April wedding Sunset Jamaica Grande

[pook2b]

Wedding Review SJG

 

I managed to get as many details as I could before traveling to Jamaica as I was so worried things would go wrong. I really shouldn't have worried. It all went fine. I had emailed Ester our wedding co-ordinator many times as I hadn't really heard from anyone since I had booked with Virgin. Here's how it went... We booked just over a year before we were due to travel. Firstly I had to send copies of birth certificates, divorce certificates, passports and for the Sunset jamaica Grande, I also needed to send copies of our driving licenses. These copies had to be certified by a solicitor then sent to Virgin to be forwarded on to Jamaica.. We were also required to take the originals with us. (Later I found out this was in case the copies weren't satisfactory- ours were). We then had confirmation of the date and time along with a list of optional extras. We filled this in and again sent it back to Virgin. This all happened in the first month. It then went really quiet and I began to get worried. I emailed our wedding co-ordinator who assured me that everything would be fine, leave it to her and she would mail me about a month before we flew just to check things were ok. This frightened me a bit, ONE MONTH, I was sure we would need to communicate before then. I set about choosing clothes for everyone. There were 8 in our party, Hubby to be, Mother in law, Father in law, Brother in law, Step son and Step daughter, My daughter and myself. As the wedding was in April, I had decided to try and relax till after christmas. This wasn't easy. I then emailed Esther again with lots of questions. She was great and answered them all and confirmed an appointment time for us to meet the morning after we arrived at SJG. I had also read as many different reviews as possible to gain extra tips. I had already emailed and requested the south tower and a lower level as we all prefer not to be too high up. We then flew to Jamaica. On the plane we were presented with Champagne and chocolates. On arrival to the hotel the staff all knew there was a wedding party and made us feel really special. We checked in with no problem and were shown to our room. It had been upgraded to an ocean view and was beautiful. We hung up our dresses/clothes and tried to forget the wedding till the next morning. When we met Esther she was so so friendly. She gave us a book of photo's and told us to check out the flowers. We choose the style and color and she phoned the florist whilst we were there. She then booked the spa for my hair and make up. She had previously booked the photographer and DVD guy. We chose a small photo package as we knew family would take lots of pictures too. Warning either do not chose your photo package in advance or chose a small package and upgrade after. We struggled to find 24 pictures that were more outstanding than the pictures family had taken...and they are a lot of money too. Esther showed us the wedding spots, the beach gazebo or the garden gazebo. We chose the beach gazebo because this went out into the ocean and was a little more private, (Its beautiful too). The garden gazebo is very close to sunbathers. Esther told us what time to get ready and told my husband to be downstairs in her office 30 minutes before the wedding (to put on flower, chat with minister and start the DVD rolling whilst on the way to the gazebo) Esther then said she would collect me 15 minutes before the ceremony. That was is, we were all set. We started to relax and I checked out the spa and found they did a Jamaica bride package for $70 more than what I was going to pay and it included a massage, pedicure and manicure. I asked if they could change it and they said it would be fine. I had the massage the day before by a guy called Courtney and my manicure and pedicure followed by Michelle. Whilst I was having the manicure and pedicure I could feel an atmosphere, I asked Michelle and she said that as i was having a package that cost $155 they were unsure of how to split the money as I would be having four therapists treating me by the time I had also had my hair and make up done. It was very tense and I felt like I was doing them out of money. Michelle said the tips were the only real source of income and they relied on it. She also went on to tell me about her poor lifestyle, Yes I felt bad for her but I was here to feel good. She even gave me a piece of paper with her address on and asked if I could send gifts from England. I was really uncomfortable. Anyway, I walked out feeling relaxed but guilty.Next morning, the girls, mother in law and I went to the spa to have our hair done. Our hair looked amazing and would definately recommend them for the hair however the makeup was a different matter. I didn't realize how heavy it was until the DVD was replayed. It looked ok in the photo's, but beware girls, you may have a line around your chin. This is the only thing I would have done differently. I would have done my own. That was hair and make up done. Back up to the room to avoid seeing future hubby. It all seemed so quick and the next thing we knew, Esther had called to say she was on her way up. She arrived at the door and helped me into my dress. Then we went down in the lift and went into her office to collect our bouquets. We walked through the lobby were everyone clapped us. It was great. The girls thought it was fab. We walked down the steps and headed for the gazebo. I could see my future hubby with his family. They sent the pageboy back towards us with the ring cushion so he could lead our parade. Our song played and the pageboy walked slowly to the gazebo followed by the girls throwing petals. I followed behind and new I was about to marry the man of my dreams. We said our vows and were pronounced man and wife and then the minister continued with the vows we had requested that included the children. Please contact me if you would like a copy. We then sat under the gazebo to sign the registar where the minister also did our family unity candle ceremony. This again was lovely. And then... the photo's began. We had photo's taken in every possible angle and combination. Beware, Photographer doesn't like anyone else taking pictures, but its your wedding, let your family take pictures too. After an hour of pictures we were led to the gazebo again were there was champagne and the cake set out for us. We had speeches, ate and drank and then got out of the sun. I was a married woman, yeehaaa. As we got married at 11am we decided to get changed after the wedding but kept our hair in. We spent the day chilling out (it seemed to fly by). We then had a table for 8 in the south grill in the evening. A perfect evening to a perfect day. The sunset was beautiful whilst we ate. The pictures were ready 2 days later and the DVD 3 days later. The DVD is a must, its so good. The music and editing was great. As I said before, the pictures were 'ok'. I'm sorry this is taking so long, but I wanted all you future brides to have an insight that I didn't. Please contact me if you want any more info.