~*petals*~

Welcome from another Jamaica bride-to-be!

Number 2 and 4 are the best. Number 4 is much easier to read.

Quote: Originally Posted by GregsBride Petals, You are such a wealth of information!!! Thanks for posting such great pics... I was able to visit and my future brother in law took pics, but yours are so stunning!!! I shared the pics with my fiance and he is even more excited! I guess I need to get on the ball now and get in touch with Charmaine, but I'm not to sure if it's too early since my wedding won't be until 2010. One question, when I was there I asked about outside vendors and she said they had not made a decision... Did you speak with her about this and have they made a decision. I'm asking because I will most likely want to bring in my own photographer, though I haven't found one yet, because their photography packages seem pretty limited. Thanks again!!! Christina You're welcome! It's exactly what I would've wanted if I hadn't had a chance to get down there so I'm more than happy to share. I didn't look at any of their photography packages.... and I don't know what their decision was about outside vendors as a whole, but when I saw her the second day, she said that she checked about the photographer and she said she had inquired about it and they wouldn't be pushing the issue of the photographer and it would be fine for me to bring mine. Please let me know if you hear anything!! I think they'll have a lot more happy brides if they are flexible in that way! Nobody wants to be worrying about that on their wedding day.

I can't wait for the new Heroes!!

Wow! You guys are good! Congratulations, May 09 brides! Here's my DONE list: Booked 23 May at Grand Palladium Jamaica & private reception at Blue Lagoon Created wedding website Sent out save-the-date cards and magnets Sent out change-the-date emails with booking information when we switched hotels last week (after a site-visit to the original location....) Secured photographer (won a contest for her services in exchange for travel) Ordered wedding gown, bra, shoes Bridesmaids selected their dresses Selected wedding band (mine, not his yet) This week: Booking airfare and hotel for wedding and mini-honeymoon

Congrats on finding your dress!

Quote: Originally Posted by caroline Petals, thank you so much for taking the time to respond to all of my questions you're the best! I feel so much better for your having visited and sounding as thrilled w/it as you do! No problem! I'm glad I can help out the rest of the GPJ brides. Quote: Originally Posted by caroline We have about 20 booked thus far and so are going to have to do the set menu (did Charmaine quote $50 per head?) but that's okay - so long as the menu is good. I'm thinking that the BL (outdoor) would be a nice venue~ I'm also doing the Blue Lagoon. It's really pretty and I think it'll be lovely at sunset. The other restaurants are also nice but BL is the only one where you can have music, etc. Quote: Originally Posted by caroline Know what you mean about the photographer-issue. I checked w/her on that also. Do you know how many photographs are in the "package" and did you happen to see any of the photographers work? The Caribbean package includes eight 5x7 photographs, and she said he only takes pictures during the ceremony. I didn't see any of his work. Quote: Originally Posted by caroline petals, what have you decided on for entertainment? Did Charmaine give you options? I think we're just going to have the DJ. Although while I was there, I saw the steel drum band perform and they were awesome! I understand they have a minimum of 2.5 hours though. I just went off of the attached price list. Entertainment List-Private Functions.doc

I really like the lace- congrats on finding your dress!

Welcome Carissa- there's tons of info on Riu Ocho Rios on the Jamaica page!

Quote: Originally Posted by jax1182 Thanks so much for the info!! So it sounds like you liked the Blue Lagoon...that makes me feel better b/c we want to have a longer reception!! Did you by any chance ask any questions about music? I was wondering if they just have speakers that you could hook an ipod up to like the other resorts? I really loved the Blue Lagoon. I didn't ask about the iPod speaker setup at Blue Lagoon-- we were thinking that if we took it we'd get a DJ or live music, depending on how many guests we end up with/budget.

Welcome Jill!

Oh no! But I'm glad to hear they're going to give you a full refund. Are you going to get married at home instead or reschedule your DW?

WOW! What a beautiful setting!

I LOVE your dress, Courtney. Too bad I already have mine!

