briscoecrown

No, all of the rooms do not have jacuzzis or swings on the balcony.

Thanks everyone for the info pertaining to day passes. It was quite helpful.

Hi lmarie. Thanks for the info. I'm wondering how much each day pass would cost. Some of her guests live in Jamaica and the total amount of passes could easily drive up the overall cost of the wedding. I actually didn't get married at the Gran Bahia. I was originally getting married in Riviera Maya, but due to the swine flu I did a last minute change to Jamaica and our wedding was held at Iberostar Rose Hall Suites.

Hello Ladies!!!! First and foremost, CONGRATS to recent brides and BEST WISHES to future brides. I'm an 'old' BDW bride (June 2009) trying to help out a friend of mine who's considering having her wedding at the Gran Bahia in August. Does anyone know how much the resort charges for day passes or if they have a separate wedding pass fee for guests that are not staying on the property? Any feedback is appreciated.

Hi Ladies... Re: huppa... It's already located on the beach & doesn't cost extra. The arch is usually used for other wedding locations (i.e. lazy river island). Nicole said the huppa cannot be used elsewhere because it needs to be secured into the ground. There's not enough grass space on the lazy river island for the huppa to stand securely.

Quote: Originally Posted by edSweety Thanks so much for sharing your information. I hope I didn't miss this but do you have pic and would you mind sharing them. I am getting married at the suites December 19 and have had trouble getting images of the place...wedding sites..crazy....anyway what did you do for photography? this is something I am very worried about and find that the cost are getting out of hand. thanks for all your help. Hi there! I posted a pic of my bouquet a couple of pages back. In regards to photography, I brought my own photographer to Jamaica. He wanted to expand his portfolio and was willing to accept his travel expenses as payment. Worked out a lot cheaper than paying for a local photographer and my photographer captured the entire weekend (as opposed to set hours on the wedding day). The resort photography was ok. If you're expecting photojournalism, you might be a little disappointed. However, the pictures that were taken (included in the package) came out nice. The quality was decent.

Ok... here's a pic with both bouquets. The one to the left (in my MOH's right hand) is my bouquet. The smaller version is hers. Hope this helps!! Again, any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Quote: Originally Posted by breeze616 Hi Briscoecrown, so did you give your bouquet that was included in the wedding package to your MOH and get a bigger one for yourself? Or did they just upgrade your won bouquet for a nominal price? Do you have any photos? Thanks for your help!! Hey there! I actually never used the bouquet that was included. I just upgraded the bouquet. When I asked why the additional fee was $100, Nicole advised because Tiaflora imports a lot of their flowers. So, I don't think you'll have a problem getting your orchids! :-) Let me do some digging.... I'm sure I can find a couple of pics of my bouquet.

Quote: Originally Posted by breeze616 Hello Ladies! Date is Booked! December 10, 2010! Woo Hoo! I was wondering if anyone had any luck getting in contact with Taiflora or if anyone know what flowers can be used in the bridal bouquet that is included in the wedding package? I'm trying to decide my wedding colours and the flowers have to match! I've sent them a couple emails with no luck... I also looked at their website but I dunno if the bridal bouqets there are examples of the bouquets we can have? I think I want to do the light green orchids... If anyone has anything it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!! Hey Breeze616! The bridal bouquets on Taiflora's website are available for an additional charge. I chose image #16 and was charged $100. My MOH had a smaller version of my bouquet.

Quote: Originally Posted by Stay-C With the iberostar package, do you have to pay an upgrade fee to have chair covers, tie backs, aisle runner and decorated arch? I like their beach set up but I don't see any fees associated with it...how much does it cost? Question 2: Do you have to pay to have enough cake or is that compliments of the $18/pp charge? What does the cake look like? Hi Stay-C! Like NegrilLB said, the package includes the chair covers, sashes, aisle runner, etc. The package price is the same wherever you decide to have the ceremony. The $18 pp covers the cake. The number of guests determine the size of your cake. Here are couple of pics of my cake. We had a little less than 70 people. I was being adventurous and had a different flavor for each layer.... strawberry cheesecake, vanilla & Jamaican fruit cake. Most guests liked the strawberry cheesecake.

