Mandarin Oriental KL - Where All Brides Want To Be?

After a 30 minute viewing and discussion session at the MO, we now knew why this was considered THE place if you wanted to have the poshest, most exclusive wedding in KL town. 

Snobby upper-class speaking banquet manager - Check

Crazily terribly insanely expensive exorbitant minimum spending amount if you wanted their Grand Ballroom - Check. It's RM170,000. Yes, with 4 zeroes. As in a hundred and seventy thousand dollars and zero cents. 

Inflexible immovable non-negotiable a lot of stuff - Check 

Massive ballroom big enough to fit an Avengers smackdown match (and that includes the Hulk too) - Check 

I suppose that's why most society weddings take place here, either that, or they go to Shangri-la.  (which incidentally also imposes a crazy minimum spend to keep the middle class out) 

Big as it may be though, everything about the MO just didn't fit. I nearly hyperventilated thinking about the amount to be poured in if I wanted to drape the huge-ass ballroom (which fits 100 tables). When something makes you feel bad enough to want to call off the wedding, I say just run get the hell out of there.

I casually mentioned how somebody I knew got married there last week, and the banquet manager's face lighted up like the Rockefeller Xmas tree and she enthusiastically asked me if I attended. 

Errr, you're not getting this business regardless if I attended or not. 

I didn't attend, but I have it on the best authority that it was large, expensive and.... tacky. Other people's words, not mine. 

We want cosy, not large, and we don't have enough people we like to fill 100 tables (see Grand Ballroom picture below). It would have been easier to fill it if we had to choose people we DON'T like. Ha ha.

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A few other administrative details of the MO package. 

Package from RM2088++, RM2588++, RM2988++ per table 

Free corkage for 1st bottle of wine (for RM2088++ package) - the most they could move was 2 bottles of wine, but didn't allow us to change to liquor 

Their tablecloths and linen choices are maroon, beige and gold (say hello, 1995?) 

Their smaller ballroom the Diamond ballroom fits only max 30 tables. No mid-range sized ballrooms (we need about 40 - 45). And they used to allow a splitting up of the Grand Ballroom for people who don't need or want 100 tables, but they no longer do it anymore on account of the rationale that they wouldn't be able to rent out the other half of the space. 

And lastly they will be closing down the ballroom for renovation from Dec 2012 to Mar 2013. 

In short, its a 'nay' for MO KL. Only society brides need apply. Or those who plan to spend RM300,000 and above to impress people you mostly hate or don't know. (C'mon, who are you kidding that you'd be able to fill 100 tables of nearest, dearest and loved ones?!) 

And so the hunt continues. Stay tuned.