JenniferSS

Certainly not trying to bash-just provide a bit of perspective. A family issue came up so he couldn't do extra free services- I just don't see why your so upset when he unfortunately couldn't deliver because of a family emergency. It wasn't in a contract nor something initially agreed upon ( ie you will get to view 100 photos) and was something that this photgrapher was trying to do to be accomodating and make you happy. I can however see why you'd be very disappointed especially when you wanted to give it as a gift. You could try small claims court but when you signed the model release those pictures are free & clear his- to use as he sees fit, within the boundries of the model release form. Unless there was more to it than that. I guess I would just be thrilled that I had received so much for just a couple hours of my time. Yes he can now use those photo's in his porfolio but eventually you will receive the book and some great shots. You said he did tell you that the book is coming. I'd focus on finding out what the time line is on that ( although from what you provided from the initial email that also wasn't stated). Maybe he is trying to get the time free to add more photo's to appease you and that may be the delay-maybe he's become extremely busy as it is now wedding season.

Basically you received a free session and a session for $25 and will be getting a book (for free- that actually cost the photographer money & time) and now your upset because the photographer is willing to work with you and is letting you offer a price on the CD but is putting paying clients first and not providing additional services (the extra photo's editing and ready for viewing ) and providing you with more options to pick from for free or at a great cost savings to you? I guess I just don't get it. It was free, you got exactly what was promised, the photogrpher tried to do more but a family emergency came up and now you want to look into a lawyer to squeeze more out of this photogrpaher? I understand you may not have the budget and really wanted to see the others and have choices but 1.please keep in mind that this photogrpaher is running a business and can not afford to keep piling on additional items for free- his skill and time have value. If he had a family emergency that meant that it took time away from his other paying clients that he had contractual obligations to. 2. Your upset because a paying client recieved their book before you received yours- I'm sorry but that makes perfect sense.

You may want to take a peek at the signature wedding package.... Quote: Originally Posted by KathleenandDan I am getting married at Beaches which is a family resort owned by Sandals. So I have the same options and costs. I am trying really hard to keep it cheap but having a hard time doing it. I have 17 people coming so I feel I need to do something. I am extending our reception from half hour to one hour. Which is $25 per person including the two of us. Hair is $70 and I need a DJ or island band. Which is $250 and hour. Sand cermony is another $100 and I haven't talked about pictures yet. Which go from $150 to couple of thousand. I asked by wedding coordinator about ordering a small package and if we like more can we upgrade. Didn't get a straight answer. I know if we weren't at the resort and having a wedding in NJ the costs would have been alot more money, but we are struggling just to pay for this and pay for the trip and our normally monthly bills. This is my second wedding and his first. I don't want to have any regrets but at the same time I cannot afford what I want. Sucks but will all work out.

Are you looking for a family property or any property that allows for or assists with a Catholic ceremony ? If not -as I stated earlier Sandals Momntegi Bay definately does Catholic ceromonies in their chapel onsite ( kids can come for the ceremony). They do charge an extra fee for the catholic Ceremony ( 100 or 150) and also for use of the chapel (200). Theyu can also assist in arranging it at Blessed Sacrament Catherdral and will provide transportation from Sandals Montego Bay to the church. You can themn have your reception on property!

That's my husband! He came in last night and said- oh man that crap again- and he didn't move a muscle until the show was over !! My 9 year old does competitive dance so she loves the show- she loves being on stage! It's funny to see her practice certain moves during the commercials. She does ballet & jazz, took tap this year for the first time and will try hip hop next year! Quote: Originally Posted by ErinB DH says he doesn't like the show but he sits there next to me and watches and offers commentary. LOL I DVR it so I can FF thru the commercials so I think that helps. He was freakin out when Natalie danced. SHe was screaming at the tv "she's going home! she's off!" This is a boy who has never danced a day in his life.

My thought is you would really only need to worry about this if you are local to the cruiseport as I can not imagine that the crime ring reaches all the to a state in the middle of the country ...... However, I would still just put an emergency contact number (who has your itinerary) and your name & number on your luggage tags. I would also include an itinerary & your address inside your luggage so if it is lost or stolen, or the luggage tag gets taken off there is a way to get it back to you.

danielle- did you sign up for SSG ? You'll save quite a bit (depending on what you booked when you travelled before!) and there was a promo where SSG members saved even more-not sure if that is still valid though! The resort is amazing- if you can swing it at all I highly recommend going!

