Four Seasons Hotel

[excited26]

Thanks for the advice!

Cynthia, may i noe wat much are you paying per table now that they are willing to lower the min requirement?...wat do you think abt the crescent ballroom?...

junebrides, Yes i have definitely considered Raffles and Conrad....but their prices are more exp and I thot the food is very good given a lower price....now i'm even considering Hyatt...

 

[cynthia]

Hi, my package is $818+++... if plus one big barrel of beer and about 10 bottles of wine... think it all adds up to about $1K or slightly over per table.

Crescent Ballroom is alright... if not for the fact that I can't squeeze my guests down to 15 tables.. otherwise may consider that too. besides, the grand staircase leads more directly to crescent ballroom than four seasons ballroom. Their foyer seemed better too...

who are you liaising with? My coordinator is Danny, their catering sales manager. He's quite a nice guy...

 

[excited26]

Hi Cynthia,

I haven't start to negotiate with any co-ordinator...is Danny easy to bargain with?....like free seat covers and waiver of corkage charge?...

Btw, does the crescent ballroom has a "long" walkway to the stage?...but no windows right?

 

[cynthia]

Ermm let me recall.... yup! the walkway to the stage is slightly longer than that for four seasons ballroom...

to see the floorplan, you can click here here

mmm...Danny is quite alright. When we told him that we are opting for the superior menu, he agreed to give us the seat covers for all chairs FOC. originally he wanted to charged us $2 each.

as for waiver of corkage charge, i am afraid they do not waive this at all, no matter how hard you bargain with them... but if you are getting wine, it's better to get from them as it would be inclusive of corkage...

 

[mandy]

hi there
i'm trying to decide whether to rely on FS in-house florist for my centrepiece and backdrop, or farming decor out to my own florist.

has anyone managed to get the FS florist to enhance the boring 8-inch centrepiece and the candlestands lined along the aisle?

It's really a big headache... I mean, the FS ballroom has potental to look really grand and posh, but so far I have seen those standard decor provided FS and found them so-so only. It could have been better, but at a cost of course.

Sad to say my FH is not too keen on splurging on flowers which he considers a waste of money and that 'no one takes note of the flowers that nite anyway; besides they are removed once the cold dish is served on the lazy susan'. It really costs more than a $1000 to enhance my table decor.

I'm also undecided on the positioning of my stage: in front of the windows or facing those main doors.

 

[woman]

Hi all

I was just wondering how many of you going for FS is to be wed in 2003 next year?

I'm having mine in march 2003

 

[tinkle]

Hmmm.. anyone has negotiated with FS to exchange the 1 night's stay and anniversary dinner for a table? Wonder if they are willing to cut some price or not...

 

[inki]

Nope, they are pretty fixed on their stuff. Couldn't even exchange for a barrel of beer!

 

[inki]

Hi,

Any FS brides holding their wedding from now till June ? Mine will be in June and I'm starting to panic.

Any idea if there's new cards from FS ? Or it's still the same white colour cards ?

Anyone gone for food tasting yet ?

 

[cynthia]

Hi Inki, yah... their cards still the cream coloured ones

Anyway, I have picked up my cards already. Printed a cute clipart of a couple on the outside and the words directly onto the cards. Looks quite alright

*phew* what a relief...

Not gone for my food tasting yet, prob end April. Stated in the contract, food tasting is only from Mon - Thu. Think dinner or lunch also can...

cynthia

 

[inki]

Hi artic_hare,

I've not picked up my cards not designed anything, I'm really running late!

Glad your card looks good. This space in the middle is pretty tricky, have to think carefully what to print on it.

Which printer did you go to ?

 

[cynthia]

Hi Inki,

I did everything at home - sourcing for clipart, aligning the pic and the words, printing - on my EPSON Stylus 600.

cynthia

 

[tinkle]

Hi Inki.. did you manage to bring down the corkage charge? Who is your coordinator? sigh.. I thought such a reputable hotel should b emore flexible and customer-oriented..

 

[munchkin]

Has anyone had the muslim menu befor?How long did it takes for the wedding grown to be ready?Is Ted Wu good?

 

[inki]

Hi tinkle,

Nope, could not bring down corkage charge. FS is very strict and I would say less lenient as compared to other hotels.

But their customer service is good, just that they wouldn't bend their surcharges.

