Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?

[GBP2012]

BusyBee,

After rereading my post I realize how "blonde" my river comment was. I guess it was just wishful thinking! Thank you for the information! We may have to look at different excursions!
 

Originally Posted by BusyBee123 

Its a catamaran cruise on the ocean, definitely not on a river.  I'm not aware of any rivers nearby, especially rivers with coral reefs for snorkelling!  Dunn's River Falls is directly on the ocean.  The swells are pretty large, so if you tend to get sea sick, this may not be the excursion for you! 

 

 

[acw271011]

Congrats again on being a Mrs.!  I'm so sorry some of your things didn't go as well as planned, but as you said, the important thing is you're married!  It still sounds like the resort fell a bit short of what you were expecting, which I'm sorry to hear. We had a similar experience with the resort photographers. They took 74 shots and we managed to find a grand total of 9 that we liked from the whole bunch.  I'm glad you liked Merrick. Your pictures will be amazing, I'm sure. We thought he was wonderful and would absolutely recommend him to anyone that asks!!  Congrats again.

 

Originally Posted by JayKay 

Wedding:

 

Our wedding day was absolutely amazing and wonderful.  Please do not stress about things as the planners are nothing but amazing.

 

Meeting:  We met with Chandlyn the day after we arrived at 10am to go over all the final details.  She had everything of ours in our file and just needed to finalize a few last minute details. This is also when we made our final payment for extra people and the minister fees.  We payed on credit card for all of it.  We gave her our final copy of our ceremony script and any other last minute things.  Before we left I asked if we needed to bring our original birth certificates with us and I was told before we left I asked if we needed to bring our original birth certificates with us and I was told yes, so I did, but she never once asked for them.   We also met with a girl from the photo shop that day who explained how long they are there for and when to pick up our pictures (which was a nightmare which Ill cover later).  We dropped off our wedding things (sand ceremony, chair ties, and music) the day before the wedding.

 

Hair and Makeup:  My MOH and I went to the spa at 1pm (ceremony was at 4pm) to have our hair and makeup done.  We both brought pictures of what we kind of wanted and they were able to reproduce it pretty well.  I did have to end up going back to my room and re pinning a few pieces of hair, but over all I was very happy.  They also use an amazing spray that makes your hair stay and now go anywhere, they call it Jamaican cement. I also told the girl I wanted my makeup natural and not too much and it was just perfect.  The two girls doing our hair were a little rude and grumpy.  The only complaint I have is that when we got there they told us the prices had gone up, which I already knew about because they had emailed me.  The problem was that when I booked my appointment I told them I didn’t want to do the trials for the hair or the makeup (both are included) so they gave me a cheaper price for both.  I guess since they increased the prices in 2012 they also now charge you the full price whether or not you get the trials done.  They also don’t take cash but rather change it to your room.  Also, to do it over I would have gone to the salon earlier.  By the time we had finished it was 3pm and I had to rush to put my dress on and make sure everything else was ready to go.

 

Photographer:  We knew that we got 5 free photos from the resort but we still hired our own.  We hired Merrick Cousley and we couldn’t be happier about our decision.  He came to the room I was getting ready at after we returned from the spa and before that he was with the boys taking pictures.  From the few pictures he showed me they look amazing!!  He was super easy to work with and we had some really good laughs with him.  I had a few pictures I really wanted to do and he was more than willing to do them.  We also invited him to our dinner and we were happy we did as he fit right in with our group and took some pictures during dinner. I’m really excited to see our photos from him.

 

Flowers:  After much debate during planning we decided to just go with the free flowers in the package.  I was going to have my husband and his best man wearing starfish boutonnieres I got from etsy, but my fiancé decided he would rather have flowers, which I was fine with.  At the initial meeting Chandlyn had a book of all the bouquet choices for me to choose from.  I was really extremely happy with my flowers and glad I didn’t pay to get them from someone else.  My bouquet and MOHs bouquet were delivered to our room at about noon that day.  I was a little stressed out that they forgot the boutonnieres but the wedding planner will pin them on down at the gazebo, so don’t worry.

 

Gazebo decoration:  I had brought my own chair ties, turquoise, that they put on all the chairs.  Chandlyn asked me if I wanted to have the gazebo decorated with turquoise and I said sure.  It looked really great and loved the color.  I would say definitely do the chair ties as they really make everything pop.  Without them it would look pretty blah and plain I think.

