Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel

[odiey]

hi mgt & Sherl
just fwded the pic to you. let me know if you din receive ya...

i have chosen my dishes... gonna have food tasting in 2 weeks' time. will update you gals after that. I had the garlic chicken in my list... and the yam pasteas well as the teochew style steamed pomfret. My hubby is a teochew so choosing all the teochew dishes if there are ;p

 

[moarie]

yukie,
how much was ur per bottle of wine?? Which type of wine is nice and worth paying for lor?? which one did u choose?

odiey,
got the email liao.. thanks..

 

[jan193]

Odiey

Do keep us posted

 

[sleepysleep]

Hi Odiey,

May I have a look @ the pics too?
[email protected]
Thank You

 

[sleepysleep]

Hi ladies,

Do you all know how much is the rental of the outdoor photoshoot area?

 

[bugbear]

Hhmm...sleepy, i have no idea...but i thought usually if u sign up with the hotel, you can arrange for a photoshoot timeslot?

 

[sleepysleep]

hi bugbear,

i intending to have solemnisation there hehee but think need to pay rental fees correct?
but intending to be on the same day, wonder will they wavied the rental fee for me or not
hopefully can =)

 

[lourdes]

hi odiey

would like to view your pictures as well

thanks
[email protected]

 

[yukie]

Hi mgt... we bought our wine at $17.50 per bottle.
As for which wine is nice n worth paying for, i got no idea at all. But wat i knw is u will never go wrong with austrialian wine...

Can't remember which 1 we choose... will check wif hubby later...

 

[bugbear]

Hi Sleepy, yeah, the rental for the outdoor is i think $588+++, which includes flower deco and setting up the chairs in theatre style at the promenade...i think 30-50 chairs?
But if you like indoor, GCW also have arrangements for that...

U may want to talk to them and see what they can offer u

Which date u thinking of?

 

[jan193]

outdoor photoshoot area? whr's tt u tokin abt?? u mean v r entitled to a photoshoot timeslot???

sori i'm confused

 

[sleepysleep]

hi bugbear,

should be next yr june, my anni date with my bf heheee so no need remember so much dates =P

 

[bugbear]

Hi sleepy...heheh...good good...seems like june next yr is a pretty hot mth...

 

[sleepysleep]

hi bugbear,

really! i also v.scare i might not get the date in june but i really hope i can get it coz just nice is our 6th anni hehehe

but i heard from some ppl next yr months of marriage v.little so june might be a hot month ... coz have 2 lunar 7th month *gasp* didnt know had such thing. lunar 6th month also no gd, plus the qingming month .. wah.. v.little month

 

[bugbear]

heheh...yeah, i initally wanted june 2006 as well, but went to geo and was told that next yr is totally out for me and FH, so had to bring forward to Oct this year...very rush and stressed initially cos i couldn't get venue...very very scared at that time

But now everything seem okie...luckily for me that i started researching early in the year for 06 wedding

 

[moarie]

My AD is june 24th nx year.. already had one more couple fighting with me for the date. I only managed to get the date coz they gave up.. that's why.. so if u want JUNE, muz faster book liao..

Yukie,
$17.50 quite ex liao leh.. my budget for wine was less than $15.. hmm... will go for the wine tasting first then decide lor.. anyway, i still got 364days..

 

[jan193]

Bugbear,

Tis tells us it's best to start doing everything early keke.. it's gd for u nw tt everything is pretty much gg smoothly for u

 

[marthastewart]

hey guys, anyone knows if the hotel is strict about the duty-paid liquors and whether they allow the usage of decanters?

 

[jan193]

martha,

i tink most hotels r very strict abt tis

 

[marthastewart]

i went to stefii, some of the stuff quite nice, but they only give roses, gerberras and orchids. I haven't had time to go down to June Florist, but June gives a mixture with Lillies so I gotta check that out first since i lurve lillies.

as for liquor - shit - will tell the in laws since THEIR guests drink this kinda stuff...none of my business also, sian.....as long as i don't have to spend anymore $$!

 

[marthastewart]

oh dear guess what, mother in law jus went for a wedding at GCW and said the food is not nice because too salty! how? i don't wanna do food tasting because I am given the option to save $$ on one table...and there is only so much we can instruct the cook right? if they really wanna be lazy and cook badly, then its their reputation that gets destroyed. of course in the process, me n hubby's reputation get destroyed too...*sigh*

 

[jan193]

martha,

mayb u can juz mention n comment to ur coordinator. but i always tink food is something very subjective cos everyone's tastes is diff. It's basically impossible to please everyone.

 

[marthastewart]

ok, got the verdict from mother-in-law (who isn't a fussy person but who may have fussy friends).

1. cold dish - think she didn't like the japanese combi and she said jellyfish wasn't fresh.

2. sharks fin - starchy!

3. pomfret - wasn't well cooked and tasted starchy...hmmm...wonder what that means...

4. fried scallops - 'cannot eat'. she said everyone complained it was like the cheapskate steamboat scallops.

5. abalone with veges - vege cook until black black, like eating grass.

