JenniferSS

I don't know if it will help at all but I have an article about what to look for in all inclusives and what the differences are! I find that many will say that they want the cheapest resort thinking that all of the all inclusives offer the same exact things and ambiance. Feel free to pass it along to your guests! http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...ts-know-14194/

Official launch date is September 1st, but the contest is based on votes recieved- so being ready to enter on the 1st will provide a greater chance of getting lots of votes and winning! Be sure to let all of your friends that are engaged ( or may be getting engaged! ) know!

I'm so excite I just had to share a sneak preview for our BDW guys & gals!! Bring your Passport, Dress & Leave the Stress! Sandals Emerald Bay, Destination Wedding 2011 Contest. One lucky couple will win a 5 night stay and a Martha Stewart Beautiful Beginnings wedding, at the stunning Sandals Emerald Bay, Exuma Bahamas. Additionally, they can bring two couples with them for a 3 night stay to celebrate their nupitals ! Be sure keep checking back often and join our Facebook Page - Sand and Sun Vacations for more details & on how to enter! For more information on Sandals Emerald Bay Luxury Bahamas Resort - All Inclusive Vacations at Emerald Bay in Great Exuma For more information on Martha Stewart weddings Beautiful Beginnings Wedding Package - Simple & Elegant Weddings at Sandals Resorts For pictures from our site visit in February SandNSun's Photos- powered by SmugMug

Sorry for teh delay- busy, busy! At this point I haven't heard anything else about the portfolios, I'll post if I do come across anything!

I was just in St. Lucia this fall and you will love the island ! I stayed at Sandals Grande St. Lucian in a Rondaval- OMG- amazing!! We also took full day site visits to Sandals Halcyon & Sandals Regency! They are all wonderful just a but different from each other- Sandals Grande St. Lucian - tends to be upscale but laid back-great becah as it sits in a large bay! Sandals Halcyon - very quiet, typically a lot of British, intimate boutique feel to the property (have to try Marios restaurant there- delicious! Sandals Regency is huge- the beach side is pretty lively while going up teh hill and on the bluff is quiet- the rooms range from standard hotel to some really nice and unique villa type. You'll also find the plunge pool rooms at Sandals Regency! The nice thing is no matter which one you stay at you get to visit and fully enjoy everything at the other two! They even provide transportation! I'd love to help you figure out which one is just right for you & get it booked!

I know many, many TA's that will not work with destination weddings - even under threat of torture! A couple of factors- Not only do we book the travel arrangements and assist with choosing a destination and resort which is what we are trained for, but we also must know the wedding packages, wedding locations, destinations legal requirements and residency periods, wedding options and assist with the WC's plus keeping up with the spreadsheets on who has booked, arrival & departure dates and flights- with no extra compensation. It takes just as much effort and customer service to assist a guest with a 3/4 night stay as it does a client who is perhaps on their honeymoon and staying for 7-8 nights- but as we are paid on commission so we get paid less. Quite often there are several guests who are extremly confrontational and/or passive aggressive. They do not want the couple to have a destination wedding, they are pissed and it is all the travel agents fault! And believe me -we hear it just as much as the bride & groom! Then there are the guests who do not want to use a travel agent - and are ticked because they have to if there is a group in place. Then there are guests that want us to quote every possible date, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 nights within a 10 day or so period. Usually looks like this "We're not sure is how long we want to go and what dates so quote us all dates and option from 3-7 days from February 3-12th - all with airfare. We can go out of 3 different airports. We're also not sure which room category so provide rates on them all" They contact us every week for 6 months and then don't end up booking! Or, worse yet book online- thanking us for helping them find the perfect deal and answer all of their questions, as the price was the same! Of course then we have family issues to assist with- Aunt Joan does not speak to Aunt May so they need to stay on opposite sides of the resort (that's usually an easy one!) or tell so & so if they call that the resort is sold out! Also to be on the look out for ex boyfriends or girlfriends! ohhhh the stories we could tell..... That's just SOME of what a TA assists with for a destination wedding- it really takes a love & passion to specialize in destination weddings and a thick skin! Honestly I've had some guests that have had me in tears- thankfully I've had amazing brides & grooms!!

