Iberostar Grand Rose Hall 2012 Brides!!! :-)

Hi Ladies,

I am super excited for my upcoming December 8, 2012 wedding at Iberostar Grand Rose Hall in Jamaica! :-) If there are any other Brides getting married at Iberostar Grand Rose hall please feel free to join this thread. :-) Even any past Iberostar Grand Brides that can share their recommendations and advice since you guys have been through it already, will be highly appreciated :-) We can exchange ideas, concerns, recommendations on photographer/videographer, etc. Anything your heart desires! :-) Hope to hear from the Iberostar Grand Brides out there! Good luck and happy planning! :-)

Some questions I have so far for the brides out there?

1. I will be having a private reception at the Port Maria. I will have the lanterns with LED battery operated lights hanging to add some light for the room. When I went for my site visit I noticed there is not a lot of lighting in Port Maria. Any ideas on how many lanterns I should purchase?

2. I am also wanting to put sheer white curtains around the Port Maria except for the view of the beach. Is anyone thinking about doing that?

3. Pictures and the video are sooo important to me. Any recommendations for a photographer/videographer?

One Love,

Kristy

Hi Kristy,

Congrats on your wedding! I am a planner in the US (Pennsylvania). I LOVE Iberostar Rose Hall Grand and am actually going there in a couple of weeks. Thought I might answer some questions for you:

Port Maria is a beautiful venue for the reception. When I was there last year I saw two weddings there. One of them had the reception in Port Maria with the shear white curtains -- it was breathtakingly BEAUTIFUL! Very airy and ethereal. 

Regarding the lanterns. I am assuming you mean the round chinese paper lanterns? That would look really nice with the curtains. I wouldn't think about filling the entire space. I would add the lanterns over the area you designate for the dancefloor. So it depends on how big your dance floor would be. The size of the dance floor depends on the number of guests. I would also get the measurements for Port Maria.

The two top wedding photographers in Jamaica are Saab Weddings (http://saabwedding.com/) and Sun Gold Photography (http://www.sungoldphoto.com/). I saw Sun Gold shooting a wedding when I was at Iberostar last year (I think it was Paula). She appeared to be very professional and unobtrusive. Alternately you can import an American photographer to shoot your wedding. For example Laura Novak, a high end photographer out of Philadelphia (starts at about $8,000) shot a wedding last year at Iberostar Grand. The pics are gorgeous.  (http://lauranovak.net/index.cfm?catID=5). Of course there are other US talented photographers in a lower price range. Many photographers love to travel and are sometimes willing to be flexible on price for international weddings.

Hope this helps!!

Lisa

Hi Kristy,

There's a separate Grand forum that you can join and look at past posts and ask questions.  I'm getting married at the Grand on June 10, 2012.  For the photographer, we're using Brian Nejedley.  I looked at several photographers and I thought his work is great without the super high price tag.  He's actually American but now lives in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.  He frequently shoots at the Grand.

For decorations I'm not doing the white fabric (I have seen a few pictures and it looks great), but I am going to have paper lanterns.  The florist that the Grand requires you to use (Tai Floral) actually recommended 50-80 (but she didn't specify a size that they provide).  I'm bringing my own (she charges $275 for each set of 18...you can find them online for a few bucks each).  I have around large 40 large lanterns, plus some large paper flower balls that i plan to hang.  the goal is to fill the space, but no one will give me actual dimensions of the space.  I did get a floor plan (but no dimensions).  Port Maria is actually broken up by several columns and forms smaller area, which may be difficult with a large group.  I'm arriving early, so I plan to walk through the space to lay out the table locations and lanterns on the floor plan a few days before the wedding.

I have a question for you, since you've actually seen the space.  Janielle has told me that there is a private beach location for the ceremony.  But all the photos I've seen show ceremonies taking place on the beach right in front of the pool.  Did you see the private location?  I really don't want to have random people at my ceremony (which is one reason I chose the Grand over the Suites).

Good luck!
 

Originally Posted by kpalomo 

Hi Ladies,

 

I am super excited for my upcoming December 8, 2012 wedding at Iberostar Grand Rose Hall in Jamaica! :-) If there are any other Brides getting married at Iberostar Grand Rose hall please feel free to join this thread. :-) Even any past Iberostar Grand Brides that can share their recommendations and advice since you guys have been through it already, will be highly appreciated :-) We can exchange ideas, concerns, recommendations on photographer/videographer, etc. Anything your heart desires! :-) Hope to hear from the Iberostar Grand Brides out there! Good luck and happy planning! :-)

 

Some questions I have so far for the brides out there?