Quote: Originally Posted by caroline Thanks so much Petals! The place looks absolutely brilliant! I'm getting SO excited! Can one choose to have the semi-private reception at any one of the restaurants?! I'm totally excited too & my wedding's not until May! lol Yes, they will help you make reservations for your group at any of the a la carte restaurants. You just can't have any music or entertainment there. Since the resort was still pretty empty when I was there, the restaurants were only open on certain days. Since my trip was short, I only got a chance to eat at the Jamaican restaurant, the Italian restaurant, and 2 of the buffet restaurants. My mom & I loved the Jamaican restaurant- it was really cute. It's enclosed and air-conditioned. The Asian restaurant, the Mexican restaurant and the Steakhouse are the same way. Each one is set up really cute and it really just depends on the type of setting you want. I have written in my notes that if there's over 8 people, you do a "set menu" -- your party wouldn't be ordering from the entire restaurant menu. Charmaine said their special wedding menus haven't been created yet as the head chef was on vacation and returned late last week. The Italian restaurant and the Indian restaurant are in the same building as the Blue Lagoon. If you look at this pic, the entire top foor is a lounge, but the first floor is restaurants. Blue Lagoon is the front portion of the building, and the Italian restaurant is on the right side of the building (actually out of frame). The Indian restaurant is on the left side. So if you'd prefer an open-air dining experience, I'd definitely recommend one of those. Quote: Originally Posted by caroline Which restaurant would be your pick and why? Personally, I fell in love with the Blue Lagoon. It looks out over the pool and over the sea and I thought it would be perfect for a reception at sunset. Still waiting to find out if it's available for my day! Quote: Originally Posted by caroline Which location are you going to have your nuptuals at? The beach or the gazebo? I always wanted a wedding on the cliffs at sunset so definitely the gazebo. They've had a wedding on the beach already so I'm sure Charmaine would share some pics of how they had it set up. That bride had covered chairs and a burlap aisle runner lined with seashells and it was really nice. The common areas have some really gorgeous views too, which she said they might consider for really small weddings. Quote: Originally Posted by caroline How was Charmaine? Charmaine was nice- very straightforward. I went to the front desk when we first arrived and set up a meeting time so I could get all of my questions answered (I had a LOT). It started pouring rain during our meeting so we couldn't go around to the wedding sites that day so we set a time the next afternoon to see everything. She knows the wedding packages inside and out and was very helpful. One thing that wasn't clear in the package information is that there is a resort photographer that takes pictures of every ceremony. You get a set amount of prints included in the package, and if you want more, you have to purchase them. I told her I am bringing my own photographer and wanted to make sure there wouldn't be any issues with her taking pictures of our ceremony. After reading some of the ROR photographer stories, I was really concerned about this. Charmaine reassured me that it wouldn't be a problem and the next day when we met, she said that she "checked" to make sure that it would be okay and that I wouldn't have any problems bringing my photographer. I kind of want to get it in writing because that's the last thing I want to worry about during my wedding. Quote: Originally Posted by caroline The accomodations? The food? Dish the dirt! The food was good. Freshest, juciest mango I've had in a long while. The buffet was huge with lots of options. I could see how it could get repetitive, but I guess that's why you've got 5 a la carte restaurants to choose from in addition to the 3 buffet restaurants. The rooms were nice- we had a Junior Suite and our room looked just like the pictures. Considering I went down a couple days after Gustav hit the island, and the resort just opened, I took everything in stride. There was some hurricane damage while we were there. Tennis courts were wrecked, some statues were overturned, and some of the plantings were damaged- especially the newly-planted trees. One night, power went out all the way from Montego Bay and it took them quite a while to get their backup power on. Workers we talked to said it was probably damaged in the storms, because it's supposed to automatically turn on with any outage. But overall, we had a great time & thought it was the perfect resort for our wedding. I'm sure they'll have the kinks worked out in the next few months.

Okay, I'm posting again because I'm still a Memorial Day weekend 2009 bride... but after my site visit earlier this week, I'm now getting married on Saturday, May 23rd at the new Grand Palladium Jamaica!

Quote: Originally Posted by jax1182 Hi, Thanks so much for posting those pictures!! It looks gorgeous. I just booked Grand Palladium Jamaica for our wedding on July 10, 2009! Those pictures definately eased any worries I had. How was the Blue Lagoon restaurant? It looks pretty in the picture...Charmaine told me this was the only option for a 4 hour reception. Have you heard of any other places for longer reception dinners? did she say when the gazebo was going to be ready?? Thanks so much!!! You're welcome! I'm glad I could help. The Blue Lagoon is the only place available for a reception longer than 2 hours. It's only open for buffet breakfast & lunch -- I only had breakfast there & it was great. Overall I thought the food was pretty good. You can have your reception there for the $300 site fee. Poseidon is the included restaurant for the Caribbean Package but you can't have music (band, DJ, etc.) there and you only get it for 2 hours. She said the gazebo should be there in the next few weeks. When I was there, they were clearing out the leaves and whatnot and she said they'd be clearing out a few of the trees but still leaving enough to give a garden feel.

Here are a few good threads that cover guest costs: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t26340 http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t26706

After my trip to Grand Palladium Jamaica in Lucea, I'm converted! lol My pics of the property and the wedding locations are here.

That is so scary! I'm glad that everything turned out ok.

That dress is so cute on you!

Really cute pics, Tara!

My cousin got married at a church in Ocho Rios and then had the reception at The Ruins at the Falls. It was beautiful. Here are pics from The Ruins' site:

Welcome from another Jamaica bride!

Here's the Poseidon restaurant, which is included in the Caribbean package dinner. It overlooks a cove. A nice setup inside of the "Negril" buffet restaurant. The Blue Lagoon restaurant. I hope this helps all the other GPJ brides! Let me know if you have any questions.