Banquet vs Solemnisation Lunch: A Cost Comparison

Two couples can be equally married at the end of the day and spend wildly different amounts getting there. The clearest fork is the reception: a full evening banquet — fifteen to thirty tables of ten, a hotel ballroom, the whole guest list — or a solemnisation lunch, an intimate daytime ROM ceremony followed by a small sit-down meal for close family. This guide compares the two on cost, using prices published on venues’ own pages and dated third-party trackers, read in late 2026. The only official, fixed figure in either is the civil marriage licence.

For the whole-budget picture see how much a wedding costs in Singapore; for the no-meal route, read about a solemnisation-only wedding.

The one fixed cost: the ROM licence

Whichever reception you choose, the legal part costs the same. The civil marriage licence is S$42 where at least one of you is a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident, and S$380 where both of you are foreigners. If you solemnise at a Registry site, there is no other government fee — a solemniser is assigned and nothing more is charged. Everything else on this page — the lunch, the banquet, the flowers — is a private arrangement with a venue, not a fee to the state. (Muslim couples register through ROMM, with its own fees and process.)

The full banquet: the big-night cost

A dinner banquet is priced per table of ten, and the number that matters is the nett price per table once service charge and GST are added. Across 22 venues that publish their packages, a Saturday wedding dinner ran about S$1,197.80 to S$2,623.41 a table of ten (middle around S$1,784), with service charge and GST already included (CompareSG, verified Sep 2026). A broader 2026 tracker of 115 venues put the raw per-table range at about S$498 to S$4,292 before “++”, clustering around a S$1,400-S$1,600 median (approximate, Vows.sg).

Saturday Banquet Price Per Table of 10

Saturday wedding banquet price per table of 10, nett. Lunch sits a little below dinner.

Multiply that by a real guest list and the scale becomes clear. A 20-table dinner at a mid-range hotel — 200 guests — lands in the tens of thousands for the banquet alone, and the reception is typically the single biggest line of a wedding, which is why most Singapore weddings with a banquet run roughly S$30,000 to S$85,000 all in (approximate, Vows.sg 2026). The banquet buys you scale, a ballroom, and a day that comfortably seats a large extended family.

The solemnisation lunch: the intimate route

A solemnisation lunch flips the model: a small room, a daytime ROM ceremony, and a sit-down meal for 20-40 people. Venues sell it either per guest or as a small-table package, and the totals are a different order of magnitude. From venues’ own published solemnisation packages (checked Sep 2026), meals run from about S$88++ per guest up to around S$1,688++ per table of ten, ceremony-only venue hire runs about S$500++ to S$1,500++, and a restaurant’s exclusive-use minimum spend runs about S$3,500 to S$11,000 (approximate, Vows.sg).

Solemnisation Lunch: What Venues Charge: Changi Cove (buffet) S$88++ / guest; Changi Cove (Chinese set) S$988++ / table of 10; Carlton Hotel (2026) S$1,338++ / table of 10; Andaz (lunch) S$238 / person; Ceremony-only hire S$500++ to S$1,500++

Published solemnisation package prices, 2026. Approximate; confirm with the venue. Source: Vows.sg.

Three real examples show the spread:

Changi Cove publishes solemnisation packages at S$88++ per guest (buffet), S$95++ (Western set) or S$988++ per table of ten (Chinese set), minimum 30 guests; its outdoor Sky Deck is S$500++ for up to three hours.
Carlton Hotel lists a solemnisation package at S$1,338++ per table of ten in 2026 (an eight-course Chinese set for lunch or dinner), minimum six tables, with a floral arch for the signing included.
Andaz Singapore’s intimate solemnisation lunch is S$238 per person (around S$190 on a current promotion), in a Studio room for 20-40 guests.

Take Changi Cove’s S$88++ per guest for 30 people: roughly S$2,370 nett for the food, plus the S$42 licence. Even a small-table hotel package at six tables sits in the high four to low five figures. The point is the same: a solemnisation lunch stays in the thousands because the room stays small.

Guest count: the real decider

It is tempting to think the saving is “lunch instead of dinner”. It is not — the saving is fewer people. A banquet is built around a long guest list; a solemnisation lunch is built around a short one. If your families expect 250 guests across three generations, a 30-person lunch will not satisfy that obligation, and no per-head discount changes the maths. If you genuinely want a small day, the lunch is not a compromise — it is the right tool, and it costs a fraction as much.

