 |
| With many couples
planning to marry following the arrival of the annual ‘wedding
season’, hotels and other venues are ready to help them
celebrate their special day. |
HOTELS and other reception venues have entered one of their busiest
periods of the year as they begin catering for the wedding celebrations
that follow the arrival of the month of Thadingyut on October
26.
Thadingyut marks the end of the three months of Buddhist Lent,
when weddings are traditionally avoided.
But when the lent ends it is open season on weddings.
November, December, January and May are the busiest months of
the year for wedding receptions, and hotels and other venues say
bookings are up sharply on last year.
Many couples have booked months in advance to secure their preferred
day and time.
The food and beverage manager at the Yuzana Garden Hotel, U
Aung Zaw Zaw Win, said bookings were up by more than 50 percent
on last year.
“The week-ends during November are already fully booked
for wedding receptions,” he said.
Yuzana Garden can host a maximum of four receptions of up to
1000 guests a day. To ensure smooth planning, each reception is
limited to 90 minutes.
U Aung Zaw Zaw Win said the cost of a reception ranges from
K3900 to K15,000 a head, depending on the menu and level of service.
Hall rental fees of between K200,000 to K300,000 are waived
if there are more than 500 guests, he said.
Couples also qualify for a complimentary night’s stay
in a deluxe room or a five-layer wedding cake if they host a reception
of more than 500 guests, said U Aung Zaw Zaw Win.
Ma Win Pa Pa Aung, the communications manager at Traders hotel,
said its ballroom – which can accommodate up to 1500 people
– was booked for most weekends until the end of February.
Bookings are up on last year, she said, adding that Traders
can handle up to four weddings a day. Couples that wanted to celebrate
their marriage on a particular date needed to book at least six
months in advance, she said.
Traders charges between US$5 and $10 a head, depending on service,
for a tea reception, and up to $15 for a dinner, regardless of
what day of the week it takes place.
Depending on the cost of a reception, couples receive a complimentary
night in a deluxe room, or an executive or deluxe suite, said
Ma Win Pa Pa Aung.
A spokesperson for the Summit Parkview also said bookings were
up on last year at the hotel, which hosts an average of 25 receptions
a month during the wedding season.
The Summit Parkview can cater for up to 300 guests at a time
and a maximum of three receptions a day, she said.
The spokesperson said its tea reception package will cost K3000
a head until the end of the year.
Complimentary services at the Summit Parkview include wedding
cakes, flower arrangements and a night’s stay for the happy
couple, she said.
Restaurants and meditation centres are among the other venues
available to celebrate weddings.
At the Western Park Restaurant (2) in Ahlone township, bookings
are averaging about eight a month, which is down slightly on last
year, said its deputy general manager, U Khin Maung Cho.
The restaurant can accommodate about 700 people, with tea receptions
ranging from K2000 to K2200 a head and more elaborate dinners
featuring Chinese dishes costing between K6500 and K11,700 a head,
he said.
Some Buddhist couples opt to celebrate their marriages with
a reception at the Mahasi Sasana Yeiktha meditation centre in
Bahan township, where the cost includes a meal provided as a merit
offering to its monks and any resident yogis (meditators).
The meals cost K1600 to K1800 a head, said U Hla Han, the centre’s
administrator, who added that it was booked out on weekends until
the end of December.
The centre has two halls that can each accommodate up to 500
people and for which a booking requires a donation of K35,000
or K50,000, depending on the venue, he said.
The Hninzigone Home for the Aged on Kaba Aye Pagoda Road in
Bahan township also has venues available for wedding receptions
for which it accepts donations ranging from K30,000 to K50,000,
depending on the venue.