6. yam paste - she said 'not nice'.

i feel really discouraged here, because i have to pick from the menus with these dishes and i don't want to top up any $ at all for other dishes. ANYBODY who has had a GREAT WEDDING with GREAT COMMENTS and 50-odd tables, PLEASE REPLY ME PLEASE!

anyway, fiance said that if there are too many tables the standard seems to drop. quite true. my friend was there at an 18 table wedding and gave rave reviews for the food. mil went there for 50+ table wedding and said it was substandard...

oh dear i got 50+ table...so f-ed up i dunno what to do now....

 

[moarie]

martha,
apparently, GCW's food rumoured to be either too sweet or too salty but the reviews i got from my friends were good leh.. hmmm..

maybe u should go for the food review and see... certain food that's already salty, can ask them not to put too much salt.. or maybe tell them to take their time to cook.. dun rush or something..

by the way.. have u seen the trees yet??

 

[bugbear]

Morning Gals!!

Dorami...thanks. I am glad that i started early...so everything seems to be on track now

Martha, i am quite surprised to hear your MIL comments about GCW food. All along, i tot the food had rave reviews. I only know that the sharkfin is not really that fab...but the rest should be pretty good. Does your MIL prefer less salty food? Cos food taste is quite subjective. Some say ok, some say too salty...or not salty enough. It's really hard to please everyone.

Don worry too much. Maybe base on your MIL comments, you bring it up to your coord and get them to talk to the chef. Also maybe stress to your coord that your family is very particular about food, etc...

I metup with the Banquet director and he too told me that GCW food is quite good compared to other hotels...even better than 5* or 6* hotels...where he used to work with...

Don worry so much about the food okie...i am sure the hotel has their reputation to uphold...and they won tarnish that.

Is the trees at the garden really that bad now? Eventhough i am taking the straight, but i also would like to open the curtain at some point...if it's really that miserable, then might consider not opening at all.

Martha, i think June florists give roses, lilies and gerbaras. If you like lilies, u should visit June...

Does any of you gals know if we can mix the florists? Eg: stage deco by 1 florist and table setting by another?

 

[sherl]

Martha, I'm also in the same boat as you; probably not going for foodtasting coz can save 1 table's money that way.

My bf and I are comforting ourselves this way: 1. The food at foodtasting is going to taste different from the food at banquet anyway, due to mass production.
2. Assuming we do food tasting, if got any dish bad, we can ask to change, but we will not have the opportunity to taste the dish we change to, so no point. Even if we ask for less salt or something, dunno how they're going to translate that in mass production. If the entire food tasting is bad, we will only get ourselves demoralized, as cancelling the banquet there and finding somewhere else is obviously not an option unless you can afford to lose the 5k deposit.

So in the end, think food tasting is a good-to-have but not that important la.

Think most people who go to hotel banquets know not to expect restaurant-quality food.

Don't worry too much, coz like Bugbear and Dorami say, food is really subjective.

Gals, what's this I hear about the trees in the garden dying?? *panics* The garden is why I fell in love with the place! Anybody knows what the new garden looks like now?

 

[moarie]

hi gals..

the tress in the garden aren't really tress already.. the old ones died and the replanted new ones.. prob abt 1.4m in height..

I dun think my hubby and i are going for the food tasting also.. although its 50% off.. but think its a lot of money also... so must depend on anyone who has gone for dinners there already..

Bugbear,
dun think can mix the florist.. heard from my cooord that the florist will do everything for the event once confirm.. coz money how to split btw 2florist...

 

[bugbear]

Gals, don worry about the food. I will be going for food tasting sometime mid Aug...i will definitely update you gals on the food okie...

Hhmm...i going to meetup with my coord next week, maybe i will hop by to look at the garden, then let u gals know.

Heheh...mgt, was still thinking of mixing the florists. If i did not hear wrongly, the last time my coord say can mix...but i just wondering if any couple did that...think it's going to be quite messy if mix...heeh..

So when u going for the wine tasting?

 

[moarie]

bugbear,
dun think i will go so early leh..
if u want, i can go down together lor.then if can, we can order together, but ask them to deliver mine later lor... let me know when u want to go down okie...

 

[bugbear]

mgt, it's okie...u still have time to shop ard...don commit too early...slowly shop...

 

[marthastewart]

hey everyone, thanks for the encouraging comments! yeah the idea that at food tasting, you get the well cooked food, and on the day itself its different - that's very true...what i hope they wont do is 'anyhow cook' because there're 50 tables instead of one.

As for salty, yeah its subjective! If less salty, some people say 'no taste'. so it's really quite dumb!

i have asked my coordinator already and she said she will check to see what happened!

So just gotta cross fingers n pray hard almost everyone is happy and satisfied that day!

You guys serving beer n wine for cocktails on your wedding day? I am undecided whether to do it too because I will have to buy at least 10-15 more bottles of wine and another barrel of beer which is like 700 bux!

as for the trees, at night can't really see much except for the gazebo lighted up and the fairy lights...so not so bad huh? Stefii does fairy lights for the stage decor...think it's a nice idea?

