LisaJoy

Quote:Originally Posted by Jennkn87 I am currently starting the process of trying to determine where our DW will be. I have been wanting to go to Jamaica for my next vacation. I started looking into the US Virgin Islands after I decided I did not want to get married in the "states"....I thought that would be a good way to "get away" but not everyone would need a passport. I then decided I was leaning a little more towards jamaica...being its a little cheaper to fly to. Now I'm at a loss for which resort i would like to choose. At first I was thinking Negril.....I read they have the best beaches...however I'm not a fan of the hour and a half drive from the airport. I am trying to keep costs down, for my guests , as well as us. I definitely want an all inclusive resort, and i would prefer an adults only resort. Right now there is only a possibility of 1-2 teenagers that may attend. I have not contacted anyone on prices. Is there anyone that would be willing to share what their total was that they paid for the wedding? What was your strategy on picking a resort? Everytime I think I have found one that i really like I end up reading a bad review, realizing its not on the beach, or something else negative. Then i feel like I'm back at square one!!! This is stressful already! Congrats on your engagement!! We loved Jamaica and are going back for our first anniversary. We choose Secrets Wild Orchids. After a lot of researching and looking at pictures, here is why: - It's all-inclusive, adult only, built in 2010, liked the "look" of the hotel, only 15 minutes from airport, offered swim out rooms, and (most importantly) has it's own private beaches!! $5,500 for 10 days - received wedding AND honeymoon packages We spent around $14k which included outfits (wedding and non wedding), rings, airfare, hotel....everything. We did not spend on extra items such as gifts, bonfire. We kept it small and intimate. Such an awesome time it was!! 6/28/13-7/8/13 Travel Total $$ Due Wedding Deposit...........$100.00 Photography - 3 hrs......$800.00 Photography - Vendor Fee.........$300.00 Legal Fee......$300.00 Sound System (1 hr.)......$180.00 Bouquet $185 / Boutonniere......$37......$222.00 Cake Topper.....$34.00 Tiki ($8/ea).....$64.00 Hair......$59.00 Makeup.......$49.00 Excursion......$542.00 Resort........$5,550.00 $200 resort credit Bank Fees (3% for out of state) $23.40 $3.00 Wedding Dress $1,473.56 Earrings $34.99 Shoes Alterations $435.00 Groom's Pants/Vest/Aterations $197.45 Groom's Shirt/Tie $50.30 Wedding Band - Raf $435.99 Wedding Band - Lisa $862.45 Travel Insurance $238.00 Airfare $1,528.40 Premarital Counseling $150.00 Notary $40.26 Shipping $56.20 Notary $10.00 Shipping $55.77 Total TOTAL AMOUNT $13,794.77

A review?

Quote:Originally Posted by muneera0302 Â Â dang that sucks. what the heck does one do in that situation! initially i'd be nervous to let them know i'm mad and they turn around and do a terrible job at the pics, but knowing me and my mouth i would have done the same thing, complained to someone! lol i hope you get them back soon. and from reading alot of reviews it seems like many photographers do take a while returning the pics. I'm HUGE on do as you say. If the agreement said it would take a year, then I'd wait a year. Well, I would never book with them...but you know what I mean. I did my best to keep my thoughts to myself but could not it any longer. Trust me, my email to Paula was extremely kind and respectful. Lol I'm a business woman and I have great work integrity and take pride in that. I pray Rounald and Paula appreciate my honest feedback and strive to improve.

Quote:Originally Posted by Mimi127 I am so sorry that you have not received your pictures as of yet. Â What reason are they giving you for not sending out the pictures as of yet? Â That is truly ridiculous. Â I would be pissed. Â Â Keep me posted and let me know how things go as I will let you know if Clayton comes through for me. Rounald claims he has been really busy and said during our wedding to give him 8 weeks. He never said that to us. We'd remember. I have contacted Paula (SunGold Photography) several times, who has, in turn, scolded him for his lack of communication and customer service to us. Apparently, this is an ongoing issue. I was afraid to express my feelings since we do not have our photos in hand. But as each week passes, I get more and more angry. I had money on account with Paula to order a wedding album. I have since asked for that money back and received it. We loved Rounald's personality and know the photos (God willing) will be amazing...whenever we receive them. Rounald said he "needed another week," which was a week and a half ago, when I told him we had a family get together and intended to show the photos at this event. That family get together has come and gone. I emailed Paula yesterday morning and asked her to have Rounald send us our pictures, even if unedited. I'm now at the end of my rope. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!! SO FRUSTRATED!!

