Four Seasons Hotel

[h2b2b]

Hi gals,

Just like to let you know that I had a bad experience attending a wedding banquet in Four seasons. The waiteress wasnt trained. They spilled a whole tray of champange my silk dress. The banquet manager in-charge wasnt professional at all. First, they asked if I want to change into their uniform!! Then, they didnt even offer to collect my dress for dry cleaning instead they asked me to send it to them. Next, they told me that the stain was removed but that wasnt true and insisted on delivery back to me only between 9-5pm. It was once again send back for another dry clean. Finally after a whole week of frustration and discussion, my dress was return to me, cleaned but with no written apologies etc.

 

[fudgecake]

evie, was yours a chinese wedding banquet or a buffet? If it is a chinese sit down dinner, izzit very very weird to have a band performing at the dinner?

 

[evd]

Hi fudgecake,

Mine is chinese wedding banquet. Hubby and I thought a live music will help keep the mood lively instead of just sitting for dinner and nothing else.

 

[fudgecake]

evie,
hmmm... sounds good. so a singing band at a chinese wedding dinner is not weird at all

I was thinking of doing away with the cake cutting, champange pouring and needed something to liven up the dinner. Does the band interact with the guest at all? Btw, can you share with me the list of songs a little dream played that nite? can email me at [email protected] or pm me. thanks.

 

[babeshan]

Hi H2b2b,

I sorry to hear that! That must be horrible! Im suprised they did not apologize or compensate you in anyway. What happened after they accidently stained your dress? Did you managed to change into a dry out fit or have to sit throughout the dinner with a soaking wet dress. Did you inform the bride and groom after the banquet? Do you know who is the catering manager that they liased with? We have a similiar incident with Roxy mercure. The waitress spilled a glass of wine on my bf's pants. The pair of pants was stained. Next day we were asked to bring back the pants for dry cleaning but the stains remained. My bf demanded compensation n in the end we went to British India and Roxy paid for it. It took about 5 days.

I have just confirmed our banquet with Four Seasons. I pray its worth it!

 

[smurfying]

Hi Tubby, I've jus confirmed my banquet tis noon too, yeah with Lewis too. Were u alone there?? Since u're saying ur hubby is out of town. I was alone too and left with all wedding prep by myself. My FH works overseas. ;P

 

[joline]

Hi tansy,

im also interested in wedding luncheon, will you mind if you share with me your package?

[email protected]

 

[starris]

Hi Evie, can I check with you how many tables did you have on your AD?

 

[smurfying]

Hi joline, sent.

 

[evd]

hi Fudgecake,

Songs are sent. You can ask Little Dream to interact with the guests. I think Hsin Yeow is quite entertaining.

Hi Starris,

I had 24 tables on my AD.

 

[technicolour_dreams]

Hi everyone!!! A newbie to this forum, still trying to navigate my way around this trove of information. Went to the FS on Sat for the wedding show and i loved the ball room. Will be paying deposit this week! Any tips will be appreciated!

 

[smurfying]

technicolor, u din sign up last sat, then u still entitled for the wine? otherwise it'll b such a waste!

 

[jimmygo]

hi tubby,

its recommended that the stage faces your entrance into the ballroom. yes, i agree that its kind of short in distance... but hey, too long a distance will make ppl stop clapping too right?

we found the walk-in just nice during our AD. guests' clapping started to slow down when we reached the stage. at least we ended w/o a silent walk. our practice shows that it takes approximately 30secs from entrance to stage. provided you take about 1sec/step. your hubby will be the timer and you're the anchor to prevent him from walking too fast.

hope this tip helps.

 

[jimmygo]

hi H2b2b,

i'm sorry to hear about your unpleasant experience at FS. our AD dinner was a success and the wait staff were perfect. in fact, one of my guest even wanted us to compliment the waitress serving their table for excellent service.

i guess every hotel or F&B establishment will have some of the mishaps stated in your post at times. i'm glad that they did clean up your dress finally.

cheers!

 

[jimmygo]

hi tansy,

i agree that the wine offer would have been an excellent offer from FS. will save you guys a fair bit from the final bill.

 

[mage]

hi technicolour_dreams! I was at FS on Saturday too! Love the place, esp the private foyer area!

I made a tentative booking for April 07.

 

[smurfying]

Agreed that the ballroom is simply great and the pte foyer for reception. Another place is Oriental, also very nice reception area.

For me, i love crescent ballroom, and it's jus so cozy to cater for 12-15 tables tat i'm taking.

 

[technicolour_dreams]

heey Mage, I was won over by the champagne and martini bar!! Deciding to include one of them during my cocktails!!

hi tansy! I will talk to the catering sales manager and convince to include me for the 30 bottles of wine promo when i sign up this week!!!

