-
Posts
3,155 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
38
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Blogs
Store
Articles
Events
Reviews
Products
Everything posted by acw271011
-
From the album: Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
-
From the album: Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
-
From the album: Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
-
From the album: Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
-
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
Congrats Krista!! I'm so happy it all worked out for you!! It sounds like you had a fabulous wedding. I sent you a text but I think you had already left the country by then, so I hope you still got it!! Can't wait to see your pics!! I don't generally stop here anymore, but I knew your wedding was coming up so I wanted to see how things had gone. We're almost 8 months married now and are going back to the resort in October for our first anniversary. I can't wait. I still look back on our pics and love them. Our photographer did a wonderful job. All the reviews about Stacey on this site were great so I'm sure your photos will be fabulous! -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
well ladies I think my time here is done now. we've been married 4 months already and the last of the girls that started on this site with me is married and I've seen the pictures, which is what I was waiting for lol even though we lived together for almost 10 years before we got married, and we're old, there is something fun about being married at last and I still say without hesitation that I married the love of my life in Jamaica last October. good luck to all of you that are still planning your wedding. one piece of advice I can pass on - don't sweat it. it will all turn out in the end and you will get the beautiful wedding that you want. just remember that the main reason you're going to Jamaica in the first place is to get away from the stress and cost of planning a wedding at home as well as to be on a beautiful beach in a beautiful caribbean country. and I can guarantee that you'll get that at GBPJ. Chandlyn wouldn't have it any other way! to the other newlyweds, enjoy!! from a second time arounder, don't ever take your marriage for granted. love your husband always and love him well. it does come back to you! -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
we used him too for our wedding last October and couldn't be happier. he's wonderful to work with and just an overall nice person. I would recommend him to anyone that asks without any hesitation whatsoever. if you do chose him, you won't regret it. -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
jayne they're awesome. I feel like I've waited forever to see your pictures! lol your looked absolutely gorgeous and I love your colour for the gazebo decoration. merrick really nailed it with your shots. they're fantastic. I LOVE the bridge and terrace ones but they're all wonderful!! -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
absolutely gorgeous erin. again merrick did a fantastic job! what a wonderful batch of memories you have and you looked just fantastic! -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
That makes absolutely no sense. We were quoted a vendor fee of $75 for anyone coming onto the resort to provide a service, but that fee did not allow them to use any of the bars or restaurants on the resort. When all of our plans fell apart and we ended up being just 2 instead of a wedding party and group, I added our photographer in to our "dinner guests" and they just let him in for free. When I asked Chandlyn about the fee at our meeting, she said not to worry about it, I think because she took pity on us that all of our plans had fallen apart. I thanked her and said that we were more than willing to pay the fee for him and she again said no that it wasn't necessary. That was the only "outsider" that we had since I used the spa for my hair and makeup. I asked if I had to pay the fee also for the florist to bring the flowers and they said no that they are contracted with the resort and you already get charged for the delivery so there is no additional fee. I would pay to buy a phone card (I got a $10 one) and phone down to Jamaica and speak directly to Chandlyn. I've heard too many horror stories about Donnalee and I wouldn't put any faith in anything she tells you. I would just deal with Chandlyn directly and I would explain that the photographer is only going to be on the resort for a few hours and not even covering your reception, etc. As to the lady from the resort photography company, we dealt with her too. She is pushy and loud, but she also gave us 9 shots instead of our 5 because I kept making comments about how bad they were and how were we even going to find our 5 free ones when they were all so terrible. In the end I claimed quite loudly that whoopee, I managed to find 9 out of all the shots taken and she stepped in and told the clerk to give us all 9 on a CD. They aren't half bad, but that was 9 good shots out of almost 100. Good luck!! -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
If I remember correctly, from past brides last fall, they went through the Gran Bahia directly, not through Jamaica to book other dinners. it was a different email address in the US somewhere. try backtracking to about page 270 something. there were brides last september that had large enough groups for welcome and rehearsal dinners. there is definitely an iron in the room. the hotel can steam stuff for you but I understand it's $90 to steam a dress. believe it or not they don't get that badly wrinkled if they're properly in a bag. if you have parents that you can put the dress in their room or a maid of honour or something, hang it high up and take the bottom out of the bag so that it can drape. -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
to contact Chandlyn her email is: [email protected] I wouldn't bother to copy Donnalee. -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
we were told for wedding dinner for wedding party sandals are ok in the a la cartes, but otherwise proper shoes and attire are requested. having said that we did see people improperly dressed and nothing was said to them. we saw jeans, shorts and sandals and I was tempted to ask why some people were told the rules and others weren't but we let it go. -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
no. that's a typo. if your photographer is a paying guest for the week there is no extra charge. -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