Quote:Originally Posted by Mimi127 Â Lisa we used Clayton from Sungold. Â He was awesome. Â I can not wait to see my pictures. Â He is coming to NY in October and has promised to hand deliver them however I would love just to see a few at this very moment but I guess I can wait. Â My husband wants to have a get together when we get them for our friends/family that were unable to come. Â I posted to you on another forum, but we used Rounald (WPA Jamaica) for our July 1st wedding at SWO. We are still waiting our wedding photos, let alone our promised sneak peek. Now going on our 11th week and SO disappointed with Rounald.

Quote:Originally Posted by Mimi127 First I must say the resort is beautiful. You will not be disappointed. When we arrived we were upgraded to the Preferred Club which was a pleasant surprise and it gave us some privacy away from our guests. We had our wedding at the Seawind Beach Club which is next door to the spa. We had some bumps in the road prior to,our wedding but overall mostly everyone was helpful. There were communication issues between the resort and the club so if any of you ladies decide to get married at Seawind you have to stay on top of them as the beach club did not inform the resort that there would be a wedding and the resort gave my photographer a difficult time getting onto the property even though we were paying for a day pass. My MOH literally had to go to the lobby and speak to someone she and befriended to get Clayton in. The strange thing is they did not give my make-up artist Rashel any problems when she arrived they just called the Spa to let me know she was waiting for me. Sidebar: Rashel is so sweet and does a phenomenal job. She informed that Secrets does not like when outside vendors are used and Clayton also told me its one of the most difficult resorts for vendors to get into. As for the spa I went for a manicure, massage and to get my hair done (my stylist was supposed to travel with me and canceled at the last minute). For ladies with short hair cuts the stylist did a decent job but not what I am used to and that could be due to the fact that I am extremely picky when it comes to my hair. Well about an hour before the ceremony was to start there was a unexpected tropical storm. Thank God it didn't last very long but there was a little damage so they wedding started a little late because the club had to set everything back up. Now here is where things get a little tricky. My wedding planner had made arrangements for golf carts to pick up our guest a half hour before the wedding started however when my MOH called she was informed that the cart would only pick me up. What an inconvience and my husband and I both had our grandmothers there and after the storm it felt like the hottest day ever. Fortunately when the reception was over one of the staff was kind enough to drop our grandmothers back at the resort because wephen evening arrives there is no more golf cart service. When I arrived at the beach club I was pleased with how beautifully everything was decorated. Jan's flowers did a great job. Everything looked better than I expected. Her book does no justice for the work provided. My only issue was I did not want my ceremony on the beach and they were well aware of that but somehow that's where it was set up. Oh well it still turned out beautiful. For the cocktail hour we had the steel band. We took some group pictures so we were able to hear a few songs and they were awesome. We also,asked for a blue signature drink which they were able to provide and everyone said the appetizers were great. As for the dinner the food was delicious much better than the food served at the resort not to say the food isn't good there. I enjoyed the cake but my husband didn't. The cake was also provided by Jan's. I don't have any pictures yet only a few from our guest. Our photographer is going to be in NY in October and has promised to hand deliver them however I will post a few that I have. I'm also going to finally work on my planning thread. Better late than never....... I hope Clayton comes through for you in October with your photos. We married July 1st at Secrets using Rounald (WPA Jamaica.) Still have not been given the promised sneak peek and are going on our 11th week. >:? The agreement delivery time is 4-6 weeks. I'm so disappointed right now and have lost all excitement in even seeing our wedding pictures. And yes, I'm made my feelings know to Paula (SunGold) and to Rounald. Congratulations on your marriage!! May God Bless a new chapter/book of happiness, love and respect.

So cute!!! CONGRATULTIONS!! We loved Secrets Wild Orchid and are going back for our 1st Anniversary. Who did you use for your photography?

Quote:Originally Posted by pzl101 Â How long did he shoot for? The photographer I'm about to sign for is an all day package and I'm trying to figure out how to do dinner for him and assistant ... Did you have to provide a meal for Rounad? We booked him for 3 hours. Rounald did stay an extra hour at no charge, which was nice. It rained for a solid 2 hours right up till our wedding start time. Due to moving to the banquet hall, then at the last moment, back to the gazebo....we started 45 minutes than planned. We did not have to provide a meal since it was only 4 hours.

