 

1st Level

2nd Level: Outdoor

2nd Level: Indoor



We ordered the following items:

• Wild Cream of Mushroom (RM8.99)
• Minestrone Soup (RM6.99)
• Tea (RM5.99)
• Spaghetti Carbonara (RM15.99)
• Pumpkin Ravioli (RM18.99)
• Steak Sandwich (RM18.99)
• Classic Fish & Chips (RM20.99)
• Chicken Cordon Bleu (RM22.99)
• Kids' meal: Mac & Cheese and waffle with vanilla ice cream (not too sure of the price)
• 5 glasses of water

Do note that water is chargeable. And it comes with 10% taxes and 6% service charge. Our total bill came up to RM160 for 6 adults and 1 child.

Verdict:

Food reasonably priced

No pork, no lard

Clean

Nice ambience

Quick service

 

Overall, the food were pretty good and everybody was enjoying it but here comes the disappointing part. J ordered the chicken cordon bleu and when he started cutting the centre, I noticed that the chicken on the inside was only half-cooked. We immediately alerted the manager and requested for a change, he brought it back to the kitchen to recook it and it ended up being slightly dry, gosh.

 

Since he knows that we are considering this place as our wedding venue,  we expressed our disappointment and concern that uncooked food can cause food poisoning for our guests if the chef is not careful about it but he just shrugged it off by saying that he "understands if we do not shortlist them at the end of the day". Not a word of apology or reassurance which is very disappointing. Despite the good venue and scrumptious food, we decided to drop this restaurant off our list of venues, to save us the possibility of causing mass food-poisoning on our wedding day! :(

 

P.S. Totally forgot to take photo of the food as we were all starving haha.

PetiteFreckles ♥

Wedding Venue: Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel

Renaissance Johor Bahru was the first hotel that we visited in Johor.

We did not get to view the Junior suite as it was being occupied. The lobby is really grand and does feel like a 5star hotel and as for the ballroom, it's relatively big with a huge reception area. The ceiling is sufficiently high and with the low stage height, it will be ideal for brides who are planning to wear huge ballroom gowns without having to worry about tripping.

We would actually consider this hotel if we were to host just 1 wedding in Johor, but thinking about having to charter for buses across the causeway and worrying about accomodation for the guests, we decided to scrap the idea. But just in case some of you might be interested, here's what I extracted from the brochure given:

Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel

2, Jalan Permas 11, Bandar Baru Permas Jaya l 81750, Masai, Johor, Malaysia

+60 7-381 3333

Their prices per table for weekend ranges from RM 1,088++ to RM 2,288++ with a minimum of 30 tables.

(The above rates are subjected to 6% government tax and 10% service charge)

All packages will come with: 

• One night stay in the Junior Suite with welcome amenities and flower, inclusive of in-room breakfast or breakfast at the Club Lounge  
• One VIP car park lot at the hotel’s entrance for the bridal car
• A sumptuous 8 or 9-course Chinese set menu 
• Free flow of Chinese tea, soft drinks and mixer for 4 hours 
• Unique wedding favours for all guests 
• 45 minutes welcome reception with fruits punch and two types of canapés 
• Two bottles of champagne for bridal toast 
• One complimentary bottle of house wine per confirmed table 
• Corkage waived for 5 bottles of hard liquor bring-in 
• Corkage waived for 10 bottles of wine bring-in 
• Decorated wedding cake for the ceremony
• Wedding style stage backdrop 
• Exclusive design guest signature book 
• Complimentary usage of two LCD projectors   
• Invitation cards based on 80% of confirmed attendance (not inclusive of printing) 
• Fresh floral arrangements along the aisle and centerpieces for all tables

 

 

  

PetiteFreckles ♥

Preparation for the big day

To all brides to be, do stay tune to my blog, as I will be posting details on wedding venues and planning process which will be useful as reference materials.

 

It's been 1.5 months after our engagement, and we are starting the planning process for our Big Day.

 

Recently, we have booked our bridal package with The Aisle Bridal at one of the bridal show at Marina Square.

 

Their physical shop is located at:

61 Tanjong Pagar Road

Singapore 088482

 

Usually it is easier to negotiate for more perks during the bridal/wedding shows, as there are many bridal shops competing for sales. After visiting a few bridal shows and sitting down at numerous booths to find out more about the various packages, we decided on Aisle Bridal as their prices are quite reasonable. We paid $3,888 for pre-wedding and actual day photography, the down-payment needed was $2,500, the rest to be paid later at their shop.

 

Initially, we wanted to do overseas shoot in places such as Santorini and South Korea but after much contemplation, we decided to save the money for our Honeymoon :)  

 

And in regards to the dinner reception, we will be hosting it in:

• Johor, Malaysia - for J's family and relatives &
• Singapore - for my family & our friends and colleagues 

I will be posting up more details at a later date so do stay tune!!

 

Much love,

PetiteFreckles ♥

L ’Atelier Tirami.Su

L ’Atelier Tirami.Su
The Central
6 Eu Tong Seng Street

#B1-09

Singapore 059817

 

Opening Hours
Monday - Friday: 12pm-9pm
Saturday: 1pm-8pm
Sunday: 1pm-7pm

 

 

J and I chanced upon this tiramisu shop on the way to Clarke Quay station and decided to pop in for some desserts. We ordered a lychee tiramisu and a dark cherry tiramisu, S$6.80 each. They also serve classic and matcha tiramisu and a variety of drinks including freshly brewed coffee.

The lychee tiramisu was pretty unique as it was iced with cinammon powder instead of the usual cocoa powder. The fruit bits in both the tiramisu gives the dessert a boost of freshness and it helps to balance the strong liquor taste. Both flavours were pretty delicious and has a very special taste to it so if you are feeling adventurous, do give it a try, you will be in a surprise :)

Note: If I’m not wrong, the only payment mode available is by cash.

Ciao!

PetiteFreckles ♥