Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel

coco

New Member
Hi Pink,

You mean you confirmed your wedding with GCWF even without meeting the coordinator??

Nope, have not decided on my wedding venue. I had attended their Bridal Show and i was really impressed. Most likely will select GCWF. Is your coordinator good??
 


pink

New Member
Hi coco,

Yes, I did ask opinions from friends who attended wedding dinner at GCWF, so far so good
happy.gif


My coordinator is a very helpful lady, you can ask to speak to her for help.
 

pink

New Member
Hi coco,

My wedding is in 15 Dec
happy.gif

When is your big day? Did you speak to anyone from GCWF?
Nope, didn't attend any bridal show so far.
 

raine

New Member
hi ladies.
i am so glad to hv chance upon this forum and see so many feedbacks about GCWF. just wana thanks all of your time to input yr comments which are very helpful to me becos i am intending to hv my banquet at GCWF.

i hope all of you having wedding at GCWF will have a beautiful and memorable time. but ofcos the most important, a blissful marriage with yr other half.....congrats!!

ps: do share more info of yr experience in GCWF, who know we might exchange 'perks' we bargain with the coord and get better return.
 

askabride

Member
Yeah, raine, agree with you, really hope there are more couples who have been to sign up with Grand Copthorne Waterfront to come forward to share more "bargainable perks" with us.
Personally, I really love to hold my banquet there but my number of tables is unable to meet their min. reqt of 40-45 tables during weekends. Also, after some rough calculation, each table is really not cheap
sad.gif

Another dilemma is that to hold it during weekends (to cut costs and to meet with the min. reqt of 35 tables) might tire out my guests and I might not be able to get my helpers to take leave just to help out, sighh...
 

elmo

New Member
Hi!!

Me & my hubby just signed up for GCWF! Gotto to enjoy the Citibank promo too!

Really can't resist the beautiful ballroom...gagaga...

Ours will be held during weekend thus has to fulfil 45 tables....
 

askabride

Member
Hi Elmo,
When is your wedding?
Who's your wedding consultant?
May I know what perks did you bargain for to be included in your package?
I'm already so attracted by the photos of the ballroom I've seen, duno how it will turn out when I see it for myself! But seriously speaking, how much did you bargain for each table?
Looking forward to your reply!
happy.gif
 

storm

New Member
hi ladies

I just had my wedding dinner at Grand Copthorne on Sep 15, and I'm one happy bride! I had a great time working with my consultant, Ivy, who's currently on maternity leave I think, and then Sheena who took over Ivy at the last stage...they were both very accomodating, very willing to try new things, and very helpful to my husband and I. For instance, we wanted to have a dessert buffet at the end of the dinner, so that we could mingle with our friends and family, and also so that not everyone would leave at the same time. We also didn't take photos at every table, so we figured this would be a good chance to take photos with our guests. And Ivy actually arranged with the chef to have a simple dessert buffet after the last course. We paid an extra $50+++ per table for this. Which means about $5 a head. We paid $700+++ for the tables(without the dessert buffet) and this included chair covers as well. The dessert buffet (came with vats of coffee and tea for the older folk) was a hit with the guests. Good chance also for my parents and parents in law to catch up with their old friends. Also, we wanted my little cousins (I have a lot of them) to be able to sit on their own and to have a different menu, a kids menu, n I paid only $200+++ for the kids tables, which I had 2 of. So I got to save some money there. not forgetting that the kids had a great time together, plus I prepared a goodie bag for each of them too, so they had fun with those.

it's hard for them to reduce the price, but what they do is that they throw in other perks for you. like offer food tasting for ten rather than six. Ivy was excellent! She told me that technically the food was prepared for ten persons, so she just asked us to have ten people at the food tasting, so as not to waste the food, so this allowed us to have both our siblings along as well as 2 of our aunts, who are great cooks, to come along as food critics....we were very very pleased and touched by her flexibility in this aspect. She didn't have to do this for us, but she did, and it made our day. I also have to say that the food was better on the actual day than food tasting day. The feedback was taken seriously by them. By the way, the guests loved the ballroom.

