Merchant Court Swissotel

[takarasuki]

hi sunflower. no lah... shld be 10 pax to food tasting for 6 dishes. hee...

U can cnfm with your coordinator again. Shld be std for all... unless you ask for the special? kehkeh...

 

[shuhann]

sunflower n twinkle,
sorry for the wrong info..it shud be 10 pax to 6 dishes..i thot u meant the number of courses for my dinner..sorry ya..mine was actually 6 pax but i negotiated wif jennifer for 10 pax..now i am adding 1 more pax so i m paying $35 nett for tat..

whn is ur AD?

sunflower,
i did not view the bridal suite as it was not available at the time i was there, only the normal room..will try to ask to view it when i meet up with mag..i am with GHA Tampines branch..how abt u? whn is ur AD?

twinkle,
someone from SB recommended me the projector..u can go to tis website : http://www.bleulax.com/ (replace x with b) call brandon at the hp number provided in the website..

the test tubes also got recommended from SB..his name is victor n u can contact him at 90222117..there r 3 different sizes..i took the 1 at 52 cents each..

 

[~sun_flower~]

Hi shuhann,

That's y I remember that it's was for 6 pax. Will try to negotiate...

I'm have not confirm my actual date. Looking @ a few dates.

U taken ur photos? Any ps to share? I'm with bridal zone.

 

[shuhann]

sunflower,
yeap, taken my PS..leave ur email address n i will send it to u

 

[~sun_flower~]

Hi shuhann,

my email address: [email protected]. Thanks.

 

[takarasuki]

hi shuhann, thanks for the infos.
May I view your pic too? This is my email.

hi sunflower, bridal zone is fr marina sq that one?

 

[shuhann]

hi gals,
sent..

check wif u gals, do u have any car contacts n guest list format? if yes, can share wif me? [email protected]

 

[~sun_flower~]

Hi twinkle,

Yap, Bridal Zone is the one @ Marina Square.

Wat abt u? Which bridal shop are u with?

When is your AD?

 

[takarasuki]

halo shuhann... your pics very nice! And you got the victorian "air" in you. Are you an air stewardess? Cos whenever we saw nice pics, the ppl in charge will tell us the bride is an stewardess. hee... And which BS service you engaged?

Which guest list format you looking for? The one for your helpers to see which guest to go to which table nbr?

hi sunflower, my BS is Everbliss. Located @ Suntec. So we more or less is neighbour? hee...

 

[~sun_flower~]

hi shuhann,

Thanks for sharing your photos.. U r so slim.. U & ur hubby look very nice in the photos...

Did u top up any photos?

hi twinkle,

We are indeed more or less neighbour.. When's ur AD?

 

[shuhann]

hi twinkle n sunflower,
thanx for ur compliments

me not an air stewardess, wish i were but too skinny to join

the graphic designer made me look a bit "fleshier" else i really look very thin

me engaged golden horse..

yeap, u r right twinkle..the one used during AD at the reception table..me struggling to do one now..till today, still unsure the exact number of tables i need..haiz, running out of time..

sunflower, i did top up from 26 pieces to 55 pieces and additonal artwork for the album, therefore, i top up extra 2K for tat..very ex hor..but my hubby practically likes most of the photos..in the end, he was the one selected most of them

twinkle,
u confirmed wif merchant court already?

 

[nanny]

Hi Ladies,

Anyone booked Merchant Court's weekday package for this year? Can share wif me the price?

 

[shuhann]

hi nanny,
i booked this year package on weekdays in dec..there r 2 different price range..mine is the $698 (9 course) and the 8 course is at $668..

 

[eteh3]

Hi Sunflower,

my AD is on 31st Dec 06. i'm with Milan weddings for my BS.
Solely looking at MC only. although i've a back up hotel just in case the deal with MC is so bad that we decide not to take from them.