Lunch or dinner: does the meal change the price?

If you are set on a full banquet, holding it at lunch rather than Saturday dinner does trim the bill — but less than people expect. Across 120 venues that publish both meal bands, the median starting Saturday lunch was S$1,790 a table versus S$1,984 for dinner — lunch starts roughly S$194 a table below dinner (approximate, Vows.sg). CompareSG’s venue set shows the same shape: a Saturday lunch middle of about S$1,760 against a dinner middle of about S$1,784, with weekday lunches the cheapest slot of all.

The catch: at Chinese restaurants the lunch-versus-dinner difference is often minimal or nothing, so the lunch saving is mostly a hotel phenomenon. And venues sometimes change the menu, drinks or complimentary room between lunch and dinner, so a cheaper lunch is not always like-for-like.

Reading the price: nett vs “++”

Comparing a lunch quote to a banquet quote only works if both are on the same basis. Most venues quote “++”, meaning the price excludes a 10% service charge and 9% GST — and because IRAS treats the service charge as part of the taxable supply, GST is charged on the service charge too. That is about 20% on top: multiply a “++” figure by roughly 1.199. A S$1,500++ table is about S$1,799 nett. Some solemnisation packages and a few hotels quote nett instead, so a nett lunch package and a “++” dinner table can be closer than they look.

What “++” Adds to a Quote: Headline S$1,500++; + 10% service charge S$1,650; + 9% GST on that S$1,798.50; You actually pay about S$1,799 nett

How a “++” wedding quote becomes the nett price. Source: IRAS (GST on service charge).

Will ang bao offset it?

This is where the “cheaper” option is less cheap than it looks. At a banquet, a long guest list brings ang bao that offsets a large share of the bill — a common yardstick is at least the cost of your seat, about S$120-S$200 nett a head at restaurants, clubs and mid-range hotels, and S$230-S$350 at upscale hotels (approximate, third-party). A solemnisation lunch for 30 collects a fraction of that, so its low sticker price is also a low return. Net it out: the banquet’s larger bill is partly reimbursed, while the lunch’s small bill is mostly out of pocket. Neither “breaks even”, but the gap in net cost is narrower than the gap in sticker price.

Who should pick which

Pick a solemnisation lunch (the value winner) if you want a genuinely small, low-cost day, your families accept a short guest list, and you would rather spend on a nice meal for 30 than a ballroom for 300. It is the cheapest way to pair the legal ceremony with a proper celebration.

Pick a full dinner banquet (the runner-up) if you have a large guest list and real family or social obligations, you want a ballroom and a big-night feel, and you are counting on ang bao to recover much of the cost. It costs far more, but for a big wedding that is the point.

Who should not pick the value winner: couples who must host a large extended family, or who are relying on guest ang bao to fund the day — a 30-seat lunch satisfies neither. For them a banquet (ideally a lunch banquet, for the per-table saving) fits better. To trim whichever you choose, see how to save on your wedding, and for the legal steps behind the ceremony, the complete ROM guide.

Frequently asked questions

Is a solemnisation lunch always cheaper than a banquet? Almost always, because it is a far smaller event — typically 20-40 guests versus 150-300. The saving comes from fewer people, not from the meal being at lunch.

How much cheaper is a wedding lunch than a dinner at the same venue? At hotels, the starting lunch price is roughly S$194 a table below dinner (median S$1,790 vs S$1,984, approximate Vows.sg). At Chinese restaurants the difference is often minimal or none.

What is the single fixed cost either way? The civil marriage licence: S$42 if at least one of you is a citizen or PR, S$380 if both are foreigners. Solemnising at a Registry site adds no further government fee.

What does “++” mean on a quote? Service charge (typically 10%) and 9% GST are not yet included — about 20% on top, so multiply by about 1.199. A S$1,500++ table is about S$1,799 nett.

Can I do the ceremony now and a banquet later? Yes. Many couples solemnise with a small lunch and hold a larger celebration on another date; the marriage is legal from the solemnisation, so a later party is entirely optional.