Outdoor Weddings

I personally think that an outdoor solemnization ceremony is the most beautiful (worrying about the possibility of rain and combating the heat not withstanding).

Because of the two reasons mentioned, outdoor weddings/solemnizations are not very popular but with these venues you might just change your mind.

Raffles Hotel- The Lawn

I've already mentioned this before but it's worth repeating. The Lawn at Raffles Hotel is elegant, sophisticated. Oh so lovely (and posh too). The downside, it's the lawn so not the best place to be wearing high heels.

Singapore Art Museum

Although technically not an outdoor venue, the Art Museum (formerly St Joseph's Institution) has a lovely glassed in venue (The Glass Hall) that has an outdoor-ish feel even though you enjoy the comforts of conditioned air. They also have another beautiful beautiful venue for weddings - The Auditorium. But that's not on the list because it is not an outdoor venue or even close to it.

Botanical Garden

I think when people say "park" or "garden" in Singapore, the only thing that comes to mind is Singapore Botanical Gardens. And they have a pretty wedding venue to boot.

Fort Canning Park

On top of being a favourite for pre-wedding photography, Fort Canning Park is also a lovely wedding solemnization venue. There are plenty of "venues" within the park that you can choose from. Of course, you can also "cheat" and go for The Legends at Fort Canning.

Mandai Orchid Garden

I found this when I was trying to look for photos of the Orchid Garden. I think although it is beautiful, the location would put some people off. Still, compared to hotel solemnizations, the cost of having such a lovely outdoor venue is lower and you can use the "extra" to rent transport to the venue.

Any of the other NParks parks

There are so many to choose from. Take your pick.

Singapore Zoological Gardens

Nature also equals animal? Exotic, unique? Animal prints as well as actual animals. A definitely wow-er. You also don't have to do it outdoors per se. They also have other "indoor" venues like the Forest Lodge.

Mount Faber

Fantastic views. I think Faber Rock is a great outdoor wedding with a view.

Sentosa

A beautiful sunset would be a fantastic backdrop for a wedding. In Singapore, my choice of the best beach would be in Sentosa. If you don't want the hassle of arranging for a tent etc. You can also choose to have it on the beach at any of the hotels in Sentosa. Rasa Sentosa seems to be a popular venue for beach weddings.

There are of course, many other venues such as public beaches, marinas/yacht clubs, chalets (my opinion on this would be ew but it is a cheap option and if you are good at decorating, it might be a good idea), at home in your own garden (if you are lucky enough to have a large garden), hotel poolsides... Outdoor venues are only limited by your imagination. A friend of mine (not in Singapore) got married in a public park and it was beautiful. There were people who were at the park who just joined in the celebration - one even provided impromptu music for the bridal march. Lovely!

My Favourite Wedding Sites

For the busy bride (or groom), nothing beats the internet as a guide to all things wedding. Sure, not all information would be online and seeing thing in person is a lot different to seeing it online. But to be efficient, doing research online first and then shortlisting has helped me save a whole bunch of time.

My absolute favourite resources online are:
1. The knot
Tons of ideas, advice, vendors (maybe not so relevant for this part of the world). I can spend hours looking at the photo gallery of real weddings. Great for inspiration.

2. Bridal Magazines Online
A. Female Brides Singapore
B. StyleWeddings

3. Singaporebrides.com and Malaysiabrides.com
Although the website are full of good vendors. I mostly trawl their forum pages. Since I can't review all the vendors myself, I read through the forum entries on the particular vendor I am interested in. I also love forum pages because it is amazing how so many brides have similar issues, aspirations/dreams.

4. Martha Steward Weddings
Again, American but oh so many ideas especially for dresses and some DIY ideas too.

5. Something Old, Something New
My friend who is an October bride has gotten me hooked to this site. They have so many oh so pretty items featured. Curses... it's also based in the US. Still, some of them do have websites. Can anyone say web shopping?

6. I do
Similar to Singaporebrides.com

7. ROM (Singapore) and Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (Malaysia)
A must. I recommend going through the details provided at least once so that you would be familiar with the official procedures for getting your marriage registered in Singapore and/or Malaysia.

8. Archdiocese of Singapore and Archiocese of Kuala Lumpur
Not strictly for wedding and is definitely only relevant for Catholics but I found it useful so I am including this in my list of favourite wedding sites.

The April Bride

I am an April girl through and through. My birthday is in April, I first met my husband on April, the very first day of my "working life" was in April and I got married in April.

It's now a couple of months since the BigGuy and I got married. It seemed such a waste to just file away all the things I have learnt since the BigGuy proposed (and maybe some stuff from before). With quite a few girlfriends getting married, I thought, what's better than to share all my resources not just with my girlfriends but with anyone who wants to take a peek. Especially since there seems to be a dearth of wedding resource blogs for Singapore and Malaysia.

Unlike wedding planning website, it really isn't my intention to "sell" anything.

So, I hope you find something useful or if you have something useful you wish to share with me, it would be even more fantastic.