Hi Shuhann,

is the bridal suite big enuf to house the jie-meis b4 the actual dinner?
so that in the event Mag do not give the extra room, at least they can temporarily use the bridal suite.

 

[takarasuki]

halo sunflower & shuhann. Yes, I have already confirmed with MC. And my AD is next mth.

wah eteh3, you still have so much time to plan for your wedding. However for hotel booking, better kiasu abit. hee...

shuhann, kinnda a headache when it comes to deciding the actual number of tables we want hor? Me also having a headache over this. For myself, guess can only more or less confirm after the guests rsvp. As for the table format you referring to, it depends on whether you want to arrange your guest by table nbr or alphabetically.

Anybody inviting indian or muslim frens? Wonder how MC charges. Anybody know?

 

[cynfei]

hi all,
i am considering btw hilton n merchant court.
looking at 50 tables, cause in fact have over 60 tables of guests. but merchant court & hilton is already above my budget therefore not willing to consider more x hotels such as MM which can accomodate more tables.
can anyone share with me whether it's a tight squeeze to fill up the ballroom with 50 tables?
thanks!

 

[takarasuki]

hi cynfei, last weekend went MC and saw a banquet of 48 tables. personally, i find it ok. MC can accom up to max 50 tables if i didn't rem wrongly.

 

[shuhann]

eteh,
u meeting mag today right? try to negotiate for a 2 nights stay at their bridal suite..i heard tat most of the others hotel is providing 2 nights stay..i did not view their bridal suite as it was being used, so i'm not sure if it can accomodate the jie-meis..ask mag to show u

yeap eteh, u have plenty of time for preparation

once u booked the venue, u can take a breather before u start ur preparation

twinkle,
ur AD earlier than mine

how's ur preparation? done almost everything? have u had ur foor tasting? if yes, does ur menu has the dish by the name of pork rib in coffee sauce? does it taste nice? have u confirmed the number of tables? u r right, really headache, me preparing the list now..till today still can't confirmed yet..even after guest rsvp, me fear some changed their mind last minute..may i know when shud be an appropriate time to call up our guest for confirmation? me trying to arrange my guest by table number..how abt u?

me inviting some muslim n vegetarian friends..if u dun have a table of either one, means u slot in 1 or 2 to the normal chinese table, they will charge u double..say ur table is $700 per table, they will charge u $700+$70=$770 per table..more ex..unless u have a table of 10 pax of muslim or vegetarian frens, it will b $700..

 

[shuhann]

yeap cynfei, twinkle is right, think they can accommodate 50+ odd tables..

 

[shuhann]

twinkle,
r u using projector? have u gotten urs?

 

[eteh3]

hi twinkle,

I've a lot of time to plan for my AD but MC is fully booked for Dec 06 in the wkends since Sept 05. For my previous AD date, MC is booked already. was considering Meritus.
A lot of couples are holding their wedding next yr.

But coz we changed & confirmed the AD date, MC happen to be available,so we fall back to having it in MC.
Meeting up with Mag this evening. Trying to consolidate what I need to bargain for now.

Trying to pace the wedding planning. Dun like to rush towards the end. So once we confirm with MC, just gotto pamper & prepare for the PS & all to fall in.

Hi cynfei,
With your no. of tables, u can consider Meritus. They will open the ballroom w/o pillars for you. Can go take a look if you want. I attended my fren's wedding there. its not bad.
Their min to open that ballroom is 50.

I'm not offered that pillarless ballroom coz my max tables is abt 40 only.

 

[takarasuki]

hi <font color="aa00aa">eteh3</font>, same prob here. the dates i wanted was even tkn 1yr before my wedd. haha... as if MC is offering the banquet at low cost. Dates got grabbed up fast at MC! cit cit...

hi <font color="aa00aa">shuhann</font>, i went for my food tasting liao... The coffee dish that you mentioned, erm... I took 1 bite only, coz i dun really like to eat pork rib. But its smelling good. Taste ok too!

