How far in advance did you book your DW?

[kevsgirl]

8 months. We booked in May for December.

 

We didn't buy our flights though until August! That stressed me out a bit

[BakersGirl]

We booked about 14+ months out.

[islandbride317]

I am planning on a May 2010 wedding, and when we spoke to our at-home TA in January this year, she was also unable to give us exact pricing (but that really isn't her fault, as she informed us that airfare pricing isn't available until at least 330 days out). I was glad to hear that Sandals does price-matches if you book and then the room goes on sale...what a relief!

 

But, if you are sure of where you want to go, I'd say book-away! I wanted to take a few months to speak to our family members about the pros and cons of various Sandals resorts, and find the best fit for everyone and their budget. Glad we did, too! My sister said that our original choice of Sandals Grande St. Lucian was going to be out of her price range and she may not be able to attend, so we did a little more research and landed on SGOR which offered much more comfortable prices for everyone!

 

We plan to book by the end of May, which would put us around 1 year out. I can't wait, either -- the feeling of making it "official" will be AMAZING, won't it?

 

Best regards,

Christie

[JennyK]

I started my site visits a little over a year in advance but we only got pricing from TA's 3-8 months before. You'll always get better deals after high season is over.

[JenniferSS]

Hi Christie!

 

What I tell my Sandals Grande St. Lucian brides who really want that resort but are concerned about the price for guests is to suggest that their guests stay at Sandals Halcyon! It's less expensive but their guests have access to the other two Sandals properties in St. Lucia (without a day pass fee) and even get transportation provided!

 

Airfare however will be much less to Jamaica -average price 350-550 /Airfare to St. Lucia (UVF) 550-750. You may also want to look at Sandals Whitehouse or Sandals Dunns River Villagio (Jamaica) for a similiar experience and quality to Sandals Grande St. Lucian- again this depends on how much your guests can budget !

 

For Sandals, I would highly encourage the brides to book early as Sandals provides room pricing at almost 2 yrs out ( and will adjust if a sale comes along) but you can not reserve your wedding date & time until your room is on deposit! So if you have a specific date & time in mind it could be taken by another bride!

 

I already have 6 weddings booked & reserved for the first half of 2010!

 

For other properties in the Caribbean and in Mexico generally you can get rates at about a year ou and yes the airfare schedules aren't released until 330 days- although they typically are a bit high at that point! (Plus you'll likely encounter several schedule changes by the time you actually travel

 

TA Jennifer

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by islandbride317 I am planning on a May 2010 wedding, and when we spoke to our at-home TA in January this year, she was also unable to give us exact pricing (but that really isn't her fault, as she informed us that airfare pricing isn't available until at least 330 days out). I was glad to hear that Sandals does price-matches if you book and then the room goes on sale...what a relief!   But, if you are sure of where you want to go, I'd say book-away! I wanted to take a few months to speak to our family members about the pros and cons of various Sandals resorts, and find the best fit for everyone and their budget. Glad we did, too! My sister said that our original choice of Sandals Grande St. Lucian was going to be out of her price range and she may not be able to attend, so we did a little more research and landed on SGOR which offered much more comfortable prices for everyone!   We plan to book by the end of May, which would put us around 1 year out. I can't wait, either -- the feeling of making it "official" will be AMAZING, won't it?   Best regards, Christie

[islandbride317]

AWESOME advice, yet again, Jennifer!

 

Since I originally had my heart set on Sandals Grande St. Lucian, I think that is where we will be going for our 1 year anniversay. With not only airfare costs but room accomodation costs being a major factor in whether or not some of our guests can make it to the wedding, we are most likely going to do 4 nights and the ceremony at SGOR and then an additional 3-night mini-moon at Sandals Royal Caribbean when our guest leave. While my FI and I are planning on staying in only concierge level rooms at both resorts, some of our guest are completely cool with staying in the least-expensive room SGOR has to offer; if that's what they want to do, we'll just be happy to have them there!

 

You recommended Whitehouse or SDR though, so I will be looking into those resort further before we set our mini-moon! I just liked the idea of SRC being so close to the airport when we have to leave -- we will have already made the 1.5/2 hour trek up from Ocho Rios midway through our vacation!

 

Many thanks!

Christie

[kaiko]

haha - for giggles, I tried to get pricing from Sandals web site for rooms for my Nov 2011 wedding at SDR and found something interesting...

 

SGOR's said that no rooms were available (a good message to indicate it's too early to book) but SDR's is quoting me at $139,986 for a seven night stay in any level room. That's a steal at $19,998 per night (no airfare included). They must be going to be doing some MAJOR upgrades between now and then.

 

I know it's not accurate but thought it was funny, nonetheless.

 

So...my advice would be not to book more than 2.5 years in advance lol who knows, the resort may not even be there when I'm ready ;-)

[jk1101]

That was hysterical....talk about a Platinum wedding!