 

[passion]

Hi Munchkin,

I am a four seasons and Ted wu bride. Same experience as most of you, Four seasons are quite rigid with their corkage and other stuff.
As for Ted Wu, it is quite personal. It depends on whther do you like embroidery especially his kind. Many bridal boutiques are doing embroidery but different kind. Some of my friends feels that Ted Wu embroidery is the same for all gowns. Well, I don;t think it is a bad thing, in fact it is his signature (can tell Ted Wu straight away). And also if you look at his embroidery, it is unqiue for each gown (the beadings, pearls and so on). So it is actually up to you. The wedding gown takes about 4 mths to be ready but I think could even be shorter. Ask for Jean at Ted Wu. She is quite nice.

 

[munchkin]

Hi passion fruit,

Can you care to share with me the price of Ted Wu's gown?Cause i am not living in singapore but will be having my wedding there.Is it a package deal or do they just do the gown?And which photography studio do you think is good.Thanks.It will make my job easy when i come to singapore.

 

[munchkin]

Hi i would like to know if 40k is enough for the wedding expenese in singapore.I was thinking of having mine in fs.Thanks for your help.

 

[passion]

Hi munchkin,
I think he only has one package (if I am not wrog) only consist of the following:
1) WG -MTM (rental)
2) EG -MTM (buy)
3) makeup and hair (4x--trial, photo session, actual and nite)
4) flowers - 1 hand bouquet, car dcor, 2 corsages for groom.
Ted ties up with a few photographer. men's suit at $500.
I think he does gown alone also but not sure price. Maybe you can email to enquire. EMail add: [email protected]
I think 40k should be more than enough. Perhaps don't need that much/
- bridal package with photoshoot (about 7k)
- wedding dinner about 24k for 30 tables at $800 (don't forget you will get hongbao so should cover some of the cost if not break even)
--pls note that 4 seasons max is about 30 tables and prices varies quite alot for weekend and weedkday (about $100-200 per table).
--The rest would be the others like actual day photography, performers, additional flowers....
So Would say 40K more than enough.
Hope it helps.

 

[munchkin]

Thanks passion fruit.Cause some people were telling me that it will cost me more than 40k.I will be having one in london as well so i don't want to spent too much.Thanks again for sharing with me the infor.It does helps alot.

 

[toh]

any one has gone 4 the food tasting in FS yet.? pls update me abt their food quality
i plan 2 have my wedding dinner june 2003.book now like very KS hor, but all my married frens suggest tht i shld book now. any recommentions abt which sales manager i shld look for? btw how much deposit i shld prepare? pls advise..thanks

 

[cynthia]

Hi gymmi,

I will be going for my food tasting in 8 days' time. Can comment on their food only after that...

My co-ordinator is Danny. He's the catering sales manager, but I supposed Mr Ho is also not bad. As for deposit, it's their rules to collect 3K. But only collected on the day you confirm (i.e. sign the contract with them). You can arrange for an appointment to view the ballrooms...

cynthia

 

[inki]

Hi artic_hare,

Do share with us on your food tasting experience. I've yet to set my appointment

 

[toh]

hi Cynthia, can u advise me what 2 bargain 4 & look out 4 before comfiming the booking with FS?
i plan 2 go next week. i've their menu already. they fax 2 me yesterday. if i wanna replace a certain dish, will they charge extra? and how much extra do u think is resonable?

 

[cynthia]

Hi Inki, sure... will tell you girls about the food tasting experience

Hi gymmi, Ermmm... actually FS pretty hard to bargain with. They are pretty sticky when comes to things like corkage charges and barrel of beer. I supposed you can try if you can get free seat cover or tea lights. We can't change the 1st anniversary meal voucher to another thing nor swop the chocolates favour for outright discount. But FS provides 2 nights' day at their bridal suite

... Of course, if you are their preferred customer (i.e. will be paying a lot for this banquet), they may say yes to all your requests.

As for replacing of dish, they will charge if you are replacing with a higher priced dish. Maybe about $10-20? I'm not sure. Which menu are you looking at anyway??

cynthia

 

[tinkle]

hmm.. I'm thinking of excluding myself and FH for the tables.. quite silly as we'll be going about most of teh time.. wonder if the hotel would allow that?

 

[cynthia]

Hello...

Came back from my food tasting liao... Mine is the superior menu. Out of 9 dishes, think I am changing 4 of them.

Am keeping the first dish, sharkfin, steamed fish, noodles and desert. Changed the pipa duck to sesame chicken, scallops with sweet beans to scallops with asparagus, seafood roll to champagne ribs, and added more ingredients to the bamboo piths dish.