As for the nbr of tables, me not confirmed yet. Gotta wait for rsvp. For my csae, I will contact my frens early 3wks b4 my AD, by late of the same week, I will post out the invitation cards. Then for those cards which reqd me to hand it to them personally, I will hand it to them 2wks before.

Dun worry too much. Think ppl who has already rsvp to you shld be coming. Try to think the best, relax abit.

Me worry that if I were to arrange the list by table nbr, my helpers may have to go thru the whole list to find guests name. Think most prob i will go alphabetically. As for the projector, I've got mine fr my sis-in-law.

huh! so strange, you mean have to put muslim frens who may not know each other in the same table? Coz I do not intend to slot them into a table which is already 10pax. Not nice to squeeze them like that lah...

 

[shuhann]

twinkle,
me is tasting the pork rib, so will decide after tat whether i will retain or change to another dish..

will it be too late to handover the invitation cards 2 weeks before? i thot normally is around a month before..dun know when i shud hand them over..r u meeting ur coordinator again before ur AD? who is ur coord?

may i check with u too, ur AD is on a weekday or weekend? how many bottles of wine r u ordering? we thot of ordering 8 cartons, not sure if it's enuf or too much as my hubby from navy n my AD is on weekday, not sure if guest will consume more alcohol on weekdays..eteh or twinkle, can advise?

u might be right twinkle as to go by alphabetically on the guest list..will try to think of it..

me dun want to put muslim or vegetarian frens who don't know each other in the same table thus i will be slotting them into a chinese table..swee lim n mag said tat max a table can take is 12 but 12 will b abit squeezey, therefore i will only max to 11 person..mayb u can check wif ur coord again to work it out..i juz wonder; if u slot 1 muslim into 9 pax per table, do u think they will do the same calculation?

 

[takarasuki]

hi shunahh, i wld like to mix &amp; match; so the idea of 10pax/table would be perfect. will ask my coor on the charges.

oh! The rsvp &amp; card thing is only my personal arrangements. You will of course have your own arrangements, hee... A coll at my hub's office getting married in Dec, but already gave out the invitation cards. I am happy with the dishes; thus wun be changing the menu.

Mine on weekday too. MC restricted 1 red wine/table. So bottle of wine depends on the nbr of tables i need, which is not confirmed yet. Normally, if ppl gotta work on the next day, they wun take too much alcohol &amp; wun stay too long. But if you got siao-onz guests, u better be prepared. hee...

yes. before my AD, will mit my coor again. My coor is SweeLim. Yours?

 

[shuhann]

twinkle,
mine is magdalene..hopefully she will be around on my AD..

i guess i saw n heard too many comments, thus sometimes dun know who i shud listen to..eg: the card thing..

so difficult to decide on everything..always fear tat i will make the wrong decision..

r u using the hotel's wedding favours?

 

[takarasuki]

shuhann, i agree... too much suggestions will confuse us. Thus, everytime when I am confused, I will choose &amp; pick what I like from what I heard &amp; do it. hee... Get your own style! Ppl's suggestions are only for ref. ;-)

Ya lor... tentatively getting favours fr MC. Yaks! Dun like the favours... I suggested to my hub to get our own, he say chin-chai use... Last min lay-chey to get fr elsewhere. haiz... boh-bian lor... hahaha... So I sticking to the given. hee...

Which dialect grp you belong to? Need to get up real early on your AD?

 

[shuhann]

twinkle,
yeah, last minute very difficult to get wedding favours..those i saw in the website, need at least 2-3 months in advance..if both u n hubby dun really concern abt it, u can use the ones given by the hotel..

me hakka n hubby teochew..but already told hubby i dun want him to pick me up too early, dun want to incurred extra charges on MUA..so we've settled at 8am instead..how abt u?

 

[takarasuki]

shuhann, oh... I haven't decide on the time yet. See?! Though my AD is next mth, alot of things still dunno. Even my frens are rushing me to give them their time table. Haha...

