In short
CHIJMES occupies a restored 19th-century convent complex on Victoria Street, and its Gothic former chapel, deconsecrated in 1983, is now CHIJMES Hall, a wedding and event venue. The complex is not a single ballroom: the Hall and the Alcove at Caldwell House are booked through an appointed operator, the open-air Lawn, Mini Lawn and Terracotta courtyard are booked directly with CHIJMES, and a licence fee applies to professional photo shoots in the areas CHIJMES manages. This guide sets out what the venue and Singapore’s heritage authority state about the complex, so you can plan your ceremony, portraits and photography permissions with sourced information.
- The former chapel (CHIJMES Hall) and neighbouring Caldwell House are national monuments, gazetted in 1990.
- CHIJMES Hall and the Alcove are booked through an appointed wedding operator; the Lawn, Mini Lawn and Terracotta courtyard are booked with CHIJMES directly.
- A licence fee applies to most photo shoots in areas CHIJMES manages, with the Hall, its front, the Corridor and the Steps excluded.
- A solemnisation at CHIJMES would be an offsite one, conducted by a licensed solemniser you book yourself.
- The courtyard areas sit within a complex that also houses restaurants and bars, so plan around a shared, public setting.
What CHIJMES is
CHIJMES stands on the site of the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, which the National Heritage Board’s Roots portal records as the oldest Catholic girls’ school in Singapore, founded by the French sisters of the Congregation of the Holy Infant Jesus in 1854. Caldwell House was built in 1840 to 1841 to a design by G. D. Coleman and is the oldest building within the CHIJMES complex. The convent’s Gothic chapel was completed between 1902 and 1903 and consecrated on 11 June 1904.
The convent school moved to Toa Payoh in December 1983, and Roots records that the last Holy Mass was celebrated in the chapel on 3 November that year before it was deconsecrated. CHIJMES’s own history records that the Gothic Chapel at CHIJ and Caldwell House received National Monument status on 26 October 1990 under the Preservation of Monuments Act. After restoration, the complex reopened to the public in 1996 as CHIJMES, later receiving a Merit Award at the 2002 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. Today the complex is home to retail outlets, restaurants and bars alongside its event spaces, as NHB describes it.
Spaces CHIJMES offers for weddings and events
CHIJMES Hall is the restored Gothic chapel, completed in 1902 to 1903 according to CHIJMES’s history page, with high ceilings, stained-glass windows and floral and bird motifs; it is booked through Watabe Wedding, the operator named on the CHIJMES site, which can confirm capacity for your proposed layout. The former chapel was deconsecrated in 1983 and now serves as an event venue; confirm ceremony requirements with Watabe Wedding and your solemniser, and see our guide to church weddings in Singapore for weddings in working churches. The Alcove, the former Grand Gallery on level 2 of Caldwell House, is smaller, with a semicircular exterior and large Doric columns supporting a vaulted timber ceiling, a capacity of about 30 to 100 guests and a private suite for the bride, and is also booked through Watabe Wedding.
For an outdoor or al-fresco setting, CHIJMES’s event-spaces listing names three further spaces booked directly with CHIJMES: The Lawn, up to 300 guests, which the venue says can host both open-air gatherings and sheltered events; the Mini Lawn, next to Caldwell House, for up to 100 guests; and the Terracotta courtyard, for up to 50 guests, set against the backdrop of CHIJMES Hall. Since the Hall and Alcove sit with one operator and the outdoor spaces with another, confirm both bookings separately if you want more than one space on your date.
How solemnisation can work at CHIJMES
A civil solemnisation at CHIJMES would be an offsite ceremony, subject to agreement with the relevant venue operator, booking a licensed solemniser, and completing ROM’s application and marriage-licence requirements; offsite ceremonies may take place on weekends and public holidays. ROM’s own registry is not at CHIJMES; it currently operates from 8 Raffles Avenue, The Esplanade Mall, a temporary site since April 2025 while its original Canning Rise building is redeveloped. Where in CHIJMES the ceremony takes place depends on the space you book, so agree the setting with that space’s operator and your solemniser.