I would ask her what the issue is- it may be that she is being told by her suppliers that the rates are going to be available by next Friday and then the next friday and so on and then the supplier(s) isn't coming through! Been there-done that! In the USA our suppliers are just finishing up with the January 2011 rates & contracts- took a bit longer this year because of all the craziness over the last year and a half! There are still some resorts/destinations that are not finished and loaded into the reservation systems and therefor we can not yet quote/book! Quote: Originally Posted by soontobemrsdow Why is it that I'm seriously contemplating going onto my third travel agent to help us book this wedding? You would think that being gift wrapped 20+ customers would motivate these people to do their job efficently. With my first travel agent I understand it was too early to book but she flat out lied to my face. Twice. Ya see you in another life lady. My new travel agent is so nice and was waaay more organized than the first so I thought I was set. Not quite. I met her over a month ago and everytime I contact her now she'll have the quotes by the end of the week "I promise, you'll have the info in your hands Friday" Yup pretty sure it's been about 5 Fridays now. And here I was thinking a destination wedding was going to be less stressful

Actually supplier contracts are not yet set for summer 2011 so it's not that she doesn't want to or is inexperienced - it's that she can not as they are not available! She can provide guestimates but nothing concrete yet! Sandals is very different in that they set their rates for almost two years in advance- so we can get Sandals/Beaches or Royal Plantation rates easily and share those!

Pictures-pictures! I'd love to see some!

Quote: Originally Posted by krmiller HAHAHA...that was exactly my impression of Sandles/Beaches resorts. Glad to hear that is not the case. Beaches T&C looks beautiful!! Actually they are all really nice, and not cheesy or "disneyfied"- but each one is different from the others! Some more standard resort lay out, others very Caribbean, the newer properties are definately going with the upscale, but if you want to see an amazing property definately check out Sandals Emerald Bay- it's stunning. Understated, elegant and the beach & water are breathtaking! I have pics here SandNSun's Photos- powered by SmugMug

Sorry but this just rubs me wrong- you expect "a large list" of professional TA's to put in hours & hours of research for you for 7 different destinations and use the knowledge that they spent years learning without any commitment or compensation as that is "unfortunate" that they would have a retainer? Sorry but TA's are not public libraries or the internet-they are real live people who have bills to pay and families to take care of just like everyone else. It floors me that you would expect so many people to work for free for you.

Just wanted to let you know that I posted an update about my meeting- it's under May sandals & Beaches updates! We didn't have time to get to everything and as I was waiting for the pics from brides to show the difference that was one area that wasn't covered. There are some new things coming down the pike though that many of you will find interesting and really good news!

I had a great conversation with the head of the weddings department for Sandals & Beaches! I just wanted to share some of teh new information! More to come later- she had another appoinment to run to ! --First......drum roll please.....you gals are teh first to know as it is just being announced today !!....a good majority of the items in the Martha Stewart packages will be available a la carte! She stressed that the packages will be the least expensive way to go but you will have the option/ability of customizing each package-including the Beautiful Beginnings package! They will not "trade" items in & out. --Floral Catalogue is due to arrive by the end of the month- it is getting printed next week. --The set up fee- it is $250. This fee is for labor costs. A couple of notes: - if you are having a guest just placing something simple on the tables there is no fee. If it is an elaborate setup there may be a fee as it is likley that staff will have to take down or undue/pick up the decorations. There will be no hanging items- this is because of liability if a guest falls or gets injured. You can bring a silk or other bouquet- but you CAN NOT bring in live flowers from an outside vendor. -the color palette will be limited to the MS color schemes as Sandals/Beaches was having a hard time getting quality linens in every shade of color. This is for quality control. -She also wanted to have me let brides know that customs is getting serious about shells/starfish. To be sure that if you take them with you that you have it documented that they were harvested in an enviromentally friendly manner. -Sandals/Beachs is in the process of getting photo's of the wedding locations at each resort and will have the photo's to share and locations on the resort maps. They do not expect this to be available for a while as it is a slow process getting the info from each property and compiling it! - Sparklers are a no go due to fire hazards( sounds like she wanted to do them as part of a photo shoot and it was a big no to her also!) , Hoewever she did say that the birthday cake kind would work as the chemical is different and it doesn't burn as hot ( and probably because there isn't the hot metal stick to start fires with!) . There are a few other items that I asked about that she is considering and will get back to me. I will post those when they come in if there is a policy change! I didn't ask about photography at this session as I am still waiting for the pics that a bride was going to send to me. Until I have some real life examples it's hard to make a solid case!

