The ROM Singapore renovation is not a rumour. Since April 2025, the Registry of Marriages has been operating from a temporary site at Esplanade Mall while the original Canning Rise building undergoes a full redevelopment expected to run until 2029. The process, the fees, and the legal weight of your solemnisation remain exactly the same, only the address has changed.
If your wedding planning started a year or two ago and you mentally pictured the iconic pitched-roof building at Canning Rise, update that picture now.
---
Why Is ROM Undergoing Renovation?
The Canning Rise building opened in August 1983 and served Singapore couples for over four decades. According to the Ministry of Social and Family Development, the redevelopment aims to create a venue that better meets the needs of modern couples and prepares them for their marriage journey.
The scale of the project is significant. The redeveloped Canning Rise building will have a gross floor area of 3,755 square metres, a 60 percent increase over the original footprint. Key planned features include:
- A two-storey rear extension to increase solemnisation slot capacity
- Spacious indoor solemnisation rooms with warm timber detailing and garden-facing backdrops
- A rooftop garden terrace for outdoor ceremonies, integrated with the natural surroundings of Fort Canning Park
- Retention of the iconic pitch-frame facade, paying homage to the original building's architectural character
- Scenic photo spots at a Grand Stairs area and a Grand Lawn
The iconic silhouette will survive. The interior, however, will be substantially larger and more modern when the building reopens around 2029.
---
Where Is ROM Now? The Esplanade Mall Interim Site
Since 14 April 2025, in-person verification appointments and ROM-site solemnisations have been held at Level 3, Esplanade Mall. This is the interim home for both ROM and ROMM (Registry of Muslim Marriages) until the redeveloped Canning Rise building is ready.
The interim site took over part of the space formerly occupied by library@esplanade. According to official announcements from MSF and MCCY, all existing appointments were automatically transferred over when the move happened, so couples who had booked before the transition were not disrupted.
Getting there:
- By MRT: Esplanade station (Circle Line, CC3) is directly adjacent, the easiest option, especially on a busy ROM Saturday
- By bus: Multiple services stop along Raffles Avenue and Bras Basah Road
- By car: The Esplanade has parking, though the Marina Bay area is congested on weekends; factor in extra time
Insider tip: Weekday morning appointments at the Esplanade interim site tend to move faster than weekend slots. If you have any flexibility in your schedule, a Tuesday or Wednesday morning appointment is noticeably calmer than a Saturday queue. Auspicious dates like 08/08 or sequential doubles fill up fastest of all, book those the moment the application window opens.
Always verify the exact location and floor before travelling. The Our Marriage Journey (OMJ) portal at marriage.gov.sg carries the latest operational details.
---
The ROM Process in 2026: Step-by-Step
The renovation has not changed the legal process at all. Here is how it works:
| Step | What Happens |
|---|---|
| 1. File Notice of Marriage online | Log in to marriage.gov.sg using Singpass and submit the marriage application with payment |
| 2. Pay the application fee | SGD 42 if at least one party is a Singapore Citizen or PR; SGD 380 if both parties are foreigners |
| 3. Attend verification appointment | In-person (or online if eligible) to verify documents and make a statutory declaration |
| 4. Confirm your solemniser | ROM assigns one if you solemnise on-site; for external venues, appoint a licensed solemniser from the ROM directory |
| 5. Hold the solemnisation | At the Esplanade Mall ROM site, or at an external venue of your choice |
| 6. Receive digital marriage certificate | Issued by the solemniser via the ROM portal after the ceremony; both parties receive it by email |
Key timing rules to keep in mind:
- The earliest you can solemnise is 21 days after submitting the application, that clock starts on payment, not when you save a draft
- Applications can be submitted up to 6 months before the intended solemnisation date
- The application expires 6 calendar months after submission, if the solemnisation does not happen within that window, a fresh application is required
- If you need to change solemnisation details (date, venue, witnesses) after filing, changes can be made via the OMJ portal, but a fee of SGD 25 applies, confirm every detail before submitting
Insider tip: The 21-day notice clock starts on the day payment is confirmed, not the day you start filling in the form online. Couples who fill in the form over several sessions sometimes miss this. If your chosen date is an auspicious one, submit and pay immediately, do not save as a draft and come back.
