greatbritain

I leave tomorrow for my wedding! I promise once I get back I will post a full review AH!!!

Can't wait for the review!! Exactly two weeks from now I will be getting married

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/51518/any-gran-bahia-principe-runaway-bay-brides-out-there/3650#post_1778252 Try that link. Not sure if it works but search Gran Bahia and click on the thread that says Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides Out There? The reception can be had at the gazebo, but the dinner can be at two of the restaurants or there are other restaurants you can rent out completely! I am bringing certain decorations. You can bring them in your suitcase but I think you don't need to go overboard with it. Check that thread, there are so many suggestions and ideas on there!

Definitely check out the thread on here for Gran Bahia brides! I am getting married in a couple of weeks and it has been my go-to place for the past year. No clue what I would have done without it! Good luck and happy planning

Hi ladies! I haven't posted in here in a while because I've been super busy but my wedding is rapidly approaching! (June 21!!) Any ladies who have recently been to Gran Bahia (JayKay?) I have a few questions (and I super apologize if these have been answered, I haven't read through the old posts in months and months and the newer ones that I have skimmed through didn't have these answered): 1. When do you make reservations for the restaurants? 2. I requested to be placed in Block 13 because I wanted to be more centralized as per someone's post here, but is there a location others prefered? 3. Anything specific you wish you had brought but didn't or things you brought that you were very happy you did? 4. Anything specific you wish you had known but didn't? 5. What kind of tips did you leave for the bartenders/maid staff? Just trying to get an idea of how much to bring! I am not too nervous or anxious, I feel pretty as ease but I am getting asked some of these questions and I don't really have any answers for some of the guests!

Thanks for the info and CONGRATS Can't wait to see some pics!

Ok ladies...after all of this, I started to get nervous about the gazebo thing and the minimum guest number as well as just getting nervous in general that they made some other major mistake (had a nightmare that they never confirmed my date...ah!) so I wrote them an email to confirm a few things. I got back about 4 emails so I am going to paste them here. I am not even sure what some of them are referring to but I guess the information is appreciated? There were tons of pictures attached to, of the gazebo, cakes, restaurants, etc. I cc'ed both ladies just because when I was originally booking a date back in June, there was a lot of confusion (Chandlyn confirmed a date and time for me and then somehow the date ended up getting taken by someone else so Donnalee confirmed a different time without asking me and then I had to change the date all together because I preferred the 4 PM slot.) Anway, here it is: HelloBrittany, Thank you for your email. With reference to your queries, please seethe responses below. Should you require any additional information,please do not hesitate to contact us. Warm Regards, Donnalee White Assistant WeddingPlanner Gran Bahía Principe Jamaica Email: [email protected] Tel: (876) 973 -7000· Fax: (876) 670-8503 Ext: 55028 P.o Box 106, Pear Tree Bottom,Runaway Bay St.Ann. Jamaica W.I Hello Donnalee and Chandlyn, I am just checking in to see if ther eis anything else I need to do in the coming months. I know one month prior to my wedding date as stated in one of your previous emails, I can request chair covers and specifics related to the ceremony. Is that the only thing I need to confirm one month prior?...Iam please to advise you that for all wedding ceremonies and receptions,the chair covers are included. Two months prior to your wedding, you arerequired to email me copies of your birth certificates, the credit cardpayment form and copies of your IDs(whether drivers licence or passport)and the selected ID when copied, must be signed by a Notary Public or aLawyer. What about the restauran tfor the reception dinner aftwerwards? When do you need to know the exact amount of guests attending by?...Allwedding packages comes with a semi-private dinner reception that accommodatesfrom 2-70 persons only. The restaurant we use is the Dolce Vita or theGarden Grill restaurant. Is there anything else you need me to send? We will be getting married prior to our wedding date in June here in the US so we will need to bring a notarized copy of our marriage certificate/license? Anything else additionally?...Onceyou will be legally married prior to your wedding, we will not need thedocuments to be Notarized. We will need a copy of your temporary marriagelicence, the credit card payment form and copies of your IDs. I also just wanted to re-confirm our wedding date of June 21, 2012 at 4 PM with a reception dinner at 6:30 PM? Is this accurate? I previously requested the gazebo rental after and I believe when it was confirmed in previous emails you stated it will be from 8:45-10:45. I also wanted to confirm this was still the case. I spoke with another bride who stated that there was a minimum on guests for the gazebo now, but this was never mentioned to me prior to this.... I will make a notein the system. Please see information and request below. Pleaseadvise me of the amount of persons expected to attend the wedding. To havean after party dace at the Gazebo, the minimum is from 45 persons and upwards. So I was a very glad I decided to email and confirm again and I think I will do it again in another couple of months because the way Donnalee responds makes me feel like she is just putting this information in now even though it was confirmed back in June and I sent in the paperwork and everything. I am also very confused because now Donnalee is saying the minimum is 45 people to rent the gazebo??? I mean, I believe I will have that but honestly, I can't 100% confirm this until maybe a couple of weeks before we leave and then what? It gets canceled if we don't? She also sent additional emails with pictures and simple statements like: "Please be advised that all wedding packagescomes with a 2 tier cake." (This email had 6 different cake pictures attached) An e-mail with about 6 or 7 different pictures of both the Dolce Vita and the Garden Grill and Gazebo decorated for the reception dinner and ceremony that had a confirmation of my date/time and request for the gazebo rental and next to it said "Dolce Vita reserved". I never requested either, any preferences? Lastly, I had another random email that just said: "The flowers that are included in thepackage is from 149-164" This had the Tai Flora options attached and I ASSUME this means that you can select from options 149-164 for your bouquet included in the package. I will be attempting to make my own seashell bouquets but I guess it will be nice to select one that can be used on a table or something. Was this stuff all sent out to everyone when they first confirmed? I am SO GLAD I emailed again to check in! Argh! *Deep breaths

