katelyntan

My parents wanted us to have a grand wedding with at least 25 tables but we negotiated for an intimate wedding at a venue with max of 12 tables. By doing so, we had to really cut down our guest list drastically. A little paiseh we didn't manage to invite some people but we don't regret keeping the wedding a small affair and here's why!

Venue

Fullerton is a very special place for us. We celebrated our one month anniversary at The Lighthouse. When were looking at holding our wedding at Fullerton The Straits Room after we BTO-ed, and my then boyfriend proposed to me in Fullerton too! That said, I'm very impressed with Fullerton's service and will most likely do a separate wedding vendors review when I have the time. They have a larger ballroom which could do a minimum of 20 tables on weekdays, but we didn't want to trouble our helpers to take leave and guests to rush down from work so we didn't consider the ballroom at all.

People

We feel that it is more meaningful to be surrounded by people whom you are really close to on your big day. I'm not saying that those who aren't invited aren't close cause we didn't manage to invite a few close friends/colleagues as we really maxed out the venue. >< But with lesser guests, we felt that everyone were more relaxed and it's also more interactive. We looked through our wedding photos and I think our guests had fun with the confetti for our second march in cause it was not too crowded and everyone could stand along the aisle!

Planning

Everything was a lot easier to plan. Throughout the whole planning process, everyone kept asking how I manage to stay so calm even on my wedding day. Other than the fact that I have experience in events planning, having only slightly more than 130 guests made planning a lot easier! RSVP consolidation and table arrangements can be settled easily cause each table can accommodate 10 to 12 pax and Fullerton was able to increase food portions accordingly.

Atmosphere

Who says an intimate wedding cannot be grand? The wedding was held at a 5-star hotel with a wide selection of drinks and food served individually. My parents were worried that the wedding would be too quiet but we assured them that it wouldn't. Honestly, it's who you invite to the wedding cause having 25 tables of strangers wouldn't make the venue any livelier too. I think our brothers and sisters knew that they make up 10% of our guests so they dared to be a little more crazy hahas. Anyway, the wedding was no where close to quiet.

Budget

This wasn't our main concern but we used it as a reason to hold a smaller wedding. Also, since the banquet costed less than 30k (excluding photography, videography, etc) for slightly over 130 pax, we had extra budget on hand and we managed to add a DIY preserved flower bar which our guests enjoyed doing! Initially we were worried that only the ladies would be keen in the bar but the guys actually did for their wives/kids too!

That said, you have to come to an agreement with your family on the size of the wedding and not quarrel over the planning. I know a lot of elderly have the mindset that a wedding must be grand and everyone has to know about it. But weddings are not cheap these days and there's a lot more to plan than before! All the best for your wedding preparations!