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~Sandals Whitehouse Weddingmoon~

keriwitak
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keriwitak

keriwitak

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Sorry it has taken so long to post this and sorry if it's lengthy..

 

We had a fabulous time at Sandals Whitehouse, Jamaica from June 12 to the 16th with our wedding taking place on June 14th. The following is a breakdown of each aspect of our trip. I hope it is as helpful to other Destination Wedding brides as yall were to me!

 

Flight:

We flew from Huntsville,AL to Atlanta,GA and then from Atlanta to Montego Bay,Jamaica. This was our first time flying and everything went better than I expected it to (I don't have the best luck). Big kudos to Delta- all flights were on time and uneventful and none of our luggage was lost. Upon arrival in MoBay-Customs and Immigration was no big deal- Just make sure you have all of your forms filled out correctly and signed-I got separated from my soon-to-be hubby because i didn't sign the bottom of the sheet and they made me return to the back of the line.We then arrived at the Sandals lounge and were told that we had 20 minutes till the bus left. We both took a bathroom break and were told we were ready to go. They make sure to tell you that the airport porter and the bus driver are not employees of sandals (TIPS).

 

Drive to Sandals Whitehouse:

We had a wonderful driver named James who is with Juta tours and were lucky enough to be the only people on the bus. The trip took about an hour and 20 minutes. The roads are quite narrow and curvy but James did an excellent job navigating the traffic/stray cows/people in the road. I did get a bit nauseated due to the roads and driving on the left hand side but the Jamaican countryside is beautiful and definatley worth seeing between bouts of nausea. Jamaica is a very poor country (the equivalent of 32 US dollars per week is average wage) and very few houses have running water or electricity. Most of the people you see will be walking to their destination or riding a bike. It made me very very thankful for the luxuries we have in the US that most of us take for granted. As for tipping.... We did give James a tip simply because most drivers only make one long trip per day and he was very nice and informative and got us there safely.

 

Resort:

Sandals Whitehouse is a breathtaking resort situated on a beautiful beach. We were in awe of the brightly colored buildings,turquoise pools,lush landscaping and statues. We were taken to room 1301 in the Italian village- close to the main pool/restaurants. The room was nicely decorated with tile floors, king size comfy bed, and standard bathroom. Considering we were only in our room to sleep or shower- it suited it's purpose perfectly. There were three pools-the main pool, and smaller pools at the dutch and french villages. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon you may be the only couple in the main pool or on the beach- we loved that aspect- we felt as if we were the only people there sometimes. The beach was raked every morning and the water was clear turquoise the majority of the time. Since it was overcast most of our stay, we didn't see any spectacular sunsets. There was a nice gift shop, resort shop, art gallery, and jewelry store. We bought most of our souviners from the gift shop-rum,cute photo albums, t-shirts,ect.The jewelry store had some beautiful pieces but they were a bit pricey.

 

Restaurants:

In my opinion the food was good as a whole,not great, but good. We tried everything but Jasmines.Giuseppe's only had pizza at lunch but it was quite good.Eleanor's had a great dinner menu but they were closed at lunch-never got to try their breakfast,Arizona's is not much to speak of- sandwiches were ok. Bluefield's had jamaican cuisine and I apparently don't like jamaican patties (I'm making a face as I write this),Bayside has a very good breakfast buffet and was our choice for most mornings and we had a very good supper there one nite as well. Cafe de Paris is a sugar lover's dream...yummy banana splits and banana bread...We had a fantastic candlelit dinner in a gazebo on our wedding nite-one of my best memories from the trip-SOO Romantic!! Plus i got to try lamb chops for the first time which were great!

 

Activities:

We did not get to take any excursions unfortunatley.We were told by the tours director that there weren't any going out (ON A SATURDAY??) and he said he'd call us if any one else signed up for anything. Huge bummer- Next time we'll know to take another couple with us so we can go on any excursion. On Friday nite there was a band playing in the Cabaret theater that was great (Jamican music and American hits) and on Saturday nite there was a beach party with a fire dancer and a limbo contest...Crazy Chris (the host) was hilarious. On Mondays they allow merchants from outside the resort in to sell their crafts- some will hassle you- others are just trying to make a living honestly-we bought several wood carvings that were beautiful.

 

Bars:

We're not exactly partiers but we did enjoy trying some Jamican drinks such as a Jamaican Smile, A Hummingbird, and a Dirty Banana. 2 of the pools have swim up bars. Our favorite bar was the one close to Arizonas because Jamaica's best bartender works there-CHRISTOPHER!- He was wonderful- he told us a lot about Jamaica and their way of life.

 

Wedding:

Although this was the second marriage for myself and my husband, I wanted it to be special and memorable. I have to say a huge thankyou to Sage (US based wedding consultant) and Lucine (resort based consultant)-for makiing our wedding just that..they eased my every worry and answered every question I had. They were incredibly helpful with arranging my bouquet and ceremony details. Lucine was a sweetheart and met with us the day before the wedding to go over all the details. Although it POURED rain all morning of our wedding day(Yes I was freaking out)-it cleared just in time for the ceremony.The laundry facility steamed my dress and delivered it promptly. I had my hair done at Red Lane Spa (marvelous building and staff) and I should have had a massage or mani/pedi...anyways..The ceremony itself lasted all of 5 minutes but was beautiful and special. Our photographer Colin and Lucine acted as our witnesses since we had traveled alone. We then went to our reception in the concierge gazebo- the cake was georgeous and actually tasted great-we ended up sharing our meal with Lucine and Colin..we then took pictures on the beach and in the garden and then did trash the dress pictures... IT WAS WONDERFUL!! That was the most stress free wedding imaginable.

 

In Conclusion:

We had a fantastic time and will be definatley going back.I highly recommend a DW at Sandals Whitehouse- beautiful location and marvelous staff-what more can you ask for?? Jamaica is a beautiful country with beautiful people...and for those about to get married...Don't worry about a thing...everything is gonna be alright (sing some Bob Marley mon).. Lots of Love and Best Wishes!!

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BakersGirl

BakersGirl

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Thank you so much for your review. As a fellow Whitehouse bride-to-be I really do appreciate it! It sounds like you had a wonderful time! I can't wait to see the pics you post. I was happy to read how pleased you were with the photographers and that they did a TTD session with you. I would love to see a few of those pictures! Thanks Again and Congrats!!

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islandbride317

islandbride317

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CONGRATULATIONS, Mrs. (and fellow Sandals bride)!

 

Your photos are beautiful, and I actually really love the contrast of the darkened sky against your white dress and the vibrant colors of your flowers....just beautiful! You two appear to be so blissful and in love that you're hardly noticing the weather in the background. Thanks for the great review, as well! Great to have a better idea of what to expect when we land in Jamaica in the Spring!

 

Once more, congratulations to you and your new husband, and may you enjoy your newly-wedded bliss to the fullest! wink.gif

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