 

[smurfying]

Hi technicolor, hope u manage to get them throw in the 30 bottles of wine promo. U getting the big ballroom of min 25 tables for dinner? But, not too sure how u gonna negotiate, they're pretty sticky for throwing in freebies, or rather not negotiable at all. And for myself, i've actually waited till last sat then sign my confirmation, cos they couldn't let me sign earlier cos of auditing purpose. Hope u succeed in ur neg

 

[technicolour_dreams]

tansy, thanks.

I will be getting the big ballroom yes - but we're looking at 30 tables. I was told that the maximum they can go is 32 which is the perfect number for me!!! Dont want any bigger.......

 

[technicolour_dreams]

Just spoke to Four Seasons - they refused to budge though the catering manager challenged me to find someone else who got the same promotion getting married in 2007!

Speak up ladies!! LOL

 

[smurfying]

Hey tat's great!!! Then wait till u find someone oso keen, they go book together, then u ladies will get the same offers as per last sat workshop

 

[squeaks]

I find that the Four Seasons is stingy with "freebies" but they are willing to exchange things.

Personally, I got waivage of hard liquor corkage fee for exchange for other things we weren't going to need. (I'm serving Cosmos for my cocktails along with champagne) This is for the smaller ballroom though. I guess its a give/take situation only.

Overall, I have to say that I am quite pleased with them despite not having the 'perks' that other not so expensive hotels give.

 

[technicolour_dreams]

Hey squeakers, care to share what else you exchanged?

Whats the maximum capacity for the Crescent ballroom? 15?

 

[smurfying]

yes, crescent is min 12 and max 15tables.

 

[squeaks]

We exchanged the favors.

 

[tootsieroll]

I agree with Squeakers. We also took the Crescent ballroom but kept the favours. We managed to get extra invitation cards and car parking tickets, which is obviously pittance to them. We probably didn't haggle as hard as we could have, but then, I'm not complaining, because the service was excellent.

 

[smurfying]

Oh yah, i've forgotten abt the parking tickets...gotta ask for more...!!

 

[jimmygo]

hi technicolour,

wish you luck in securing the deal. but do consider FS even if there isn't any free bottles. we signed up just after the workshop... in fact, we started hunting after the 2005 workshop was over. so we missed out on the discount or something.

in fact, my wife and i signed up for the wedding workshop last saturday even though our dinner was over in 2005. guess we wanted to complete the whole wedding process. we love the martini bar, strawberry bar and choc fondue!

 

[babeshan]

Hi tanzy & Jimmy! I was there with my sisters on Sat! Had 3 martinis and some strawberries. The set was great! Do you know whether Lewis is going to mail the actual contract to us? I love the ballroom and in fact we will be having the solemnizaton on the actual day before the AD. Have you confirmed with any wedding studio yet? Any recommendations?

Jimmy, thanks for all the tips! You have been helpful!! By the way, I would like the wedding to be a formal to semi-formal one. Any tips to make sure that my guests arrive in style, especially the older folks? Should I indicate on the invitation cards "coat & tie" .. Thanks guys!

 

[squeaks]

Etiquette used to dictate that you shouldn't put the 'dress code' on the invites for a wedding.. probably because there was a reasonable expectation that people would dress up for the event.

After attending my first Singaporean wedding, I realized why it might be necessary... So many people were wearing jeans and tshirts! I can understand if it was an outdoor/afternoon wedding but a night time event at a hotel? Ewww.

Anyway, I think you can try to subtlely put it on the invite or have your close friends and relatives spread the word that it is 'formal attire.'

That's what I intend to do. I want people to dress up a little to attend my wedding. No tuxedos necessary but please leave the jeans at home!

 

[squeaks]

I'd also like to add that if you act graciously towards your wedding planner, they will be more likely to extend you certain 'perks' like extra invites or parking etc. It is entirely within their discretion what they will give extra or exchange etc. So please approach them nicely and do not demand/threaten/whine to get something extra. ( I know that most people on this thread wouldn't dream of doing that but I thougth I'd point it out anyway...last thing anyone wants is a wedding planner that's not in a good mood on their wedding day!)

 

[evd]

Hi Squeakers, I completely agree with you. The more you ask for freebies, the more FS wouldnot give them.

 

[mage]

technicolour dream, I love the martini bar as well as the strawberry bar (super ex!!!) too!!! Considering the martini bar but a bottle of vodka is so much more ex!!! Is it possible to have just the bar without the vodka? Haha!

I'm considering the Crescent Ballroom but we only get to see half of the ballroom that day. So might arrange to go for another viewing.

Btw, the ice coffee that day was superb! Hehe!

Can I ask if you all get wine from FS or bring your own from outside? It seems to make more sense to buy from them given their corkage rates.

 

[schnauzie]

techni colour - when is your date?

 

[babeshan]

Thanks Squeaks, thats what I m going to do - Print it on the invites! Mage, you can trying asking the catering sales manager to waive the corkage charge. I requested waiver for 15 botles of hard liquor and got 5 instead. Do you all have any ideas how I can surprise my hubby during the wedding dinner? I cant sing, I cant dance...

