Hi Astrogirl,
Thanks!
Because we prepared our own wedding favours and removed some other stuff, we were able to get them to waive the $2 laundry charge. We got the wine from them...less hassle and a few of the guests also commented that the wine was pretty good.
Mr Ho is the Asst Director of Catering. He was the one that we dealt with from beginning to the end. Very nice, friendly and professinal guy.
On the no. of hours, i think it depends on what time you reach the hotel. The normal check in time is 3 pm. If you request and if available, you shd be able to get early check in. We reached the hotel about 2 pm. We then went around the hotel to take some photos until 3:30 pm. Then, we basically relaxed, unpacked some stuff, went over the night's schedule, showered, etc.
My husband and the best man were the ones who met up with Mr Ho and the Banquet manager before the dinner at about 6 pm. They gave them the schedule, our songs, ensured everything is in place, etc. We talked about the march in before that day, but while he was down there at 6 pm, he went through the march-in, counted the steps, etc. and then talked to me when he came back up to the room.
So, technically, we didnt have any rehearsals. Actually, not sure how we could have, because they only started decorating and setting up the ballroom from 6 pm. Also, the march-in is pretty short....and so nothing much could go wrong. And, your MUA would have to arrive at about 5 pm, so that he can have about 2 hours to do your make-up and hair. For me, because i wanted to go down during the cocktails to mingle around, my MUA finished everything at about 7:15 pm.
We started our march-in and our solemnisation at about 8:05 (supposed to be 7:45 pm). Alot of the guests were pretty punctual. Whew!
It was indeed very special for us to be able to have our solmenisation before our guests. Our dinner started after 8:20 pm.
The asst banquet manager or the waitress serving at our table were always there to help or assist whenever we turned our heads. That includes telling us when we should go up for our 2nd change, calling us in the room when it was about time to come back to the ballroom, etc. They were really FANTASTIC!!
As for the food....well, i didnt really eat much that day. But, many people were very impressed with the food. I have not heard any bad comments so far. For all the dishes and at all tables, they were always individually served and my guests also commented that even though my dinner ended after 11 pm, they did not notice the servers rushing through the last few dishes because of the time.
Astrogirl, when is your wedding? Have you signed up with them yet?