JenniferSS

I am in the process of redoing my website but I am having a really hard time deciding which I like better the charcoal & blue color scheme or the sand/beige /burgandy color scheme! I am looking for a website that would appeal to honeymooners and of course Destination wedding brides Please vote on which one you like better and if you have a few minutes to let me know why I'd really appreciate it! BTW- the pictures are interchangable (personally I like the burgandy pics better but I am biased as they are pics that I took but I've been told that some like the other pics better....) Charcoal/ Blue - Sample Layout 05January 2009 Burgandy - Sample Layout 07January 2008 Which one appeals to you guys? Which one would make you want to click on the links (they aren't working right now) and look around. Thanks!!

Don't feel like you are too far behind- I just met with a Bride & Groom plus their family today for their June Beaches Negril wedding! We have almost everything planned out already ( my intial meeting with them was 10 days ago) and the bride is just thrilled!

If you are traveling for May- you probably have the best rate that you are going to get unless something drastic happens. In the last two weeks I have seen the prices for St. Lucia go up and I expect them to continue to do so. If you are on a budget the deluxe room at the Sandals Grande St. Lucian will be quite nice- it won't have the in room mini bar or the 24 hr room service that a concierge room has but you'll have plenty of bar & food options at your disposal. I like the concirge rooms when we go as my husband can have a drink while I am getting ready and not bug me ! Plus it's really relaxing ordering breakfast or a late night munchie to have with a bottle of wine on our balcony! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am not a Sandals bride, but am a Sandals honeymooner, the Sandles Grande in St. Lucia for May 2009! We are having a hard time figuring out how to get the best deal on the best rooms, or at least what our options are. We are on a tight budget and are currently booked for just the regular rooms there. Thoughts or suggestions on this? Any ideas?! Thanks!!!

It's quite easy to do- we do it with our couples all of the time! You can hop between resorts on the same island or between different islands- you can even do 4 nights at one property and 2 at another and have that count for the free wedding (if you are looking at the free goverment fees it would need to be in the concierge room category for the 6 nights-this pertains to Sandals not Beaches!) The price will be the rate of the rooms at each resort plus the cost of airfare.

If you are referring to Sunset At the Palms- yes, they do work with travel agents, I had a bride get married there this past fall ( her photos were stunning!). I also have a seperate contact (sales manager) that works exclusively with TA's

I just wanted to clear up a couple of misconceptions! Sandals does not require two people to a room- however they will charge a single person the same rate as two people in the room! There are only king size beds at the Sandals resorts. Your TA will have to get permission from the general manager for the singles to stay at the resort as it is a couples resort-generally this is not a problem, especially for women. I would obtain that permission prior to deciding on what property to book your wedding at -an alternative is for the singles to stay at Beaches Boscabel but with them being members of the wedding party it's probably not quite what you had in mind. Kathleen andDan- I couldn't have said it better myself! - "Sandals/Beaches are more expensive, but I believe in you get what you pay for. I hope I helped some what. Wnjoy the forum and best of luck to you.

Hi sorry for my delayed response! I 've been insanely busy and also had a couple of bridal shows in there!! Keep in mind that Jamaica overall will be less expensive and easier to travel to( flights and accomodations) than St. Lucia or Antigua! I look forward to assisting! warmest Regards- TA Jennifer

contact TA Jill- she was married there and specializes in the Dreams & Secrets resorts! She's so sweet and will be able to help you with all of your questions and assist you & your guests with your travel arrangements!

I have no idea who the others are that participated in the program nor where they are located! I can sorta understand the comfort level with talking to someone face to face but quite honestly I've been able to answer all of your questions fully and quickly with all of the PM's we've had. The Ta's here are not compensated for our time and resources in answering questions and sharing the knowledge that we've worked so hard to accumulate! Honestly the only way we get paid is if you book with us and even then we are not compensated till after travel. By using one of the TA's on here you are also supporting the forum and keeping it free for you and other like minded brides to use! It's an amazing resource but it does take a tremendous amount of time and money to keep it up & running seemlessly!

Hi Jen! What kind of information are you looking for? I've been to both islands and have sen all 4 of the properties! Plus I am one of only 21 Sandals Destination Wedding Certified Specailists in the country! Ta Jennifer

I would definately book now as Sandals is having a great sale- usually the prices aren't quite this good! Each Sandals resort is very different in terms of atmosphere and ambiance. As much as I love Sandals there are also a few of the resorts where I would not book the lower room categories - and then there a few where the lower room categories are very, very nice!