well, if anyone else wants to know more, you can e-mail me at [email protected]. hope this was helpful.
 

smile

New Member
hi elmo/askabride

i'll be holding my wedding end this yr at Grand Coptherone waterfront.

i'm so surprise to find this thread "alive"
hee.. pop in a few times but seems like no1 there :p

hi storm
tks for sharing. can i chk with u... since my dinner is in Dec'02, i've not receive any call fm them to collect my invites for printing. Do u think i shld call them instead?
 

storm

New Member
yes, it's always better to be proactive. we're always calling them or e-mailing them to ask them things...anyhow, we didn't collect the invites from them. We printed the cards with one of the printers they recommended and the printers got the cards from them.
 

charmed

New Member
hi storm,

i will be holding my dinner on a weekday at grand copthorne this dec too. will be going for my food tasting next week and am suppose to email them my choice of dishes. mind sharing your menu? what's the feedback?
 

storm

New Member
hi charmed

what we had was:
- Deluxe Chinese & Japanese Combination Platter
- Braised sharks fin with crabmeat and harsma
- Golden crispy chicken flavoured with deep fried garlic
- steamed crab claw with minced shrimps in Chinese wine sauce
- sauteed fresh scallops and deep-fried crispy rice szechuan style.
- braised sliced abalone and mushrooms with green seasonal vegetables
- steamed fresh garoupa coutry style
- double happiness ee fu noodles
- dessert buffet.

during food tasting, the food was quite salty and some too sweet. But think they corrected this for us during the actual night...not that I would really know, feedback was generally good, think everyone had such a good time that they didn't give that much feedback on food...hee hee...but most people said it was good...
 

smile

New Member
tks storm.

we will be using their printers too. so,all we hv to do is to call the printer and he will collect the cards fm GCW? thats great!!
happy.gif


hi charmed
when is ur wedding? i'll be having mine on a friday. did u call to arrange for food tasting?

i was told that they dun hv mp3 players. i'll hv to convert all my march-in songs to normal CD.

storm, tks for sharing.
i'm looking forward to mine
happy.gif
 

storm

New Member
hi smile,
we used Jasvy, which we found very reliable and very fast! also made ang paos from them....the ang paos had our names on them and had this cute couple on it....we used these ang paos to give out on the wedding day.

you do need to fax to Jasvy your info, there's a format that GC will give you, and then they will come up with a format and show it to you. You probably need to go down to kallang where they are located to check that everything's ok, as well as to decide on the fonts, and to pay the deposit etc....
 

charmed

New Member
hi storm,

thanks for sharing. your menu looks quite different from mine. i guess yours must be a weekend menu right? i will be having my food tasting this saturday and both parents will be discussing abt the wedding traditions thingy - kindof a get together for both families. our parents know each other long ago and my brother and dad in law play mahjong regularly. It would be quite fun actually.

hi smile, i will be holding my banquet on 10 dec. how abt yourself? acutally grace called to remind me abt the food tasting.

how's ur reparation? i am starting to stress liao. photo footage, card printings n photo album not completed yet!! i hope to get everything organised by end oct. keeping my fingers crossed.
 

smile

New Member
hi charmed,
my actual day is on 27 dec.

i'm rather stressful lately and i've just quit my current job. very stressful at work, my boz not very understanding. see, i'm scare to travel and i've told them many many times that i dun dare to stay in a hote alone at nite. they dun understand lor, keep insisting i fly. *sob*
sigh... i hope i can get a simple job after my customary. time is bad... i'm keeping my finger cross too (jz like u)
sad.gif


my face alot of pimples now..

i've my PS taken and hv selected the photo. hv u had ur PS? hmm.. i oso hope to finalise everything as early as possible. i'll send my invites to the printer by end oct.

happy planning to you.

hi storm
tks for sharing all the valuable information with us
happy.gif
 
P

puzzled29

Guest
hi storm,

How come you got food-tasting?? cos when i enquired recently..i was told no food tasting even though i am booking a weekend package...

can tell me how you managed to bargain with them on that?
 

storm

New Member
hi puzzled

I have no idea, it was part of the package originally arredy...think most of us have that in our package...cos if you see charmed's mail above, she's having her food tasting this weekend...maybe they changed things....can't help you with this I'm afraid. But maybe you can tell your coordinator that many of your friends who've had their weddings at GC had food tasting so why is it that you are not entitled to the same. But ask nicely, that always helps...dun confront..ask if there's any way they can work around the problem and help you arrange for a food tasting..
 

edwin

New Member
Yo pple, citibank has a promotion with GCW, less 18 per table, free 1 table, free 1 30l beer, 1 free room. I have booked with them for Nov 2th neXt yr !

