Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?

[leannesmith]

Hello Ladies I am back!!! We left Feb 25th and got married on Feb 28th. Our guest came home March 3rd and we stayed an extra week and came home on the 10th. We had a group of 33 guest majority flew out of Ottawa. I am not sure where to start and I will probably miss some things along the way so if you have any questions feel free to ask. I just want to say as many others have that there is absolutely nothing to worry/stress about everything will be amazing. I couldn't have pictured my wedding day any better than what it was, it was everything I have dreamed of and more. The resort: Check in was fairly quick and the resort was well organized. We found the staff at the front desk very helpful and pleasant to deal with. I have travelled quite a bit and found the resort rather large and it was hard for my Grandma to get around easily. I think that was one of the only negative things I found and it is just a personal preference. We stayed on the 4th floor in room 21409 and we had an amazing view of the gazebo, pools and ocean. The pools were very clean and a good temperature, we lounged near the far swim up bar as we found it to be quieter. It is hard to get lounge chairs by the pool most of them had towels on them by 7am. Our fridge was restocked daily and our maid Sharon was so nice and such a hard worker. We rented the safe out for $6 a day. No one in our group had any troubles with their valuables. The lobby bar was a great place to meet up after dinner for a few drinks and the entertainment was great. The shows at night were good too. I liked some more than others but we always had a great time. I really enjoyed watching the steel drum band from Kingston they were amazing. We went to the disco a few nights and it was okay, the DJ was good and he would play any song that you requested. The workers at the resort for the most part were very friendly and kind. Our favourite bartender was Jerome at the lobby bar, ask for a Jerome special they are so good! I did find that we were expected to tip a lot or it seemed that way. The food: The food was great!! I am a very picky eater and I always found something to eat. I liked eating at the smaller buffet as it wasn't as busy as the large one. The A la Cartes were hard to book for early dinner times. If you don’t mind eating late then I wouldn't worry about it but if you like to eat before 8pm I suggest that you book them in advance. I booked the Japanese for the welcome dinner the day we arrived and it was so much fun we had 3 tables were the chiefs cook in front of you and it was so enjoyable and the food was delicious. We also ate at the Don Pablo and the Grill which were great too! The Jerk Centre on the beach had melted in your mouth chicken, we ate lunch there often. If you go to the guy cooking it on the grill he will give you fresh chicken which I found was better. Now on to the wedding!!!! Meeting: There was a note delivered to our room the night we arrived asking us to meet Chandlyn in the lobby at 10am the next day. Chandlyn is such a sweet lady and is very well organized. She had every email and request I sent in our file. We sorted out all the fine details such as menu, cake, decorations, etc. She told us to drop all our decorations off at the front lobby on Monday. Chandlyn and Donnalee are fantastic to work with and I only have great things to say about both of them. Rehearsal: We met Donnalee at the Gazebo on Monday at 5:30pm with the wedding party and she walked us through everything and was happy to answer any questions that we had. Getting ready: I hired Rashel Edwards to do are makeup and her friend Fiona to do our hair. I am so happy that I went with them. I showed Fiona pictures of how I wanted my hair and she did such and amazing job and it was exactly what I wanted. I also told Rashel I wanted a very natural look and that is what I got. I would highly recommend them to any bride. My bridesmaids loved their hair and makeup as well and were very pleased with the results. Rashel came to our room for noon and my ceremony was at 4pm. Flowers: I went with Jan’s Flowers as they were cheaper than Tai Flora. My flowers arrived at the hotel at 2pm and 2 bridesmaids went to the lobby to get them. I did receive all of my order as I have heard other brides have had a few things missing. The only thing is my flowers weren’t exactly what I had asked for but they were still beautiful and it wasn’t that big of a deal to me. Ceremony: I met Chandlyn in the lobby at 3:45pm with my bridesmaids and father, she took us to the beach on the golf cart and cued us when to start walking down the aisle. We hired the steel drum band and they were great. Our guest really enjoyed the ceremony music. After the ceremony everyone enjoyed a glass of champagne and listened to the steel drum band play. Then the pictures started. Photography: We hired Sungold associates and Clayton Foster was our photographer with his assistant Shane. Clayton is such an amazing person and a great photographer I highly recommend him. I have only seen a few teaser pictures and they are beautiful!!! I can’t wait to see the rest. Clayton’s boss Paula was great to work with as well she always replied to email and phone calls very promptly. If you are in need of a photographer I would suggest you hire Clayton. We had him for 8 hours on the wedding day and then he came back the next day and did the TTD. We hired Kevin Morrison to take us and the photographer to our TTD destination, he was a great driver. I would recommend him if you need a taxi. We went to Mohoe Falls for the TTD and again I can’t wait to see the pictures! I can’t say enough great things about him, he is such a wonderful person and his work is truly amazing!!!!!! Dinner and Reception: Dinner started at 6:30pm at the Dolce Vita, we had a head table with 8 people and we had 3 circular tables in front for guest. Our guest book was setup as you walked in and our decorations were exactly how I asked for them to be. The food was great we had the caprese salad, squash soup, chicken breast with ricotta and dessert. I did find that everyone was so full from the meal that no one ate the wedding cake. I asked for a very simple wedding cake with no designs on it but that is not what I got lol. Again we are very laid back and that was not a big deal to us. We did have a few speeches through dinner but nothing very formal. We rented out the gazebo and hired a DJ and the bartender. At 8:45pm we headed to the gazebo and had our first dance, the father and daughter dance and groom and mother dance. At first we weren’t going to rent anything after the dinner but when I got thinking about it more and heard the other girls reviews we changed our mind and my husband ( I love saying husband) and I are so happy that we did. I think it was one of the best decisions we made and I have no regrets. The Dj and Bar was open till around 11pm after that some people went to bed and some headed off to the disco. I know I am probably forgetting tons of information so please if you have any question feel free to ask. Check out our teaser pictures http://wpajamaica.com/tammy-rob/