 

1. I will be having a private reception at the Port Maria. I will have the lanterns with LED battery operated lights hanging to add some light for the room. When I went for my site visit I noticed there is not a lot of lighting in Port Maria. Any ideas on how many lanterns I should purchase?

 

2. I am also wanting to put sheer white curtains around the Port Maria except for the view of the beach. Is anyone thinking about doing that?

 

3. Pictures and the video are sooo important to me. Any recommendations for a photographer/videographer?

 

 

One Love,

 

Kristy

Hi Kristy, 

I'm having my wedding their in January! Do you know if you can put a dance floor in the Port Maria, or do you need to move to the disco for dancing? 

Thanks!

Katelyn

Hi Katelyn,

I am actually at the Iberostar Grand on vacation now. The floor is tiled so you don't need to add a dance floor. They are also extending it to make it larger (by about 6 feet all around it looks like).

FYI to Kristy. Don't know that the paper lanterns are going to work. The ceilings are high and they have fans hanging from the ceiling everywhere. Anyway they have wood inlaid in the ceiling which would be beautiful to look at... I am not sure you will be able to attach the lanterns to the ceiling anyway.

Hope this helps!

Lisa

Hi Lisa, 

Thank you so much for responding! I'm going to do a site visit in a week. I'm meeting with Janielle and the florist. Are there any other vendors you would recommend that I meet with while I'm there?

Thank you,
Katelyn

Hi Lisa,

Did you get a chance to see the private beach ceremony location?  i still haven't decided if I'm having a beach or terrace ceremony because I'm waiting to find out if the alternate beach location is really private (I really don't want gawkers in speedos).

Also, I've seen photos of paper lanterns hanging at Port Maria, I think they hang them from the lower ceiling levels.  I'm planning to bring some, so hopefully it works out.  Janielle said they would hang them for me.

Originally Posted by lisaeloine 

Hi Katelyn,

 

I am actually at the Iberostar Grand on vacation now. The floor is tiled so you don't need to add a dance floor. They are also extending it to make it larger (by about 6 feet all around it looks like).

 

FYI to Kristy. Don't know that the paper lanterns are going to work. The ceilings are high and they have fans hanging from the ceiling everywhere. Anyway they have wood inlaid in the ceiling which would be beautiful to look at... I am not sure you will be able to attach the lanterns to the ceiling anyway.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Lisa

Hi Leah22!

Just got back from Iberostar Grand. Wow - it was amazing! You and your guests will not be disappointed with this place. Everyone there is very attentive, polite and professional. I did tour all the wedding sites and watched a couple weddings. I have to tell you that if you want a private wedding, the main beach location (in front of the pool) is not private at all. You are basically in the middle of the property. You have the people from the infinity pool looking from the back and the lounge chairs on your left and right. That said, it happens to be a very pictureque location especially the way you enter the beach. If you have your wedding as late as possible (5pm or 5:30 - you will have less "gawkers").

The side beach location is more private (though not 100%). You are not in the middle of the property. You don't have the pool behind you. If you are facing the ocean, there is no one to your left. But people to the right can still see you. You are farther away from beach loungers (gawkers) If you really want a beach wedding and a bit more privacy, this is your best option. 

The terrace area is the most private and is also a pretty location overlooking the property.

I did a tour with Angelie (she is sooooo nice). She did tell me that you could add the lanterns around the edge and explained how they do it. 

Here are a couple pics of the beach...

Hope this helps!

Hi Connolly,

I think the florist is the most important. Take LOTS of pictures for every angle. You'll be surprised how much you forget when you leave. 

Did you decide on a photographer? If you are using the in-house photographer or Sungold Photographery (who shoots there all the time), then you could probably wait until you go down for your wedding to meet them and get familiar. 

Lisa

Ughhhh, I'm getting nervous about the dinner planning b/c our RSVP's are nearing 30. Who new everyone would jump on the chance to go to Jamaica?! I currently have 23 people booked, four definites who still need to book and a few maybes. Under thirty is a semi- private dinner where I only have to worry about table decor (budget friendly). If I hit thirty and am required to rent the Port Maria for a private reception/ dinner. I don't know where to begin with decorations. Bring my own or allow Tai Flora to do their thing? How large the space? Get a DJ or just stick with the playing of soft music in the background on the PA (my actual cocktail hour plan)?

I am using Merrick Cousley as my photographer.