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Ang Bao Rates For Singapore Weddings 2021

Alevin Chan

Alevin Chan

Last updated 21 April, 2021

Wedding dinners in Singapore can be pretty expensive. So we're here to help you track down the perfect banquet based on your budget.

You know the drill. The sound of your phone buzzing like crazy wakes you up from your Sunday nap. Bleary eyed, you reach for your phone to find yourself in a newly formed Whatsapp group. Squinting to read the chat group’s name, you barely make out the word ‘Wedding’ buried under the avalanche of emojis on your screen. Messages fly past so quickly it takes you a good five seconds to realise they are from people you haven’t contacted since... forever. 

Then it dawns on you. One of your long lost classmates is tying the knot, and the Whatsapp group was created to solicit RSVPs. You reply with a half-hearted ‘Hello… long time!’ while scrolling to find out where the banquet will be held – and how big a hole the customary wedding ang bao will blow in your pocket.

Last updated on 21 April 2021. Prices listed here are estimates and subject to change without prior notice.

Wedding receptions: COVID-19 restrictions and rules 

Before you go crazy with your planning and guest list, do take note that COVID-19 is still around and there are some restrictions in place.

From 24 March 2021, capacity limits will increase from 100 to 250 attendees for weddings. This includes the wedding couple and the guests, and excludes the solemniser and vendors. Guests must be put in zones or time slots of up to 50 attendees each.

With guests unmasked, eating, in close proximity and in prolonged contact with one another, there’s a higher risk of COVID-19 transmission. Pre-event testing for all attendees (including wedding couple) will be required for receptions with more than 100 attendees. Only people who have been fully vaccinated and have had time to develop sufficient protection will be exempted from pre-event testing.

A social affair fraught by financial anxieties

While undoubtedly a happy affair, weddings can be a source of financial anxiety. The genuine desire to see your friends have a blissful start to married life is fraught with awkwardness when deciding how much you should put into your ang bao. Polite messages from the wedding couple to 'just come and enjoy yourself' only adds to the anxiety as you know they will be judging each and every red packet they receive (that’s what your name on the ang bao is for). 

Being ever pragmatic, Singaporeans have quickly formulated a rule of thumb: your ang bao should at least cover the cost of the banquet dinner per head to be considered respectable. Never mind you would almost never buy yourself an eight or 10-course meal for what amounts to two weeks’ worth of groceries for the privilege. For example, if the wedding banquet dinner costs $1,000++ per table of 10, then the cost per head = $1,000 divided by 10 = $100. With the '++', the expected price per seat on the table is around $120. Bear these rough stats in mind when settling on your ang bao rates.

That amount is only for the most lukewarm relationships – colleagues, ex-school mates, people you used to spend all weekend playing online games with and totally smashed the server record that one time. The closer you happen to be to the couple – like ride-or-die close back in the day – you’re expected to up the ante in the wedding ang bao stakes. God forbid if your spouse or partner is also invited – expect to pay double.

Gee, and here we thought marriage was an affair strictly between two people. 

How much should your wedding ang bao be?

Social conventions aside, if you really want to be there for your friend’s big day, just tick 'yes', and show up with your brightest smile and an ang bao that suits your finances. In the end, you actually being there is what truly matters. 

But just in case you want to be a good guest, we’ve compiled a list of popular wedding dinner banquets in Singapore. And to help you arrive at a thoughtful ang bao rate, we have sorted the banquets according to four different price ranges. You can track down the wedding banquet venue in the list, and have a look at the price of a table. Then, take an average and divide by 10 to work out the cost of the dinner per head – to derive the  'market rate' for your wedding ang bao. 

In general, lunch banquets tend to cost less than dinner banquets. Saturdays also tend to be the most costly for wedding banquets. For auspicious or popular dates, there could also be an additional surcharge per table.