About 95% of my brides get married at one resort and then honeymoon at another so that they expereince a true "Honeymoon". It's really quite standard for a DW and honestly it seems strange that he wouldn't want some private time for the two of you. Plus his Mom might actually feel awkward intruding on your honeymoon time ! Unless he doesn't trust his brother to take care of their Mom while flying home?

Chantelle- have your travel agent request the garment bag for you! Quote: Originally Posted by CTall119 Out of curiousity, how did you get them to do that? I have a wedding booked at the Sandals Grande in St. Lucia in September...and no one from the resort that I have spoke to had mentioned that they do this...is this the norm? Thanks, in advance, for your reply! Regards, Chantelle

I'd love to help you ladies out! Beaches Turks & Caicos was amazing- everything was top notch!

Mhoudek- Please post the pics so that everyone can see the chapel at Valentine ! It is a beautiful chapel but not traditional "church" chapel by any means. It's surrounded by a moat and is fairly open air.There are columns along the sides and back that are fairly close togther but you can still see out and others in. The entire structure is whlte. It's located in the center of the resort in a garden like setting.

Ta Maureens advise is great!many of my Sandals/Beaches brides do this, plus the Beaches beach ( if you are looking at a Beach wedding) is quite a bit larger ! But you can have children at the resort for the wedding- they can not hang out & play (ex. using the water sports equipment ect) but they can come onsite for the wedding! Your travel agent will need to contact the resort manager prior to the wedding day(I recommed as soon as they know) and secure permission for the children to be onsite at Sandals. This is to ensure that there are not too many children around at one time. If there were more than a few the resort may deny the request for for 2 or 3 it should be fine!

It's one of those Murphy Law type of things! It never falls that when I go out of town to do site visits (so that we know the resorts/destinations, wedding locations ect that we specialize in ) we get a bunch of requests for assistance! I swear I always come back to twice as many requests than I have the weeks prior to leaving !

El Dorado Royale in Riviera Maya, Mexico has a beautiful beachside chapel that is non denominational. It's an adult only all inclusive resort but there is a lot to do both onsite and off!

For those of you having a Sandals wedding- please keep in mind that if your guests stay at Beaches they will have to pay for both transportation and for a day pass to visit Sandals. You (if you booked direct or with a company such as Orbitz) or your travel agent will need to provide a complete guest list and get permission for them to come over on the day of your wedding ! If there are too many people already on property and this isn't done there is the possibility of your guets being turned away. There were so many Beaches guests going to Sandals that they had to change the policy as Sandals negril isn't that large and the guests who booked there were feeling crowded! Jamaican_Smile - Personally I think the best location at Sandals Negril is right on the beach near where the River Suites are ! It's a beautiful beach with nice soft sand and typically by late afternoon (say 2pm onward ) most of the sunbathers will be all sunned out! The next best location ( especially if you plan on wearing heals!) is in one of the beachfront wedding gazebos. But if you want the utmost in privacy the garden gazebo is tucked away and only people walking to their rooms or to the spa will be going by! I would also only recommend Sandy Bay if your guests like smaller properties and are on a very tight budget. The property just doesn't really compare to Sandals Negril or Beaches Negril and you will have more kids underfoot as the childrens facilities are more limited, as is the pool area. .

Yes, Sandals is great about working with us to get the reduced rates if the price drops! One of my brides received a savings of almost 800.00! Another thing you can do ( and we do this for alot of our brides / guests/ honeymooners is apply that rate to a room upgrade-so for the same amount that they alreday budgeted they can go into a better room category such as a concierge or even a Butler! It's fantastis if that is what you really wanted at the beginning but your budget didn't stretch quite that far!