Not sure if I need pay more, coz the chef needs to go back and re-do the menu. Will know within a week.

Well, the first two dishes were impressive. However, the following 5 dishes seems to fall below our expectations, in terms of presentation. Taste wise, the duck is tough. Others okay lah... Luckily, the noodles and red bean soup are good.

Oh yes, the plates will be changed for every dish. We were pretty impressed when the waitress told us that all our guests will also have a plate holder and a chopstick & spoon holder. And they are all gold coloured. Looks impressive! The table arrangement we had yesterday was for the guests' tables. VIP tables will be different, we were told.

cynthia

 

[tinkle]

cynthia,

Superior menu is expensive! did you try their western dessert? heard its their specialty.

what are the colors of the table cloths, etc?

how's your package like?

 

[cynthia]

Hi tinkle.

Yup, 2 pcs of the Western desert was provided to us last night - White Chocolate Mousse with Crunchy Royaltine. Ermm... the mousse is sweet and the chocolate base is bitter. A nice desert which I would choosem, if I am dining at JNC.

I din choose that for the wedding banquet coz normally people starts leaving the tables when deserts are served. So, I see no point paying $2 each for the deserts when I know that not 100% of the people will be eating it. btw, it's served individually. But, it's a nice desert. Maybe it's possible to arrange just for friends' tables?

Table clothes and napkin are cream in colour. Chopsticks are cream in colour too. Teacups are a little small though. One mouth and the tea is gone...

My package consists of:
- 5-tier model wedding cake (genuine top tier: this will be send to the bridal suite for our consumption
- Heart shaped Mini chocolates as favours
- A bottle of champagne with chocolate amenity in suite room
- Invitation cards up to 70% of confirmed attendance and guest book
- Trial dinner for 6 pax
- Anniversary dinner for two worth $250.00
- Supper for two provided in suite after wedding dinner
- Stage, podium, wedding cakes and champagne fountain
- Ice carvings (swans, cranes or vase with fresh flowers)
- 2 VIP tables with white gold or gold overlay
- Complimentary seat covers for all chairs
- Floral arrangements (6 floral candle stands, 1 long floral table centre-piece arrangement)
- Free flow of soft drinks and mixers for four hours (from cocktail at 7pm till dinner ends 11pm)
- 30l & 20l barrel of beer provided at S$680 and S$580 respectively
- Corkage charge for hard liquors and wine at S$35 and S$25 per bottle respectively. Not chargeable if get from hotel
- 2 nights' stay in bridal suite with American Breakasts.
- 20% parking coupons for confirmed attendance. Additional can be arranged at $3 per piece. This is worth it. Last night, our parking from 8-10pm is about $4

That's about it.

cynthia

 

[inki]

hi artic_hare,

Thanks for sharing your experience. Was the seafood roll nice ? Because I wanna swap my coffee ribs to something else. Seems like even the seafood roll fell below your expectation.

 

[tinkle]

thanks for sharing cynthia..

i read earlier on your banquet is on 2nd June this year.. small world.. we actually wanted to hold it on that day but it was already booked.. oh well, anyway..

Do you have a scanned picture of your invitation card? Quite disppointing design FS has on their card.. don't know whether we want buy our own cards or not...

 

[cynthia]

Dear Inki,

I wouldn't say the seafood roll are not nice to eat. In fact, it's nice. It's the presentation.

The seafood roll itself is like ngoh hiang, but orange in colour. The arrangement is like 2 rows of the seafood roll with some green garnishes at one end. That's all. Looks rather plain to use. The plate they used is rather big and all of us thought that it looked rather empty when it first came.

cynthia

 

[passion]

Hi Cynthia,
Did you actually try the champagn ribs? Did they suggest to you the change or you chose from menu?
Passion fruit

 

[cynthia]

Oops tinkle... did we took away your date? When's your date now?

Anyway, here's a scanned pic of my DIY card.

<!-Attachment: cardfront.jpg-!><CENTER><TABLE BORDER=1><TR><TD>

invite card front
cardfront.jpg (23 k)</TD></TR></TABLE></CENTER><!-/Attachment-!>

cynthia

 

[cynthia]

Hi Passion,

No, I have not tried the Champagne ribs. Got another chance at tasting though...

