A major blackout that occurred during a wedding banquet held at Grand Hyatt Singapore Hotel forced guests to leave event early and left the groom so embarrassed by the incident that he wanted to return all the red packets to his guests.

STOMP first broke the story on Friday (April 27) after receiving a contribution from STOMPer CK who was present at the wedding at Grand Hyatt and experienced the blackout halfway into the wedding banquet.

The New Paper said in a follow-up story that it was barely an hour into the wedding dinner at the Grand Hyatt Singapore on Thursday (Apr 26) night when the blackout occurred. 

The next thing they knew, the Grand Ballroom was plunged into darkness. This was at 9.30pm, after the fourth dish of the eight-course dinner had just been served. Besides the lights, the air-conditioning also broke down. The microphones, too, were not working, so guests sat in the dark wondering what was going on.

It wasn’t until 45 minutes later that a hotel manager made an announcement that the banquet would not be continuing, so the guests began to leave and there was nothing the wedding couple could do but to apologise.

The 33-year-old groom, who gave his name only as Mr Benny, said there were almost 400 guests at the banquet, many of whom were his business associates and potential
clients.

Said Mr Benny: “This has affected my reputation to a certain extent. It is embarrassing. I am in a tight spot because I feel like I want to return the red packets, but the guests will not take back their money because they want to give me face.”

His wife, Madam Koh Geok Eng, 32, said: “There were a few times when I felt like crying. This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing – why did this have to happen? Who can we blame?”

The couple paid the hotel around $23,000 as a deposit before the dinner and was supposed to pay them another sum of close to $16,000 after the dinner. After a meeting with two of the hotel's staff members, Mr Benny told The New Paper: “I asked them to think of a proper compensation package. I also said I would not be agreeable to complimentary hotel stays or F&B vouchers for my wedding guests because they do not have faith in them any more.”

He added that the hotel is prepared to refund his deposit, but he wants more, and is now leaving the matter to his lawyer.

Mr Benny also said: “I think I have to make up with another dinner at my own cost. The ripple effects of this is beyond my imagination. Nothing I do will be enough. Family, friends and business contacts will remember this for a very long time.”

STOMPer corpsebride shared her views:

"This is a most unfortunate incident!

"No woman wants anything to go wrong on her wedding day, especially since weddings are costly and so many guests set aside time to attend the wedding.

"I can't imagine if this were to happen on my own wedding day!"