Hi there. Your wedding sounds like it turned out great. Congrats.....I have a question regarding the photographer. Did you have to pay the fee to the resort? Your pictures are beautiful

[leannesmith]

So I had emailed Chandlynn asking what the vows were and I recieved them back and they are SUPER religious, and I am not okay with using them.  I emailed her back asking if the minister had to use those vows to make it legal, and I didnt really get a straight answer back.  What did previous brides do that didnt want to use the religous vows provided by the resort? Here is what she sent me:

Vow Script

 

Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

 

Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of God and these witnesses to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony.

 

The apostle Paul in his writings declared marriage to be a Holy Estate instituted by God therefore it ought not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly but reverently, respectfully and in the love of God. Into this Holy Estate these two now come to be joined. Give heed therefore to the questions I ask you.

 

………….Do you take ……. to be your lawful wedding husband/wife to have and to hold from this day forward for better, for worse, for richer for poorer in sickness and in health, to love, honor and cherish for as long as you both shall live.

 

………..I take you to be my husband/wife,

To have and to hold from this day forward,

For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health,

To love, honor and to cherish for as long as we both shall live.

This is my solemn vow to you.

Rings:

……..I give you this ring as a token of the Covenant made between us this day and as a pledge of our mutual love, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

 

 

 

Having pledge your faith in, and live to each other and having sealed your solemn marital vows by giving and receiving rings in the presence of the Almighty and these witnesses here gathered on the island of Jamaica this 21st day of October 2010 I now pronounce you husband and wife.

 

 

 

The Lord Bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you Peace . Amen

 

 

On behalf of the Management and Wedding Planners of the Gran Bahia Principe I take in great pleasure to present to you Mr. & Mrs……………………...!!!!.

I like these vows.....original, short and sweet.....that's just me though.

