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Wow! Thanks for all the fabulous information!! You have definitely done a lot of planning!! When is your wedding?

Have you guys decided on a resort? I know you have been considering the Grand. Once you decide and book it will be a relief!

We are just going to check bags on the plane. If needed I will have my mom bring an extra bag with her. I'm guessing it is cheaper to pay the bag fees than ship stuff to Jamaica.

Hi Jennkn87. We picked our date after we had booked our trip. It was just based on the availability for our resort. I wasn't too concerned with a specific date just trying to get a date as close to the weekend as possible. I hope this helps!

Quote: Originally Posted by Jennkn87 I think I have finally made my decision to pick Iberostar Grand for our wedding. I feel like if I keep reading reviews and checking out other resorts I will NEVER get a decision made!! I have spoken to the TA from Wright Travel Agency on the phone once. Thus far, she has been pretty quick to get back with me. I have never booked anything through a travel agent before so I'm not sure exactly what to be asking, types of deals I may get. I'm hoping that I can continue to use her and that she does an awesome job! Makes the planning a WHOLE lot let stressful!! Now to pick a date!! How did everyone decide on their date? I was thinking October, however, while reading some other reviews on one of the Grands sister sites they said that due May being a less busy time for the resort, they shut down some of the restaurants. I don't want to run into this when we are there, but I also don't want to have to RUSH to get everything planned to have it in six months, as well as pay even more for high season rooms. I am trying to keep the costs as low as possible. Hopefully this happens!! Any of your thoughts and/or opinions are GREATLY appreciated!! Thanks so much everyone! Hi Jennkn87 - my only advice I can offer is make sure the TA is getting you the best incentives for what you are booking. This is my lesson learned....I've seen multiple posts where brides are receiving a free room/nights for so many rooms booked. Unfortunately, we did not look into this very much and I think I could have done better. But we have booked with our travel agent and it is what it is. Just make sure they are working for you. I pretty much picked my date based on what was available at the resort. We had booked our trip so I reached out to the wedding coordinators asking about the available dates and we picked from those available. I wasn't very picky, just wanted it to be around a weekend for those coming in for the wedding. I would just confirm with the wedding coordinators about any potential shutdowns, but I wouldn't think they would shutdown in October...seems to be a pretty popoualr month for the Carribean. I think you will find things you can DIY to keep costs down. It really just depends on how many people you think will come to the DW and what you want to do. We aren't expecting a ton of family/friends to I'm hoping to keep it under 30 people so we can do the semi-private dinner at one of the restaurants. I don't necessarily want to have a full blown reception as I don't want the added expense. We are also doing an AHR, so I'm trying to budget costs for both. I hope this helps! Jen

Hi TrooDIVA. Congrats or you as well! I haven't started planning much and I'm hoping it won't be too crazy but that might be wishful thinking! . We won't have a huge group with us, so I'm hoping that will elevate some of the planning stress. I am not using Digipix as I was not impressed with their pix on their website. And I've seen a few bad reviews on here and the Facebook group. So, I am bringing my own photographer with me. I have seen some reviews where brides used other Jamaica photographers and were very happy! I kinda feel the same about Tai Flora...most reviews have been about about their high prices. I have heard great reviews on Floral Fantasies but I'm not sure if we can use them at the Grand. When is your wedding? We are getting married April 27th!! I know it will be here before I know it! I am contemplating on a DIY project for my invitations but I'm afraid I will be overly critical and it will take me forever! Haha.

The travel agent I used was recommended by a friend that did a destination wedding last year. I've been happy with her except one thing...I don't feel like we are getting many incentives if we have so many people book. I've read on here that many brides received free rooms or nights based on the number of people that booked. My advice is to address this up front with any potential TA and make sure they will get you the most incentives. That is my only regret that I didn't do.

Great ideas for the wording! Thanks!

I just sent my STD this month for our April wedding. I totally understand about trying to save money. I actually found a great deal on vistaprint for the STD. I also had a Groupon which helped as well. It seems like they have Groupons every so often! But....I think you can do whatever works best for you!

Hi Jennkn87. I tried to reply the other day but I guess it didn't post...thank you and congrats to you as well! We did book through a travel agent and I would recommend doing so. But make sure you find one that will offer you the most incentives for the rooms/trips you book. We have our date and trip booked. We did not book a block of rooms, just referring everyone to our travel agent. Good luck on selecting your destination! We haven't been to the Grand, but from all the reviews it sounds fabulous!! :cheers:

Great job! These turned out great!

