HELP from Sandals Brides past and present

blackpearl916 · June 12, 2008

I just spoke with the miami coordinator regarding our upcoming wedding. Fi and I recently decided to have local courthouse ceremony (just the two of us and a witness) before we go to Jamaica and have "official" ceremony with friends/family at Sandals. The coordinator told me that I could not do it because the ceremony performed in Jamaica is a legal ceremony and they do not offer mock ceremonies. Her only resolution is to do the vow ceremony at 9:00 am (only time left) and also pay an extra $200 (even though we are staying in conceirge suite for 11 days!!!). I am beyond pissed off at this point and about ready to say the hell with Sandals and find another hotel.

For Sandals brides

1. Did any of you do legal ceremony before going to Jamaica?

2. Did you do vow ceremony or go through the wedding ceremony?

3. How the heck do I get around all these stupid stipulations Sandals seems to create?

Please HELP. I have 3 months left and would really hate change all our plans now. Especially since we have guests staying at Beaches/Sandals specifically so that they could join in the wedding without paying the extra day fees.

bridget917 · June 14, 2008

You should try posting this on the Sandals & Couples board. I'm getting married at Sandals but doing the actual ceremony there.

AmandaR · June 17, 2008

1. Did any of you do legal ceremony before going to Jamaica?

DH and I were married at SGOR, and we were legally married beforehand due to DH losing his job just 6 weeks before the wedding. A little stressful, but he ended up finding a new job just a couple weeks before we left!

2. Did you do vow ceremony or go through the wedding ceremony?

We went ahead and did the Wedding Ceremony like we originally planned.

3. How the heck do I get around all these stupid stipulations Sandals seems to create?

We decided to not tell Sandals that we were legally married. They do make you sign a paper when you meet with the on-site WC that states you are not already legally married. If they question it, I plan on telling them that we took that to mean that we were not legally married in Jamaica. Of course, we're only 4 weeks out from our wedding, and marriage licenses from Jamaica take up to 12 weeks, so I'm not positive yet what the outcome will be.

Since you've already told them, my recommendation would be to explain to your WC, or even her boss, that a set of circumstances made it necessary for you to get married legally, but that you want a symbolic ceremony to share with your friends and family. IMO it's not a mock ceremony. To me a mock ceremony is you two just deciding to see what it feels like to go through a wedding ceremony, and that's not what you're doing.

Good luck!