Ceremony:  Our ceremony was at 4pm and I think it was the perfect time.  We still had lots of sunlight for pictures after and it wasn’t too hot.  At 345 we had to be in the lobby.  My mom and dad both walked me down the aisle so they both came along with my MOH.  Donnalee was there for our wedding day and she drove us down to the gazebo in the golf cart thing.  I had made CDs of our wedding music and they did a great job of playing it.  I clearly labeled which song was for what.  They were supposed to play a song during the sand ceremony but they didn’t, but it wasn’t a big deal.

 

We wrote our own script and the reverend read it word for word.  I guess my husband had time to chat with him before the ceremony started and he said he was really nice.  The only thing that was kind of annoying was that he kept saying my name wrong.  My name is spelt Jayne but pronounced like Jay Knee, but he kept calling me Jane.  It’s not a bit deal as I’m used to being called that.

 

It was so super windy down at the gazebo, even though it wasn’t a really windy day.  I’m really glad I had my hair out of my face or I would have not been able to see.  It was nice though as it wasn’t super hot due to the wind. 

 

Dinner:  We had our dinner at the Grill at 630pm.  We had the chicken Caesar salad, beef and vegetable soup, mix grill, and the cheesecake.  The food was fantastic and everyone was raving about it for days after!  The only issue we had was with my mom, who has a severe dairy allergy.  They kept bringing her food that she couldn’t eat, but they quickly realized it and gave her something she could eat.  All of the food was delicious.

 

We were all on one long table and kind of off to the one side of the Grill.  There was no one close to us at all which was really nice.  We were able to have short, informal speeches and be as loud as we wanted to be.  We had our own personal waiter, Adam, that was fantastic!  They transferred our chair covers and ties onto the chairs at the grill and it looks good.

We had our cake after our dinner and by then everyone was really full and hardly ate any.  We had the chocolate and vanilla and it tasted good.  The cake was decorated like all the pictures, but we didn’t really care about the cake.  They ended up serving the cake and then delivering the rest of it to our room, which we snacked on for a few days!

After dinner we all headed to the pool bar by the 23000s where they have music and drinks until 11pm.  There were only a few other people there so we were able to turn up the music and dance right there.  We had a lot of fun there and after that headed to the sports bar. 

 

We were at the sports bar for about 10 minutes then my hubbys mom started dancing on a table and pulling her dress up and being a crazy bitch.  So needless to say my hubby was super embarrassed, frustrated and was crying so we ended up going to the room early which everyone else stayed out and partied. It was the beginning of all the family drama.

 

We were told to head to the photo shop in the shopping area the day after our wedding in the late afternoon to pick up our 5 free wedding photos.  We went there around 5 pm and were asked if we had an appointment.  According to the girl at the first meeting she said just show up you don’t need an appointment.  They ‘attempted’ to find our photos and then we were told that they didn’t know where the pictures went so they told us to come back the next day.  We went back the next day at 4 pm and sat there for over an hour for them to load up the pictures.  The photographer took 95 photos of us that day and we were allowed to go through and pick the 5 we wanted.  The photos were okay, but definitely not great.  I think this new company is a little better then the last one there, but I still wouldn’t trust them with all the pictures of my wedding.  We ended up choosing 5 photos and they asked whether we wanted them on a disc of printed.  We choose to have them on the disc.  I also asked out of curiosity how much it would be if we wanted all 95 photos on a disc and was told it would be $950 dollars!!!!!!  That’s like 10 dollars a pictures to put them on a disc.  They were not that nice so we only got our 5 and left.

 

I think that’s everything.  Although my week was filled with drama and in the end it basically tore two families apart and I’m left in the middle between both, I still had a blast with the people that came and will enjoy all the good memories.  We had an absolutely beautiful wedding ceremony and we are married and that’s all that matters!

 

 

 

[acw271011]

You looked gorgeous!!  love your dress and it looks to me like your hair turned out just beautiful!!!
 

Originally Posted by JayKay 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are the 5 free photos from the resort photographers.

 

[pask454]

Congrats to both of the new brides. Lots of information to take in, thanks so much for the reviews - helps so much!!! Glad your days were special!

[liss]

Hello Everyone;

 

/I have just came across this web site tonight as i am stessing over my wedding which is happening there  months from today..March 17/2012.