Just to add my two cents- I too would be hesitant to prioritize someone who is on their third request for pricing/dates.There are only so many hours in a day and I need to be able to assist my clients who need me immediately and are settled on what they really want. In a typical day I write out approximately 50 emails and in a week I usually will receive about 25-35 requests for destination weddings and/ or honeymoons. Many of those are people who recognize the value & knowledge that a TA has! They want to pick my brain for the knowledge I've accumulated with hard work & training over the years but they plan on booking elsewhere, for a literally a couple of dollars less. We've all had this happen and most often the client won't give the TA a chance to price match or explain why theirs may be a little higher. Not saying that is what the original poster is doing but it is what we deal with on a daily basis. Her TA at this point may be a little gun shy to expend any more time & energy for this DW. Quite honestly if I have a super demanding bride who doesn't respect me or my staff then I will fire them. I've done it. Yes, I am in a service industry and I will go the extra mile but I will not be abused nor let a super demanding bride take me away from assisting my other clients. It's not fair that a bride who is respectful & patient would not get the time, attention and service level that she deserves because one bride is super demanding. That is usually the straw that breaks this camels back! Most DW group bookings are also not as lucrative as all of you may think- the amount of time spent on a 3 or 4 night group, from starting to work with a bride, assisting their guests and answering questions, problem solving and addressing any issues that may arise ( like the lovely swine flu !) till they return home - can have us actually making under the per hour minimum wage ! I love what I do and it's great to be an integral part of such a wonderful event but please keep in mind that you are dealing with a real live person! Treat your TA as you would like someone to treat you at your job. Be patient, understand that we do have to triage our clients into what we have/can do on any given day- we may have a group that is having issues with flights that needs our undivided attention, we may be putting in final payments on a large group where we had to track many of them down to get said payment - we may have had other quotes that were requested prior to yours ect ect! I would contact her again, let her know that this is really the final change and that you are ready to go (only if it is). That you apprecaite her work and that you will use her to book (only if you truly will) .

I'd recommend to work with a Sandals specialist on room categories and assistance with booking your stay and wedding. Make sure that they are true Sandals specialists as the room categories at Sandals Negril vary quite a bit!

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That's a pretty good reason to not have your DW in mexico! I'd recommend looking at Jamaica or DR -easy flights, decent all inclusives in the 3-4 star range that will fit into the 250-300 a night range. If your traveling in the fall you may even be able to look at a 5 star property. I'd recommend to contact TA Maureen- she's fantastic to work with ( I get rave reviews on her all the time !) and she'll really be able to assist in taking all the stress and guess work out of finding the perfect resort for you!

Keep in mind that you are requesting an all inclusive that will only cost $107.15 per day /per person for 7 nights. That is really inexpensive for three meals, all beverages, watersports, entertainment plus lodging. Most destinations you'll find it hard just to eat & drink decent meals ( not the fast food kind!) on that budget -let alone include everything else. Not that it isn't do able at certains times of the year but keep in mind that you will not be getting Adventura Spa quality on that budget. Your best bets will be to look at Jamaica, DR and Mexico- the All inclusives price much better there than the other Caribbean islands ( keep in mind that DR is not as developed as the other two destinations and it really won't offer as much to do outside of the resort anyways!). Why won't you consider Mexico?

Yup- a friend of mine was feeling that way, not quite feeling in control, cried easily, overall lethargy and feeling of helplessness& frustration when she went to the Dr for her yearly it ended up being that she was pregnant! It was quite a shock but she found that her mood improved once she figured out what was going on! I would definately go to your dr though and ask for some help figuring it all out- no need feeling badly and if it ends up being a pregnancy you'll want to get started under dr care! But if there is another underlying issue the sooner you seek assistance the quicker you'll get better- Especially if it is depression!

I was just curious how much of an influence it has on DW brides when picking their resort if they can bring in outside photographers or videographers ? Did you have a resort in mind then change it because they don't allow outside photographers ? Please comment in this thread on why or why not it was important to you, if you did not use a resort because of the policy please let us know which resort and where you booked instead! I am hoping to use this to show what effect the no outside photographer/videogrpher policy may have to certain resorts! Thanks!

Any chance that you could be pregnant ?

I don't think they are- it was raining off & on during our site visit so they cut it a little short and I didn't have my camera out all of the time! There are lots of lawn areas- a beautiful huge garden gazebo thing in the French village, a beachside boardwalk.The beach here goes on forever so anywhere on the beach is also an option! They also have different ways to decorate the beach- I caught the beginning of the beach set up with the one photo of the potted foliage but they kept us moving before they finished setting up ! With Sandals /Beaches you can get married pretty much anywhere on property- as long as it won't hinder the other guests(ie closing down a venue that is suppose to be open!)