JenRoseRDH

Thanks! No, we just got lucky with the fireworks. I don't know who we should thank for that. I was very impressed with my photographers ability to make the most of it!!

I am so sad to read this review! I am truly sorry that you were unhappy and felt extra stress on such an important day. I certainly don't want to stir up any hard feelings but I just can't read that and say nothing after my experience using Shenique left me feeling quite the opposite. There is a reason she is the most talked about and in demand hair and make up artist on the island. I feel it is important to consider all aspects of the situation. This time of year there are so many weddings in Provo that wedding planners, caterers and stylists have to delicately work their scheduled to accommodate as many brides as possible without compromising quality. I know that under normal circumstances she will book a trial if requested. I do not feel a trial is necessary, you can look at her work on the website and Facebook and see that she does a beautiful job. If you want a specific look, you can show her through pictures. I did this by email before hand but also had some saved to a Pinterest board to show her specifically what I wanted. For me this worked great but for anyone anxious, a trial might be a good idea. I agree it is pricy, but it is very comparable to the other options on the island. I looked at several combinations of local hair and make up and when you add them up plus the call out fee they are pretty evenly priced. One sould do their own but for my day I was not about to put that kind of pressure on myself. Thank goodness too because with all the humidity, sweat and wind I know my own work would not have lasted into the night as Shenique's did. As to the lashes, I had extensions put on at home so did not need them but looking at her pictures I think she does an excellent job keeping brides looking natural and not at all tranny! I would love to see before and after pictures of your look, I bet you were a lovely bride! For others out there, I did a thorough review of my experience with Shenique and I hope you will take the time to read and consider it before ruling her out. What a shame it would be to miss an opportunity to have your hair and make up done by such talent on the most important day of your life. As much as you are paying for a photographer, don't you want to look your absolute best in all your pictures? From my official review- My initial contact with Shenique was very prompt and professional. We emailed a bit and locked down the date. As the wedding got closer I created a pinterest board with the looks I liked and wanted to share with her. I wanted to wear my hair long but pulled back and swept to the side. I made a hair comb out of a broach and made a long veil to wear for the ceremony but take out for the reception. Shenique arrived on time and armed with everything she needed to make me fabulous. She worked on my hair first then did my makeup. She was very patient with the many distractions and interruptions that occur on a wedding day. She tailored a look for me that was exactly what I had in mind and I felt like the best possible version of myself- but still myself. Looking at our wedding pictures and video, I know I made the right choice in using her. There are spots in the videos where I can see the sweat glisten on my back but my face and hair held up through it all. I used some Clean and Clear blotting sheets before the reception to take care of some shine but that is the only touching up I did. I think the pictures speak for themselves. Shenique agreed to have come back the next day and do it all again. After my initial reluctance to use a hair/makeup artist at all, I actually did it twice! My husband was adament that he not see me before the ceremony so in order to get all of the pictures I wanted we compromised by arranging a second day with the photographer. I am so very glad we did because we were able to go to various sites around the island and some of those pictures ended up my favorites. It was well worth the added expense! The second day I felt much more calm and relaxed and enjoyed more conversation with Shenique as she worked. Because she had just done everything the previous day, she was able to work very efficently. We got some fantastic shots that second day and I am so grateful Shenique was available for both. For my full review with pictures: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/75490/hair-and-make-up-in-turks-caicos/10#post_1856039

They never gave us a minimum requirement. Most of our guests booked cheaper options but we booked 9 nights as did one other couple in our group. I never heard them mention minumum bookings, though other resorts we looked into (specifically, Seven Stars) did. It could be because we travelled during the off peak season but I really don't think they have any restrictions. Grace Bay Club and Nila Destinations worked wonderfully together.

I don't have his info, Luise at Nila handled his booking for us. I love the steel drums, it gives such a great Carribean vibe! Best of luck to you!