Quite a good offer do you think ?
 
A

aa

Guest
hi edwin does ur package comes with free food tasting or 50% off for food tasting?
 

smile

New Member
hi puzzled

i've got food tasting too and my wedding is on a weekends. however, if we did not hit 40tables, we will hv to pay 50% for the food tasting.

i'll be having mine next month.

hi edwin,
any idea if we are able to use the citibank promotion now that we've signed the contract?! :p
 

padre

New Member
AA, 50% for the food tasting is included in the package. it's the norm there because the food for the banquet does not comes from the restaurant. they have to ask the chefs to cook in the banquet kitchen and book a function room for the food tasting. usually hotels have free food tasting. i'm still trying to negotiate with her.

happy.gif
 

padre

New Member
smile, i'm not sure if they allow u to have the citibank promotion now because you have already signed the contract. the citibank offer is valid is you sign up before mar next yr.

You can visit citibank website and search for wedding, they have offers for other hotels, even for fullertion and ritz charlton, but GWC is the best amongst the offers !

happy.gif
 
A

aa

Guest
hi padre, i took up the citibank promo too. i tried negotiating for free food tasting but ....

anyway, we spoke to elena. what abt u?
 

smile

New Member
hi padre
tks for your explanation. hee, i "signed" before march next yr too
happy.gif


AA, my coordinator is oso Elena Ong. i tried to ask for FOC food tasting but she could not give. unless we hv 50tables or more. we are only targeting at 40~45tables.

Most hotel do hv free food tasting. anyone of u manage to get free food tasting? maybe can share with us.
 
A

aa

Guest
hi smile, when's ur wedding? mine is sept 03. my coordinator is also elena. wondered if she's good. heard lots of gd comments abt grace though. is elena new?
 

smile

New Member
hi AA
my wedding is on 27 Dec 2002.

i'm not sure abt grace as i've not talk to her before. As for elena, i find her rather helpful.
Can see that she really trying to help us in a way. We even manage to ask for one extra room for our helpers :p

but hor, she is very firm when comes to food tasting. She insisits that we will hv to pay 50% for the food tasting if we did not hit 45 tables.
how abt u? did she give u free food tasting? hv u confirm the no. of tables?

i'm writing to her to ask for citibank discount. not sure if we are entitled.

Was told that GCW did not have a MP3 player. Also, i'm not able to get FOC projector. most hotel provides FOC projector but Elena is rather firm in this. We will hv to rent if we need a projector for that evening. Anyone of u manage to get FOC projector?
 

storm

New Member
I managed to get it FOC but then it was in exchange for the champagne n cake which we didn't want...by the way, are you paying corkage charge? dun ok....can bargain one...they insisted i pay corkage but then I told her I knew of someone who didn't pay corkage (which is true) n so they told me they would check for me and then let me know, n then after that, it was waived...
 

padre

New Member
smile,storm

I'm also trying to ask karen whether they could give me FOC for the food tasting. I used the citibank promotion for the wkend package which as pretty worth it. I got $18 of each table, 1 free room, 1 free 30 l beer. She said that she was also willing to loan me the projector FOC, she also waived the corkage charge for the wine and hard liquor. She's still preparing the contract so everything is still not on black and white. Those were what we agreed on verbally when we met her.