Book your solemniser 3 to 6 months ahead. Licensed solemnisers are volunteers. ROM notes that solemnisers may not be able to commit to a booking earlier than this, and they must accept the booking through ROM’s portal before your appointment. You will also need two witnesses above 21, of any nationality, who attend with original identification. Submit your marriage application to ROM no earlier than six months and at least 21 days before the solemnisation, and complete ROM’s declaration and marriage-licence requirements. Our guide to how ROM solemnisation works covers the process in full.
Photography rules and permissions
CHIJMES states that wedding, bridal and other professional photo shoots in the areas it manages are subject to a licence fee and must be booked in advance; the Hall, the front of the Hall, the Corridor and the Steps directly outside the Hall are the exceptions to that fee. CHIJMES’s terms separately note that tenants’ areas, including the Hall itself, are not covered by this licence, so those areas need separate permission arranged with the relevant tenant instead — for photography inside the Hall, that means asking Watabe Wedding; it is not stated whether the front, Corridor and Steps outside the Hall need that same tenant permission, so ask CHIJMES directly.
To apply for a licence elsewhere on the grounds, CHIJMES asks for your email address, name, contact number and date, and states it will reply with confirmation within 3 working days. Its terms also state that photography and filming are limited to designated areas on and around the CHIJMES grounds, that the public walkway and corridor must stay clear, and that CHIJMES will not provide an electricity supply, so any equipment needs to run on its own power. Our guide to pre-wedding shoot permit requirements covers how similar licensing works at other heritage sites.
Light and timing across the day
CHIJMES records that the chapel’s stained-glass windows, designed by Jules Dobbelaere, were imported from Bruges in 1903, and the coloured light they cast inside shifts with the sun’s position, so if your ceremony is booked in the Hall, discuss timing with your photographer rather than fixing a slot without checking the light first. For the Lawn and Terracotta courtyard, discuss how daylight may vary with timing and weather; for photographs after sunset, confirm what lighting will be available.
Because CHIJMES Hall and the Alcove are booked through Watabe Wedding while the Lawn, Mini Lawn and Terracotta sit with CHIJMES directly, confirm access times with whichever party holds your booking, particularly how early your photographer can start on décor shots before guests arrive. Our guide to building a wedding day timeline covers how to fit this kind of access window into your schedule.
Rain and wet-weather options
The Lawn is open-air but is described on the CHIJMES site as able to host both open-air gatherings and sheltered events, worth asking about if rain is a concern; the Mini Lawn and Terracotta courtyard are open-air without a stated covered option. CHIJMES Hall provides an indoor ceremony setting; confirm wet-weather arrival arrangements and portrait options with the operator.
For a Lawn, Mini Lawn or Terracotta booking, ask whether an indoor alternative is available and what conditions apply; confirm any separate booking requirements, and agree a wet-weather portrait plan with your photographer. Our guide to wet-weather plans for an outdoor wedding sets out how to build this into your timeline.
What to ask the venue
Direct Hall and Alcove enquiries to Watabe Wedding, and Lawn, Mini Lawn and Terracotta enquiries to CHIJMES; contact other tenants separately for their spaces.
- Ask Watabe Wedding what time vendors can begin accessing CHIJMES Hall or the Alcove for décor and detail photography.
- Ask CHIJMES directly whether a licence fee applies to your planned shots on the Lawn, Mini Lawn, Terracotta courtyard, or the complex’s arched walkways.
- Check parking and vendor drop-off arrangements around Victoria Street with whichever party holds your booking.
- Ask whether a sheltered option is available for the Lawn, and ask whether an indoor alternative is available and what conditions apply for the Mini Lawn or Terracotta.
- Ask how bookings are coordinated if you are using both an indoor space and an outdoor one on the same day.
CHIJMES has more than one party to coordinate: Watabe Wedding for the Hall and the Alcove, and CHIJMES itself for the outdoor spaces and photography licences, so confirm access, permissions and timing with whichever party holds your booking. If you would like to talk through coverage for a wedding, solemnisation or portraits at CHIJMES, check your date with us, or read more about our actual-day wedding photography.