Hotel wedding banquets at around $1,000 per table

If the wedding dinner you’ve been invited is at one of these hotels, breathe easy. The going rate for ang baos at these locations ranges between $100 and $120

HotelWeekend (Sat/Sun) prices No. of tables
Copthorne King’s Hotel Singapore$800 - $1,03822 to 38
Furama City Centre Singapore$928 - $98830 to 50
Furama Riverfront$1,038 - $1,388 (Sat) 
$1,008 - $1,288 (Sun)
15 to 55
Mercure Singapore Bugis$1,0363 to 38
Genting Hotel Jurong$908 - $1,02820 to 33
Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel$1,338 - $1,68820 to 65
Grand Mercure Singapore Roxy$888 - $1,10018 to 35
Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium$1,200 - $1,14815 to 44
Hotel RE!$1,000 - $1,38010 to 42
Oasis Hotel Novena Singapore$1,380 - $1,5805 to 12
Park Hotel Alexandra$1,170 - $1,3003 to 14
Park Hotel Clarke Quay$1,158 - $1,1883 to 13
Village Hotel Changi$1,118 - $1,28818 to 25
Village Hotel Katong$1,11812 to 15

Hotel wedding banquets at around $1,500 per table

Most of the hotels in this tier are located in the trendy CBD/Orchard shopping belt. As befitting their posh location, a wedding dinner here will set you back by $150 to $180 per wedding ang bao.

Hotel Weekend (Sat/Sun) prices No. of tables
Amara Singapore$1,368 - $1,75525 to 42
Carlton Hotel Singapore$1,278 - $1,3985 to 32
Changi Cove Hotel$1,198 - $1,57515 to 25
Concorde Hotel Singapore$1,188 - $1,25825 to 44
Crowne Plaza Changi Airport$1,35823 to 30
Four Points by Sheraton Singapore, Riverview$1,238 - $1,43820 to 30
Hilton Singapore$1,330 - $1,630 (Sat)
$1,330 - $1,420 (Sun)
18 to 50
Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre$1,338 - $1,3883 to 38
Hotel Fort Canning$1,300 - $1,900 (Sat)
$1,300 - $1,700 (Sun)
18 to 50
Hotel Jen Tanglin Singapore by Shangri-La$1,268 - $1,39815 to 28
M Hotel$1,198 - $1,3286 to 32
PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay
(Previously Marina Mandarin)
$1,66815 to 60
Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay$1,28818 to 45
Novotel Singapore on Stevens$1,48825 to 36
One°15 Marina Sentosa Cove$1,288 - $1,588 (Sat)
$1,108 - $1,588 (Sun)
15 to 36
ParkRoyal on Beach Road$1,458 - $1,488 (Sat)
$1,358 - $1,388 (Sun)
22 to 45
ParkRoyal on Kitchener Road$1,13815 to 45
Peninsula Excelsior Hotel $1,163 - $1,51620 to 36
Ramada by Wyndham Singapore at Zhongshan Park$1,3168 to 26
Rendezvous Hotel Singapore at Bras Basah$1,18815 to 24
Royal Plaza on Scotts$1,0806 to 11
Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort and Spa$1,408 - $1,980 (Sat)
$1,308 - $1,980 (Sun)
25 to 36
Swissotel Merchant Court Singapore$1,328 (Sat)
$1,428 (Sun)
30 to 50
York Hotel$1,148 to $1,22812 to 30

Hotel wedding banquets at around $2,000 per table

With five-and six-star hotels like The Westin and The Fullerton on the list, you’re playing with the big boys now. Pack between $200 to $250 per wedding ang bao, if you’ve been so 'lucky' to be invited. 

Hotel Weekend (Sat/Sun) pricesNo. of tables 
Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa$1,688 to $1,88830 to 45
Conrad Centennial Singapore$1,628 (Sat)
$1,528 (Sun)
8 to 34
Fairmont Singapore and Swissotel The Stamford$1,438 - $1,49812 to 60
Four Seasons Hotel Singapore$1,668 to $1,988 (Sat)
$1,608 to $1,928 (Sun)
12 to 32
Goodwood Park Hotel$1,668 (Sat)
$1,618 (Sun)
18 to 38
Grand Hyatt Singapore$1,780 - $1,900 (Sat)
$1,680 - $1,800 (Sun)
15 to 36
Intercontinental Singapore$1,888 - $2,08032 to 27
Le Meridien Singapore Sentosa$1,888 (Sat)
$1,788 (Sun)
12 to 16
Mandarin Orchard Singapore$1,618 to $2,088 (Sat)
$1,548 to $2,088 (Sun)
6 to 95
Mandarin Oriental$1,800 - $2,050 (Sat)
$1,800 - $1,900 (Sun)
10 to 40
Marina Bay Sands$1,88820 to 150
One Farrer Hotel$1,568 (Sat)
$1,388 (Sun)
15 to 43
Orchard Hotel Singapore$1,688 - $1,728 (Sat)
$1,588 - $1,628 (Sun)
25 to 100
Pan Pacific Singapore$1,618 - $1,658 (Sat)
$1,468 - $1,508 (Sun)
22 to 65
ParkRoyal on Pickering$1,6388 to 30
Regent Singapore$1,398 - $1,718 (Sat)
$1,308 - $1,618 (Sun)
4 to 50
Sheraton Towers Singapore$1,628 (Sat)
$1,528 (Sun)
10 to 45
Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza$1,188 - $1,5885 to 55
The Fullerton Hotel$1,708 $1,7688 to 48
The Westin Singapore$1,700 - $2,000 25 to 30

