steveandjenn

Oh, and for C and M - I have learned to stop reading trip advisor. We were really upset after reading some of the reviews on there, and when we arrived I couldn't believe how much B.S. I read. Someone goes and has one bad thing happen to set them off, and they write ridiculous reviews that are very embellished. The other thing is, some people that haven't traveled much go to countries like Mexico and just expect it to be like the US or Canada - and it isn't. A 5 Star there, is usually a 3 star here... they just don't have the same amenities that we do, nor the infrastructure. I was actually pleasantly surprised at the amenities this resort offered, and there were no issues with cleanliness or service - nor did we have anything stolen from our room (aka lost it, but it's easier to blame someone else). Go into it with a positive attitude and you will love this place - I've received emails from nearly every one of our almost 50 guests saying how great of a time they had and how we picked such a nice resort. Have a GREAT time!

Sasse, I would say that the atmosphere at the Thai place would be excellent for a reception - other than that the layout of the restaurant is such that it would be hard for you to do toasts and be able to see everyone. There are several little "pods" with 5 or 6 tables in each, and they are close together but it would separate your group... however, if you were going with like 20 people or less I think you could fit in one "pod" and you'd really enjoy it. The ambiance is fantastic in the evening - one of the most memorable locations to eat, for me. I don't think you'll be disappointed if you go that route. FYI the spring rolls are excellent.

Just wanted to let everyone know that we were married at the GSP on November 16th, and everything went fantastic. We were both quite apprehensive about both the tour operator (Transat) and the resort wedding coordinators - but were pleasantly surprised by both of them. We found that communication with Sandra was difficult from home (as much my fault as hers, I don't know Spanish) - but as soon as we arrived and met with her she went over everything with us, made lots of changes to the package that we'd booked, and setup a stereo system and microphone for us at no additional charge which was nice. We had our ceremony at 4:00pm, and I definitely recommend that time... the lighting is pretty much perfect from 4-5 and you catch the sun setting. We opted to get a chuppa, or yuppa... I'm not quite sure on the spelling, as they spelled it both ways in different spots on our contract. Anyways, that's the sort of four post bamboo deal with the lace on it, and they placed it right on the beach. I'm confident that there is not a more beautiful background for a wedding, and heard the same from all of our guests. This was 500 dollars extra, but we felt it was worth it. The Gazebo is also really nice, and you will not be disappointed if you go that route. Upon arriving at the beach the resort did have a photographer there who asked about taking pictures and we turned him down as we had our own - they did not give us a hard time about this at all. Our ceremony took about 20 minutes, then we spent 30-40 minutes taking pictures at the site and then left. No one rushed us at all, and the resort staff were out of sight until we left. We had our dinner at La Fondue which was great, they setup our own section in the restaurant and the service was fantastic. It didn't feel like we had people watching over us at all, they seated as many people as they could on the other side of the restaurant. The meal was excellent, and though we were told we only had an hour and a half, the staff told us to stay as long as we liked - and we did... about 3 hours. My wife and I then went for a walk down the beach to get a little break from everyone, and we found someone else having the beach party when we got down there. It looked quite nice, but I would suggest (depending on your taste) that you ask them to setup a bunch of tiki torches. They had huge bright lights that cast a football stadium sort of lighting over the groups dinner. We had asked about it earlier in our booking and Sandra said they could setup a bunch of torches and candles on the tables instead of the big lights. I didn't ask how much. After our walk we went up to the main pavilion to join our group and we partied the night away. It was a great time, and they treated us very well. The only incident that we had, and I'm only saying this to pre-warn anyone to have their travel agent call ahead direct to the resort: We asked for a King Size bed in our room (duh, it's for our wedding)... and they gave us a room with two doubles. After a 40 minute conversation with Jorge at the front desk that went from reasoning to just being angry - he miraculously found us our proper room, and then admitted that someone else had checked in to a room with two doubles and wanted a king so the resort had given them our room in hopes we wouldn't complain. All worked out in the end, but make sure you are adamant with your TA about this - ours told us that she'd made the request but the resort apparently had no record of direct communication with anyone regarding our room. Several people in our group were put into the incorrect rooms, but several of them also got upgrades - they just seemed a little disorganized at the front desk. Aside from that little issue, everything was perfect. The food was good, the service was excellent, the beach was nice (bring water shoes though), and our wedding was amazing. You will not regret your choice. Finally, one little aside: We brought nearly 50 people with us, and it was a little overwhelming after a while so a couple of days after the wedding we booked into the THAI Beach restaurant with just one other couple that was with us. It is not included in the all inclusive but I highly recommend it. It was the best meal we had while at the resort, and the atmosphere is awesome. Dinner in the open air right on the beach... we watched the sunset and had an amazing meal there. Totally recommend it. Good luck and congratulations to everyone!

