Kim Deslippe

Erin, Thanks for the excellent review. It's so great hearing from all you new brides about what to expect when our day finally arrives. I booked Rashel just before the end of the year (to take advantage of 2011 pricing) for mine and my bridesmaids hair and makeup and cannot wait, she does amazing work!! If you don't mind me asking, to rent the Pisces, was it the same price as privately booking the Grill or Dolce $2500? and what kind of menu did you have? We are figuring on having a fairly large group as well, and I would really like a private area to have everything at but didn't really want to spend the $2500. Thanks in advance!!

JayKay - I have been looking forward to hearing your review all week and it makes me so sad that there was problems during "your wedding trip" and anyone that ruined it for you, shame on them....that is so unfair. I am glad that there were no major issues with your ceremony and you look beautiful, as does the gazebo decorations. Congrats to you and your new hubby!!

Thanks BusyBee, Another thing I am curious about is if the music that the DJ has is current a little dated; maybe we should bring some CDs with newer stuff? Definitely think we're going to book the gazebo and the DJ but skip the bartender (depending on the # of guests). Thanks LOL...acw, I don't think anyone's age matters on here, it's what you have to offer and I'm sure everyone would agree that you have soooo helpful.

Awe, congrats on becoming a Mrs., you look stunning and so happy with your new hubby!! Thank you for the wonderful review, cannot wait to see more pics!! I've been debating on which restaurant to book for the wedding dinner, and was leaning towards the Dolce...glad to hear it was a top choice. We're in a bit of a debate about the gazebo/dj and bartender right now: My FI doesn't see the point in spending the extra $ for it be because he figures everyone will just want to go their separate ways after dinner. (and he's not much for dancing) My mom has requested that we have a reception area to have drinks and dancing; my future MIL has not specifically asked but has made comments about other DW she's been to that have had receptions, "which was really nice" vs the ones that have not. I definitely like the idea of renting the gazebo but cannot decide on spending $ for the dj or having one of my brothers man a laptop, cd player, or ipod; do we know if there is a sound system to hook up to in the evening if we choose not to use the dj? We figure that we'll probably have a minimum of 50 guests, so if we book the bartender and they charge $20 pp, that $1000 for only a couple hours just to serve drinks that are included with the trip. To me that's a lot, especially if not all guests come down to the gazebo and some don't even drink. I like the idea of tipping the bartenders/housekeepers to leave of some pitchers of drinks at the pool bars and getting extra beers left in the room fridges, but just worried that we'll have trouble with it and then be stuck walking back and forth for drinks all night. Any opinions are appreciated!!

@pask454 - I haven't tried emailing them recently but these are the addresses that I have if you wanted to double check yours. I know everyone says to deal with Chandlyn but I really haven't had any issue with Donnalee yet. I usually send to Chandlyn and cc Donnalee. Chandlyn - [email protected] Donnalee - [email protected]

So exciting JayKay....Best wishes on your wedding day, I'm sure it will be just beautiful. I cannot wait to read all about it!!

Thanks acw271011, the 2007 is the catalog that was sent. I know you had mentioned before that they do not change them but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask. I also inquired to them about ribbon colours available and what bouts come with the package, are you aware what they may be?

Thanks ladies, So cool, it's amazing how this internet thing brings brides from around the world together and then some are right next door...lol! My FI is from Wyoming, Ontario (his family still lives there) which isn't that far from Sarnia. Still haven't made it through all the posts on this thread yet, but so far it's been interesting and I'll be sure not too beg for anyone's templates...haha. I'm attempting to do a lot of DIY projects, so far I've designed my own STD and invites (if you look you can find templates on-line for free), just waiting for my paper to get here from paper and more so I can get the STD printed and send out. Trying to make the big decision on bouquets and bouts right know, I wanted to do something different, like use shells for the bouts but my FI doesn't care for it and I don't want to spend a crazy amount of $ on flowers that won't really last to be brought home. I've looked into using real touch but they are pretty pricy too. Thinking that I may used fans or parasols for the girls. I attempted to make my own wedding hanger yesterday, and I must say that it didn't turn out too bad. I really liked the idea of them but didn't want to spend $25-30 on it, so I spent $1.50 on 2 hangers at Dollarama and $6.50 on 100 ft of wire at Lowes and it only took a little more then an hour. I could do one for each of my BM (3) for less then $20, love it when I can save money. Can't wait to finish reading everyone's posts. I love seeing and reading about everyone's ideas and experiences, it makes me look forward to my day more and more, but it is still so very far off