All and all, I think I a pretty good deal. btw my wedding is Nov next yr. still early
 

smile

New Member
storm, padre
i checked with elena. i'm not entitled for the citibank promotion coz i signed the package way before tis promotion starts.

storm, how many tables did u hv?
according to them, we need to hv at least 45 tables in order to ask for FOC food tasting. Can u tell me the no. of tables u hv?

oso, according to a friend, his was at NETT amount. when we try to ask for NETT, we were told that GCW dun give NETT leh...
sad.gif


oh.. was been told that elena that they prefer VCR than VCD. o o .. if i use VCR, i'll not be able to see the footage again after the dinner coz i dun hv a VCR at home... any idea if i can insist on a VCD?

or anyone of u hv slide show/day time event shown during dinner time? pls share with me.
 

storm

New Member
hi smile

When I signed up, it was Aug 2000, so maybe the terms and conditions were different then. I agreed on 40 table, altho in the end we had 43 adult tables and 2 kids tables (for which I paid $200 +++ each) And they gave me food tasting FOC for 10 people. But then again, I think that was just my coordinator, Ivy, being really nice...my previous coordinator, Anthony I think, only gave me 6 people food tasting initially....
 

padre

New Member
Anyone seen their wedding fanfare for GWC ? I've my fair share of funny fanfare at the weddings I've attended.
 

askabride

Member
Hi all,

Any1 can share with me whether 50litres of beer is roughly enuff or is it way too little for a dinner with about 45 tables on a weekday?
Also, any1 manage to negotiate for FOC food tasting?
Lastly, care to tell me how much in total you all spent on the printing of the cards (how much per card + mould)?
Looking forward to all your replies, thx!
happy.gif
 
A

aa

Guest
Hi all ex-GCW brides and GCW brides,

A couple of things to check with you all.

Today, I happen to be at GCW and saw a wedding car at the entrance. So I KPO, went up to take a look at the wedding. A few things I observed.

1. Throughout the dinner, the glass windows with the garden was not unveiled. This's strange. I tot that's the best part of the ballroom but why didnt they show it?

2. For the first dish fanfare, disco laser lights were flashing around. Is it a must? Or can we request not to have it? Becos I heard comments from elderly that this makes them dizzy.

3. What's the wedding favour currently being given out?

4. The stage is very big but with 1 small pathetic wedding cake on the right and on the left, there's a decor, cant really tell what it's, it near to where the MCs will be standing. Is this just how the stage is going to look like? So disappointing. Nothing romantic nothing eye catching.
 

storm

New Member
hi AA

This is the link to my dinner photos. http://www.photoaccess.com/share/guest.jsp?ID=A4CF8F25306&cb=PA

I had my dinner at GC. So maybe you can have a look and see whether it is really a disappointing stage. I personally dun think so. It was very nice. We had the cake on one side (even tho we didn't cut it) and we also had two dolphins ice carving at the centre of the stage. when the curtain opened, it was lovely...and if you are having the champagne popping (which I didn't), then you'll probably have the pyramid of champage glasses on the stage too right?

maybe the curtain of that couple wasn't opened cos they didn't want to?

I also think you can tell them about what kind of first dish entrance you want to have.....if you dun want those lights, then I'm sure they can suggest something else...they also have this other light, called "Martin Lights" or something.. which creates these purple background polka dots and other colour shapes all over the ballroom...which I saw at someone's wedding during my food tasting...those are really quite ugly, and I highly recommend that you check it out yourself, and if you agree with what I think about them, then you should ask them to make sure they never use those martin lights for your wedding.

the current wedding favours are still pralines

askabride:

I had 30 litres of beer (one barrel) for about 43 tables, which was almost enough, just that we paid for three extra mugs of beer at $9 each. But we also had wine. so maybe that's why. But i think 50 litres for 45 tables should be enuf.

Free food tasting was part of my deal, but I understand that's not the case now. so dunno how you are going to negotiate for it....maybe some other brides can help you.....I'll have to go back and check on the cards....let you know later...cheers
 

nee

New Member
hi storm,

may i kpo who your actual day photographer is? Some of the shots v well done. lighting of the place looks good! congrats on your marriage.
 
A

aa

Guest
Hi Storm,

Thanks for sharing.

The decor on ur stage and the one I saw yesterday was slightly different. But still I think that the whole stage looks rather empty. Maybe the stage is too big.