Hotel wedding banquets at above $2,000 per table

If you’ve been invited to a wedding dinner at one of these hotels, prepare to set aside a cool $250 to $280 for your wedding ang bao.

Hotel  Weekend (Sat/Sun) pricesNo. of tables
Andaz Singapore by Hyatt$1,968 - $2,0688 to 28
Capella Singapore$1,888 - $2,88815 to 40
JW Marriott Singapore South Beach$2,088- $2,23828 to 37
Shangri-La Hotel$1,888 - $2,48815 to 100
Sofitel Singapore City Centre$1,73810 to 36
Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort and Spa $1,838 (Sat)
$1,788 (Sun)
10 to 25
The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore$2,000 - $2,3308 to 22
The Outpost Hotel Sentosa$1,508 - $1,80812 to 16
The Ritz Carlton, Millenia $2,100 - $2,81010 to 50
The St Regis Singapore$2,088 (Sat)
$1,988 (Sun)
6 to 42
W Singapore Sentosa Cove$1,948 (Sat)
$1,748 (Sun)
25 to 48

Popular Restaurants for weddings 

If you’re attending a dinner at one of these locations, a wedding ang bao of between $60 to $100 is acceptable (and an ang bao in this range is cheap is on the pocket too).

Restaurant Weekend (Sat/Sun) pricesNo. of tables
Ling Zhi Vegetarian$498 - $69810 to 13
Peach Garden$858 - $1,3385 to 42 (varies by location)
Tung Lok$488 - $1,888 8 to 30 (varies by location)
Qian Xi$728 - $1,1785 to 120 (varies by location)
Peony Jade$1,000 - $1,40018 to 40
Monti At 1-Pavilion Italian Restaurant and Rooftop Bar$1,700 - $3,00010

As popular as hotel wedding banquets are, some Chinese restaurants in Singapore still make a roaring trade as the venue of choice for some couples. These restaurants are also often picked for wedding banquets with smaller number of guests or tables.

How much ang bao to give at Malay or Indian weddings?

The ang bao rates we discussed above mostly applies to Chinese weddings, as it’s customary to hold a grand wedding celebration, especially if you’re the first-born in the family, or your family has a lot of business contacts.

That’s not to say that Malay and Indian weddings aren’t glorious affairs – they obviously are too in their own way. However, the differences in venue and wedding style can cost a lot less than Chinese weddings.

For example, Malay weddings are comparatively more relaxed affairs compared to the formal sit-down, 10-course dinners observed at Chinese weddings. With a focus on community and sharing, expect more of a buffet-style dinner with free seating. These are usually hosted at simple restaurants with large spaces, or at common facilities like community centre/function halls or HDB void decks. At Malay weddings, ang bao rates of around $50 per person are acceptable. 

Similarly, for Indian wedding dinners, take your cue from the location of the wedding reception for the ang bao you'd like to give. A typical Indian wedding takes place at a temple, with a reception to follow, which could be held at a temple, function hall or a similar venue. It’s also not unusual for Indian couples to host their wedding receptions at hotels. If that’s the case, it’s good manners to give an ang bao reflecting the prestige of the venue and cost of the meal per head.

Read these next:
How to Be Budget Smart When Planning Your Wedding
8 Affordable Wedding Venues in Singapore
5 Unique Wedding Banquet Venues In Singapore
Staycation Hacks: 7 Ways To Save On Your Next Local Getaway
Singapore Budget 2021: Hawker Eats That Deserve Your $100 CDC Vouchers

An ex-Financial Planner with a curiosity about what makes people tick, Alevin’s mission is to help readers understand the psychology of money. He’s also on an ongoing quest to optimise happiness and enjoyment in his life.

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