I very lazy wan... I like to sleep. So I ask my hub to come ard 0830. hee... Another 1/2hr to laze ard.

BTW... will u be going thru the an-chuang ceremony? How you gonna do it? I mean do you know of the things to prep? Need kiddo boys to roll over the bed &amp; such...

Any gals know abt an chuang procedures? Can share?

 

[eteh3]

hi shuhann,

now i'm making a list of 'bargains' to approach Mag with later. FH also coming up with his list so we can 'attack' her.

If yours is a wkday wedding, ppl might not drink so much. Esp now that the traffic police is very strict &amp; always on the patrol. know of 2 cases whom got stopped for usage of alcohol. &amp; next day, your guests have to work.
But you know your guests best, are they wine drinkers or beer drinkers? If they love wine &amp; u are provided real good wine, there might be high consumption.

If your co-ordinator is also Mag, care to share what did u manage to squeeze out of her?

Hi Twinkle,
Think there's a thread on an chuang. you might wanna check that out. Me not moving into my new flat after AD, so might not be doing the an chuang procedures. Although I think my FMIL would like us to. Dunno how that can be done when my FH is going to stay with me &amp; my parents and using my present bed.

Heard that you cannot sleep or use the bed until an chuang. Then where will I sleep meantime?

 

[shuhann]

hi twinkle,
me too haven't plan the time table yet..my hubby so busy with work and at times not in sgp, so very difficult to do planning..haiz..till today, his guest list still pending..me try not to go out too late so that everybody get some rest before the dinner..me planning to end the daytime ceremony by 1pm..

me not really sure abt an chuang also..got to ask my in laws side as my parents not the traditional type, therefore they don't know all tis n not 'pantang' also..will share with u once i get hubby to check with his parents..me doing the guo da li tis weekend during the food tasting..

hi eteh,
sorry for the late reply..my coordinator previously is jennifer, therefore i can't squeeze anything from mag coz i already signed with the ex coord..how was ur meeting with her? did u squeezed anything from her? how do u find her? i never met up with her before, only talk to her thru the phone..how many days did u get for the bridal suite? how is the bridal suite? izzit big?

yeah, still thinking abt the wine..dun think it's on consignment basis as hubby is getting from his colleague's sis..tats y can't have too much extras..my hubby from navy, thus there might be high consumption but then like u mentioned, people might not drink much coz it's on weekday..hmmm..

me moved in to my new place alredy..so me n hubby sleeping in another room using my old bed..we've positioned the new bed in the master room..yeap, u cann't use the bed till ur AD..even after an chuang also cannot sleep on it..guess u might need to sleep on a mattress?

 

[eteh3]

Hi Shuhann,

Met up with Mag last fri.she's fine..quite nice.young girl..i think hardly any older than myself.
She's quite shuang kuai abt the things we asked for. like up-ping the invites,car passes, barrel of beer etc for free.
Only thing is we r quite disappointed with the bridal suite. I think a deluxe room in Grand Copthorne is bigger than it. its not the one BIG room you get. Its seperated by a wall between the bedroom &amp; living room. No extra night for us.

I was thinking of getting 2 deluxe room instead. Need to discuss with FH n meet up with her again.

They are getting a new menu for food &amp; deco as well for next yr. So i'm affected although if i still like the present layout, they still can do it for me.

Not sure if i'm doing the an chuang coz my parents not pantang. but my PILs are. I dunno how they are going to do it with my bed but i think we just cant be bothered to coz both me &amp; FH not pantang. so its up to FH to settle the parents. hee...

 

[shuhann]

hi eteh,
u got free barrel of beer free? how many litres? me got only 30 litres free..

the bridal suite really tat small? do u mean u can exchange 1 bridal suite for 2 deluxe room? for how many nights?

 

[takarasuki]

hi shuhann, my guo-da-li also this weekend! hee... My AD also planning to end by 2pm.