[MelB2012]

Originally Posted by jmarshall 

 

Another question, SORRY! So I was thinking that I would want petals/flowers covering the walkway up to the gazebo, however, I have heard that it is VERY windy at the gazebo.  Is this true? If so, then the flowers on the walkway might be pointless because they would blow away before I got there lol   LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

If you have your heart set on having petals covering the walkway, there are alternatives you can do.... I have seen some DIY projects where girls have glued fake petals in their wedding colours to a wide ribbon, and created runners down the aisle.

 

I'm not very big on floral anything.... so I'm not encorporating too much flowers, other than bouquets. Something to think about.

[Koolaide]

To be honest at the beginning it was great.  The specialist we were working with was fantastic at the beginning stages.  She was enthusatic, helpful and seemed geniuenly interested in helping us plan our wedding.  Whenever we would send an email she would respond right away.... However, the minute we signed on the dotted line...it was the opposite....she seemed less interested.  It would take her days to respond to our email and when she did respond she never seemed to answer our questions so we had to re-email her again... It kinda sucks but I guess it could be worst... On the flip side, I had nothing but a good experience with Chadlyn (knock on wood) so far....

 

So did you go dress shopping as yet?  Where are you located??

[JayKay]

I think we have all found this about the wedding planners-really quick to respond until you confirm and then they take longer.  That is because they do 3 weddings per day pretty much every day of the year.  They focus more on the weddings that will happen within that month then someone who is getting married say 3 or more months away.  Its just the way they do things and it makes sense.  If your wedding was in a few weeks and had questions you would want to get your answers pretty quickly.  And it is Jamaica afterall, they pretty much have their own way of time, everything is relaxed.

Originally Posted by Koolaide 

To be honest at the beginning it was great.  The specialist we were working with was fantastic at the beginning stages.  She was enthusatic, helpful and seemed geniuenly interested in helping us plan our wedding.  Whenever we would send an email she would respond right away.... However, the minute we signed on the dotted line...it was the opposite....she seemed less interested.  It would take her days to respond to our email and when she did respond she never seemed to answer our questions so we had to re-email her again... It kinda sucks but I guess it could be worst... On the flip side, I had nothing but a good experience with Chadlyn (knock on wood) so far....

 

So did you go dress shopping as yet?  Where are you located??

[cdnbridelinzy]

Originally Posted by STemple 

 

Thanks Congratulations to you aswell!

 

I've been emailing back and forth with Chandlyn however I've now not heard back from here since the end of November. I wish she'd just give me a month that I can confirm my date.

 

I am a travel agent so I'm doing most of the arrangement however I'm having a friend/coworker handle the actually money and booking of guests, figure I have enough to do with planning lol

 

I see you are hoping to have your reception at the Piscis, hopefully you can give some advice in the future as there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of pictures or info for a reception there

I am having my reception at the picses, so when I get back I can answer any questions you may have

[cdnbridelinzy]

Well ladies, I will be on a plane to Jamaica in less than 12 hours!!!! I am so excited. I will write a review once I get back after two lovely weeks in the sun.

 

Thank you to all the awesome advice and tips and helpful ladies on here.  AHHHHH I cant beleive I will be married in less than 5 days!!!!!! 

 

It kind of just crept up on me.  Any last minute tips??( not sure that I would get them though before I left, as I leave for the airport in 7 hours, not sure if I will even go to bed lol)

 

Ciao for now!

[STemple]

I am having my reception at the picses, so when I get back I can answer any questions you may have

I can't wait to hear about your wedding! Have a wonderful time and congratulations!!!

[Koolaide]

That's so exciting... Good Luck...I'm sure everything will go well...

 

I can't wait to her all about your review...

 

Try not to stress and take in as much as you can... I heard that the day just flies...

[Koolaide]

This maybe true but it would be nice to be given the headsup at the get go...as I have no idea how the world of wedding planning works...  I think its a matter of customer service... it takes a couple seconds to send an email advising that there normal procedure is to focus on weddings happening within that month etc...