Based on our past emails I would say that you may be better off having a wedding outside of a resort & using an on island wedding coordinator! That way you do have the control that you desire and can still satisfy your other desires such as staying at a resort at the caliber that you would like and having your guests stay guests staying elsewhere, especially if you still want an all inclusive resort. At an all inclusive there will be limitations on what they can & can not do plus there will be the cost of transfers and day pass fees for the guest to come onto the resort for your wedding ( if tehy stay elsewhere). If you do non all inclusive most resorts charge a surcharge for guests that do not book at the resort. Working with an island wedding coordinator will provide you a much greater degree of control as they can customize your date/time and place( it all depends on your budget) without having to worry about how your wedding affects the other guests of the resort ( resorts have to balance the needs of their other guests along with the desires of the wedding couple!). Your guests can stay where ever they want, as you can also! Quote: Originally Posted by AutismPrincipal TA Jennifer- Thanks so much for your feedback. FI and I have decided to go for customer control and look to a different island and resort for our nuptials and reception. As enticing as Sandals seem (discounts and customized packages), I'm trusting my gut and avoiding Sandals at all costs. If your company works with resorts other than Sandals, I will be more than happy to work with you as you've provided such great support throughout my search. Thanks again.

I'm crazy busy this week though and don't have time to go looking through the link ( as much as I love looking at wedding pics!) to match pictures up. If you could just email them over as sandals and guest pics of the same shot that way I can forward them on to show Sandals what the brides are talking about. Quote: Originally Posted by kelly1214 TA Jennifer- email me your address and I'll send you the link to the pictures from the resort. They are still availble online for another couple of weeks (middle of June they will be taken off). I'll email you some from my family members too. Thanks, Kelly Actually

You will find most of this is true with many of the resorts in one form or another! As the weddings are on their property and many times the brides will hold the resort responsible for outside vendors that the bride has contracted or that the outside vendos have caused issues for other resort guests ( I've heard horror stories of photographers screaming at resort guests to get out of the way of a picture(imagine your on your honeymoon or vacation and that happened to you!), male photographers following the bride into the changing rooms at spa's when other female guests were getting changed. Florist or DJ's that pull a no show and the bride blaming the resort and demanding that the resort staff be pulled to do her wedding/reception and or fix issues with outside vendors. This is all when the bride booked teh vendor independantly of the resort!I could go on & on with the stories I've heard). For those sort of issues many resorts now allow no outside vendors! Almost all resorts also have specific time slots for the weddings- this allows for organization & to be sure that everything goes perfectly! And lastly- of course you bring your own flowers- however again you can not order real flowers and have them delivered to the resort. It comes down to a matter of quality control! I too hear that the WC's can be hard to work with for some brides- however my agency has no problem getting answers in a timely manner! we work closely with the WC's and have found them very professional & accommodating ! I encourage you to look around the forum as you will see that 1) the Sandals/Beaches brides have almost unanimously stated that even with the restrictions that they would still do the wedding exactly where thay had it- as everything really come together perfectly and 2) you'll see that the same restrictions/issues at most all other resorts or other restrictions/higher prices!