Quote: Originally Posted by daifje Hello: My name is Jennifer. My fiance Andrew and I are planning a destination wedding for May 2010 and submitted a request for the iberostar rose hall suites. The reviews so far seem really great!! We are really excited...we have been searching for a long time and was looking a place in mexico as well as another resort in Jamaica but I think that we will go with the iberostar. I believe that the lazy river should accomodate up to 80 people (that is the info they gave me). Do you guys think that that is an overestimation? Andrew and I really really want a private reception with a DJ, dance floor, and open bar. Did you guys have any problems getting that arranged? We have run into issues with this at other places. Congrats, Jennifer! & welcome to the thread. I really think you guys will be pleased with your decision. My DH and I actually tried to think of one thing we could possibly complain about and we couldn't come up with anything substantial or even worth mentioning. The Iberostar Suites is a beautiful resort and the staff is a contributing factor. I think the lazy river island can hold UP TO 80 people. Anymore than that, I think would be a really tight squeeze. There's no problem with arranging a private reception with a DJ, dance floor, and open bar. The Steakhouse would probably be your best bet. We had the exact requirements for our reception and they were met.

Quote: Originally Posted by GregsBride Hi Ladies, I have a few questions... briscoe, I know you mentioned it was pretty hot at the steakhouse restaurant. If I were to choose one of the alternative indoor restaurants, do you know if there is enough space inside to have a dance floor set-up? Also, do you know if there area is pretty private and away from the other guests dining? I have been thinking of excursions for my guests, do any of you know if the Iberostar has a catamaran available to do a booze cruise? Hi there!! Sorry for the delay.... still adjusting to 'normal' life. An alternate indoor restaurant would be the Mediterranean for a private reception. The Mexican is kind of small. So, if the restaurant is open to the public, you're not really going to have that 'private' feel or have enough room for a dance floor. I didn't go into the Gourmet restaurant while I was there. Don't completely rule out the Steakhouse on my account. I still feel it's one of the best choices for a private reception with a large group (despite the heat). There was a breeze, but we weren't feeling it! Maybe because we were dancing, drinking or just excited about the moment. Who knows?!?! The resort itself didn't have a catamaran, but there are a few tour companies with offices in the lobby that could arrange that for you. We booked thru Liberty Travel, which was connected with Jamaica Tours. There was a representative in the lobby everyday and she had quite a few options for excursions. I clearly remember her offering two similar excursions... one was a half day catamaran trip that left in the morning, returning around 2pm and the other was an evening cruise with snacks & drinks included. Sorry, I don't know the names of the excursions or the prices. I didn't organize excursions for my group. I told my guests what I was doing on a particular day and if they wanted to join us, they were welcomed to. We went horseback riding at Chukka Cove one day. Another day we went to Dunns River and a couple of days after the wedding (for any remaining guests) we went to Bob Marley's resting place in St Anns. We spread out the excursions throughout the week and whoever was available either tagged along or hung out at the resort. Some guests didn't arrive in time for some of the excursions, but didn't really miss out because the resort in itself was lots of fun. Hope this helps!!

No prob!!! No need to thank me. I'm glad I'm able to help out my fellow BDW brides.

OMG! I'm a zoombie.... still in denial. I return to work on Tuesday and I'm already depressed. I'm having such a hard time adjusting, even to the basics like cooking. After a 10 day vacation, reality sucks!! LOL. I want to go back to JA!!! I'm with you... I miss the Jamaican corner at the buffet too. One night they replaced the Jamaican corner with Asian cuisine. My DH almost had a stroke! He even requested a Jamaican breakfast at the Grand before we left because they didn't have a specialized corner over there. I wonder if we had the same resort photographer. My guy was tall, slim & dark-skinned. It seems to be such a big difference in the quality. My pics weren't the best, but we were able to easily pick 12 photos from the group. It was great meeting you guys too. We watched the Dunns River DVD last night (still in denial) and saw your family. The DVD is a little cheesy, but it's good for reminiscing and some laughs.

