SarahJ

Hi ladies, just a quick one. Did anyone use the Arrecife Studio for their wedding day photographers? Do you know if these are the photographers that the wedding planners recommend? Any reviews welcome please? Thanks

Samantha 262....congratulations on your forthcoming wedding...this forum is fantastic & I'm so pleased I found it as it has put my mind at rest that we made the right choice to have our wedding at the GBP Runaway Bay! I can't wait...13 weeks to go for me. Regarding pictures that all previous brides have added if you are viewing on a laptop down the right hand side you should see a few pics & it says "view all" this will take you to the gallery. I loved looking at all the pics, they reassure you how beautiful your wedding pics will be :-)

Pask454 - Congratulations...sounds like you had a fantastic wedding. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. I understand know what you mean about the photographer and I'll just have to hope they aren't like that on my day...if not my fiancee will have a few choice words for them! lol....surely if we are paying them they should do as we ask and if we say they are invading our private space too much they should respect that!?! Unfortunately we do not have anyone going that I feel would be able to take professional photos for us...

I keep having bad dreams about it....I turn up and I havent got my dress, my hair, make-up and nails arent done etc etc....so hearing your experience hopefully will help me to relax more subconsiously....I think thats a nice touch that strangers congratulate you....I hope I feel as special as you did..I like the way the table was laid out for your reception. We only have 12 guests joining us so I think they will probably put us all on the one table too. Was yours in the Dolce Vita?

Oh wow, 1 year already JayKay...congratulations...time certainly does go too quickly! I'm sure once I have all the final touches in place i'll be able to relax and start to get excited. But I know i'm going to be so nervous on the day....i'm not a very good public speaker so being the centre of attention is my worst nightmare! Perhaps we should have had a wedding just the 2 of us! lol...

Thanks JayKay, I've had to email regarding my colour scheme & bouquet so I'll I've asked them also about whether they wi put my favors out so I'll see what they reply! It's only 3 months now, I'm not sure if im getting scared or excited! Lol

Hi ladies....just a quick question. Do Chandlyn and Donnalee decorate the tables at the reception meal for us i.e. laying out the favours and tying the chair ties etc or do I need to do myself? Thanks.

Pask454....CONGRATULATIONS.. ) pleased to hear you had an amazing time. Cant wait to read your review. I'd be completely lost without all the ladies on here offering their experiences for us all to read. Regarding the resort photographer, you say he gets right in your face...what do you mean by this please? We are using the resort photographer so I'd like to know what to expect & if I need to be prepared to tell him to back at off....lol....

Cdnbridelinzy....good luck & congratulations. Hope everything is as wonderful as you've dreamt it to be. I bet you'll have a magical day :-) can't wait to read all about it ( after you have had a well & truly relaxing honeymoon of course! ). All the best. ENJOY...whoop whoop

Sorry this was meant to be in reply to cdnbridelinzy....thanks )

These are beautiful. Thank you for sharing with us all. I get the idea now of where I need to start and the kind of things I need to include. Do they have to take up a particular amount of time? or could they be quite short? Thanks again.

Thanks for sharing this....it looks like a lot of us will be sitting down and attempting to write our own vows now then! lol....

Thanks. We're not religious either but I wouldn't even know where to begin with writing our own vows!!! How long do they have to be?

Hi ladies. I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and is now looking forward to the New Year celebrations. Just a couple of questions. 1) should I be requesting a menu for my reception meal at the Dolce Vita and inform them what meals we want before we arrive ? I just assumed this was a set menu that we'd choose from on the night of the wedding. 2) Does the minister for the wedding have the standard marriage vows as we are not writing our own, we are happy with just the standard wedding vows but i'm not sure if i'm meant to take them or if they already have them at the hotel? Thanks.

Sbelland - thanks for the heads up re the nails. I'll send the email again just in case. I have read from someone whose just cone back from there that apparently the salon is having building work done so I wondered if perhaps they're not working at the mo!