Luise at Nila Destinations is a dream! She was above and beyond helpful and informative from the very first contact we made. When we had finally narrowed in on Provo as our first choice for our destination wedding and honeymoon we planned a site visit. I needed to see the island first hand to be comfortable that we were making the right choice for ourselves and picking a location thet would suit our small group of family and friends. I contacted several local planners and Luise was by far the most helpful and accomodating. She offered to pick us up at our hotel and drive us to see the resorts we were considering. Keep in mind, this is before we made any sort of commitment to use Nila's services. She arranged a cake tasing for us and offered for us to meet with a florist. I declined the florist but we thoroughly enjoyed our cake with Diane! She sent us a list of cake and icing flavors and had our delicious cake ready and waiting for us for a small fee. Luise was able to give us the pros and cons of the different resorts and caterers ands answered all of our questions. After the first day of our site visit we were convinced that Turks and Caicos was the place for our wedding and we were free to just enjoy the rest of our trip. We revisited our favorite resorts at night to see how they would look for the reception and we tried several of the restaurants that we might have used for the rehearsal and reception. Luise met with us again to go over some of the required paperwork and give us a sample contract but she never tried to get us to sign anything or make a decision while we were there. There was absolutely no pressure whatsoever. The only thing she arranged that had a cost to it was the cake tasting to cover the cost of the cake. She also suggested a local band (Bowen Arrow) for the reception and gave us a place and time where they happened to be playing locally so we could go and check them out. They were great though we decided to go with a DJ instead due to our small group. For us, it was not a question of which planner to use but whether or not to use a planner at all. We knew when we left the island that if we used a planner, it would be Nila. However we considered coordinating things ourselves with the resort and individual vendors. Looking back, I think that while theoretically we could have done it ourselves, it would have been incredibly stressful and probably would not have gone as seamlessly. For me, it was worth the small cost to have someone local to contact with all my questions and concerns while planning and to handle things the week of and day of the wedding. In spite of having Luise to manage the wedding itself, I still found plenty of things to be stressed out about leading up to it, most of them out of my control: weather, weight, everyone's travel and accomodations, how to pack for a wedding in a suitcase (or 6!). The week in Provo before the wedding I was kept super busy with small errands and arrangenents and squeezing in time with family and friends. If all along I was also handling all the ceremony and reception details, this could easily have led to a major breakdown. Going into it I thought a destination wedding would be so much less stressful because so much of it would be out of my hands and direct control. I still feel that this is true but even so, some level of wedding stress is unavoidable so I think brides do themselves a huge favor by using a local planner, I am so thankful I did! Shortly after we got home, Geoff and I went over the details together of what we wanted and how many guests we expected and signed a Nila contract. Ashleigh took over many of the details and coorespondance for us but Luise was always available as well and between the two of them, they were quick to answer any questions we had and provide details for us. I looked at a ton of pictures and once I narrowed down the look I wanted, I emailed pictures and got pricing for the set up and flowers. I also emailed pictures of the girls fabric and dresses and they coordinated everything perfectly. When I arrived in Provo, Luise met me with an inexpensive, pay as you go rental cel phone that I kept to use the week before the wedding and the week of our honeymoon. I highly recommend this, it was invaluable! I stayed the week leading up to the wedding with my family at a villa in Turtle Cove. I used the time to take care of last minute things like shopping for our guest welcome bags- Luise suggested some local items and shops. She also provided me with Dining Guides and maps for each welcome bag and took care of printing our welcome letters once the iteneary and all the details were finalized. She arranged a meeting with Pastor Colby to review the ceremony and do the paperwork. She also gave me the name and information for a local dry cleaner that could press my dress for me. At her suggestion, I went to Anna's Art Gallery and by emailing them a picture of what I wanted, they were able to custom make our wedding favors for us- starfish and sand dollar ornaments