My email is [email protected] and would love to receive any information. We do have some of the package information but I can't seem to get the WC to give me any information in regards to changes in the various packages. For example, we do not need a minister, as we'll be getting legally married here before hand and then having a close family member do the ceremony. I like the "chuppa" that's pictured in Iberostar09's signature, and that's exactly what we'd like... but I can't seem to get any line of communication with the WC other than the standard "fill out this form and pay us" thing. I'd love to fill out the form and pay them, but I need to know if they can do what we want! Look forward to sharing a drink with you all when we get there!!!

Yeah, we've stated that we don't want any gifts as we have everything that we need. We also received the free trip deal, with every 16th free - but I've passed that on to a couple of our guests who would have a difficult time being there otherwise - and we definitely want them there. As it stands, especially the economy the way it is, I will be paying for 4 or 5 people to come, plus the two on the free trips - but it's more important to me that these people are there.. unfortunately when most of your friends are in college, that's the way it is!

This particular TA wasn't local, and obviously reads this forum because she called me tonight! She said that she didn't say anything about this being a standard thing to do - but I felt as though she was PUSHING me towards it... I was honestly convinced that this was standard protocol for DW's. I'll give her credit though, I've spoken with probably 10 TA's before I settled on the one that I did, and more than one of them did mention this.

Glad I asked... for the record, this was from a TA that I did not end up using... not the one I went with. She just made it sound like it was sort of "the thing" everyone was doing. We've never been to a Destination Wedding so had no knowledge of it. I think I'll just cover the costs of the best man and maid of honor so that I feel better about it.

Hey everyone! We've booked our November trip to Grand Sunset Princess today, and one thing that a TA suggested to us was that we add 50 or 100 dollars to the price of each persons trip and apply it towards the Maid of Honor, and Best Man's trip. Has anyone else out there done this? I don't mind the idea, and it would be great for them.. but I'm curious if this is common practice and if so, did you mention anything about it? I'm okay with doing it, but wouldn't want to do it without mentioning something to people stating that we're doing this... not really sure how to word it. Any insight is appreciated! Thanks!

Hi Ladies, We're getting married here on November 16th, and if anyone has any pictures, advice, pricing, etc... I would totally appreciate it. I'm having a bit of a communication meltdown with the WC (My fault as much as hers, because I should have stayed in spanish class!), so if anyone out there has any information at all... please shoot me an email to [email protected] Thanks!

I hope there is room for a groom in here! I've been tasked with most of the planning as I have access to a computer during the day, and my fiance does not. Jenn Sytsma & Steve Shaw November 16, 2009 Grand Sunset Princess Resort I just put the deposit down for the resort through our TA today! We haven't confirmed the wedding date with the resort yet, as I'm not sure if I'll actually go through the resort for it, or use a third party wedding planner. The third party option seems to be quite expensive, but I can't seem to get any answers from the resort! Wondering if anyone out there speaks spanish and wants to help me communicate! They seem to be good at returning my emails, but they never answer my questions as I don't think they speak very good english. All we want to do is get married on the beach, with a private reception dinner of some sort... pretty low key. We don't want to use the gazebo though... does anyone out there know what those four post deals with the lace fabric attached to them are called? That's what we'd like to do... anyone else been able to accomplish this at this resort... any recommendations? I'm feeling very lost, and VERY out of my element!

Hey Jennifer, we'll be there getting married on the 16th! We're from Alberta as well... so we know there is going to be a heck of a party going on during that week!!!