Hi Chijmees,
I'm so happy to have finally found someone who can help me!!!
This forum is truly amazing and a real blessing for hopeless people like me
My fiance and I have been going round in circles trying to decide on a church ceremony + dinner venue (like yours, we're planning to do the church ceremony just before the dinner) and we're planning to have it in Oct-Nov...THIS YEAR! Yah, very last-minute right? That's me exactly!
Amazingly, we managed to find some good options and we've narrowed them down to 2 - Chijmes vs Grand Hyatt. My fiance is completely in love with Chijmes and is very keen to have it there. I really like Chijmes too but just have some concerns that I hope you can help enlighten me on. Your advice will be greatly appreciated!!
1. Car park at Chijmes - my parents have a very bad impression about the car park situation - they think it'll be a hassle (eg. with car park full) and very ex. Did you have any complaints, from guests or otherwise?
2. Noise level in the hall - heard feedback from a few people that the Chijmes hall is great for soft instrumentals and vocals but terrible for voice (i.e. speeches) and sounds get amplified in there. I would like to have speeches given during the dinner but wonder if it gets too noisy in the hall during a banquet with people chatting and eating (cutlery clanging etc.)?
3. Tables blocked by pillars - I'll be having 25-30 tables so about 7-12 tables at the sides will have blocked views of the stage. Did your guests seated at the side tables stand up to view the stage eg. during cake-cutting? Any complaints?
4. Public toilets - The toilets are a distance away from the hall and are shared with the public. Did you have any problems with that, especially with older, less mobile guests?
5. Timing - I understand the evening booking for Chijmes hall is only till 11pm. With the additional church ceremony, did you have problems with ending before 11pm? Also, does 11pm mean the caterers have to finish clearing up by then? Prob using Kriston for catering. How was their service? Did they try to rush the guests out to clear up in time? Planning a Sat dinner so guests tend to stay a little later. I definitely wanna avoid ending on a sour note!
Sorry for the many questions. These are just some of the key issues I hope to overcome (and I haven't even started worrying about the possibility of rain yet!) before I'll be more 'fang xin' with confirming with Chijmes.
(Of course, these issues don't come into consideration with Grand Hyatt though I agree with my fiance that Chijmes will def be more memorable...though I hope it'll be more positive memories than negative ones!)
Really hope to hear from you soon! Many thanks in advance for your help!
PS. It'll be great if you could also share your budget breakdown and pics with me too!