 

[smurfying]

Tubby, u were there w 2 sisters? Were u all the ones who sat at the table nearest to the entrance?? There was a lady, in white spag and pink capri, came and took her contract placed beneath a plate cos one of u had sat on her seats? BTW, u saying u managed to neg for waiver for hard liquor. Any luck for waiver for wine instead? I told my FH, he's telling me waiver for hard liquor oso no use wat, cos hard liquor so ex, like $300-400 for a bottle of jonnie walker. He says can drink 10 bottles of wine liao haha...

 

[smurfying]

Squeaks, u're rite manz!!! when i sign my contract, i din try to neg hard for anything. I jus casually mention tat i probably need slightly more invite cards cos 80% of the guests are frens and single. Lewis agreed without hesitation.

 

[1622]

Hi girls,

I didn't know that there's a wedding workshop last sat... Can anyone enlighten me on how the martini and strawberry bar looked like as well as the choc fondue? Or perhaps share some pics with me... Thanks

 

[technicolour_dreams]

hi schunauzi, my date has been set for 17th Jan 2007 - its a weekday but ah well, all the better, hopefully less consumption of alcohol, unless someone else has an experience to share!

Mage, I liked the Crescent ballroom too, but wont be enough even for just my other half's family!!! YIKES
I am planning to try the wine at FS's first before deciding to bring in my own because a future father in law's friend is in the wine trade and will be able to give me the wine on consignment, i.e order 50 bottles and return the bottles that have not been finished.
Thats what his sister did when she got married 2 years ago.

 

[smurfying]

techicolour, wine corkage is like $30 per bottle leh. We tot of bringing in our own wine but it's like more economical to order fr them at $38+++ per bottle.

And yes, if we were to invite all our relatives, we probably need 100 tables, no joke. Hence we decided to do away with all relatives, jus invite our closest frens n immediate family members. We managed to pull thru at 12 tables

Love the idea of having it small n cozy at Crescent ballroom.

 

[jimmygo]

hi tubby,

guess what? i agree with aqueakers after attending all my friends wedding dinners. initially we wanted to exclude the dress code from our invite... but we dun want to have folks appearing in jeans and t-shirt. really... its a singaporean culture...

so... we printed 'formal' on the card and verbally told all my male guests to be in ties. female guests are usually safe. its usually the men that creates the problem. on our AD, there were still folks who appeared in jeans and polo tee. what to do? can't turn guests away... but to smile and say welcome. but i was rather disappointed with them. it shows the amount of respect they have for the bride and groom.

overall, 90%+ of our guests appeared in formal wear. thats the great thing. it makes the whole event look much better.

wrt the suprise, i guess u can make it a simple one by giving a speech abt your feelings for him and why he is THE ONE. it makes the event more meaningful if you're not sure what to do.

hi mage,

we took FS's wine instead. as you've identified correctly, the overall cost is cheaper if you order thru them.

 

[1622]

Hi sgwestie,

Good to see u here again, dispensing valuable advice

I read that u attended the wedding workshop last sat. mind sharing with me how does the martini/strawberry bar and choc fondue looks like? Hee...

 

[smurfying]

Hi Beary, i've attended the workshop too. Martini/strawberry bar were created out of ice sculpture. So it looks really really cool. Choc fondue is the normal fondue u see in many hi tea places. But one thing i find is martini bar is really very special. If i've the budget, i would love to do one since my frens are all drinkers!!

 

[1622]

Hi tansy,

wow...the bar is made out of ice sculpture? sounds very nice..is it very expensive? thanks for answering my qns btw

 

[squeaks]

There's so many ways that you can surprise your groom! My FH is a Spongebob fan.. sad but true.. so I'm going to surprise him with a mini Spongebob grooms cake made with chocolate. (He also loves chocolate)

Or you can arrange for the hotel to write a special message on his plate or the back of the cake where only you can see it...

Leave a rose on his chair with a love note from you...

Send him a wedding gift (via bridesmaid etc) to him before the wedding dinner while you're both busy getting ready.

Does that help? Let me know if you need more ideas.. I'm wayyy too shy to stand up and sing/dance/talk in front of an audience but the romance is in the details.. that's what I believe!

 

[mage]

Beary, the martini bar is $500+++, if I'm not wrong it don't include the alcohol, and the strawberry bar is $1,200+++. If I got the extra money I don't mind having the martini bar too! haha!

 

[astrogirl]

Georgette just called me last week and told me that they have included the seat covers for all 2007 packages. at least now i can save on the seat covers charge liao... hehe... so happy

originally was $2+++/seat cover, tat's expensive.

 

[1622]

Hi Mage,

That's expensive... hee..Can't really picture it in my head tho...

Hi squeakers,

Great ideas!!

 

[smurfying]

Astrogirl, my 2006 package already includes the seat cover leh...