Recce Trip to Northern Singapore - Seletar Country Club

The last entry from Qi Qi provided the spur for us to move on to the next stage of our preparations - starting on recce trips to potential ROM venues to have a 'feel' of all venues on our shortlist. The past weeks have been hectic for me, to say the least - pre-exhibition work, 3 long days of exhibition, continuation of my projects covering 3 countries, brainstorming sessions to tackle the economic crisis, and losing the use of my room for one week =p

This shall not be used as an excuse of course. I decided to drop all my work for the day and focus solely on our preparatory work, since this was a rare day we could spend some time together working on our wedding.

Our first recce trip proved to be a long one - a 30 minute drive all the way to the northern part of Singapore, to an all-too-familiar place. Having spent 2 years of my life in Seletar Camp, getting to Seletar Country Club didn't prove to be too difficult, albeit it was deeper into the camp. In fact, the inaccessibility was something we both noted that reduced the appeal of the place. Even if shuttle services were to be provided, the nearest train stop was still a 15-minute ride away. Parking was ample though.

With no one to guide us around the place, we assumed the responsibility of being tour guides. We tried to match what we saw on the websites with what we actually came across on the ground - and being the resourceful chaps that we are, we naturally found Tavern & the Fountain Terrace on our own. And being the naturally-unconfident chaps that we are, we decided to do a double-check with the General Office. And we were lucky to have a very kind-hearted Indian security guard who willingly offered to show us all the potential solemnisation venues there are in SCC.

We went direct to Tavern first. The following are our comments regarding the place:

Qi Qi: "Tavern's too small. And dark. But the view is nice, and a major plus is that we have the whole place to ourselves. But it's a no, cos it is highly unlikely that we can accommodate 60+ people within the premises."
Jeff: "Tavern gave me a relaxed feel, a little bit of a rock-chic feel with the elevated stage and drum sets, and I rather liked the bar counter at the centre - it'd be cool to have this bar where guests could order their drinks from. But it'd be a no for me cos it doesn't satisfy my basic criteria of having an outdoor solemnisation."

Next up was the Fountain Terrace. It also overlooks the golf-course, except there's a nice fountain area in front of the eating area. Here's our comments:

Jeff: "It's definitely one notch higher than Tavern. The setting would be perfect especially if the weather holds up during the solemnisation. However, I do not really like the eating area just behind the Terrace. They would have to do a major spruce up of the place to make it cosier than it is now."
Qi Qi: "Think I personally like the Terrace more than the Tavern. A major plus point is Terrace's spacious area, with a fountain overlooking the greenery golf course. But the eating ground is not to my liking too, for one, it would not be exclusive to us only. :( "

Overall, both of us still feel positive about this place, and so we are not ruling out Seletar Country Club completely till we complete our recce trips. :p

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By the way, Qi Qi has something else to say:

Received 2 little presents from Dear today. :) Want to know what the gifts were? The answer is in the pics below:

So Dear has kept his promise of getting me a set of pyjamas. Yeah! And it surprised me with the good choice he has made - A really lovely comfy white sleepwear robe! Really can’t bear to wear it, hehe. Thanks Baby! :)

And of course, Jeff received something in return for his efforts...

Scouting for ROM venues

Dear and I have long decided that we would like to hold our solemnisation and wedding banquet separately. Well, you may wonder why. It’s kinda a compromise between the two of us. Jeff’s ideal marriage age is around 27 or so, while my preference has always been to marry later, closer to 30. So when Jeff proposed on 9th September 2007, we took the longest time to come to a consensus as to exactly when our big day be. “J: Do you think it is possible for us to get married during our 10th anniversary, 9th September 2008? Q: That date sounds good, but isn’t that too rush? We need to book hotel one year in advance lei. J: That’s true, we also don’t have our own place yet. How about the following, 9th September 2009, a nice date ya? Q: How about the year after? :) J: That’s wayyy too long…we will be 29 by then! Very old le. Why not we ROM on 090909, then banquet in 2010? Q: Great idea, I like that.” And so that’s the reason… :p

We had both been laid back towards our marriage preparations last year, well, not totally perhaps. I was enthusiastically researching on possible ROM venues after the proposal and Jeff, on the other hand, surprised me by going to different hotels personally to get hold of wedding packages brochures while I was away on a work trip overseas. Probably because of our busy work schedule and that we both knew that there’s still some time anyway before our big day, our eagerness and enthusiasm mellowed along the way. But come 2009, both of us were resolute to start again.

We have decided that the most pressing thing we need to do now is to source for our ROM venue. Both of us wanted a different feel (from a hotel) and again we were undecided. My initial idea was a beach wedding theme and best if it could be in Sentosa since that was where Jeff proposed to me (Ha, maybe I should talk about the proposal in my next write-up). Where as for Jeff, he preferred somewhere serene, like a garden wedding accompanied by a lake or pond. We were both open to either a beach or garden wedding, and so we began researching on the different possible venues. Jeff came up with a rating template to rate the different venues, and I shall include it in my next write up once we have completed our analysis. :) We had also came up with our guest list, and to our dismay, despite stringent listing of only relatives and close friends, the list came up to 68 to be exact. Too many relatives, haha. To think that we initially wanted a really small private solemnization. Well, it still can be cozy though.

