Getting married in HK

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    May 2006
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    101

    Getting married in HK

    My girlfriend and I are planning to go to HK around august this year to stay for 4 weeks, and we want to get married there.
    I'm investigating the formalities around marriage registration and so on, but if someone here has some additional tips, please post here. So far it looks like things will work out, even though we're not HK citizens.

    But I have some other questions:

    1) Where to have a nice wedding dinner?
    It'll just be the two of us, but we don't want to run all around town to search for something suitable after the wedding ceremony. Any recommendations? Do we need to make a reservation?

    2) Where to stay?
    Last time I was in HK, backpacking, I stayed at Mirador mansion. I needed to save money and it was fine for me, so I think this will be a good solution for us. We simply can't afford staying in a hotel for a month. But for our wedding night (and possibly an additional night) it would be great to do something special -stay at a nice hotel, perhaps with a good view over the harbour. What do you guys suggest?

    3) Wedding rings and clothing.
    Is HK a good place to buy gold or platinum wedding rings, and get them inscribed as well (some cool Chinese characters would add a special touch and give us good memories)? I'm afraid of being ripped off, pricewise, and fake products.
    And clothing; my girlfriend wants one (or several, if the price isn't too bad) "Qi Pao" or "Cheongsam" dresses. Where can these be bought, and how much do they cost?

    For myself, a nice suit would be good. And I hear that tailor made clothing is popular and reasonable in HK. Perhaps we can both get tailor made clothing. How much can we expect this to cost and where should we go when not wishing to get ripped off?


    Any other good tips to make for a memorable occasion?


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Apr 2003
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    Hotels : Penninsula and Four Seasons at the top end.

    Restaurants: Budget?


  3. #3

    Join Date
    May 2006
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    101

    Thanks. I checked out the websites for those hotels, but they're too expensive for us (we'd rather save that money for experiencing HK).

    still, we would like to have a couple of special nights away from one of budget backpacker type places we'll probably be staying at during that month.
    Something special and memorable would be a hotel room with a nice view over the harbour. I'm sure from Kowloon would give the best views. If hotel names are suggested to me I can check out the rest (prices, facilities etc.).


    By the way: all this talk about budget: not knowing the general price range in HK, are there websites out there which will give me a general idea of what things cost there?


  4. #4

    Join Date
    Apr 2003
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    Why not look at www.hotels.com and see what hotels fit your price range? We can help you figure out which is the best of the lot.


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Dec 2005
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    Come on man it's your wedding night - make it a special one and stay at the Peninsula. The views across the harbour to the HK side are spectacular. I'm sure they can sort out some sort of honeymoon deal.


  6. #6

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Mar 2006
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    Quote Originally Posted by nation:
    Come on man it's your wedding night - make it a special one and stay at the Peninsula. The views across the harbour to the HK side are spectacular. I'm sure they can sort out some sort of honeymoon deal.
    The YMCA next to the Peninsula has the same spectacular views, but is much cheaper.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Feb 2006
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    I would forget the Peninsula or Mandarin, and go for a harbor view suite at the Metro Park hotel in Tin Hau. That costs less than staying in a 5 star hotel for the night, you get great service from the warm, friendly staff, and a lot more space. Make sure you get the really big suite, not just an upgraded double room. I like the ones where the sitting room is separate from the bedroom - lovely homely feel.

    Tell them in advance when you book that its your honeymoon and ask if they can make sure your wife feels really special.

    Then splurge out on a really nice meal, in one of the top resturants and hotels, and you'll probably still have change left from what it would have cost you to stay at a top hotel.


  9. #9

    Join Date
    May 2006
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    101

    Unfortunately that won't give us the view from Kownloon which we want.
    The YMCA sounds like a good suggestion, though not a "luxery hotel", but at least it'll give us an unforgettable view.

    I've had a search on the Internet and found a very cool interactive map which shows where the different hotels are located in Tsim Sha Tsui (where we think might be a good place to stay). These are the hotels in that area:
    -Peninsula (at HK$ 2900/night and up it's wayyy too expensive for us)
    -YMCA Salisbury (good location and views, but perhaps a little simplistic for a couple of wedding nights. HK$ 1045/night)
    -Sheraton hotel & Towers (HK$ 1700/night -a bit steep for us, although the location is excellent)
    -New World Renaissance (good locatin, but also a bit steep at HK$ 2130/night)
    -Inter-continental (also a tad expensive at HK$ 2300/night)
    -Marco Polo (HK$ 2625/night for rooms with a harbor view which also makes this hotel too expensive)

    Moving a bit away, over to Tsim Sha Tsui east I've found:

    -Shangri-La (HK$ 2500 and again over our budget)
    -Intercontinetal Stanford (HK$ 1505 which makes not too bad all things considering)

    So pricewise and with the harbor-view in mind it looks like the YMCA Salisbury comes best out, but what worries is that I get the impression it's more an "inn" than a hotel.
    Anyone have any experiences and know more?
    Any hotels I've missed which aren't too expensive, but also have a great harbor view from the Kowloon side?


  10. #10

    Join Date
    Mar 2006
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    310

    Don't worry, the Salisbury YMCA is a real hotel with very nice suites. In fact, many couples opt to have their wedding banquets + nights there.