packaged up safely for travel. They got them ready for us in just a few short days, charged a very reasonable price and they were exactly what I had in mind. I'm sure there were many other details she helped me out with that I am just not thinking of. The rehearsal was pretty simple, we just looked at the area of beach we would be using and the reception location. We did not do an actual ceremony walk through. Looking back, I wish we had worked out the timeline in a little more detail. On the wedding day, no one with me was watching the time leading up to the ceremony and I ended up leaving my poor groom stranded for a few minutes while I was with the photographer and all my girls up in our suite blissfully unaware that he was wondering if I had gotten cold feet. I recommend designating someone to be the timekeeper. By the time the wedding day rolled around, I felt like we had a friend managing all the details. Luise took care of the flowers for us with Environmental Arts, the beach canopy set up and guest seating, our officient- Pastor Colby, 2 hours with steel drummer Kelci Talbot for the ceremony and cocktail hour, we set up our own music playlist through dinner, 2 hours with DJ William John after dinner for toasts and dancing and a beautiful and delicious Cake by Diane. She even bonded with my 2 year old neice, dancing and playing with her at the reception. She handled each mini crisis as it arose- a scheduling conflict with the officient, calling us to get going when we lost track of time before the ceremony, searching with one of my bridesmaids in the dark for a buckle lost off my shoe somewhere between the ceremony and reception (My husband had to safety pin my shoe on for our first dance!), inspecting a tear in my dress at the reception... Small stuff in the grand scheme of things but she was on it. I wish I could put into words how I felt when I walked around the pool and out to the beach and saw it set up exactly, EXACTLY, as I had wanted. I was overcome with joy and gratitude, it was truly like a dream, only so much better! When it came down to it, at the end of the day I was going to be married to the love of my life and the best man I know whether the wedding was a success or a complete disaster. Of course all weddings are a big deal but I had never really planned to get married so for my friends and family, especially my parents, who had all but given up on the possibility, it was a huge moment. It was incredibly important to me that we make it worthwhile for those who had travelled to be there and share in it with us. Luise pulled off a spectacular celebration and we have had many of our guests tell us since that it was the best, most beautiful wedding they have ever been to. I feel biased since it was my wedding, after all. So I am loving the positive feedback. I can't stop looking at our pictures and video, everything was just so perfect and we have those wonderful memories preserved for life.

Using Shenique was probably the most difficult decision I made leading up to the wedding. I had such a hard time justifying the expense for hair and make up. I am very low maintenance from day to day and knew I wanted a carefree, beachy wedding look- not too made up and not out of place on the sand and in the sun. I got some good advice from a stylist here in Nashville, "You don't want to look back at your wedding pictures and ask yourself, "who is that???" I considered working with my Nashville hairdresser (Candace Bradley) and local makeup artist (Jaiya Wendell) and having them teach me how to get myself ready since I was not in a financial position to take them with me (so sad). Much as I love them both and have absolute confidence in their ability, I was not able to get myself motivated enough to practice on myself and who really wants the added stress and responsibility of creating their own look on their wedding day? I looked into other make up and hair options in Provo. I felt that using a local professional who is used to the effect of tropical sun, sweat and humidity on hair and makeup would be a wise way to go. They are used to creating a look that can withstand it all and last all day and into the night. There are several excellent local professionals but Shenique seems to be the only one who does both hair and makeup herself. While I could have saved a bit of money by going to 2 separate hair and makeup salons, I did not want to be out running errands on my wedding day just to save a few dollars. Had I paid the separate outcall fees to have both come to me, the money would have worked out about the same as using Shenique. Trust me, I worked out many possible scenarios. In the end, I decided that it was worth it to have someone come to me in the comfort of my Grace Bay Suite and get pampered while surrounded my friends and family and enjoying my fabulous view. Looking at pictures and reading reviews, I felt that on the island Shenique was the "go to" artist and when it came down to it, I wanted the best. My biggest concern was that