it definitely isn't 4 mins! lol that's more than enough time! and they'll turn it off when you get to the steps of the gazebo anyway. -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
I used them too. they're great and have super stuff! all the little things you might not even think about. definitely well worth a look, and the prices are decent too. -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
congrats! glad to hear things went well for the most part. it does sound like you had a wonderful day! looking forward to seeing pics!! -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
we paid $75 for a pass for our photographer, Merrick Cousley. supposedly that's it as long as your vendor isn't using any of the bars or restaurants. having said that we paid the fee for Merrick, but he was then included as our "guest" for dinner because we were only 2, no guests or wedding party. so Chandlyn didn't charge anything extra for him. I don't know if they would charge the same rate twice, but I wouldn't think so. -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
not everyone gets a replacement. I know back at the beginning of last year there were a couple of brides that asked about that and were refused. I don't remember what it was that I asked about - something fairly small - and was turned down. it wasn't a big deal but just don't rely on the fact that they'll replace one thing with something else. their policies don't seem consistent on quite a few things and where Donnalee is involved, you definitely seem to get wrong information! -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
There was another name thrown out on this site - Marcia Roberts. From what I remember reading over the past year+ anyone that used her was quite happy. we had Merrick so I can't say anything other than what we had. then there was another name just recently Ronan somebody or other. try backing up through the posts and see if you can see it. he's an up and coming apparently so may save a bit of money as well. good luck! -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
it doesn't cost money unless you're closing out the entire restaurant for the whole night. then it's $2500. if you're just having your dinner, there is no charge for it. -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
That was pretty much our situation. We both have been married before, we're 50+, and both had so much stuff when we moved in together 10 years ago added to all of the things we've purchased together over the last 10 years, we really didn't want gifts. We considered a registry but there truly was nothing that we could have used. We didn't put anything on paper though, and from everything I read that isn't the proper etiquette to do. We put the word out through family that there weren't any gifts we needed and it just seemed to take care of itself. We did get quite a bit of money, but we also got a quite a few gift cards, one of which was a gift card for a romantic weekend getaway to Niagara on the Lake. We thought that was an awesome idea. We also got a couple of restaurant gift cards that we're really happy about. So there are ways to get around the "monetary" end of it. Our kids all live far away so for birthdays now instead of sending money we send a gift card. That way we know they use it on themselves instead of taking money and paying a bill with it or getting groceries or something. The other thing to find out is if they're going on a honeymoon and instead of giving money we heard that you can put money on the honeymoon trip. As to the wedding being off and on, lol we went through all of that too, but only because we didn't end up with people to go to Jamaica. We tried doing a wedding here at home, but in the end we did what we really wanted, which was Jamaica by ourselves, and had a reception for about 30 people when we got home. I'm not sure I can recommend anything on that part except don't buy the gift until right before the wedding and take it with you in case it does get called off! Best of luck! -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
OMG Erin - you looked stunning! Congrats and glad to hear everything went so well! And having a second week as a honeymoon must have been wonderful!! I'm sure Merrick's photos will be absolutely incredible!! Can't wait to see them! -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
Ladies, I just thought I would clear up the mystery about the clock radio in the room. By now you will know that you need to have a key card in your room to have the AC going. Your power is all handled by the 3 light switches when you first walk in the door. They also match up with other switches in the room. We finally figured out if we had one switch one way, we had to make sure another switch was another way. It's supposed to be convenient, but it ends up being confusing. Same by the bed. There are multiple light switches and we used to have to make sure they were a certain way to turn the lights off at night. After a couple of days you get used to it and figure it out. Plus I think when your key card goes out, your electricity goes off in certain parts of the room. We gave up resetting the clock radio. I had a watch with me and I would just put it on the bedside table at night to see the time in the morning, and then in the little pocket of our beach bag every day when we left the room so that it was there and we could get just an idea of the time through the day. Stomach grumbling generally told us when it was time to eat, but when you're drinking you have a tendancy to forget! The other thing is for the Ontario girls, BT television is on the tv in the morning if you're up early enough. In October we found out there was an hour time difference, but once we changed clocks here in November, Jamaica went to being on the same time as here in the Toronto area. We found quite a few channels in the morning that helped in terms of news and what was going on in the outside world while we were in Jamaica, and even while we were getting dressed for dinner in the evenings, news and sports (for the guys) is available. -
Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?
acw271011 replied to kerrij's topic in Destination Weddings in Jamaica
I would contact Michael and tell him what you have in terms of your group size and see what he can arrange for you. The man is a true treasure and has so many connections it's unbelievable. He actually had 3 cell phones!! Check it out with him and tell him what you want to do. I'm certain he'll do his best to arrange something for you and if he can't do it, he'll set you up with someone who can!