CHINA> Focus
My big fat Beijing wedding
By Raymond Zhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-09 10:50

Legendale seems to have been airlifted from a European city. Though it's based on a 19th century building in downtown Paris, the Baroque architecture is inspired by the palatial style of southern Europe. Besides, all furniture is imported from France.

My big fat Beijing wedding

Legendale has four "treasures", antiques collected by its owner. A 6.5-ton fireplace from the 19th century is said to be one of only three from an old castle in France. It took the hotel owner nine months to ship it out of its country of origin. A 300-year-old clock, designed during the Louis XIV era, is now placed next to the hotel's elevators and chimes at certain times of the day. Four bronze wall lamps, made in the 1880s, adorn the main entrance. And a bronze chandelier from the same period, with 2000 Baccarat crystals, hangs in the ballroom.

But for me, the most eye-popping thing about the Legendale is its atrium, which extends 17 stories and fills the lobby with natural light. Which means, if your photographer is ingenious enough, you can have bird's-eye-view images in your wedding album.

The Ritz-Carlton Beijing is like the LV of hotels. It's high-class; it's classical; it's luxury without overstating it. In China, where the rich prefer a really high life, putting on the Ritz simply cannot apply to Ritz-Carlton.

For many couples, the Ritz-Carlton Beijing is known for its creative ideas and attention to detail. "Every wedding is unique because every romance is different," says Deric Wu, director of catering & conference services. The Ritz has a special wedding planner who discusses with the clients at great length, learns their stories, and then helps hatch a plan that is like nothing else.

One couple first met in a caf. To reproduce the magic of that moment, The Ritz recreated part of that setting on the stage of its grand ballroom.