Tekeya Thompson

LOVE THEM!!!!!!

Our Wedding Video clippet

I had mine at gazebo, but there is an earlier post where someone had it on the beach and it was very nice! Gazebo warning....you will have to walk on cobblestone path and the wind is fierce!!! But it's not hot hot like I thought it would be. They will arrange the chairs to make it comfortable, plenty of space. Did not do a cocktail hour, but we did sweet talk one of the bartenders to make us 1 big container of Rum Punch and another Vodka based drink to have at the gazebo after dinner (I rented the gazebo out for dancing). Chandlyn arranged a cooler of ice to be there. Also, warning...if you are tossing the garter, make sure to tell her to leave a chair there. We had to improvise because there was nothing for me to sit on. I heard the cocktail hour is $15 per guest, but it should be in your wedding packet. I did Dolce for the wedding. Food was great, was able to choose the menu. Wish I picked a different salad and dessert, but come to find out, all of the salads in Jamaica had like a bitter taste (we think it's the lettuce there), not just at Gran Bahia. But the main entree and soup was very good. I didn't see bugs in Dolce but they definitely were at the Grill. There buffet restaurant does serve some Jamaican dishes and they have a Jerk hut that serves grilled chicken (and you can put jerk sauce on it). To get the real deal authentic Jerk, I would recommend you get it offsite just to try.

We spent about 11-12K total including our travel and accomodations, welcome bags, the wedding costs, 2 wedding dress, suit, rings, flowers, etc.

Hi Ladies, I have updated what is left from my wedding leftovers. Please let me know if you are interested in anything. Pictures are above. New: (1) 2lb bag Colorfill Vase Filler (clear crystals) $5 (3) 6-pack gold souvenir wedding frames 0.50 per 6pk-package (1.50 for all 3) (6 PK) White Slow burning floating candles $4 Flower hairpieces $2/bag of 12 (2 bags left) Not used items (some may have been a part of bigger package but never used/still new): (33) Ladies flip flops in various sizes from 6-10 $25 mango orange and purple cardstock $5 orchid flower branch (can be used for centerpiece) $6 Gently used: (7) White 4x6 frames (used for the table numbers, can display on both sides) $1 each almost full packages of cracked ice and water gems $3 together Instant Camera $60 Available after September 24: bride & groom chair signs (one says Mr and Honey on backside and the other says Mrs and Baby) $10 Just married parasol handpainted by my husband himself $10

Thanks Cupcake for posting it for me. I had chose the last option but you see what my cake looked like ;-(

Wow you got fruit and dinner after the wedding. I got a bottle of champagne and breakfast but it was not what we had ordered. Okay so I thought I was the only one that had Donnalee walking in the middle of the ceremony with bags of sand (instead of having the sand in the pouring vase) and having me, the minister, and my husband help to hold it and pour in the pouring vases. To me it was sort of tacky. And I only had 2 guests to say they had bugs in the room and had to move rooms. I totally agree that Donnalee should have been a part of the intial meeting with Chandlyn...she is bossy and does not listen to what you want, my minister even said that...she changed the whole ceremony around after I told Chandlyn how I wanted it.

Actually I could have done the 2 tier and was good, because we had the whole cake topper and some of the middle leftover. I had 51 people

OMG Daphodil, I never got the hair flowers either for my bridesmaids but think they put them on the cake instead...so I never questioned it, maybe I should. We stayed at Lady Hamilton, Grand Palladium the next day after wedding, and mosquitos were bad when we went ATV riding the next day (which was on the other side of the island)...so I think it's just the season period for bad mosquitos, everywhere. Not just Jamaica. Because the wind is blowing so hard at gazebo, that provides protection against them during the day. I did the free package also, but the bride and groom counts as part of the 16, so you technically only get 14 free guests, keep that in mind.

Here's a pic of mine...no way like what I choose, but hey, just had to deal with it. I like Cupcakes, opted for their plain smooth cake. I will try to post a pic of the 3 options that they gave me for the cake.

Hi! Actually you are supposed to pay 75 for any guests coming off the resort but not for the vendors that come and go. All my vendors stayed all day, but rashel left after the last photoshoot before the reception. She refreshed my makeup that one last time. I lucked up, and they did not charge me the 75 for any of my vendors nor did they charge me for my singer who stayed off the resort. The hotel did try to charge me for Rashel but when I told them that Chandlyn was aware that she was coming to do our makeup, they let it slide. The vendors eat also, so you have to let Chandlyn know up front whose who Rashel brought the makeup and did my girls lashes...so I didn't have to find anything. The makeup stayed on all night, but it did rub off on my husband's suit during pictures but not much. I would recommend her

I honestly don't think it's a "Jamaica" mosquito issue, Mosquitos have been bad all around it hot humid areas this year. They have been real bad here in Atlanta also, I had to get the pest control folks to spray our back yard. I frequent jamaica and never had issues before, but it's not just at gran Bahia.