The bridal suite I also find it small. My fren's bridal suite at another hotel was of 2 storey; kitchen below, bedroom above. And living room also spacious, wow! That's why I am kindda disappointed with the bridal suite at MC. But I guess that as long as you've had an enjoyable day, its more than enuff.

If you exchg the bridal suite with 1 deluxe room, you can stay for 2 days. For 2 delux rooms, dunno. Personally I will stay in the bridal suite. Cos deluxe room, you can rent and stay anytime you like.

Eteh3, were you the one who had orange juice &amp; had a lady &amp; a man attending to you? Later part think left Mag with you both, is that you? Coz when I was there, I saw another couple too.

 

[shuhann]

hi twinkle,
wah, ur friend's bridal suite so shiok..exactly like a house..really got to bear with the MC's one

anyway, since we got only 1 night n normally it will be too tired to really enjoy our stay at tat 1 night right after the dinner, guess it's ok then..

yeah, mayb u r right..juz stay in the bridal suite..since my company has corporate rate in MC, i can anytime rent a room there cheaper..will discuss with hubby..

 

[jmkoek]

hi ppl,

I have a problem, i am having my ballroom extended till 1 am, coz i planned to have a dinner and dance thing, however i have just found out that they serve their alcohol till only 11 pm, she claims it is company policy, any of you know of such a thing, soft drinks are on free flow till 1am , strange but i need to go talk to swee lim....

 

[eteh3]

Hi twinkle,

Yes! was that couple who took orange juice. you are the other couple seated next to us? Saw this couple talking abt wedding too. Was that lady swee lim then?

Will be asking to see the deluxe room next. For all you know,its bigger than the suite coz the wall inbetween is quite stupid.

Hi shuhann,
yup, got extra 30litres of beer. If want more, that's another barrel of 30litres coz Tiger beer apparently do not manufacture 20litres anymore.

I havent really bargained much, just stated what other hotels are already giving. Prob might ask for extra waiver of corkage for wine &amp; coz i'm doing my solemnisation on the same day, might ask for free rental of the poolside. cost abt $300 for that 45mins-1hr.

Did anyone get free day usage of any room? Mag says can only confirm with us 2 days b4 AD to tell us if there's any available rooms. If there is, she dun mind to give us free usage.

Hi jeremy Koek,
Did you have to pay extra to extend ur ballroom till 1am? coz my AD is on 31st Dec, if its free to extend, relatives &amp; friends can do the countdown tog. &amp; not just eat and go off.

 

[jmkoek]

hi Eteh,

Yup it's for free and so is the drinks.....except they said alcohol stops at 11 pm, i am having problems with that... coz they gave me 2 barrels of beer and i am eurasian and drinks and dance is high piority compared to food on a wedding.i am also having a band in as well.

 

[jmkoek]

yes i also got free corkage on all wine and duty unpaid stuff also, they close 1 eye, 2 nights in the suite plus a free helper room.

 

[jmkoek]

shuhann,

We are neighbours rite!! familiar handle !!!

 

[eteh3]

hi jeremy koek,

Is yours a wedding dinner to be held &amp; then you asked for it to be till 1am? how many tables did u confirm with them?
they gave free corkage on all wine regardless of the no. of tables you have for the dinner? 2 nights in the suite plus a free helper room?!

When is your AD? who is your co-ordinator?

I spoke to Mag, and she's quite relunctant to give me the free helper room until there's free rooms available 2days b4 my AD. But I want her to put it in the contract plus the 2 nights stay as well.

 

[jmkoek]

38 tables , wedding in february , 2 nights suite stay , 1 helper room, all corkage waived . working on the late night alcohol thing, swee lim is my co ordinator, paying for the more ex table menu.

 

[eteh3]

did swee lim agree with ur requests immediately or you had to really bargain for it? the 2 nights suite stay &amp; helper room is written in the contract?

care to share how u did ur bargaining? did u have to exchange something for what u gotten?