I dont know if im using this correctly but I hope all can see it.. I have been dealing with Donnalee and she dont seem to interested, I email her questions about things I dont understand and she just keeps forwarding me the same info on the packages etc.. but I dont find it clear on how it all work.. Has anyone else had problems dealing with her.. Im scared that when i get there and meet with them that everything will be booked up and Ill miss out on things.

 

Melissa.

[JayKay]

Yeah it was not ideal or how I thought my vacation would be, but I'm going to just remember all the good times we had with other family and friends that joined us!!  I wouldnt change anything about my ceremony as it was perfect!
 

Originally Posted by Kim Deslippe 

JayKay - I have been looking forward to hearing your review all week and it makes me so sad that there was problems during "your wedding trip" and anyone that ruined it for you, shame on them....that is so unfair.  I am glad that there were no major issues with your ceremony and you look beautiful, as does the gazebo decorations.  Congrats to you and your new hubby!!

 

I can't say enough good things about Merrick.  He was so professional, yet so easy to get along with and it felt really comfortable having him taking our photos.  I'm really anxious to see the photos!  We loved the resort and would love to go back, just the two of us!

 

They did a pretty good job of my hair.  Just had to fix a few peices but nothing major!  We had a hard time choosing which photos we wanted from the resort photographer because most of them were not that good at all.  And alot of our guests said that he would follow Merrick and take the same picture after he just took it.

Originally Posted by acw271011 

Congrats again on being a Mrs.!  I'm so sorry some of your things didn't go as well as planned, but as you said, the important thing is you're married!  It still sounds like the resort fell a bit short of what you were expecting, which I'm sorry to hear. We had a similar experience with the resort photographers. They took 74 shots and we managed to find a grand total of 9 that we liked from the whole bunch.  I'm glad you liked Merrick. Your pictures will be amazing, I'm sure. We thought he was wonderful and would absolutely recommend him to anyone that asks!!  Congrats again.

 

 

 

Originally Posted by acw271011 

You looked gorgeous!!  love your dress and it looks to me like your hair turned out just beautiful!!!
 

 

 

[Sjay]

JayKay - congratulations! I just read your review, and I'm so sorry to hear about the drama you had to put up with, but good for you for focussing on the positives.

You look so beautiful and happy in your photos. What a lovely ceremony spot. I love the turquoise too!

It was thanks you to I found out about Merrick, and after looking around the last couple of weeks, we're seriously considering hiring him. I can't wait to see his photos of your day.

Congrats again to you and your husband!

 

Sarah

 

 

[JayKay]

I would definately recommend him to anyone.  Although we don't have our photos back we seen a few just from his camera and they look to be pretty amazing!  He was so easy to work with and fun but professional at the same time!  Also, his prices are pretty good compared to some others we looked into hiring.

 

Originally Posted by Sjay 

JayKay - congratulations! I just read your review, and I'm so sorry to hear about the drama you had to put up with, but good for you for focussing on the positives.

You look so beautiful and happy in your photos. What a lovely ceremony spot. I love the turquoise too!

It was thanks you to I found out about Merrick, and after looking around the last couple of weeks, we're seriously considering hiring him. I can't wait to see his photos of your day.

Congrats again to you and your husband!

 

Sarah

 

 

 

[pask454]

Hey Ladies, I have some questions for the 2 new brides. Would be forever greatful for some answers!!! Thanks

 

BusyBee- When you did the TTD, you ordered a taxi for 7, and at Dunns only 4 of you went in. Did the rest follow you in, or did they wait in the taxi? You mentioned that there were no clocks anywhere, this may be silly, but did they have any in the rooms? (Im just thinking OOT bags)  I LOVE the idea of sky lanterns, do you remember where you got them? One more thing! When you did the diagrams of how you wanted everything set up, did you draw them at the resort after SEEING the venue's, or did you kind of just assume how things would be set up?

 

JayKay- I loved your decor. Did you pre-cut the fabric for the chair ties, or did you just bring a "roll" of it, and they did the rest? Also, I think I will be going with the flowers that are included in the package. I know that there are only so many flowers to choose from going that route, but do you get to choose the COLOUR, or is it  "take as is"

 

Im so confused about where to have my wedding dinner. Both reviews were opposite! I guess it's just preference.

 

Loved both of your reviews! Thanks again!

[sbelland]

Congrats to the new brides! And thank you so much for the reviews it really helps to put things into perspective and to reduce my stress of what it will be like when we get there! 

I can't wait to see more pictures !