I'm thinking what other ways to decor the stage to make it looks more complete. Maybe all GCW brides can help to brainstorm.

I wonder if they can change that curtain on the stage. Looks a bit obiang. The color looks dirty. Maybe change to something lighter in color.

When the curtain is drawn, I might request them to remove the cakes and whatever that's on the stage. They spoil the garden background.

Is the stage a T shape?

Storm, your hairdo is very nice. Who's ur makeup artist? And which bridal you signed up with?

Yours is a dinner right? Did they dim the lights in the garden halfway thru the dinner? How many tables you had? Looks quite spacious.

The table where you place the photo album, is it fixed by GCW? Can we shift to somewhere else?
 

storm

New Member
hi nee

my photographer was Ming from colonjay studio. his web page can be found on the singapore brides contact list for photographers....the lighting was good partly cos Ming actually got the hotel to adjust it to a level that would be good for the photos.

AA:

It's up to you if you think the stage is too empty, but at the same time, you dun want it to be too cluttered and take away the lovely garden view and besides, your MC and yourselves are supposed to be the main focus on the stage...n if you get them to come on stage to take away the cake, then you got to think about how it would look having their staff coming up on stage to cart the cake away....also, the cake is rather nice, and does not affect the view in my opinion.

Yes, mine was a dinner on Sunday night, my church wedding was on Sat. I dun know if they dimmed the lights halfway, honestly, on that day there's so much to do that you won't notice any of these things, I didn't anyhow, didn't even notice when they drew back the curtains....having too much fun with the program and chatting with guests. but if I'm not wrong, the garden isn't really lighted, just that the pavillion has some fairy lights on it I think, but otherwise, not much lighting.

I had 44 tables with 2 spare tables, so 46. that's about the max number you can have to have the L shaped walk in.

yes, the table that the photo album is on was placed there by GCW. I'm sure you can shift it somewhere else. But I'm not sure, I didn't take care of those details, my helpers were the ones who took care of it....

my package was from J&M bridal & photography. my makeup artist was Charmaine, who is one of their staff. and the hair is all mine, not hair extensions!!! hee hee...

no the stage is rectangular, not t-shape.
 

nee

New Member
Hi Storm,

that's what i thot!! the style was jus too familiar... He is going to be my actual day photographer next June... so u happy with the album he gave u?
 

storm

New Member
hi nee

actually, he doesn't give you an album...he just gave us our 14 rolls in 14 silver albums from Konata....I had to buy my own album and stick in the photos. I bought two albums from Bookbinders at Citylink and stuck them in, quite painstaking work, but completely worth the effort when we look thru them and you can see a story and you can relieve the memories of the day and the looks we gave each other, stuff like that. But we really enjoyed working with him and are very pleased with the photos that he took....the dinner ones were nice but the day time and church ones were even better I thought. do you want to see them? if you do, let me know your email add and I'll send you the links....but dun worry, you are in very safe hands!!! he's a really nice person....not that kind of loud, noisy, in your face kind of photographer...cheers
 
A

aa

Guest
Hi Storm,

I think I'll not be having the champagne and cake cutting ceremony. So I wont have the glasses and cake on stage and therefore need not worry about having them wheelcarted away halfway thru my MC's speech
happy.gif


Most probably my stage decor will be something hanging down from the ceiling. As the curtain draw apart, those things will be drawn apart too. Some nice flowers/ribbons I think. Yet to visualise.

From the photos, the tables are quite widely spreaded, I tot you only had 37-40 tables. It's a good news, becos I've 43-45 tables and I like the spaciousness.

Who was ur coordinator at GCW or the one whom u signed the contract with?

Is J&M a taiwanese bridal?

Notice from one of the pic that the waiter point (the place where they put the new plates, drinks)is right in front of the glass windows, besides the stage. So awful.
 

storm

New Member
Hi AA

I signed the contract with a man called Anthony but he left and then Ivy Yeo took over. However a month before my wedding, she gave birth and was on maternity leave so Sheena took over. All very good to work with

J&M is not a Taiwan place. They are located at Tanjong Pagar beside Frederick Lee.

Nee:
Sent you the links. hope you enjoy them!
 

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