 

[faye77]

hi

can anyone share ur wedding package n perks d get from them?

 

[booboobabe]

Hi Jeremy,

Yes, do share some of your negotiation tips... my dinner is on a weekend and i confirmed 45 tables but i was not able to squeeze Swee Lim for extra night in the Bridal suit nor an extra helper room, nor FOC corkage for all wine.

Sign....

 

[jmkoek]

ok , that i dunno , but maybe becoz my cousin was the ex gm of the hotel.... not sure if he had a hand in anything..

 

[shuhann]

hi all,
sorry for the late reply..

eteh,
mag too cannot confirmed with me on the day room

she told me the same reason as urs..i'm meeting her next week, will try to ask her again..i'm still thinking whether i shud open another barrel of beer if in case the 30 litres is not enough on my AD..

i find tat mag is very inflexible, compared to swee lim..n she seems to b very slow n not very responsive..hopefully everything is alright on my AD..

i juz went for my food tasting last weekend..the banquet manager who will be around on my AD is very friendly n a nice guy..we brought 2 bottles of wine to the food tasting, we checked with the waiter if there is any charges to open the wines n he said no but towards the ending the manager said actually he has to charge us corkage charge..at first he said, he will charge us only for a bottle, n later when he brought us the bill, he said he waived it off for us..nice guy..

hi jeremy,
yeap, we are indeed neighbours

wow! u got 2 nights at the bridal suite n corkage charge waived off for all wines?? how did u managed to do tat? we can't get tat at all

yeah, care to share how u managed to bargain for all tat?

 

[jmkoek]

actually , my requirements were just that and when i signed up everything was given, now it seems alcohol is up till 1 am , so everything i wanted has been granted, i told them my concern was alcohol and that extra stay in the room ! upon signing up as i mentioned my wish list, swee lim just said ok, like i said i am not sure 1 barrel would be enough, she replied ok 2 30 litre barrels ok? , came to the room and said my fiancee wants to leave from the hotel , she said ok... so the rest of the stuff was eay lah, like the extra stage for band and extension till 1 am and the dance floor.the F &amp; B director was also at hand... still wondering if my cousin had a role in this...

 

[eteh3]

hi shuhann,
felt that mag was alright. not fabulous but not lousy. we asked for some of the things, she agreed immediately w/o hesitation. met up with her twice oredi, both times asking for more things. she actually agreed BUT still refuse to confirm the helper room.
She said that end yr is not the peak period for MC, so usually they will be able to allocate helper room to the couple.
But to me, as long as it is not stated in the contract, there's no assurance.

Hi jeremy,
I think your cousin definitely has a role in it. the F&amp;B director probably knew ur cousin so given u preferential treatment.
what u've gotten is way much more than all of us. even if we squeeze her dry, she will not able to give us what u have asked.

Mag told me if i want waiver of wine corkage to 48 bottles (i have 38tables),then she cant give me 2 30litre barrels. its either one.

Possible for us to use ur name?

hi booboobabe,
wow! u have 45 tables? then u shld be able to squeeze more out of ur co-ordinator. my FH's colleague signed her contract. but nearer the AD, she added another 2 tables &amp; then bargained for more stuffs coz she had more tables.
care to share what u have bargained for?

 

[shuhann]

hi eteh,
ok, i will check it out again with mag when i meet her next week..will keep u informed of the helper room again..will try to get some stuff from her..she told me since i've signed the papers, it is very difficult for her to give me anything..will try my luck again..

 

[eteh3]

hi shuhann,

i've just confirmed verbally with mag that i will take up with MC. Dunno if u might wanna mention that there are couples who has done amendments to the 1st contract after they've confirmed the total AD no. of tables.
I've seen my FH's colleague's actual contract. There's an amendment page.

Keep me informed as I wanna be sure of everything b4 i meet up with her to sign the contract too.

hi Jeremy,

Care to help us out with the bargaining?