It really depends on the TA and the agency- Typically they will arrange you & your guests travel, assist with questions such as passports, packing tips, regulations regarding liquids ect. Our agency will provide updates on who has inquired for a quote and also a spreadsheet on who is booked and the travel information! We also provide a guest quote request form that outline what the resort offers in terms of rooms and amenities! There is no set rule on what each agency offers in terms of service and assistance- I would highly recommend that you work with an agent that specializes in DW's as it is entirely different than booking vacation pkgs! Most are paid on commission from the supplier, however we do not receive the commission till after travel . Also smaller properties may not pay commission so there may be a fee involved to book that travel. Airlines also do not pay commission on published air so again there may be a fee involved for time & expertise. HTH!

Excellence is fantastic! I recieve a response from the WC's within 24 hours!

You can PM her using TA Melinda! Under user CP you will see on the left where you can send a private message- hit that and a box will come up- in the send to you can type TA Melinda!

Quote: Originally Posted by stessa82 I did not use a travel agent. I contacted a few initially but found I could get the best rate for my guests if I did all the arrangements myself (you should see the spreadsheet I have with all the information - all 40+ reservations and their details!!) The GOOD news is that there is NO penalty to cancel with 60 days notice. I would have to find a new resort or at least a new reception site with availability on the same date (April 18th) because at least 70 of our guests have already booked their flight travel. But other than that I think I can get all of their money back. I would be out my initial wedding deposit but that seems minimal in the grand scheme of things. We are finding that some of the resorts are offering slightly lower rates or additional amenities if you book direct and forgo the use of a travel agent-however I am also being contacted by many brides after the fact to help "fix" things as quite often things go terribly wrong! It's nearly impossible to assist when we are not the agent of record. For any future brides out there-be very careful when a resort does this ! Take the info to your TA and have them price match- that way the pricing is the same but you get the professional assistance and clout of a TA! They go to bat and 9/10 times get a much quicker response than you would. The reason is- we have the potential to send many, many more clients to them over the years- add to that they don't want us going to our suppliers and complain about pretty much anything - the suppliers have and will cut contracts and the properties don't want to risk a relationship with a company that send thousands of clients over the course of a year! All of this of course does not help you right now- do you have any guests under 18 ? Would you like fo rme to check availability at Sandals Dunns River or Grand Ocho Rios? We could also look at Sandals Montego Bay, Sandals Whitehouse or Sandals Royal caribbean. I know that you can do a bonfire on the beach at Sandals Whitehouse and they have a beautiful conference room that can easily accomodate your guests.

I would suggest Sandals Grande St. Lucian- fantastic beach- upscale hotel with a mixture of quiet nooks and active areas! very nice rooms. St. Lucia will be sooo different than Mexico- you'll love the contrast!

The resorts I wrote about are all inclusive and they really are great! All three have fabulous food & beverage, great service and really nice public spaces!

Quote: Originally Posted by BakersGirl Thanks for starting a new thread Jennifer. I hope we can book soon. FI is trying to hold out for a good deal, but I am ready to book! Right now is a great time to book for 2009 brides- the deals are amazing-especially if you are looking at the concierge rooms and higher! I have a flyer for my bridal show last year where I priced out the Sandals properties- typically we should see a 5-15% increase in price- the Jamaica properties are pricing lower than they were last year!! Antigua is much less. St. Lucia & Bahamas-some of the concierge & butler category rooms are waaayyy less, the rest are pricing at only a 5% increase for most rooms! However for the 2010 brides the discounts are only in the 25% area.

Contact TA Melinda on this forum! She puts together amazing Italy honeymoons and has great contacts!

Basically my advice is not to book a resort, especially for a wedding within the first 6 months of the property being scheduled to open. There are always delays and opening issues- no matter where the resort is located (in the Caribbean, Mexico or almost any tropical location) nor the star rating! Generally within 6 months everything has worked out nicely and the resort is fully operational!