She is a local in Jamaica, actually lives in Kingston but will travel anywhere. Heres her Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MAKE.UP.ARTISTRY.JAMAICA Her email is [email protected]. She airbrushed me, two of my bridesmaids, my mother and my lady in waiting. As far as our hair, my mother is a hairstylist so she took care of all of us. I only sent my husband to the spa to get a manicure (which was $35) other than that, we didn't use the spa.

I definitely recommend Antoinette and Clayton with sungold

Question for anyone who has already gotten married...how long did it take you to get your license and/or any paperwork saying that you are officially married?

Talk to Paula, I am sure she will work with you. Also, my first option was to use Stacy Clarke but she was unavailable...have you looked into her work. She is AMAZING!!! She recommended Sungold when she wasn't available. She sent me the 17 teasers...I am supposed to get the remaining and a slideshow in 4 weeks. I will definitely keep you posted. We were able to see a few shots while she was taking them, but some she needed to edit (like I got makeup on his white suit, etc.) By the way, a makeup artist name Rashel (who is from Jamaica), did all of our makeup. She was awesome.

Hi Beachbride! I used destinationweddings.com (our agent was Christina Brancato) for all of our travel and resort bookings for me and my guests (and I refer them to anyone, they are awesome!) So they sent me the link to the excursion facility they recommended...who works with all of Jamaica. www.islandroutes.com (they have a link on their website to print the brochure). The Jamaica books I called Jamaica Tourist Board. Here's a link to get the different numbers for them: http://www.visitjamaica.com/contact-us.aspx

Actually one girl had brown kraft bags as hers at the resort I got married at and it was quote. She did ribbon to accent it with her colors. I don't think that's tacky at all and wish I did that.

Since it looks like other places have reduced the price of the camera...I am willing to negotiate the price. PM if you are seriously interested.

Love your pics hun!!!! You changed up your hairstyle ;-)

YES! I have a friend that lives in Jamaica (Montego Bay) and warned us beforehand so I made sure to let our guests know. I will ask but none of the guests mentioned anything about them being bad at gazebo..but the wind was blowing so hard, that could be why. It's more when you are standing still in the grassy areas...like when we were waiting for all guests to be seated at Dolce, I know I was bitten several times just standing there.

I searched through several resorts and only picked Gran Bahia because of the number of people we were expecting (and because some were bringing kids). I love the people at the resort (a couple of the front desk staff was stuffy, but after seeing them for a couple days they lightened up and was friendly). I again would definitely have my dances either at the ceremony or in the restaurant due to the heat after sun down. I am surprised you are going thru all of that. Someone had a 152 person wedding that Friday before mine, and it didn't seem like she had too many issues (but that's me looking from a distance). Darn she was on this website also, but I forgot her name, she can help you more with the larger weddings because I only had 51 people. This time of the year is their slow season, so not all restaurants are open everyday, but it seem like by April that wouldn't be the case. But be careful in your "wording" when planning stuff with them. When I initially told Chandlyn I wanted to do the private area of Dolce, she thought I was saying that I wanted to shut it down, which was not the case. So it may be just miscommunication. Your 4pm time is ideal...by the time you finish photos, it will be right on time for dinner. I only worked with Chandlyn until the rehearsal, which I wasn't too fond of. I prefer Chandlyn. Make sure you get ALL your items before you leave on after your wedding, if not you risk not getting them. Even though my guests loved their OTT bags, I wish I had also done a group excursion. But our little "meet and greets" that I setup were perfect.

actually I paid $86 with tax. What website did you see it for $60

Hi JKHowell...I wish I saw that deal!!! I got mine off theknot.com for $80 before shipping. If you are interested, I can sell for $60 but you will have to cover shipping.

OMG, I totally forgot about that stuff and the same things happened to us. My mom who is 55 years old, had to run to the gazebo because the lil shuttle didn't pick her up and no one offered to bring her. The mosquitos was off the chain, but that was all of jamaica, not just at that resort. I carried my OFF and told my guests to bring theirs prior. We had to wait for all guests and my bridesmaids had to help them setup for the reception. The crazy thing that I just told Cupcakes tonight, we had to be the ONLY wedding they had. They told me I was the 1st, but there was never a 2nd because we were at the gazebo until 530, then I reserved the gazebo at 8:30, which I was really bothered by because we could have done a later wedding. I think they adjust it for what is convenient for their schedule, not so much as what other weddings are going on.