Autismprincipal- I know we've been emailing- but wanted to respond here for others that may be reading this. You have to stay at the resort that you are getting married at- so if you are getting married at sandals Grande Ocho rios, you will need to stay there and then move to Royal Plantation the next day for the honeymoon.

I want to thank everyone who shared- especially past brides as I know it's really valuable to all the new brides! I didn't answer every post as I need to get away from this computer for a few hours and actually spend time with my family! Please do keep the thoughts, comments and questions coming! Again I appreciate constructive comments & thoughts ! I would also love to share with them what each of you thinks that they are doing right !

Great comments-thanks for sharing! Quote: Originally Posted by kelly1214 my main issues- 1. lack of communication before the wedding. A full price list explaining all the fees and options for our wedding would've been nice. I know the Martha Stewart stuff changed a lot of it but it was a huge frustration not knowing what was included and what wasn't and what I'd have to pay extra for. I feel like my wedding coordinator didn't care to volunteer information to us, we had to pull everything out of her... Completely agree- especially as so much has changed/ is changing! One of the reasons for the meeting! 2. The wedding coordinator in Miami. She was very hard to get a straight answer out of. Things she said didn't make sense and pretty much made me not trust a word that came out of her mouth. I felt like she just wanted to make money off of me, not help me plan the 'carefree wedding' as described. Can you please email me some examples that I can share ? That would really help! 3. The photography as stated by the other brides. There is a HUGE lack of communication on what is available for us to purchase and what the costs are. The only information presented in the welcome kits is regarding packages, nothing regarding prices to individually purchase pictures, nothing about purchasing the photographs individually on a CD. The prices are pre set but I agree it would be wonderful to know all of that prior to going to the resort The quality of the photographer we had was mediocre too. My family's photographs were as good if not better than hers. She also was late in getting to my room (we actually had to wait for her to get there so I could go to my ceremony). She was rude to my guests too which really ticked me off. Could you email me some examples of the quality similarity between the two that I could share with Sandals? It would be great if they could be the same shots (one from teh sandals/Beaches photog and one from teh family member!) I have been trying to push the importance of having specific photographers that brides could pick from for their weddings as I completely understand the frustration and how important it is !! Hands down my biggest disappointment from my wedding with my experience with the photographers and photoshop people. Momx2- good luck with getting outside venders in. Our photographer from tropical imaging said the security office gave him a really hard time getting in and he didn't even have his camera!

