Sandals Brides Updates!

[hollisandsteph]

Originally Posted by dedra27

hollisandsteph and all others getting back soon ~
I'm glad there is someone to talk to who has actually been there now! My wedding is the end of June, so i'm getting down to all the last minute stuff. Any info and tips you have would be great! Did you get any of the a la carte pics and how was getting the digital CD of negatives, I heard the CD is $200? Did they do a nice job of doing your hair? How about the off site tours, would you recommend or not recommend any of them? I hope you had a great time! Thanks

Hey Dedra.
I am actually jelous of you! I wanna go back and do it again..lol I would with out a doubt chose a Sandals wedding again. Not that I would ever need to but you know what I mean..lol I loved it.
Tips..Bring small bill. Like 5's and 10's. There is no ATM at the resort either and it is kinda hard to get cash. You can get a cash advance at the front desk but it is only in Jamaican dollars and they don't always have the cash. Tipping is almost required by everyone non-Sandals. The bus drivers, the men carring the baggage at the airport and the excursions are just examples. We also slipped a couple of our favorite Sandals employee a little cash.
At the actual wedding there will be a photographer if you requested one or not. You do get a free 5x7 and we ordered one 8x10 at $25 and our friends surprised us with a picture they ordered for us so we have 3 all together. The same friend took the rest of our pictures with our camera and they turned out great! I was worried that I would be upset not purchasing a photo package (or the ala carte) but I am not at all. My friend did purchace a picture CD with pics they had taken around the resort. I was never offered this but I never asked either. We were happy with the picture we had gotten and did not want to spend any more money.
My hair was great! It with held the humidity perfectly! The ladies at the Red Lane Spa are sooo nice. Both my and my BM had our hair done and they were both awsome!
We did 3 different excursion. The Dunns River was included when we booked through Sandals but even if it wasn't it would have been worth the money! It was a lot fun. Take the party boat and you get to snorkle afterward. You don't get back to the resort til dark either. BTW the sun sets at 6:30. It is hard to get used too.
We also did the Coyaba Garden the day before Dunns River. I loved this one too. It is really inexpensive and you get a tour through a beutiful garden then then you walk up a smaller waterfall. There was hardly anyone there. They said don't go when the Cruise lines are docked. It is packed and the prices get hiked up.
The last thing we did was my favorite. My husband's caddie when golfing was also a cabbie. He owned his own cab and they worked out a plan to do several different thing. I know they warn against this but the guys spent 5 hours with the man and felt comfortble with him. He took us rafting, shopping and to the Hard Rock Cafe (we were gonna do Margritiaville but went there the night before through the resort...and hated it) It was nice just being taken wherever we wanted and when we wanted. He also helped us barter at the shops. This man was so nice and alot of fun. I still have his card so if anyone is looking for someone trustworthy let me know and I will give you his number. He took us around for $20 a person and then we had to pay $20 for the tube at the river rafting place. So it was about $40 a person. The rafting through Sandals was $80 a person so we saved a ton of money and got to go shopping too.
Sorry this is so long. Once I got started I couldn't stop..lol Can anyone tell I had a great time:-)

[AmandaR]

Originally Posted by dedra27

hollisandsteph and all others getting back soon ~
I'm glad there is someone to talk to who has actually been there now! My wedding is the end of June, so i'm getting down to all the last minute stuff. Any info and tips you have would be great! Did you get any of the a la carte pics and how was getting the digital CD of negatives, I heard the CD is $200? Did they do a nice job of doing your hair? How about the off site tours, would you recommend or not recommend any of them? I hope you had a great time! Thanks

I had my hair and make-up done at Red Lane Spa. It took 2 1/2 hours - FYI. I went to a local salon for a hair trial run beforehand, and they were able to duplicate the style easily with the pictures I brought. They did a good job on my make-up, but I was shocked when I first saw myself because I don't really wear make-up in my normal life. After the initial shock wore off I was fine, but I did tone down the lip liner and lipstick. Overall, I think they did a terrific job.

Getting the digital CD of negatives is great because you and your family can make copies of whatever pics they want. Just make sure to ask for their copyright release form so you can get copies made. All I had to do was ask and they pulled one from a stack on the counter - very easy. We got a photo package that included 37 5x7's and 5 8x10's. For us, the $$$ was definitely worth it. I plan on keeping those in the album and making copies of ones we want to frame and scrapbook. We're inviting our immediate families over when we get our DVD so we can all relive the "moment."

One thing I will mention is that their selection of wedding music is limited. If there's a specific song you want played for processional, recessional, first dance, etc, make sure to burn a CD beforehand. I only had music prepared for processional, first dance, and father/daughter dance, and had to choose from their selection for Sand Ceremony and signing of the register music. I personally was too caught up in the moment to even realize what was being played. Also, if you opt for a DVD, they are able incorporate that music into the video.

[currier73]

Amanda,

Can I ask a few more questions? Were you able to buy the CD of negatives. I keep asking my WC and she says that they do not do this. I will be buying pics (it will only be the 2 of us) but the packages are so expensive. I just wanted to be able to come home and give my family pics since they are unable to attend. For the sand ceremony do they still charge you if you bring your own supplies? I would like to do this but I don't think it is worth $100. Thanks for all the great advice. Would love to see some pics when you get the time to post them.