Welcome Emi-Lou Congrats on your upcoming wedding. I was in the same bout when I came across this thread and totally agree, it has been so helpful and eased my peace of mind, knowing that I am not the only one will tons of questions that I needed answers too. Happy planning!

Hi pask454, If you want to pm me your email, I can send your the catalog that I received from Donnalee. However, I noticed it was a few years old, so I have an email into Tai Floral to confirm if it is up to date and if the colours of the free bouquets can be changed or if they are as is. The free ones aren't the nicest looking but there is a few that are not too bad but just don't work with the colours I chose. Smart of you to choose your colours around what is offered for free.

Gran Bahia Principe Jamaica!!

Thanks BusyBee for the info about the pricing. I do know that with Delta (which is who I believe we'd be flying) the a discount for groups based on the $ of the trip and a discount for the bride and groom, so much for every guest booked after a certain #. Congrats to you and best wishes on your wedding, sure it will be beautiful Can't wait to see pics and read your review!!

OMG Linzy, that is crazy. Our TA figured we'd pay a max of $1500 CAD, flying direct from Detroit and that's what we have mentioned to some of friends and family already. Really hope he doesn't give us pricing that high when it comes available in March, or I think the amount guests we figured on having is gonna go down and I figured on sending my STDs in the few weeks. JayKay, your hair looks amazing. It's too bad about your hairdresser not being able to go down anymore but I'm sure they'll be able to replicate it for you! Congrats and can't wait to see your review!!

Just came across this forum tonight. I cannot believe the amount of Canadian brides, and even the amount from Ontario. It's really nice to see Is there anyone else from the Windsor / Chatham area, I'm originally from Amherstburg but now living in Chatham. (haven't quite made it through all the posts yet)

Hey Ladies, just came across this forum tonight. I am a Feb 2013 bride, booked at the Gran Bahia Principe Jamaica. So excited and loving the whole planning process. Just ordered my paper to get my STD and invites printed on and can't wait for it to come in! Just putting the final touches to our wedding website so it is ready when our STDs go out in about two months. Good luck to all and happy planning!!

Hi Stacy29, My fiance and I have booked with the Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Jamaica (GBP). Our TA is guessing it will be $1200-$1400 pp (we aren't going until Feb 2013, so we based on 2012 pricing) for 7 days AI, which was reasonable to us for it being a 5 star and for Jamaica. Friends and relatives have used Gran Bahia's in Dominican for weddings and they are a beautiful resort. Initially I wanted Jamaica but everyone said it was too much money, but when we found the GBP and it compared to others we where looking at in Mexico and Dominican I was sold, especially since it had everything we were looking for and lots of things to do/see to occupy our guests. You should check out this thread http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/51518/any-gran-bahia-principe-runaway-bay-brides-out-there if it is of interest to you. Be warned though, there are a lot of pages to go through, but all the brides and brides-to-be have provided a huge amount of info and it is super helpful!! Hope this helps....Happy Planning!! KIM

So excited...I ordered my paper and envelopes for my STD and invites from Paper and More today, can't wait to start getting things printed. Only doing the STD now, gonna wait a bit for the invites, but I figured I'd order it all now and just pay one shipping fee. Also sent my deposit to Rashel Edwards for our hair and makeup, wanted to take advantage of her 2011 prices before they went up and she was offering 5% discount yesterday which is also a bonus. Every penny saved keeps everyone happy...lol Does anyone now if the flowers that come with the packages, come in different colours or is it what ya see is what ya get? Some of them aren't bad looking but not really the colours I'm looking for. Anywho, heading out to ring in the new year with some friends...hope everyone has a Happy New Year, cheers