With more research on the venues, I began to like more and more of Jeff’s idea of a garden themed wedding. Anyway, I discovered that Sentosa beach wedding is definitely out of our budget, the cheapest package will make us poorer by $98+ per pax. Crazy. I had more time on my hands lately and so decided to spend more time in the research. Had the chance to read comments from other BTBs too. Shall mention about 3 garden-themed venues that I took a liking to:

1) Gardenasia (http://www.gardenasia.com/)
Jeff and I took a liking to Gardenasia as soon as we saw the pictures online. Here’s for your preview:

It offers 2 countryside frangipani solemnization packages. The cheaper of the 2, Latris package, offers the following at $2288+, inclusive of a cocktail reception. The other, Limonium package was priced at $2688+ - the only difference is that this has a buffet reception, with a sit-down dining. Well, depending on the package, this comes up to be $57+ or $67+ per pax. A far cry from a bride (whom I got to know online) who paid $1888 for the Limonium package only a few months back in 2008! :( Another constraint to this venue is the size, it caters nicely to 40 pax, any more would seem a tad too crowded…But the set-up is really enticing, isn’t it? Also, it makes up for its inaccessible location by providing shuttle bus! So well, we shall go down to recee first before concluding.

2) Seletar Country Club (http://www.seletarclub.com.sg/)
Seletar Country Club as a venue for solemnization seems not a bad idea too. Look at these pics:

It offers a really attractive package:
Sumptuous buffet menu prepared by our Chefs
- Free flow of fruit punch throughout your event
- Floral Pedestals & centerpiece for your solemnization table
- Waiver of Corkage Charges for Host brought in Hard Liquor (Duty Paid)
- Two VIP parking lots in front of our Club Lobby for your bridal cars (subject to availability)
- Complimentary self parking facilities for all your invited guests
- Unique wedding favors for all your invited guests
- White chair covers provided for all chairs
- Special pricing for purchase of house wines by bottles & beer by barrel

Its high tea solemnization package cost $38++ per pax, and lunch package at $42++ per pax. Tavern should be able to accommodate 50 pax or so. I have also heard many good reviews about the place and coordinator - very flexible and much room for negotiations. Shall find out more when we do a recee. :)

3) Mandai Orchid Garden (http://www.mandai.com.sg/)

This place is really captivating; in fact, the one I like the most for now. Jeff still doesn’t know this yet. Hehe.
Gazebo

Watergarden Seems like their website is not updated regularly. Anyway, I got the info from them and am quoted the following:

Solemnisation in the Garden Package
- free flow of sof drinks
- free Gazebo setup for solemnization (if required)
- free entry and parking to all guests
- choice of dining venues (based on capacity) plus basic decorations
- elegant white seat covers for all chairs
- complimentary usage of Bridal Room
- complimentary of invitation cards (60% based on guaranteed number of guests)
- Solemnization at Water Garden @ S$400++

High Tea Package:
S$45++ per pax (Weekdays) -Monday To Thursday
S$48++ per pax (Weekends) -Friday to Sunday

Cocktail Package:
S$50++ per pax

Brunch Package:
S$60++ per pax (Weekdays) -Monday To Thursday
S$65++ per pax (Weekends) -Friday to Sunday

Buffet Lunch Package:
S$55++ per pax (Weekdays) -Monday To Thursday
S$65++ per pax (Weekends) -Friday to Sunday

Buffet Dinner Package:
S$65++ per pax (Weekdays) -Monday To Thursday
S$75++ per pax (Weekends) -Friday to Sunday

Similar to Gardenasia, the prices package has ballooned quite a lot over the past few years. One plus point about this place is that it can take more than 50 people and offers a less than 50m walk to its air-conditioned restaurant.

Shall update more in my next write-up. Tata.

Qi's current mood

Of trials and tribulations

Qi Qi and I have been seriously sifting through wedding forums and reviewing all potential ROM sites in recent weeks - and we are quickly zooming in on a few nice places already. In particular, Gardenasia caught our eye for its lush, surreal, and er, garden setting. Kudos to Qi Qi especially for her persistent enquiries to the Gardenasia staff!

It's mid-April, my deadlines for the 2 projects are closing down on me! Sometimes feel a little overwhelmed, but my problems are nothing compared to what my dear Qi Qi is facing now. It has been a difficult period for her, and while I have been trying to provide all the emotional support, I still feel that I have not given enough. Deep down in my heart, I have an inkling that a miracle is on the horizon, and I sure hope I will be proven right.

It is a testing period definitely, and I will do my absolute utmost to protect my precious baby.