Hi again ladies. I just wondered has anyone previously had to cancel a treatment at the spa? I made a reservation when we first booked the wedding for manicure, pedicure, bridal hair and make-up but I now want to cancel the manicure as have decided to get my nails done in the UK before I fly (my natural nails keep breaking and I dont want to risk them not being long enough for the actual day of the wedding so thought acrylics would be the best bet to ensure nice looking nails). Funnily enough previously when I've emailed the spa they have ALWAYS replied same day, now I have sent an email asking to cancel the manicure but keep all other treatments booked I have had no response after 3 days. Does anyone think they will make me pay for this treatment even though I no longer want it ? Good luck and congratulations to all the brides that are leaving in the next few weeks for their wedding at the GBP Runaway Bay. On a completely seperate note I have been reading some (not so good) reveiws regarding the resort lately and I wondered if any previous brides could put my mind at risk. I have been warned about ladies and men being followed back to their rooms by certain individuals offering "companionship" in exchange for money! This slightly scares me - especially for the female guests we have joining us. Despite this particular review I have also read many, many good reviews

Thanks. Wow $90 is alot, I think I'll just hang up as soon as I get there and steam it in the bathroom the night before the wedding!

I definitely am glad that we chose a wedding abroad, I dread to think what a bag of nerves I would be otherwise! This way I can allow myself to get excited because I have very little to worry about. Although if I hadn't of found this forum and got all of your help I think I would be panicking tenfold! So thank you so much that's a great idea about the lotion sets for the co-ordinators, I'm in England so perhaps I will get them something from Lush which does the most amazing bath accessories - you only have to walk down the road the shop is on and you can smell the gorgeous aromas. Thanks for the heads up! I hope you're enjoying married life and life is treatin you and your family well. No doubt I will be back with more questions at some point! Ha ha. X

Thanks JayKay, that helps alot. As the time gets nearer the more issues are springing to mind and I'd like to get them all sorted before I go so I can relax! I bet none of our guests have thought to request separate beds! That could be interesting for the lads that are sharing!!! Ha ha, I'll let evety1 know they should speak to the tour operator before they travel. Thanks for the explanation regarding tips, I understand now. :-) would you say $20 is a fair tip for having my hair & makeup done? And $20 each for the 2 wedding co-ordinators? Do we need to tip the photographers too? :confused:

Thanks JayKay. So did you request the different rooms before you arrived at the hotel through your tour operator or can we sort when we arrive? Thanks for the heads up regarding tips...I'm always unsure and end up tipping far too much! So when you say the salon dont accept cash, does this include tips then? and instead they ask you if you want to leave a tip and you say yes and tell them how much, say $20 and they add to your room bill or do they just automatically charge you a tip? I'm having a hair and make-up trial the day before my wedding so do you think I should tip both days or i'll be able to get away with just tipping on the day of my wedding?

Hey everyone, can anyone tell me about tipping please ? The ladies that had their hair and makeup done at the salon did you tip at the trial or just on day of your wedding or both ? Also what is the norm for waiters and bar staff etc ? Regarding the rooms can someone tell me if all the rooms are just with 1 king size bed or whether there are rooms with 2 double beds in for non-couple guests? Thanks )

Kdaly...what day are you getting married? I think we established we are out there at the same time didnt we! ) I've got a countdown app on my phone and todays is 5 months and 6 days exactly til the big day...i'm starting to get really excited now ) but still got so much to sort out and pay for (thats the down side!) haha....

Hi JennS, thanks, I will email my holiday provider and see what they say. They might be able to help me. Cheers

Thanks JayKay, that's what I was thinking I was going to have to do. Unfortunately our guests are not joining us until 5 days after we've arrived so i'm going to have to hang my dress in the wardrobe in my room and hope that my groom doesnt peek! Then as soon as my mum arrives I can transfer to her room and I'll ask her to do what your mum did and have it hanging whilst she showers. It's a long flight from the UK for the dress to be packed in a small box so i'm sure mine will be creased (unfortunately).

JayKay or any other past brides at the GBP Runaway Bay. Does the hotel have a wedding dress pressing service or did you all just hang your dresses in your room as soon as you arrived for the creases to drop out ?