These are awesome!! Thanks for sharing!

Awesome invites!! They look fabulous! Does anyone still have a template for this design?

Quote: Originally Posted by Jennkn87 Congratulations! I too am leaning towards booking at the Iberostar Grand for a projected fall 2014 wedding. We are thinking October. I am waiting on a travel agent to get back with me before booking! Did you book through a TA? Have you only booked your wedding date or have you booked rooms as well? I just feel like I'm skipping steps! My head is all over the place when I'm looking through this site! I am already overwhelmed with all the different things there are to plan and look at. I feel like I spend hours upon hours on this site as well as others and I really never get anywhere with anything!! I have found SOOOOO many ideas and helpful threads on here already. I wish I could find more recent ones, however. I'd love to hear some of your ideas, insights! It's too exciting! Thanks!! Congrats to you as well!! We did book through a travel agent and i would strongly recommend doing that. Honestly, I'm not sure we got the best deal with the travel agent especially booking multiple rooms. I've seen some posts on this website where people received incentives from the resort for booking so many people. My advice is to make sure your travel agent will do this for you. Unfortuantely, I asked the question after we had already book and I think we are getting a few perks, but probably not as much as we could have. We have the trip booked as well as our wedding date. The one thing I really liked about the Iberostar is that they only hold one wedding per day per resort (Grand, Suites, Beach), which I think is fantastic!! I agree...there are so many great ideas on this site! My head has been spinning. I'm just afraid I won't remember it all when it comes time to actually do some of the things. We don't have much planned at this point....I have sent STD's and started a wedding website, but I feel like that is about it. I'm happy to share any ideas or thoughts with you. Feel free to private message me.

Daniellie - great planning thread! Your wedding looks amazing! Congrats to you and your husband!

Do any Grand brides know if you can use Floral Fantasies at the Grand? It looks like in this thread there was some confusion about using a florist other than Tai Floral. Any insight is appreciated! Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by ChelseaCat802 DIY Table Runners: I saw these AMAZING table runners on Etsy but they were $20 a piece - yeah false! I decided I was going to finally learn how to sew and take a wack at making my own. So that's what I did - I purchased all of the material at Joann's with coupons and made my own runners! I love how they turned out. I am going to alternate the turquoise and coral chevron on each table. This is what I'm thinking for table settings. What do you all think? DIY Post Card Guest Book: I put these together last night. I put one post card in each glassine envelope I bought on Amazon and put an avery label I printed on it. I really like how they turned out, I'm going to have one per place setting so hopefully they will take the time to fill them out, or have the option of sending them back to us after the wedding ( I would prefer before we leave Jamaica though so they actually do it!). Love the table runners!!! Great job! Awesome thread! Thanks for all the info!

Thank you for posting all the reviews!! Congrats on your wedding!!

Hi! I am getting married at the Grand in April. We aren't sure how many people will join us, but hoping for around 30. I would welcome any tips or advice from any brides! We haven't been to the resort but from all the reviews I'm sure it will be AMAZING!! I thinking about doing the bonfire after our welcome dinner. Any thoughts? Thanks!!

We are getting married April 2014 and my STD went out 2 weeks ago. I'm thinking about sending invites in January, after the holiday madness. 😄. We are also doing a AHR in May and I found some cheap STD on vistaprint for that as well!

Hello! I am getting married in April 2014 at the Iberostar Grand Rose Hall in Jamaica. Any insight or suggestions are apprciated. I haven't started much on the planning yet, we only have our date (4/27/14). Thanks!! Jen

Hi! I am new to this site and forum but it seems like there is a lot of GREAT information on here! We are getting married in April 2014 at the Iberostar Grand Rose Hall in Jamaica. We haven't done much planning yet, but excited to get started!

Hi! I am getting married at the Grand in April 2014. I haven't started planning much as we aren't sure how many people will be coming. I would love any feedback, tips or ideas as we haven't been to the resort. We booked it based on all the rave reviews. We are thinking of a beach ceremony and then indoor dinner. One question I have: are most of you having a legal ceremony in Jamaica? I was thinking about getting legally married in the U.S. before we leave for Jamaica but some things I've been reading the legal ceremony seems pretty easy. Thanks!!