Your welcome... I emailed the WC directly to book. It took a bit for them to get back, which kinda freaked me out, but reading on here that is wasn't that uncommon eased my concerns. They have been really good recently at getting back to me with answers to my questions. They did tell me when I first inquired about booking a date, that they only book a year out and to check back, but once I had found out others had booked more then a year out, i just emailed them again requesting the exact date that I wanted booked and confirmed and they did. We are planning on flying out of Detroit (it's closest for us and most of out guests), and direct both ways. We can't find out our exact rates until sometime in March, but our TA estimated it would be $1200-$1400 pp for 7 nights. We initially wanted to find somewhere a bit cheaper but you do get what you pay for and the GBP fit into everything that we were looking for. I do think we get some sort of discount through Delta depending on the number of guests we have, but I need to go over that again with my TA. I'm super excited too and I think my FI thinks I'm crazy, but I keep telling to just go with it and he'll thank me later.

This is wonderful JayKay. Your wedding is going to be beautiful! So many good ideas, may have to borrow a few Enjoy and can't wait to see pictures!

@ acw271011 - Thanks, I have an email back to the WC to clarify, but it doesn't really make sense to me that they only charge the $75 if she stays until/through the ceremony and not for her coming in period....they do things so funky sometimes @ BusyBee123 and JayKay - so exciting for you both, can't wait to see pictures and hear the details!! Just enjoy and cherish the moments @ cdnbridelinzy - Congratulations, your gonna love it on here. I too just finished going through all the pages and everyone is so nice and helpful, providing so much information. My FI and I knew we wanted DW when we got engaged in Sept. 2011 and I wanted to decide as soon as possible to give our guests enough time to plan for it. We had a couple resorts picked out in Dominican, Mexico and Jamaica (which is what I really wanted) and when we met with out TA he helped us narrow it down to GBP. He helped us decide on when to go using 2012 pricing because we aren't until Feb. 2013. My FI wanted to travel when the weather is crappy here and everyone is ready to get away from winter. We found the pricing to be reasonable mid Jan to mid Feb then it started to go up around Mar.; sure it probably starts to go down after spring break season but my FI doesn't want to go when it's starting to get nice here So exciting!! Happy Planning!!

Hi CdnBeatPrincess, I heard back from Donnalee today (I cc her when I emailed Chandlyn, can't believe it took less then 12 hrs for a reply) and her response to my question about a fee for using Rashel for my hair and makeup was....If Rashel will only be doing your hair and make-up and not stay for the ceremony, there will be no additional fee. However, if she will be staying until the ceremony, you will be required to purchase the wedding pass for her. Now when she says wedding pass I am assuming the $20 for an additional person but I think I will verify that to make sure. I'll let you know if I get anymore info, hope this helps

@ashley490 - Thanks for the info, I was going to email her today to confirm with her and arrange for a deposit. I will definitely check into those deals/packages and if she'd be interested in staying a bit longer, cause that's an excellent idea; my ceremony isn't until 4pm but I'm sure after it and pictures we may need a touch-up! I think I'll send Chandlyn an email to see what she says about her coming in, cause I think we're gonna do the free package too and if I can pay $20 vs $75, that would be awesome; every bit of savings keeps my FI happy...lol

@ashley490 - I've been thinking about booking Rashel as well, her prices were cheaper then the resort and she's will to give me 2011 pricing if I book before the new year, and our date is not until 2013 and her work does look amazing. I was just wondering how you put down the deposit for her and if you know if there is a few from the resort for her to come in? Thanks!!

Hey Espejo, you pics are beautiful. The colours you chose are almost exactly what I plan to go with. Can I ask where did you get your parasols, I've found a couple different sites, but I'd hate to order them and have them cheap-looking.

Thanks for the info acw, I will keep that in mind.