 

[sherl]

Thanks bugbear... must let us know the food quality then ok. heehee.

Well, since my AD is in March, hope the new trees would have grown up by then. hahahhaa..

I'm definitely not serving wine and beer at cocktail. Will only start serving alcohol at first course or at least until people are seated. A lot of people have advised me to do that, coz most drinks served at cocktails end up being wasted - they get misplaced along the way. And drinks will go faster when you dun have food to go along with it.... just my two cents...

 

[moarie]

hi all...

my AD june nx year, but will serve wine and beer lor..

martha, u might want to check if u can bring in ur own beer.. one 30L barrel cost $270+++ outside.. need to check the corkage of beer from the hotel if u intend to bring in.. i think buying from the hotel is more expensive though..

 

[marthastewart]

hi mgt, wow you mean you can buy beer from outside? but im sure after adding the corkage it will be same price again!

BUT I will ask them anyway!

I was thinking that serving alcohol would be a nice gesture, but it will incur me lots more $$ and i don't really have that much to show-off. Father in law will be pissed to know I don't serve though...he thinks it will make him lose face.

 

[bugbear]

Hi mgt, i have asked coord about the corkage for beer. I made calculations and it's very ex...even more ex than gettig beer from hotel. Usually that's what they will do, so that u will buy from hotel.

Anyway, i will not serve wine/beer during cocktail. it's a total waste. glasses get misplaced, ppl walk away and the glasses are removed...easily, a barrel of beer can be finished during the cocktail...just bcos of wastage.

I think ppl these days are used to not seeing beer/wine being served during cocktail already.

Martha, i personally think not serving wine/beer during cocktail is not losing face...i feel is just wastage. If guests really enjoy the wine/beer during that time, i won mind serving...but it's the wastage that is not worth it. Talk to your FIL nicely. I am sure he will understand

 

[yukie]

Hi Martha... we will b serving beer as its free flow but not wine during cocktail...

Agree wif bugbear... it's wastage tats not worth it. We will not be serving beer if it's not free flow....

 

[bugbear]

FREE FLOW??? Yukie!! How did you managed to get free flow of beer?? U confirmed how many tables?

 

[moarie]

wat!!! freeflow BEER!!!!! this is amazing lor.. ha..

martha, if u think u want to get beer, i think the beer place can go on consignment also.. open considered sold lor.. u check the corkage first and let me know lor.. oh, but the beer, got to bring in yourself. got to go to the supplier to get lor.

bugbear,the beer corkage from what i know is $200+++ leh.. so everything adds up to less than 600.. abt $550 leh.. hmmm... how much did ur coord tell u the corkage for beer was??? GCW's one barrel of beer is $600+++ for a 30L barrel leh.. which is $700

Wont be serving beer and wine during cocktail.. waste money leh... not that $$$ to spare... pocket got hole liao..

 

[yukie]

Hi Bugbear, mgt... my package was sign last yr during the their bridal show(37 tables). The free flow beer is under 1 of the OCBC Prestige Credit promo... Sign up with them partly oso b'cos of the additional perks fm the OCBC promo...

 

[bugbear]

Yukie...good for you...so u have 1 less headache.

Mgt...izzit right? i cannot remember how much my coord quoted me...will go ask him again...u thinking of getting your own izzit?

 

[moarie]

bugbear,

with the 2barrels of beer, my FH was thinking of getting extra beer lor..but on consignment.. if open then pay lor...u go check lah.. if u want, let me know also..hahha... i am like the drunkard!! wahpiang.. wine also me.. beer also me.. ha..

Yukie, u so lucky... the perks must be superb..

 

[jan193]

Yukie..so gd...envy envy leh got free flow beer

most of us aint able to get this kind of bargain

 

[kaye]

so envy U all,
I only gt 1 barrel of beer...
maybe ask them to serve during 2nd dish....

 

[bugbear]

Hazel, i think it's possible...

mgt, u mean u get 2 free barrel of beer?? Weekday or weekend? how many tables u confirmed? i only got 1!
Definitely will go check with the coord...sigh...

 

[bugbear]

mgt, u got 2 x 20l beer?

 

[moarie]

i got 2x30L... coz of the package i signed. mine's a weekend and i have 45tables lor..

bugbear,
well, if u want extra beer, then let me know lor...

 

[bugbear]

mgt, u confirmed 45 tables in the contract ar? Who is ur coord?
Mine is also weekends, but i only got 1 barrel...coord says not possible to give another barrel...i only asked for additional 20l!!!

 

[moarie]

i package i signed included one 30L barrel, then coz i signed may 15th, i got an extra 30L lor.. its in the package lor.. that's why i signed with them..

when did u sign ur package?? B4 GCW's bridal show or after?? b4 was may15th lor..

 

[jan193]

my pkg same as mgt too

 

[sherl]

Hi gals,

think my coord told me before that the corkage for a 30l beer is about 350+++, think 200+++ is for 20l. coz i remember after FH and I calculated the cost it was more worth it to buy a barrel from the hotel than to bring one in ourselves and pay for corkage. Maybe can try to waive corkage? That's what FH and I are thinking of doing...