Thank you,

Heather

[AmandaR]

Originally Posted by currier73

Amanda,

Can I ask a few more questions? Were you able to buy the CD of negatives. I keep asking my WC and she says that they do not do this. I will be buying pics (it will only be the 2 of us) but the packages are so expensive. I just wanted to be able to come home and give my family pics since they are unable to attend. For the sand ceremony do they still charge you if you bring your own supplies? I would like to do this but I don't think it is worth $100. Thanks for all the great advice. Would love to see some pics when you get the time to post them.

Thank you,

Heather

The CD of negatives was included with our photo package, but you are able to purchase a CD in lieu of other pics they take of you, so I don't see why not.

They do not charge you $100 for the Sand Ceremony if you bring your own supplies. We used beach sand for ours, and no one said anything.

[dedra27]

Thanks for the info!

Do you get to leave the resort with your actual photos and CDs or do they mail them later? Did anyone happen to get a picture of someone having there wedding on the actual beach? This is what I really wanted to do, but I've heard that it is very unprivate. I don't like that idea. Were the weddings right on the beach in front of the resort or off to the side somewhere. My other choice is the gazebo on the other smaller private dock. Did any of you bring your own decorations to decorate the gazebo? We are going to do the sand ceremony, did they provide a table for the vases to sit on?

Stupid question, but we booked our flights thru sandals so we only have a flight number that I printed with our receipt. Is there anything else we need or will get for flight tickets?

Any pictures you'd like to post would be much appreciated!

[dedra27]

Okay, nevermind I now see that both of you posted your pics in a different thread. They were all very beautiful! Congratulations!

[bridget917]

I have a few questions for anyone who would like to answer! Dedra27 asked some of them already...

Asteff, you mentioned wishing you had brought more music. What all did you need music for? I was thinking just the processional and at the end...but from what you mentioned there is more and I really want to be prepared!

Are they okay with you taking your own decorations? I loved the "floating orchids" that I saw some other people do and wouldn't mind making some of those to take down...I could also use them here at our AHR so it wouldn't really be much more of an expense.

Asteff, I know that you had made wedding programs...were you able to give an order of service to the minister or how did that work?

Were chairs provided or do those need to be requested. I saw them set up in one of Hollisandstephs pictuures.

Anything else we should know?

[bridget917]

The Dunns River was included when we booked through Sandals but even if it wasn't it would have been worth the money! It was a lot fun. Take the party boat and you get to snorkle afterward. You don't get back to the resort til dark either. BTW the sun sets at 6:30. It is hard to get used too.
We also did the Coyaba Garden the day before Dunns River. I loved this one too. It is really inexpensive and you get a tour through a beutiful garden then then you walk up a smaller waterfall. There was hardly anyone there. They said don't go when the Cruise lines are docked. It is packed and the prices get hiked up.

HollisandSteph, I really wanted to check out Coyaba Garden because it looks beautiful! Did you book that excursion through the resort or how did that work? We are also considering Dunns River but haven't really decided yet.

[hollisandsteph]

Dedra-
I looked through my pictures and I do not have any that show a good view of the beach were the weddings are. I am getting my friends pics tomorrow and I am pretty sure she has some that show whole beach so you can see how close you are to people swiming. I'll post them when I get some downloaded. We originally wanted a beach wedding but decided privacy was very important to us. I loved our spot and felt very comfortable there. It felt like it was just us.
I did leave the resort with my photos but we only bought a couple of them. They were ready 2 hours later.
As far as the tickets go, you will recieve a package via DHL or fedex with tickets. Atleast we did anyways.
I hope that helps

Bridget-
I would do Dunns River for sure! We went through the resort and just booked it the day after we arrived. It was no problem at all and well worth it. Take a water camera though. They are cheeper to buy at home!! I also loved Coyaba gardens but I recommend doing it before you do Dunns River. Coyaba is beautiful and well worth it. Dunns River is bigger and it is just the falls. I would do both all over again. We booked both through the resort but if you wanted to save money (they rack up the prices through the resort) I do know a very trustworthy cabbie. He took us all over the place (tubing, shopping and dinner)and he was awsome! He originally was my husband golf caddie. They do reccomend you do not leave the resort with strangers but they make sure they get the name and license plate number of the person you are leaving with. I was nervous about it but I am glad we did it. It was a blast that day!

[AmandaR]

Originally Posted by dedra27

Thanks for the info!

Do you get to leave the resort with your actual photos and CDs or do they mail them later? Did anyone happen to get a picture of someone having there wedding on the actual beach? This is what I really wanted to do, but I've heard that it is very unprivate. I don't like that idea. Were the weddings right on the beach in front of the resort or off to the side somewhere. My other choice is the gazebo on the other smaller private dock. Did any of you bring your own decorations to decorate the gazebo? We are going to do the sand ceremony, did they provide a table for the vases to sit on?

Stupid question, but we booked our flights thru sandals so we only have a flight number that I printed with our receipt. Is there anything else we need or will get for flight tickets?

Any pictures you'd like to post would be much appreciated!

I was amazed that our pictures were ready to pick up within 24 hours of the wedding! It was great bc our families were on the return flight home with us, so we got to share them with everyone right away!

I don't have a pic either of a beach wedding. The beach wedding I saw took place on the Beach Club side (still on the Riviera side, but just not in front of the main building). It's certainly not private during the day, but later in the afternoon, the beach clears out more. I know that I was oblivious to everything around me during my ceremony, so if that's how you would be, a semi-private wedding on the beach might not be so bad.

They do provide a table for the sand ceremony.