Sorry....Rounad "RS" with WPA Jamaica (associate to SunGold photography). Rounald had a great personality and I'm quite sure the pictures will be amazing. But I'm over the wait....

PHOTOGRAPHY - We used "RS' Rounald for our wedding on July 1st, 2013. The agreement states a delivery time of 4-6 weeks. We are going onto our 10th week...and counting. Not happy at all!! Did not even get a sneak peak on WPA's Facebook page as promised. So glad we took some photos with our own camera that day. My excitement to see the photos has diminished.

We used "RS' Rounald (WPA Jamaica - associate of SunGold) for our wedding on July 1st, 2013. The agreement states a delivery time of 4-6 weeks. We are going onto our 10th week...and counting. Not happy at all!! Did not even get a sneak peak on WPA's Facebook page as promised. So glad we took some photos with our own camera that day. My excitement to see the photos has diminished.

We used "RS' Rounald for our wedding on July 1st, 2013. The agreement states a delivery time of 4-6 weeks. We are going onto our 10th week...and counting. Not happy at all!! Did not even get a sneak peak on WPA's Facebook page as promised. So glad we took some photos with our own camera that day. My excitement to see the photos has diminished.

We used "RS' Rounald for our wedding on July 1st, 2013. The agreement states a delivery time of 4-6 weeks. We are going onto our 10th week...and counting. Not happy at all!! Did not even get a sneak peak on WPA's Facebook page as promised. So glad we took some photos with our own camera that day. My excitement to see the photos has diminished.

Quote:Originally Posted by Mimi127 Hello ladies, I'm back and everything was amazing. Having some Internet connection issues so I will be back shortly to share my experience. Congrats!! Can't wait to see your photos!!

Quote:Originally Posted by TaraHall I was booking through destination weddings, but I am not sure anymore. Glad to hear such great reviews on the other Karisma hotel. Happy planning! I booked through destination weddings and was assigned Cindy Watty with Travel Impressions. She was amazing in coordinating our trip, emailing travel tips up to the moment we left and checked in with me often. I loved her professionalism and caring attitude towards her work. The $50 was worth the spend plus you get to set up a guest list, email invites through their website.

@SWOK - forgot to answer the bonfire. Did not see a wedding party do a bonfire though I believe Alexisinjamaica had one. May want to check with her. The Secrets team planned a bonfire for the resort and cancelled it last minute because it was drizzling. Barely drizzling....and I would have still sat my butt there. Lol Oh well. For only having an hour, I didn't feel the $500(?) was worth it for the bonfire but then again, you have a big group of people where I did not.

Quote:Originally Posted by SWOK I don't know how to thank you enough for your amazing response! you are awesome!!! i totally stalked ur pix on FB and the wedding looked gorg!! congrats again, i hope ur enjoying married life! i cannot wait to get down there! right now, from ur suggestions im trying to decide on having the ceremony on the beach and the reception on the casista or just doing both on the casista. i know you said all the weddings u saw while there were in the gazebo but i will have too many people (i have a very large italian family who are all deciding to join in the fun lol). but i didnt want to have to purchase a chuppa and all that stuff. hmmmm decisions.... how did you get the candlelight dinner. i know u mentionsed something about a honey moon package as well as the wedding package. what was the diff? was it length of stay? how can i get both? bc technically it will be our honeymoon too! lol did you see anyone doing the bonfire?? LOL...you stalker, you! Just kidding. I'm glad you were able to get an idea. I'm still waiting to get my professional photos back from WPA Jamaica. I'll post thoses on FB the second I receive them. lol We loved our simple wedding and are thoroughly enjoying married life! I can imagine your excitement as December is not that far off. Time will fly by, as I'm sure it already is. That is really cool a lot of family and friends are going to be present. You could always do a beach wedding and reception. It really is more private. Hmmm, I wonder if I took a photo of the casita area so you can see it. Whatever you decide to do, people tend to go inside to shower and head to dinner around sunset. The cute little bathrooms are right in the area of the Casita so makes it convenient for you and guests. No worries, the bathrooms are not an issue or an eye sore. Yes, you will technically be on your honeymoon as well but they base it off how many days you are staying AFTER your wedding. For instance, we stayed a total of 10 days. Arrived Friday morning, married Monday and left the following Monday. Because we stayed 7 days after our wedding, we apparently qualified for the Honeymoon pkg. Now please know, I asked about getting both prior to arriving at Secrets. They told me no, you cannot combine two packages. So not sure why the change of heart? May it been a way to "give back" or maybe they overlooked that we indeed did qualify. Either way, we were happy!