Hi Jodi! Some of the questions I can answer right off the top of my head- a couple I want to double check withthe WC at Excellence Playa Mujeres! 1.When I book the travel packages for my couples and their guests it always includes transfers! 2. Let me check on the dinner choices available with the Gold Package- I believe the reception is for 4 hrs but will need to end at 11pm so that the other guests at the resort are not disturbed by any noise. If you are having a private event for the reception it will cost extra for an open bar- this is standard at all all inclusives and the cost is based on set-up and tear down plus having staff for your event. If you decide for everyone to just meet up at one of the bars that are already open then there will not be an additional fee. 3. If you prefer to bring your own photographer Excellence is fine with that- see above for options on day pass fees. Cost of additional photo's from the photographer with the package vary according to how many but you can certainly upgrade to more photo's! 4. Let me double check- generally there may be an additional cost to go with a different option. What did you have in mind? 5. Welcome bags- they will not hand them at when your guests check in-however the wedding coordinator can arrange someone to deliver them to the rooms. Again as is standard for almost all resorts there will be a fee involved. This is because they are using a staff member to do this and also because they are now responsible to get the bags where they need to be! If you do not want to pay an additional fee I would recommend that you do a meet & greet with all of your guests at one of the public lounges or bars and hand the bags out there. It also provides the opportunity for you to personally thank each one of your guests for coming when you hand them the bag! 6. The welcome brunch or a rehearsal dinner should be no problem- however it'll depend on the size of your group and the size of the restaurant! Never a silly question- if you don't ask you will never know! Plus I find that assuming things tends to be far worse in the long run than asking a question that you may feel is silly!

Welcome to all of the Beaches Destination Wedding brides for 2009 too(KathleenandDan) ! Are you getting married at Beaches Boscabel? (I can't see your siggie when I hit reply-so sorry if the info is in there!) TA Jennifer

A few that come to mind are in addition to what's already been posted: Excellence Riviera Cancun as it's at the end of the beach without anything else (at this time) on that side. Valentine Imperial Maya -again as it's at the end of the beach or you can do the gazebo or chapel-chapel is surrounded by water and fairly private. Maroma- very small bourtique resort with a large beach area Ceiba del Mar- boutique with a location at the end of the beach or on the pier, or there is a rooftop area that they will decorate with views of the ocean and pool. El Dorado Royale- has many areas to get married that are fairly private from small wedding chuppas to a large seaside gazebo and a seaside chapel plus quite a few alternatives in between! Azul Sensatori- the rooftop sky wedding will be very intimate with amazing views Just north of Cancun is Excellence Playa Mujures which also has a wedding location at the far end of the beach That should give you a place to get started! TA Jennifer

I was there twice this past fall- once on vacation(Septemeber) and the other time at the Sandals Star Awards (December) . To be honest I wasn't that impressed in September- there were a few things going on, the island was surrounded by hurricanes (although the weather was great!)and they had many guests that the resort originally didn't plan for, but were relocated from Jamaica. add that to the holiday and it created a situation where they were a little short staffed. I can say that I didn't hear any guests complain and everyone I talked to were loving it - I'm just spoiled because I know how good Sandals can be!! I do have to say that in December my stay was AMAZING! Sandals Royal Bahamian added these wonderful lounge areas with firepits- OMG- they light them at dusk, they were so romantic and if it's chilly they bring you blankets to snuggle under! They also added a pizzaria that was pretty good where they make your 6" pizza to order-yummy! Sandals Royal Bahamian also re- did the entertainment area, added these comfy loungers and chairs and pretty much gave the entire area a face lift. it's very South Beach feeling now. I loved the room that I was in, it was located back in the Royal village area, and truly was picture perfect with my patio surrounded by lush vegatation - the room was large, comfortable and clean and came with full concirge service! I loved that area of the resort as the way it's set up, many of the rooms felt more like private villas than a hotel. I also had a pool right in front of my room that almost seemed like it was for our use only- it was fairly hidden and our patio was the only one that opened up to it. The staff cleaned it every day and also placed fresh towels there daily! This last time I also had a massage done on the private island-it's what I imagine heaven to be like! The water is soooo blue there and the private island makes you feel like you have it all to yourself. They have a pool with a swim up bar & a restaurant and then facing out to the Caribbean sea are sun loungers and a few palapas and then set back in the shade are these fantastic beach beds. I can't imagine that you'd be disappointed with a stay there!

It depends on the package you purchased for what the extra fee will cover -but the 20ppl does include the bride & groom. TA Jennifer