Leah22

That's per person, per night.

A private reception is not free, it starts at $1750 for a group up to 50. But when you add it all up, it still comes out to be cheaper than the Suites (including their price for a private reception which is $800). My group will be over 30 so either way we would be required to have a private reception. But I just heard from a travel agent and I was quoted about $230 pp for the Grand and $170 pp for the Suites for June 2012 (for group rates, based on double occupancy). What kind of rates has everyone else received for their group?

I actually spoke to the PR manager at the Grand and she said that kids ARE allowed to attend the ceremony and a private reception. And if we are able to get the free wedding package, then the ceremony/reception at the Grand actually works out to be much cheaper than a wedding at the Suites. So we figured we could use the "savings" to pay for our guests' day passes.

Hello Everyone! Can anyone offer me advise on the Suites vs. Grand? I have tentatively reserved a date for both the Suites and for the Grand for June 2012! And I can't decide between the 2 resorts. We are anticipating around 50 guests. For the Grand we would opt for the free wedding package, and pay for our guests' day passes on the day of the wedding (since a few of our guests will have kids and need to stay at the Suites). But we really have no idea how many people may come (and where they will choose to stay), so the price for the day passes may vary from $200 to $2000.

Thanks Susan. At first I was told the Suites were full (this was about a week ago). But yesterday I decided to call them up and double check. They told me they had 3 dates open! So I reserved June 11th right away. Today I called the Grand and they told me they still have several dates available for June. So now I'm not sure what to do. My fiance wants to stay at the Suites, since he thinks many of our guests will end up there (since it is a cheaper and a few have kids). Plus if our guests are staying at the Suites, we will likely be over there frequently since they can't come to the Grand. Which also means that they will have to pay for the $50 day pass to come to the wedding. But my reasoning is that the Grand will be about $1,000 cheaper for the wedding (with the free package). So we could apply that money to the day passes...or we can spend it on our honeymoon (I want to switch it up and go to another hotel for a few days after the wedding). Plus, I am worried about the ceremony sites at the Suites. As you said, the Grand seems more private. From the photos, it looks like the only options for the ceremony are in the middle of the lazy river, or in the middle of the lobby, or in the middle of the beach in front of the pool. Either way, you're in the middle of something! I could honestly go either way as I'm sure they are both great options...but the privacy for the ceremony and the butler at the Grand sound really great! I want to finalize a reservation tomorrow (since they seem to go really quickly). So we will have to battle it out tonight and see who wins...

Hello Everyone! I might be an Iberostar bride. I was ready to book at the Half Moon, but my growing guest list is making me think twice about their high price tag. I'm trying to decide between the Grand and the Suites for my wedding in June 2012. We will have a group of around 40-50 and there will be some really young kids in our group, but I spoke to Angellie (the PR manager) and she said that kids could come to the ceremony and private reception. Did anyone in this forum consider the Suites? I will definitely stay at the Grand, but I can't decide which location is better for the wedding. With the Grand's free package and paying $1750 for the private reception, I think it may still be cheaper than the Suites (they charge $1900 for the package (non-legal), $800 for a private reception and $18 pp over 8 people)...even if I need to pay for some of my guests' day passes who are staying at the Suites or the Beach resort ($50 each) I think the Grand may still come out to be cheaper. Does this logic make sense? Has anyone looked at the 2 resorts to compare ceremony sites? I just don't want to get married in a crowded area where 50 on-lookers are standing around in their bathing suits. And I know the reception choices are different as well. Is the Grand just much better than the Suites?

Hi FoxyRoxy, I've definitely picked apart their wedding packages (I'm probably driving Danielle crazy...btw Rock Resorts now manages Half Moon). But I'm going with the Eat, Drink, and be Married package and got it down to $7700 including tax+tip for 32 people ($194) per person (but I haven't actually confirmed a date yet). She initially quoted me $18,000 for the Allure as well, but all of their packages start off with the "premium" features and they all can be customized. The only problem, which I mentioned in another thread, is that I'm not sure if we're going to have 30 guests or 75! We don't want to rule out anyone on the guest list...but I really can't imagine that the majority will be able to make it. What kind of prices are getting for private villas? Were you planning on staying at the villas or just renting them for the ceremony/reception?

Yes, I saw that they are under new management (hopefully that's a good thing). With our package we would get champagne, turn-down service with a decorated room on the wedding night, free transfers, a keepsake of some sort,...but no free nights. I think you need 25 rooms minimum for the free nights. But 4 free nights is really great! I honestly have no idea how many people we might get to come to the wedding. Which is a little scary since the basic package I chose still comes with a pretty hefty per person fee. I fear that if we get much more than 30 we will have to switch venues. But at the same time it would be difficult to cut people from the guest list. At this point we still have not confirmed a date (I haven't heard back from Danielle yet).