Quote:Originally Posted by futuremrsbono Does anyone what the setup cost is if you brings your own decorations/favors/placecards etc.? If you bring sheer panels for the beach casita is that included in the setup fee? There is a small fee for set up. I believe it is $50.

Anyone need a beautiful certified Maggie Sottero "Montana" gown? I am going to sell it. Size - 8, Color - Pearl

**YOU MAY MAKE PAYMENTS TOWARDS YOUR RESORT COSTS** Please continue reading..... Here's the link as mentioned in my above post. https://www.destinationweddings.com/ You pay $50 for the service. A travel agent is assigned to you. You are provided a website to send "Save the Dates" via email or by mail. You can set up Wedding Registry and manage your Guest List. The travel agent will make initial contact with your resort and by the "go to" person throughout your planning process with questions outside the wedding planning. Cindy Watty was my travel agent. She works for Travel Impressions but is part of Destination Weddings. I'm telling you....she was amazing!!! Over the course of a year, I made monthly payments to her for the resort costs. There is an initial $100 to reserve your date with the resort and airline tickets are paid in full at time of booking. All else, payments are accepted which makes life easier!! Cindy sent many travel tips regarding money exchange, protecting your items and even sent a really cute travel pack included suitcase tags. She was very thorough!

Quote:Originally Posted by travelluvr Thanks Ana, yes,...that's helpful. I'm guessing only about 15-20 guests for me. I never thought of allocating a different account for savings (duh) I'll start that ASAP. And maybe I will consider a second part time job. (I'm already a parent/work full time/go to school). So I have to watch the burn out. If anything, I'm going to go on a mission to have the cheapest, most amazing wedding ever then post all about it here! Motivation? Yes! I'm older too (37), so realism of life has really set in. Affordability is first and foremost. When I travel now, I usually do it for $600-$700 all inclusive - including flight from Toronto. So paying these prices booking ahead is painful. I'm a super duper discount traveller, and I really stress about my guests paying so much to attend my wedding. Thanks again What really matters is not a glamourous wedding with lots of guests and glitz. It's about you and your husband. In my earlier years and when I was planning my first wedding, I was thinking the "glitz and glamour." Thank God I walked away prior to that wedding. But when I married the man of my dreams 7/1/13, I wanted it as small and intimate as possible so we could focus on each other and not all our guests. We spent $15k which included literally...everything down to some clothes we purchased to wear while in Jamaica, excursions, etc. We only had 8 guests. Not many family members could afford to go or had children. Our resort was adult only and took a group vote asking people, with kids, who was planning to go. I'm assuming the people who are paying mucho bucks make a lot of money ....and lucky them!! I would not get another job in order to afford a wedding unless I was really broke. You are already busy with work, parenting and school. We made payments as the year progressed. I signed up with Destination Weddings who coordinated travel plans and initial contact with the resort wedding department. Cindy Watty (our travel agent through Travel Impressions) did an amazing job! She made my life so easy. We paid for the airline tickets up front, put $100 deposit on the resort to hold the date and made payments over the course of the year. It was nonstressful and seamless process.

Quote:Originally Posted by jrebecky I am getting married at Secrets St. James Nov. 1st. Â I really want to do the candlelight private dinner. Â Was it on the one of the beaches at the resort or did you get transported somewhere else? Â Also, how did you end up getting it for free? Â But, it is $390 if you have to pay for it? Â Thanks! Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! So exciting. There are several locations they set up the private candlelight dinner - in the gazebo, on the beach and on the rock walls. We did not get an option. If you do, I'd ask for the rock wall. The beach is not private in the earlier time slots plus you get sand in your shoes. To me, the gazebo is closed in where I like the open space. We were planning to pay the $390 but ended up being free. Since we married on a Monday and left the followng Monday, we qualified not only for the Wedding Package but the Honeymoon Package as well. They initially told me we could not combine the two. But at checkin, they gave us the Honeymoon package on their own.

Holy crap to spending $60k on a destination wedding!!! But hey, if you have the money to spend.....