because Shenique works with a team of artists, I might not actually end up with her for my big day. I believe that while this is a minor possibility, it is a very rare occurance. She often uses her team for wedding parties but came alone since it was just me. As I was not in a financial position to pay for hair and makeup for my bridesmaids, they chose to go a less expensive route- many of them doing their own and each other's hair and makeup.They brought their dresses and makeup to my suite and we all got ready together. I loved being able to relax and enjoy the morning with my family and best friends. My initial contact with Shenique was very prompt and professional. We emailed a bit and locked down the date. As the wedding got closer I created a pinterest board with the looks I liked and wanted to share with her. I wanted to wear my hair long but pulled back and swept to the side. I made a hair comb out of a broach and made a long veil to wear for the ceremony but take out for the reception. Shenique arrived on time and armed with everything she needed to make me fabulous. She worked on my hair first then did my makeup. She had a very calming presence and was very patient with the many distractions and interruptions that occur on a wedding day. She tailored a look for me that was exactly what I had in mind and I felt like the best possible version of myself- but still myself. Looking at our wedding pictures and video, I know I made the right choice in using her. There are spots in the videos where I can see the sweat glisten on my back but my face and hair held up through it all. I used some Clean and Clear blotting sheets before the reception to take care of some shine but that is the only touching up I did. I think the pictures speak for themselves. Shenique agreed to have come back the next day and do it all again. After my initial reluctance to use a hair/makeup artist at all, I actually did it twice! My husband was adament that he not see me before the ceremony so in order to get all of the pictures I wanted we compromised by arranging a second day with the photographer. I am so very glad we did because we were able to go to various sites around the island and some of those pictures ended up my favorites. It was well worth the added expense! The second day I felt much more calm and relaxed and enjoyed more conversation with Shenique as she worked. Because she had just done everything the previous day, she was able to work very efficently. We got some fantastic shots that second day and I am so grateful Shenique was available for both.

Initially we chose Grace Bay Club for our wedding and honeymoon due to their central location. It is very near both budget and mid range hotels/resorts and would allow our family and friends to custom plan a trip to fit any budget. It is also an easy walk to MANY restaurants, shops and a grocery store so a rental car would be unecessary. During our site visit we were impressed with the view and design of the rooms- EVERY room at GBC has a spectacular ocean view. Of course, the higher up you are located, the less obstructions there will be. An open, oceanfront balcony was a non negotiable point for me, no screens (like the Sands and Ocean Clubs), I feel the screens interfere with the view and I did not want anything between me and that beautiful ocean view. The balconies at Grace Bay Club are huge and so photogenic. At the time we booked, the resort was offering a "3rd night free" promotion so we were able to book 9 nights for the price of 6. We were also given a room upgrade for hosting our wedding and reception there. We used Luise at Nila Destinations to coordinate the wedding ceremony and worked directly with Shameka (events) and Ajay (food) at Grace Bay Club for the reception. Luise and Shameka arranged a pristine location for both the wedding itself and for the reception. We originally planned the reception under one of the Anacaona palapas but moved it instead to the lovely grill deck under the strings of lights and near the beach. It was perfect! Ajay helped us develop a limited, custom menu for guests to order from and we offered a consumption bar for our small group of light to moderate drinkers. I requested just lanterns as table decorations rather than purchasing centerpieces through the florist and Shameka saw to it that the tables had lovely greenery and bouganvilla as well, it was beautiful! The tables were arranged to leave an area open for the dance floor. As the reception was winding down, we transitioned to a bonfire on the beach with a comfortable lounge area where we could all relax and unwind. I was absolutely thrilled with my picture perfect wedding and reception. I do not believe you can go wrong with a Grace Bay Club wedding. There are many wonderful guest amenities as well. Every guest room is assigned a conceirge team who you are always connected to by a cel phone that is given to you on arrival (this phone can ONLY be used to contact your conceirge, can not be used for local or international