---
What Does the ROM Renovation Mean for Your Solemnisation Photos?
For couples who planned their ROM day around the distinctive Canning Rise backdrop, the stepped entrance, the lush Fort Canning greenery, the interim Esplanade Mall site is a different aesthetic entirely. It is a civic interior, clean and functional, rather than a heritage garden setting.
There are upsides. The Esplanade area sits directly on the Marina Bay waterfront. Immediately after the indoor ceremony, couples have access to some of the most photogenic exterior backdrops in Singapore, the bay promenade, the arts centre's durian-shell facade, the CBD skyline reflected in the water. A skilled photographer can turn a post-ceremony 20-minute shoot around the waterfront into a genuinely memorable set of images.
For couples who want both legal registration and a more styled solemnisation environment, the alternative is an external venue. You can solemnise anywhere in Singapore, a hotel garden in Orchard, a heritage shophouse courtyard in Chinatown, a clifftop resort on Sentosa, an HDB rooftop with city views, or even your own living room. The legal outcome is identical. The venue simply changes the visual and emotional character of the day.
Ficus Room at Gardens by the Bay is one option worth noting. According to MSF, ROM has partnered with Gardens by the Bay to make the Ficus Room available for solemnisation bookings, a lush, botanical setting that is a very different mood from a civic interior.
---
Costs: What Changes, What Stays the Same
The renovation does not affect ROM's fee structure. Based on the official ROM fee schedule at marriage.gov.sg:
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Marriage licence application (SC/PR) | SGD 42 |
| Marriage licence application (both foreigners) | SGD 380 |
| Change of solemnisation details after filing | SGD 25 |
| In-house ROM solemniser (on-site ceremony) | No additional charge |
| Licensed solemniser for external venue (ang bao) | Typically SGD 100 to 200, plus transport |
Solemnisers are community volunteers, the government does not set a mandatory fee. According to marriage.gov.sg, a cultural ang bao is the typical gesture of appreciation. In practice, the widely cited community norm sits at around SGD 100 to 200, with an additional SGD 20 to 50 transport allowance if the solemniser travels to an external venue.
The biggest cost variables on a ROM day are not the government fees at all. They are photography, the gown, makeup and hair, and any styling for the venue. These are the decisions that shape how the day is remembered.
Studios like The Aurora Wedding offer ROM-specific bundles covering gown rental, makeup and hair, and registry-day photography, a single contract for couples who want fewer moving parts on the day. It is worth comparing what is included in such bundles against booking each component separately, since the coordination savings alone can justify the package structure.
---
Planning for the New ROM Building (2029 and Beyond)
Couples getting married now will use the Esplanade Mall interim site. Couples planning for 2029 and beyond should watch for updates, ROM is expected to return to Canning Rise with a significantly upgraded venue that will include a rooftop outdoor ceremony space, larger indoor rooms, and purpose-built photo spots.
For now, the practical advice is straightforward:
- Do not navigate to the old Canning Rise address, the building is a construction site
- Check marriage.gov.sg for the current operational address and any updates before your appointment
- Plan extra travel time to the Esplanade area on weekends, parking and pedestrian traffic around Marina Bay is heavier than the old Canning Rise location
- If photos matter to you, scout the waterfront area near the interim site in advance, or consider an external venue that matches your visual preference
- File your Notice of Marriage as early as the 6-month window allows for auspicious dates, popular slots at the interim site fill quickly
The ROM Singapore renovation is a temporary inconvenience for couples in 2025 to 2028, and a genuine upgrade for everyone who follows. The current process works exactly as it always has, just with a different skyline outside the window.
---
The most underrated moment of a ROM day is the 20 minutes after the ceremony, when the paperwork is done and nobody is rushing anywhere yet. That is when the real photos happen.