100 guests on the lazy river island would definitely be a tight squeeze. I would say it could hold up to 75, maybe 80 guests maximum. We had 6 rectangular tables with 12 plate settings each. You could probably squeeze in 2 more tables comfortably, but your dance floor would definitely have to be on the other side of the restaurant. The inside of the restaurant was not air-conditioned, but for some reason it's cooler.

Quote: Originally Posted by FutureMrsUnderwood Briscoecrown, congrats on your recent wedding! I love your set up--it looks amazing. I am so happy to see pictures of real wedding at IRHS. It's nice to finally have some other brides to share their experiences. Where was your reception? What photographer did you use? Thanks again and congratulations! Thank you. We had our reception at the Steakhouse. It's open air and it was HOT! Even though there are ceiling fans, we were on fire! LOL. I don't know if it was because we were dancing, but it definitely warmed up. As Myen mentioned, the food was delicious. The layout was ok. Nicole offered to have one half of the restaurant cleared and used as a dance floor. However, we opted to have a mini dance floor created near the dinner tables so that guests wouldn't have to walk to the other side of the restaurant if they felt the urge to dance while eating. It worked out pretty good. We didn't feel too crowded. It was intimate. I hired a photographer from NYC, who was referred by a friend. I paid for his travel expenses in exchange for his services. He took pics the entire weekend. I'll post some once they're available. He did a wonderful job and was just as excited about our wedding as we were. The pics I posted of the lazy river island set-up were taken by the resort photographer.

Here are a few more pics.... This is the beach location without the complete set-up. This is a view of the Steakhouse from the beach. Every Mon & Thurs the Suites has a beach BBQ in front of the Steakhouse. On Thursdays, they add the steel pan band. We hired them for our cocktail hour... well worth the money. We had our welcome dinner at the Beach's Japanese restaurant. We had approx 58 people attend dinner and they were able to accommodate our group.

Quote: Originally Posted by GregsBride I do have one question... Was the river closed to the hotel guests during the ceremony? Because I noticed that in one of the pics that Nicole sent me of the set-up earlier, you could see a couple guests floating along the river. The river was not closed during the ceremony, but it doesn't hurt to ask Nicole if they can. There were a couple of people floating around, but everyone was very respectful and stayed off to the side. The pool crowd dies down around 5ish and the activities stop by 5:30pm. Also, the swim-up bar closes at 6pm. So, there's no need to worry about a huge crowd floating in the river during your ceremony. People gathered on the main bridge & on their balconies to view our ceremony. It was cool. They added a little more 'celebrity' to the moment. They made us feel like stars! LOL

Quote: Originally Posted by magz88 Hey Ladies, Do you happen to have any pictures you can post on here or send to my email address at [email protected] I am really trying to get an idea of how everything looks and is set up from your point of view rather than pictures that the resort send me (which have been very generic). Also, is there a nice view of the ocean from the steakhouse?? Thanks for your help! Maggie Yes, there's a nice view of the ocean from the steakhouse. However, by the time we arrived for our reception, the sun already went down and it was pretty dark. We could only hear the waves. I'll go thru some more pics & try to post them shortly.

Quote: Originally Posted by GregsBride Myen, Unfortunately for me, we will have more than 20 guests, so I guess the beach it is... But I have come to terms with it and will just have to forego wearing my beautiful shoes until after the ceremony Forgive me as I play catch up.... The beach was a concern of mine as well. I bought these beautiful 4 inch heels & I insisted on wearing them for my entire wedding! Nicole keep telling us that we had to get married on the beach because of the size of our group (65 people). I never wanted to get married on the beach... even when the wedding was in Mexico, the beach was not an option. I love the pictures, but didn't like the idea of sand blowing around and having my guests walk in the sand. So when we arrived at the resort, we made it a point to scout out an alternate location. We walked over to the lazy river island and we thought is was large enough. Nicole was hesitant about having the wedding there because they never had that location set-up for more than 30 guests. After begging & pleading, Nicole was willing to give it a shot. It turned out beautiful!! Here's a link with a few pics of the ceremony location (hope this works)... Snapfish: Share:Registration