Ermm... the chef (mine is Jereme) will ask about our likes/wants and dislikes. Then he will suggest the dishes, describing the ingredients he will use and the method of cooking. We can also specify what we want - whether dishes, method of cooking or particular type of ingredients. E.g. My FSIL requested for pacific clams to be added to the bamboo pith dish.

cynthia

 

[angelia]

<FONT COLOR="aa00aa">cynthia</FONT>
saw ur invite. very cuteeeee leh...

ur DIY means... u did it urself, or sent to printer?!

 

[cynthia]

Angelia dear...

Your're right! I did sent it to a printer.... My home EPSON printer... ;p

Interested in seeing how Chef Jereme from Four Seasons looks like?? He is featured in May's Lifestyle magazine... but doesn't look like him in person.

cynthia

 

[kevin]

Hi Cynthia
We were also thinking of booking Four Seasons for our wedding ... we have around 15 tables so Crescent ballroom is just perfect for us ...

the package quoted to us is similar except that we were not given complimentary seat covers ...

Is the complimentary seat covers given only if opt for the more expensive menu ?
The catering manager we liased with is Billy Yap ...

 

[cynthia]

Hi Kevin,

I supposed so. They wanted to charge me $2 per seat covers actually, for the labour cost in ironing the seat covers. But they waived that when I told them I was looking at the superior menu. So... must be loh.

Hmmm... Billy Yap... never heard about him before. I've heard about Danny, Mr Ho, Michelle...

cynthia

 

[inki]

Hi artic_hare,

How much do you have to pay to add the pacific clams to the bamboo pith dish ?

 

[cynthia]

Hi Inki,

After their calculations and discussion, they are not charging me extra for all the changes. I supposed the changes just balanced themselves or the increment is minor loh...

cynthia

 

[tinkle]

cynthia, that's a very cute picture you have on ur invite! Thanks for sharing!

We're still looking for an alternative date, too many people got too many opinions to express.. so still trying to get *The* date.

Gee.. feel warmed.. at least there's a wedding going on on 2nd June.. even though not mine.

 

[cynthia]

Hi tinkle,

Do you mean you are still looking for a date in this coming June? Wouldn't it be a little late this moment in time?

cynthia

 

[tinkle]

no Cynthia, we're looking for year end now.. now going to get some fortune teller to set a date for us.. hopefully this will shut many mouths up, afterall you cannot play play with fortune teller huh?

 

[inki]

Hi tinkle,

Are you really looking for June this year ? I know someone who is considering giving up theirs next month.

Hi artic_hare,

When will you be going down for your food trial again ? Cos I'm interested to know how the champagne ribs taste.

Does the chef talk to you directly when you're doing the food tasting ?

 

[tinkle]

Inki,

nope.. we only wanted June 2 to accomodate some relatives abroad who will be visiting.. since we can't then we've decided to shelf the date till later.

Won't your friend lose the deposit to give up the date?

 

[cynthia]

Hi Inki,

We are not going to taste the changes. Will leave it entirely up to Chef Jereme. I'm sure he will do a good job. No, the chef will only come and talk to you after you have finished the dessert.

We will not be using those Four Seasons invitation cards

It got throw out from the windows just because someone commented that the colour is not auspicious for weddings

I really dunno whether I should get angry

or sad

so sick and tired over this issue...

 

[inki]

Hi Tinkle,

They're asking around in the hope of not losing the deposit. But they're uncertain since it's a major decision to cancel the dinner.

 

[toh]

hi cynthia, thanks 4 sharing wif me ur food tasting experience. btw is the coffee ribs tht bad? cos it sounds funny 2 me oso.i m looking st the superior menu. btw how does the invitation card loks like? really tht bad meh? is the printing included? any good printing co. 2 recommend? or any good card shops 2 recommend? thanks...i very stress now cos still haven't decide where 2 take wedding photos.haiz...

 

[cynthia]

Hi gymmi, I did not taste the coffee ribs myself. But so far, have read in this forum and others that it is not very likeable by many people. Anyway, that dish is not on the superior menu...

FS's invitation is cream in colour. Besides the embossing of some curvy lines on the front, there is also a square box. You can see it from my wedding invite posted in an earlier posting.

Printing charges are not included. FS only provides the cards (70% of confirmed attendance), the envelopes and the gold strings. The strings are already cut into appropriate lengths, but you would still have to tie it yourself.

As for printers, you can try AcePro. It is also one of the printers recommended by FS. When you collect the cards from the conceige, the chinese characters (name of ballroom and address) will be provided in addition to some maps and namecards o printers. Think FS has negotiated for some special rates for us.

cynthia