St. Lucia is gorgeous (even though I've never been!)! It was just going to be too expensive for our guests and we weren't going to save any money on the wedding either. Half Moon is not cheap, but I think it will actually be comparable in price to some of the all-inclusives we were considering. We are expecting 30 as "definites" (that's the number I have been using for budgeting and that's what I would prefer). But I fear we may end up with over 50. We have not yet sent out any formal invites or save-the-dates, but I think our invite list of just family and close friends will still be large (125-150). I have been to Jamaica a few times, plus we both have friends from the island so we pretty much know what to expect...but I've never been to Half Moon, so I'm very excited. For the chefs, we are counting on some of our local friends to take us to a regular grocery store to pre-stock the villas with food and liquor. We wanted to pre-stock all of the villas, to avoid an extra expense for our guests...but I have no idea how much this may cost! Do you know what the Half Moon charges to pre-stock the villas for the week? But I decided to just go with the most basic wedding package...ceremony, cocktail hour, catered reception with open bar. I haven't discussed any other events with my planner. But hopefully all of my guests will choose to stay in the Villas. If we rent 3 villas, we will have 3 chefs for our use, 3 private pools, and I can purchase my own alcohol. Danielle even told me that the Butler will act as a bar tender/mixologist. That's sounds like a party to me without the added formalities (and expense) of organizing a catered event. One question: Did your planner inform you of any perks or extras that may come with hosting a wedding on the property? My only gripe so far is that the Half Moon doesn't really seem to offer any "perks" for the couple. We get a bottle of champagne and turn-down service with our package. But they only offer 1 free night for the bride and groom if we bring in 25 rooms! Some of the other hotels I considered offered multiple free nights (starting at 10 rooms), plus free nights on your anniversary, spa services, and even a catamaran cruise and private dinner!

Hello Everyone, I just started this process myself, but I have been obsessively researching options the last few weeks. I've finally decided on the Half Moon Royal Villas for June 2012! I feel like I'm running out of time, but I'm very excited to hear their are a few others on this site. Soon2beMrsG, you said you used your own vendors. Did you have to pay the fee for each vendor you brought in? FoxyRoxy, I originally wanted an all-inclusive hotel as well. They are fun and they have wedding packages that take care of everything. But once you start to have more than 10 guests, you end up paying a great deal per person for the reception. We are planning on having 30 guests and the all-inclusive option was turning out to be more expensive than just doing it on our own. That's when I started searching for villas! I can't direct you to any villas (I was also considering St. Lucia as well and did most of my villa research for that island before switching over the Jamaica). But most villas will be under 10 bedrooms. You can have family and close friends stay at the villa and have your other guests stay at hotels nearby. I am renting 3 adjacent villas at the Half Moon and will divide the costs among my guests. That way we are all staying on the property together. I like the idea of Half Moon because I can have the privacy of the villas, plus the amenities of a large resort, plus a wedding planning to do it all for me!

I visited Secrets St James last year and it was amazing! My fiance wanted to get married there, but we have kids in our group! Wild Orchid and St. James are essentially the same hotel. They share the restaurants and bars, etc. It is a 5 minute walk to get from 1 side to the other. We actually preferred the St. James side because it was a little more spread out. We saw a couple of weddings while we were there and my only gripe is that there were few "private areas" to perform the ceremony. So you will probably have "on-lookers". I have never been to Jewel, but I am not a big fan of the Ocho Rios area and it is a very long and ride from the airport.

Hello Everyone! I think I've finally narrowed down my choice to the Half Moon Royal Villas for June 2012. I couldn't decide between St. Lucia or Jamaica. St. Lucia is pricier to fly into AND we couldn't find a resort that fit all of our needs (without costing a small fortune). But I've been working with Danielle at Half Moon and I think we've finally got the budget down to an affordable rate, plus the room rates and airfare work out to be cheaper for our guests. I'm planning on having all of guests share the Royal Villas, which is really a great deal with the group booking discount. Plus the villas each come with a pool, chef, butler, and maid. I have not checked out all of my ceremony or reception options yet (Danielle can be a little slow to respond). Is anyone else staying at the Royal Villas? Do you know how it works with the chef? From my understanding all of the meals are included if we purchase our own groceries separately. I was hoping to use this as a way to save money on the "welcome party" and post-wedding brunch and just host everything at the villas.

Hi Elle, I am considering the Villa Capri for my own wedding in June 2012. Please come back afterwards and let me know what you think!

Has anyone had any experience with The Landings Resort? It looks beautiful and they offer villas on the property (which will be more affordable for my guests). I am also consider the Windjammer for the same reason. I just got engaged and I'm trying to plan a wedding for ideally June 2012...and St. Lucia is my front runner at the moment.

Hi Amanda, I am considering the Windjammer for a June 2012 wedding. Although I have nothing booked and I still haven't been able to decide on a location (I'm still not even sure about St Lucia)! How has your planning process been with Windjammer? I have considered renting the villas to help save my guests some money. Are you have the ceremony and reception on the property? Alternatively, I was considering Bay Gardens Resort or just renting private villas (we are anticipating 30-40 guests).