ROM venue selection - tired

His parents agree to no wedding dinner happily. I strongly suspect it is because they are worried that we may spend their money.
Well, this is fine with us. This is what we've always wanted, but we'll still hold a simple reception to officially announce our marriage to our relatives and close friends. I won't settle for anything less.

One day, he mistakenly mentioned to his parents that he wanted a wedding dinner (which he quickly corrected with the words 'dinner reception').
His mother jumped (literally, her torso jerked upwards) and asked, "What dinner? How come?" Her face displayed unhappiness.
WTF. She thought that we'll just walk into Registry of Marriages, solemnize and then go home and make babies?
Fat hope.

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The search for a good ROM venue IS extremely tiring. A couple of visits, rounds of analyzing, and one-sided inputs (from yours truly), left me mentally drained.

I striked off all my previous choices.

1. One Degree 15 is a hidden gem - really hidden. My biker friends will find it extremely inconvenient as Sentosa is off limits to motorbikes. I'm a biker myself!  We initially wanted a buffet style reception but I suspect that will attract criticism and a huge loss. You know, Singaporean chinese. Typical.
   One Degree 15 provides sit down Chinese dinner too, but I read somewhere that the food is not delicious. The glass building is pretty attractive, though.
2. Siloso Beach Resort is another hotel on Sentosa. One of the reason is its location (see above remarks). It seems to have mainly outdoor venues, which is a NO in our humid weather. Although, I must admit, its outdoor rooftop venue is a difficult choice to give up. Oh! Did I mention that I love its pool?
3. National Museum of Singapore has a small & cosy bar/restaurant. Once, we witnessed preparations for a wedding going on there. But the dining place is enclosed, no windows, only 4 walls. Furthermore, the museum has a sleep-inducing effect on my fiance.
4. The One TwentySix choice did not receive a positive reaction from my sis (maybe cos' it is in East Coast). I think that its indoor area is too small to accomodate guests who hates the warm and humid weather.

Basically, I did another round of research (on my own) and found several other websites which were especially helpful in providing venue information.
Here they are.

Singapore Brides
Flowerpod
Style Weddings
Tivole

This time, I chose The White Rabbit, Chijmes, Rochester Park and Flutes by the Fort.

The White Rabbit
Former chapel, now it is a secluded elegant european restaurant/bar near Dempsey.
The management kept most of the chapel decor, so when we visited the place, we fell in love with it immediately. Tall ceiling, glass doors, frosted windows, the air-con is good, the lighting is good, and lots of walking space. They also have a bar and a sound system available.

BUT, the service is a less than attentive. While we were there (alright, maybe I wasn't dressed posh), the waitresses did not seem to be alert enough. We had to walk to them to pat them on their shoulders to get them to come to our table for the bill. They did not notice our vigorous waving.

7 days ago, I sent them an email enquiring abt their packages. No reply yet.

Chijmes
Chijmes Hall was a chapel in a former school, now a hall to hold events. I contacted the management and was told that they are changing hands in Jan 2011. For this venue, I've to choose from a list of approved caterers from Chijmes. I went online and found some not so positive feedback abt the food. The venue rental is expensive.
This place is out.

Rochester Park - 1 Rochester, Min Jiang, Da Paolo, Graze
There are several restaurants to choose from at the Rochester Park, somewhat like Dempsey.
Min Jiang is likely out. The chefs roast ducks in the view of guests. My vege relatives will pass out.
1 Rochester has held several weddings before. But they have not replied to my email after 7 days. In one satellite map, I saw that there are construction works going on somewhere near them. Not sure until I go there for a casual visit.
Da Paolo seems good. I love Italian food. We have to check out this place.
Graze offers 4 course meal. The website is informative as they put up the wedding packages on it. Nice place. We will check it out.

Flutes by the Fort
I love this place! The food is good. The service is good. The house is beautiful! It has an old colonial atmosphere. Adore!

But my fiance complained abt the heat, even though we were seated indoor with air con.
He admitted later that he feels uncomfortable in fine dining restaurants.
He said no.
Fcuk. :(

On with the search... on my own again.