Quote: Originally Posted by Myen Hiya, Nope that wasn't me. I had my wedding on Thursday, but I did meet the beautiful Friday bride who is a fellow BDW poster / lurker! I hope she comes out of of hiding to say hello Hi Ladies!!! I'm coming out of hiding. LOL, thanks Myen! I got married on Friday, 6/5 and absolutely loved the resort. I was originally getting married in Riviera Maya at the Iberostar Paraiso Maya, but due to the hype of the swine flu we changed locations about a month before our wedding date. I was scrambling at the last minute trying to get things reorganized and never found the time to officially introduce myself. I realize that there aren't many Iberostar Rose Hall brides, so if any of you have any questions.... PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE. This site has been a tremendous help to me & it's my pleasure to return the favor. I'm not even going to kid myself... I will write a review, I just don't know when (I'm not as fast as the other brides). We just got back yesterday and I'm still in vacation mode. Again, if you have any questions in the meantime, I'm here.

Hey Gail... great letter. I'm still fighting the good fight and trying not to change my wedding plans. However, I am getting tired of "educating" people about this "outbreak." You would swear I work for the CDC.

Quote: Originally Posted by dbellie1414 Thanks that is nice of you... I am hanging in there not much we can do until they close the borders/airports (or so we have decided) we are going until we can't go no more and when I get down there I am gonna roll around with 80 pigs!!! My bridesmaids are my 2 lil' sisters and more than likely they won't be there- soooo I am gonna have my bridesmaids be swine flu infested pigs and my groomsmen be the drug cartel crew LOL! As you can see I am laughing about this whole thing, mise well it's all we can do! We have had a couple cancel and surely we will have a sh*t load more (everyone is talking about it) but not much we can do - we are cool if it ends up being only me and him. All our guests and us are booked through apple vacation and we are all flying usa 3000 (well, all of us except 3 of my guests I think they went with united or american)! I just got a lovely wake up call today at 5:30am that they were cancelling all flights to mexico from one of my freak'n out guests, so that was quite NICE (sarcasm)! After I reaserched it (on cdc, us government site, and us/mexican embassy, and news channels) and called them back (hence this was all being done before 5:30am) I found out that Mexico is closing all business until may 6, other than that I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE PEOPLE ARE GETTING THERE RETARDED INFORMATION FROM OR WHAT WOULD POSSESS ANYONE TO CALL SOMEONE AT 5am!!! Crazy people... Ahhh, yes this could only happen to me... So I am gonna take it with a lime instead of a grain of salt (oooh and a shot of tequila) HAHA. For all those other brides that may be right around the corner to getting married... My Ta just recieved confirmation from Reyna (herself) saying that the resort is fine no worries of swine flu, and no cases reported in cancun/riviera maya area or ANY IN THE STATE OF QUINTANA ROO FOR THAT MATTER. And that the construction going on near the grand (somewhere in the forest) is so far off you cannot see or hear it from the Grand so no worries if you are staying at the grand and may of heard something like I did. All in all, if we do get on a plane,fly to mexi, and get stuck there cuz they closed the borders (my friends and us) we'll be opening "Double D's" (Margariti Hut) so spread the good word to all of ya friends to stop on by and see us we'll need all the business we can get! YOU ARE HILARIOUS!!!! I'm with you 100%!!! My wedding is right around the corner and we'll be in Mexico... REGARDLESS. Only thing that will stop us is if they close the border. Other than that, I'll have my Purell & a rhinestone facemask with "I do" spelled out!!! .... still gotta be cute for the pics! Thanks for sharing the info from your WC/TA.

drtracy - Thanks for the video! It's definitely a nice change compared to the 'doom & gloom' we've been subjected to this week.

Quote: Originally Posted by Hartyt509 Jesus I need a bottle of vodka! DITTO!!!!