Hmm, well I will shoot them an email tonight and also just shoot them an email to check in and see. I am not getting married until June but I am trying to "keep in touch" so that nothing gets messed up in the interim period prior! Thanks for responding

Congrats and thank you so much for the review!! It sounds like you had a great time. So if you marry prior to arriving you just need to bring notarized copy of your marriage license? Do you also still need to bring notarized copies of your birth certificate as well?

Congrats! She's beautiful!!

I'm so confused by the seemingly constant changing policies they have. They told me that I couldn't request to reserve the gazebo until closer to the date. Was this everyone else's experience as well? I'm so glad this message board exists and everyone shares stuff because it is SO helpful! Imagine if you were experiencing all this on your own. Stressful!!

Have an AMAZING time!! Relax and ENJOY!!

Busy, what does your layout consist of? Just the idea of rectangular tables that seat 8-10 people? Just curious if I should try mapping it out as well!

Great idea!! I was really looking forward to making one of these myself and I was thinking of using a styrofoam ball. Now I know it works Thank you for sharing!

I have been MIA for a while but I wanted to say have so much fun and enjoy!

Thank you everyone!

Great!! I am glad to hear there is some professionalism there.

beautiful pictures!! made me tear up a little! so glad i am going with merrick for my wedding. congrats again

geez i'm hoping things go a little more smoothly for me...i'm definitely similar to you...i have no problem opening my mouth and telling people what they need to be doing and not be doing. i'm not shy! it sounds like that's the only way to go to get what you want! you looked gorgeous though!!

oh my gosh, you look GORGEOUS and these pics are beautiful!

gorgeous!

I'm getting married in June 2012 and I am not sure what the comparison is in terms of Mexico vs Jamaica because I did not consider Mexico personally, but I found Jamaica to be really affordable and I researched a number of resorts within Jamaica and settled on Gran Bahia Principe for a number of reasons. You really just need to research each resort and not only consider the cost of travel, cost of the stay, but also the cost of the wedding and if they have packages or ammenities that you are looking for! Good luck!

Love the mirrors! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the site! I just started using it and I love it!

I'm curious, what's Couch to 5K? Is there a book or website to look to see what the plan is? I'm intrigued!