As you can see I won't answer everyone today-I just wanted to touch base on some of these ! Quote: Originally Posted by DWbridetobe My comments: Wedding Coordinators: Mine (and I'm not sure if this applies for all of them) seems to be very under-informed. Every time I email her with questions, it takes multiple days to get a response. When I do get a response, her answers are copy and pasted from the Sandals website. Now I, and almost every other bride I know, is very informed about the companies that they are handing thousands of dollars to. If the information on the website had satisfied my question, I wouldn't be asking again. I realize that Unique Vacations (the company whom the WC's are from) isn't Sandals, but they ARE representing the Sandals brand. I understand your frustration! I wouldn't want to be copied and pasted from the website either. You may want to start with - I looked at the website and saw......but I needed further clarification such as...... As far as taking multiple days to respond - yup, it will. They are working with at lesat 2-2.5 years worth of brides! The brides that are traveling the soonest are priority, those who are traveling further out get answered a little later. It's far worse for those getting married in Mexico- they can take weeks to get back and not answer a question! Not to make light of it but it is the reality of a DW. They literally work with hundreds of brides and potentially thousands of weddings over a two year time frame. Looking at just 5 days a week multiplied by 6 wedding slots a day ( not counting teh vow renewal and the sunset time slots) by 52 weeks a year equals 1,560 weddings. Say we take just half that number, 780 ( because the fall weddings don't fill up although January - June usually do!) and then add to that those that are just considering having a DW at Sandals/Beaches and want to speak with someone and it is quite amazing that they are able to respond within multiple days! Cost of the "free wedding": This wedding package is far from free. I feel like this is a mis-representation. I have to respectfully disagree with this- for you to get legally married at a Sandals/ Beaches resort it is free. The inclusions are clearly stated on the website in several places. They even go as far as paying for the legal fees under certain conditions! They file the paperwork required, they arrange the minister, provide a bouquet, have a photographer come and take a photo that they give to you plus provide a wedding cake and champagne for the bride & groom plus two guests. A location on the resort of your choosing is also provided. Then they send the marriage license back to you. This all has a cost to the resort above & beyond your room cost. What they do not provide is a free celebration/reception of the wedding or upgrades/decorations that you may prefer for the wedding or reception. If you were to do all the same things that are included with teh free wedding at home there would be both a monetary and time cost. I'm inclined to agree with the wedding times. The latest time we were offered was 2:00 p.m., which is during the hottest time of the day. It also makes it difficult to time sunset photos and events. Again it would be because because someone else had already reserved the 3pm & 4pm time- those go really fasy- usually year or so in advance! Although my videography/web-streaming issue has been solved by a manager at Unique Vacations, for future brides, when will this feature be available for the rest of the resorts, particularly in Saint Lucia? I'll see if they have anything in the works! I think that's all the input I have for now. I'll be sure to post if I think of any more.

Just to answer a few things - Quote: Originally Posted by delnel24 1. I would like to see more sunset weddings or later in the day weddings. When they offered our times they said we could pick from 11AM, 12PM, 1PM and the latest was 2PM This is in the middle of the hot day. They said if I wanted a later wedding I would have to upgrade to the $6000 MS theme. I almost left Sandals for this reason and went to Couples because they offer much better wedding times. I would have moved to a different resort but I had over 30 people already booked. The time slots for weddings are from 11- 4pm, they only do one wedding an hour, on the hour. This also guarantees that you can have any location on the resort for your wedding! So if they didn't offer a time later in the day it was because it unfortunately was already taken by another bride before you booked yours! I agree that the cost for the Sunset time is ALOT- however as you can see from the post in this thread and throughout the forum - it is a premium time that most brides want. The cost also reflects the amount and type of flowers used (and the cost of getting that package set up-takes a bit as there are so many flowers involved!). [/color] 2. Hire Wedding Coordinators that call you back. They are working on a better system where they are scheduling consultations now- as I get more information I will post it! 3. $500 for each additional table when you upgrade to a theme is ridiculous. I can understand if someone is having several (like 100 guests) to charge them a higher set up fee but come on. $500 for each table of 8? Agree- they do allow you to have a plain-non decorated table with a regular table cloth -not floor length and dinner set-ups at no extra charge if you are doing the sit down meal. 4. The pricing for the photography seems like a rip off. $1200 for 48 pictures? Actually this isn't bad pricing- it can seem a bit like sticker shock at first but they give you full rights to your photo's. I comparision shopped here in the midwest (using price sheets from all types of photographers that do weddings from the hobbiest to the amazing, small town to big city) and the cost for them to show up and do the shoot, provide 48 pictures and provide reprint rights was far, far above the 1200- if I remember correctly the hobbiest came in at about 1500-2500 and the amazing was well over 8000 ( with the full rights of reprint) We should also be able to see the photographers work for other weddings before we commit to it. I would also like to see being able to bring in your own photographer. Several of the other resorts let you do this. Photography at Sandals is a HUGE concern for several of the brides. I'm sure this alone has lost several customers. At Couples they have a great photographer who is a true professional and not just trained to take pictures with KODAK. You can go to his website and see all of his pictures before hand and the pricing is much more reasonable. I beleive they are working on something like this- at least I was told in December they were- but that getting the MS up and running was priority because the contract with Preston Baily had run out.