calls but with free international and local calling from the room phone, that is really a non-issue). We did take advantage of it throughout our stay and Berg and Godfrey were always just a phone call away and were quick to answer questions and provide whatever we requested- extra bottled water (No charge), refill pods for the espresso (amazingly delicious and one of my favorite amenities), extra dishes and silverware on rehearsal dinner night and MANY random requests the day of the wedding. We even used it once when walking to dinner to verify that we were headed in the right direction- we weren't so were very glad to have had a friendly voice on the other end of the phone to get us oriented. Grace Bay Club seems to be the only non- all inclusive in Provo to offer a daily hot breakfast included with your stay. When we travel we like to sleep late, eat a big breakfast and one afternoon meal so the delicious hot breakfast was wonderful for us. Every morning I was greated with a friendly "Good Morning Mrs. Halfpenny" which was super fun for me as a newlywed. The omeletts are wonderful- I loaded them up with veggies, shrimp and sausage. The orange and grapefruit juice are squeezed fresh every morning and are such a wonderful way to start the day. I always had to have a couple of crepes with fresh berries, nuts and some chocolate drizzle. Also the chocolate chip scones are a wonderful way to indulge- it is vacation after all. Service at breakfast was always very friendly and we never had much of a wait with our cooked to order eggs. I know many reviewers have made complaints about it but it well exceeded our expectations. We also enjoyed the daily "afternoon tea" which we took to calling "snack time" and consists of hot coffee and tea, finger sandwiches and an assortment of cookies- be sure and try the coconut cookies! We ordered room service for breakfast the morning after our wedding and we enjoyed it out on our massive balcony. It was lovely and perfect for our first breakfast as a married couple but for any other occasion, I would recommend the included breakfast. We stayed in a one bedroom suite which I checked into the night before the wedding. We had a small group of friends and family with us and chose to pick up local food from Smokey's to serve in our suite for the rehearsal dinner. It was wonderful for entertaining, spacious enough to spead out comfortably and enjoy the panoramic view of Grace Bay. The rooms are immaculate and comfortably arranged. We instantly felt at home. I used the espresso machine daily and we did do a bit of laundry- detergent and fabric softener are provided. We used the fridge for water, creamer, alcohol and leftovers. We did not cook any meals but did have a few snacks. Between the breakfast and snack time (tea) provided, you barely need it. There are such fantastic restaurants to enjoy it would almost be a shame to stay in your room for dinner. We were at Grace Bay Club when Hurricane Sandy passed by. Provo was not affected much but the resort did provide us with flashlights just in case. They also offered a complimentary lunch buffet with open bar as consolation to guests that weather was not ideal. It got windy and the water did get rough enough that there was no sailing once or twice. It did not interfere with our enjoyment though. We were still able to go out diving (you don't miss the sun when you are 90 feet below the surface of the ocean!) We also still used the beach and pool beds for lounging both with and without the sun. The water is a different but still lovely and calming shade of blue when weather is overcast. We enjoyed going out on the Hobie Cats a couple of times, it is a wonderful way to break up an afternoon on the beach. We took some long walks down the beach in both directions and were often the only people as far as we could see. We took the bikes out a couple of times to explore shops and ride to dinners that would have been a long walk. We enjoyed the adults only pool and hot tub but never got around to trying the pool bar. Beach service was excellent, you put up a flag and a server comes right over to get your order. We enjoyed a couples massage together at the Spa followed by a sit in our separate steam rooms. I got a mani/pedis the day before the wedding with our moms and my bridesmaids. We ordered in some cocktails and light snacks to enjoy and they were brought to us in the Spa. The spa team is very friendly and does a great job. I returned a few times later in the week for touch ups on both my fingers and toes, they are very understanding of how hard the salt water and sand can be on your nails and go above and beyond to take care of their guests. In fact, EVERY staff member we interacted with at Grace Bay Club went our of their way to see to our every need and desire. They really take customer service and satisfaction seriously in every area. I am already looking forward to an opportunity to return to Grace Bay Club and revisit the site that brought me such joy and so many precious memories.