[Wedding series 9] - Alternative venues

Wow, Friday’s here and one week has passed yet again! I barely blinked ;p Well, this brings us to another installment of the wedding series!

You know, I’ve always lamented the lack of interesting and “characterful” venues for weddings here in Singapore. With envy, I droll over the gorgeous images of overseas weddings held in farmhouses, in the open fields, by the hills. Like I mentioned in my previous post, weddings here are typically held in hotel ballrooms. This is primarily because hotels dangle attractive packages. This translates into great convenience for couples as most things such as food, décor, set up are covered.

Oh, and I must add that one of the reasons is also that we have huge guests lists. Guess what? I have a guest list of 300! How in the world did the list stretch to such a length? My memory tells me I’ve never won Miss Popularity in school or anything of that sort (nope, neither did my fiancé). The last I did a count, my personal guest list came up to no more than 30. Well, the reason for this is that Asian weddings are family affairs. One’s entire extended family (paternal and maternal) are involved. Additionally, your parents would want to invite their business contacts, some colleagues, some friends etc (you get the drift). I would love for a small intimate wedding dinner with close friends and family, like this image here (which I just can’t get out of my mind.) We can all be ourselves, be relaxed and laugh a lot.

[image from Tec Petaja Photography]

But well, a huge wedding dinner is part of my culture which I must accept. Afterall, it’s your parents chance to share their joy with everyone else, surely you can help them with that?

But, if your guest list is not that huge, there are beautiful venues (other than hotels) in Singapore where couples can hold their weddings. Here are a few:

Sentosa – One of the benefits of living on an island-- no need to head to Bali or some exotic beach for your dream beach wedding.

Halia Resturant – Singapore is also known as a garden city. So, have your wedding in the beautiful Halia Resturant nestled in the lush Singapore Botanical Garden.

Flutes at the Fort – A wedding in a charming black and white colonial bungalow built in 1908. Nice!



The White Rabbit – A beautifully-restored former chapel. I was considering this place but it would mean shrinking my guest list.




The Arts House – An arts and heritage venue in Singapore, this was built in 1827 and was Singapore’s first Court House and former Parliament house. I particularly love the Blue Room and Chamber shown here. It would be a stately wedding! Your guest would have a thrill sitting in the chamber as they witness your solemnisation!

By the way, a number of these are resturants/bars, so you can check them out if you visit too!

[click on images to enlarge]

[images accordingly from: Sentosa, Halia Resturant, Flutes at the Fort, The White Rabbit, The Arts House]