I have a meeting scheduled with the head of weddings for Sandals, Beaches & Royal Plantation on Monday to clarify some of the new policies and get updates on the MS weddings, also get a peek into what is coming up next ( I've heard rumors of additional MS packages coming doen the road!). Does anyone have any questions that you would like for me to ask ? Any comments that you would like to share? Please keep your comments constructive - state the issue and what you would like to see happen instead! Also if you considered Sandals/Beaches/Royal Plantation but then decided to get married elsewhere - I'd love to have your input as to why. It's a great opportunity to share what you like & don't like about weddings with Sandals and get questions answered!

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/206865603 Join us as we explore the beauty of the Caribbean and exactly what is included at the amazing, couples only Sandals Resorts. See photo's of the properties, learn how each property is unique and which one would be perfect for YOUR Vacation, Honeymoon or Destination Wedding! Join us and you'll see why Sandals is voted the # 1 Romantic Resort in the Caribbean plus recieve special amenitis or discounts! ! Special promotions for webinar attendee's! Title: Your Invitation to Sandals Vacation,Honeymoon & Destination Wedding Webinar! Date:Tuesday, May 25, 2010 Time:12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista Macintosh®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Sandals Webinar! Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/206865603 Join us as we explore the beauty of the Caribbean and exactly what is included at the amazing, couples only Sandals Resorts. See photo's of the properties, learn how each property is unique and which one would be perfect for YOUR Vacation, Honeymoon or Destination Wedding! Join us and you'll see why Sandals is voted the # 1 Romantic Resort in the Caribbean plus recieve special amenitis or discounts! ! Special promotions for webinar attendee's! Title: Your Invitation to Sandals Vacation,Honeymoon & Destination Wedding Webinar! Date:Tuesday, May 25, 2010 Time:12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista Macintosh®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Hi seedsngarlick! I just wanted to chime in ( hope you don't mind!) with a few thoughts! I've been to them all -multiple times (well just once to Sandals Emerald Bay!) ! One of the things that I love about Sandals is how each resort is different- they each have their own personalty and ambiance! One of the things I stress to my clients is to find teh perfect sandals for their needs and desires! Some of my clients may LOVE Sandals Grand Ocho Rios and hate sandals royal caribbean and others the other way around - it really depends on what they wanted their vacation to be! I have clients that travel to sandals twice a yaer- love the concept but I advise them against certain properties because I know that the particular resort is not a good fit and they would hate it! Some of the things that have to be taken into consideration are: Do you want a quieter or active resort? What age group do you want to vacation with? Are you more into beaches or pools? Do you want activities outside of the resort -or to relax the whole time? Your budget- at what property do you get the most "bang" for your buck? What kind of room are you most comfortable with ? For weddings- what do YOU want to experience? How does that jive with your guests budget? While I have certain resorts that I absolutely adore they may not be what YOU need for your wedding/vacation. So I would really encourgae you to take others opinions with a grain of salt! Ok that being said- Ocho Rios is not that much farther than Negril . Sandals Negril is about an hour to an hr 10-15 minute drive (depending on traffic). Sandals Grande Ocho Rios is an hour 30-40 minutes. And.......Sandals Negril is fantastic- the ambiance is very caribbean and the sunsets, .......ahhhhhh. But it is a small resort and very compact. Sandals Grande Ocho Rios is a large, very lush resort. This is great for those that like to spend more time at the pool, looking at the ocean.There are pools tucked everywhere and a large pool up on the manor side of the resort. Beach here is smaller but works - there is ample space on the main portion of the beach for everyone and plenty of water sports! the price is generally less expensive for Sandals grande Ocho Rios than for Sandals Negril. I've had weddings, honeymoons and vacationers at both that absolutly loved their stay!